I’m sure there are a lot of creative type web sites out there, but someone pointed me to this one. And to me, anybody that does a podcast with Seth Godin must be pretty cool.
If you scroll down to the bottom of their site, the whiteboard session is really good too.
It’s called the Accidental Creative.
This might seem like a simple topic, but it has tremendous potential depending on the system you are applying it to.
Focus means to put all your energy into doing one thing. When you do that, you become more productive and produce better quality work. Think about all the things you’re thinking about and working on. You probably pride yourself in being able to cover so many bases. And yes, we are pretty complex creatures with amazing brains and capabilities to do lots of stuff.
But the problem is that when we are trying to get a lot of things done at the same time, and we are switching back and forth between different projects, we lose our effectiveness on each task. Plus, we may have made progress on many things, but we haven’t finished any of them.
On the other hand, if we focus on one task, and work on it until it is done, then we’ve actually finished one task, and we can move on to the next one. With this method of linear, sequential completions, you are actually able to complete more projects in less amount of time than the multi-tasking method. Of course it depends on the complexity of the project or tasks, but as a general rule, this is true. And it especially holds true for corporations who have their knowledge workers running every which way trying to show progress on multiple projects for multiple bosses.
When an athlete is “in the zone” they are focused on one thing, and they perform it flawlessly. When they get distracted, they lose concentration and don’t perform well. The quality of our work will be much better also if we can focus our attention on the task at hand.
One of the reasons it is difficult to focus is because we have a hard time saying “no” to things that show up as needing to be done. Many times there is a false sense of urgency, so we want to alleviate that discomfort by at least starting to work on that thing. But in reality, if we are disciplined, and make wise judgements regarding the true priority of items, then we may be able to finish that item even quicker by having it wait its turn, but more importantly we will be accomplishing the things that are the highest priority or have the most value in our lives.
This doesn’t mean that our priorities can’t change in an instant. While I was writing this post, my son woke up crying because he wet his bed. I determined that taking care of his needs was more important than finishing this post, so I switched tasks, took care of him, and then switched back. When emergent issues arise, we need to be cognizant of the true priority and make wise decisions.
The point is that when we focus, by being more judicial in deciding what to work on, we can actually get more things done – the things that are most important to us – and accomplish them with a higher quality output.
It just takes practice.
“Focus power, Danielson!”
Are you a naysayer?
Are you “one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something?”
I suppose there are times to be skeptical or cynical, but when someone presents an idea that they are passionate about and that they’ve put a lot of work into, does it really help to be skeptical in front of the whole group? You may want more substantiating data. You may want a more logical argument for their point. Or you may want to see proof that their concept will work. But being skeptical just means that you don’t believe it, which means that you don’t have proof to substantiate your position either.
Naysayers usually don’t have any better ideas, they just want to tear down anything new or different. They are defenders of the status quo.
So the best way to minimize the effects of the naysayers is to call them on it. Ask them why they are against progress or innovation or new ideas? No one wants to be seen as a fuddy-duddy, unimaginative or old-fashioned.
Then, if they are not key decision makers, ignore them, go around them. Make your ideas happen in spite of skeptisism.
It can be lonely out on the cutting edge, but that’s why it’s cutting, no one wants to be out there. It is difficult to break the status quo.
So don’t be a naysayer. You’re holding up progress for everyone, and reducing the number of people who might have had the next big idea, if it weren’t for you.
I thought I’d try a new tactic and keep you in suspense for a day (of course, it only works for my one daily reader. There’s more? Please reveal yourself.)
Or it could be that I just ran out of time last night and didn’t want to finish the post.
Anyway, here’s the rest of the story.
The Meeting Canoe is about how to design a meeting, and it gets it’s name from the shape associated with the design concept, which looks like the top view of a canoe, when you’re looking down it – thin on one end, getting fatter in the middle, then getting thin again at the end.
1. Welcome
The first thing you want to do in a meeting is welcome people. Let them know that they are in a different space. One of the most important aspects in architecture is how one enters the building – the entryway. The same is true for a meeting, make it pleasant and welcoming. Let people know you are glad they are there and make it a place they want to stay.
2. Connect to each other and the task
Remind people what they have in common and why they are there. When people are connected to the group, they are more likely to participate and be engaged in the conversation.
3. Discover the way things are
Share information, have a discussion about the current state of whatever topic you are meeting about. Allow all perspectives to be presented.
4. Elicit people’s dreams
Get people into the future. What would the situation look like if everything happened the way they’d like it to? Get creative and invoke the arts, use skits, freewriting, stream of consciousness, headlines, or any method to get people thinking outside the norm.
5. Decide who does what
This is where you create action plans, give assignments, and have a clear understanding of the next steps.
6. Attend to the end
Review agreements. Understand the path forward. End with a feeling of excitement, motivation, and possibility. Appreciate everyone’s time and contribution.
Those are the 6 steps to the meeting canoe. The canoe shape is derived from the size and depth of the conversation. At the beginning, it is somewhat small talk with little emotion or feeling. As the meeting progresses, discussion gets deeper, more involved, more passionate and detailed. Then, in closing, we begin to converge on specifics, wrap up the loose ends, and feel complete or finished. It’s a gradual curve, thus the canoe shape – a great memorable image for designing any meeting.
One of my favorite consultants I had the opportunity of working very closely with is Dick Axelrod. He was basically the father of the Engagement movement with his books, Terms of Engagement and You Don’t Have to Do It Alone. He taught me a lot about consulting, putting on workshops, and working with groups. His books contain simple, yet powerful concepts, with his latest free e-book as a perfect example, a short read with timeless lessons. In fact, his whole Everyday Engagement effort was developed when working with our team, so I’ll take a little credit here (but no where else.)
One of my favorite concepts I learned from Dick was the meeting canoe. He really keyed in on meetings and said to me, “If you want to find out about the culture of a company, just attend one of their meetings.” How people interact with each other is truly surfaced in meetings, so his take was that if you wanted to change the culture of a company or organization, just start by changing their meetings. Meetings are what people seem to hate the most, therefore, they are the greatest source and have the greatest potential for changing the organization’s culture.
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