It’s a lot easier to get approval/acceptance for change when you frame it as a “pilot”. When people think that something is just being tried out or is temporary, they are more willing to agree to test it. Most of us have piloted something, even if we didn’t formally label it that way. We’ve said things like: “Let’s give this a go.” or “We’ll see how it works out.” Piloting is how we experiment or test something. The problem is that mostly we pilot things that we are going to add or start. Try piloting stopping instead. Get off a committee and see if it matters — can you get what you need just from reading the minutes? (If not, you can always go back on the committee!) Stop running X report and see if someone misses it. Pilot a plan to eliminate a form or a process. Does everyone really use all the data you collect and enter?) Test out a bi-weekly meeting/reporting structure instead of weekly and see if productivity suffers. Keep only electronic copies and pilot a “green approach” to no copying/filing of routine work. Challenge yourself and each staff member to pilot at least one ending strategy. Find something that can be eliminated for “awhile” — and give stopping a try!
Originally published in modified form on July 11, 2012
I can’t tell you the number of days I set out to write a dot without knowing what I was going to write about. Once I open up the template and consider my day, a topic often occurs to me. I could ruminate for hours and come up with nothing — the productivity occurs when I actually begin.
In a similar vein, I have a colleague who is interested in writing a book (aren’t we all!) and for months, he has been pondering what to write about. My assignment to him was to list out 25 possible things that he could write about and see what the list inspires. Does one of the topics really resonate? Could two of the topics be combined? What is on the list doesn’t matter — it’s that the list causes him to begin — to put words on paper (screen) instead of having nebulous thoughts rolling around in his mind.
I believe the principle applies to most projects — the hardest part is starting them. We can use writer’s block project manager’s block, painter’s block, what-to-make-for-dinner block, or any excuse you want to come up with — but really, the quest for the perfect idea is just procrastination in disguise. Instead of thinking about something hoping inspiration strikes, begin working on any aspect of it and see if you don’t discover that your idea was there all along.
Like much of the country, we were graced with a bundle of snow yesterday. This brings up the age-old question of when to shovel.
My mother was a big proponent of shoveling frequently — her theory being that doing it more often made it less arduous and you were able to “keep on top of it.” Others prefer to do nothing until the precipitation has stopped, and then they go out to tackle the large accumulation. Those of you who are regular dot readers know that I am a proponent of “finishing,” but in the case of snow, I guess I’m my mother’s daughter because I like to get those initial layers off before it becomes too deep.
I think the same philosophy applies to big projects — you could wait until conditions were right but it seems more prudent to begin and have the foundation accomplished rather than waiting. While it may not look like you did anything, in fact, you did, and your efforts will make it easier for the next steps in the process. Don’t wait for inputs to stop before you start your work.
Last week, a local news story unexpectedly went viral, so the requests for interviews came in. The best person to speak on the topic was someone who is normally not a spokesperson. While she had the most knowledge of the details, she had little experience in being questioned on the radio; thus, she was understandably nervous.
As she was being prepped for a media interview, her boss stopped in with words of encouragement. “You’re building your threshold,” he said. “The next time you have to do this, your threshold will be higher.”
What great words of advice. People often avoid doing challenging things because they are not experts at them, but it is precisely through doing the difficult work that our threshold increases, and our proficiency in doing the hard task is improved. The skills she learns in doing the media interview will translate into making it easier to have difficult conversations in other venues. The confidence she gains by succeeding at something she did not think she could do well will carry over and buoy her in different settings.
Instead of listening to that inner voice that urges us to avoid the difficult tasks, embrace them as a threshold-building workout. Your strength will amaze you.
Originally published in modified form on August 26, 2014
At 9:00 a.m. yesterday I started on a project that I have been putting off. I told myself that I would work on it for one hour and then move on to something else. I finished at 9:30 — p.m. Once I got started, I was on a roll and I completed the project and then some, not even realizing the time.
I have quoted Susan Power before who said: “The motivation is in the doing.” She is so right. The more you dread something, the sooner you should start. Play mind games with yourself and commit to doing just a short interval. Chances are that you will keep going.
Starting is the hardest part. That first step on a walk. The first sentence in a blog. The first holiday card that you address. The first drawer you clean. The first line on your spreadsheet. Take solace in the fact that it gets easier once you actually begin.
I’m volunteering for a community action group and the core committee needed to decide who was going to work in each area. A few hands went up right away to help with the communications and grassroots efforts. It was also easy for those who work in financial areas to volunteer for the money aspects of the project — fundraising, treasurer, etc. And when it came to being chair no one raised their hands — except me. Not by default, but rather because that is my sweet spot and likely why I was asked to be on the committee.
I think the ability to develop comprehensive agendas, run efficient meetings, keep conversations on task, and organize the myriad details that go with a project such as this is a skill set that is undervalued. Anyone can sit at the head of the table, but not everyone is effective there. I happen to love it and was happy that they took a chance on one person’s recommendation and gave me the reins.
We were fortunate that the initial organizers invited people to serve who had a variety of skills and would naturally gravitate to work that was meaningful to them. If you are in a position to assemble a group, you would be wise to do the same. And if your wheelhouse revolves around leading and organizing, embrace that talent. It is far less stressful to run a meeting than to suffer through a bad one.
When I worked on a campus, I found it enlightening to take a class — it gave me a firsthand view of what it was like to register, get books, interpret the schedule, find the classroom, figure out the bill, etc. It led to many service improvements as I had to experience things that just didn’t make sense.
That same perspective is true for those who teach. My sister was just on a trip abroad and shared how her experiences in countries with different languages, currencies, customs, etc. will be helpful in her work as a corporate trainer. It reminded her what it’s like to experience something brand new and to be lost on how to navigate even the basic functions.
My new volunteer stint as an English tutor has also made me more cognizant of language and all the quirks that come with English. Obviously, they have always been there, but having to explain to someone why we say it’s June 6th (sixth) when the calendar only has a 6 (and not a 6th) definitely has me seeing things in a new light.
One of my favorite icebreakers is “What’s the last (most recent) thing you’ve done for the first time?” If you have to think hard about your answer, maybe it’s time to venture out a bit more.
While in Boston, I visited Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. As part of this visit, I learned that Robert Kraft bought the land adjacent to the former stadium where the Patriots played before he owned the team. A few years later, he acquired the stadium during the previous owner’s bankruptcy but still did not own the franchise.
This evolution proved to be fruitful later when the Patriot’s then-owner wanted to move the team out of New England. Kraft refused to let them out of the stadium lease that he controlled, so the team was put up for sale — allowing Kraft to complete the purchase and realize his goal of becoming an NFL owner.
Acquiring land next to an aging stadium doesn’t seem like the most obvious path to buying a franchise, but it is a shrewd one. First land, then stadium, team, coach, and finally, quarterback — and the rest as they say is history.
The next time you have a daunting goal that seems far in the future, think about Robert Kraft and consider whether there is an adjacent step you can take to get started. Small bits of progress, even if not in a direct path, can still help you achieve a touchdown.
My colleague and I hit “send” to submit our 29-page report on the external assessment we conducted just nine days prior. How we were able to write it so quickly stems in part from how we structured our work. I use this process every time I need to organize a project or write anything of length:
1. Write out each of your thoughts — ONE per index card or piece of scrap paper. In the case of our assessment, throughout our visit we wrote out on sheets of notebook paper all of the points we wanted to make (in no order whatsoever), then literally cut them up into little strips of paper — ONE thought per strip. You can write notes over a period of time — they don’t have to come to you all at once.
2. Clear a table (or in our case, the hotel bed) and lay them out in piles according to topics. Make a heading for the pile once a few cards gather in one spot. (So our headings were things like Structure, Opportunities, Challenges, etc.)
3. Then put your piles in order as you think they will flow linearly in your report, session, article, etc.
4. Type up your pile of all the comments in that order. Wa-la! You have an outline, with not only the main headings but all the points you want to make underneath.
5. Start writing from this. If something doesn’t flow, you can always move it, but overall you have a structure that will a) get you started and b) provide sub-sections for you to complete and get that dopamine hit to keep you going.
We left the hotel with our outline in hand. Because I didn’t have to stare at a blank piece of paper or blank computer screen, I started writing even on the plane ride home — just taking the points from my “strips” and turning them into sentences and stringing them together.
I have used this process hundreds of times — it’s how I organize retreats, workshops, articles, projects — and now even the class I will be teaching. As soon as I know I have a big project, I start collecting notes into a pile as ideas come to me in the days, weeks, or months leading up to the moment I really dig in and start working on something. It makes all the difference to start with “something” rather than starting from “nothing”, and I can begin without thinking about it.
Our brains don’t work in a linear fashion. Even with the miraculous cut-and-paste feature on computers, it is still hard to be random when starting on a document in Word. Avoid all that frustration and try the “pile” method above. I guarantee it to be foolproof!
Originally published in modified form on August 14, 2014
I recently wrote an article about our region’s Community Foundation and the work it has been doing for the past twenty years. During its two-decade history, the Foundation has served as a “catalyst and convener” to tackle some of the area’s toughest challenges: access to health care, brain health, literacy, small-town vitality, energy, access to college or training, resources for immigrants, and equity, just to name the more recent subjects.
My takeaway from the conversation was that you don’t have to have the answers in the beginning. The Foundation utilizes community conversations, convenes diverse leadership panels, leverages challenge grants, brings together a wide range of partners, conducts assessments and audits, showcases data, and starts the process of determining solutions to vexing issues.
It’s frequently the case that people agree that X is a problem, but don’t agree on a plan to resolve it. Too often the process gets stuck there and nothing gets over this hump to at least enact something toward a full solution. The Community Foundation serves in the role of the instigator — to use Collective Impact and strategic learning models, system approaches, and good old-fashioned listening to help people articulate the issues and commit to a starting point.
We spend so much time arguing about the problem and what doesn’t work. It would be far more productive for all if you served in a “community foundation” role for however you define your community and get the ball rolling on solutions.
