WorkPuzzle

Dueling Time Management Theories: The Right System or The Right State of Mind? Part 2

Last week, I briefly introduced you to two of the prominent time management theories that have become quite popular in recent years.  While both are valuable systems, they approach the topic from very different angles.

In today’s WorkPuzzle, I’ll summarize some of the highlights of both systems.  As you read through these principles and ideas, think about the flow of your activities over the last week.  How would things have been different if you had approached tasks in a different way? 

Getting Things Done System / David Allen

1.  The right system equips an individual to capture information and act upon it. 

“People don’t capture stuff that has their attention.  They don’t acknowledge it or objectify it.  And it keeps rolling around in the organizational psyche as well as the personal psyche, draining energy and creating incredible psychic residue.”

2.  The right system involves making lists and completing tasks.

“Your head is for having ideas, not holding them.  Just dumping everything out of your head and externalizing it is a huge step, and it can have a significant effect…  The problem is that everybody is multitasking and getting distracted by the latest and the loudest.  They fail because they haven’t captured, clarified, organized, or built in a regular review system they trust.”

3.  The right system involves breaking down big tasks into small “next actions.”

“What most people put on their to-do lists are vague things [that really represent a lot of work].  Instead, a to-do list should specify a smaller next action.  There’s actually a part of us that loves to produce, that loves to be complete.  Now I’ve created motivation:  I see a desired result, I have confidence I can get there, and I see the path.” 

The Energy Project / Tony Schwartz

1.   Having the right state of mind involves realizing your limitations as a human.

“It is humbling to discover that we’re creatures of habit, and what we did yesterday is what we’re going to do today.  We think that the way to make a change is to push harder, but our willpower and self-discipline are wildly overrated.  [Change can only happen if you] co-opt the process by which negative habits arise without your intention, and substitute what we call 'positive rituals' or deliberate practices."

2.  Having the right state of mind means reserving your most productive time of the day for the most important work.

“Another ritual I have is to always do the most important task of the day first thing in the morning, when I’m least distracted.  Ninety percent of people check their email as soon as they get to work.  That turns their agenda over to someone else.”

3.  Having the right state of mind means recognizing that there is a natural pull the brain has towards ineffectiveness.  This force must be met with deliberate practices that push you towards effectiveness.

“There’s a problem with making a decision based on how you’re feeling at any given moment.  Generally speaking, that doesn’t work.  Psychologically, we have two different selves.  One is very primitive and reactive.  The other is more evolved and reflective.  People need to recognize when the primitive, reactive self is taking over and influencing them to avoid things that are uncomfortable.”

As you can probably tell, one system is not better than the other.  In fact, being mindful of both approaches would probably do the most to improve your effectiveness.  Hopefully, you’ll become a student of how you do your best work.  This means both following a well-developed system and having your mind right as work through your tasks.

Quotations cited:   Allen, David.  Schwartz, Tony.  Harvard Business Review, May 2011.  Interview.  83 - 87.  Print.  29 Apr 2011.  <http://www.hbr.org>. 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Dueling Time Management Theories: The Right System or The Right State of Mind?

As many of you know, I have a keen interest in time management and productivity.  I love to load my schedule up and work hard to accomplish as much a possible during the day.  If I fall into bed exhausted from a meaningful day's work, I feel satisfied.  At that point, sleep feels like a reward and the next day is something I look forward to tackling. 

But,there is a natural struggle with approaching life like this.  It is only satisfying if I'm accomplishing things that are meaningful and tied to a purpose that I consider important.  As life "happens," I'm constantly pulled towards the things that are urgent and contain less meaning.  Thus, the need for time management becomes even more apparent.

Dave and I have both written WorkPuzzle articles in the past that reference David Allen's time management theories.  Allen has written several best-selling books on this topic, and he is considered by many to be the foremost expert on this topic in recent years.  

Last November, I wrote a series of WorkPuzzle articles (1,2,3,4) highlighting the work of Tony Schwarz.  Schwartz has also written several best-selling books (one of which my kids call "the blue book" because I reference it a lot in our family discussions), but approaches time management and productivity from a completely different perspective than Allen.

As I have studied these two approaches over the last year, I thought I was being original by trying to integrate the best of these authors' theories.  As it turns outs, I wasn't being original at all.  There are a bunch of people trying to reconcile these theories...So many, in fact, that Harvard Business Review (HBR) featured an article this month on the topic of how these theories compare and contrast.  

In today's WorkPuzzle, I'll lay out some background and general ideas.  Next time, I'll summarize some of the speifics that I find particularly helpful. 

First, how each person defines what they do.  In their own words:

David Allen:  "I help people and orgaizations produce more with less input.  I teach a set of best practices and a methodology that produce a greater sense of concentration and control."

Tony Schwartz:  "I teach individuals and organizations how to manage energy more skillfully in order to get more done in less time, more sustainably.  That requires a new way of working--one that balances periods of high focus with intermittent renewal."

What are the general principles that each author teaches?  

Schwartz: "Thereʼs a fundamental misunderstanding about how human beings operate at their best.  Most of us mistakenly assume weʼre meant to run like computers—at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time, running multiple programs simultaneously.  Itʼs just not true.

Human beings are designed to be rhythmic.  The heart pulses; muscles contract and relax.  Weʼre at our best when weʼre moving rhythmically between spending energy and renewing it.  We need to recognize the insight of athletes, who manage their work-rest ratios.  We encourage people to work intensely for 90 minutes and then take a break to recover.  We teach them to eat small, energy-rich meals every few hours, rather than three big meals a day.  We believe napping drives productivity, although that remains a tough sell in most companies.

Still, the reality is that if a person works continuously all through the day, sheʼll produce less than a person of equal talent who works very intensely for short periods and then recovers before working intensely again."

Allen: "I believe it's an issue of choosing the right work.  Peter Drucker said that the toughest job for knowledge workers is defining the work.  A century ago, 80% of the world made and moved things.  You worked as long as you could, and then you slept, and then you got up and worked again.  You didnʼt have to triage or make executive decisions.  Itʼs harder to be productive today because the work has become much more complex."

Hopefully, this will peak your interest for more detail next time.  By the way, if you haven't picked up a copy of HBR in a while, the May issue would be a good one to buy.  There are a bunch of helpful articles this month... 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Draining the Meaning From Work: Are You Part of the Problem?

Last Friday, I re-published an excellent article written by Ron Ashkenas about how many of us don't look forward to returning from our weekends.  It is not that weekends should not be enjoyable--it is just that work should be enjoyable too.

One of the causes of this sense of work malaise, as Ron pointed out, is feeling  a lack of purpose at work.  It is well-documented that unless a person feels a legitimate sense of purpose in what they're doing, it will be difficult to sustain excitement and energy towards that activity.

Certainly it's appropriate to take inventory of your own work activities and make sure that you're working with a sense of purpose in your daily tasks.  But here is another important question:  

How would those you manage say they feel about their sense of purpose in your work environment?

Interestingly, Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently conducted some research on this topic and uncovered several surprising insights.  The researchers in the study were trying to figure out how work gets stripped of its meaning (I'm not kidding, people actually do study this stuff).  

The data in the study was collected by analyzing the work diary entries of 238 "knowledge workers" who agreed to be part of the project.  After compiling the data, researchers looked for patterns that related to the topic of meaning at work.  There were four common themes that emerged.  HBR called these themes the "4 Primary Ways in Which Managers Unwittingly Drain Work of Its Meaning."  Here's a quick summary:

1.  Managers dismiss the importance of employees' work or ideas.  This was the most common theme that was documented.  Managers ask someone to work on something, and then pay little attention to the results that are being produced.  The researchers cited one example where an employee went three solid weeks without any positive feedback from his manager on a project that he was told was critical to the company's success.  It is hard to feel like you're working on something meaningful when this type of disconnect happens.

2.  Managers destroy employees' sense of ownership in the work.  When a manager asks someone to work on an important task and then takes it away at a critical juncture, it's demoralizing.  The HBR research did not cite specific real estate industry examples, but I can imagine many cases where new agents are "micro-managed" at just the wrong time.  It is better to allow some mistakes to happen and then train around those mistakes.  This will put a new agent on the path to long-term ownership of their transactions and provide more meaning in their day-to-day tasks.

3.  Managers may send the message that the work employees are doing will never see the light of day.  How could this happen?  In many organizations, there is constant pressure to find innovations that will produce new business and help the company compete more effectively.  But, these innovations may be short-lived if they do not produce quick results.  As priorities change (a necessity in any business), managers need to be sensitive to the time, effort, and life-energy that individuals may have put into these projects.  Find ways to reuse the work accomplished on the shelved projects and be open and forthright with communication about the bigger purpose that may have emerged.

4. Managers neglect to inform employees about unexpected changes in priorities.  As noted above, communication goes a long way to helping people deal with disappointment.  While changes can sometimes not be avoided, it helps to explain the bigger picture.  Keep in mind that BSing someone on your team never works.  People want to be part of an organization that has a consistent and meaningful purpose.  If legitimate changes are necessary to respond to such things as market conditions, new technologies, and competitive pressures, the people you manage will understand.  But, if changes are being made because of bad strategy or management mistakes, things suddenly feel pretty meaningless.

Bottom line:  If you have the responsibility of managing, you also have a responsibility to ensure that those in your group are working with a sense of purpose.  By doing so, you'll not only have a more productive and engaged team, you'll be answering a higher calling of your own.

 Source:  Harvard Business Review, The Power of Small Wins, May 2011, p. 77

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Three Steps To Becoming A Better Manager

In the previous edition, I shared a true story that many of you found quite alarming.  In closing, I promised to next provide a no-nonsense path to becoming a better manager.  After all, becoming a true leader takes work - It doesn't happen accidentally.  It occurs mindfully and intentionally for most...and although it may appear to come naturally and accidentally for a few, it really doesn't.  Everyone has to work at it.  Research shows that it takes 10,000 hours of doing a task well to become an expert at it.  Management is no different.

To catch up, please take a moment to read the last posting if you haven't already.  In summary the question was posed:  If you were suddenly thrown into a position of having to count on a TRUE following - not an appointed following- would there be anyone following you?

If you're not quite sure, there is good news... By following a simple set of steps, you can begin to slowly build the behavior of a good leader. Here are a few of the essentials:

1. Find a mentor.  If you want to become a leader, it's imperative that you learn from a leader.  Don't put this off.  Assign yourself the task of finding someone now.  And don't just find someone who's getting the job done - Find someone who's hitting it out of the park.  Every time you are with this person, have a list of good questions, and ask them.  What are their habits?  What are their top priorities?  What they may see as second nature, you might find revolutionary.  Make their habits yours.
2. Listen to people and meet their needs.  Great leaders know what their people want and help them fulfill their goals.  They know what motivates each individual, what scares each individual, and ultimately what each person dreams of.  If you're simply fulfilling your role in order to exploit the talents and performance of the people you are leading, they'll smell it a mile a way.  Agents, whether you're recruiting them or motivating them to perform, are not objects to exploit, they are people to help.  And when they feel helped by you and inspired by you, they'll return the favor.  Make this a central focus every day.  Scott Nelson, owner of Comey and Shepherd in Cincinnati, sets a great standard:  "Our managers are required to 're-recruit' their own agents, at least one per week, and take them off-site to lunch or coffee.  I do the same thing, and usually have two or three such lunches per week.  I engage 125-150 agents per year, and it makes a big difference.  I also go to a branch sales meeting each week and keep in touch personally with email."
3. Coaching is Key.  What is the bottom line?  It's this:  If your agents don't perform well, you don't perform well.  Just like when a college basketball coach doesn't coach well, the team doesn't perform well.  There is a reason that most successful sports coaches develop slowly from coaching at the high school level--to college assistant--to head coach... They must gradually learn the skills of training and motivating a team to greatness.  Even the most talented young athletes who are recruited from across the country require consistent practice, direction, and motivation.  Learn how to build performance, and you'll always have a job.

Don't get in a habit of blaming poor performance on other variables--like for instance, "They're lazy or stupid."  Great coaches never do this.  Always view it as your responsibility to coach more effectively. 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

An Assignment to Daydream

Over the past two weeks, I have come to an interesting conclusion...and here it is:  Daydreaming works.
 
I stumbled onto this phenomenon somewhat randomly.  You see, I tend to be one of those people who is typically DOING something...all of the time.  And if I'm not doing something, I'm listening to something, or reading something, or emailing someone, or, oh yeah...skiing.  Does this sound familiar?  Many of us who tend to be driven, and entrepreneurial by nature, are like this.

Two weeks ago, I decided to turn off my radio indefinitely while driving in the car.  However, my initial purpose for this radio boycott project wasn't to daydream, rather it was to be more mindful about strengthening my prayer life.  I figured that the time that I wasted in the car could be spent in prayer instead of mindless Classic Rock. 

But, as we all know, the mind has the propensity to drift.  For the first few days of the exercise, I attempted to fight this off and stick to the plan.  However, on the third or fourth day, I decided to let my mind wander and see what happened.  The result?  I ended up developing and further perfecting some interesting ideas for our business at Tidemark.  While these ideas may not be earth-shattering, they have certainly helped to make my work this week more purposeful and productive.  Having had this experience, I decided to do some investigating on the subject of daydreaming, and turned up a great deal of research on the topic.

Amy Fries writes (Psychology Today):

"Admit it.  When do you get your best ideas?  When you're sitting at your desk striving for an answer, or when you're doing something off-task like driving, walking, or puttering around the house?

On the surface, daydreaming seems like the antithesis of 'work,' yet it's truly at the core of our most important type of productivity--creative problem-solving.  That's why some of the most innovative companies in the world feature programs that give key employees the time and space to think creatively, i.e. daydream--Google offers a 20% program, 3M has a 15% program, and Gore & Associates (Gore-Tex, etc.) features 'dabble time.'  All three companies credit these programs as the source of their most successful products.

While many of us can see the relationship between daydreaming and creativity in the arts and even science, we've been slower to come around to its usefulness in business.  Say the word 'visionary' however, and we understand how having a vision--a mental image or plan--can help someone start a breakthrough company or service.

Yes, I know.  All the work and focus must follow to have an idea come to fruition.  But the original idea and the motivation to fulfill that idea are birthed in a daydreaming state, and we do our most creative problem-solving when the mind wanders.  While daydreaming, we can:

1. Envision - Model and simulate in our mind's eye 
2. Think uncensored thoughts - Necessary for originality
3. Free associate - Make random connections and come up with novel solutions
4. Tap into the most complex regions of the brain "

Amy goes on to say that encouraging your team to be creative and daydream starts with the way you talk to your team:

• "Ask 'what if' questions and encourage speculative thinking.
• Accept risk and a certain amount of failure.  I believe it was Edison who said 'to have one good idea, have a lot of them.'
• Provide a forum for idea sharing and give feedback. 
• Get rid of your old-school ideas about daydreaming, and start doing it. Go ahead--I'm giving you permission.  Among the many benefits of daydreaming-it's fun, and we can all use some of that."

I'll go out on a limb and say that it will be the teams who exercise the most creativity in all of their key strategies, who will begin or continue to dominate their market...not to mention, be more fun to work for.

And in case your concerned...yes, I am still praying too.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

The Case Against Passion

There are two frequently used words that tend to make my blood boil:  (1) issues, as in, "She is dealing with some issues;" and (2) passion, as in, "Pursue your passion."  Now, it's not that I never say these words, but, because they are overused, they have almost lost their meaning.  This is especially true when it comes to the way the concept of "passion" is used to find one's calling in life.

A great deal of the obsession around the concept of passion has to do with America's obsession with being happy.  If you haven't figured it out by reading my articles by now, I'll tell you that the science is fairly clear:  The happiest people are not the ones who are actively pursuing happiness.  They receive it as a bi-product of doing the right things every day to build a life of meaning and purpose, contributing towards something much greater than themselves.

Why is this topic important to a recruiter?  Read the following words from Daniel Pink's recent article "Think Tank: Ever Felt Like Your Job Isn't What You Were Born To Do?  You're Not Alone, And You'll See Why."

"When we find ourselves in the midst of a career change or feel a dull sense that what we're doing now isn't what we should be doing forever, our friends and families – along with every mentor, advisor, and consultant – will smile knowingly, lean in tenderly, and pose this question:  Tell me, what's your passion?  The idea is that if we simply acknowledge what fires our soul, if we just pull out our metaphysical arthroscope and examine our hearts, the path will reveal itself.  With a voice that quavers in expectation and an inflection that italicises the final word – they ask us again, 'What's your passion?'

Ladies and gentlemen, I detest that question.

When someone poses it to me, my innards tighten.  My vocabulary becomes a palette of aahs and ums.  My chest wells with the urge to flee.

Oh my.  The answer better be amazing – not some fumbling, feeble reply.  But I know the responses I've formed in my head aren't especially good.  Worse, they're probably not even accurate.  And I'm not alone.

So, as the economy comes back, and people begin pondering new opportunities, maybe we can take a break from this daunting and distracting question and ask a far more productive, one:  What do you do?

I learned the wisdom of this alternative from Gretchen Rubin, who lives and works in New York City.  After graduating from law school in the early 1990s, Rubin served as a law clerk for the US Supreme Court.  This job is perhaps the sweetest plum in the American legal orchard.  It practically guarantees a career of high-level positions in law firms and government.

But during her stint, Rubin's eyes wandered away from the law.

'When I had free time, I never wanted to talk about cases or read law journals, the way my fellow clerks did.  Instead, I spent hours reading, taking notes and writing my observations about the worldly passions – power, money, fame and sex,' Rubin says.

'Finally, I realized -- Hey, I'm writing a book.  And it dawned on me that some people write books for a living.  This project didn't have to be my hobby; it could be my job.'

She wrote her first book – Power Money Fame Sex:  A User's Guide – and soon she realized that she wasn't a lawyer.  She was a writer.  Now she has four books to her name, including her latest, The Happiness Project.

Rubin might have felt an occasional bolt of passion while writing.  But that didn't offer much guidance.  Instead, she took a step back and watched what she did.

Emma Jones is the founder of Enterprise Nation, a London company that supports small businesses.  She has discovered that people who notice what they do when nobody is watching them, or even paying them, often end up as entrepreneurs.

As it happens, I can testify to the power of de-emphasizing passion and re-emphasizing doing.  Beginning about two decades ago, I worked in some very demanding, intensely stressful jobs in American politics and government. But throughout – on the side, usually for no money – I wrote magazine articles about business and work, and formulated ideas for books.  At one level, it was foolish.  I lost sleep, sacrificed leisure, and probably distracted myself from my paid employment.

But after many years, it finally hit me:  This – not politics – is what I did.  And now, as a result, that's what I do.

Am I passionate about it?  Sure, I guess.  Maybe.  Some days.  But passion isn't something I much ponder.  I'm too busy doing what I do."

Having pondered the above, do you have any ideas how your interviews might change in the future?  Certainly don't throw candidates out of your office for using the word "passion."  But, do drill down more thoroughly on how the candidates spend their free time.  They may not even think to tell you much of the really interesting stuff...stuff like: "I basically like talking to my friends 24/7 and have about 1,000 phone numbers of people I stay in contact with..." or ... "I spend a great deal of time on the computer, following stories, stats, information..."

In either case, you can use that information to better coach those candidates on how to turn what they do into a more personally derived business plan that resonates with what they already do, naturally.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Curiosity: Three Ways to Refresh Your Outlook as a Leader

While reviewing a recent blog entry by Daniel Pink, I stumbled across the work of Dr. Todd Kashdan, a professor at George Mason University.  Dr. Kashdan is the Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Social Anxiety, Character Strengths, and Related Phenomena.

I know that’s kind of a mouthful (how would you like to introduce yourself at a party with this as your job title?), so here is some more detail on what his group actually does:

"The Laboratory for the Study of Social Anxiety, Character Strengths, and Related Phenomena is committed to conducting basic research to better understand the nature of social anxiety and positive psychological processes (e.g., curiosity, gratitude, mindfulness, savoring, purposeful living) and applying this knowledge to better people's lives….  We are focused on discovering, applying, and sharing psychological knowledge to better understand components of human functioning, improve the treatment of psychological problems, enhance well-being and character strengths, and promote this work at the individual and societal level."

Isn’t this a great purpose statement for Dr. Kashdan’s work?  He seems to be working (from a research perspective) on the issues that many of us would consider critical for developing thriving relationships and experiencing a consistent sense of well-being.

I look forward to exploring more of his published work, but I thought I’d give you a little taste of what I’ve already discovered.  One of the topics he tends to focus on is the “positive psychological process” of curiosity. Here is a summary of Daniel Pink's recent interview with Dr. Kashdan regarding the topic of curiosity:

1. Thrive on uncertainty.  We rarely look forward to the tension that accompanies uncertainty, but research shows that these feelings lead to the most intense and longest-lasting positive experiences.  New and uncertain activities make people happier and create more meaning than familiar routines.  Re-train your brain to benefit from the pleasures of surprise and uncertainty.  And do the same for people around you.  For instance, every week, give a free lunch away to someone who best embodies a strength valued by the business (Compassion?  Leadership?  Gratitude?  Humor?).  Let the person who wins pick a lunchmate whom they don’t know as well as they should.  Use the pleasures of uncertainty to build satisfaction and commitment inside your organization.

2. Find the unfamiliar in the familiar.  As soon as we think we’re experts, we stop paying attention and start falling back on scripts, labels, and categories.  That’s especially true in the workplace.  Yet scientists have discovered the value of attending to what we don’t know about people and how they differ from us — instead of relying on what we already know and how they are similar to us.  Encourage your team to make this mindset switch.  You’ll develop stronger bonds, squelch prejudice, and help your star players avoid being blinded by their expertise.  For instance, when you go out to lunch with colleagues, ask them about something that interests you but that you never talk about. What are their top 5 places to travel to in the world, and why?  What movies do they like but are often embarrassed to share?  And don’t always spend your time with people you know.  Seek out strangers at work who intrigue you, who are different from you, and who expand your horizons.

3. Be a safe haven for the risks and joys of others.  To take risks and experiment with new ways of thinking and acting, we need to feel secure. If you want workers to be creative, be responsive when they share past explorations or future plans.  If they feel uncomfortable, let them know that anxiety is natural when trying new things.  Share a story about the last time you felt anxiety and self-doubt.  You might be surprised how comfortable it will make them to take on tough challenges.  And respond genuinely when they share what is intriguing and going right in their lives. Don’t just ask, “How was your weekend?”  Ask them what their peak moments were on Saturday and Sunday.  And when they share, follow-up with questions, ask for details.  You might become genuinely interested in their interests and create a safe haven for the sorts of breakthrough thinking that changes companies — and sometimes the world.

If you’d like to learn more about this topic (or, maybe now you’re just curious...), you may want to pick up Dr. Kashdan’s book:  Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Brain Rules: How Understanding The Brain Can Make You a Better Manager

I want to address a somewhat random topic today, but I think it's something you'll find interesting.  The topic is sleep, and the question is...Why do humans need to sleep?

 

Maybe it is not as random as you might initially imagine.  If you're a regular WorkPuzzle reader, you might recall that we centered a series of discussions last November around how to gain a competitive advantage in recruiting by making sure that your office is a compelling place to work.  I would argue that if you can continue to develop your knowledge of what makes people perform at a peak level, you'll attract the interest of the most talented individuals.

 

Yesterday afternoon, I had the privilege of attending a lecture by Dr. John Medina.  Dr. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist at the University of Washington and author of a best-selling book, called Brain Rules.  As you might have guessed, he specializes in brain research.  His presentation primarily focused on the latest research on the brain's need for sleep. 

 

If you've ever been forced to stay awake for many hours, you may have noticed that it isn't your body that "get's tired," it's your mind.  This is true of all humans.  This is why sleep deprivation is commonly used to interrogate and torture people during wars. 

 

For many years, the prevailing thought was that sleep was an energy restoration activity... It only made sense- you feel tired when you go to sleep... So, you must need some time to rebuild your brain's energy stores, right? 

 

The problem with this theory is that as scientists have gotten better at understanding the brain, they've discovered that the brain doesn't really rest during sleep - It is actually quite active.  So, if it's not resting, what is your brain doing?

 

Researchers now believe the brain is learning while you sleep.  Here's what happens:  While you sleep, your brain goes through sleep cycles.  There is a deep sleep part of the cycle that typically lasts 26 minutes.  During this period, the brain is taking the information that you collected from the previous day, prioritizing it, and then replaying the important events over and over again in your mind.  This replaying of events is what causes your brain to actually capture and make sense of the information.  It's called learning.  

 

The brain ends the deep cycle after 26 minutes and then wakes you up.  This is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.  Most people don't actually wake up during this phase, but instead are brought to near conscientiousness.  Researchers believe that the brain does this as a safety mechanism.  It brings you out of deep sleep back to where you're nearly awake so you can check your surroundings.  If everything is OK (i.e. you brain determines you're safe), it descends back into deep sleep for another cycle.

 

In essence, the brain needs some time each day where it can shut off information from the outside world and just focus on learning.  If the brain is deprived of this time of focus, all kinds of bad things can happen.  At a minimum, the brain could develop a pattern of inefficiency for assimilating new information.

 

I find all of this brain research stuff very interesting.  Naturally, my mind starts spinning on all the applications that can be made with these discoveries.  Here are some ideas that have come to mind: 

1. Learning and Sleeping are Directly Connected.  If we have an interest in capturing and applying important information that we've collected from a training seminar, networking meeting, or some other source, it is important to get good sleep the night after the information is presented.   
2. Coaching and Training.  If you're responsible for coaching and training agents you may want to pay more attention to how your students are sleeping. Let's suppose you hold a sales meeting and hire a high-priced trainer to present valuable information to your agents.  For fun, you then host an evening activity that encourages your agents to stay out late and party a little bit.  Probably a bad idea if your hope was for your agents to retain the training material.
3. Become the Expert on Peak Performance.  We've talked the last couple of weeks about building your employment brand.  Part of your brand should involve having a reputation for helping those around you perform at a high level. Understanding how to capture and assimilate new information is critical in this pursuit.

There are many more ideas worth considering in this realm.  As a starting point, I would recommend picking up a copy of Dr. Medina's book on brain rules.  It would probably be a great thing to read before going to bed...

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Employment Brand Part 3: Creating and Communicating Your Brand

Hopefully you’ve had some time to put some thought into developing and quantifying your personal brand.  If you’re struggling with this, be assured, it is not easy work.  So, it may take some time.

As you think about a framework to build upon, here is some advice from Tom Peters in his classic article The Brand Called You:

“No matter what you're doing today, there are four things you've got to measure yourself against.  First, you've got to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague.  Second, you've got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value.  Third, you've got to be a broad-gauged visionary -- a leader, a teacher, a farsighted ‘imagineer.’  Fourth, you've got to be a businessperson -- you've got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes.”

Your brand probably should contain most, if not all, of these components.  If you’re having trouble with this step in the process, make sure you ask questions, seek out the opinions of those you trust, and bounce your finished product off a few people who know you well.

Now, on to creating your brand... Your brand will not accomplish anything if it just lives in your head or even passively interacts with those in your close network.  A personal brand only takes on life when it is actively promoted and consistently impacts new individuals.

To create your brand, break your actions into online and offline activities.  I’ll cover each category in the remainder of the discussion.

Create Your Personal Brand Online.   If someone googled your name, your office, or [your city] real estate, what would they find?  If a person IS able to find you with a search inquiry, what does the information found say about you?  Does it match your brand?  These are important questions because a large majority of people will interact with (or miss completely) your brand online.

Here are the basics of what you need to create your personal brand online:

1. Facebook Profile.   You probably already have a Facebook account.  Does it match the personal brand you developed?  If not, you may want to create a professional version and then limit those who have access to your personal version to those in your personal network.
2. LinkedIn Profile.   Again, make sure that your LinkedIn profile matches what you’ve quantified as your personal brand.  Push the limits of LinkedIn by joining groups where you can contribute your expertise and build a reputation for being knowledgeable.
3. Twitter Profile.   Compared to the previous two venues, Twitter is much more tricky.  But, there are some people who have learned to use this tool effectively.  If you need some ideas, study some of the popular restaurants or night clubs in your area.
4. Blog.   It is tough to write a blog as a real estate company and not be perceived as biased.  So, if you decide to write a blog, you may want to focus it on a topic that is not perceived as manipulative.  One of the most popular blogs in my area is SeattleBubble.com - Even though the author is currently an employee of Redfin, he does a good job of maintaining neutrality.

Create You Personal Brand Offline.   Because real estate is such a local/community business, there are still many opportunities to deploy traditional methodologies for building your personal brand.  Here are some ideas:

1. Volunteer.   There are many opportunities in a local community to volunteer.  Pick opportunities that not only support your personal brand, but seem to get a lot of press.  Ride the popularity of things that are naturally interesting to others.
2. Take on a Cause.   Find something in your community that needs attention and make it your job to get it fixed.  For example, if there were a dangerous intersection in your community, could you bring it to the public’s attention and spearhead the public-interest project to get it fixed?  Seems like a great fit for someone who is concerned about the surrounding neighborhoods.
3. Teach a Class.   For most people, building a personal brand involves being perceived as an expert in a certain domain.  Teaching is a great way to build this perception.  Try contacting the local community college or an adult education program.
4. Participate in a Panel Discussion.   Are there conferences in your area where you can make a contribution?  It is quite common for conferences to hold panel discussions with experts from the local community.  Use your network to work your way onto one of these panels.  The first one will be the hardest, but visibility has a way of multiplying.

There are many more ideas out there, so don’t stop with what I’ve suggested... Build a good base, but then take every opportunity possible to add to your personal brand.  Tom Peters says it this way:

“The important thing to remember about your personal visibility campaign is: it all matters.  When you're promoting brand You, everything you do -- and everything you choose not to do -- communicates the value and character of the brand.”

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Employment Brand Part 2: What Is an Employment Brand and How Do I Develop One?

I’ve received a few questions back on the last WorkPuzzle I published.  Apparently, the concept of an “employment brand” is a new idea to many of you.  

Simply put, your employer brand is the image of your organization in the mind of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market (active and passive candidates, clients, customers and other key stakeholders).

So, employer branding activities are the sum of a company’s efforts to communicate to prospective and existing staff what makes your company a desirable place to work, and the active management of a company’s image as seen through the eyes of its potential hires.  (Definition Source)

When we think about this concept, our mind naturally drifts to the large businesses that have prominent brands.  Take a look at AT&T’s career page and you’ll see a great example of how the branding efforts of a well-known consumer brand now naturally crossover to the realm of employment branding.

Of course, this type of implementation would be beyond the reach of most local or even regional real estate companies.  And I would argue that it wouldn’t be very effective either.  While many real estate companies certainly spend money on building their image in the mind of consumers, the crossover to employment branding is not as natural.  Why?  Because the business model of most real estate companies is such that each local office tends to have its own culture.  And this culture (and in essence its brand) is largely driven by the owner or manager of that local office.

For real estate offices, the employment brand tends to be heavily influenced by the personal brand of the manager of a particular local office. 

When you’re attempting to recruit new individuals to your team, the first questions that go through the minds of candidates have to do with the brand of the local office (What is the office about, and is it a place I can see myself working?) and the brand of the manager (Is this the type of person I want to work with?  Does his/her team of agents have characteristics that are intriguing to me? ).

Much of our discussion about employment branding is going to focus on the personal brand of the manager or owner of an office.  And, this is where things get interesting. 

The concept of personal branding was perhaps initially discussed in Tom Peter’s classic article “The Brand Called You,” first published in 1997.  As social networking has exploded in the last 5 years, so have the tools that equip a person to develop and promulgate a personal brand.

So, what’s it take to build a personal brand as a manager?  Here are 4 steps that you should consider:

1.  Discover Your Brand
2.  Create Your Brand
3.  Communicate Your Brand
4.  Maintain Your Brand

We’ll discuss how to Discovering Your Brand today, and then cover the remaining topics in upcoming discussions. 

Branding expert and author, Dan Schwabell, offers this advice on discovering your personal brand:

“The single biggest mistake people make is that they either brand themselves just for the sake of doing it or that they fail to invest time in learning about what’s in their best interests. The key to success, and this isn’t revolutionary, is to be compensated based on your passion. In order to find your passion, you need a lot of time to think, some luck and you need to do some research online to figure out what’s out there.

Brand discovery is about figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life, setting goals, writing down a mission, vision and personal brand statement (what you do and who you serve), as well as creating a development plan. Have you ever been called intelligent or humorous by your peers or coworkers? That description is part of your brand, especially if you feel those attributed pertain to you. To know if you’ve discovered your brand, you need to make this equation equal:

Your self-impression = How people perceive you

Before you enter the next step in the personal branding process, you’ll want to select a niche, whereby you can be the master of your domain. When I say domain, I mean an area where there aren’t many competitors Once you sort this all out, now it’s time to create your brand.”

I encourage you to take some time to put some thought into Schwabell’s suggestions and develop a clear vision of what you want those in your close geographic are to think of you and your office.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.