Tag: figure it out

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You’re Right – So You Are Going To Change Minds? Not So Fast.

Inspiring change isn’t just about being right.

Facts don’t win arguments. In fact, it may push a person to be even more wrong.

Crazy? You bet. Do I do it? Yes.

Our egos haven’t evolved. There was a point in time that being wrong meant death, and we grew into beings that will hold on to the hope of a lie rather than the truth.

So how do you inspire change?

I don’t know the formula, but I do know it involves

  • Empathy
  • Listening
  • Allowing people to save face

This viewpoint is hard because it requires a lot of backbone.

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Be Boring

Being boring is hard

But it is necessary.

The world will help you not do “boring stuff.”

What do I mean?

There is always a new tweet, a new Facebook argument, YouTube Video you don’t agree with lurking around the corner. Your “show” is still on at 11 PM.  You can go “kick it” with friends and gossip about life on a Wednesday with a few drinks.

Or, you can be boring.

Boring is:

  • Showing up when no one else is around
  • Reading and applying lessons instead of drinking
  • Going to sleep and eating better.

Doing those things aren’t sexy. No one will blow up your phone to talk about how you go to bed at 10 PM.

Eventually, though, they will start asking about your work.

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Fear Exists

Feel that fear?

Yikes.

Go for it, dance with it, understand it, sit with it.

Don’t fight it.

When you fight fear, you start “figuring stuff out.”

Don’t.

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Stop Figuring It Out

You’ll Figure Nothing

“I’ll figure it how to…”

Odds are you won’t.

Odds are, by just saying “I’ll figure it out,” you’ve given your brain an excuse to compile, to explain, to get out of what you want to do.

Our brains are smarter than us ;-). Don’t give it an excuse.

Just start.

 

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The “Sound Smart” Trap

Don’t “Sound Smart” when it matters

This whole month has revolved around Jeopardy Knowledge.

I don’t think Jeopardy Knowledge is a “bad” thing.

Much like a hammer or a piece of paper, it is a tool capable of many things. It’s the consequence of the device, both subconscious and conscious, that interest me.

One of the traps of Jeopardy Knowledge is the trap of “sounding smart.” The consequence of this, both consciously and subconsciously, is that you lose your edge.

Sometimes, the person who “sounds dumb” gets the most context out of the moment. “sounding smart” sacrifices growth in the name of fitting in.

The problem is, when a crisis occurs, no one cares about people fitting in. They want the prepared. They need people on edge.

The edge is where you achieve the freedom to exercise who you are.

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Delegating vs. Holistic Delegating – Lessons From September

Holistic delegation is a meta-skill

When I started unpacking the concept of regular delegation this month, I thought that I would write about just the act of giving someone something to do.

That is regular delegation.

Simple enough. However, there is more than that.

Great leaders recognize the action around the transaction as well. That regular delegation pales to “holistic delegation,” which is delegating which considers all other concerns.

Even before you give someone something to do, there are things to consider:

These questions sound like a lot of work, and they are. That’s why the focus is always important. Doing high leverage work is your leadership balance. Everything else has to fall to the side to even attempt holistic delegation.

Holistic delegating is a meta-skill. The good news is, leveling up any one of those things makes the rest doable.

So, get some coffee.

Books – My Goodreads Account

Newsletter – Subscribe Here

Did you know I send a newsletter out every Sunday? It is more personal than the blog, combining my personal stories with an overarching theme.  I also throw in some great links that I’ve found on the internet.

 

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The Do Principle

Anything is entertainment

I used to love blog posts. When I woke up I sat  in front of the computer,  consuming the latest on Techcrunch or Gizmodo. I thought that information, and information alone was power; those blog posts were keeping me up to date on what was happening in the world of technology.

Fortunately, I woke up and realized a few things

  • Blog posts don’t give any rigor, are usually wrong, and lead to shallow conversations.
  • Since I didn’t do anything with that time, it was just entertainment anyway.

I realized that reading blog posts is in the same league as wrestling and daytime TV, except they didn’t nail the emotion part as well (those two types of programs are masters of that side of story telling).

Learning how to do starts with doing

I don’t know how I missed that in class, but I finally recognized that action turns knowledge into something tangible, something real.  It’s why I started taking this blog seriously. Instead of thinking about a platform for me to sell things, I understood that this place has real power in forcing me to scratch down ideas and deal with chewing through them. The value isn’t in the clicks, but the rigor that I have to do when I write through them.

That ended up being just the tip of the iceberg. I learned that writing through these ideas is fun, and they test me to try to understand and put them together, but ultimately, I need to take the next step… and commit.

Committing to execution is the goal.

Go do. That’s the point of this post. There is a wide chasm between people who just say they want to do it, those who go through the intellectual rigor, and those who actually execute. Anyone who does that has no choice but to become effective because operating comes with lessons, especially in failure.  So, whatever you want to do, please, go and do.

 

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Depression: Don’t Worry To Much

Depression is a part of me.

It isn’t here because something is wrong, its just a piece of me that isn’t going away. I surrender to it – and in that I become aware, and know how to manage my behavior in spite of it.

It changes me in two very distinct ways.

Depression makes me a very good editor. I do not mean that sarcastically either. My eye for detail increases, and I can see holes in my work I hadn’t seen earlier. I appreciate this part of it because I generally rush things, and because of that, I miss out on opportunities to improve. This levels it out.

Deep diving becomes more of a thing for me. I know it is starting to come into my life because I read Yahoo’s front page more often. As a matter of fact, I become too up to date with the general news. Now, I know more about gossip,sports,and heart wrenching stories than I ever care to admit.

In a weird way it becomes a part of my creative cycle. It sucks, but it makes me a more complete creative when it happens. People worry because I tend to stay inside when it strikes. Its a defense mechanism, I am quick to anger when this falls over me.

Those who are worried: continue to reach out. Please, do more of that. Contact with those I love help me out. It gets me into a better mind state, and it makes me even more aware that I have people around me that want me to do well.

If you have any thoughts on this – feel free to comment, RT or reach out on Twitter @TheHonorableAT.

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