“Do You Still work for…..

Money?” was the content of an email I recently received.  I chuckled for about two minutes before trying to return an equally humorous quip.  This email was wry because I knew the person, a former client who I respected and admired.  Such an email could easily give rise to a negative emotional reaction.

The very best form of communication between two people is a face-to-face conversation where both parties are fully engaged.  If it is a serious interaction, follow-up with a written communication focuses and clarifies the content of the communication.

Much is being written about how using mobile technology to exchange information is not communication, only a connection.  To mistake an e-exchange for a relationship is a serious matter.  My relationship with her was developed long before, face-to-face.

I have been collecting impressions from people in organizations for a long time.  When email became dominant, the level of complaints skyrocketed.  Now comments are about people who seem to be on-line all the time.

Sherry Turkle, in an provocative article in the NY Times says “Always-on/always-on-you devices provide three powerful fantasies: that we will always be heard; that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be; and that we never have to be alone.”

This is deeply troubling since evidence about creativity, personal productivity, effective management and leadership show personal reflection, spending time in your head, is an essential ingredient in all these endeavors.  Food for thought.

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Introversion #5: Spend a Little Time Inside Your Head

A study of 95-year olds asked them “what would you do differently?”  The most frequent response was “spend more time reflecting.”

The most marvelous construct in the universe is the human mind.  In fact physicists’ anthropic principle could be inferred to state that “the universe was created to produce the human mind.”

Make some time in your life, every day if possible, to spend in deep reflection.  I hope you will be in conversation with the most interesting person you know, your greatest supporter and your harshest critic.  Doing this will certainly have a powerful positive impact on the quality of your life.

Susan Cain has recently writer a book on introversion, although I don’t recommend it to you because some of the Amazon reviews note that her presentation of the science is not very good.  I do recommend you spend a few minutes watching her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0KYU2j0TM4

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Introversion #4: The Power of Solitude

Isaac Newton:  “A mind for ever/ Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.”

-  William Wordsworth

Visiting with managers, I often hear them complain about being interrupted during the day by people bringing issues to them.  It may well be they are micro-managers who demand final decision on everything. But more likely they are suffering from the bane of an “open door” policy. This is one reason I am not much of a fan of such practices.  Open doors draw a non-random group of your employees and often exclude the people you want to hear from.  Managing is a proactive endeavor and you get the very best from people when you take the time to ask.

Being constantly interrupted also precludes the possibility of experiencing “flow.”  This happens when you are working on a solitary task and your mind and body coordinate to produce extraordinary results.

Research shows that multi-tasking is simply fast switching.  Many people are proud of their ability to multi-task.  Sadly, these people will never experience flow.

I once worked with a CEO who closed his door and turned off his phone for 90 minutes every day after lunch.  He noted that people quickly adjusted to his inaccessibility and he had his best insights about the business during these moments of solitude.

For me the environments producing my best insights and solutions to problems are swimming and showering.  The absence of interruption, inward focus and warm water create what seems to be the opportunity for productive thought.

Most of us, particularly introverts, function better when we have some daily time to ourselves.  Even extreme extraverts can benefit from such “downtime.”  Do you have enough downtime and where are times and places where you have the opportunity to reflect?

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Introversion #3: Brain-storming

Last week we reviewed the importance of sleep, when cognitive processing occurs, and noted that moving from the spoken to the written word improves the rigor of thinking.  Going back to The Rise of the New Groupthink, Susan Cain notes that using e-brainstorming can actually enhance the process.  What she means is giving people time to reflect on a written Q and allowing them to sleep on the problem produces better results.  The e-format simplifies the logistics of the process.

Aside from the fact that brain storming gives zero time for reflection and effectively excludes most introverts, it is also possible for a facilitator or dominant  person(s) to the hijack the process.

I was in a strategic brain storming session some time ago where the facilitator consistently failed to write what the participants were saying thus hijacking the process.  When confronted about his behavior he was unable to change what was essentially a process of open manipulation.

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Introversion #2: Brain-storming

 

The Rise of the New Groupthink has a ton of interesting ideas in it. Research shows brain storming is not such a great idea if you are looking for creativity.  Let me reiterate and discuss this further.

In addition to the fact that it precludes input from introverts, who live in their heads and thus are very creative, it has some other problems.  Let’s take a look at these with me (an introvert) as the lab rat.

If you spontaneously ask me a Q in a group setting I can give you a fair to good answer, but if you let me sleep on it I will give you a better, perhaps superb answer.  It is clear that the brain cycles during sleep and that processing is going on during one of these stages.  “Sleep on it” is good advice for important decisions.

If you provide me with a written question and ask for a written response in a couple days, after I sleep on it, you will get a superb answer (I hope).  Consider the enormous difference between the spoken and written word.  These blogs are written and rewritten with care, what pops out of my mouth is, as my social director says, like a gumball machine.  Going from the spoken to written word improves the rigor of thinking by orders of magnitude.

The opportunity for reflection provides an enormous cognitive edge.  More next week.

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Taking a Break From Problem Employees

Note from a colleague after the last week’s blog – “How about some good news?”  So let’s take a break from problem employees and examine some very good news for introverts, and everyone else too.

First, a simple test for introversion:

Would you rather stay home and do something you really enjoy or go to a large meeting of strangers expecting to interact with many people?

Next, a simple definition of introversion-extraversion:

Extraverts are emotionally energized by social interactions, the reverse is the opposite for introverts.  I am exhausted after too much social interaction.

Myth about introverts:

They are interpersonally less skilled than extraverts.  This is nonsense, interacting with others is a learned skill, it just takes more effort for introverts.  Although there is evidence some people cannot master social interactions.

Scientific fact about introversion-extraversion:

It has a large genetic component, more that half in most studies.  This explains why it’s harder for introverts to be socially skilled.

The Good News:

Research strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption.

More about this next week.

There are a couple of ways that people can subscribe to this blog. Click the “+ Follow” link on the bottom right section of the site and enter your email address. This is a very easy way to receive the newest post as an email. The other way is via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. The RSS Feed link is located on the right sidebar of the site, directly above the Categories section. Click on “RSS – Posts” to receive your posts in their favorite RSS reader. The RSS reader that many prefer is Google Reader (http://reader.google.com). It is free, well organized, and easy to use.

GoTo: The Rise of the New Groupthink

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

Dichotomy: Principles – Rules

“Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men”

- Douglas Bader

I was wise in my choice of parents, my mother and father complemented each other in a manner that allowed me to experience two different styles of living. My mother taught me: Always say “thank you.” I use it often and it has served me well. My father taught me, through his actions, to “always show respect for people.” This is a principle for living that I am still working on perfecting.

This is an example of the difference between a rule and a principle. A rule is basically an algorithm, a logical step-by-step set of procedures that if followed produces exactly the same set of results every time. Principles are heuristics, informal methods for solving problems or making decisions based on experience and often using iteration, a form of trial and error.

To be a manager you must understand this distinction.  Too many organizations are becoming rule-bound.  Rule-bound behavior stifles motivation and innovation.  Principles invite the exercise of good judgment and common sense.  For more on this go to: On principles and rules: heuristics and algorithms.

Say-Do Paradox Winner

David Salazar Says:

I think the say/do concept is a great concept. It reminds me of Bushido, the Japanese code of conduct meaning “way of the warrior”. One of the codes in Bushido is honor. In our class, we talked about respect, but I believe honor is also a great characteristic of a leader. In my studies of Bushido, I learned that a samurai never had to promise to do something. If he said he would do it, it would be done. This is the very nature of the say/do concept.

On the other hand, instead of the say/do concept, what about just the do concept? The say/do concept is great in theory but there is no relationship to the time in between the actual “say” and “do”. How many times have we all said we were going to do the dishes but did not really intend on doing them any time soon. My father taught me that actions speak louder than words. I think the do concept also has merit in that our actions define us.

David Salazar of KJWW Engineering wins a copy of Beyond Luck with the above incisive comment.  Thank you, David.

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

Some time ago a group of managers were about to hire a candidate.  The Admin came in and asked ‘”who?”  When she heard the answer her face fell, she said “really?” and so we asked for her input.  Apparently the person treated her with condescension and distain.  We were bewildered and she suggested we “sleep on it.”

Two lessons from this event:

First, we learned and were surprised by the fact that there are some people, fortunately not many, who seem to have two sets of behavior. One set for their managers and peers and another set for those below them in the pecking order.

Second, we learned that events and decisions often look very different the next morning. Doris intuitively knew if we caught some ZZZs, we would make the right decision.

Scientists have been studying sleep for several decades, and much is known about normal and abnormal sleep. The most important fact is that sleep deprivation has many negative cognitive, emotional and physical effects. In fact, research on animals shows that if completely deprived of sleep, some will die. What is most important to know is that sleep goes through a series of 90- to 110-minute cycles, and in one of these of these cycles, where rapid eye movement, loss of muscle tonus and dreaming occur, the brain appears to be actively processing. No one is sure what the brain is processing but this stage, called REM, seems to be the critical element of sleep. For more on sleep see Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep.

Over the years, I have learned never to be pushed into decisions without sleeping on them. A wondrous thing, the human mind working for us even when we are sleeping.

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Cicero Speaks

Marcus Tullius Cicero was assassinated on December 7, 43 BCE.  He left behind a substantive body of writing.  Some years ago a colleague shared Cicero’s list of “man’s drastic mistakes.”  I often review them as a reminder.  As you consider your New Year’s resolutions perhaps you will reflect with me on these attributes.

The delusion that individual advancement is made by crushing others

The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.

Insisting that a thing is not possible because we cannot do it ourselves.

Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.

Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

Neglecting development and refinement of the mind and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.

For a more in-depth discussion of these mistakes go to:

http://www.corridorbusiness.com/consulting/words-of-wisdom-from-cicero-resonate-today/