Colleagues,
MVP: Critically reflect on the work you do and the way in which you do it. Does it make sense? This week I have shared a couple examples of how systems break down or have unintended consequences. We build structures as part of organization to achieve specific outcomes. Over time, both the structures and the original purposes change. Inevitably, we get to a point where the way we do things is not aligned to what we are trying to achieve. One of the major functions of leadership is to use the change process to create greater organizational alignment. Today’s intention: Reflect on why you did whatever you did this week. What outcome were you working towards? Reflect on why you did your work in the way that you did it. Is the method helpful in achieving the outcome? Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues,
MVP: Email is broken. Email, as a system, is broken. It does not work as intended. One of the big problems is that email has come to embody urgent leadership. Email feels important and urgent, but it is rarely urgent and frequently unimportant. I asked ChatGPT what the purpose of email was and what jumped out was that it was designed to improve written communications like letters and faxes. The entire ChatGPT response is at the end of this email. And yet, despite knowing better, I check my email multiple times per day. Why? Honestly, I don’t know:
Like the parking meter example from Monday, email is a solution which has brought its own set of problems. Today’s intention: Tally how many times you check your email. Track the number of emails that are urgent and important AND which required a written response instead of a conversation. According to ChatGPT… Email was invented to provide a convenient and efficient way to exchange messages and information electronically over the internet. The specific reasons for its invention include:
Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Practice listening this week. It is more important than talking. Yesterday, Dr. Shawnda Brunson and I had a wonderful conversation about what it means to be a listening leader. At the conclusion of that interview, I encouraged listeners to do three things:
Today’s intention: Please try this today! Just listen and be fully present. Who knows what might happen? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Don’t confuse the indicator for the outcome. Today, I turn sixty! It has taken me several months to be at peace with that large number, but why? Sixty years is a measure, not an outcome. It does not provide any insight into the quality of my life, the impact I have had on others, or my own state of health and happiness. Nor does 60 say much about what I can expect in the future. Sixty is just a number. So are reading test scores. And sales. And even profits. And yet those numbers have disproportionate impacts on the work we do and how we do it. We have a propensity for confusing the desired outcome with the measurement:
To be clear, the numbers are relevant. However, when we focus on the measure, instead of the actual outcome, we miss the mark. Today’s intention: As you work towards a goal, think about your desired result. Are you working towards a meaningful outcome, or towards the measure of the outcome. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Change has unanticipated consequences. The smaller and simpler the change, the easier it is to account for the unforeseen. Last week Seth Godin wrote a phenomenal piece about the evolution of metered parking. He described how the system was designed to make shopping easier by discouraging people from parking in one place for a long time, thereby keeping spaces available for shoppers to park conveniently for short periods of time. However, the system of metering parking brought its own challenges including maintenance, collection, and enforcement. A recent trend involves a particular corporation taking over management of parking system in many municipalities, where the fines are now doubled, to pay the company, and money is siphoned out of the community. Change always brings unintended consequences because change impacts systems and systems are complex. Strategic leaders embrace incremental change and simplistic actions, which usually beget fewer and less intense unintended consequences. Today’s intention: Be aware this week of the systems that define what you do and how you do it. Cheers! Frederick |
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