Not Just Faster, But Smarter

Do you know what the The Red Queen Effect is and its impact on how we work in the most optimal way?

I was reading ‘Through the Looking Glass’ to my kids over the weekend. You’ve likely read a famous book by the same author: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; through the Looking Glass is the sequel. Lewis Carroll, in addition to being an author, was an observer of human nature, which is a critical skill in CX work, and his books have wonderful metaphors / parallels scattered throughout for the reader to think about.

There’s a part in ‘Through the Looking Glass’ where Alice is running faster and faster, but she’s essentially running in place (– ever feel that way?). The Red Queen from the book keeps crying “Faster! Faster!” but Alice couldn’t run any faster. The Red Queen said to Alice, “If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

I was thinking about this a lot over the weekend, particularly as we hear a lot about ‘increasing clock-speed’ from leaders these days. (For those interested, increasing clock-speed comes from the term ‘clock rate’, which is the frequency at which a chip, like a central processing unit in your phone or PC, is running and is used as an indicator of the processor’s speed. It’s just a fancier way to say it so humans are referred to as computers, but you don't make them feel like machines!

I talk about increasing clock-speed in the context of improving the time to execute, deliver or implement. Working in an Agile environment is one way to improve clock-speed; many are still at the very beginning of their Agile journey. But how do you work faster in an organization if you’re not Agile yet? 

Speed for the sake of speed is a recipe for disaster. To note, the ‘Red Queen Effect’ is more about not being complacent or happy with where you are and making changes to constantly improve. So this isn’t just about working faster, it’s equally about working smarter. Speed alone will not deliver the results you need to succeed in an ever changing world; it’ll be like running in place, faster and faster. So when you hear “clock-speed,” hopefully you also start thinking “brain-speed.”

By now, I hope you’re asking yourself, “How can I work smarter?” Great question. Below are 10 techniques each of us can start using today to start working smarter; and in a way that naturally increases clock-speed and brain-speed. Pay special attention to #4 and the ‘mental models’ in the sub-link – there are some great tidbits in there you can use.

1. Think about Systems and not Goals: “System” is just fancy word for a repeatable process (I've used fancy twice in this post; I read "Fancy Nancy" books to my kids!). Improving your Customer Satisfaction scores is a goal, but focusing on the 3-5 things every day that are proven to improve the customer experience is repeatable (e.g., calling back when promised, updating customers proactively, etc.).
2. Compound Interest Your Life: When you focus on systems at work — and in life — every day, the results compound each day, developing exponential growth, like compound interest. To note, if you automate one small task per week, you free up time to focus on more important things; as you optimize more and more, you get better and faster at doing things.
3. Track & Measure Outputs (Not Inputs): Delivering faster won’t necessarily get you the results you need. If you want to get promoted, be so good that they can’t ignore you; you cannot control your boss, or your boss’s boss. The repeatable process is to execute on more deliverables than anyone else, flawlessly…by doing so, you control all of the variables in the equation and the output is measurable.
4. Pareto Principle Your Life: You’ve all heard it by another name: 80/20 rule. This is a great mental model that makes you constantly question yourself if your focus, time or money is on things that drive the majority of results. Put simply, spend all of your currency – whether mental, physical, or monetary – on the things that have the most impact.
5. HIIT for ‘Deep Work’: I started using the Pomodoro Technique years ago because I am a classic, text book procrastinator. Pomodoro is like High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for work. Practice to perfection and your efforts start to compound, just like in #2 above.
6. KonMari @ Work: Remove distractions. Turn off Skype, block out time on your calendar for yourself, answer (all) emails at certain times of the day you feel your most sharp (dedicate the optimal time for you to Deep Work though). A distraction is anything that doesn’t contribute to the work you want to do or the life you want to build. Just get rid of distractions. Say goodbye once and the rest of the distractions are easy to drop.
7. Automate-squared: Automation doesn’t necessarily mean technology; try to save time everywhere. Automation can be as simple as creating a searchable template for meeting notes, or a way to organize emails in Outlook that will improve your work-life balance by not spending half your day (or night) answering all the emails that came through. More automation means more time spent on productive work. And remember, you can outsource automation; I pay an editor for Be Customer Led.
8. Data-Driven Mentality: I don’t mean this to be about data in and of itself; Test and Learn is the critical piece to this. Ben Franklin famously said: “You can have your own opinions, but you can’t have your own facts.” If you test your hypotheses in a small way, your learnings will become exponential because they build on each other. Do this in life and at work; the benefits will surprise you.
9. Delegate the Non-Essential: It’s always better to find someone with the skill you need to get something done that to do it yourself; if you have to build the skill yourself though, then NEVER delegate. Work on developing the skills you value and will help you grow as a person or as a professional; for everything else, just ask for and seek help.
10. Relish the Struggle: Struggle is where breakthroughs can happen. If you ever find yourself in a place where you are not adding value, go home to re-energize; you’d be amazed how the brain can solve a problem on its own when it’s rested. But the important point is to get back into it once you’re mentally ready to engage; never back away from it, because your brain loves a challenge whether you know it or not.

“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” — Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Let’s not allow Carroll’s words, and, more importantly, the ‘Red Queen’, take hold of us. Increase clock-speed and brain-speed.

I hope you’ve found this post a little bit useful and it helps you get a little bit better each day!