Why are you doing “that”?

There is so much to do, so if we are not careful, we end up taking on much more than any one person can handle.  To be most successful, you need to be very selective as to what you take on.  You need to be diligent at managing your attention and your agenda.  Since there is much more to be done, learning to avoid or stop doing certain things is imperative.  Not everything that calls our attention or ends up on our list is critical to our success.   Several best-selling authors propose this.  In an article for his newsletter, Dr. John C. Maxwell suggests three things leaders should quit:

• You quit something you don’t do well to start something you do well.
• You quit something you’re not passionate about to do something that fills you with passion.
• You quit something that doesn’t make a difference to do something that does.

In the article’s summary, he concludes that clarity regarding what we want enables us to focus on those things that best get us to their accomplishment:

“Leaders step forward when they clarify their vision and values. Knowing their purpose gives them a starting point, and a reason to act. By clearing out the clutter in their agendas, leaders recognize the power of quitting. Free from the handcuffs of over-commitment, leaders are able to choose the dreams they chase rather than drifting down the current of life’s circumstances.”

We need to work hard at making sure we are very clear as to what we want or need to get accomplished.  That is the source of energy that will enable us to focus our attention on the things that matter most to the results we seek.

In his book, The Dip, Seth Godin proposes what he calls “strategic quitting.” This means getting out any and all of our dead-end efforts so we can leverage our limited energy on things worth working on.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins writes about the “Stop Doing List.”  Collins and his colleagues discovered that “Good to Great” companies place significant effort on identifying things they need to stop doing.  By doing so, they can free up significant resources to attend to the core activities and projects that lead to the most success.

This concept makes a lot of sense to me!  Spending time on things we are not good at, don’t love to do, or are not aligned with our goals, makes no sense whatsoever.  Sometimes we get into things without thinking much about it.

Here is what I suggest you do to get out of it:  STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, and THINK!

1. Make sure you have a clear sense of what you want or need to accomplish.
2. Develop four lists as follow:

• Things to stop doing
• Things to start doing
• Things to do less
• Things to do more

I bet following these simple steps will improve your ability to accomplish what you want or need.  Try it for yourself and then try it for your group.

The BEST is Yet to Come!

Epi Torres, CEO