Strategy Or Plan - The Hidden Stress of the Wrong Mindset
Your stress at work in the midst of major task can be a prime reason you hate your job.
Your problem and therefore the solution may be in your mentality, in how you're looking at the project.
Two perspectives.
You can see business tasks as either a clock or a waterfall.
(I take the concept from Roger White's work, Complexity and Chaos.
) Clocks work one step at a time.
They are orderly, predictable and rigid.
Waterfalls flow.
They are complex (but not chaotic), not easily definable, difficult to control and difficult to predict.
Clock and waterfall, two completely different metaphors, two different mentalities and yet, your job requires a bit of both.
It wouldn't be wise only use one mentality.
F.
Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
" How do you function with these two guiding concepts in your head? How can they lower your stress at work? Have Some Situational Awareness: Know which mentality is needed.
Is your task or project in a controlled environment or is it in an open one? An example of a controlled environment would be a warehouse.
You control what goes in and out.
You control the climate, the arrangement of tasks and tools, schedule, and etc.
It's like a clock.
An open environment would be the open market.
You control very little.
Entrances and exits of customers and competitors have very little to do with you.
Market forces change rapidly and with no warning.
Obsolescence is the norm.
It's like a waterfall.
Which environment does your task or project seem to fit within? Which is it more like? Handling Your Environment For the controlled environment you would do well to have a plan and operate via that plan.
A plan has step-by-step processes, schedules and a detailed understanding of the who's, the what's, the when's, the where's and the how's.
For the open environment you would do well to have a strategy, something with a focus, a direction, and a good understanding of your resources and your competitors.
You may know the what's and how's pretty well, but you'll be fuzzier and fuzzier on the who's, where's and when's.
Plans are for tasks requiring a clock based mentality.
Strategies for waterfall based ones.
Stress at Work Comes From Not Knowing Which is Which Perhaps you hate your job because things seem to be spinning out of control, that feeling may be a signal you need to reassess the environment you're working within.
If you are in a controlled environment and you apply a strategy, you'll become confused and frustrated by the lack of definition.
The "plan" will be too loose and indeterminate for action.
If you're sure it's a controlled environment then you need to plan in more detail.
If you're in an open environment and you are following a plan you'll find things go off script almost immediately.
A good strategy can adapt.
If things get crazy and if you feel you are behind events and frustrated by the confusion of it all reassess what situation you are in.
Are you working in an open environment where you have little control? If so, are you using a rigid plan? If you're sure you're in an open environment, then you need to make sure your strategy has a proper focus, a direction that makes sense, and you're sure you have the resources to pull it off.
If you are able to assess the situation you are in and you know where you will be operating, you can lower your stress at work by choosing and developing your actions appropriately through the right mentality.
Your problem and therefore the solution may be in your mentality, in how you're looking at the project.
Two perspectives.
You can see business tasks as either a clock or a waterfall.
(I take the concept from Roger White's work, Complexity and Chaos.
) Clocks work one step at a time.
They are orderly, predictable and rigid.
Waterfalls flow.
They are complex (but not chaotic), not easily definable, difficult to control and difficult to predict.
Clock and waterfall, two completely different metaphors, two different mentalities and yet, your job requires a bit of both.
It wouldn't be wise only use one mentality.
F.
Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
" How do you function with these two guiding concepts in your head? How can they lower your stress at work? Have Some Situational Awareness: Know which mentality is needed.
Is your task or project in a controlled environment or is it in an open one? An example of a controlled environment would be a warehouse.
You control what goes in and out.
You control the climate, the arrangement of tasks and tools, schedule, and etc.
It's like a clock.
An open environment would be the open market.
You control very little.
Entrances and exits of customers and competitors have very little to do with you.
Market forces change rapidly and with no warning.
Obsolescence is the norm.
It's like a waterfall.
Which environment does your task or project seem to fit within? Which is it more like? Handling Your Environment For the controlled environment you would do well to have a plan and operate via that plan.
A plan has step-by-step processes, schedules and a detailed understanding of the who's, the what's, the when's, the where's and the how's.
For the open environment you would do well to have a strategy, something with a focus, a direction, and a good understanding of your resources and your competitors.
You may know the what's and how's pretty well, but you'll be fuzzier and fuzzier on the who's, where's and when's.
Plans are for tasks requiring a clock based mentality.
Strategies for waterfall based ones.
Stress at Work Comes From Not Knowing Which is Which Perhaps you hate your job because things seem to be spinning out of control, that feeling may be a signal you need to reassess the environment you're working within.
If you are in a controlled environment and you apply a strategy, you'll become confused and frustrated by the lack of definition.
The "plan" will be too loose and indeterminate for action.
If you're sure it's a controlled environment then you need to plan in more detail.
If you're in an open environment and you are following a plan you'll find things go off script almost immediately.
A good strategy can adapt.
If things get crazy and if you feel you are behind events and frustrated by the confusion of it all reassess what situation you are in.
Are you working in an open environment where you have little control? If so, are you using a rigid plan? If you're sure you're in an open environment, then you need to make sure your strategy has a proper focus, a direction that makes sense, and you're sure you have the resources to pull it off.
If you are able to assess the situation you are in and you know where you will be operating, you can lower your stress at work by choosing and developing your actions appropriately through the right mentality.
