I haven’t blogged much lately because I literally haven’t had time. My inboxes are blowing up, paperwork is in piles, projects are screaming to be finished. I probably have way too many things going on. Truth be told, there is no one to blame but me. I tend to throw a bunch of things at the wall to see what sticks. This is fun until a bunch of stuff starts sticking. That’s where I’m at. A lot of my projects are proving their viability and it’s a lot to keep up with.

With all of this stuff going on, I’m constantly asking myself these questions:

1. How do stay focused on getting the right stuff done?

2. What is most important?

3. Who can I find to do the rest?

We use this phrase at The Soderquist Center a lot…helping people get the right stuff done. I’m trying to live that out.

For me, I have to fight every day to separate the truly important from everything else.

This sounds so much easier than it actually is.

A lot of things seem important.

That email marked “High Priority.”

That form that needs to be filled out.

That new idea that sounds great in the shower.

These things are impostors, posing as important things.

I’m learning that focusing all of my energy on inventing the future, creating remarkable things, and challenging the status quo means that:

Emails will go unanswered.

People will get frustrated.

Unimportant things will get half-assed.

All for the sake of accomplishing the big stuff. The stuff that matters.

We leverage cutting-edge technology and award winning design to deliver innovative products and services for our clients.

If you work in the corporate world, you probably don’t see anything wrong with these sentences. Scary. I copied/pasted these from real company documents, so you may have even written them.

There is a word for this kind of stuff: Gobbledygook.

Most people in the corporate world use gobbledygook to sound smarter.

The problem is, using gobbledygook just makes it harder for people to understand what you really mean. People have to decode what you’re saying. They have to strip away the corporate mumbo jumbo to get to the core of your message.

There are at least two major problems with speaking in gobbledygook:

1. People literally don’t know what you’re talking about.

2. People don’t give a crap. Believe me, no one gets excited when they hear the word synergistic.

When you’re writing, try to write like you talk. I’ve really been trying to do this lately. It’s harder than you think.

Here’s the thing, if you can communicate exactly what you want in written form (emotions and all) you will be way ahead in a world where we live and die by emails, texts, blogs, Facebook feeds, and message boards.

I for one believe it is possible to express your intended emotions, tone, and personality in words. Many people will tell you otherwise. But it takes a whole lot more effort to do this correctly.

Do you agree?

The artist is Dan Smith. We went to John Brown University at the same time. Now I wish I’d gotten to know him better. His music inspires me.

This may not be your style of music, but listen anyway. It’s raw. It’s haunting. It’s powerful. Really listen to the lyrics.

Because our church is made out of shipwrecks
From every hull these rocks have claimed
But we pick ourselves up, and try and grow better through the change
So come on yall and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
And fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
Come on and sew us together, were just tattered rags stained forever
We only have what we remember

Seeing as I work for a leadership development center, and that I’ve led quite a few projects, businesses, and groups of people, this guy probably thought I was well equipped to answer his question. Truth be told, so did I.

I thought about it for a second.

Then, to my surprise, what began spewing from my lips was a verbose collection of the most cliché garbage I’ve ever heard. I started saying things like, “you’ve got to manage by walking around” and “you need to over communicate” and “set priorities for people” and on and on. He wrote some things down and then looked up at me like, “really?”

It was embarrassing. He knew it. I knew it. He thanked me (for what I’m not sure) and walked out.

Later that day I emailed him an apology. I also tried to redeem myself by offering some real leadership advice. The following is my non-cliché advice for how to be a good leader:

1. Be real with people. Don’t try to be someone you’re not.

4. Do remarkable things. Most people think great ideas are crazy at first.

I guess the point of it all is that being a good leader comes down to some pretty simple stuff. The danger is that leadership can easily be turned into a cliché. When it is, whether you’re just giving advice or actually living it out, people notice. Don’t be like me. Don’t be the cliché.

Geeky stuff:
Panasonic GH1
60p
Nikon 50mm 1.4
Canon EFS 10-22mm
Edited in Final Cut Pro
Color Graded in After Effects

Music:
Empire State of Mind
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

“What are our 3 big objectives for the year?”

Silence.

Crickets chirping.

Blank stares.

To my surprise (and to my frustration), no one could rattle it off.

Quick backstory. For the past few months, we’ve been deep in a strategic planning process at The Soderquist Center. Our guide is a guru in strategic planning. Our plan is simple, it fits on one page. It lists our Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Measures for our entire organization for the whole year.

Back to the meeting. Now I’m frustrated that our team didn’t know it by heart. And later I received some feedback that I came across as agitated and harsh. To be honest, I was. But saying things like, “This is important, people!” and “You should know this already!” didn’t really help the situation.

As I processed this a little more I realized that in our excitement to create the plan, we missed a big piece. We didn’t make it visible. The document lived in some folder on our server where people would have to dig to find it.

So I decided to fill up my office windows with big bold words and pictures to remind us of our vision and our plan. Some people think I’m a little crazy (which I don’t disagree with), but all in all, it has been well received. Since the meeting, many people have joked with me about being so direct and annoyed, a side of me they rarely see. And most everyone has posted the strategic plan at their desk. They like to wave it around as I walk by.