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Status Quo Bias is the tendency to stick with the status quo even when presented with a better option involving change.
Inertia is real! We all fall victim to it. The lack of motivation to make a change because what you are doing is working fine is natural. When there isn’t an issue with the way things are working today, you don’t even think about how it could work better. It takes action to break the status quo. But, first, you must recognize the need to take action. There are processes in every company or organization that are a victim of status quo bias. “we’ve always done it that way” In the agile development methodology, there is a concept called the ‘retrospective’, sometimes called lessons learned. It is a process that serves to look at the activities of the last several weeks (called a sprint) and determine what worked well and what didn’t work well. At it’s core, the concept is designed to challenge status quo bias. The question is— within your process, what can be defined as a sprint? How can you build in a process at the end of each sprint to challenge the status quo? Ask yourself what worked and what didn't for each sprint. Then look for something that you can do differently to improve the process. At the next sprint, you’ll review again and find out if your change lead to improvement. 
Something I fundamentally believe is:
Positive Mindset + Effort = Achievement Positive Mindset Only = Rosey Glasses Mindset takes effort in order to make a difference in your life. Another thing I believe: Mindset and Assumptions are cousins. Let me explain: Assumptions are a set of beliefs or rules that have gone unsaid. These unacknowledged beliefs may be different than someone else’s or different than reality, which can lead you to take a wrong action. Mindset is similar – you can make decisions and take actions everyday based on your mindset. An un-examined or unacknowledged mindset can drive you to take wrong actions. Understanding your mindset is critical in order to recognize the actions you are taking. There are 2 types of mindset: Fixed Mindset When you believe you either ‘have it’ or you don’t. What you have is what you have, so no additional effort is required. This mindset is about the outcome. Growth Mindset When you believe there is always room to learn. That what you were born with is just a starting point. This mindset is about the experience.
We all have times when we get into a funk – something in our life isn’t where we want it to be – our job, our marriage, or community involvement. When the funk is about your job, we sometimes call it the Sunday Night Blues.
So, how do you get out of the funk? The goal is to become unstuck. Step 1: Recognize that you are feeling stuck Getting stuck usually happens little by little, and you don’t always recognize that you are feeling stuck. Step 2: Focus on the objective of getting unstuck Tell yourself that getting unstuck is possible. Say it out loud. It helps with your mindset. Step 3: Figure out what is causing you to be stuck You may need to dig deep. The reason may not be obvious at first. Step 4: Take Action Use your unconscious mind to help you solve the problem.
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We all have a list of goals longer than the amount of time we have to be able to accomplish them. This can be overwhelming and even discouraging.
In this episode, we are going to cover 4 tips that can help you make sense of your goals. Someday Maybe List A list of all of the ideas that you have but that you can’t get to immediately. · Keep one list for work and a separate one for the rest of your life. When you change jobs, the one for your work can just be tossed. · At least once per year, review the list to remove anything that you’ve already accomplished or that isn’t relevant anymore. In addition, determine if there is anything on the Someday/Maybe List that should be moved to your current projects list. Get Clear About Your Priorities Create a North Start List. What are the areas of your life that you must fulfill? · Family obligations · Work obligations · Community obligations · Personal obligations Every goal you undertake needs to tie back to your North Start List. Review Episode 1: North Star List Understand What Type of Goal it is “Why” Goals: Goals where you need motivation to keep you moving toward your goal · Longer term · Future oriented For example: I want to lose weight so that I have more energy to play with the grandkids. “What” Goals: Goals that are more concrete, difficult, or complex · Detail oriented · Shorter in duration · Happening in the near future For example: I am going to eat 3 vegetables today. Know When to Give Up Finding the balance between persistence and knowing when to give up is not easy. Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself to help you determine if you’ve reached the point where it may make sense to give up on a goal: 1. Is it a good use of your time? Given the limited amount of we all have, is this something that you should continue to invest your time in? 2. Is it costing you too much? Money, relationships, or some other opportunity cost. When you got into this goal, did you realize how much it would cost you? If you had know, would you have made the same decision to pursue the goal? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and you'll get a guide for each episode.
Words matter. The language you use matters. It impacts your mindset. It gives you a definition of yourself that can become limiting.
Have you ever noticed the different ways that waiters introduce themselves to you? “I’m Rachel, and I’ll be your server tonight.” “I’m Rachel, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.” A subtle difference, but one communicates that my responsibility is to serve you your food and the other communicates that my responsibility is to take care of you – completely. Have you ever said, or heard someone say ‘I’m bad at math”? What does that tell you? Do they know that it takes 4 quarters to make a dollar? Do they know calculus? For most of us, knowing calculus isn’t important or necessary for our daily lives. So -if you don’t need to know calculus and you don’t know calculus, then why would you say you are bad at math? Become aware of the words you use. How do they impact your mindset? What do they communicate to others about you? Are they serving you well?
We all multi-task. It is a vital part of the world we live in. What we need to become better at is learning how to determine when the multi-tasking that we are doing has become unproductive.
Productive multi-tasking is when the completion of two competing tasks don’t require your focus. For example, listening to a podcast while working out. You can do both without detriment to either. Generally, you do not need to focus on the treadmill in order to walk on it. That leaves your focus on the content of the podcast. Unproductive multi-tasking is when the completion of two different tasks at the same time results in one or both of the tasks suffering. Answering email while on a conference call is an example. When you are focused on answering email, you aren’t listening to the conference call. Both things – reading and listening – require focus. Examine your multitasking habits. Which ones are not serving you well?
Intuition: the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.
In business, it is more standard to rely on analysis than intuition. Intuition is a skill that can be built. You can learn to adjust your behavior to a set of cues in a manner that is more successful. As a matter of fact, there is even a term for it: Recognition Primed Decision. A situation generates clues. You recognize a pattern in those clues and activate action scripts that affect the situation. 
In order to build your intuition at work. You can improve your intuition by learning this process:
1. Identify the decisions that are part of your job. · What makes those decisions difficult · What are common errors · How does someone with more experience than you make decisions 2. Practice making decisions in context · Think back to a situation you were in—what were the cues you picked up on and what did you miss? 3. Practice with a co-worker who was in the situation with you to see what they picked up on that you didn’t 4. Analyze your decision steps to identify what you would do differently next time
There are several types of presentations, and the best practices for each type are different, so it is important to understand the type of presentation you are creating. In this episode, we are going to specifically focus on how to create a presentation for a meeting.
First, you need to determine if you are putting together a presentation or a reference document. True or False: 1. Does your presentation regurgitate information that is already available in another type of document, such as Excel or Word? 2. Are you tempted to say ‘I know this slide is an eye chart’? If you answered true to both of the above, you are creating a reference document. A reference document is not intended to be engaging—it is intended to be available for reference. But, if what you have is not reference material, then you can start planning for your presentation. First, you need to determine the objective you are trying to accomplish. What is the objective from your perspective? What is the objective from the participant’s perspective? Why are you having the meeting and why did you invite the people that you did? Thinking through this will help you with defining the objective of your meeting. Next, you should start to think about the Content of the meeting. What is the content that needs to be covered in the meeting? Are you introducing a problem that needs to be solved? A new product or idea? A new initiative? Thinking through this will help you with defining what material needs to be covered in your meeting. You can think of this as a meeting agenda if it helps. Now that you are clear on your objective and agenda, you can start working on the presentation. Follow these guidelines for an engaging presentation: 1. Less is more—everything you are going to say in the meeting does not need to be on the slide. This isn’t a reference document – you will be presenting the information verbally – which is more engaging. 2. Connect the dots for your audience – use pictures, a flow chart, a graph 3. Stories always help 4. Don’t rely on the slides only—demonstrate in the system, show reference material, etc Spending a little time on your presentation will help set you apart.
At some point in every career, we reach a point where we are good at what we do, and it doesn’t really challenge us anymore. And, at different points in your career, you may be good at certain things and still learning others.
A lot of people fall into the trap of not actively managing this process. It is important to be conscientious of where you have mastered your role and where you still have room to grow. Understanding where you are in your overall career growth will help you plan a way forward. You can start by understanding what Todd Henry calls the aspiration gap. Aspiration Gap: The difference between the work that you want to create and the work that you are capable of creating at this moment. Look for an area where, if you learned a new skill, you could take your career to the next level. This will help you focus in on objectives that make sense for your career at your particular point in your career. By thinking about where your skills, interests, and strengths can be improved to take your career to the next level, you are giving your career its own unique flavor. Nobody else is going to do your job exactly the same way you do. Take stock of your current job and where you want to be. What can you do to move yourself toward your goal? Our worksheet for this week contains a list of questions to help you think through this. If you’d like to receive, it, sign up for our newsletter.
It is a natural cycle to want to improve yourself. The question is—when do you reach the point where you’ve stopped learning and you need to become a freshman again?
When you are an expert—you don’t get a day off. When you are a freshman: · You can ask questions that an expert wouldn’t ask for fear of looking stupid · You can take risks that would look like career suicide for an expert · You can try things and not worry about failure— because for a freshman, it is about learning · Use the phrase “I’m no expert here...” · Use the phrase “Let’s try this and see if it works...” For your current job or area of expertise: How can you look at it with a fresh set of eyes? What experiment can you do to see if it improves your job? Outside of your current job: What is something you don’t know much about that you could learn more about? |
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