“Intelligence is like a river. The deeper it is, the less noise it makes.”
(No idea who said this first … I am just saying it now)
A little thought to start your week on … maybe using all that book learning and big words is not always the best way to display knowledge.
When you are making less noise, you have more capacity to hear others.
Be a river … not a babbling brook or an overpowering flood.
Trying real hard to be less noisy in the Heartland ….
John
The concept is deceptively simple …
In Suzy Welch’s book “10-10-10”, she lays out a clear and very useful set of frameworks through which we can assess our potential decisions and actions. These three views use distinct, but related time frames.
Here are the basic questions and my take on them:
How will we feel about it 10 minutes from now?
We look at the immediate benefit to doing something. This speaks to the urgency of things and our need for immediate gratification. We often feel a great need to act on something, to do it now.
When we act based on an immediate need, we usually do receive something in return: we satiate our hunger, release the pressure, we may even think we have solved a problem.
Sometimes we decide to focus on a thing and put our energy and time into it, based on our emotions and situation at the time.
Making a decision usually provides relief, if nothing else.
How about 10 months from now?
This is a relatively short-term time frame, but ultimately very useful. This range is close enough to a year to matter, but still relatively close. If we are able to respond honestly and with some intelligence, the direction and consequences of our earlier decision become clearer.
Now we can see the non-immediate results of our initial actions. Did the hunger remain satiated, the pressure off, and was that problem actually solved?
Will we still carry the residual weight of that fresh, glazed doughnut around our waist?
In our current political and economic environment, 10 months can hold a fair amount of change. Predicting change is often risky and seldom completely accurate … but trying to respond honestly and accurately to this one puts us ahead of those who do not think in more strategic terms.
How about 10 years from now?
Now we are thinking long range for most decisions, whether they be personal direction or business strategy.
Except for a gifted few, most of us cannot imagine what our world might look like this far down the road. However, we can use this time frame in connection with another important measurement:
How will what we decide today, in our ten minute time frame, move us closer to our overall goals?
We might feel real good about a decision at the time we make it and it may prove to be continuously positive in a year or so, but not fit within our long term goals and direction.
Our goals should not be anchored in change which may or may not happen, but be flexible enough to respond to changing conditions, while solid enough to provide us with consistent direction through whatever happens.
The final question: How will that fresh, glazed doughnut affect our overall health, weight, and longevity?
… of course, all this assumes that we have or develop well-thought out and articulated long-term goals in the first place … otherwise, just enjoy eating that doughnut
.
For a more detailed discussion of this concept and the book, CLICK HERE. You may find this exercise useful, with some well-formed goals.
Thinking about the consequences of eating a fresh, glazed doughnut down the road a bit in the Heartland ….
John
Posted in Actions, Career Development, Change, Coaching, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Focus, Goals, Informal Learning, Leadership, Questions, Reflection, Strategy, Work
Tagged Management, Strategic Management, Suzy Welch, Time
The news out of West, Texas this morning is heartbreaking …
More explosions, more loss of life, more devastation. We are assailed by images of havoc and confusion, of witnesses, reporters , and responders … and through it all, questions.
I was watching a CNN video which includes several reports from the scene of the disaster. Some phrases caught my attention:
“Like a nuclear bomb went off”
Some will conveniently or inadvertently miss the “like” part of these reactions. Those who look for conspiracies and malevolence behind every event will probably later use these statements to bolster claims of intent.
Never mind the well-documented lack of credibility of eye-witness reports (see links below).
It’s human nature to be a little hyper when a massive event occurs … this is understandable.
The tendency to compare a large and disastrous event to other large events is also understandable.
When large disastrous events occur in proximity, we tend to look for connections, whether they exist or not.
When we look for connections, we will often see things that APPEAR to confirm our suspicions.
Bottom Line: We do not yet know whether this was an accident or an incident.
The difference is crucial …
Let’s just leave it at that until those who do such things can give more facts.
Breathing in and out slowly this morning in the Heartland …
John
Related Links:
The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony Why Science Tells Us Not To Rely On Eyewitness Testimony CNN Texas Explosion video
Posted in Behavior, Coaching, Critical Thinking, Emotion, Questions, Reflection
Tagged Conspiracy, eye witness, Fertilizer explosion
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