Stage fright’s frightening solutions September 24, 2009
So I was reading a blog on some methods for dealing with stage fright. Most of them are basic methods I describe, teach and use. Things like practice and preparation. However one particular one shocked and angered me.
They suggested taking drugs.
And not just something you can get over the counter (not that all of those are harmless) but a prescribed drug. Prescribed for an unrelated physical illness.
It’s very bad advice for many reasons, not the least of which is taking off label drugs for a problem that can be solved quickly and permanently via others methods. This really makes me angry and I find it difficult to express my anger fully in text. Let me try with a metaphor.
If you’re driving your car one day, and all of a sudden the oil light comes on, what do you do? Do you ignore it, check the oil levels yourself, take it to a garage, or place a piece of duct tape over the light?
If you were a mechanic, and someone described to you their solution to a warning light on their Ferrari dashboard was to cover it with tape, how would you react? That’s probably pretty close to how I feel.
Do you think taking drugs is a valid solution to stage fright?
What’s most important? September 17, 2009
I travel regularly. At least one week in two I’m out of home. This means I get to meet many new and interesting people and marvel at the different things they notice.
Of late, I’ve been wearing my Vibram barefoot running shoes for the plane trip. They are very comfortable (criteria #1) and contain no metal (so I don’t have to take them off going through security). They also attract alot of attention.
As I’m waiting for my bag to exit the carousel, a business man in a crisp suit comes up to me, stares at my feet and says, “What are they?”
I raise my right foot and wiggle my toes. “They are called barefoot running shoes.”
“I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“They are great. Very comfortable and good for your feet and posture.”
The next thing he says confuses me for a while. “Are you a podiatrist?”
We talk for a little more before he wanders off to grab his bag. Yet his question stays with me. What was his reason for asking something like that? What did that say about him?
In the end I realise because of the way he asked that he would never wear such different shoes. To him, doing something so strange would be worse than foot pain. To extend on that: His appearance is more important than his health.
Now I could be wrong, he might have been asking to confirm my qualifications before asking advice. Regardless its a good example of how different personal criteria makes a big difference in behaviour.
Think about your own life. What’s most important to you about your work? Is it the money (rare)? Is it the human interactions? Is it the chance to change the world or create something new? Doesn’t matter what it is at all. What matters is if you’re achieving that, or if you’re being frustrated.
Think about what you think is the most important thing for the people you work with. Is it the same, different or even in direct opposition?
Thinking outside the box September 10, 2009
Many people talk about doing it, but few can tell you _how_ to think outside the box.
One of the easiest methods is to ask questions. But not just any set of questions. Questions that are designed to force your thinking outside the box.
We, as humans, have been well trained that a question, any question, has an answer. We find it difficult to not answer a question. If we don’t know the answer we are often forced to say “I don’t know” as the actual answer. Use this to your advantage.
Below is a list of my favourite ‘out of the box’ questions. As you read them, think of a problem or issue you currently have. Also, as you ask them assume there is at least three different answers to each question.
“If I were to do X, how would I?”
“In what situations or context is this problem a benefit?” or “In what situation or context is this problem a solution to another problem?”
“How have I caused this?”
“If someone came to me with this problem, what advice would I give?”
As you read some of the questions, you may think they do not apply to you. These are the ones most likely to present you with ‘out of the box thinking’ – so make sure these are the ones you actually answer!
Fire-fighting and stress September 3, 2009
Problems occur regularly. Every single problem that occurs adds to your stress. Some people are able to anticipate these events, and prepare contingences. If you’re good at this, great, keep doing it! If not, you the following few tips might well help.
The best sequence to run through when your schedule has suddenly been ruined by an unforeseen problem is as follows
1. Stop and take a breath. Allow the initial biological effects of the shock and stress to recede. Take time to think.
2. Write down the problem before taking any action. This gives you extra time to breathe and will make sure that the problem is not forgotten as you attempt to fix it. That may sound strange, but how often do we go off half prepared, stressing over something that isn’t a real problem?
3. Get the facts of the problem. Just the facts you need to make the decisions now.
4. Delegate the tasks to achieve a solution where possible.
5. Develop a system to effectively deal with this problem in future. Recurring problems should be dealt with once, twice at most. After the second time, your should not have to deal with it again. When I was working as a technical consultant, I was what I call productively lazy. I would spend a week working to ensure I’d never have to spend another hour fixing an ongoing problem. Get productively lazy!