How does an elite US general manage time & resources?
That question was put to a group of them recently by a psychologist who had been invited to give a talk at the Pentagon about managing time and resources, says John Tierney in his book ‘Wilpower.’ To warm up the elite group of generals, the psychologist asked them all to write a summary of their approach to managing their affairs. To keep it short, he instructed each to do this in 25 words or less. The exercise stumped almost all of them. None of the distinguished generals could come up with anything.
The only general who managed a response was the lone woman in the room. She had already had a distinguished career, having worked her way up through the ranks and been wounded in combat in Iraq. Here’s what she said:
“First I make a list of priorities: one, two, three, and so on. Then I cross out everything from three on down.”
The three-part moral of this story:
a. Problems can be complicated – solutions cannot.
b. As Jim Rohn said, “Either you run the day or the day runs you.”
c. Simplicity is not about less effort. Simplicity is all about the right effort.
Jun 30, ’14