With the launch of a coalition government it got me thinking how often we assume we have to do everything on our own when there may be ways of involving others – others that until now we thought as competitors or rivals. Who could you partner with today?

Food for thought?

Fire-fighting like the professionals ….
A new year is often a time for resolutions, good intentions, plans and new goals. Yet, all too often, our good intentions and resolutions are sabotaged. ‘Fires’ come along that demand our immediate attention and divert our focus. Before we know it we have reverted to our old ways of doing things.

Over the Christmas holiday period we experienced an, unplanned, ‘opportunity’ to observe professional fire personnel in action. We were staying with some friends and, on returning to their home, were alarmed to discover a fire raging in and around their conservatory chimney and smoke starting to fill the house. Luckily the fire had not really taken hold and was quickly doused with some quick thinking and buckets of water. Just as the last flames were extinguished the two fire engines and crews arrived. However, rather than simply saying, ‘It seems you have dealt with the fire so we’ll be on our way’ (which is what we initially thought was all that was required), the fire crews focused their whole attention on us and the need to ensure the fire was completely out; it could not restart; it had not spread and that the building was completely safe.

Working seamlessly as one team the fire crews doused the area to reduce the considerable heat, used thermal imaging cameras to check for hot spots in the cavity walls, removed panes of glass that had shattered with the heat and made the building safe and secure. During this time they radioed back to headquarters to advise that they were unavailable for any other job. Once the crews had cleared up the considerable mess, they carefully accounted for and gathered all their tools before turning their attention to future prevention. An additional smoke detector was installed there and then, with advice on how to maintain and test the alarm. A risk assessment visit was arranged for the following week and subsequently the whole incident was written up in the local paper to remind others of the importance of smoke detectors and not leaving fires unattended.

Reflecting later on the whole incident, I found myself wondering how often we think we have put out ‘fires’ and move on to something else without focussing our attention and ensuring:
• That the ‘fire’ can’t flare up again
• There have been no knock on effects
• We have put everything back in its place
• We have reflected on what happened and what our own contribution might have been
• We have extracted the learning from the experience

Equally, how often do we stop and take time to ensure that ‘fires’ don’t occur in the first place? Take a moment to ask yourself:
• What ‘fires’ are likely to flare up this year?
• What can I do to minimise the risks? Are detectors in place?
• What can I learn from fire-fighting professionals?

Finally, we may also need to reflect on whether we actually enjoy the adrenalin rush of fire-fighting rather than focussing on what may be important but not actually urgent at the present time.

Food for thought?

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We were recently on holiday in Tanzania and had the privilege of spending some time in a Masai village. In talking with some of the tribesmen we were surprised how many had been to university. Later that day we were talking to the manager of the hotel we were staying in and he explained how the Tanzanian government were exasperated in their efforts to get the Masai to give up their traditional nomadic way of life, despite providing extensive funds for education. Many went away to university, studied for their degree, and then returned to their village and former way of life.

Research by Gregory Bateson and Robert Dilts suggests that we have a hierarchy in the way we think about things. They identified six ‘logical levels of thought’, each level providing different information and building on the level below.

The Six Logical Levels:

6. Purpose: The big picture for our life or our organisation.

5. Identity: Who are you as an individual or organisation? What role do you play to achieve your purpose? How do you think of yourself as a person/organisation – eg ‘I am a successful person’.

4.Beliefs and Values: Why do you do something? What do you believe in or value?

3. Capabilities: How do you go about doing things? As an individual or organisation, what are your capabilities, skills, strategies or action plans?

2. Behaviours: What are your typical behaviours? The things that others see you doing and saying?

1. Environment: Where, when and with whom do you display your behaviours? What are the external influences on you?

An Example: Many of us have been on a time management training programme. So, in theory, most of us have the capabilities needed for good time management. We also know what behaviours help and we know how to organise our environment to enhance our use of time. So, how is it that one of the main areas that people tell us they would like to improve upon is time management? From the logical levels model we can see that most of us only made changes at the bottom three levels in regards to time management. If, for example, we don’t believe that utilising a rigorous diary system will work, or we value spontaneity over punctuality or our identity is bound up in being open and accessible to people then, because we haven’t made any changes at the higher levels, it is unlikely that after the initial rush of good intentions the principles of time management will be embedded.

Sustainable Change

Making a change at a lower level (eg environment) may, but not necessarily, affect an upper level. However, a change at an upper level (eg belief) will have a distinct impact on the levels below it, as illustrated in the above example. (You may remember previous newsletters that dealt with the fact that beliefs are only beliefs and so can be changed.)

Using Logical Levels to Explain/Understand Change

The above leads to a number of interesting explanations/discoveries:

1. Organisational change. Have you ever been involved in change within an organisation? What are some of the more common change activities?

How about a new organisation chart? Or maybe change to the physical layout of the offices. This is change at the level of environment. Do you think it will be long-lasting? Only if the change is in alignment with the higher levels.

Or maybe staff are told to perform in a different way (behaviour) without receiving the necessary training (capability/strategy). Unfortunately, this happens far too often. When money becomes tight, the first thing cut is the training budget! Again it is unlikely that the change will be long-lasting.

2 Individual Change. Suppose you have a goal for yourself (health, career, …) and it is not in alignment with one of the higher levels. How successful do you think you will be in achieving your goal?

3. An often cited quote from Albert Einstein is “The problems of today can only be solved at a higher level of thinking than that which created them”. I have heard many people refer to this quote yet few can explain how you can actually do it (ie move to a higher level of thinking). Using logical levels, you can easily explain it. For example, if there is a problem at the behavioural level, to solve it we must move to at least the capability/strategy level.

4. Implementing Change. To implement change successfully, either individually or as an organisation, all six levels need to be considered. Something the Tanzania government perhaps needs to think about if they are ever going to succeed in their aim of changing the Masai.

Food for thought?

Article courtesy of Bernadette Doyle

Heard About ‘Free Days’?
Imagine the following scenario. It’s Wednesday afternoon. You and a friend are having lunch at your favourite restaurant. After lunch you might go for a stroll, visit a local attraction, or just go home and read. It doesn’t matter which. Your phone and email are switched off, work is the farthest thing from your mind, and you’re committed to nothing more than simply relaxing. You return to the office the next morning, guilt-free and feeling rather energetic.

This is what Strategic Coach Dan Sullivan describes as a Free Day, a 24-hour period completely free from work-related problem-solving, communication, and action.

It’s not so easy to imagine, is it? For most business owners, the whole notion of free time, particularly midweek, is nothing less than far-fetched. How can you possibly take free time when there’s so much work to be done, money to make, commitments to be kept?

Most people think of Free Days as a reward for hard work. I don’t. Now I see Free Days as an essential precondition for achieving success and optimum productivity. The key to free days is recognizing that it means booking time to rejuvenate before — not after — your productive periods. Several years ago I started to notice that many of the successful business owners I admired talked about the importance of ‘downtime’ and blocking out periods of time where they did absolutely nothing.

Because I was interested in replicating their results, I paid attention and started to wonder how I could incorporate ‘free days’ into my own schedule. It wasn’t easy at first. On any given day, most business owners would consider themselves extraordinarily lucky (or seriously pressured) to be able to squeeze in a bit of free time, let alone a whole day. It happens only IF they can first get “a few things” done, IF there are no unexpected crises, and IF they can just clean up a few “little messes” around the office. Not surprisingly, this seldom, if ever, happens.

But if you want to improve the quality of both your work and personal life, you need ‘Free Days’. So how can you incorporate free days into YOUR schedule?

Right now, most of us figure out how much time we need to work and make money. Then, if there’s anything left over, we devote it to free time. But this concept doesn’t work for time any more than it works for money.

Successful savers know that you have to work out what you want to save, take it off the top of your income, and live on the rest. If you don’t, you’ll get to the end of the month and find there is nothing left. Free time is just like savings: it has to come off the top. So you need to plan your Free Days first, and then work everything else around them.

It won’t come easy at first. You’re not used to it. Like anything else, Free Days take time and practice. But it gets easier when you see free days as a necessity, rather than a luxury. When you’re running a business YOU are the most important asset. In the words of Coachville founder Thomas Leonard ‘Without you, there is nothing.’ So you need to make taking time out for relaxation, rejuvenation and what Stephen Covey calls ‘sharpening the saw’ a priority.

How should you use a Free Day? Well that all depends upon YOU. Some people are rejuvenated by engaging in highly energetic activities. They need to be out and about, on the go all the time. Others (like me) are just the opposite. They just want to relax, curl up with a book, listen to music, get a massage, lie on a beach, or have a good conversation. Whatever you choose, your Free Day should allow you to be in a different world, away from responsibilities, concerns, worries, and goals.

Start NOW. Don’t let this be a ‘good idea’ that you’ll get around to ‘when you have time’. Take out your calendar and mark out your next ‘free day’. Keep it sacred! If a whole day seems like too much to start with, then start with an afternoon. I promise that when you make a habit of ‘free days’ and you notice your creativity and productivity soar as a result, you’ll be hooked. So start TODAY.
© Bernadette Doyle, 2009
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