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by Rick Baker
On Apr 26, 2012
Take Command of Your Day…and don’t call that process Time Management
Time Management is a misnomer.
Really, when we say those words we are talking about Task Management and Self-Management. And, there is an important distinction between managing tasks and managing self. The key distinction is one must precede the other. Self-Management is the first thing.
Two of the greatest gifts a person can possess are intelligence and self-control.
Both of these gifts are housed in the brain…our emotion and information processing powerhouse.
If we want to manage our workload or ‘To Do List’ of actions and tasks then we must first manage our thoughts.
We can manage our thoughts by:
- wanting to – truly desiring to - change for the better,
- using our intelligence – focusing and thinking - to figure out how,
- planning the habit – a Good Habit – of self-monitoring,
- planning a habit – a Good Habit – of self-regulating,
- organizing - creating - better ways to think about and perform work tasks
- using our will power to initiate, maintain, and grow those Good Habits of thought,
- backing up our Good Habits of thought with persistent, consistent, goal-aimed actions, and
- taking on, focusing on, and attending to one task at a time.
When we manage our thoughts that way and back them up with actions we make full use of our innate, but often overlooked, gift of self-control. We are organized. When we do these things we are able to do a much better job of handling crises. And, of even more importance, we are able to do a much better job of avoiding crises.
When we have mastered self-control we have mastered tasks...and time, as it always has, will take care of itself.
Link to An Introduction to Time Management - Part 1
Link to An Introduction to Time Management - Part 2
Link to 'Time' Management
Link to Successful People Have More Time
by Rick Baker
On Apr 11, 2012
Yesterday, I introduced a simple tool Edward de Bono provided to help people develop the ability to Pay Attention. The tool was called PMI.
In summary:
PMI (Plus-Minus-Interesting)1
You can develop your faculty of ATTENTION by taking the time to focus on 3 things:
- the Plus aspects of the situation
- the Minus aspects of the situation
- the Interesting aspects of the situation
I recommend we take this Edward de Bono tool a step farther.
For us, the word Process is a synonym of the word System, when both words are taken in the broadest context.
A definition of the word, 'System' and what we mean when we use the word 'Process':
“A system is just an arrangement of circumstances that makes things happen in a certain way. The circumstances may be metal grids, electronic components, warm bodies, rules and regulations or anything else. In each case what actually happens is determined by the nature of the system.”
“The brain is a system in which things happen according to the nature of the system. What happens in the brain is information. And the way it happens is thinking.”
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Minus |
Interesting |
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| Process |
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You can use this little table, a 1-Page Tool, to develop your Attention skill:
- it can be used to develop the skill of Attention by focusing on Situations [as de Bono taught in 'Water Logic', (1991)]
- it can be used to develop the skill of Attention by focusing on People [the #1 thing Spirited Leaders recommends]
- it can be used to develop the skill of Attention be focusing on Processes [also known as Systems]
Processes/Systems have 4 major categories:
- things that happen in our brain [as de Bono describes in the quote above],
- interactions between People,
- Man-made Processes/Systems [as examples: nmanufacturing processes and accounting systems], and
- Processes/Systems of Nature and the Cosmos.
To be more specific about the 'People' uses of this 1-Page Tool:
- self-analysis and self-development [introspection and creative-thinking progress]
- conflict resolution [a person-to-person application]
- getting present
More on this topic of Attention in future future Thought Posts...
Footnote:
by Rick Baker
On Apr 10, 2012
Pay Attention!
Probably, very few of us can remember the first time we heard that instruction.
But - we know it happened way back when we were children.
And - for some of us, it happened quite a bit.
Yet - who has ever taken the time to tell us how to do it?
Answer...Edward de Bono1.
Here is an introduction to a simple tool de Bono presented in his book 'Water Logic'.
First...about Directing Attention, de Bono explained:
Attention flow is determined by:
- what is out there, the outer world
- our standard perceptual patterns
- the context of the moment and
- what we are trying to do
Then de Bono presented his simple attention-directing, thinking, tool...
PMI (Plus-Minus-Interesting)
You can develop your faculty of ATTENTION by taking the time to focus on 3 things:
- the Plus aspects of the situation
- the Minus aspects of the situation
- the Interesting aspects of the situation
de Bono clarified, "PMI is not at all natural. Rather, it is natural to interpret, recognize, and judge as quickly as possible. PMI ensures a basic exploration of the subject before judgment."
The way I describe it...
PMI is provocative. It disrupts the normal [natural] way our brains/minds function. It enables our thoughts to escape from deeply-patterned ruts. When our thoughts get out of the ruts the neurons in our brains say to one another, "Wait a nanosecond here...something isn't right...we better pay attention to this." The next thing our minds know...we are paying attention. In essence, when we use PMI we trick our brains into allowing our minds to pay attention. And, if we practice PMI until it becomes a Habit then that Habit will be a good one.
The Good Habit will be the strength/skill known as the ability to Pay Attention!
PS: If you have not tried PMI before then, for you...it is a New Thing.
Footnote
1. 'Water Logic' (1991)
by Rick Baker
On Mar 14, 2012
I have been thinking a lot about Goals, specifically B2B Sales Goals.
Over the last few years, I have met with and talked with many people who have struggled with B2B Sales work and failed to meet their B2B Sales Goals.
I do not think it is a coincidence that these B2B Sales struggles are happening at the same time social media activity is expanding exponentially.
Clearly, there is either a cause-and-effect relationship between these two phenomena or both these phenomena are the effects of a common cause. Either way, it is not a coincidence that 20th Century B2B Sales methods are faltering and failing in the 21st Century.
The 21st Century is a time of unleashed creativity and unprecedented self-expression...captured in real time, worldwide, via 'social media'.
In contrast, 20th Century B2B Sales methods are, for the most part, laced with pedantic formula-driven thinking and action.
20th Century B2B Sales methods just don't work any more.
And, the 20th Century goal-setting methods linked to B2B Selling just don't work any more.
Carrot-and-stick approaches to Sales performance are doomed to fail. That's true. However, the matter is either much simpler or much more complex than the choice of intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards for performance.
Given the choice, and considering Ockham's Razor and other time-tested wisdom, let's choose - the matter is much simpler than the implications of intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards. The matter is about relationships....interpersonal relationships between buyers and sellers.
B2B Sales, if they result in exchange of [more-or-less] equal value always involve real interpersonal relationships. The best of these real interpersonal relationships, the ones that sustain over time and allow both buyers and sellers to prosper, are broader than the product or service in the hands. They are also deeper than the product or service in the hands.
It is that simple.
by Rick Baker
On Mar 1, 2012
Boil down your business.
That's what Robert Collier did at Volume 5 of his 1926 classic, 'The SECRET of the Ages'.
He stated, "Volumes have been written about personal efficiency, and general efficiency, and every other kind of efficiency in business."
Then he said,
"But when boiled down, it all comes to this:
- Know what you want.
- Analyze the thing you've got to do to get it.
- Plan your work ahead.
- Do one thing at a time.
- Finish that one thing and send it on its way before starting the next.
- Once started, KEEP GOING!"
I got a kick out of that straightforward, simple advice.
Points #4 and #5 are keys to developing talents involving Attention, Concentration, & Focus. They are also keys to overcoming frazzled Emotions.
by Rick Baker
On Feb 15, 2012
The word Process annoys many people.
Some feel Process locks them in closets and beats down their independence. Actually, the exact opposite is true.
So, when someone like me talks about the value of business Process...for these people, it's like I am throwing a wet blanket at them...Process turns some People off. I see that. I hear that. It is between the lines and it is the lines.
I want to help People get over their aversion to Process.
To succeed in my job, I must do that.
Why?
I will let W. Edwards Deming1, the extraordinary teacher who changed the world's auto sector, answer that question:
"If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing."
And, I will expand on that a bit:
- Business Contains Only 3 Things: People, Process, & Situations [that's a Spirited philosophy]
- If you can't describe what you are doing as a Process, then you don't know what you're doing. [that's Deming's wisdom]
- Even if that Deming wisdom can be proven wrong on some occasions, if you can't describe what you are doing as a Process then you can't delegate to other People what you are doing.
- If you can't delegate to other People then you can't grow your business beyond the weight your single set of shoulders can bear.
- And - if you can't delegate to other People then you can't smoothly exit your business.
On top of that, and of most importance, clearly defined Process helps People feel more comfortable and confident...making your workplace more harmonious, more satisfying, and more fun.
Process does not throttle creativity. The reverse is true. When the numerous repeated work-tasks are organized and well-defined People have two things that open the door for creativity: (1) they have more time to use their imagination and (2) they enjoy a more-positive frame of mind.
Footnote:
- Deming was visionary and he taught many people. For example, in his book 'The MasterMind Marketing System', Jay Abraham talked about what he had learned while working for Deming, in summary:
- well-defined process is essential
- process consists of finite elements
- we must isolate and identify each element of every process
- we must measure & monitor each element
- we must compare each element against alternative: testing each with a view to enhancing and improving it
- we must focus on the benefits each element provides
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