Tag: resolutions

Creatures of inputs

FabrizioLeave a comment

You need to deploy a lot of strength to get rid of bad habits.

If you check your phone every five minutes, that’s a feeling of continuos anticipation of what you might learn.

If you read work emails in the evenings, that’s a feeling of commitment and importance and busyness.

If you eat a sweet snack four or five times a day, that’s a feeling of satisfaction and fullness.

Of course, tha aftermath of a bad habit is never as good as the moment that leads to it. But we are creatures of inputs, not creatures of outputs. We care about what comes before – the thoughts, the wondering, the emotions.

That’s why you need strength to get rid of a bad habit. Start with the phone, the emails, the snack, whatever you know will lead you there.

Half measures do not work in this case.

Master of time

FabrizioLeave a comment

I don’t have time for this.

It sounds a lot better when you say instead.

I have made a decision not to invest time in this.

That is a more honest thing to say. It also shows awareness and determination. It denotes you are in control of how you spend your day and it holds you responsible for the things your are not doing.

Time is not an entity we can control. What we do with it, instead, is something we can learn to master.

Art and craft

FabrizioLeave a comment

Art is about creating content that is meaningful primarily to you, as it is an expression of your inner world. Of course, art can have a market. That happens when the expression of your inner world resonates with someone else’s inner world. That is not its main purpose though.

Craft is about creating content that is meaningful primarily to an audience, as it is an expression of a common world view. Of course, craft can be artistic. That happens when the expression of the common world view is so peculiar that it clearly stands out among similar other expressions. Again, that is not its main purpose.

There is space for both art and craft in the world, and both paths are available to most people.

You just need to be aware of where you stand.

A good rule of thumb: if you can deliver work through consecutive iterations, reaching a point where the work does not look like something you would have created yourself, and still be working to smooth the corners and be proud of the final results, you are most likely a crafter.

Stay

FabrizioLeave a comment

There is value in staying with what makes you uncomfortable.

You get stronger, you understand more, you settle. Staying is a learning experience. It is by staying that eventually you begin to manage situations that initially seemed insurmountable.

Of course, staying is also a huge stress.

So pick a few things that matter, and stay.

Not exciting anymore

FabrizioLeave a comment

Three reasons why the new tool, system, process, structure rolled out in your organization is no longer as exciting as it initially seemed.

  1. The people making the decision are the not the ones impacted by the decision. Very often, the people impacted by the decision are not even consulted in the decision-making phase. Assumptions and second guessing are key criteria.
  2. There was a tacit expectation that the tool, system, process would have been welcomed by everybody as a cure for all that is bad. In other words, nobody really gave change management a thought – and if number 1 is true, you are most likely already drifting into number 2.
  3. There is no agreement on accountability and how success is going to be measured. People will do everything to avoid saying: “we failed (and we will not fail again)”. Flawed solutions will be around for years, until a new change can be sold internally. Putting the process back at number 1.