a Series of 10 —the things we stop noticing

By my count I am 3 blogs away from having written 500 blogs on my two websites. I thought it might be an interesting idea to write these remaining blogs based on the common threads that have woven themselves through the last 497 I have written — and with that said, “a Series of 10” will continue with a blog on blind spots.

It wasn’t so long ago that I figuratively operated in three boxes of various sizes — my home, the little box I used to drive to the final box that I called my place of work. The boxes would change in configuration but overall this was the bubble I operated in. Don’t get me wrong, I would leave my bubble and do other things but would always return. It was how I framed the world. I liked the ways I looked at the world and I was rewarded well for it.

Like all things this eventually changed and I with it so did I. One of the things I adopted was to walk — I walked everywhere and I did it every day all year round. I think it was late March when I remember saying to myself, “So this is what Spring looks like”. Before Spring was always days on a calendar, but now it is the change in temperature, the melting of the snow, the first plants making their way and the sound of the world waking up. In my previous boxes I never experienced any of this, and frankly didn’t really care; I knew what Spring was if anyone had bothered to ask me — but why would they? We all knew what spring was, and it had very little to do with melting snow and plants coming to life.

Spring had been the end of Q1 and Q2, and was my least favourite season. Now it is my second favourite season and I even look at the quarterly rhythm much differently. Are you sensing the metaphor yet?

We build our models for success based on what we think we know, create our bubbles with like-minded people, develop the appropriate objectives to serve the bubble, and we form our habits based on it — if we are successful we even risk becoming arrogant. We narrow our perspective, develop a lens to look at the world and create blind spots. Why be curious when you already know everything you need to know and success has proven you’re “right”.

This is wonderful until change happens which always happens.

If you didn’t notice (or were too arrogant to notice) because your bubble always works you have a problem. Most change is subtle like spring and you may find yourself never satisfied with what’s started happening and struggling to fix it. Sometimes though, the change is so dramatic the bubble bursts, your model collapses and everything needs to be reevaluated and “rebuilt”.

Our bubbles are small and the world is vast and ever changing. It is always asking, “Why do I have to speak up? Maybe you have to listen harder”.

It’s important to metaphorically listen for changes regularly, don’t assume your bubble is safe, stay curious and remember there are many more perspectives than yours. As a final thought, if your bubble does happen to burst, you can always build another that’s even bigger and better — it may be the best thing that’s ever happened.

I love me a good metaphor.

iamgpe

2 more

Sacrificing Sacred Cows

One of the simplest examples of a Sacred Cow can be found when you write blogs because there’s a small number of words in play. Occasionally, you write a sentence that you like very, very much but as you continue to build your thoughts and as the page expands, you start to realize that the sentence just isn’t appropriate anymore. You refuse to edit it out and actively rationalize why it needs to stay. No matter how much it is not working you want to keep it — “It’s such a fantastic sentence and it just has to be used.”

This thinking regarding sentences can easily be transferred to operating mechanisms and processes, where you focus your efforts, roles and responsibilities, strategies and tactics — anything that has worked very well in the past but for many reasons doesn’t work anymore.

The pithy term Sacrificing Sacred Cows is used when something revered isn’t working anymore and has to be removed or changed — it’s a course correction needed to bring an idea to life or sustain continued success. Something works until it doesn’t, and the glitter of the Sacred Cow can blind the recognition that there is problem, and what has worked in the past, isn’t anymore. They can be hard to sacrifice, these Sacred Cows — disbelief they’ve become a problem or suboptimal, aspects of being human and our strategies*, the perception of sunken costs or one of the seven deadly sins; they all keep sacred cows alive and well.

It is easy to sacrifice a sentence in blog when it doesn’t work and much, much easier than shifting a company strategy or a blowing up a process tied to revenue. In the end though, if you don’t, the result will be the same — a poor product that over time becomes obsolete. Adapt or die is the harsh reality of business, life and even humble blogging and the result of sacred cows not dealt with appropriately. How they are dealt with can range from the subtle to the dramatic but first they need to be recognized.

And sometimes that is hard — we’re only human after all.

iamgpe

*The Nash Equilibrium — The Nash equilibrium is a decision-making theorem within game theory that states a player can achieve the desired outcome by not deviating from their initial strategy. Yes, he is the one in the movie ‘A Beautiful Mind”.

It's best to assume the rules will change — an excercise in witticism.

You know when you come across something that has you laughing, and laughing, and laughing some more — partly because it is funny but also because there is a deep understanding that sadly it is so very true. For me, there are two witticisms that always come to mind when I find myself involved with a merger, an acquisition, or any transition where the goal is aggressive growth... and I can't help but laugh every time.

The first witticism was presented to me some time ago after we had burned through a number of days on a project and were about to "hit the go button"; a colleague came into my office and told me that leadership decided to change the scope, and we had to start over.

He then looked at me, smiled, and said,

"The ball was in the air and they moved the goal posts" 

The other witticism came to me in the form of a link in an email — there was no subject line and there were no words; just a link. For twenty-three seconds I laughed, and laughed, and laughed because sadly it was so very true. I must have watched it three or four times before I then forwarded the link on to those I thought may find it "apropos". The link in question was Billy Connelly's Business plan, and it was the final line of the presentation that I hold dear —  

"And the demands will all be changed then, so fuckin' stay awake..."

This is not a commentary on business, or leadership, or any of the dozens and dozens of reasons change occurs — this is simply a comment that how those rules you operate by will change. And as I like to say, that change will be either "adaptable evolution" or "bloody revolution" but either way, the rules will change and you will have to deal with it (although you could just quit or role over with your belly exposed to the sky). It really is one of those "full stop" sorta things,

"Those rules you operate by will change. Full stop."

I suppose knowing that is not very helpful when change does come knocking (which, as I've suggested, most certainly will), but I will say after all those years of laughter and tears, I may be able to offer some insights for consideration —

• It is important to understand the rules will change, you can not stop it, and it really has been that way ever since rules were invented — change and adapt, change and adapt; it is in our DNA. It is important to accept and embrace this point.
• When the rules are changing get involved, understand what's behind it, and champion the change.
• When someone moves the goal posts you are allowed to get "fussy" about it and throw a "professional tantrum". Get it out of your system and move on.
• Confront any "anti-change" discussion and positively lead it in a constructive direction.
• Laughter really is the best medicine — so laugh out loud. Way better, and less destructive, than getting angry.
• The more things stay the same, the more dramatic the change will be when it comes — it's best to advocate for continual change.
• With change comes opportunity — search it out, and go for it.
• It's best to be respectful during times of change and do not assume you are untouchable.
• There is no such thing as "the golden age", so stop talking about it.
• Pay attention to what's happening, and be part of it.

Off to listen to the link again... it makes me laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

iamgpe