Read an Excerpt
The Daily Edge
Simple Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Make an Impact Every Day
By David Horsager Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2015 David Hosager
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-62656-597-5
CHAPTER 1
Tip 1
90Day
Quick Plan
Eighteen years ago a man challenged me to not complain for 90 days straight. I couldn't complain about anything, not food, not the weather, nothing. That changed my life. Some people say you can change a habit in 21 days. I question whether that is long enough. While 21 days may be too short, an entire year is too long. Think about it, most people can't keep their New Year's resolutions for even two weeks. People often think, "I have all year to get going on that." 90 days is a sweet spot. It is a short enough time frame to stay absolutely focused, and yet it is long enough to get more done than most people get done in a whole year. When I lost my weight, the first 90 days were the most important. In those three months, I lost thirty-three pounds, but more importantly, my thinking about food, exercise, and how I spent my time was transformed. Everything changed in 90 days.
Most strategic planning is done at an off-site retreat, yet provides little momentum toward action. Instead of an annual planning session, try making a 90-Day Quick Plan. Every 90 days we encourage everyone on our team to create a 90-Day Quick Plan. It gives leaders and teams an actionable framework that provides clarity and leads to tangible results both personally and professionally.
Here's how to make it work. Pick an area of your business or life that you'd like to address, and then ask six questions. The plan should take less than 30 minutes to create.
Question 1: Where am I? If you do not know where you are today, you cannot know where you would like to be in the future. (If you are doing a 90-Day Quick Plan as a team, ask, "Where are we?" and use "we" in the following questions as well.) Ask this question and you will be able to quickly identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For example, where am I in my relationship with my kids? Where am I in my health? Where am I in comparison to expected sales? Where are we as far as the number of people we are reaching with our message or product?
Question 2: Where am I going in 90 days? Remember, it is not one year or five years like many strategic plans. Thinking about your answer in question 1, where would you like to be in 90 days? Write a clear, quantifiable (numerical if possible) goal. You will likely accomplish more than you thought in just 90 days!
Question 3: Why am I going? If the "why" is strong enough, the plan does not need to be perfect. If a building is burning and my kids are in it, I don't need to know every detail — I'm going in because my "why" is so strong. When your team is motivated and unified, they'll do the little things differently. They'll stay passionate and focused, and they'll finish.
Question 4: How are we going to get there? How? Keep asking how? until your team commits to taking specific actions.
Question 5: How are we going to get there? I press people to ask how? until they have come up with a specific action they will take starting today or tomorrow at the latest.
Question 6: How are we going to get there? I have found people must ask how? at least three times before they are clear enough. It may take asking how? seven times in order to get enough clarity. The point is don't stop asking how until you or your team has decided on a specific action that will be taken starting today or tomorrow.
Making It Happen
I remember when I really got this idea of asking "how?" three times. I was training and consulting with one of the biggest heath care organizations in North America. They needed change! They were losing funding and patients. We were toward the end of our Trust Edge Experience. One hundred fifty top people including the CEO and senior leadership team were all seated at round tables. Each table had defined a specific challenge they were going to tackle. I remember asking one table full of top leaders about what they needed to take action on in order to grow and be more trusted. The table leader said, "We need to be clearer."
I said, "How will you be clearer?"
After brainstorming with his group, the table leader said, "We are going to communicate more."
I said, "How?"
After more brainstorming, he said, "We are going to hold each other accountable."
I said, "How?"
The table, seated with bright minds and fine leaders, had to be pushed three times in order to realize they needed a more specific action plan. They worked together to create a plan for communicating more often and more clearly. An important piece of their plan was how they were going to hold each other accountable to this effort. They were able to start following their plan the very next day.
On a personal level, when I decided to lose weight, I kept asking "how?" until I went from "eat less and exercise more" to defining fifteen specific actionable ideas I could implement on a daily basis.
With greater clarity around your 90-day plan, you will gain the trust of your team and bottom-line results will follow.
"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision." —Helen Keller
To watch David teach the 90-Day Quick Plan, go to www.youtube. com/watch?v=YQsZRU8TW-4
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.
— Winston Churchill
CHAPTER 2
Tip 2
DMA's:
Difference-Making
Actions
Have you ever had a day in which you worked really hard but felt like you didn't get anything done? Many people look at their to-do list and get so overwhelmed that they end up doing nothing! The DMA strategy gives powerful clarity. It works beautifully especially once you have your 90-Day Quick Plan. It was inspired by a strategy successfully used by Charles Schwab of Bethlehem Steel Company, the first American to earn a million-dollar annual salary.
DMA stands for Difference-Making Actions. DMA's simply give focus and intentionality to do the most important things every day. This simple strategy will increase results like nothing else. Make a habit of doing DMA's on a daily basis and your impact will multiply.
Here's how it works:
The DMA Strategy:
1. First thing every morning, take a sticky note.
2. At the top, write your most important current goal.
3. Then write the numbers 1-5 down the page.
4. Next to the 1, write the most important thing you could do today to accomplish that goal. Then write the next most important thing under 2, and so on.
5. You now have a list of the 5 most important things you could to today that would make the biggest difference in accomplishing your goal and ultimately fulfilling your organization's mission.
When you write your DMA's, make sure they are FUN:
F= First priority first. List your tasks in order of priority and then do them in order. Don't start working on the second task until you have finished the first one or you have come to a roadblock that requires someone else's help. Your DMA's are the most important actions for the day! Don't attempt more than five, or you might get overwhelmed and do nothing. If you can't boil them down to a few simply stated tasks, then you probably need to restate your goal.
U=Under the main vision and current major objective. DMA's are the five most important actions you can specifically take today to move your organization forward. They must come under your main vision and help accomplish your most important and current priorities!
N=Number attached. It is not a DMA unless there is a specific number attached. In other words "Calling more prospects" is not a DMA, but "Making 10 sales calls" is. "Organizing your office" is not a DMA, but "Organizing for 20 minutes" or "Cleaning out 2 drawers" are DMA's. Difference Making Actions must be quantifiable.
It is important to note that DMA's are based solely on what you can do, not what others need to do. In other words, "Calling three people" is a DMA as that does not rely on whether anyone answers or not. However, "Selling 5 gadgets" is not a DMA as it relies on what others must do. If you consistently do your DMA's, great outcomes will follow.
Each time you complete a Difference-Making Action, put a line through it. Believe it or not there is great satisfaction in seeing that sticky note at the end of the day with five lines crossed through your most important tasks. I once had an intern fresh out of college who was invaluable to our organization. Every day he accomplished his DMA's and then left that sticky note on his cubicle wall. Each day he added his next sticky note with lines through his accomplishments. Do you think he needed to be micromanaged? No way! There was proof on the wall he was doing Difference-Making Actions that moved our mission forward every single day.
Helpful DMA Hints
Be focused. When you write your DMA's, make sure that they are focused. Your DMA's are the most important actions for the day — you shouldn't have any more than three. If you can't boil them down to a few simply-stated tasks, then you probably need to restate your goal.
Be clear. Your DMA's should be clear and quantifiable. The focus here is on activities, not outcomes, so be sure you know exactly what you are going to do. "Make ten sales calls," or "spend one hour on the website" is much better than "sell more," or "work on the proposal."
Be realistic. Your DMA's will not be effective if you can't actually do them. Don't write down that you would like to write five proposals every day, if you know realistically you can't finish more than two.
Be committed. Lastly, build your day around them. Now that you have them, make sure you prioritize them over all other things, meetings, e-mails, and less important tasks. I often have my DMA's done by 11 a.m. because I do them first. The rest of my day can be structured as needed, but I first did something important that will make a significant impact on my organization and the lives of those we serve.
Example: A salesperson who wants to make $10,000 in commission every month might know from experience that he will need to find four new clients. And to find those four new clients, he needs to set one appointment each day, which he should be able to do by making 20 sales calls. He now has a strong DMA: Make 20 sales calls each morning. By making this the most important part of his day, he can learn to focus on that goal without being distracted by incoming phone calls, meetings, and other items that are urgent, but less important.
Never mistake motion for action. —Ernest Hemingway
To watch David teach the DMA strategy, go to www.youtube.com/ watch?v=YCuxFKaTmIs
Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.
— Leo Babauta
CHAPTER 3
Tip 3
Power Hour
Writing down your DMA's is one thing, but getting them done is another. Despite our best intentions, we all know how quickly those priorities can be set aside in order to deal with the most urgent tasks.
In my office and many others, having a "power hour" has been a great way to keep at what is most important. It's so simple, you might be surprised at how well it works. So what is our secret? One quiet hour every day.
For 60 minutes each morning, we don't do meetings, phone calls, or e-mails. We don't take any interruptions. Messages go to voice mail and the inbox fills. Some would say, "You mean you won't take a call from a client to serve them?" No, we won't take a call during that hour so we can serve them even better. Unlike many offices, we can really focus, concentrate, and serve others best by actually getting something done for them. We focus on the activities we identified as most important to our long-term success.
Here's how to make it work for you:
• Go public. Let everyone you work with know you are setting aside an hour a day. Informing assistants, customers, and colleagues of your plans will leave them less likely to disturb you.
• Share the idea. In my office, everyone gets a quiet hour. That way, we don't interrupt each other, and we all get more done.
• Be consistent. Use the same time every day for your quiet hour if you can. It will allow people who work with you to get used to your routine and help reinforce the habit in your mind.
Try this method for a while, and I guarantee you will be surprised at how much you can accomplish in just 60 minutes. Not only will you make headway on your biggest projects, but you will find that by getting the day off to a strong start, you might feel energized to accomplish more in your remaining time.
Constantly distracted workers in busy offices are able to focus on a task for an average of 11 minutes before they're interrupted. —a University of California study
All things are ready, if our minds be so.
— William Shakespeare
CHAPTER 4
Tip 4
Focus
As a term, multitasking is a bit like downsizing — a nice word for something that is not really good for most people. Modern culture, with all of our technology and time-saving gadgets, has left us with a distorted view of productivity. Our image of productivity is the power executive handling two calls and a text message while wowing the big client at the same time. While that executive seems like a hero to most, the reality is that those sorts of habits are unproductive. Humans are simply more efficient and effective when they concentrate. That is, you can do five things better and faster by doing them one at a time, with your mind focused on each single task.
Learning to concentrate isn't complicated, but that doesn't mean it is easy. Most of us have years, and possibly decades, of bad habits to break.
Here's a start:
• Focus. It doesn't matter if you're working on the most important proposal of your life or an e-mail to your manager. You will do a better job if you're focused on what is right in front of you. Decide which task gets your attention and then focus on only that one until it is finished.
• Eliminate distractions. Cell phones, e-mail, and even open office doors can invite unwanted interruptions. It's not just the time that the interruption takes, but more significant than that is the time it takes to get your mind back to a focused productive state. There is an incredible amount of time and productivity lost in the, "Now, where was I?" state. Follow the guides in this book and eliminate anything that is likely to pull your attention away from the task at hand.
• Keep sticky notes handy. By placing a pad nearby, but out of your field of vision, you give yourself an outlet for any thoughts or ideas that might come to you. For instance, if you're working on a quarterly report, and you remember that you need to make an important call later, simply jot it down. You can review the note later, and the act of writing it should clear it from your mind.
The cost of interruptions to the U.S. economy is estimated at $588 billion a year. —Jonathan B. Spira, The Cost of Not Paying Attention, Basex Research, 2005
Live by the moment; after all, life is a series of moments.
— Trent Woodard
CHAPTER 5
Tip 5
Decide Now
The biggest reason we have counters and desks that are piled high is because we wait to make decisions. We fill our counter with mail we think we might get back to. We put stuff on the table that we plan on getting back to. I know of someone who fills the counter, when that is full, he cleans it off by putting it in the closet. When the closet is full, it all goes to the basement. Needless to say, his basement is full of piles and junk that he will likely never get to because of indecision.
Simply put, you can "decide now" in order to enjoy less stress and greater clarity and productivity.
Here's how to start:
• Think. When you are about to put something down, really think: Is this where it goes? Am I really going to get back to this? Will I just need to throw this out later? Will I deal with this in less than a week?
• Take time now. Write the thank-you note now rather than putting down on a sticky note to write one later. Read the article now rather than waiting for the perfect 15 minute break that you never get. If at all possible do it, use it, throw it, or complete it now. You are likely not coming back to it.
Clutter is a result of delayed decisions.
— Audrey Thomas
Indecision is the thief of opportunity.
— Jim Rohn
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Daily Edge by David Horsager. Copyright © 2015 David Hosager. Excerpted by permission of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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