Book review: 8 business lessons I have learned from Tony Crabbe's "Busy"

After finalizing my thesis, I suddenly found myself bored out of my mind. I had so much free time since I did not have to work on my master's degree anymore (I have no idea what I used to do before I started studying again). I decided to start reading again and dived into the books I had available. Luckily my husband had some books lying around which he never read. I picked Busy by Tony Crabbe to read first (author's note: I read it in Dutch, but any translation should have the same text and message as the original).

Overall impression

The book was written to guide busy people towards a less busy and stressful life. When I read it I was facing the almost opposite (still working a fulltime job though). The book does give a lot of solid advice on reducing your stress levels, based on a lot of scientific research. At the end of each chapter Crabbe presents a short exercise to help you actually do something about your situation. I have not done those but it makes it a lot easier to put his words into practice; something a lot of authors fail to do. I found it an interesting read also when your are not overworked, because through prevention you might never end up overworked.

I found that Crabbe gives advice for two audiences: personal advice for the individual, and business advice which is useful in organizations. There is more good advice in his book than just the eight I am sharing here, but that advice is more focuces towards individuals. In this article I am focusing on how his book can help you move your business forward.

1. A strategy should not be set in stone

Crabbe used an example from climbers on Mount Everest: the rule there is that if you have not reached the top by a certain time, you turn back. A certain group of climbers had gotten so far and did not want to turn back in disappointment, so they kept on going. They reached the top but had to return in the dark. No one made it back alive. Crabbe argues that this also happens to business and individuals: we stick to a certain path simply because we choose that path and do not want to face our own failure, or that circumstances have changed which render our chosen path useless.

On an individual level: many of us will have had a romantic relationship that ultimately did not seem to go anywhere. Some of us cut our losses, some of stick with it in hopes of better days. Just we because we decided at a certain point in time that we wanted to be involved, does not mean we have to keep it up forever. The same goes for organizations: if your stategy does not seem to be working, try and find out why. Maybe your assumptions were wrong, or the cirsumstances have changed. For both situations: re-evaluate and consider cutting your losses.

2. Divide your attention, not your time

Crabbe argues that by being truly involved with what we are doing, we can eliminate being busy. Time may be scarce, attention is even scarcer. We only have 24 hours in a day, but no one is able to be fully attentive during those 24 hours. According him, relaxing does not always equal being relaxed. A first step would be to start making really concious decisions about what you want to pay attention to - and more importantly, what not. The second step would be to cancel all that other noise out; for it has no value in your life if it does not deserve your undivided attention.

In another article I wrote about the seven deadly sins: one of the sins was gluttony. Finding a niche and really putting work in that instead of trying to accomodate every market prevents your organization from commiting this sin. Crabbe basically argues the same: decide what you want to focus on, and make that your own. Be great at one or two things instead of mediocre at a lot of things.

3. Use framing to your advantage

Crabbe uses Ellen Langer's (and collegues) research to give his readers very practical advice: use the word "because" ("omdat" in Dutch) in your reasoning and you have a higher chance of your request being granted. Somehow these scientists have found that when you frame a request to include the word "because" following by a reason (the reason does not have to follow rationally after your request), your counterpart will be more willing to say yes. Is this manipulation? Maybe. I have tried it in several emails and have been succesfull at my attempts.

4. Stephen Covey gets a cameo: first things first

Fill your day with useless tasks and you will not get anything doen. Sounds logical but this is not adviced often. Usually advice sounds like something along the lines of "start with a small task, you will feel accomplished and get more tasks done!" But...often we like the accomplished feeling to much that we stick with the small tasks (easy to finish and more accomplishments!). Crabbe advices to start with the most important tasks because whatever comes first on our list, has the biggest chance of actually getting done. We get tired/bored/distracted so the further down the list, the smaller the chance it gets done. So order in which you plan your tasks is what's important, not the size.

5. Distinguish between your different horizons

Almost halfway through the book, Crabbe references the balanced scorecard. A very popular management tool that lets you create focus, goals and the means to get there on different levels, not just financially. Crabbe defined four different types of goals he focuses his attention on - each with different reasons.

He then goes on to distinguish three different horizons - timeframes if you will. The closest and furthest horizons are easiests according to Crabbe: what do I need to do today, and where do I want to be in five years (or even longer)? The hardest horizon is the one in between: what do I need to do for the next ~ 2 years in order to be successfull? The goals are not quite as actionable as daily goals and tasks, but they do not get you dreaming about that 5 year goal either.

Crabbe finds this horizon lacks the emotional attraction that long term planning has (I want to built my dream house) nor does it give the adrenaline kick that daily tasks can (I am going to do all my sales calls today). But those plans, actions, projects that focus on 2 year goals will give you the most strategic success.

6. Keep your focus broad and important

Building on the previous lesson, Crabbe presents two practical pieces of advice to start working on that vague horizon. First, keep your focus broad. Do not try to plan everything ahead, keep it global. He draws on a study done amongst students: those who planned per month got better results, developed better study habits and dropped out less that students who planned per day. Both did better though that students who did not plan at all. Second, focus on what is important. Make a list focus on your top three, maybe four or five but no more. You cannot do everything and stretching yourself will not make things easier or better. See also lesson #2.

7. Asking the right questions in order to solve the right problem

When I say jump, you ask: how high? In a crisis situation I could understand this attitude, but in daily business this usually does not work out. Reallife example: your client calls that they need an aditional member on their team. You do not ask why but you start organizating a few cv's from people who might fit.

But why does your client need a new member? What is the issue? Is there even an issue? When you fail to ask additional questions, you fail to reveal the problem behind the question. A new team member might not solve your client's problem at all; it might even make it worse. Maybe they need two! Sometimes your customer is best served by not giving them what they want.

8. Technical solutions versus adaptive solutions

Crabbe draws on his personal experience here. He took over een decade to write a book, 10 years of which he did not get a single letter on (digital) paper. He thought that a lack of time was the problem; the technical solution here would have been some sort of time management. But he started to ask himself the right questions; turns out he simply was afraid of having nothing of worth to say. So he choose an adaptive solution: start a blog and see whether people liked what he had to say (+ get some practice in writing). So after you have done lesson #7, follow up with lesson #8.

Closing remarks

I recommend reading the book. Yes, also when you are "too" busy to read any book (Crabbe tackles this particular problem quite early on). It is not a complete lifesaving or lifechanging book but it is an interesting read, well written and lacking jargon. You can learn some quick lifehacks, what changes to slowly implement and habits to form. I suggest buying it at your local bookstore (support your local entrepeneurs), buying it second hand or borrowing it from a friend.

Artwork through Unsplash