Protecting time in your schedule to think through issues and reviewing your strategy provides great returns for yourself and the business. Some decisions are quick, and some require a longer review. Every day, your schedule fills with meetings and updates because your opinions matter, but blocking a specific time to do nothing else but think and consider the current situation of the business adds value on how you can achieve the long-term vision.
Ensure to guard against over-thinking, which can stifle a decision and your ability to move forward. The concept of blocking time is to get your thoughts in order. I also believe that team members at all levels can benefit from scheduled time to think about their projects or to work through a problem methodology.
Time to think without distractions allows you to consider alternative aspects of pending long-term decisions. As a strategic leader, time to think alone can exponentially add value to the decision process. Maximize your experience to weigh the options in silent solitude, and then, commit your decisions to fearless action.
I have always found that blocking time to only think about a critical decision or a personnel problem provided clarity on the proper course of action. It helps to work through the underlying facts and assumptions. You can work through the details of a situation and have it make sense in a distraction free environment. We all have busy schedules and taking time through a critical decision will give you an opportunity to evaluate everything without your team interacting with you.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. –Henry Ford
What you can gain from scheduling time to think:
- Review the strategy and your current business situation. Is your business headed in the right direction? Get a cup of coffee and review the financials to determine your profitability. Do the current financials reflect the strategic goals of your business? If not, change direction.
- Evaluate personnel decisions. Placing your people in the right role or realigning responsibilities may be the most critical decision you make other than evaluating your vision and strategy. In over 20 years of leading teams, I have found that human resource decisions can easily take a majority of your time.
- Consider various courses of action. For a complex, strategic decision, get away from the team to reflect the various courses of action. Are they right? Did your team consider the important issues? Is there a key assumption or fact that was overlooked?
- Work through a problem solving or financial model methodology. This is important for analysts, engineers, and anyone else who solve problems especially those who use big data every day. Managers can review how their teams solve problems to ensure their logic is sound.
Blocked out time on your calendar creates opportunities to think about your business. It is a valuable time to ponder possibilities and to take a deep breath on critical decisions. Don’t overlook the great opportunity to block time to only think about your business.
How will you utilize your scheduled time to think?
Please comment or email me at comment@stephenmclain.com.
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Copyright 2017 – Stephen McLain