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- A Simple Recipe for Breaking Through
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When I’m stuck on a problem that I can’t crack I like to ask myself three simple questions?
Do I have the knowledge required to solve this problem?
Do I have the skill required to solve this problem?
Am I behaving in a way that’s conducive with solving this problem?
If the answer to the first two questions is yes, I then move to a greater examination of the way I’m acting. Often I see people, myself included, with plenty of knowledge and skill to solve a problem but frustrated that they haven’t broken through. In most cases, this is because they haven’t behaved in a way (aka put in the work) that enables them to solve that problem.
When behavior is the driver of your impasse, there are three additional places to look: focus, consistency, intensity.
While the above set of frameworks is valuable for working through problems in your own domain, they’re equally valuable as a leader responsible for coaching your team.
Focus
If there’s a single place where people make the biggest mistake with respect to behavior change it’s focus. While diversification may be the ally of effectively saving for retirement and de-risking other areas of your life it is the greatest enemy of solving a hard problem.
My favorite aphorism here is that of the Hedgehog and the Fox of Greek poet Archilochus made famous by philosopher Isaiah Berlin and popularized for business by Jim Collins. “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”
When you’re trying to make a behavior change to solve a problem it’s important to recognize that it is an exercise of subtraction, not addition. What are those items you can remove from your life in order to increase focus, sometimes to the point of obsession, so that you can break through?
There is no progress without focus. When working to solve a problem be the hedgehog, not the fox.
Consistency
One of my favorite mantras is, “consistency > intensity”. Put differently by investor and author Morgan Housel, “Can you achieve average returns for an above average period of time?”
In a world of dopamine infused distractions and same day delivery there is a tendency to forget the value of just sticking with it. This very newsletter started as a challenge to myself to write for 52 Fridays in a row without a break (this week is number 48) as a meditation on consistency.
When you are looking to make a break through and you feel like quitting after asking yourself if you’re focused enough the second questions should be, “have I stuck with this long enough?”
There are many examples of consistency being the differentiator between failure and success. My favorite popular culture example is the above tweet from MrBeast. For those who are unfamiliar, MrBeast is the creator behind the second largest YouTube channel who just signed a deal to create a reality TV show for Amazon.
There are ~250M people subscribed to his YouTube channel today. That’s double the number of people who watch the Super Bowl each year.
But it took him five years to get his first 1,000 subscribers and seven years to pass 10,000.
Like Sam Walton the founder of Walmart said when reflecting on his success building one of the largest retail chains in the world, “And like most other overnight successes, it was about twenty years in the making.”
If you’re trying to break through, haven’t yet, and are about to quit - keep going.
Intensity
Alright, alright I know this section literally conflicts with my mantra about intensity from above but the world is a complicated and nuanced place so deal with it 😀
While consistency is generally the antidote to most break throughs it’s important to realize that turning up the intensity dial if you’re focused, and you’ve been consistent is the next best place to look.
If focus is limiting the amount of items you’re working on, intensity is the degree to which you apply that focus to your work.
More than intensity I actually like to think about this as commitment. Are you as committed as you need to be to break through the obstacle that is in your way?
Oftentimes we fool ourselves into thinking we’re intensely committed to our work, our team, or solving the problem when the reality is we’re likely at a three or four out of ten.
A few questions to ask yourself to determine if your level of intensity has earned you the right to break through:
Did I watch Netflix today?
Did I scroll mindlessly through social media today?
Did I hit the snooze button on my alarm today?
If the answer to those questions is yes, it means you have more to give.
My favorite quote on this topic comes from comedian Jerry Seinfeld, “I am completely obsessed. And the audience wants that; they pay for that. I don’t want to see someone who’s kind of into it.”
Are you complaining that you haven’t broken through when you’re only kind of into it? If so, dial up your intensity.
Conclusion
So there you have it. The next time you feel stuck and are looking to change your behavior ask yourself three questions:
Am I focused enough?
Have I been consistent enough?
Am I intense enough?
See y’all next week.