QUESTION
When I’m stuck or overwhelmed, everything feels important. It’s like I’ve lost my ability to prioritize or even filter information. Where do I start?
ANSWER
You start where you are, plus one step.
When our stress exceeds our ability to cope, feelings of anger, fear, anxiety or guilt can be more pronounced. Why? because we are releasing higher amounts of the “stress hormone” cortisol, leaving us overloaded with intense anxiety. At the same time, our serotonin stores, the chemical that helps our bodies fight off depression and anxiety, start to deplete. This combination causes the intense feeling of total despair associated with being overwhelmed.
Small wins are a steady application of a small advantage.
— Charles Duhigg, American journalist and non-fiction author
Whenever we are in a slump, it’s often because we have too much going on in our lives or pressure as increased beyond our standard way of coping. Pressure can make even the smallest to-list seem untenable, sapping our energy and motivation.
One of the most common mistakes goal-oriented, achievement-motivated people make: they try to accomplish too many goals at once. We cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if we are trying to do two or more goals at once. For example, most people fail at losing weight because they try to go to the gym, and adjust their diet, and change their sleep patterns.
Choosing one goal, for now, and focusing on it completely, might sound hard. We can always do our other goals when we’ve accomplished our One Goal.
If we are having a hard time getting started, it may be because our goals aren’t reasonable. If we want to get in shape, for example, we may be thinking that we have to do intense workouts 5 days a week. That is an appropriate goal for someone already in shape. To get in shape, we need to take smaller actions. The problem is, we don’t respect the result that comes from a daily walk, or 2 workouts a week. But it works. We may want to do more, but just sticking to our initial commitment helps mitigate failure, relapse, and regression to old habits.
Everyone understands the think-small approach when it applies to personal goals. It makes sense to practice on small climbs before tackling Mt. Everest. But how does this work when we switch the context to the workplace?
Small bets. The myth of progress an innovation is that it comes from bold solutions requiring outsized risk. Sometimes, that is true. We go all in, bet the farm, and when it doesn’t pan out, we’re sunk. On the other hand, what if we never take the gamble? Fearful of what we might lose, we sit on our hands and embrace the status quo.
Whether we are talking about personal goals, workplace innovation, or our own learning process, we can make significant change taking reasoned actions. We need to experiment more—not with our health, or work prototypes, but ourselves (our learning, our leadership, and our overall development). Some of the most creative talents in the world—from Steve Jobs to Frank Gehry, made small bets to learn and grow. They didn’t bet it all, all the time.
Small bets provide quick answers. What small bets can you make about:
how to prioritize our time?
who to delegate to on our team?
what direction to take our strategy?
increasing our network of influence?
how to evolve the mission of our organization?
what our succession plan should be?
MORE THOUGHTS…
We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.
— Howard Zinn, American historian, playwright, and socialist thinker
A small win is a concrete, complete, implemented outcome of moderate importance. By itself, one small win may seem unimportant. A series of wins at small but significant tasks, however, reveals a pattern that may attract allies, deter opponents, and lower resistance to subsequent proposals. Small wins are controllable opportunities that produce visible results.
— Karl E. Weick, American organizational theorist
You can get a great deal done from almost any position in an organization if you focus on small wins and you don’t mind others getting the credit.
— Roger Saillant, Executive Director of The Fowler Center for Business
Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.
—Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor, ceramicist, poet and playwright
REMEMBER
The word “iterate” is one of the most overused jargon, but it is effective in pushing our learning, leadership and overall development forward. Focusing on the small wins helps combat the all or nothing mentality that creeps in when we are overwhelmed, looking for direction, and determining what reasonable next steps should be.
PRACTICE
When we are in need to direction, focusing on the small is what helps us shape appropriate goals. Appropriate challenges are what moves us forward.
CONNECT
Talk to a friend or trusted colleague about the times when you've felt overwhelmed or unsure of how to make progress. Have you ever bitten off too much? What helped you move forward?
REFLECT
If you keep a journal for your own development, write down your feelings and reactions to setting small goals. Looking at what came up for you, what constructive insights can you gain about the next steps you need to take?
NEXT
To perform well while under pressure, we need to train our minds to work more effectively. Making the right decisions, whether that is hashing out how artificial intelligence will evolve or ensuring naval ships are ready on time takes practice.
Driving Results With Others: A pocket guide for learning on the job enables you with all the tools and tactics you need to make your interactions less stressful and more effective.