Doing

Hello everyone!  I am back from my unintended 6-week sabbatical.  What started as a simple delay in blog writing to "do" some work led to re-prioritization (my to do list was already long when I woke up in the morning) which ultimately led to procrastination (as I got a chance to take a breather).  Thanks for hanging with me during this time away.  Also, thanks to my friend Mark for holding me accountable to my blog commitment.

This has been a great 6-week journey of learning for me, particularly around the concept of "doing".  "Do" is a critical step in the knowledge building process.  "Do" is a key part of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, aka the Shewhart cycle or Deming cycle.  "Do" is where work is performed to execute the ideas and hypothesis defined during "Plan".  There is no substitute for "doing".

However, I have talked to many people that get stuck "doing".  They wake up each day, go to work, do the job, then get paid every other Friday.  They have a good job.  They are competent, hard workers, and the boss loves them.  Life is satisfying. 

Sounds like a great gig...here's the problem:  The world is constantly changing and we must spend time growing, developing, learning something new, and continuously improving our skills and knowledge.  Today's highly sought after skill is tomorrow's entry level position (or outsource opportunity).  We must actively manage our growth and career to continuously move up the value contribution curve.  It is about finding and pursing your passion with every ounce of vigor you have.  It is about growing yourself and helping to grow others.

Early in my career I was told that I had a choice to 1) live to work or 2) work to live.  I have come to believe that is the desperate choice of desperate people who have not found or do not pursue their passion.  A few weeks ago I was asked about the most critical characteristic I look for when hiring someone.  For me, it is easy:  passion.  A person with passion is determined, pursues excellence, is willing to learn.  Skills can be learned, but passion is fundamental to growth and adding value.  Pursuing passion nullifies the desperate choice of desperate people.

If you are struggling in the rut of "doing" and desire more, here are some questions to ponder:

• How much of your time is spent "going through the motions" of your job? 
• What have you done in the last month to grow your knowledge and skills? 
• How much protected time do you set aside each month for professional development? 
• Who is your mentor? 
• Who are you mentoring?
• What excites you?
• What do you want to do next?
• What type of work environment do you want in the next few years?
• What do you love?  and...What do you hate?

"Doing" is important, but if you find yourself trying to answer the question of "live to work or work to live", make up your mind that you don't have to make a choice.  Instead, vigorously pursue your passion and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Comments

[Victor Howard]

Mark - I like your example, but I interepret it a little differently. If an athlete is training for the Olympics, then they 1) have passion, 2) are pursuing a goal (be the best swimmer in the world) and 3) are focused on achieving a specific objective (Gold Medal). To achieve this objective the athlete must focus on improving certain aspects of their strokes. The athlete does not simply go to the pool everyday and swim laps. They 1) develop a plan to improve their stroke (i.e. hypothesis based on the experience of a coach), 2) execute (i.e. "do") a change to their stroke, 3) study the results, and 4) take action (i.e. incorporate the stroke change or test another change). This is the natural path to incremental improvement that can lead to the Gold Medal. "Do" was part of a larger cycle to improve and ultimately win. If they just go out and swim without a purpose to improve, then they are simply "doing" and not growing or improving.

There are times in our jobs and our lives when we must simply "do" -- take care of what is in front of us and not worry about growing. But, these times should be spordic and short-lived. If we can find and relentlessly pursue our passions, then life and work will take on so much more meaning and we will find true joy in what we "do".

[Mark]

I think it's easy to "do" when there is a tangible payoff to "doing" or when the cost of "not doing" becomes too high. For example, if f I had a shot of winning a gold medal at some Olympic event, it would be easier to wake up early to work out and eat right, because there is a tangible and real target with a real, calendar dated milestone to shoot for.

The challenge is "doing" and vigorously pursuing those things which you have to work at making tangible to begin with.