Have you noticed that we’re all making more daily decisions? Between navigating the endless menus on screens, the pop-up distractions, and the demands to do more with less, it is sometimes easier to simply act without thinking too much. Unfortunately, many times this makes things worse solves the wrong problem, and requires a “do-over.”
During the time I was writing Figure It Out, I had a chance conversation with someone about a problem I was trying to resolve. In the midst of our discussion, he asked, “What does success look like?” While it was a helpful thought then, his question also got me thinking about the lack of clarity we all deal with as daily challenges come our way.
Taking a minute or two to ask and consider what success looks like focuses our thinking and eliminates the urge to act emotionally or impulsively. If you need to have a difficult conversation with a colleague for instance, what will a successful outcome look like? If the boss has asked you to resolve an issue with a vendor, what will success look like? If you have to make a presentation to the team, what will success look like?
Now, you have to get specific with the details. Simply saying that the colleague will be happy, the vendor problem will go away or the presentation will be a splendid success is not good enough. What will make these things so? What steps have to be taken to make them that way?
In some cases, this exercise may take more than a minute or two. But isn’t it better to invest the time up front to clarify a problem, than to spend time later on recovering from wasted effort? The biggest challenge in implementing this strategy is committing to it. So, take a few minutes as you finish reading this. Pick an upcoming decision and ask yourself, “What does success look like?” Getting into the habit of asking this question, saves time, money, and effort. I know. I do it all the time.