Mark S. Brown

We cannot manage time, but we can manage how we spend the time available to us. It seems the older I get, the more I want to do, and the less time I have to do it.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures how Americans spend their time. On average, over 50% of our leisure time is spent watching television. We spend less than half the amount of time on household activities than we do on leisure.

That information is based on averages. If you are reading this, than you are probably also striving to be more proficient with your time than the average person. So what can we do to help us better manage our use of time? Here are three basic steps that we should consider.

1) Know Your Priorities. It would be difficult to measure our productivity if we did not know what we are trying to accomplish. We have priorities based on our work, priorities based on our personal goals, and priorities based on our friends and family. We can fail to step back, look at the bigger picture, and plan to fit these priorities together. Instead we keep them separated and it can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction.

2) Increase Your Focus. Once we know our priorities, it becomes easier to focus our activities. Writing a list of actions, or developing a plan for success becomes straightforward. Once defined, we can focus our time on accomplishment.

3) Increase Your Efficiency. There are many tools that can help us become more efficient. Depending what type of activities that are on our list, we may be able to delegate, put together a team, utilize technology, or simplify our approach. Search for productivity tools, and we will find many, such as, 7 Essential Productivity Tips.

These three steps will help us influence the why, the what, and the how of our own day. If we try to control 100% of our day, we will quickly become discouraged. There will always be distractions and surprises. However, being prepared for our day will make us better prepared for those interruptions.

Our thoughts are biased in many different ways. In fact, Wikipedia defines over 160 different types of cognitive biases. We construct a view of the world in our mind that may be different than how others see it. Everyone can be biased based on how they interpret what they hear, see, and feel. Let’s look at three cognitive biases.

The confirmation bias is the tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it. A series of experiments in the 1960’s suggested that people are biased toward confirming their existing beliefs. Later work re-interpreted these results as a tendency to test ideas in a one-sided way, focusing on one possibility and ignoring alternatives.

Another bias is called the decoy effect which is used in marketing very effectively. When we are comparing two similar products we evaluate price and features. By introducing a third option, most people can be guided to selecting one of the first two based on the features and price of the third option.

A third bias is the self-serving bias, which is a bias that distorts our thoughts to help us satisfy our need to maintain our self-esteem. We give more weight to our contributions than contributions of others. We tend to reject negative feedback. It is our way of defending our own self-image.

Cognitive biases are not bad or good. They just are. They alter how you make decisions. Rarely do you ever know the entire story, and the story you are evaluating is the story as you see it. Awareness matters when decision making is critical.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s suppose you were on a team, and all the team members contributed equally to the success of the team. The self-serving bias would allow you to believe that you contributed more than others on the team. Yet, if you are aware of the self-serving bias, you could force yourself to evaluate the situation in more detail. What did they really contribute? What did you really contribute? So being aware of the bias, you can evaluate the situation in a different perspective. If you are not aware, you would make future decisions based on your belief that you contributed more than others.

Cognitive biases are with us all the time. Understanding them can make you a better leader, and a more thoughtful person.

Leadercast 2014 is over, and it was another great one. A single day filled with great leadership principles. There is no other place or event that accomplishes what Leadercast accomplishes. It is beneficial and inspiring to all, no matter your industry, your organization, or your role.

This year’s theme was Beyond You, the importance of leading beyond yourself.

As we know nothing of significance in the history of the world was ever done by a single person. Everything of significance was achieved by a team of people. Humans work together, maybe supporting a leader, but it is through a team effort of cooperation that success is created.

Andy Stanley led off the day, just like he did in 2013. Andy is a great speaker. I think his gift is making the importance of simple concepts incredibly clear.

The message from Andy that stuck in my mind during the whole day was, “The value of a life is always measured by how much of it was given away.” We gain significance in this world by giving, not by accumulating. A person’s value is what he gives to others. This is not just monetary, but giving of time, support, ideas, etc.

We celebrate generosity and selflessness. We support people and admire people that are generous.

In terms of leadership, you will be measured by how much of it you leverage for the benefit of others. It is how you use your influence for others, not for yourself, that matters.

I am not sure I have ever thought of leadership in those terms before. I have always recognized leadership as influence. But I have never thought about how it is measured when evaluating significance.

Andy did a great job of setting the stage for a full day of reflection on how we should value our leadership, and our significance.

I hope you can join us for our follow up workshop, If Nothing Changes… Nothing Changes. It will be held on Friday morning, July 25th. Hold that date, if you want to continue learning how you can grow your leadership.

One of my mentors, Paul Martinelli, told me, “Don’t negotiate with your dream.” If we are to achieve our dreams, we can’t cut corners. We can’t compromise. We can’t give up.

This has made me think of John Maxwell’s, Law of Victory, which says “Leaders find a way for the team to win”. A leader will fight through whatever obstacles to find victory. He will use the resources available to him, and work with the attitude that giving up is not an option.

There are some great lessons in the Law of Victory that can be applied to our personal success and dreams. Here are three key points:

1. Know your dream. Have clarity. Define your success, and then never compromise.

2. Develop a team to help you achieve it. Success is not a solo sport. No one person can do everything required for success. Determine how you can collaborate with others, and utilize the talents and resources they contribute to your dream.

3. Every day you must show up with the motivation, the attitude, and the effort. You must be convinced that failure is not an option. You must be intentional, focused, and moving in the right direction every single day.

These are not easy to achieve. We are interrupted and distracted throughout our day. Our priorities are not the same as those around us.  Most importantly, we must start with a self-image of success. What can you do today to help yourself find a way to win?