A question that business owners and managers are often asking is what can be done to help my business survive and grow? The world of business is rapidly changing and becoming much harder to predict. The future is full of great opportunities, as well as many pitfalls. Throw into this mix the hundreds of methods, techniques and solutions to help businesses improve sales, productivity, customer service and the bottom line. It is easy to get lost in the hundreds of articles and books that describe the next great strategy. Many businesses find themselves managing by best seller, and find themselves off track and confused.

How can forward thinking leaders cut through the 'program of the day' group think and the overwhelming metrics of modern management  to ensure growth and profitability. Thomas J. Watson, the President of IBM, initiated the company wide moto, that inspired countless innovations over a 50 year period -  ‘Think.’ In busy schedules, meetings and combating the crisis of the moment, how can overwhelmed leaders move past the long list of decisions to actually elevate their thinking process?

Thinking is a discipline. Contrary to popular believe, contemplative thoughts rarely originate in the midst of a meeting. Rather, high level ideas are best generated during moments of concentration and contemplation. A process for developing high level thinking that initially is a discipline, but soon becomes a habit starts with an scheduling adjustment.  Here are five steps to developing a thinking discipline.

 A friend of mine once told me that “focus brings momentum (direction and speed),” the only way I find focus is by adding it to my calendar. At the end of each day I schedule 15 minutes to close the door to my office, turn off my computer and debrief myself on the days activities. What happened today? What went well? Do I need to change anything? Do I need to address an issue immediately? What is immediately important that I deal with tomorrow morning? Are some of the questions I ask myself.

I used to think that I could effectively debrief my day on the way to my home at night. As I began to schedule thinking into my work I realized that their were often too many interruptions during my trip home to engage my thoughts to the depth that I knew I should reach. I also found that early into this new discipline I did not know how to think, I knew how to react, I knew how to create ideas, but I was not good at spending 15 minutes just thinking. I gave up a couple of times, but realized that to be the best I could be I needed to develop this discipline – don’t give up. 

Once I mastered the daily regime of thinking, I added a second step, an additional half of an hour at the end of the week to review what I had learned (which I began journaling) and to think about the events of the next week. By implementing this discipline I began to find my weekends more relaxing, since I had tied up many of the loose ends or scheduled time the following week to address any outstanding issues.

Eventually I graduated to the monthly discipline of taking an entire afternoon to debrief myself on the previous 30 days and plan for the next month. Once a quarter, I take a day to think and soon I am planning a two day retreat to sit and think about the coming year.
Through this process, I recognize a greater confidence and effectiveness in my ability to lead, a better bottom line for my company and a stronger team. It is true that “focus brings velocity.”

Greg Olson