A "Golden Rule" for effective execution.

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

Recent events have reminded me of something I had learned many years ago and has made me smile at myself for such a lapse in memory. It's regarding optimizing effective execution and I am now defining it as a "Golden Rule", never to be forgotten - "Wait for two green lights and seven business days before you actually start doing anything."

The story goes something like this. -

My professional history has had me working in heavily matrixed organizations that encouraged urgency, a pro-activeness, and involvement from many corners of the organization to ensure ideas were "pressure tested appropriately". Sometimes this created a dynamic environment for getting projects off the ground, but it did increase the likelihood of overall success.

One day I was talking about a previous project with a senior leader in HR and she asked me if I had started the "new project"; I went onto say I had the green light but then it was put on hold, and it had now happened twice... I then said, "I have learned to wait for two green lights and seven business days before I actually start doing anything." To that, a director who was listening in on the conversation started to laugh and laugh; the senior leader smiled and nodded. They wished me all the best, and the project started about three weeks later... give or take.

The decision making process, particularly if the risks are high, there are competing agendas, and voices, is not a simple "go or no go".... it is more like "go, wait, no go, wait, wait, wait, maybe we will change the scope, wait, go!!!" - My experience is the larger the organization, the more true this can be.

"Wait for two green lights and seven business days before you actually start doing anything" is admittedly a little tongue in cheek, but figuratively (and sometimes literally) it rings very true as a Golden Rule to increase the effectiveness of your execution. And here is why...

• You are reminded to actually ask the question, "Does this project have a green light and when is the start date?" If the answer isn't anything but "yes", then someone is still deciding.
• Starting something before the project has the final green light exposes you to doing unnecessary work and the frustration that can come with wasted time and effort. Granted there can be advantage of getting ahead of the curve, but be forewarned there will be stops, starts and changes you didn't anticipate... some may make any advanced work moot.
• The Golden Rule reminds us of patience, and as we all know, a clearer and calmer mind gets things done more effectively. 

The "two green lights" are not just to know if the project is a "go or no go", but allows you to better understand the calendar of the project and available resources; frame up your time and event schedule, and prepare for the detail... and this brings us to the "seven business days".

I have found that once a project is a go, there is always some "additional ideas and thoughts" to take advantage of what is going on. The "seven business days" allow you to work any of these last minute additions or corrections into the plan... as well as remind all the appropriate parties of the lock down date for the final execution plan. After the lock down, it's just execution, execution and more execution. 

As we know, once it's locked down, it's locked down... and only an "act of god"* can change it" - This is why this Golden Rule is never to be forgotten again... it minimizes the changes after plan lockdown that can impact execution.

gpe

*In our respective business settings, we all know who holds the "act of god" cards.

"You got a lifetime". Humbly... what I have learned so far.

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

"You got a lifetime. No more. No less".

Neil Gaiman* said this.

For me it carried profoundness in its simplicity, which I intuitively felt but could not quite articulate. It wasn't until the celebration of two birthdays, a first and a forty-first, that Neil's words finally became clear - Our lifetime; this grand adventure, is "finite". It wasn't an epiphany so much as it served as a wonderful reminder. Admittedly, I sometimes assume this adventure will all last forever, and take it for granted. 

As I smiled at myself for taking so long to catch on, I also reflected on what I have learned so far, and how this would serve me as I continued my adventures over the next forty years. I will tell you this comes from personal experiences, and humbly, this is what I have so far: 

• People will shape your life... today, tomorrow, and tomorrow's tomorrow. You may know them intimately or only from afar, but they will teach and inspire; you will talk with them, hear about them or read their history. All of them influencing... good, bad or indifferent. Sometimes you will get it right, and sometimes not so much, but in the end every person will impact you; choose who you associate with carefully and decide if you want them influencing your life. And remember this is a two way street.
• You can do much in a lifetime, but sadly you cannot do it all. When you look at your life the question to ask yourself on a regular basis is, "Am I satisfied?" If the honest answer is "no", you must ask yourself why and fix it. It's not just about asking the question itself, but rather asking it on a regular basis... and I mean daily. Leaving this question for years or even decades will not only make it more difficult to fix, but may profoundly impact those people around you.
• You will get scared, and that is very human. When you are scared you need to recognize it, understand it, and not let it stop you. It is never as bad as you think it is, and you will get through it. Being scared is never a reason to not do it, particularly when it comes to satisfaction.
•  Comfort level is deeply personal, and is not relative to anyone else but you... one person's comfort is another's risk. I have discovered some of the most wonderful aspects of life are found outside what you define as your comfort level. If it scares you a little, it's probably a candidate for the to-do list. Celebrate bravery at any level!
• Do not take it for granted! It may last a lifetime, or gone in the blink of an eye... appreciate it when you have it, and cherish the memory when it is gone. You will be richer for it!

I'm satisfied with my list so far... but again, I still have a lifetime. No more. No less.

gpe

* Neil Gaiman is married to Amanda Palmer, and if you have read any of my earlier blogs, you know I'm in love with her. No disrespect to Neil intended.

Birds and problem solving... a perspective.

Alejandro Jodorowsky said, "Birds born in cages think flying is an illness"; an imaginative reminder that our circumstances will influence how we view the world, how we think, and ultimately how we act. This is a truism if ever there was one - Based on our perspective, we will look at things differently than others. 

As a positive, this leads to different points of view, fresh thinking and a better understanding of situations; conversely though, a point of view between some people can be so different (and even though they are articulate and eloquent), they truly can't understand each other. She said "white" and he heard "black" is a tongue-in-cheek example, but does sum it up nicely.

If you have ever been through a profiling exercise, be it DISC, Myers-Briggs or any of the colour based profiling, you know that not only do you better understand yourself, but also develop an understanding of the differences in people; you appreciate why we look at the world differently and how to find common ground for effective communication and understanding - As the old adage goes, "If you want to understand someone, walk a mile in their shoes".

So what does this mean for creative problem solving? With consideration to the premise that the better you understand a situation, the better your solution will be; you want a wide range of perspectives to get a better result. But in this, lies a rub...

If perspectives are so different, it may be very difficult (if not impossible) to understand each other, which not only negates the value of looking at a situation differently, but leads to frustration, misunderstanding and conflict. The trick is to get various perspectives that are different enough to better understand the situation, while developing the skills and an environment to find a common ground to understand those different perspectives - The better you are this, the wider array of perspectives you can engage... and that's just good for problem solving.

• Encourage profile exercises for you and your team to better understand individual "make-up" and dynamics - In turn learn how you best work and communicate with each other.  
• Struggling to understand each other? Solicit others and their point of view... it will encourage clarity of understanding for everyone.
• Put yourself in the other person's shoes to better understand how and why they see what they see.
• Remember patience. Sometimes it takes time to understand someone else's point of view.
• In most cases, a different perspective is not wrong... just different.

When understanding a situation or problem, the goal is not to assess "right or wrong" regarding perspectives, but rather understand all perspectives and ensure you have developed the clearest picture... and from there, the best solution to your problem.

I hope my perspective makes sense.

gpe