The Challenge
of Essentialism
By
Tita Datu Puangco
Recently
I came across 3 books that amplified or built on the Pareto Principle. If you
will recall the basic management program you attended, one of the more
memorable is Pareto's Rule. It is often reflected in the saying that it is the
"Rule of the Vital Fews, Versus the Trivial Many".
PARETO PRINCIPLE
I can still recall attending a workshop as a
starting supervisor when the facilitator stated the principle simply that “20%
of the things we do deliver 80% of the results and vice versa, 80% of the things
we do deliver 20% of the results”. Thus,
for a manager who achieve results through others, should decide as to what
action to take that would determine the fruitfulness and productivity of the
activity.
ESSENTIALISM
I
was impressed by the books entitled “Essentialism, the Disciplined Pursuit of
Less" by Greg McKeown. While written substantially as a business book he
suggests “a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential,
then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible
contribution towards the things that really matter".
He
talks about the underlying principles that guide the mind-set of an
essentialist. First is individual choice, each one of us has free will, the
right to choose how to spend our energy and time and life, I would add. Two, we hear so much noise and many things
that demand our attention and yet only a few things are "exceptionally
valuable". Three, the reality that
we have to trade off. Much as we want
to, we cannot do and have everything.
3 STEPS TOWARDS ESSENTIALISM
With
these principles in mind, the person striving towards the essentials can now
take three simple steps. First is to EXPLORE, discern and differentiate the
trivial many from the vital few. This means
to evaluate, explore and weigh a broad list of options before making a
commitment or a decision. So let us make sure that the option we chose is the
right one, and eventually leading to the highest point of contribution and
opportunity. This means "the right thing, the right way at the right
time".
The
next step is to ELIMINATE. This means cutting out the trivial many. It means
saying no to the non-essentials. McKeown defines this as the social discipline
of saying no to social pressure. It is eliminating the non-essentials to focus
on what is truly important and valuable. Then the final step is to EXECUTE. It
is to remove obstacles and make execution effortless. Essentialists invest time
in creating a system for easy execution.
PERSONAL VISION AND MISSION
For
me, living the essentials begins with refreshing one's vision for the future.
It begins by bearing "our end in mind". It means making a selection
from several future options, and moving forward through the process of
exploring, eliminating and executing.
Then, discerning and recommitting to our life mission, it means
outlining the purpose of our life and the contributions we want to make.
ESSENTIALIST STRATEGY
Mckeown
makes a clear distinction between the essentialist and the non-essentialist
ways of doing things. In terms of mind set the essentialist considers doing
“less but better”. The non-essentialist attempts to be “everything to
everyone”. The essentialist in terms of strategy, defines the intent clearly
therefore eliminating the non-essential distractions. He/she asks, “If we could
only do one thing, what would it be?” The non-essentialist pursues a mix
strategy where everything is a priority.
When
it comes to people selection and empowerment, the essentialist is highly selective
in hiring, ensuring the right person with the right competencies is in the
right job. The non –essentialist hires people indiscriminately, often rushing
in decision making. The essentialist empowers people by focusing on the
person’s highest role and goal of contribution, and the non-essentialist keeps
people in ambiguity over who is doing what and decisions are floating and
whimsical.
In
terms of accountability and communication the essentialist checks people’s
progress gently seeing how to remove obstacles or difficulties to enable small
wins. He/she listens to get to what is essential. The non-essentialist is
either over controlling or abdicates responsibility by not controlling at all.
Often people lose focus and create an environment of lack of accountability.
The essentialist leader is able to unify the team breaking through the next
level of contribution and achievement. The non-essentialist leader fractures
the team and slows down progress.
ESSENTIAL MANAGING PEOPLE PRACTICES
Managing
people practices can be summarized in the following guidelines: One, be highly
selective in hiring people, creates a team of high performers and takes the
time to find the right talent. Two, establish clear strategic intent, goals and
priorities so that they lead to clear alignment and focused achievement. Three,
when people know what they are responsible and accountable for, go for extreme
empowerment within these roles and goals. And lastly, communicate the right
things to the right people at the right time. They speak clearly, focusing on
the essentials, exercising restraint to keep the team focused. Messages are
consistent so that people are able to pick up on the essentials. Fifth is to
check in regularly to check progress, recognize small wins, and remove obstacles.
Let us begin to
work on the essentials and optimize the value of our people and organization!
(Tita Datu Puangco is the President and
Chairman of the Board of Ancilla Enterprise Development Consulting, a major
training and organization development company in the Philippines with an Asian
reach. It specializes in enterprise transformation, executive coaching, corporate
leadership and functional training, human resource systems, learning events and
management of business training centers. Visit Tita’s Blog at http://titatalksorganizationdevelopment.blogspot.com. For additional information please email author at tdpuangco@ancillaedc.com.ph or at tita.puangco@yahoo.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment