Practical Inspiration from Coach Darcy

Sometimes, The Simple

I'm struggling today. There's nothing more frustrating to a get-it-done person like me than struggling to get-it-done. And what I'd aimed to get done wasn't even all that tremendous--it's perfectly within my capability and the time I have to do it in. Or had, as the clock keeps ticking  . . and I keep sticking . .
 .

So, I've done what every hot-blooded procrastinator does--I surfed the 'net. I can defend this to some extent as "research" for my book. Sure.

But I did come across something unique (and free) that reminded me that sometimes, we need to stop struggling and just make it simple. From the guys who brought you Basecamp to help you manage your projects in the cloud, comes tadalists.com. Ta Da--even the name makes me smile--is a simple list maker. That's it. You create your topic, your list items, and it lives out there for you to share with others, check off (or have others check off).

So I did what they asked--I signed up, and made a list. I focused on the project at hand where I'm stuck. Sure, I could have done this in Excel, or in Word, or in an email to myself or hand-scribbled in my notebook. But there was something clean and perfect about making a list this way. And suddenly, having a list of the steps I still need to take helped jump start me from my stuckiness.

It's sometimes the simple that does it.

When You Care Enough to Click

The questions and comments have certainly come in responding to my July newsletter article, "How to Click Less--to Connect More."  They range from "thank goodness someone's saying this!" to "are you living in a fantasy world?"

If you didn't read the piece, I make the case that if we want to connect more with our families, friends, and even colleagues and clients, we need to click less. Less clicking on our BlackBerries, IPhones, and Facebook accounts. Less time tapping out our texts and tweets.

And of course, the apparent irony is that I offer these thoughts by clicking away right now. And of course, I know that to get you here, you'll have to care enough to click.

Maybe that's the nuance I didn't discuss, the tip that I didn't outline in my list here on my website. That nuance is that to click less, you have to care less. You have to care less about. . .

• Responding to everyone elses' priorities and ignoring your own
• Maintaining appearances of accomplishment instead of actually accomplishing things
• Missing an opportunity to get your two cents in
• Knowing everything, all the time
• Keeping everyone else happy at your own expense
• Being seen as unique, out of the ordinary, and not afraid to stand out from the pack.

When you start caring less about the things that don't matter to you, you create space to care more about the things--and especially people--that do. You then have time to connect more--and click less.

How to Click Less and Connect More

The state of Georgia, here in the US where I live, recently banned texting and emailing while driving. That led a Facebook friend of mine to confess that she's created her own Pavolovian response to traffic signals, checking her Blackberry at every red light. No wonder traffic has been moving so slowly.  

Don't get me wrong--I love our technology. It's amazing that during my recent trip to Budapest, I could text my Mom in 5000 miles away--and get her response in seconds. The ability to send a client a proposal instantly over email is a far cry from the 9 p.m. FedEx runs during my early career.

 

But as I watch the behaviors of my clients and colleagues, I keep asking: Are we're using technology, or is it using us?

 

That's why my latest newsletter shares how--and why!--to click less so we can connect more. Read it here, and don't miss the extended tips on my website here.

Breaking the "Busy" Bias

Here's the link to my latest newsletter, including the feature article, Breaking the "Busy" Bias. I welcome your comments and ideas!

A Lesson in Delayed Gratification, from a Surprise Source: Facebook

Wherefore art thou, delayed gratification? We can find any answer ASAP on Google, we can order one book from among millions of choices immediately on Amazon, and we can even get physical product in my hands pretty quickly through UPS and FedEx.  So we don't have to wait for much. 

So why is one man purposely waiting to create billions of dollars of tangible net worth, for himself but also for his employees, investors, and others?

This was the theme behind a  story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about Facebook CEO, founder and genius Mark Zuckerberg, called "Facebook Founder in No Rush to 'Friend' Wall Street" .

In the article, Zuck (as the WSJ says he is known to most) was positioned as almost the counter-CEO. Instead of hurrying to grab profits and riches now while the iron is hot (on behalf of both stakeholders, employees, and himself), the 25-year-old Zuck has already passed over a $1 billion offer from Yahoo and an estimated $8 billion deal with Microsoft years later. While seen to be preparing for an IPO since 2008, Zuckerberg has been in no hurry to pull the trigger. 

The personal value Zuckerberg seems to be holding close here is delayed gratification, something thought lost in today's workplace. In exchange for the payday wait, Zuckerberg gets control in an ever-changing medium. He gets flexibility to do what he thinks is best. He gets the gift of creativity, so he can try new things--and fail. And, he gets the luxury of living a bigger vision, rather than watching a short-term goal.

According to the article, this delayed gratification isn't without its challenges, and the company has had to arrange innovative deals with investors for employees to see some additional cash rewards when they're not seeing IPO-level payoffs. Zuckerberg also tires of "the question" every time he speaks, now telling reporters he won't comment on it.

But pressures aside, the guy named Zuck who also happens to have created something that's changed our online and sometimes offline lives, doesn't seem to be bending to the pressure. He has a vision for the future, a clear understanding of what he has and what he needs, and seeks counsel but holds his own. For those of us who aspire to be better leaders in our businesses and our lives, there's a powerful lesson in that for all of us.