Changing Habits
October 27th, 2009
In speaking with many people who have participated in a Mission Control program an issue that seems to be common is the difficulty in changing habits.
Following last month’s newsletter about multitasking, I have taken on changing a few habits. And, as pointed to in an article from Fast Company magazine that is often referenced in Mission Control programs, it’s not easy! Continue reading »
Loving the stuff that doesn’t matter
September 29th, 2009
A recent study by researchers at Stanford University found that people who frequently switch between several streams of media (e.g. email, internet, text messaging, instant messenger, social networking, etc.) do not perform as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time. Continue reading »
Driven to Distraction
August 25th, 2009
According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, people talking on a cell phone while driving, even with a hands free device, are four times as likely to crash as other drivers and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.
While the consequences while driving are significant, regardless of the venue distractions have the impact of degrading our ability to focus. The consequences in our everyday lives can include decreased effectiveness in what we are doing, things taking more time that we planned, not accomplishing what is most important as well as the impact on us of frustration, anxiety and stress.
So, what can we do about that? There are three main areas we will address – awareness, infrastructure and completion.
In dealing with distraction and its impacts, the first and most important is becoming aware of when we are distracted. I suggest that we are distracted a good deal of the time and often don’t notice that we are distracted – we are just doing whatever is in front of us. When we become aware, we have a choice about doing something different, such as setting the distraction aside and going back to focus on what we were doing in the first place.
An exercise you can do is track and make note of your distractions for a few days. Many people who do this tracking are shocked at how many distractions they deal with in a given day. If you do the exercise, in addition to noticing that you are distracted, I recommend noticing what triggers the distraction. You may begin to see patterns to the distractions and their triggers.
A key trigger to a significant amount of distraction is our infrastructure. This came home to me when I noticed a recurring distraction of mine. The home page of my web browser was set to yahoo.com. When there was something I wanted to research, I would open my web browser and when I saw yahoo.com, I would go and check my personal email! At one point I noticed this distraction and changed the home page to missioncontrol.com. Since then, when it comes time to look something up on the internet, I just go and do the research – a small change in infrastructure significantly decreased the distractions and increased focus. When you track your distractions, notice how many are related to your infrastructure. Consider simple adjustments you could make that would support you in reducing distractions and increasing focus.
When you do become aware that you are distracted, what then? The answer is to take the item that distracted you and move it into a state of completion. One simple and quick thing you can do is to make note of the distracting item in your Capture Tool – the one place where you capture the things you have to do and handle and any relevant information. This simple act can allow you to let go of the distraction and return your focus to the task at hand.
As the number of things in our environment calling for our attention increases, the ability to effectively deal with distractions and increase our focus is key to elevating our performance as well as our peace of mind. I invite you to take this on for the next month – notice when you are distracted, see what you can alter in your infrastructure, and what it will take to move the distraction into a state of completion.
Let us know of the benefits of your increased focus!
Regards,
Doug Fisher
Elevating Organizational Performance
July 28th, 2009
Recent articles in the press have highlighted the challenges facing organizations during this period. In an interview in the New York Times, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, when asked, “You want the culture of your company to be more _____ ?” He replied, “Efficient.”
In a press release “Managing ‘Survivor Syndrome’” The Conference Board highlighted the additional common challenge of dealing with the decrease in motivation, engagement and productivity of employees that remain at the company as a result of downsizing and workforce reductions.
The question is, how do we deal with the two seemingly competing dynamics – the drive for greater efficiency and the de-motivation of the people who need to be more efficient?
It may be obvious that organizational performance relies on the performance of the individuals in the organization. What may not be so obvious is the answer to the question: How do we provide the individuals in the organization the wherewithal to elevate their own performance? And, how do we foster the communication, collaboration, and coordinated action required?
Something that has proven to make a difference is elevating individual’s ability to focus on what’s most important. Two elements play a significant role in increasing this focus.
The first element is reducing the distractions the individuals encounter. This can include, as mentioned in the Conference Board article, opening up communication. And, it can also include giving individuals new tools and perspectives that will allow them to attend to what is of greatest importance rather than be distracted by whatever comes by.
A second aspect is generating clarity regarding what is of fundamental importance and how that will be fulfilled in the current climate. This is one of the most important aspects of leadership – setting the frame or context inside of which people can relate to the current circumstances.
Limited Time
June 30th, 2009
Through using Mission Control principles and methods I have adopted the practice of scheduling time for accomplishing those things I am committed to accomplish, time for my routines, and time for interruptions and emergencies. Recently I took on an experiment of, in addition to scheduling such time, saying how many hours a day I would work. This experiment allowed me to uncover counterproductive habits I had not noticed before and elevate my focus and performance.
On the first morning of the experiment, I was about to get into one of the times I had scheduled and had the thought, “If I am only working eight hours today, why am I working on this?” The particular appointment was related to accomplishing something that, while useful, was not timely. What began to become evident was I had fallen into the illusion that I had unlimited time, that it was possible to get done all that I wanted to get done and that I didn’t need to be rigorous in my choices about what I did do and what I didn’t do. I noticed myself saying things like, “I’ll do it this evening (or on the weekend / on the plane / during lunch / in the morning / instead of exercising)”, “That won’t take much time”, “I’ll be able to fit this in”, or simply, “I’ll do it later.” These phrases, which I said to others and, more importantly, to myself, helped create and maintain this illusion of unlimited time and being able to get it all done.
As the day went on I kept track of when I was working and when I wasn’t. The periods of not working included some things I considered “necessary”, such as lunch and restroom breaks, and some things I considered “discretionary”, such as calls regarding a non-profit with which I volunteer, looking things up on the internet, etc.
Working inside of a limited amount of time I found myself less willing to accept the “discretionary” interruptions to work. I also began to consider what time I would need to schedule for myself to fulfill areas of personal interest, as well as to give myself sufficient breaks from work so that I remain fresh and most efficient.
An additional habit I noticed was one of saying “yes” to what others asked of me – whether it was relevant to fulfilling what I was paid to fulfill or not. This habit showed up when I was beginning an appointment that fulfilled my personal Concern for contributing, but did not fulfill any Concern I was being paid to fulfill.
Over the next few days I began to bring more rigor to my schedule. I said “no” to some things asked of me, I put off “discretionary” non-work activities, I chose to not do some activities that were not timely. I also spent more time working on creating my calendar than I had in the previous week. The result was that I was more focused, more peaceful, and more effective at accomplishing what really mattered. What struck me most was how taking on a simple exploration allowed me to become aware of habits I was blind to and to have a new access to elevating my performance.
If you are anything like me, you can see there is room to grow in the area of your own performance and effectiveness. My experience has been that ongoing inquiry is the access to accomplishing new levels of performance. With that as background, I invite you to take on exploring some aspect of your own performance and effectiveness. You may see things similar to what I mentioned, and you may see something completely different. What I promise is that you will see something that will make a difference for you in your productivity.
We look forward to hearing from you what emerges!
Regards,
Doug Fisher
Where’s the Compass?–Responding to Changes in the Environment
May 26th, 2009
Most of us have been impacted by the current recession, or we are close to someone who has been impacted. There are numerous stories in the news about job losses, impact on retirement savings, as well as people’s health and peace of mind.
With the changing and challenging circumstances, one of the largest impacts is a lack of certainty of how to move forward as the circumstances change. For many of us, our response is one of reaction – protect what we have, minimize risk, and wait for something to change.
There is nothing wrong with any of the above responses. A question to consider, though, is, “Why is that response important?” From the Mission Control program you participated in you may recall the notion of Concerns – those areas of interest or importance that are fundamental to who we are; those areas of interest or importance that we are oriented around fulfilling.
In your own exploration into the notion of Concerns, you may have found that the areas of fundamental importance to us, the fundamental Concerns we are oriented around fulfilling, are enduring and don’t change with the circumstances. And, what we do to fulfill those Concerns will almost certainly change in the face of changing circumstances.
A way of giving ourselves power and direction in the face of changing circumstances is locating ourselves in the Concerns we are oriented around fulfilling. Doing this provides new openings for action, as well as a self-determined orientation in the face of the circumstances.
As an example of this, I was speaking with a friend last week who was challenged by producing sales in the current economic climate. She wanted to embark on an expanded marketing campaign, but was resigned in her disposition – it looked like nothing would produce the results she desired.
In our conversation she began to inquire into the Concerns that would be fulfilled by an expanded marketing campaign – asking the question, “Why is that important to you?” After several iterations of answering this question, what she came to as fundamentally important is having her company known for having work be fulfilling and for making a difference, and known in a way that is sufficient to expand and grow the business.
Looking from fulfilling this Concern, she was left considering new pathways and actions she hadn’t previously considered. In addition, she was left with an experience of power and of a bright future, definitely distinct from when she began her inquiry.
If you find yourself in any way disempowered in the face of the current circumstances, we recommend you drill down to the Concern you are oriented around fulfilling. You can do this by iteratively asking yourself, “Why is that important to me?”
We invite you to let us know what impact, if any, this has for you!
