I saw the above in a random post this morning. I’d like to take that 2% and up it to the 20% reminder Pareto’s Law conveys. Shape it how you want to, 20% of the people in your life cause 80% of the problems, 80% of your time goes to 20% of your customers, etc. No matter how you frame it, it is a great reminder of really taking a look at how you are distributing your resources and the return on investment, be it financial, emotional, etc. you receive. Recently I’ve noticed my 2nd and 3rd quarters have been time starved yet not financially productive. I’ve taken a look at where my time is going. And true to formula, 80% of my time is going to 20% of the people in my life, which happen to have a low to no return on investment for me, relationship wise, business wise, productivity wise, etc. A very ‘people pleasing’ dynamic grew out of this 20% at some point, and unchecked that dynamic has grown like a field of weeds. Consequently I have the majority of my time being sucked up by people with their hands out. Don’t get me wrong I believe in mentoring, supporting, even volunteering. The risk factor to stay aware of is when we fall out of balance and there is no mutual benefit. I’m not suggesting there always has to be a mutual benefit on every human interaction you have, but odds are you have a lot of responsibility in your life and need to be cognizant of what will build you up, and what will tear you down. It is true, if you identified a 2% shift there would be an impact. Realistically though, odds are if you invest the time you can identify over a 20% factor that would significantly change your daily life, and subsequently your life as a whole. The challenge is one, carving out time for evaluation, and two, having the courage to set down and walk away from those things that no longer serve your mental, financial and/or physical well-being. I’ve recently completed step one, and now begin step two. Step two will not be an easy journey for me, and perhaps at times unpleasant, but I do know that doing the ‘work’ to make it happen contributes to not only further empowering myself, but perhaps even empowering another by modeling the behavior.
Set Your Goal, Listen To Yourself
This TEDx video from the TEDxWomen event I organized has one of my favorite thoughts within it…Marcia, who swam the English Channel, notes when people discourage a goal, call it crazy, etc., it equates to “leveling the field” – the notion that if they can’t do what you are aiming for, then you can’t either. View Marcia’s TEDxWinnetkaWomen talk.
Inclusion
One of the greatest hurdles to productive group implementation is one of the easiest to solve, listening. Was everyone heard is a major indicator in whether or not the product of a decision will be implemented and the percentage of support it will receive. When we look at the model of group decision making – orientation, discussion, decision making, and implementation – it’s easy to identify where verbal contribution factors in. So the path is clear. The challenge is the engagement piece. Is everyone’s voice being heard? Is everyone being asked to contribute. Even if someone does not have something to contribute, the request and offer for them to contribute is critical, as is the sense of inclusion. Whether one decides to contribute or not, has less impact on outcomes than whether or not they felt included. A sense of inclusion is paramount to the decision to support the outcome. What’s all of the above mean? Want to tank your project quickly? Have someone who was involved in the project bad mouth it.
Public Speaking
Yesterday I held a TEDxWomen event here in IL, on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Michigan, outside of Chicago, in the amazing suburb of Winnetka. I learned a few extremely valuable lessons in the compact time I had to organize it, raise money for it, pick speakers and implement it all. 1) It is true, when opportunity knocks and you aren’t sure how to tackle the opportunity, say yes anyway, and figure it out along the way. 2) A great thing is a great thing. My event sold out without advertising and I covered cost with investing less than 2 hours raising the $8,000 I wanted to do the event well. 3) If you need help, ask. I didn’t ask for help for any of the process except for the day of the event. That was a mistake on my part as I could have shared this amazing experience with others. 4) There is an endless flow of amazing people when you look for them. The event featured 12 of these amazing people and their incredible stories. Some of the great speakers yesterday, Julia Collins who is the 2nd winningest Jeopardy contestant of all time, Marcia Cleveland, who swam the English Channel – her book,http://www.amazon.com/Dover-Solo-Swimming-English-Channel/dp/0967209110/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432928785&sr=1-1&keywords=Dover+Marcia+Cleveland, Jeanne Bishop who shared her story of mercy and grace after several members of her family were murdered – her book: http://www.amazon.com/Change-Heart-Justice-Making-Sisters/dp/0664259979, and so many other wonderful women. TEDxWomen and TEDx in general are the most amazing examples of an institution that has created a platform for truly, as they say, sharing “Ideas Worth Spreading”. Nine of the twelve speakers at day’s end yesterday…
Planning vs Doing
First of all, I love Seth Godin. If you haven’t ever read any of his stuff please do so immediately following the end of this blog post. He is a genius. I love him for many reasons, but mostly because he speaks to my urgency addicted, results driven frame of mind while helping me embrace that positive results require pulling the trigger, and that it is okay to do so prior to the ever so illusive ‘perfection’ of whatever it is you are putting out there. It is the beginning of a new year. A time when so many are reviewing, creating, and implementing plans. A perfect time to remember planning without the ‘doing’ component is not a exercise in production, but merely a writing exercise. Create your plan. Then put it in motion. Action without a plan is equally futile as a plan without action.
More Is Less & Multi-Tasking Is A Lie
I can remember when multi-tasking was framed as the end all be all to solving heavy work loads. The premise of multi-tasking while antiquated still lurks and a large number of organizations. It does so to the detriment of those organizations. Not sure if my statement is accurate? The following is a great read with a quick exercise proving it. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creativity-without-borders/201405/the-myth-multitasking
Brainstorming…Maybe Not The Right Path
In Susan Cain’s brilliant book, Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, `there is a passage which discusses brainstorming and the psychological dynamics. Turns out psychologists often identify three reasons for failure in brainstorming, social loafing, production blocking, and evaluation apprehension. Social loafing, we’ve pretty much all experienced it at some point in school, some participants kicking back and relaxing while the others do the work. Production blocking is similar except one individual is active/aggressive and the rest of the group is passive. Evaluation apprehension is what we’ve all felt at some point. We are afraid of looking stupid. While the three brainstorming outcomes are interesting, what they may not be is effective in moving a project in the right direction. Even more concerning is the research showing our minds are capable of re-framing what is the correct information into incorrect information if the group seems to be leaning towards a path or answer we are not. Clearly that ends in going down an unproductive path as well. Most of us have bought into the brainstorming concept and always assumed it was a proactive tool for positive project outcomes. Science tells us that just isn’t so. So whether it is a grant application, new product development, sales planning, etc. make sure you are implementing group work, not brainstorming as the difference will impact your success or failure.
You Get What You Settle For
It doesn’t matter if you are the employee or employer, you will get what you settle for guaranteed, probably even less. Sure it is important to set realistic and achievable goals for all involved in the work place, but if you don’t know your people, how do you know what they are capable of doing? Whether it is team building or DiSC testing, get to know those in the workplace. It is not just a nice thing to do, it is a profitable one.
Why Personality Assessments
What is the value of personality assessments? A minimal and comparatively low-end investment can unleash employees latent qualities or abilities which can be developed into ongoing greater success for the organization as a whole. Employees feel engaged in personality assessments. Why? Because it is an element that triggers the feeling of one’s own importance in the company. Testing allows employees to temporarily shift from the worker bee dynamic that is so prevalent within the workplace to the queen/king bee mentality . What type of assessment is best? It is all subjective. Professionally I recommend DiSC as it is not as open-ended and can better hold focus allowing for a better bird’s-eye view when trying to determine the overall quantitative and qualitative outcomes.