The Three C’s of Courage

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In order to accomplish great things, one must be able to withstand adversity. While some problems are overcome through ingenuity or knowledge or training, oftentimes what will get someone to the goal is a strong dose of courage. The question is, how does one develop courage?

Speaker and author Kris McGuigan believes that courage is created through a combination of three “C’s”, Clarity, Conviction, and Consistency. In her book, The Requisite Courage, she describes each of the three “C’s” in depth.

The path to courage starts with clarity. As Kris shares in Chapter 3 of her book:

The source of courage comes from within. This is well known. But the lesser-known detail is that it literally comes from who you are. Inner strength comes from having clarity around who you are and what you want. Encourage a new path to your why to crystalize and focus your energy on that which feeds your mission. You have to gain clarity in order to gain momentum towards your next objective – even when that goal is to simply identify what the next goal post should be.

McGuigan goes on to describe conviction and consistency and how when they are combined together leads to fearless execution. Learn more about Kris and her book by visiting her website.

The Last-Minute Mindset

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Do you only work when a deadline is right in your face? For example, if there is two weeks until the work needs to be completed, do you wait until the final 24 hours to start. For the determined procrastinator it often takes an outside factor to get work done. It begs the question, why do they let this happen?

In an article from Stylist magazine, Katie Rosseinsky explores the procrastinator’s mindset to learn why they behave the way they do and how they can improve. The question is important as it relates to her own experience.

My last-minute mindset is something I’m well aware of, and yet whenever I’m presented with a deadline, I follow the same pattern: put the work off for as long as humanly possible, then cram it all into a condensed, chaotic period of ’productivity’, which often involves working late into the evening. Even if I make time, say, in the week coming up to the cut-off point to focus on getting this task done, I inevitably waste it.

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Proving she is not alone; she then points out the wide-spread reality of the procrastinator mindset.

A 2007 study published in Psychological Bulletin found that 15-20% of people chronically procrastinate, with 25% describing this as their dominant personality trait. And it doesn’t have to be confined to a work context; as Christmas approaches, many of us will once again come face to face with our last-minute tendencies when we end up doing all of our present shopping in a panicked 24th December dash.

For the rest of the article, Rosseinsky proceeds to explore why how this mindset works before sharing a few ways to avoid the temptation to wait until the last minute, such as:

So, how can hardened last-minute scramblers find a way to break out of this cycle, and is there any way of turning these tendencies into a positive? In the short term, Dignan suggests trying out the ‘two-minute strategy’. “If you can do something in two minutes, you’ve got to do it now.” Another tactic she often recommends to clients involves the humble egg-timer.

To learn more, please read the rest of Rosseinsky’s article.

Getting Stuff Out of Your Head

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Think for a moment – right now, is there something important that needs to be done for which the only reminder is in your head?

For most people relying on memory is the default way to keep track of all the things they need to do. This includes remembering deadlines, commitments, obligations, or simply keeping track of fun stuff to do someday. The problem is that our minds are a poor tool for this job. In fact, David Allen, founder of GTD, often says that our heads are “crappy office spaces.”

Consider how easy it is to forget something. In the morning you open the refrigerator and discover there are no eggs. After making a mental note to drop by the store on the way home you head off to work. After a busy day on the job, hitting the grocery store is long forgotten. The next morning you are once more reminded of the lack of eggs at breakfast and are forced to make yet another sketchy promise to hit the store on the way home.

According to GTD, the best way to remember something is to place it in a trusted system outside of the head. On a practical level, that means as soon as something comes to mind it is immediately written down on paper or placed into electronic storage. So long as the reminders are kept in a place that you frequently return to, these items will never be lost.

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What are the best ways to get stuff out of your head quickly? Below are common options:

  • Use your phone’s reminder app
  • Have a note pad on your desk or counter top along with fresh pens
  • Enable a digital voice assistant, like Alexa, to capture voice reminders
  • Use sticky notes to post reminders in prominent places

For electronic reminder systems, consider setting a day/time reminder that pops up at the right time. For example, a reminder set for arrival at the office can be helpful to knock out an item right away. Or a reminder that pops up before leaving work will ensure eggs are picked up on the way home. By offloading memorization, stress levels will drop as efficiency increases.

No matter the method, constantly get stuff out of your head and into a trusted system. You will be glad you did.

Preview the New Library Website

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I’m proud to share that the Palm Beach County Library System is upgrading its website. Right now, we are offering a preview of the new site to get feedback from the public. Take a look by visiting: https://palmbeach.bibliocms.com/

The new site features:

  • easier to navigate drop-down menus
  • an upgraded catalog overlay to more effectively display search results
  • easier to sort event listings
  • “staff pick” book lists
  • and quick links to all of our electronic media offerings

Please use the new contact us page to provide your thoughts on the site.

We look forward to launching the new website by October 1.

Hot Summers and Cautious Decisions

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Chances are that wherever you have living, it has been a hot summer. In fact, heat records have been shattered across North America and Europe. Surprisingly, hot weather has an unexpected consequence beyond our health or comfort, it can actually lead us to make risk adverse decisions.

In Matthia Sutter’s book, Behavioral Economics for Leaders, the author looks at data which seems to indicate that the outside weather affects our decision-making process. This is true even if we make our decisions in a climate-controlled environment. Sutter notes:

Conventional models of human decision-making behavior completely ignore the factor of heat. According to these modes, referred to as neoclassical in economic theory, only the costs and benefits of specific decisions and the choices they are based upon play a role, while things such as heat, tiredness, or general mood are seen as insignificant. However, psychological research shows that heat reduces general wellbeing, mood and a willingness to perform.

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Sutter goes on to reference studies that show how judicial decisions become more risk adverse as outside temperatures rise. Specifically, a judge was less likely to give a defendant a favorable ruling on hotter days. But it is not only temperature that had an effect. Sports scores would also influence decisions.

For example, if the local football team wins big, there are more judges’ decisions favorable to the defendant. This again is a question of predominant mood.

As we move through the remaining hot summer days, take a moment to consider your own decisions. If the heat outside has risen, or your favorite team has lost, you may want to take extra care with your choices or defer them entirely for another day.

Systems vs Flexibility

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One of the keys to productivity is to create efficient systems. Whenever you run a process automatically it will be faster and more reliable, especially if a human does not have to be involved. However, are there times when reliance on systems can be to our detriment?

Darious Foroux explored this problem in a piece called Systems vs Flexibility: Why Rigidity is the Enemy of Modern Success. In the post, he first acknowledges the usefulness of systems. Then he points out that it is problematic to rely too much on them.

The problem with systems is that you risk binding yourself to your system. After all, it’s what you control. And if you’re a control freak, you can go nuts about your system. 

You’ll try to optimize every single aspect. So maybe you started off trying to get a raise; created a system and started executing.

But maybe your life changes or the economy changes and you shouldn’t be executing that system. You might need a new goal in your life. Or a new system. Probably both.

Later on, Foroux explores the notion of flexibility and how it can overcome the problems inherent in systems.

The more rigid you are, the more you risk breaking things. That’s true for your career, relationships, body, and mental health.

I’ve always been a flexible thinker. I have zero attachment to ideas and beliefs. That’s because I’m a pragmatist at heart. I wrote about my personal philosophy in my book, Think Straight. 

This strategy has generally made me flexible. I’m never afraid to make a change.

But I still get stuck inside my systems, whether it’s for work or in my personal life. If you can relate to this, I recommend taking a step back from your existing systems, routines, or habits occasionally. 

See it as a way to improve your flexibility and lower your rigidity.

Read the entire piece on Foroux’s web site.

Practicing Radical Open-Mindedness

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It is commonly understood that no one person has all the right ideas.

However, it is also very easy for most people to believe that they always have the best idea.

How do we overcome this paradox of thinking? According to Ray Dalio in his best-selling book, Principles, one aspect of the solution is practicing radical open-mindedness.

Why is this so important? His company, Bridgewater Associates, is famous for creating an idea meritocracy, designed to encourage the best ideas, not the most persuasive or good-enough ones, to rise to top. Radical open-mindedness is key to making this happen. According to Dalio:

Radical open-mindedness is motivated by the genuine worry that you might not be seeing your choice optimally. It is the ability to effectively explore different points of view and different possibilities without letting your ego or blind spots get in your way.

On pages 187-190 of Principles, Dalio proposes seven steps to keeping one’s mind open. They are listed below:

  • Sincerely believe that you might not know the best possible path and recognize that your ability to deal with “not knowing” is more important that whatever it is you do know.
  • Recognized that decision making is a two-step process: First take in all the relevant information, then decide.
  • Don’t worry about looking good: worry about achieving your goal.
  • Realize that you can’t put out without taking in.
  • Recognize that to gain the perspective that comes from seeing things through another’s eyes, you must suspend judgement for a time – only by empathizing can you properly evaluate another point of view.
  • Remember that you’re looking for the best answer, not simply the best answer that you can come up with yourself.
  • Be clear on whether you are arguing or seeking to understand, and think about which is most appropriate based on your and other’s believability.

For the last point, Dalio explains the idea of believability:

I define believable people as those who have repeatedly and successfully accomplished the thing in question – who have a strong track record with a least three successes – and have great explanations for their approach when probed.

To dive deeper into these seven concepts, grab a copy of Principles and jump to pages 187-190.

We’re Stronger Together: A Conversation with ALA President Emily Drabinski

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I recently had the opportunity to interview the new ALA President Emily Drabinski on behalf of Public Libraries Online. As she begins her year in the role, I asked her how she became involved with ALA at a national level.

I’ve been an academic librarian in New York City for 22 years. I joined ALA in 2002 when I had just finished library school, because it took this bold position against the Patriot Act. I was excited to be part of a profession that takes difficult stances in difficult political moments. And we definitely are in one of those right now. So I was interested in using some of my skills as a connector of people to work inside the association that I think can be valuable in this moment. My involvement at ALA was primarily in my division home, ACRL, which is common for most people. I was on a number of its committees and have been editing the book reviews for our journal for the last three years. I served one term as ALA Council and that was a really interesting experience. I saw how the sausage gets made a little bit, in terms of what kind of a national presence ALA has, which I think is really important.

Later on in the interview, I asked her to share her priorities for the Presidential year. Her first priority is to advance sustainability in libraries.

Past Presidents say you plan and then the year happens. My plan is to focus on bringing to completion projects that Past Presidents Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada and Patty Wong worked on. For a long time, ALA has had sustainability as a priority. We have a round table, we have a council committee, and we have sustainability now as a core value. So will be focused on tying up those loose ends so that we can have national climate strategy for libraries coming from ALA to guide people in managing through environmental crises. Also it will include ways that we as institutions can contribute to reversing some of those climate change trends.

Read the entire interview at the Public Libraries Online website.

Obama’s Letter to Librarians

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This past week former President Barak Obama surprised librarians across the country by releasing a letter of support. In it he spoke openly about the free expression of ideas and the importance of libraries.

Below is the opening of the letter:

To the dedicated and hardworking librarians of America: 

In any democracy, the free exchange of ideas is an important part of making sure that citizens are informed, engaged and feel like their perspectives matter.  

It’s so important, in fact, that here in America, the First Amendment of our Constitution states that freedom begins with our capacity to share and access ideas – even, and maybe especially, the ones we disagree with.  

More often than not, someone decides to write those ideas down in a book.  

Later in the letter he expresses deep appreciation for librarians and their work.

Nobody understands that more than you, our nation’s librarians. In a very real sense, you’re on the front lines – fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone. Your dedication and professional expertise allow us to freely read and consider information and ideas, and decide for ourselves which ones we agree with.  

That’s why I want to take a moment to thank all of you for the work you do every day — work that is helping us understand each other and embrace our shared humanity.  

Read the rest of the letter on the Penguin Random House website.