VitAL PROCES
VitAL PROCESSES
Breaking the paralysis of non-action Sometimes, however, it is doing the little things to help us get out of a performance rut, to break the paralysis of non-action. For some of us, our burning desire of wanting to be perfect and do everything ‘just right’ means we do nothing at all. Another executive I worked with was at a fast-paced company known for its innovation. This executive was a great fi t, she was creative, quick to grasp complexity and potential value, and quick come up with creative ideas to go after them. But she had so many ideas, engaged in so much over thinking, and so wanted it all to be perfect that she did nothing. Even the smallest tasks became obstacles because there could always be one more review of the problem, and the solution.
So together we started just ‘doing’ – tackling one simple task after another. The whole idea was just to get something done, unblock the work fl ow, get things moving, make decisions, and delegate promptly. We broke down her task list to those things that had to be done in the next hour, done that day, or done that week. The inertia quickly shifted from stagnation to action. Soon all those little obstacles were being handled quickly and effortlessly, or were being delegated to others who were fully capable of addressing them.
Stop ‘shoulding’ We all come across hundreds if not thousands of opportunities in our lives, each with its own task list, timeline, and risk/reward profi le – it can be overwhelming. This is especially true when we overlay our daily lives with a little guilt and self-reproach about what we should be doing – how we should be working – how we should be parenting – how we should be exercising etc. Frank Freed, the California- based psychologist has said that we would all be living much happier lives if we would just “stop ‘shoulding’ on ourselves.”
Four goals
So let’s pause and take a good, hard look at our newest self-renewal plans for the year ahead. Let’s think about what intentions we will truly honour, what we really are prepared to do - and not bog ourselves down with everything we convince ourselves we should be doing. Let’s throw out the long lists that require a
46 VitAL : March / April 2012
spreadsheet to categorize and track. How about making just four resolutions, set just four goals for the year, and focus our energies and efforts on tackling these four: • For your biggest projects, challenges or business goals, break them down into manageable bites – micro-goals – and then set out clear steps that you can achieve and record and track your progress as you march through the list.
• Control your calendar and control your life. Make sure that you see every time slot on your calendar as a valuable asset – don’t allow yourself (or your assistant) to fi ll your dance card. Schedule and protect that ‘free space’– think, refl ect, strategise and breathe!
• Resist the allure of your inbox – electronic or snail mail. And make sure that the top of your To Do list is filled with the most important items. Ask yourself the question: “Of the 50 things I am being asked to do today, which two or three will have most significant long-term impact on my business, my people and my career?”
• Have some fun! Set one somewhat ‘crazy’ goal for the year – a real stretch, but one that if accomplished would create a new, different and exciting future state; the kind of goal that if you can only can get halfway there, you will still feel good about the progress you have made and will be better for the effort. Richard Branson is a pretty wild and crazy guy, and he has accomplished a number of incredible things in his life both personally and professionally. What drives his success? In large part, it comes from his own personal credo: “My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.”
A funny thing often happens when we set big, soaring, tough goals for ourselves – the seemingly impossible begins to become doable.
If we can succeed at just these four goals, my guess is that we will feel we have actually accomplished something, actually made a difference that looks and feels real to us. And we will be ready when 2013 rolls around to face the challenges and opportunities of that next year with greater confi dence and enthusiasm. VitAL
Richard Branson is a pretty wild and crazy guy, and he has accomplished a number of incredible things in his life both personally and professionally. What drives his success? In large part, it comes from his own personal credo: “My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.”
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