Last year, I was visiting an art gallery with my husband and we were fortunate to speak with the owner for some time. He is quite successful in his niche and he, along with some other like minds, has put his community on the map for art. He said something so profound as we talked. It resonated with me very much, especially at the time. I had just finished my Certified ScrumMaster training. (Scrum/agile/lean processes interest me not only in the workplace but how they can be so easily and effectively applied to living a great life.)
Simplify and magnify. That was it. I don’t know if he got that from somewhere/someone else but he was the first person I heard say it that way. He was referencing how he ran his gallery business and how he was applying a very left brain process to a normally right brain industry. I loved it!
Simplify and magnify. How much of what we do every day is excess? How much is fluff, fire, folly? How much is drama, even in the workplace? What things on our to-do are simple – important but not urgent? If it ain’t simple, it ain’t getting done. Yes, we are all wonderful, bright, intelligent people, but complex issues must be broken down in order to be effectively addressed. Simplify the complex and then magnify your efforts on those simple doable bits. Do the important over the urgent every time. Else the urgent will overtake the important and then what do you have?
I am not saying not to see the big picture. On the contrary. The big picture must be held in mind at all times with everything else being measured against it. At the end of the day it comes down to 1) assessing and listing what is in alignment with our big picture and removing all that is actually disguised procrastination – distractions that make us look and feel busy and important 2) taking that list and 3) working it with supreme focus until it is done or no longer necessary.
Taking on the panic and priorities of others does not help us. Nor does it help them. We are not the only ones who can solve this if it is not ours to solve. We are not the only ones who can create and make our way. Give others the chance to step up. They will when they must.
