A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives, a curated forum for enterprise technology leaders, nominated by our subscribers and vetted by the CIOApplications Editorial Board.
Hunter Douglas
How an ADHD male went from unemployable to highly effective
I think Oliver Burkeman said it best when he said “The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short. But that isn't a reason for unrelenting despair or for living in an anxiety filled panic about making most of your limited time. It's a cause for relief, you get to give up on something that was always impossible, the quest to become the optimized, infinitely capable, emotionally invincible, fully independent person you're officially supposed to be. Then, you get to roll up your sleeves and begin work on what is gloriously possible instead.”
But what do we do with this? Donella H. Meadows said “stop casting blame, see the structure as the source of its own problems and find the courage and wisdom to restructure it.” The below four steps have restructured my ADHD system into a functional system to get the right results reliably.
Step 1: Time is our most valuable resource
Peter Drucker in the Effective Executive taught us to measure our time and make sure our time is going where it should. He asserts that when executives are quizzed they say their time goes where it should but when they do a time in motion study they find their time does not go where it’s supposed to. Are you any different? I wasn’t when I did this exercise the first time.
Don’t try to stand up an ongoing time in motion study; that’s overkill. Each day quickly track which hours went to which category. It’s okay to be somewhat broad here. What was the majority or theme of what was done in that hour? Use Excel or Google Sheets to help add it up. Then look back each week or month. Where did your time go and what adjustments do you need to make? Then make them.
Step 2: Stop firefighting start building
Using the Covey Quadrants take a moment to decide which quadrant comes first, second, third, and fourth.
The best answer is:
● Important and Urgent is 2nd
● Important and Not Urgent is 1st
● Urgent and Not Important is 4th
● Not Important and Not Urgent is 3rd
If we draw a line and force ourselves to accomplish the big rocks in Important and Not Urgent first, they won’t fall into Important and Urgent nearly as often, if at all. It’ll feel like we have all the time in the world to get them done. This is easiest when we have a new job or new promotion when we had all the time in the world to work on priorities because nothing had fallen into Important and Urgent yet. Make the commitment to get back to it and hold yourself accountable.
Step 3: The 52 rules of success, #1 deliver the goods, #2 the other 50 don’t matter
If step 1 and 2 didn’t get results, what’s the point? My favorite system for getting results from myself (and my teams) comes from the Four Disciplines of Execution.
● Focus on the Wildly Important
● Act on Lead Measures
● Keep a Compelling Scoreboard
● Create a Cadence of Accountability
What is the one or maybe two things you absolutely need to get done? That is your WIG (wildly important goal)? Align steps 1 and 2 with your WIG. Not sure what your WIG is? Your job description, your boss, or your organization's overarching goals will tell you. Or ask yourself, what will get you fired?
A lead measure is what you do during the measurement period, not what you measure after. For example, are you using your time as you intended? Following steps 1 and 2 for our personal effectiveness work well as lead measures. For teams, departments, or organizations it won’t be that simple.
Steps 1 and 2 cover most of the compelling scoreboard! Remember the quadrant above? Add to your time tracker which quadrant the tasks in that hour were primarily from. Now we just need to add the trailing indicator. Make sure you measure it over time, at least monthly if not weekly. Are you trying to cut costs, increase efficiency, improve profitability? These can be measured – do it and write them down. Are the leading indicators moving the trailing indicators? If yes, GREAT! If not, we need to revisit our actions and leading indicators and make some alterations until they move the trailing indicator. Remember rule #1, deliver the goods? Yup, this is it.
Step 4: Holding ourselves accountable
James Clear insists “Success is the product of daily habits, not a once-in-a-lifetime transformation.” In his book Atomic Habits, he tells us to make something a habit do the following:
● Make it obvious
● Make it attractive
● Make it easy
● Make it satisfying
I’m a nerd, like most of us reading CIO Review. For me, an overly complex spreadsheet paired with daily time blocked off on my detailed color coded calendar – with a little tinsel and some lights could pass for a Christmas Tree – I’m able to meet these objectives. I like buttons; my keyboard has lots! I like patterns; my colorful calendar has lots! I like not having to think about what to do next. Scheduling the time checks that box.
What habits are we already most successful at? Hijack those. Use that form and structure and insert some or all of the above and go from there. No, we don’t get it right the first time. Okay, I didn’t get it right the first time. You’re probably already perfect, please teach me how to live!
Conclusion:
There are probably as many books published each year on effectiveness as there are days in a year. It’s a popular subject and if you’re reading this one you are interested in it as well. A brief example: I use the above model to not only work on my personal and professional life but to increase my reading. In 2013 I read 18 books. In 2018 I read 52 books. In 2022 I completed 128 books. For me, it works. Maybe the above four step model will work for a few more people than just me. Maybe caring for where your time goes, stop fire fighting and build, deliver the goods, and making it a habit will work for you too?
