Category: Everything else

Someone recently shared that people stuck in poverty have a lower IQ score on average than those better off. However, this IQ score goes up almost as soon as they know they’re out of their current financial condition. Researchers have posited that this is because a large portion of their mental resources are taken up by questions around requirements at the low end of Maslow’s pyramid. Constantly wondering whether there will be a next meal, whether the roof will hold up for the night or whether they’ll be able to survive their current illness doesn’t leave much mental space for much else.

So, if you don’t need to worry about any survival necessities, you ought to know that you’ve just been gifted a whole bunch of IQ points. These IQ points enable us to think long term, build for the future and work towards causes bigger than ourselves.

Or, we can just choose to focus on the latest minor setback, the sarcastic comment on Facebook or our envy at an acquaintance’s relative short-term success.

We can also choose to give thanks for the 30 odd IQ points we gained out of sheer good fortune of being born in the right place or focus on all those things we don’t have.

Completely our choice.

I have a tried and tested formula for every time I feel overwhelmed. The typical situation begins a long to-do list where everything seems both urgent and important on first glance. It becomes clear that this list of tasks isn’t likely to get done in the time period I have in mind. And bam! I’ve hit that wall. I realized this as I spent 30 minutes this morning attempting to muster enough inspiration for a blog post.

My instinct, when I feel stuck, is to motor through. Get the post out, build momentum, get to work. But, after 30 minutes of frustration, it was time to trigger the process to get unstuck.
The first step? Sleep.

Yup, right when I feel I have no time to get the things I want done, the step that works first is an hour or so of sleep. Somehow, when I wake up, I find it much easier to break through that wall. It ends up revolving around answers to 2 questions –

1. What REALLY matters?
2. What does a successful day/week/period of time look like? What are 3-5 things I’d like to have done?

These questions pointed to a bunch of decisions this morning. Some things needed to be postponed while others needed to be moved up the priority list as they were the chief source of stress. That clarity was all I needed. And, it came from stepping out of the “zone” at a time when it felt like doing so went against all natural instinct.

I guess many of the best decisions we make tend to be counter-intuitive. That’s what makes life tough and interesting…

Every employee of the Ritz Carlton has $2,000 to resolve a guest issue without asking for permission. That is unusual. Almost every hotel on the planet likely has a value around customer service. How many actually walk the talk?

That said, the Ritz Carlton model would not be sustainable if it didn’t have the systems to back up this unusual policy. If the Ritz Carlton’s systems were a mess, they could easily find themselves spending tens of thousands of dollars every day resolving guest issues.

It is this combination of unusual and sustainable that makes the Ritz Carlton special.

This idea has numerous applications. Let’s think of personal competitive advantage. If every peer in our company works 60 hours per week, it would be unusual to work 100 hours. But, is it sustainable? How many burned weekends before you realize your productivity has completely dropped? The more important question that it raises is – what are you doing wrong? If everyone else can get their work done in time, why do you need to work so much more?

Too often, companies and marketers go for unusual. Giving every viewer on Oprah a car definitely falls under that category. But, if it isn’t sustainable, it is unlikely to be a source of much advantage. Gimmicks like that rely on luck.

Consistent success requires process.

We buy basic groceries at two local supermarkets near our place – CVS and Jewel Osco. You’d think supermarkets would have nailed the basic grocery experience. But, it turns out that the egg buying experience is very different in these places.  Let’s begin by taking a look at the egg cartons.

CVS goes for a cheap looking soft plastic carton while Jewel Osco packages its eggs in a tougher cardboard carton. My guess is that someone in CVS’ packaging teams decided to save a few hundred thousand dollars in egg packaging by going cheap. Was that the real cost, though? Let’s look at the egg shopping experience at CVS –

1. Find where the eggs are and pick a box.
2. Carefully open the box and check every egg to see if one is broken.
3. Every 1 out of 3 times, find a broken egg and repeat process with another new box.
4. Take the egg to the cash register. Invariably, the lady at the register will take another look at the eggs as it is a known problem.
5. Check out and walk out.
6. If, somehow, you forgot to check if your eggs are broken, well, be prepared to find yourself working hard to clean a smelly refrigerator.

The experience at Jewel Osco is simply ‘pick up a carton and leave’. Scarred by my experiences with CVS, I often open up the carton to make sure nothing is broken. But, that’s a waste of time. The cartons just work.

The only reason I shop at CVS right now is because it is a 1 minute walk from home vs. 15 minutes at Jewel Osco. Should there come a day when a Jewel Osco store is closer by, I’ll definitely be shopping there. In some ways, that’s the real cost of the trade-off decision CVS made.

It is worth thinking about the corners we cut in our lives too. We are always quick to see the gains and identify some costs on the surface. For example, I’m sure the CVS team thought of the inconvenience caused to customers. However, I’m not sure they really understand how they’re making what should be an easy, frictionless experience into an annoying one. Simple choices can have big consequences for your users.

Beware cutting corners on your products. When you do, make sure you really understand the trade-offs.

Seth Godin, as is his wont, had a thought-provoking post on choosing those who choose you a few days back. He wrote –

“Pity the foolish 8-year-old boy who gives a kid just a year older the power to make his day. In that moment, being picked for the kickball team is the most important thing in the world, and his dreams are in the hands of a kid with a demonstrated history of poor judgment. If you were walking by the playground and he yelled, “Hey Mister! Wanna be on our team?” it would (I hope) mean little to you. You’re no longer willing to be judged by a kid who can’t even ride a bike.”

I’ve had a few recent experiences that have only reinforced this idea. The amount of unhappiness created by idea of not getting picked is incredible. So, the best way to reduce its influence in your life is to just take initiative regularly and pick yourself. There are going to be many many areas where you will be engaged in the picking process anyway – finding that important first client, looking for your next job, recruiting high quality team members to join your team etc. These processes will have enough reasons for you to experience a few ups and downs anyway.

So, when you can avoid it, avoid it. Create your own basketball team, your own event, your own project team and just have fun running with it. It doesn’t mean it’ll work any better. It just means you’ll focus on the game and quit worrying about whether you’ll be picked.

Seth goes on to say – “The ultimate privilege is to pick ourselves.” My only addition would be that it isn’t just a privilege, it is a necessity.

A few of us met for brunch on Sunday to discuss an exciting new project. This was at a restaurant here in Evanston. We were soon ready to order. The conversation went like this –

Staff: “What would you like to have today?”
One of us: “I’d like the stuffed French pancakes”
Staff: “Ooooooooohhh. That is delicious. What about you?”
Next person: “I’d like the …..”
Staff: “Aaaaahhhhh. That is.. I mean, that is truly amazing. ..”

Every time we mentioned a dish, he’d give this genuine ‘ooh’ or ‘aah’ that made us all laugh. I had a few thoughts as we went through this exercise.

1. Ordering is normally an interruption when you have a new project to discuss. Somehow, he made it fun.
2. He really cared about the food they served. It just showed. There are few things that equal that feeling – it is so vital to a great dining experience.
3. All of his actions and behavior contributed to our happiness. Aren’t restaurants really in the happiness business?
4. And, finally, it made me feel grateful for all we had. It was snowing that day. And, here we were, seated in a warm and comfortable restaurant about to order a delicious meal and discuss an exciting new project that we had the privilege to work on. Life was good.

So many great lessons. All it took was a little bit of enthusiasm. A really nice meal.. but an even better life lesson.

1. Clarity – Why do we need to do this? How must it be done? What must be done next? Clarity of why, how, and what takes some time and thinking. But, once we know, there are few things that can stop us.

2. Momentum – It isn’t always easy to get the necessary amount of clarity before we get started. So, the other approach is to start by checking small items of a task list so we build the “getting-things-done” momentum. Like all hacks, this comes with an note of caution – the procrastination forces can use it against us. We can find ourselves spending absurd amounts of times doing unimportant stuff under the pretext of building momentum. Use it with care.

3. Willpower – If all else fails, willpower is the ultimate weapon. The more of it you have, the better your life becomes. The good news is that it works like a muscle – learn more at our learnographic here. Improve your willpower, improve your life.

Here’s to productivity!

Every great story has adversity of some sort. Every memorable hero has shortcomings – often in plenty. And, find me a business or political leader who doesn’t have visible insecurities.

We can always choose to look at everything we do not have to do work that matters. Or we can choose to focus entirely on what we have going for us. A little bit more confidence that our plan will work and a lot more resources are always welcome, of course. But, often, what we have is more than adequate.

No one has a perfect start. No one has a perfect set of circumstances to do their life’s work. Every great thing we do requires us to make a difference in spite of the many obstacles.

So, when you’re starting on that jigsaw puzzle that is your next project and find a missing piece, don’t fret. Celebrate. Nothing great was ever done without the “in spite of”..

 

We were in the midst of a difficult crisis project. A massive amount of work needed to get done in limited time. We faced a wide variety of reactions as we worked with our client to get the work done.

As is generally the case, a few folks rose to the occasion. And, one of them became my absolute inspiration for doing difficult work.

When faced with a list of things that needed to be done, this wise friend would generally ask – “Does it need to get done?” And, when the answer was yes, she’d just say – “Well, let’s just suck it up and get it done.” And she would just get on with it. No frills, no fuss.

Her response was often in complete contrast to situation. But, that’s exactly what we needed. There was no time to sit down and make sure we felt good about what needed to be done. Things just needed to get done.. and they needed to get done now.

Difficult work isn’t done because it feels great. In fact, you’re often doing it when the cause seems hopeless.

Difficult work is done because people who realize it needs to get done just get on with it and do it.

If all looks bleak and negative today, it is probably a sign that you need some sleep.

On a Monday three weeks ago, I found myself feeling very negative. Every thing I was doing seemed headed down the drain. There came a moment when I was telling a friend I was disappointed with my performance on a test and that all was looking dark. He reminded me to follow the process. That was ironic because that’s what I generally do.

I realized then that there was something wrong. And, what was different about that day? 4 hours of sleep. A bit more thought led to this – optimism takes willpower -> sleep drains willpower => low sleep leads to low optimism.

This felt so obvious and, yet, I’d never made the connection. I needed a bit more evidence though and I got it over the past two days. I was running on low sleep over the past two days and, voila, I was as pessimistic as I had been for a long time. That’s not to say that pessimism is bad. A healthy dose of pessimism is useful. But, I find that we’re all wired with healthy amounts by default. It takes effort to look beyond the pessimism and focus on getting things done.

And, as I’ve recently discovered, sleep is critical to maintaining sufficient amounts of optimism.

One final musing – I also find optimism to be the key to making long-term decisions. Pessimism definitely doesn’t seem to inspire long-term thinking. I wonder if that is one of the contributors of the absence of long-term thinking among sleep deprived politicians and executives..