A lot of us suffer from what we call the ‘ Hero Trap ‘- an over reliance on our ability to handle something that becomes infuriatingly urgent which could have easily been avoided had it not been the temptation of the short term hack.
And when you see urgency becoming the default mode, it is time to introspect and look at the processes and systems that might not be in place. Considering that it is now still the beginning of the year and the urgencies are still few and far between(hopefully), how about utilising the time to ‘do something now‘ so that ‘ later when urgency calls ‘, becomes the exception rather than norm.
Developing a team that does not need micro managing and which can deliver on time, quality and budget. Building a reliable team of suppliers. Upping the ante on both internal and external communication. Having a priority list and spend quality time on it so that the urgent is almost redundant. Mine data that can be leveraged effectively in time, respect and with context. Give up on the trivial many and focus on the vital few( Essentialism, any one?).
Most urgency seem like emergencies and comes with a license to throw caution to the winds, abandon systems and processes, roll up your sleeves, get into the trenches, and solve(hack?) it as only we can. After all we are heroes. And it is precisely this license why we get stuck and the next urgency(read emergency) is likely to come up sooner than later.
New Year resolutions never really work. Though habits and systems do, more often than not. Hacking on the short term is short changing yourselves. Spending time on avoiding that and investing it in solid practices and habits is probably the best work you can do this year.
Here’s to a new hero. You.
ENDS
My friend Thomas Kolster has written a book by the name Hero Trap. You can know more about it here on this link https://thomaskolster.com/product/the-hero-trap-by-thomas-kolster/