How learning to ride a motorcycle applies to your professional life... (the simple rule of cycling, business and life spelled out.
"Look where you want the motorcycle to go, don't look at the obstacles and look about 4 foot high, not at the ground."
So what does this mean to a man on a motorcycle? Don't look at the car opening his door, you are going to hit it. Don't look at your front tire, look off in the distance four feet up. Keep your head up, you will be amazed at what you catch if you trust your peripheral vision.
That is all well & good, but how do you apply it to business? Which of these sounds familiar:
That is all well & good, but how do you apply it to business? Which of these sounds familiar:
- My email determines my todo list each morning.
- I figure out what I am going to do this week after our meeting.
- I have a stack of things on my desktop to take care of this week.
- I don't really plan my week, I fight fires.
You are a car pool passenger in a 1998 Ford Explorer! Technically you are getting somewhere but really, this is the least meaningful and least enjoyable way to spend the majority of your waking hours.
Wouldn't you rather feel the wind flow over your knuckles, feel the vibration of your career engine between your legs and know that the only way your course is going to change is your hands and body lean into the turn and change course?
Look where you are going is key; you can move around the everyday and delegate with more confidence if you know where you are headed. I recommend a four key behaviors.
1) WEEKLY - Reserve one of those nifty little conference rooms your company paid so much to have loaded with technology and $600 chairs. When you schedule the meeting call it something entertaining like 'mid-April documentation kick-off', especially if you have to reserve it with somebody else. (*for those that work from home / hotels, wipe erase markers work great on mirrors too)
What to do in there : scribble words, lines and links... then take pictures of it.
- Write any key projects / efforts you are (want to be) working on.
- Write 2 words for each responsibility you have.
- Any dream idea that comes to mind gets a space up there too.
Don't know how to mind map? Check out some great resources including IQMatrix for a primer, Mind Tools, which has an available computer tool to use or iMindMap, sit back and absorb it in the below video and then check out the group that is taking mind mapping to the next level, ink factory.
2) QUARTERLY ISSOLATION - Go into isolation. Hop on Priceline, bid on a room near you at 50% of what it retails for, pack yourself an overnight bag (including 2 notepads, pencils, pens, scotch tape and your toothbrush) and do some great work. Leave these items at home / in the trunk: phones, tablet and laptops. You want to be alone for a block of time where you are forced to think, write, think, summarize, rinse, repeat. The ideal here is to be writing out project plans, meaning of life statements, how you invision the perfect anything... That is where this blog started from, some of the neatest projects on my teams and some of the major changes in my life happened this way.
I actually keep my personal phone with me but only listen to the voice mails left and only respond to texts that say 'I'm starting to worry are you alive?', with a response of, 'Yes, at a industry conference.' Try different areas of the hotel for inspiration, the pool area, lobby, the bathtub in your room, if they have an unoccupied conference room, business center, banquet room... I recommend staying out of the bar. Start Mind Mapping however you want, about anything. I have a few of them going at once. And you did 'disconnect' yourself so leave the damn TV off. As you are writing, create a list of follow up items to research or act on once you are reconnected. Arrange your note pages on walls with the tape you brought for browsing. Break up your time in increments... (e.g. 60 minutes random brain storming, 15 minute organization, 30 minute focused storm, new location, 30 minutes focused storm on another topic, 60 minutes random storming, new location....)
3) VALUE WHITE BOARDS - I love these things, they work like my mind.... idea over hear, great idea there, now something great in blue, another thought in red, erase the just OK options, continue. The key is to not let these become semi-permanent. These are tools to get what is in your (individual or the groups) thoughts out for display. They are to be organized elsewhere so rogue cleaning crew or other great minds don't erase what you have on the board without you having it somewhere. I take pictures using my camera phone and block out 30 minutes after a meeting to put them in electronic format.
4) GO UNDERCOVER BOSS ON THEM - I managed a 3 shift operation and would occasionally work 2nd or 3rd shift to see what they were doing during these shifts, also, what happened during 1st shift they felt they needed to call me about. I learned what I had not prepared my team to do and what training / methods were not being communicated from shift to shift. I have found some dead weight this way, I have also discovered a rock star or two but mostly what I have learned is every team can improve.
"You can teach smart people to do just about anything." I read that quote recently and fully believe it. With all the information work we do, we need to reorganize the shelves in our mind, find the gem we need to put into action and make sure we are feeding our soul with what we are doing. Look forward using these four tools to enhance your perspective and take control of your team, your focus and your happiness.
