A two for one special

This week I had a very interesting?conversation with someone who was just overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. Overwhelmed with the enormity of what they were trying to do and underwhelmed with?the sense of urgency or importance others were placing on this enormous task. And they were starting to question if it was just all too impossible even though they really believed?in the need to do something. On further?discussion they recognised?they were in the Fog. A huge transformation was needed but it was something they'd never done before and no one really understood what it would look like when they got there. When things are uncertain and enormous?we all respond in different ways. From burying heads in the sand, to rushing out and doing something, anything even if its not thought through (beware unintended consequences) to feeling like we are just don't know where to start and so procrastinate on doing anything.

But guess what. We have a #PET for that. Well we have two.

The first is the Fog Jigsaw map which describes?how to run a Foggy project. It's pretty self explanatory but worth checking if you are following this for your foggy (transformation) projects.

The second is ChunkIt!?This is a great prioritisation?tool. It's not about what's most important or what you must do. But a pragmatic?way to determine, from all your ideas or things you've identified as needing fixing (bottom box of GapLeap #PET) what will give you the biggest benefit and which is the least effort to do. Place them relative to each other. Move them around as a team. Make sure you spread them out. And then decide where to start. Typically teams start with one or two ideas that are low effort and high benefit. But sometimes there's an idea that's very high benefit and high effort but deemed worth putting all the resources into. Either way you agree what you will work on now and can put the others?to the side rather than trying to start them all and not achieving?much of anything. This can be used for pretty much anything?where prioritisation?is needed but when it comes to the?Fog it allows you to determine what the small step/chunk of change will be. A chunk of change that you can turn into a #StickyStep plan, deliver and celebrate?before reviewing what you've found out / learnt before agreeing what the next chunk of change should be.?

The conversation ended with 3 small achievable?chunks that could be done in the next couple of weeks. And the other person let out a huge sigh of relief.?They saw what the next step they needed to take was that would get them closer to their goal without worrying about all the things they hadn't yet done.

This is how to get out of the fog. Don't start running around in all directions like a headless chicken and achieving?nothing. But do ChunkIt!