Note to Self: Focus

Stop thinking about all the things you could, should, and would be doing and focus on the thing you ARE doing.

The first rule of focus: "Wherever you are: Be there."

Little Haters

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted in a while. It's certainly not for lack of topics and it certainly isn't for lack of dozens of unfinished articles just sitting in the queue waiting to be posted. Call it writers/creative block.

Before I created this blog I'd write down my thoughts on performance development and leadership all the time. Theories, concepts, insights, quotes, etc. Just to get them all out on paper and make sense of them later. I didn't have to worry about coherence or lucidity. I knew what I was trying to say so there was no pressure to clean them up. Private consumption.

A blog, however, is for public consumption. Suddenly, I felt pressure to perform at a certain level. I felt that had to make my points in compelling ways. I had to impose order on my chaotic thought processes. Order is the bane of creativity.

Natural thought flows like water- at least for me. Having to produce thoughts like an assembly line in a factory is too orderly and regimented. Fill one box and here comes the next. Pressure stifles the creative process.

Then it occurred to me that the pressure I felt- like a great deal of the pressure we experience at work- was self-inflicted. I'd created deadlines, timetables, and creative standards for articles that inadvertently squelched my ability to flow...

I recently watched a video from Ill Doctrine that articulated the challenge far better than I could. It resonated with me and I thought I'd share it because I think all of us at one time or another go through this at work and at home.

Machine Gun, Sniper, and Presentation Bullets

We've all seen presentations where each slide contained what seemed to be 50 bullet points each consisting of multiple complete sentences. And later, to our horror, we discovered that the next slide was indistinguishable from the previous one. I can recall thinking, "They should just sign a book deal and I'll read the paperback version when it hits the shelves at Barnes and Noble."

The presenter forgot the first Rule of Presenting Information: Retention is inversely proportional to the volume of information delivered. Or put simply, Less is More.

They presented information as if they were firing a machine gun in the belief that the more bullets they fired at the audience the greater the chance that one would hit the mark. This is not an entirely inaccurate premise. Sooner or later one of those bullets is going to connect with something but here's the rub:

1. Most normal people "duck" if/when they hear a machine gun firing at them. It's one of those built in fight or flight responses. They dive for cover in the nearest mental bunker and stop listening. Once they stop listening it's: Presentation Fail.


2. The more bullets you fire into the audience the more ammunition you provide for them to shoot back. Suddenly, you find yourself doing more explaining and clarifying than actual presenting. You get off track and then: Presentation Fail.


3. In a hail of bullets you can never really tell which one hit the mark. So, even if you did manage to get a point across you'll have a hard time doing it again with a different audience. Presentation Fail.

Machine Gun presentations specialize in quantity over quality. Contrast this approach with the way a sharpshooter or sniper engages their target. They listen to and observe the target audience long before they ever pull the trigger. They know what's important to the audience and which bullets are most likely to hit the mark.

They're effective because they've done their reconnassiance and research beforehand and this enables them to put one or two well-aimed bullets right "between the ears" of audience.

Try it. They'll never know what hit them.

Deep Thought

You may be good at what you do but are you good at who you are?

Don't ask me what that means. I just thought it sounded cool.

Elements of Performance: Clarity

“More important than the quest for certainty is the quest for clarity”-- Francois Gautier

Clarity is the single most important element of performance, leadership, and success.

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All human beings desire and actively seek out clarity and certainty. We want to understand the world around us in order to make sense of it all. Uncertainty is the primary source of the confusion and doubts that can erode our confidence and hinder our ability to execute swiftly. It affects our outlooks and perspectives by dampening our optimism and giving rise to pessimism or even cynicism. It for these reasons that clarity and certainty are at the very core of leadership. But that is a topic for another post...

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Within the context of performance and success Clarity applies to three key areas: Personal Clarity, Interpersonal Clarity, and Operational/Environmental Clarity. Below, I’ve listed a small representative sample of the aspects of performance that are governed by clarity and a brief explanation of their importance to us in achieving success.

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Personal Clarity: Conviction, Perspective, Purpose, Vision

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All successful leaders have a strongly held set of core beliefs and values that act as a lens through which they view the world around them. They have no doubts about the importance of these values and it is our value systems that create our unique frames of reference- our perspective. Our convictions tell us what is most important to us and the stronger they are the more likely we are to take action to defend and promote them. Is it here that Purpose is born. At the heart of leadership and success we will always find Clarity of Purpose. Our purpose- not our job function- is what provides meaning to our work and life. It is the path that leads us forward, guides our actions and provides us with a context by which to evaluate and prioritize people, information, and the world around us. It is by looking ahead along that path of purpose that we begin to form our Vision. By having strong convictions, Clarity of Purpose, and a clear perspective we can achieve a clear and compelling Vision. Only when we are clear about where we are, where want to be, and where we need to go can we begin to lead others there.

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Interpersonal Clarity: Openness, “Reflective-ness,” Impartiality, Listening, Transparency

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Leaders listen first and speak last. Leading others requires that we also find ways to connect and understand them. We must clearly understand their needs, wants, and motivations and be open to their ideas and perspectives. We must balance our convictions with the views of others to avoid the inflexibility of dogma. The strongest leaders listen to and actively reflect upon the opinions and viewpoints of the people around them in order to create a free flow of information and mutual understanding. In doing so, they are better able to clearly understand differences and more clearly focus on our common ground. It is on common ground that we find common purpose.

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Operational/Environmental Clarity: Information, Knowledge, Expectations, Analysis, Acumen

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To successfully lead ourselves and others from where we are along the path of common purpose to where we want to be we must be able to clearly see the path and the destination. The environments in which we work and live are not static- they are dynamic. As such, there will always be unexpected challenges, obstacles, and opportunities. This rapidly changing environment is continuously sending us new information and feedback that we must understand- clearly- in order to make the proper adjustments. We must know not only what this information says but also what it means. Our plans, processes, and performance expectations must be easily understood to prevent confusion and uncertainty. We create clarity in our environment by using our knowledge, experience, and acumen to translate information into actionable knowledge. Clear purpose without clear direction or action is chaos.

The Elements of Performance

The banner image for this blog is a visual representation of a concept/theory I've been working on for some time. It is an extension of the philosophy that success is elemental. The complex behaviors associated with performance, success, and leadership are composed of much more simple traits and behaviors and, once we realize this fact, these complex behaviors become far more attainable.

Clarity, Energy, Harmony, Agility, and Fortitude are the five prerequisite qualities that, when present, virtually assure high performance and success. Conversely, the absence of any one of these qualities adversely affects performance and requires us to rely more heavily upon the others. They are the basic Elements of Performance. They are simple to understand and flexible enough to be both specific AND broadly applicable to most aspects of individual/organizational performance. What makes them truly special, however, is that by combining them in different ways we are able to create a great number of additional qualities that further enhance our performance.

CLARITY: Do you have a clear vision and purpose?

• Vision, purpose, convictions, perspective, information, knowledge, insight and acumen

ENERGY: Are you passionate and enthusiastic about that purpose?

• Passion, motivation, drive, enthusiasm, initiative, outlook, and ambition.

HARMONY: Can you work well with others to achieve it?

• Unity, synergy, cohesion, collaboration, cooperation, interpersonal relationships, and balance.

AGILITY: Are you quick and flexible enough to adapt to changes as they occur?

• Flexibility, adaptability, versatility, change, resourcefulness, and responsiveness.

FORTITUDE: Are you resilient enough to handle setbacks and difficulties?

• Endurance, discipline, courage, tenacity, ruggedness, and resilience.

Over the coming days I will discuss each of the qualities in more specific detail and I encourage you to provide your input, feedback, critical opinion, or ideas to help me continue to explore and refine this working theory.

Do vs Accomplish

"If, at the end of each day, we've done a lot but accomplished little it was a wasted day."

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What is the first thing you do in your daily routine at work?

The most common answer is "I check my e-mail." If this is your answer you may be surrendering control of your day within the first five minutes.

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As most people will attest, opening the Outlook window to your inbox can be like opening your living room window during a hurricane. Dozens of messages come in like a gale force wind and impose their priorities on your day. We dutifully set about clearing them out so we can get started on our priorities for the day only to find that more messages have arrived demanding our attention and our action. This is a vicious cycle that can ruin our productivity by knocking us back on our heels, putting us into reactive mode, and preventing us from setting a clear direction for the day.

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If we were to place our Outlook Inbox in the company organizational chart it would probably be a senior Vice President of Inefficiency and it would likely have direct or dotted lines to just about everyone. VP Inbox spends its day telling us what to do but rarely telling us what to accomplish.

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There is a simple solution...

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Take 10-15 minutes before you open Outlook to decide what you want or need to accomplish that day and then prioritize that list by urgency and importance. Now, when you open Outlook the messages will probably look a little different. Your priority list provides you with reference points to better determine the importance of each message- to you. Wherever possible, priority in your inbox should always be given to those messages that are aligned with what you are trying to accomplish.

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Remember, we were hired to accomplish not simply to do. We can always rely on Vice President Outlook to give us plenty of things to do each day. At the end of each day, however, all we're likely to have earned is a ticket to come back the next day and do some more.

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Completion is more important that Action. Success is built upon accomplishment.