Essentialism: Pursue Less for Greater Impact
•Transferir como PPTX, PDF•
31 gostaram•12,771 visualizações
This document summarizes a presentation about the book "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown. The presentation introduces essentialism as pursuing less by focusing only on what is essential. It discusses the mindset of essentialists which is to choose what is important, discern what is nonessential, and make tradeoffs to prioritize higher impact activities. The presentation provides strategies for essentialists to explore options, eliminate nonessentials, and efficiently execute on their priorities. The goal is to help participants apply essentialism principles to be more focused and productive in both their personal and professional lives.
Recomendados
Mais conteúdo relacionado
Mais procurados
Mais procurados (20)
Semelhante a Essentialism: Pursue Less for Greater Impact
Semelhante a Essentialism: Pursue Less for Greater Impact (20)
Último
Último (20)
Essentialism: Pursue Less for Greater Impact
- 1. spark*sessions essentialism: the disciplined pursuit of less written by Greg McKeown presented by Krystal Clark, M.Ed. Student Leadership Development September 17,2014 #vuspark
- 2. outcomes. Participants (You) should be able to: • Define essentialism. • Differentiate between the mindset of nonessentialists and essentialists. • Discuss the benefits of pursuing the lifestyle of an essentialist and the challenges of living and working as a nonessentialist. • Identify ways that essentialism could be applied in your personal/professional lives. • Devise a plan to begin incorporating essentialists principles into your life and/or work. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 2
- 3. overview • This is the book you’re NOT reading . • Mindset • Explore • Eliminate • Execute #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 3
- 4. Basic value proposition of essentialism: only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter. 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 4 #vuspark
- 5. mindset of an essentialist • CHOOSE • DISCERN • TRADE-OFF #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 5
- 6. “The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away—it can only be forgotten.” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 6
- 7. mindset of an essentialist • CHOOSE • DISCERN • TRADE-OFF #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 7
- 8. “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” –John Maxwell #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 8
- 9. mindset of an essentialist • CHOOSE • DISCERN • TRADE-OFF #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 9
- 10. “What do I want to go big on?” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 10
- 11. mind rewind Nonessentialist CHOOSE • “I have to.” DISCERN • Everything is essential. TRADE-OFF • “I can do both.” & “How can I do it all?” Essentialist CHOOSE • “I choose to.” DISCERN • Thinks almost everything is nonessential. TRADE-OFF • “What is the trade-off I want to make?” & “What can I go big on?” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 11
- 12. Explore. • escape. • look. • play. • sleep. • select. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 12
- 13. escape. “I’m talking about deliberately setting aside distraction-free time in a distraction-free space to do absolutely nothing other than think.” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 13
- 14. sleep. The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is ourselves. PROTECT THE ASSET. Our highest priority is to protect our ability to prioritize. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 16
- 15. select. “If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no.” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 17
- 16. rewind: explore. Nonessentialist Escape • Is too busy to think about life Look • Hears everything being said and is overwhelmed by all the information Play • Thinks play is an unproductive waste of time Sleep • Sleep gets in the way of “doing it all.” Select • Says yes to almost every request or opportunity Essentialist Escape • Creates space to escape and explore life Look • Hears what is not being said and scans to find the essence of the information Play • Knows play sparks exploration Sleep • Sleep enables the highest levels of mental contribution Select • Says yes to only the top 10 percent of opportunities #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 18
- 17. Eliminate. • clarify. • dare. • uncommit. • edit. • limit. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 19
- 18. clarify. “If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?” AND “How will we know when we’re done?” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 20
- 19. essential intent. general concrete inspirational bland Vision/Mission Essential Intent Values Quarterly Objective #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 21
- 20. dare. 1. The awkward pause. 2. The soft “no” (or the “no but”). 3. “Let me check my calendar and get back to you.” 4. Use e-mail bounce backs. 5. Say, “Yes. What should I deprioritize?” 6. Say it with humor. 7. Use the words, “You are welcome to X. I am willing to Y.” 8. “I can’t do it, but X might be interested.” #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 22
- 21. uncommit. “Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”—Josh Billings #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 23
- 22. limit. Enforce your limits. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 25
- 23. rewind:eliminate. Nonessentialist Clarify • Has a vague, general vision or mission statement Dare • Avoids saying no to avoid feeling social awkwardness and pressure Uncommit • Asks, “Why stop now when I’ve already invested so much in this project.?” • Thinks, “If I just keep trying, I can make this work.” Edit • Thinks that making things better means adding something Limit • Thinks that if you have limits you will be limited Essentialist Clarify • Has a strategy that is concrete and inspirational Dare • Dares to say no firmly, resolutely, and gracefully Uncommit • Asks, “If I weren’t already invested in this project, how much would I invest in it now?” • Thinks, “What else could I do with this time or money if I pulled the plug now?” Edit • Thinks that making things better means subtracting something Limit • Knows that if you have limits you will become limitless #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 26
- 24. Execute. • buffer. • subtract. • progress. • flow. • focus. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 27
- 25. buffer. Add 50 percent to your time estimate. 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 28
- 26. progress. “Of all the things that boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.” – Amabile & Kramer 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 29
- 27. subtract. “What is your “slowest hiker” in your job or your life?” What is the obstacle that is holding you back from achieving what really matters to you? #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 31
- 28. focus. What’s Important Now? #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 32
- 29. rewind:execute. Nonessentialist Buffer • Forces execution at the last minute Subtract • Piles on quick-fix solutions Progress • Goes for the flashiest win Flow • Tries to execute the essentials by force Focus • Worries about the future or stresses about the past Essentialist Buffer • Practices extreme and early preparation Subtract • Removes obstacles to progress Progress • Celebrates small acts of progress Flow • Designs a routine that enshrines what is essential, making execution almost effortless Focus • Enjoys the moment #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 33
- 30. be. Beware the barrenness of a busy life. -Socrates #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 34
- 31. “I have a vision of people everywhere having the courage to live a life true to themselves instead of the life others expect of them.” 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 35
- 32. questions? Thank You. It is great to see you. FREE! Say CHEESE! You’ve been incredible and I’ve been Krystal Clark. #vuspark 11/7/2014 spark*sessions, K.Clark, SLD, Vanderbilt 36
Notas do Editor
- Why spark*sessions? Thanks for being here… Essential question: “What do you really want out of your career over the next five years?”
- Learning Outcomes
- Giveaway…not a raffle—one of you will win a FREE copy of Essentialism for you, your office, or a loved one… RoadMap: Mindset Explore Eliminate Execute
- The gist of the whole thing… If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will. The trying are of saying “no” to good things Essentialism is a discipline that you apply each and every time you are faced with making a decision about whether to say yes or politely decline. Live a life created by your own design and don’t leave it in the hands of other people. Relentless pursuit of less but better. It is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done.
- We live by Three deeply entrenched assumptions: “I have to.” “Everything is important.” “I can do both.” Essentialism bumps back against all of these
- A choice is an action. –it is not just something we have but something we do. We may not always have control over our options BUT we do have control over how we choose among them. To become an essentialists you must have a heightened awareness of your ability to choose. The essentialists celebrates the power of choice. We can choose how to spend our energy and time.
- “I will work harder.” cannot be the answer to every setback and every problem We have been rewarded our whole lives for hard work and by saying “Yes, I can take that on as well.” Hard work is key to producing results, right? –that’s our logic I know that all of you in this room are already working pretty hard, correct? Are your results drastically changing…? Are there limits to the value of hard work? Is there a point at which doing more does not produce more? What about doing less but thinking more? Could that lead to better outcomes? What is the most valuable result I could achieve in this job? –ESSENTIAL Q Working hard is important. But we must back away from the fallacy of more effort yielding more results. “Less but better” does yield more results. Pareto Principle –20 % of our efforts produce 80 percent of results Warren Buffet—90% of his wealth so just 10 investments– few investments but keep them for a long time, he couldn’t make 100 great decisions to he went with sure bets and went heavy on them—he makes big bets on the essential few investment opportunities and says no to merely good ones Explore all options to determine “the vital few” –discern more so that you can do less What is truly important?
- Southwest Airlines –anecdotes p.50-51 Have you ever spent time with someone who is always trying to fit one more thing in? Sending emails right before they know they have to go into a meeting, leaving for a meeting that takes 10 minutes to walk to exactly 10 minutes ahead of time, agree to take on a project that they know already conflicts with another project? Promising to attend their 2 of their friends birthday parties on the same night while also keeping plans to attend a dance party with another friend that night…Germantown, Antioch, and West Nashville? The false logic that I can do both. They are going to be late to that meeting, something will be misspelled in the email, the work will be lackluster on one of those projects, and a friend will be upset because you only stayed at their party for 45 minutes. The reality is, saying yes to any opportunity by definition requires saying no to several others. The irony of priority…success plans Trade-Offs are hard because you WANT to do all of the options. As essentialists makes trade-off deliberately. If done well, you have a much better chance of achieving the outcomes you want. Instead of seeing trade-offs as crippling, it is really your opportunity to ask this AMAZING question, WHAT DO I WANT TO GO BIG ON? –ESSENTIAL Q If you can answer that then your trade-offs will become easier and easier as you make a consistent choice to side with your BIG one.
- Alright, now we have delved into the mind of an essentialist Judge yourself accordingly—Where are you on the continuum?
- ESCAPE SLEEP SELECT Remember Discern?--Essentialists explore more options than nonessentialists—go big on the vital few There are Five practices for exploring what is essential Often these practices, in our culture are seen as trivial distractions –nice to have…but no one has time for them and you could be looked down upon for engaging in them Being overly busy and overextended is not a sign of productivity These practices actually help people distinguish what is actually trivial from what is truly essential
- Activity: Space to Design—ideal space Space to Concentrate –in a typical day/week, how could you carve out time to just think? What are some of the questions you might ponder? Space to Read –hmmm welcome to spark*sessions…Think Week You must make time to escape your busy life. Eliminate pointless meetings… Eliminate busy work… Anecdote about man who staying the same job for 5 years too long because he never took time to escape in order to explore… ESSENTIAL Q
- If we underinvest in ourselves, we damage the very tool we need to make our highest contribution. The less I slept, the more I could get done. Sleep is a driver of peak performance. Some of us are just so used to being tired that we don’t even know what it feels like to be well rested. The choice to do one thing fewer today so that you can do more tomorrow.
- Derek Sivers TED Talk Candidates for a position Conference attendance Minimum Criteria Ideal Attributes Score Just or almost good enough= NO 90% rule—think about the single most important criterion for that decision and give the option a score between 0 and 100, if you rate any lower than 90% then change the score to 0 and reject it Let’s go back to trade-offs, behaving in this manner will test your courage and faith in turning down a seemingly good option while having full faith that the perfect option will come along When our selection criteria are too broad: we commit to too many options Social Media has led us to “should” ourselves into a bad place…Nonessentialists will go by the guidance of “if this person is doing it, I should do it too.” “if someone asks me to do something, I should try to do it.” Make your criteria selective and explicit Opportunity will knock… FOMO Say yes to the easy reward…they want me… Opportunity knocks worksheet…ON THE TABLE! USE IT! Opportunity Minimum Criteria the option would need to pass in order to be considered Extreme Criteria
- Where are you?
- Clarify Dare Uncommit Edit Limit So, now you have your options. You’ve explored and now you need to figure out how to get to the trivial few…how do you scale down to those that allow you to make the best possible contribution The question, “What will I say no to?” will reveal your true priorities , chart the clearest path, uncover your true purpose and create precious clarity
- The first type of nonessential you’re going to learn to eliminate is simply any activity that is misaligned with what you are intending to achieve –you must become incredibly clear about your purpose Let’s wrap back around to that icebreaker question, “What do you really want out of your career in the next five years?” Motivation and cooperation deteriorate when there is a lack of purpose. People thrive where there is clarity. What happens when we lack clarity? Pattern 1: Playing Politics—playing games to look good to the supervisor, looking better than their peers, self-importance, and echoing their manager’s every idea and sentiment –Personal—try to look good in comparison to other people, overvalue nonessentials and intangibles we neglect things that are truly essential Pattern 2: It’s All Good (Which is Bad): People pursue things that advance their own short-term interests with little awareness of how it contributes to the whole, you have a lot of disparate projects happening that could be at odds with each other –Personal –too many activities could cause the person to still fail to achieve their overall mission , activities don’t always work in concert—you can’t just pursue everything that is good or because it is good ESSENTIAL Q
- One way to obtain clarity is the essential intent. Vision Mission: “We want to change the world.” –sound inspirational but are so general they are almost entirely ignored Values: “innovation” “leadership” “Teamwork”– too bland and generic to have any passion Quarterly Objectives: “Increase profits 5% over last year’s results—short term tactics that will get our attention but will lack inspiration Essential Intent is both inspirational and concrete, both meaningful and measurable– it is one decision that settles one thousand later decisions Martha Lane Fox story…”To get everyone in the U.K. online by the end of 2012.” How do we create this statement? Stop wordsmithing…ask this question –”If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?” –substance not style Ask, “How will we know when we’re done?” “How will we know when we have succeeded?” –Make it REAL! Concrete objectives have the power to elevate and inspire An essential intent for your life will guide your greater purpose and helps you chart your life’s path This is not easy. It takes courage, insight, and foresight, tough questions, making real trade-offs and exercising serious discipline
- Dare to say “No.” Why don’t we say no?—We don’t know what’s essential so we say yes to everything. (AUDIENCE RESPONSE) Social awkwardness/Pressure Separate the decision from the relationship. ---you’re not denying the person, you’re denying the request Decide no but that doesn’t mean you have to say “no”. Learn other ways to deny a request. Think about the trade-off. If you’re saying yes to this request then what are you saying no to. Make peace with the fact that saying “no” often requires trading popularity for respect The vast majority of people would rather you deliver a graceful clear “no” than a vague or noncommittal “yes” Love the “no” repertoire—if this is hard for you, then check out the great list of other ways that you can say no.
- Sunk cost bias—tendency to continue to invest time, money, or energy into something we know is a losing proposition simply because we have already incurred, or sunk, a cost that cannot be recouped. Personal application: sit through a terrible movie because you’ve already paid for it, pour money into a car or home renovation that just never seems to be complete, invest in toxic relationships even when our efforts only make things worse As essentialist has the courage to uncommit, no matter the sunk costs Key Question to ask: “If I did not have this opportunity, how much would I be willing to sacrifice in order to obtain it?”—”If I wasn’t already involved in this project, how hard would I work to get on it?” Admit failure to begin success—only when we can admit we’ve made a mistake can we make it a part of our past—get rid of the same in admitting mistakes—example of not asking for directions Stop trying to force a fit. –if it’s not working… Status Quo Bias – b/c we’ve always done it this way Zero Based Budgeting for your Life…start at 0 and justify all allocations Get over FOMO Pause before you speak Run a reverse pilot –test whether removing an initiative will have any negative consequences
- Editing is core to being an essentialist. An editor makes it hard not to see what’s important A good editor uses deliberate subtraction to actually add life to the ideas, setting, plot, and characters Editing also involves trade offs We must summon the discipline to get rid of options or activities that may be good, or even really good but get in the way Condense: clear and concise, eliminate multiple meaningless activities and replace them with one very meaningful activity –less waste Correct: Come back to your purpose: course corrections, if you know your purpose you can correct your actions and come back to it; compare your activities to your real intent Edit Less: Sometimes it is about showing restraint…edit your tendency to step in, maybe you don’t have to chirp in on that email chain you’ve been added to or perhaps you hold back from speaking at that latest meeting –stop adding your two cents –observe, see how things develop Make editing a part of your routine and then you won’t be forced to do it when things have become ovewhelming
- The boundaries have become incredibly blurry between home and work—technology hasn’t helped at all –you’re always supposed to be available –Especially Y’all! Essentialists see boundaries as empowering –boundaries protect your time from being hijacked and helps you from having the burden of saying no to things that further other objectives and not your own You have to set boundaries in your personal and professional life…we all have high maintenance people in our lives who make demands on our time, they distract us from our purpose, make their problems your problems Don’t rob people of their problems—Force people to solve their own problems You have to be able to articulate your boundaries. Think of someone who frequently pulls you off your most essential path. Make a list of dealbreakers– the types of requests or activities from that person that you simply refuse to say yes to unless they somehow overlap with your own priorities or agenda— Finding your dealbreakers is to write down any time you feel violated or put upon by someone’s request –unwanted invitation, unsolicited opportunity, small favor—when you feel that pinch, you’ve discovered a boundary—my current irk=crowdsourcing emails… Craft social contracts—Lay out your priorities, what extra work you will and won’t be able to do—”Let’s just agree on what we want to achieve.” “Here are a couple of things that really matter to me.” Figure out your limits and enforce them. ESSENTIAL Q
- Self Assessment
- Now, you have the things you have deemed essential but how do you get it done? The aim is effortless execution
- Set yourself up for success..
- Power of small wins. Early and small or Late and Big Minimal Viable Progress What is the smallest amount of progress that will be useful and valuable to the essential task we are trying to get done? What is the minimal amount I could do right now to prepare? Just START. 4-10 minutes Visually reward progress—it worked in grade school, it can work now
- Slowest Hiker story What is the “slowest hiker” in your job or your life? –What is the obstacle that is keeping you back from achieving what really matters to you? By systematically identifying and removing this “constraint”, you’ll be able to significantly reduce the friction keeping you from executing what is essential. A nonessentialist approaches execution in a reactive, haphazard manner –always reacting to crises and never proactive about them= quick fix solutions Essentialist look for the obstacles that are actually slowing down your progress—What is getting in the way of achieving what is essential? –ONE TIME INVESTMENT It is easy to think about execution in terms of addition rather than subtraction- if you want to produce MORE then you do MORE…the Essentialists has a practice of looking at what we need to remove or SUBTRACT Be clear about the essential intent. Identify the slowest hiker ---this could even be things that appear to be productive (over research) , your slowest hiker can actually be a person (not enough info, lack of energy, desire for perfection) Remove the obstacle
- “What’s important now?” –focus on RIGHT NOW To operate as your highest level of contribution requires that you deliberately tune into what is important in the here and now Reliving past mistakes—worrying about the future, spend time thinking about the things you can’t control, are you that person who plans for their next meeting while they are in a meeting?, bucket list that you haven’t crossed anything off of yet? All of that is a distraction from what’s happening RIGHT NOW Essentialists live their lives in the present and because of this they can apply their full energy to the job at hand Multitasking is a thing—you can do two things at the same time Multifocusing is not –you can’t concentrate on two things at the same time Multitasking is not the enemy, pretending we can multi focus is… How to be in the NOW… Ask Yourself—if you need to make a list and cross off everything that doesn’t need to happen at the current moment Get the future out of your head—write it down –”What might you want to do someday as a result of today?” Prioritize- prioritize the essential list and start getting it done “The pause that refreshes” –stop. Close your eyes, breathe. –get there. CHURCH Example!
- And you are…?
- What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of importance? –article reference The author stresses that Essentialism should be something that you are… Not just something that you do every once in a while… The choice to embrace essentialism has a cumulative effect This is not just about success but about living a life of meaning and purpose This is not super easy to do but the transformation can be made in small steps that will show an improvement in your life… This too is a choice… Benefits: More clarity More control More joy If you take nothing else from this session today, then just remember when the to-do list is out of control and things are spinning too fast around you—ask the question “What is essential?”
- Giveway… Everyday leader sticker under your chair…