The Success Bone Connected to the Writing Bone

Through studying hundreds of employees at over half a dozen major companies in the U.S.,  Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business school recently unveiled a highly effective motivational and productivity-enhancing tool.

You seriously have to keep in mind that her conclusions are all supported by rigorous data, not merely a well-meaning anecdote, inspirational one-liner, or long-forgotten quote from a revered entrepreneur of the golden age. In short, her research wasn't just busywork.

Prior to revealing her prescription, allow me to first tell you what she discovered about the forces that destroy motivation and kill productivity...

Turns out that we are all emotional beings whose 'inner monologue' imparts a profound effect upon our overall effectiveness. The #1 killer of a productive day? it's toxicity - the seemingly insignificant and often mundane negative interactions that one might have with coworkers or management throughout any given day.

We'll always have to deal with setbacks or negativity. However, through keeping a daily chronicle of progress towards our goals, we’ll be forced to reflect on the positives, however small, which will elicit feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment. This keeps us focused on our "wins" and not the petty stuff that can cloud up the ol' headspace.

Here are the mechanics... The mode of journaling that's most effective is to recollect and capture what we have achieved over the course of our days; a mental snapshot if you will.

These are our trophies. Hang 'em up to admire! And remember, the trick - to make sure we follow through - is to keep things quick and simple.

Commit to the task of writing just one sentence per day. One sentence really can make a world of difference. Could be that someone you work with is simply in a bad mood and makes a deflating comment. Ensuing that type of encounter, we can become derailed and struggle to keep focused on any future tasks at hand.

It often comes down to subtle feelings of not being appreciated, or that someone is (perhaps even unconsciously) working against us. All it takes is a little snub in our direction to put a 'harsh on our mellow'... The takeaway? The old cliché, "It’s the little things that matter," luckily is true for the solution as well.

So what should you do in response? Well, it turns out keeping a daily journal is the #1 tool for productivity. This likely isn't the first time you've heard this advice. It's given freely and often… which, by the way, is a solid indication you might want to give it some credence. Need proof? Here's the science...

Meaningful work is one of the biggest drivers of motivation. It's proven to be more important than any monetary reward, shockingly enough. And the trick to creating meaning in even the most mundane situations is progress. This is a super convenient tool that takes 30 seconds. Record your accomplishments, and send them to yourself via a 6:00 p.m. daily email.

After a month of following these practices, you will not only feel the difference, but also reap the benefits as well.

At first, it will seem like a bit of a burden, especially after a long day. But, trust me, you will find you have become more invested in your own process, and more times than not, find yourself preparing for the nightly task by making mental notes throughout the day.

It's journaling with a purpose, not navel gazing. It's a place for brain-dumping, venting, and having fun conversations with yourself too. However, if you want concrete, data-driven, productivity-enhancing results, stick to consistently recording your progress. It all starts with simply making a commitment.

You can write one sentence a day, right? Let's get started today!

The Psychology of Writing an Effective Email

If you’re like most everyone else these days - myself included - you don’t always get a reply to every email you send, do you? This is especially true if you’ve ever written someone important. This is what I like to call a 'wishful email'. You are essentially looking for a favor from a busy person.

This applies to everyone, whether you're writing to your congressman, or even when I'm writing a potential client, to whomever your favorite marketing guru is... someone like, say, Sir Richard Branson. Whatever the case may be, there is virtually no difference.

There is certainly a psychological component to this type of interaction. First, however, I feel it is of utmost importance to remove yourself from the equation. Really, it doesn’t matter how bad you think you need help, or that you’re a busy person. At the end of the day, you’re asking for someone to take time out of their day to simply reply, correct? Even though you want something, in order to get it, you need to make it simple for the recipient of your request to deliver. Makes sense, right? But if my inbox is any indication, you might be setting yourself up to get ignored anyway, and that’s certainly not what we're trying to accomplish. Let’s remedy that, shall we?

Here's where I like to implement the Golden Rule of Communication:
How much time and thought are you expecting in a reply? Put that much time and thought into the request, and you're already off to a phenomenal start.

In my mind, there are just three strategies for doing just that. 

1.) Build Rapport

A little flattery never hurt, but not too much. You want this person invested in your request, right? Then make it matter to them as much as it matters to you that they reply. Are you a fan? Did this person or their work impact your life? Did you implement some of the same techniques that they inspired? How? Proving that you are engaged and taking action will go farther than you ever realized when building rapport. Successful people truly want to see others succeed. There’s great pleasure and therapeutic value in mentorship.

2.)  Be Clear and Concise

With what do you need help? Consider this question carefully. No one wants to read five paragraphs of your stream-of-consciousness, stating how frustrated you are, or making excuses for your (lack of) results. No one cares, so get to the point. Most emails don’t have any reason to be longer than five carefully-crafted sentences, but I have read many great requests that warranted my immediate attention in three. Sadly, most people are extremely lazy in their requests. They make it difficult for the person they are writing to even understand how they can help, and won't even take 90 extra seconds to make their email count. After this blog, you’re not going to be one of these people any longer. I receive at least a dozen emails a day that I immediately swipe to the left into the abyss of Archived emails. If you send an email that exudes your frustration, I promise, you’re just going to frustrate whoever it is you’re writing. Not only will they not want to help you, you can rest assured, you will not receive a reply because you took absolutely zero time crafting your request. For example, if I have a tech issue I'll work for at least 20 minutes or so trying to figure it out for myself prior to writing an email for help with the issue.

3.) Follow-up

Look, everyone’s busy these days. Sometimes, even when I mean to do something, I don’t get around to it before it’s buried under a mountain of other things rallying for my attention. Don’t be afraid to follow-up after 3-5 days. This may make all the difference in receiving a reply. Make it a short reminder though... perhaps one sentence.

That’s it. Now reach out with confidence, and get the help you need!

Once Upon a Time, There Was the End

Inscribed in the temple of Apollo at Delphi is a well known aphorism, attributed to Socrates, who — incidentally — was proclaimed by the Oracle to be the wisest man in Athens:

Know thyself.

This admittedly simple, yet profound statement is as meaningful today as it ever was. Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and thought leader, recently said, "If there's one thing I could do that would be awesome, it would be to create a test that would allow people to become self-aware." He continued, "I think everyone lies to themselves and wants to be something more, and I believe what we need to do more of is audit who we actually are."

Duuuude!

That sounds deep. But I think what he's getting at here is that most people, in their heart of hearts, yearn to be business owners.  But here's the rub. Most people don't always behave in concert with their own inner conviction. Let's dive into that can of worms, shall we?

Belief vs. Behavior

Ask yourself, "Do I want to be an entrepreneur? This sounds like a trick question. Of course you want to! You are reading this right now after all! And that's great! Next, ask yourself the following:

1.) Am I setting concrete goals and accomplishing them each week?

Or,

2.) Am I consistently dawdling with time-wasting, unfocused, unproductive behaviors?

Seriously! I'm not trying to be un-Spiffy-thetic right now at all, but I'd like you to take an honest inventory of your behavior. Can you quantify what actions you've taken and link them to a real result, whether positive or negative?

In the eloquent words of entrepreneur and thought coach, Peter Drucker, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.” Without such an assessment we can't address whether there's a disconnect between what we think and what we actually do. It's not enough to want to own a business, you have to act as if you already do.

Look, this process is nothing of which to be afraid or ashamed. We all know it may benefit our health if we go to the gym, eat better, and floss daily. What's more is we also know we should probably save more money, but how many of us actually do these things even half as regularly as we know we should? Right. We all could stand a bit of work in these areas. The good news is that it's never too late to change your behavior, and to reconcile your divided house.

How -- exactly -- do we even begin getting our behavior in line with our beliefs?

Serious business.

Baby steps. 

Commit to taking action.

It all begins with intention.  But again, it doesn't matter what you think as much as it matters what you do. If you implement the right behaviors, you WILL get results. Period. It's that simple. In fact, I challenge you to write down, or type out one priority business-building activity you're going to do today, and then do it. Repeat the process again tomorrow, and before you know it, you will have generated data;  data you can analyze and improve in the following days/weeks/months ahead.

It's that complicated.

When the Oracle revealed Socrates was the wisest man in Athens, he was perplexed. He claimed to possess no such wisdom. In fact, the 'Socratic Paradox' is named after one of his most famous statements, "I know that I know nothing." 

But what did Socrates do with this knowledge? He got busy asking questions in attempts to gain the self knowledge necessary to demonstrate the Oracle wrong. He took it as a challenge. His quest was futile, however, for the pursuit of one’s ignorance is wisdom. This may sound like quite the conundrum to some, but that's okay. It is. Ignorance is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is the beginning of ignorance. Once upon a time, there was the end.