“What to Ask the Person in the Mirror — Critical Questions … ” by Robert Steven Kaplan, (Harvard Business Review Press, $26.95).
Leaders at every level in a firm experience times when they feel they don’t have all the answers. Because of their position, they find it difficult to ask the critical questions that allow them to “step back, diagnose, regroup and move forward.” When you’re unsure of your next steps, it’s time to look in the mirror and answer the questions Kaplan poses in his seven steps.
While you’re looking in the mirror, remember that your team has to answer the questions, too. Why? You’re only as good as your staff. People have to be on the same page. That doesn’t mean congruent thinking. It means they think in terms of their roles and aligning personal and organizational goals.
The refocusing process starts with personal vision and priorities. Too often we get trapped in the grind of day-to-day operations and forget why we do what we do. The key questions: “You could work elsewhere; why do you work here?” “Over the next years, what would you hope the company — and you — have accomplished?”
Priorities translate vision into action. “What are your priorities?” Kaplan points out that a long list means you really have none and are avoiding tough choices. A short list keeps you focused. Narrow your long list by categorizing it into 1s (high importance; you must bring your A-game every day), 2s (need to be done, but not necessarily at the optimum level), and 3s (should be done, but you’ll live if not done immediately).
You should end up with three to five priorities that focus you on critical tasks and provide the backdrop for coaching (as opposed to managing) your team. Kaplan reminds leaders that overarching organizational priorities must translate into business-unit-specific priorities. Each unit’s focus should mirror the defined 1s and 2s.
Time management becomes easier when you know what must be done. But you can’t keep blinders on. Change is omnipresent. Leaders and their staff must also make time to investigate and evaluate what’s changing outside their walls. You have today’s 1s and 2s; competition, events and technology will require adaptation — and many times rethinking.
Answering the critical questions propels growth.
“Overload! How Too Much Information is Hazardous to Your Organization” by Jonathan Spira (John Wiley & Sons, $45).
Consider the following: When you play Pavlov’s dog by turning to your computer screen when it pings an email’s arrival or the phone rings and you answer it, it takes a few minutes to get back on track after even the briefest interruption.
What does that mean in terms of real, unproductive time? I had 10 friends track their time usage for a week. Their “get back on track” time averaged 30 minutes a day — that’s 2.5 hours each week.
Consistent with Spira’s studies, my friends cited email as the biggest time-wasting culprit. Too many “too short or too long” messages. The short ones found them wasting more time playing email ping-pong searching for more information. The long ones buried the messages so deep, they had to reread the email. They also complained that they were a cc for no apparent reason on about 20 percent of their emails — but they had to read the email to find out.
Spira’s advice for the problem: BLUF — Bottom Line Up Front. Use specifics in the subject line to give the reader an idea of content. Use a short preamble to expand on the subject line (i.e. This message covers … ). Then provide the details (devoid of acronyms) in a few short sentences. Read what you write before you click send. Make sure you send to the right people.
The flip side: Read what others write before replying. And don’t send one word emails (like Thanks! and Great!).
Spira also provides great advice on narrowing your Web searches, so you get what you search for.
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
