A thought by John C. Maxwell from his
book, How to Lead When Your Boss Can't (or Won't) (p. 32). HarperCollins
Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to
buy the book.)
And that is so true, isn’t it?
John says, “And if you’re a mid-level
leader in an organization, you may be among the busiest people in the
organization. If you find that the pace of life is too demanding for you to
stop and think during your workday, then get into the habit of jotting down the
three or four things that need good mental processing or planning that you
can’t stop to think about. Then carve out some time later when you can give
those items some good think-time, which may have to be after work hours. You
may want to spend thirty minutes at home thinking every day, or you may want to
keep a running list of ideas for a whole week and then take a couple of hours
on Saturday. Just don’t let the list get so long that tackling it disheartens
or intimidates you.”
He goes on, “I encouraged readers in Thinking for a Change to have a place to think, and I wrote about the ‘thinking
chair’ I have in my office. I don’t sit in that thinking chair without an
agenda, just hoping that a good idea hits me. What I usually do is think about
the things I’ve jotted down because I was too busy to think about them during a
busy day. I take the list to my chair, put it in front of me, and give each
item as much think-time as it needs. Sometimes I’m evaluating a decision I’ve
already made. Sometimes I’m thinking through a decision I will have to make.
Sometimes I’m developing a strategy. Other times I’m trying to be creative in
fleshing out an idea.
He then says, “I want to encourage you to try
managing your thinking in this way. If you’ve never done it before, you will be
amazed by the payoff. And know this: a minute of thinking is often more
valuable than an hour of talk or unplanned work. When you create a plan when
your head is clear, it clears your path to do your best work.”
Please, will you try to manage your thinking?
I’m sure you are busy, but will you try?
Comments
Post a Comment