“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

The last time I bought a new computer, I noticed something. It happened when I was getting iTunes set up, and the songs that I had previously purchased were downloading. The default method was to download all the music at the same time, and as a result, the process was going VERY slowly; it was the classic “mile wide but millimeter deep” problem that happens when we try to fracture across too many commitments and then get nothing done all that well as a result. So, I took a peek, and the answer was simple – deselect the “Allow Simultaneous Downloads” option. All of a sudden, song after song was downloaded in rapid succession, and the best part? I could listen to music while the rest of my library downloaded to my computer.

I relearned this lesson recently when I was testing a theory during one of my 12 Week Year execution periods. During one 12 Week Year, I chose 12 goals, and tried to accomplish them all. The result? Zero got accomplished. The next 12 Week Year, I chose one goal. The result? I accomplished eight of the previous twelve.

Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Well, yes, at first glance it sure does. But thinking about this more deeply, it becomes clear that slowing down and really focusing effort on fewer things is the precise way to get more done, because the quality of your execution is likely to improve. The higher the quality, the less likely you’ll introduce any of the seven types of muda (waste) into your work – you’ll be less likely to have to retrace your steps, less likely to overcomplicate, less likely to overdo it, etc. Also, when you organize around a single goal, you speed up the decisioning process such that the right answer tends to become more clear, more quickly. Whereas before you may have been constantly asking yourself what the right next step is, or which action will yield the most value, now that you have sharpened your focus the answers become more obvious.

When you do things more slowly, you tend to do them more smoothly. And smooth execution speeds up the trip – slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

If you choose to practice this, you may notice that you’ll send fewer emails with glaring typos. Or perhaps you’ll make fewer comments in the heat of the moment that perhaps you shouldn’t have. Choices made from emotion, instead of equanimity, often produce regret. In any leadership context, equanimity – evenness of mind – is crucial. You need to see the whole picture from the high level down to the details clearly, and do your best to make decisions that have the impact you intend.

I like this approach for another reason – it tends to help you focus on the basics, get them right, and stave off problems before they are spawned. Professional athletes drill on the basics over and over and over again (think of a quarterback practicing footwork) so they can perform at their best in the moment. Oftentimes, problems that are presenting on the surface trace back to a something that’s a little bit off deeper down… drilling yourself on the basics is a way to inoculate against this.

The question now becomes, what are the basics that leaders should drill on? Well, as you might expect, several of our suggestions align with the Seven V’s of V7 Leadership, but for now let’s just focus on Vigor – keeping your physical, mental, and psychological health strong. Block off some non-negotiable time on your calendar each day to work on these areas, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Meditate. Journal. Exercise. Read. Replenish.

There are any number of strategies to approach each of those suggestions, of course, but the most important thing you can do is just start doing them, and figure out what works for you via action – think by doing.

Onward and Upward!

-Paul, V7