At our recent Optimal Level meeting in Schaumburg, one of our members made a comment to me while we were discussing another member’s issue.  Noting my increased animation and most likely a raise in voice level, she said something like, “Boy, that’s really your hot button.”  I thought about what she said for a brief moment, and realized she was right.

Having given this further thought since the meeting, in addition to recognizing that topic as a hot button for me, I found two more that set me off.  Having so enjoyed the process of identifying them, I also created names for them, list them below, and offer descriptions in hopes that they will help you with your career or business issues:

Hot Button #1 – The Smorgasbord Syndrome - This is the hot button that was set off by the Schaumburg meeting discussion.  One of our members at the previous meeting had identified an issue that she felt would be very important to the success of her business; planned, purposeful networking.   In doing so, she put off another marketing strategy that she felt had less urgency, and would free up time for focusing on her networking tactics.  Now, at this month’s meeting she explained that an encounter with someone during the month made her change her mind, and now she wanted to throw the other activity back into play.  Never mind that she had already made up her mind at the previous meeting or that extra time will be needed which will dilute her focus.

Even then, and especially now, in retrospect, I appreciate that a reevaluation of a decision can certainly be appropriate.  However, I see this over and over again in Optimal Level and with other women with whom I talk. (Again, it very possibly occurs often with men.  I see it more with women because I spend more time with them; or it could be particular to business women.)  That is, that they make a decision about a strategy and then reexamine it, change their minds, reexamine it, change their minds, etc.  That, in itself, as a practice, is definitely detrimental to the success of their strategy and to the progress of their business.

However, that hot button is for another blog.  The particular focus of the rise in my temperature is one’s lack of awareness that if you add another strategy into your overall plan, you have to purposefully alter it for time and implementation.  When settling upon a plan, generally that involves determined steps and an analysis of the hours involved as well as the blocking of that time for that implementation.

If one willy-nilly says this is my plan, but then okay I’ll throw in one or two other things that strike me, one is altering the plan.  That’s like planning a day spent with your family and then throwing in doing the laundry, calling some friends, cleaning the basement, and reading a good book.  Not much time spent with the kids or having the quality time one intended; thus the name “The Smorgasbord Syndrome.”  I was going to say, you can’t pick three entrees and four desserts at a food smorgasbord – but then again, you can.  You would likely get sick, but you could.  The same thing is true with too many strategies.  Only your business gets sick.  This over-indulging dilutes the effort and threatens the success of the outcome.

What to do?  
a.    First think less.  Once you’ve made a decision about a strategy, identify the time you want to spend executing it.  Then and only
       then, after that time is up – begin a new strategy.
b.    If you do feel you must operate both strategies at once – and in most cases more than one strategy at a time is necessary – evaluate
       the cost, the time needed, and identify the tactics you will use to execute the plan.
c.    Most importantly, extend the time for the first strategy, and re-do your time plan.  You have less time!  You are now taking the time
       for two strategies (or three, or four, or whatever.)  You must re-plan your first strategy extending it because you will be spending
       less time doing it.

Hot Button #2 - Misusing your Dart - Imagine you are in a tavern.  Your objective is to play a game of darts.  You’ve got your eye on your target and you visualize having that dart pierced dead center in the target.  In the meantime, you chat up two friends, take a few swigs of your drink, get distracted by some news that caught your eye on the TV, take a potty break and then dance to a favorite tune.  Not much attention was given to that dart getting stuck in the dartboard, let alone strategy to accomplish the objective.  

Ultimately, the dart never gets thrown nor reaches its target.  Or, you eventually throw the dart but since you didn’t plan how best to do it, the dart fell way short of the main target.  This hot button was generated by a section in our May reading, “Influencer, The Power to Change Anything”.  It was referring to Henry who wanted to lose weight (his outcome) and decided that the way to do that was to reduce his caloric intake (plan).  Good plan?  Not really.  What will Henry do to avoid temptation, find the right amount of food with the right amount of calories, how much exercise to incorporate into his plan, etc.?  Too often women focus on the outcome and ignore or simplify the strategy without careful analysis of the reality of the challenge.

Your outcome, let us say, is more sales.  Your strategy is to make more calls.  That’s like reducing calories.  Missing ingredient? - How.  How are you going to make more calls?  One might answer pick up the phone and call people.  That’s great.  What people?  Where?  When?  For how long?  For what purpose (have them listen to you, make an appointment, agree to take your call another time, what will you say, how will I answer objections, how will I follow through, etc.)?

What to do?
a.    Ask yourself how do I do that?
b.    Then ask more questions, Where, When, Who, How do I find the who, what do I say, etc.  Whatever the strategy is – ask
        questions to guide yourself down a clear, designated path.
c.    Answer those questions
d.    Follow through on your plan with focus and determination.

Hot Button #3 – Finding your Operational Spot  – when my husband was my Operations Manager at my scrap iron and metal company, among many challenges of working together was our utterly diverse operational styles.  While I infuriated him with my fast-paced execution of strategies and tactics, he drove me crazy over-thinking, drudgingly setting up patterns to execute, and hesitating before execution.  However, our differences in style actually benefited the operation of our business.  Each of us was strong headed enough to not let the other’s style dominate.

Since I am the “think of it and do it” style,  I get tasks and projects done but  often waste time with mistakes and also overlook more successful ways of getting things done.  Even with those threats, I get them done most often with success and avoidance of disasters.  My husband’s much more deliberate functioning truly sets up the likelihood of finding the best way to go, but may muck up other operations because of falling behind.

What I have noticed about many business/career women is that desire for perfection drives their performance.  That perfection involves over-thinking, over-researching, over-analyzing and eventual paralysis or at least cumbersome delay.  I am not advocating jumping into things before all systems are ready for go – as I said that can be ominous.

I am, however, suggesting that you clearly identify an operational style somewhere between complete ineptitude or “haste and waste” and perfection or “analysis paralysis.”  Identify what is your proven spot on the continuum of operational styles that results in a direct outcome.  If stay stuck at the extremes, you greatly endanger a successful result.

If you know you are more the get-the-most-Degrees, search endlessly for the very best research, the idea junkie (one who fervently enjoys as many ideas as pop up on one’s radar) type, heed the warning to limit those ideas to when they can be done.  If you are the leap before you look type, vow to never act until you think twice or use resources to assist you.

What to do?
a.    Decide on your operational style.
b.    Get advice and support from someone who has a different style to create balance and effectiveness (business coach, Optimal Level,
       etc.) on each major plan or strategy.
c.    For the too quick to act type:  Build in simmering time.  Add a tactic to every strategy for a certain time to re-examine your first
       impulse.  You could call it “double-check” time.
d.    For the drag your feet type: Go on an idea diet – make a box or file labeled Ideas When Their Time Has Come and store them
       there until you have completed your main goal.  Then focus on the operation of the one, two, or three major strategies.  When
       you’re finished with that one, go to your box or file and pull out a favorite.

Well, that felt good.  I feel much more temperate.  So, until the next hot button pops up…