How to be Anticipatory...Some Tips

I don't know if everyone feels this way, but it seems to me like weeks often have themes—sort of like the fact that the same subject comes up in meetings in which folks often haven't coordinated.?

This week's theme seems to have come up in multiple meetings and conversations, both in and out of work hours: being?anticipatory vs reactionary.?

What do I mean by this? Well...

I was discussing with a friend who's trying to determine how to build a team, and she doesn't have full job descriptions yet. We discussed how sometimes you just need to hire someone who is curious, critically thinks, and is a go-getter who gets stuff done, even if the role hasn't been defined. The role can come after if they're a person who?drives to solutions.?She and I agreed that we'll hire for initiative and ideation any day of the week.

This came out in several discussions with team members this week, as well.?

Often, we live in survival mode—especially at work. We are so used to dealing with the typical list, we don't even look to see if it's the right list anymore. It takes time to stop and think if we're missing things.

But how does one become anticipatory??

Some tips:?

• Sit down and think about?how [choose your hero] would do your role. What would they do differently that you're not currently doing??
• Think of a current task or project or sale/renewal you have. Now, think of 5 things that could go wrong with it. (Sounds gross, but bear with?me...). How would you preemptively?ensure those 5 things don't happen? What would you add to your task list to cover those scenarios??
• Think through specific people you're working with. How should you reach out to them? What communication could you incite? What is one of their pain points you haven't yet fixed??
• If someone described "the BEST" of whatever your role is, what would they list that you're maybe not able to get to yet? What can you take out to fit more of those in?*
• If you were given an extra two hours a day to do your role, which "nice-to-haves" would you include? Write those down. Now, what can you take out to fit more of those in?* (*Notice I said "take out" before I said "fit more"—work smarter; not harder.)?
• Take 10 minutes to brainstorm ways to polish/formalize/canonize what you already do.?
• What part of your role do you hate that you can change so you love it??

Hopefully this incited some fun brainstorming for you this afternoon, this weekend, or early next week. I can't wait to hear how each of you found something you could change from reactionary to anticipatory.?

(Images courtesy of UnSplash: Marcos Paulo Prado and Glenn Carstens-Peters respectively.)