The "White space"* that so infrequently gets used...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Whitespace seems to be one of those terms that is blessed with a wide array of definitions - Who knew?

• White space is the empty space in a design. White space is used to separate disparate design elements and group similar ones. White space is the lack of graphics or text in the layout.
• White space, in a communications context, refers to under utilized portions of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.
• White space, in computer science, is any character or series of characters that represent horizontal or vertical space in typography.
• White space is a process management concept described by Geary A. Rummler and Alan P. Brache in 1991 as the area between the boxes in an organizational chart—where, very often, no one is in charge.
• White space is an esoteric programming language developed by Edwin Brady and Chris Morris at the University of Durham (also developers of the Kaya and Idris programming languages).
• The White Space (Italian: Lo spazio bianco) is a 2009 Italian drama film directed by Francesca Comencini.

And finally the definition that came to mind first (although it seems to be used so infrequency, let alone recognized as an important practice):

• White space is time to provide the opportunity to think.

Or... ponder, reflect, deliberate, consider, meditate, contemplate, muse, ruminate, be lost in thought, be in a brown study, rack one's brains or put on one's thinking cap. 

Something, that in a culture where it can be said "busy is glorified" we just don't seem to do enough of. Mostly I wonder if it is because "thinking" just doesn't seem "busy enough"... it is rare thing indeed to hear someone say they spent their Friday night "thinking".

My humble aim here is to offer a thought or two regarding why it's worth considering "White space for thinking time" as an important practice, and not necessarily how to free up your time to find it - My experience is if you think something is important enough, you will find the time. I should also point out that at no level do I want to go down the bunny hole of "thinking as a philosophy", "frameworks of thinking" or anything of that ilk, but rather the recognition of how important it is to set aside time for thinking.

Thinking: the process of using one's mind to consider or reason about something.

As an important consideration, it should be pointed out that thinking, real thinking, is a solitary activity. So in the context of "White space", it specifically refers to time alone to think... you, by yourself, left to ponder whatever needs pondering. Thinking feeds everything you will be involved with - 

• Planning
• Brainstorming
• Conversation
• Presentation
• Action
• Interpretation
• Implementation

It goes without saying (and I am certain there is data to back this up), the more you have thought about something, the higher the quality or probability for success in whatever you are involved with.

It is probably also worth pointing out that planning sessions, braining storming sessions and meetings are not for thinking, but rather to bring thoughts together to drive tangible action forward; the more cynical may suggest that's more of a "stretch goal" at the best of times. These meetings do not become a default for real thinking - White space for thinking time is needed drive better planning and execution and needs to find its way onto your calendar for "you, yourself and I".

Whether you agree with me or not, it is worth thinking about it. Have you freed up some White space?

iamgpe

* As always thank you Google and Wikipedia.

"Will someone please make a decision" (add exclamation marks as needed)

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

When I say "Will someone please make a decision", I am by no means suggesting that you should defer your destiny to someone else, diminish the need to take "the bull by the horns", not take ownership for your life, or any other pithy saying that reminds us it's our life - Our responsibility to grab on tightly and enjoy with gusto!

It's more directed to that somewhat important saying that reminds us that, "To know how to be a good leader, you need to know how to be a good follower". 

As someone who has been on both sides of this fence, I want to take a moment and offer a thought or two from the perspective of the follower... you know, the one asked to make it happen or follow the grand plan; the one who is looking to their leader to set a direction that can be executed on. And this brings us back to that simple request, "Will someone please make a decision"; admittedly sometimes also taking the form of a frazzled request, a statement, an urgent statement, a strongly worded statement or a wild eyed demand.

Where does this request come from? The simple answer is, "Nothing can get done without a decision being made"

For a follower (a doer, an executor, the fix it guy), this makes "needing a decision" very high on the list for getting things done; arguably its number one. There is an understanding that a process is required for decision making, that not all decisions are easy ones, and some decisions require time to make. However, this is not the reason you hear the words "will someone please make a decision" uttered. (With the appropriate number of exclamation marks added.)

In my experience, the reason for uttering these famous words is more often than not a result of (or combination of) the following:

• There is no defined owner for the decision.
• The decision making process has become more important than the actual decision.
• The request for more information is never ending.
• "Decision making" is viewed in absolute terms of right or wrong and not one of "degrees".
• The culture does not encourage risk, empowerment or ownership.
• There just seems to be too many people involved.
• Lack of communication and transparency regarding what is happening.
• There is a belief of "being safe", as you can't be wrong if you do not make a decision.

All these points made from the perspective of a "follower".

And this weaves us back to the saying, "To know how to be a good leader, you need to know how to be a good follower".  As a leader, appreciating the perspective of the follower, you can work to remove those barriers that are impacting your team's ability to get things done.

So with that said, every so often take a trip down memory lane and remember those times you found yourself uttering the words "will someone please make a decision" with flair... then ask yourself, "Is there someone on my team who may be saying the same thing?" If so, remember you can make some changes regarding that... after all you are the leader.

And if you are a follower... soon enough you may find yourself as the leader, so make sure you are taking good notes.

iamgpe

The conviction of quality... an aspect of character.

Recently, I was reminded of the conviction of quality as I worked on a somewhat involved presentation that brought audio, video and graphics together... it was not a difficult exercise but it was laborious and at times a little "mind numbing."  

The presentation was spot on and was looking good until it was pointed out that one of the graphics had an indentation error; an error I might add that had escaped notice in earlier iterations. An error not easily fixed, that would involve three hours of deconstruction, and offer up mind numbing re-editing - An error that no one would notice, and even if they did, at no level did it impacted the message.

And so entered my veiled rationalizations. 

Qual·i·ty  (ˈkwä-lə-tē) is one of those words that offers two meanings where one is reflective and entwined with the other: a characteristic or feature that someone or something has and a high level of value or excellence - Inevitably leading you to ask the question, "Is my character one of excellence?" 

As I worked through my small presentation issue, a number of aspects with quality came to the forefront for me - 

• Excellence is something you are forever striving for and there is an understanding that you will become better with time, experience, and continued input.
• Mistakes will be made, and we inherently know that something can always be done better; if however you can look yourself in the mirror with the knowledge you did your best, then improvement is for another day.
•  If you find a mistake you need to fix it as quickly as you can; a knowable mistake is not reflective of quality.
• Mistakes lead to improvement, so learn from them, don't make them again, and move on.

In the end, I grumbled a little bit and then spent three hours of deconstruction and mind numbing re-editing to fix the indentation error. For me, it reinforced my conviction of quality, and as you may suspect, it made for an even better presentation. 

In the end, the small indentation error did matter, and I am better for it.

iamgpe