All too often we can be so beset by things that, to use a well-worn phrase, “We can’t see the wood for the trees”. Often the scale of our problem is not simply in an inability to distinguish timber, but also in that a great deal of it appears to be on fire! In any walk of life - professional or domestic - such situations can be overwhelming.
If we were to seek them, helpful words of advice would be abundant, and some more helpful than others: “Pull your socks up!” - a little demeaning; “Get a grip!” - a little too dismissive; “Focus!” - what else?!
But recognition of the true situation is the first key step - but then so is the final one, that state to which you are trying to aspire. On this journey from where we are to where we want to be - from ‘Chaos’ to ‘Simplicity’ - there are two other logical steps; Order and Completion. The secret of the journey from the dark to the light encompasses these four steps, and there are worst ways to navigate from an unwelcome and unhealthy situation than to use these as your guideposts.
Chaos: The situation where something is essentially out of control, non-optimal, impossible to predict, manage and steer. This is where you are and where you no longer wish to be. And to move ahead, something has to change. Remember the definition of lunacy? Doing the same things over and over again, yet expecting a different outcome…
Order: The situation where there are some controls in place; where we can measure and prioritise. We may not necessarily be doing the ‘right’ things at this stage, but at least we have established control of what we are doing.
Completion: The situation where things get sorted and finished, and where we begin to thin out the trees in our metaphorical wood. Of course completion can lead to the spawning of new things, initiatives, projects and so forth - but this will happen on our terms because we have established control.
Simplification: The situation where we have attained our ‘to be’ goal. We are no longer standing in a burning forest, but rather overseeing a well-managed, neatly laid out plantation; and where we can look forward to planting those new saplings with confidence.
Perhaps this is not particularly radical, but then common sense most often is not. Recognising the situation and the potential journey to be undertaken is at the heart of the battle.
How do you get from Chaos to Simplicity? What it involves is focus - and probably ‘getting a grip’, the ‘pulling up of socks’, taking ‘baby steps’ and so on. It also demands clarity of thought, the bravery to prioritise and to tackle a small number of burning trees at a time rather than the whole forest.
There are tools to help on the journey, inevitably, but perhaps one of the key ones is the ability to plan - and to plan appropriately. There is a symbiosis between the Chaos to Simplicity journey, and the planning approach I have suggested in a previous post [Plan ahead, yes - but how far can you actually see?].
Chaos = What you can see now.
Order = What you expect to see next.
Completion = What you think you will see after that.
Simplification = What you hope to see in the end.
Try it. Think of one thing that for you represents chaos right now. Write it down - just one line or phrase to describe it. What it would need to look like to be under control? Again, note just one line or phrase. Then how might completion be manifest? And finally, how would you hope the simplified end-game appeared?
If you can do this, then you have the basic DNA of your plan. You can now plan forward from where you are (and there are probably things you simply must do now! What do you need to do to bring Order etc.?). And don’t be afraid to work backwards a little from the end-game too - otherwise you run the risk of being totally constrained by your present situation i.e. you may put the fires out, but never leave the wood!
Whichever route or method you choose to take to escape the burning forest, devising a pragmatic, planned, measurable approach is fundamental. As is doing something different. Don’t fall into the trap of lunacy - be brave and make a change!
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About the author / copyright
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Management blog: http://cioscrapbook.blogspot.co.uk
This material (text and photograph) is copyright of Ian Gouge © 2015. All rights reserved.
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