#548: How This One Statement Makes You Less Distracted and More Productive

A. Introduction

The aim of this mini-course is to show you how to use "Verbalized Summary Objective" statements to be more effective.

By the end of this mini-course, you will have learnt…

1. What a Verbalized Summary Objective is
2. How to use an XYZ format to describe your VSO
3. When to use a VSO to say No to requests that don't match.

Our thanks go to Ed Muzio for the concept and video.

View and/or download the full set of free PowerPoint slides on "Working Time" from ManageTrainLearn here: https://www.managetrainlearn.com/#/slide/5876

#ericgarner #peopleskills #managetrainlearn #working time

B. Key Points

1. If you've ever worked in the world of sales, you may have heard of the elevator pitch. The idea is that, if I'm selling something, in the time it takes me to ride an elevator with you, I should be able to give you a quick and compelling statement of what I'm selling. That way when the doors open, you can decide whether you want to talk to me some more.

2. But most people don't know there's a different version of the elevator pitch that's used by people who are successful at managing complexity in high-pressure work environments. That different version is called the Verbalized Summary Objectives or VSO.

3. Now here's how VSOs work. A VSO is a statement of what you are trying to do and with whom you are doing it and they follow basically this format. This is what I call the XYZ statement and it's a verbal statement. You say it out loud and it goes like this: "I spend x of my resources working with y on z result".

4. Now, if you're an individual contributor, an example of the XYZ statement could be: “I spend 25 percent of my time working with Tammy in Accounts Receivable to make sure that we get a 100% receipt on time”. If you're a manager then you have more resources and the XYZ statement might say: “5 of my people spend 20% of their time working with a defects group in the factory to ensure a 0.5 percent or lower defect rate in production.”

5. You can imagine VSOs can vary widely depending on the group but, whatever they are, you want to have five to seven of these VSOs and you want to write them to account for 80% roughly of the output you're responsible for. That means you have to make them more or less broad so that you have five to seven that cover 80 percent of your output. When you have five to seven, what you'll find is, as you read them out, it'll take you 60 to 90 seconds to say.

6. Once you've got a VSO written down, what do you do? You say it out loud. You say it out loud a lot when you introduce yourself in a meeting. You lead with your VSOs when you sit down at lunch with some friends and they ask what you're working on. You lead with your VSOs when you meet with clients and you have to tell them what's new. You lead with your VSOs.

7. You can change them whenever you want but you're always talking about them, always publicizing them, always advertising them. Why is this so important? Well, here's the thing. If I’m coming to you with a request, I’m going to say, I want you to do this or that. If all I know about you is your job title and your name, then I’m going to be focused on getting you to do what I want. But if you come at me with an introduction that I’ve heard before or just now that is your VSO, then I’m going to start to think a little differently.

8. Knowing your VSOs, I’m going to start to think about how does my request match with what you're already doing. Should I even bother to ask you? Sometimes I won't. I'll ask somebody else. If I do think it fits, I’ll frame the request in terms of what you're already working on so it'll be less distracting, less disruptive.

9. So, if you're finding yourself distracted and disrupted by random seemingly sideways requests in the workplace, focus on writing up your Verbalized Summary Objectives. Write your five to seven VSOs and start to publicize them. When you do, you'll find those requests will diminish. You'll be more productive. And you'll be less distracted.

C. Video "Say No Without Saying No" with Ed Muzio

What Next?

If you have found this article useful, you now have a great resource to add to your e-learning store.

And, with this as your starting point, you can now take things further.

With over 22,000 learning resources on our 6 websites, with 2 sites offering free downloads, you can now take charge of your own learning and create your own learning pathways to success.

Simply commit yourself to a daily snippet of learning and then practise it, reflect upon it, apply it, and review it, and in no time at all, you will have mastered the skill with confidence.

Thanks for reading this edition of the "People Skills" newsletter and good luck with your ongoing learning.

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