I ponder sporting event outcomes very often. Find your place to ponder, and use your mind, not another's and you'll be amazed at how you think, and how powerful a tool it is for you. Where is your favorite place to ponder? Mine is during my morning shower.
Power of Pondering
As is so often the case, the most important and powerful aspects of life are the simplest. And often we overlook the simple in the pursuit of the complex and the novel. Such is certainly the case when it comes to the power of quiet, focused contemplation—or pondering.
Someone once told me about an executive for the San Francisco Giants, a general manager named Brian Sabean. An employee for the Giants explained to me that if you walked by Sabean’s office, you could often see him sitting at his bare desk just staring at the wall in front of him. Known as one of the more creative and shrewd executives in baseball, Sabean spent much of his time in deep, undistracted thought. And while his peers and employees thought it was an odd practice at first, they came to understand that it was one of the keys to his success.
As leaders, we need pondering time to reflect on our organizations, our employees, our competitors and the market dynamics we face as well as our own effectiveness leading and managing.
Now, few executives will argue the importance of pondering. But most of them will admit that they don’t do much of it outside of an occasional shower or time alone in the bathroom. Why?
A lot of this has to do with adrenaline addiction, the compulsion we feel to be constantly in motion, busy and productive. The thought of setting aside meaningful time doing something that is not immediately or tangibly beneficial—in fact, that looks like we’re doing nothing at all—is difficult for busy executives to handle.
Another reason pondering is difficult has to do with our society and the media. We are constantly encouraged, even implored, to stay connected at all times. From wireless internet access and cell phones to little television monitors in the back of taxis and on elevators, we are never really allowed to be alone, and we are somehow led to believe that being alone is lonely.
A final reason why pondering isn’t utilized as often as it ought to be has to do with our fear of taking stock. Often, we unconsciously convince ourselves that if we stay busy we can avoid facing the problems in our organizations, and in our lives. I’m convinced that this accounts for a large portion of the adrenaline addiction.
So what are we to do?
First, admit that we are under-pondering, and that our failure to do so is causing our organizations to under-perform, even suffer. Second, tell the people around you that you need to ponder more. That’s right. They may look at you funny, but you’ll need them to help you cancel marginally productive meetings and protect you from distractions that seem urgent but aren’t really that important. Because if you don’t build time into your schedule for pondering—at home and at work—you’ll never make it part of your life.
Oddly enough, deep down inside we crave quiet and peace and solitude. But with our over-booked, over-scheduled lives, we rarely get it. And when we do, we tend to seek out recreation and rest. I must admit that I’ve played spider solitaire on an airplane, which is actually an ideal time for pondering.
Ironically, one of the areas of my life that I do make a priority of pondering is in my role as youth soccer coach. As silly as it sounds, I take time during my commute to turn off the radio or during a flight to sit and think about what is going on with my team and what I need to do to motivate them to play better.
Now, I realize that it might seem strange for a grown man with a large family and a busy career to use any of his scarce and precious time contemplating the merits of using three versus four defenders in the upcoming game against the Harbor Creek Lightning, or which of my 10-year olds is best prepared to play goal keeper. But I decided a few years ago that if I was going to dedicate time and energy to coaching, I might as well do it the best I can, and that by pondering, I give the boys a better chance of succeeding. I also save myself considerable stress on game day when I’m forced to improvise and I’m not really prepared.
So why do I ponder as a soccer coach and fail to do so in other settings? I think it has to do with the immediacy and concreteness of the impact. If I don’t take time to quietly consider how I prepare my boys for the next game, I see the results on the field that weekend. They play poorly. And that poor play is manifest in a score, which is pretty black and white.
Unfortunately, most parts of life are not quite so concrete. The impact of failing to reflect on our work as leaders—or as parents for that matter—doesn’t easily show up on a scoreboard. It usually manifests itself over the long-term, and by the time we see it, we fail to see the connection to our failure to take the time we need to ponder. Which is a shame, because those results are immensely more important than whether my youth soccer team wins.
Yours,
~Jimmy
Power of Pondering
Posted on: August 7, 2008 8:54 am
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Posted on: August 7, 2008 9:18 am
Power of Ponderingjimy -i would write a td more ,,but im pondering on what to say ...honestly there are way too many things to ponder ,,but it always seems im just to frikin busy to do so,,but the thought process i have doesnt allow me to think in such a manner..just have to take some down time and think on it.'.some may call me a dreamer,but im not the only one'...i understand where your coming from with this and i beleive it;s a trait you have to work at a bit...yepper today im gonna dream big,,or ponder at the very least,,,,,, as usual a great post.....
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Posted on: August 7, 2008 1:31 pm
Power of PonderingJTG, really enjoyed the "Power of Pondering" piece. However, don't you usually wrap a recipe around one of these gems ? I think you need to ponder a little longer and dig up a good one ! |
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