Management hack - Ban trying!

?Why I ban the word 'Try!' in my offices

Anyone who has worked with me over the last twenty years will know that I ban the word ‘try’ in my offices, in meetings or in any form of explanation for an outcome missed.

The word ‘try’ is nothing but a time thief, it steals your momentum, extends conversations and delays finding a solution and the correct way forward.

All you have to trade in life, whether for money, love, companionship or just living, is your time, so why wouldn’t you treat it with the thought, care, and attention it really deserves!

When you go to work you are trading your time for money, when you go to school you trade your time for knowledge, when you spend time with friends and family, you trade your time for companionship and love, every action you take trades time. Time management is the tool used by every high achiever to become successful.

Time is not just important, it is the most valuable thing in the universe, as it’s priceless due to its subjectivity.

What would you pay for one more day, week, or year with a lost loved one? How much would you give to go back and make amends with or just work harder at school or university?

Just look backwards and you’ll see how valuable time really is.

When I trade my time, I am very careful how I divide it and whom I spend it with. I rarely spend time on anything that doesn’t make me better, happier, or indeed wealthier.

So, to make my time usage as effective as possible, when I am in a meeting or on a call asking about the outcome or output of something we did, I make sure that no one uses the word ‘try’.

Why??Because too 'try' is a prerequisite of their role.

I would never hire or retain anyone who didn’t ‘try’. Of course, everyone is trying, how else would we know if we did or didn’t, whether we failed or succeeded, moved down the line or up the line or sideways.

'We have to measure what matters'.

So why spend so much time telling someone what you tried to do, let's just start with did you succeed, or did you fail in attaining the desired outcome?

Why did you succeed?

Why did you fail?

What can you do now to change or improve the outcome?

What did you learn from this process?

What will you do next time for a better result?

‘Next time come with thoughts, answers and solutions to the above and we’ll cut the meeting time again’.

I have saved thousands of hours over the last 25 years, by banning the word try. It has also allowed me to solve many problems far quicker than my competitors, but the most important outcome is that it has helped hundreds of people think for themselves.

No longer do I have to ask them what they think they should do when a question is about to be asked of me. We now have a process where people come up with rhetorical questions and carefully thought through solutions.

No longer do we have problems to deal with, we just have solutions to execute.

All they are really looking for is an affirmation, but what they actually get is amazing feeling of job satisfaction and the kudos they deserve.

‘Every objection is just an instruction on how to get around it’.

If you want an efficient, effective, productive, workforce, business, school or even a sports team, then ban the word ‘try’, drill-down and watch everyone come up with solutions to reject pointless problems.

You’ll be amazed at what you learn, how well you bond, and the innovation born out of looking forward and not backward.

‘The only bad idea is having no idea!’

Dean