Jan 13

Attention Buys Results

I have been listening extra closely to what people tell me they want to achieve while working with me. Normally, I hear things like, “I need to get out of the weeds and back to working smart, not just hard.”

Business owners in particular say things like, “business is good, but we are a bit overwhelmed.” When something isn’t what they want it to be they describe the situation in terms of too few A-level clients, too many things on their plate, “a to-do list as long as my arm,” staff turnover problems or, the classic, wrestling with alligators.

In Wobbly Company
Maaaaaaaybe 5% of all the people I talk with, executive in big organizations and owners of small businesses alike - maaaaaaaaaybe 5% of them are aware that their behavior may be a problem. It almost surely is.

I don’t say that like a parent pointing a finger. I mean it in this sense:

I can look out at a situation and see all the problems and solutions “out there” someplace. The problem is too many C-level clients - the problem is the clients. The problem is turnover - the problem is the staff. The problem is a long to-do list - the problem is aaaaaall the top-priority issues that require my attention. The problem is always out there.

Even if that is true - that the problem is out in the environment - where are the solutions likely to come from? Will they also be out there? Unlikely.

The problems I hear described are always symptoms of a problem with where someone spends their attention.

Put more pointedly, where you put your attention, you put your resources. Where you focus, you act.

C-level clients come from a focus problem, an attention problem - a focus of attention on C-level prospects, for example. Start paying attention to a higher level prospect and you will likely get a higher quality client.

A long to-do list is a focus issue, too. The undiscerning management mind sees everything as a level one activity. Given the reality that not all of them can be accomplished with available resources - we are back to what you focus on. Where you pay your attention, you buy your results.

So, start thinking of backing up your description of what’s happening “out there” with what is happening “in here,” meaning - in your mind.

What you get out there has strong roots to what goes on inside.

So what, right?
Well, until I realize that my thinking steers my ship, I will continue to push or prod, attempt to convince, manipulate or coerce other people to behave differently - without paying any attention to my contributions to the situation, my own behavior. I am sure to get push-back, not least because I will not have acknowledged my contribution to the situation. I will have very little credibility. Who wants to follow such a man?

Inquiry
What is the symptom of the problem?
What are my contributions to the problem?
What are the other contributors?
What behavior do I need to change to turn the situation around?
What support do I need to continue the change until it becomes a habit?

Language as Evidence
One more thing - to gain some insight about how you view a problem - out there - or with your own attention and actions - listen to your own language.

If you usually say something like, “you know, when you have so many things on your plate, it’s hard to get everything done. And, they are all top priorities, so you just can’t get them all done,” you’re trying to pass the buck, from you to me - or worse - to everyone else.

The statements people make that sound like that are cop-outs. It’s an unconscious attempt to make your problem a universal problem that everyone experiences. It’s a avoidance of your responsibility. It is a way of not dealing with the feelings that come up were you to use the pronoun I.

To prove it - restate the same sentence using the I pronoun. Notice how different it feels.

It is an important exercise, because until you can get to using the I pronoun when describing the symptoms of the problems I face, I will not have fully committed to fixing them.

Where I pay my attention, I buy my results.

And, if you’re looking for some help with it all - call me. I can help you with that.

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