Here’s the Quarterly Article Recommendation for third quarter, from the Currie Team. Please read this profile by Marcel Schwantes, entitled “Warren Buffett Says This 1 Simple Habit Separates Successful People From Everyone Else”. The priceless words of Mr. Buffett should strike a nerve for many Currie clients, and they provide a well-timed integration with some recent, and important, discussion points. Here are my thoughts on this insightful piece:
Delegation
The discovery which is oftentimes made during the Currie Leadership Development Program, is that managers have a hard time delegating. The reasons for this include lack of trust, lack of time available to train others, a preference for a more interactive management style, or some combination of two or more of these elements. The inability, or unwillingness, to delegate creates frustration, overwhelm, and erodes basic team foundations such as engagement and trust. This article refers to author Jim Collins, and a book which has been recommended by Currie Management Consultants, Inc. Good to Great[i] introduces the idea of a “stop doing” list. In that process, we learn that a commitment to doing all of the work is considered a no-no. Thus, delegation becomes a response to required task behavior and activities which a manager should be saying “no” to. Delegation is smart, and the process will also help others on the team to develop and grow.
Time Management
What a natural lead in to another important item – the mastery of time. Many time management theories are about boxes, quadrants, and lists. Dr. Steven Covey, a renowned business behaviour expert, teaches the concept of rocks, sand, gravel, and water. In this quarter’s recommended article, Mr. Buffet is quoted, along with Steve Jobs (another time management and business guru) and the belief is consistent: there are things which fall onto the to-do list which must immediately be erased from the list. Are we placing activities in our “time management boxes” which should not even be considered activities? The Eisenhower Method of time management clearly states that any activities which fall into a “not urgent, not important” box should be eliminated. How’s that for crossing some things off your to-do list? Reducing what goes on “the list” will allow us more time for creative planning and balancing. Which brings us to another great idea.
Life Balance
In her book Boom Life[ii], Michelle Currie provides us with a roadmap to assessing and balancing key areas of our lives. Her segments include Health, Career, Environment, and Family, to name a few. Achieving a balanced life both at home and at work is challenging, but it can be done. Life is a journey, a work in process, and a grand adventure. We are better at work, and better at home, when our time and energy is mastered in a productive and satisfying way. And, that satisfaction may look different for each of us. Page 2 of the recommended Inc, article speaks to us of Buffett’s viewpoint on happiness and balance. If Warren Buffett says it, it must be so. Do his statements ring true for you? Does the meaning of the word “ambition” transform now, for you? The very meaning of that word has changed over the generations, and this is precisely why I end here, with my ongoing praise for millennials and the often unrecognized, and underappreciated, gifts which they bring to the workplace.
Millennials
Language is important, and words matter. We could say that Boomers are from Mars, and Millennials are from Venus. I wonder how Dr. Gray would feel about that? My hope is that we recognize that it is now a different world, and a different marketplace, and technology has changed our lifestyles forever. As one in the generation between The Boomers and The Millennials, my observation is this: Millennials are born right on the razor’s edge of these tremendous societal changes. They have come here on the eve of the demolition of the Berlin Wall – a major turning point in our human history. Millennials do not view the world as Baby Boomers do. There is a new paradigm in the world, and the concepts listed on page 2, along with Jim Collins’ list on page 3, describe the New World. Warren Buffett is close to 90 years old and, instead of verbalizing extreme viewpoints on ambition, performance, and hard work, he tells the story of dreams, strategies, engagement, and self mastery as tools for abundant success. This piece depicts a man who seamlessly bridges a gap between generational workstyles.
As always, we share something which resonates not just with the Curries, but, hopefully, with all of our clients as well. Wealth is a function of principled strategies for success. And, this piece is in direct correlation with Currie Success Principle #3 – Focus. Enjoy!
Robin P. Currie
[i] Collins, James C. 1958-. Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking Is Not the Answer : A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great : Why Some Companies Make the Leap–and Others Don’t. [Boulder, CO: J. Collins], 2005.
[ii] Currie, Michelle B. Boom Life. [Bloomington IN Balboa Press], 2015