Personal blindspots: Doing what's in front of me to do, NOW

Confession time: There is part of me that LIKES complicated. The first time I heard about the KISS principle (the acronym meaning "Keep It Simple Stupid"), I HATED the idea.

I mean, I do get it in concept. Even I don't want to get bogged down in detail, or pursue the rabbit trail toward needless complexity.

But we've got a complicated world to deal with. It moves fast, and we try to tame it by creating process to codify and standardize.

My temperment naturally tips toward complicated over simple. Give me the chance, and I'll tend to create a flowchart or multi-step approach to address the most basic issues. But time and again, I'm reminded ... often painfully ... that simple and direct is better.

And it's taken me years to understand why that is.

Too often, my first impulse is to create a new system, invent a new rule, form a new standard. Too often that urge is, in reality, a ... (wait, I'm about to get the words out): ... a delaying tactic. There, I've said it.

For example, now is the right time to approach a likely supporter and say:

We're working on an issue/problem you care about. Here's how we approach our top priorities. Will you join in our cause?

Instead I'm tempted to say "a little more research is needed," "let's do one more cultivation move," or "today might not be the best time so let's wait for a few weeks."

Over the years, I've taught myself to catch myself doing this, and I usually do. Long ago I pledged that I would attend no more meetings with prospects where, at the end, the prospect is left to wonder "why didn't they ask?"

But my personal blindspot becomes glaring when I see it manifested in others. (Isn't that always the way?)

So ...

One of the best values I offer to others in my consulting is to be hyper-sensitive to delaying tactics, no matter how cleverly disguised or manifested. I'm always pressing to get people to admit that the time is now. My magic question: "What is it that we need to know about this person's ability or interests or motivation, that can be known, before we can make the ask?" Almost always, their answer: "Nothing." The inescapable conclusion: it is time to ask.

It sounds obvious.

But, clever procrastinators that we are, we can almost always find an expert reference from "the book" that says that we should cultivate before asking. So it always seems easier to cultivate, cultivate, cultivate, cultivate ad nauseum.

After stripping away all the excuses, we're left with a classic case of call reluctance. Get over it!

Too many opportunities are missed because we get wrapped up in procedures that we've created as stalling tactics in the name of building relationship. And then we fail to recognize that the moment is right. Done right, asking for the gift is the BEST way to build relationship. 99 times out of 100, the time to ask is NOW.

Finding time to focus on Real Results: Review what you're doing and ...

We seldom take the time to re-evaluate what we're doing to be successful. Over time, our behavior can drift from what we should be focusing on. Here's a powerful but quite short eye-opening exercise. Ask yourself:

What can I do to ...

1. Start doing more of what I'm already doing that produces results? Well, of course, that's self-evident.


2. Stop doing something. Eliminate from your daily habit some low-impact activity (or activities). Look at things that used to serve you well, that you've ingrained in your routine, but that have outlived their usefulness. Time-suckers in this category could very well be little stuff that adds up to a lot of time. Or, maybe it's major, like routinely setting aside your own critical priorities to help someone else with their non-emergency tasks (simply motivated from wanting to be liked or be helpful).


3. Start doing something else? Think of what you're not doing, but have intended to do, filtering in those things that could be make a significant contribution to getting better results.


4. Start doing less of what is proving to be quesitonable? (If you can't stop doing it, at least do less of it.)

It helps to spend about an hour in reflection on these four points, at least twice a year (better yet, quarterly). If you can't remember when you've spent some time pondering these four quesitons, then schedule an hour within the next three days. Turn off the phone and email, and think about this.

Then, settle on at least four things you'll do differently. More of. Stop doing. Start doing. Less of.

I'd love to hear any stories from you about actually doing this!

Who Cares?

Well, it happened again yesterday. An organization sent me a solicitation. And they told less than half the story. As it happens, I know quite a bit about this organization. I've done some work for them (but either not enough yet or not with the right people!)

They have a story to tell, for sure. But they have the same blindspot many organizations have. It comes from assuming that, because you care passionately about your cause, because you eat-breathe-and-live your mission 24/7, others will automatically "get it." And from there, you're just one step away from feeling that the importance of your work is self-evident, even universally embraced. In fact -- everyone "should" know and appreciate our work.

So, copywriters get a little lazy in writing. In old marketing-speak terms, they write all the features but leave out the benefits.

In this case, the communication was blaring news: "We've just funded $xx million in research!" They went on to point out that this amount funded a certain number of scientists, and they listed the names and institutional affiliations of them. And I'm sure they're very proud of this accomplishment.

But unless I really understand your organization and how it conducts its work, this factoid will not pierce my consciousness. It will be almost impossible for me not to tune out before deciphering for myself why your work matters.

In an exercise I conduct in some trainings, I'll have participants name their most significant mission outcome of the past year. They'll say something like "We held our first health symposium and reached x,000 professionals by launching our RIP initiative." {And notice that the first reference almost always includes an internal acronym.}

When I ask, "So what?" the participant looks wounded or angry, as though I've questioned the sanctity of motherhood. But once they think and try to answer, they'll say, "Well, those health professionals will now present classes in workplace programs."

"So what?" I'll insist on asking. "Well, those trainers will each reach over x00 others, and they'll now know what to do in an emergency." And they'll be pleased with themselves.

Until I ask, "So what?" again. Sometimes it takes four or five iterations before they'll get to the benefit, which might be something like: "Our community is a safer place to live in!! Now that xx,000 people have been trained to know what to do in an emergency through our Really Important Program initiative, the chance that you'll be near help when you need it is increased dramatically, more than 100 fold than before the program."

This simple exercise can help you understand how others view your program and impact. When you challenge statements in your appeals with the "So what?" query, especially statements with metrics, you'll dig down to the core benefit that gives people the real reason to care.

It really gets down to reminding yourself of WHY you're doing the program (its purpose) and focusing less on HOW you're doing it or HOW MANY you've reached (at the tactical level of your plan).

End note: This advice is similar to the old saw, "Answer the question: What's in it for me." I find this a bit jaded, because it prejudges people as having no ability to appreciate a cause unless it personally serves them. The "So What?" alternative allows people to understand why your work matters -- why it counts -- even if they aren't personally affected.