When Good Work Goes Nowhere

Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged.

- Thomas A. Edison

Edison is one of my favorite "quote authors", and this one is worth taking to heart, posting on your wall, and emailing to yourself once in a while as a reminder, particularly if your work strays into the realm of innovation. Even when you do the right things, and you do things right...there are times when it seems like nothing that you are doing is going anywhere. When this happens, it is easy to think that the best option facing you is to just give up, but as Edison says...you may be getting discouraged at exactly the wrong point.

So, how do you know whether you are completely on the wrong track as opposed to merely running into one of the inevitable and healthy bumps that occur as you develop new ideas into reality?

Take a little break. Get away from the work at hand. When you find yourself discouraged, it may not be time to quit, but it is probably time for a break. This doesn't have to take a long time, but it does require stepping away from "the machine" and getting away from your desk. Do something you enjoy, that doesn't take all your cognitive resources. Ideally, find something that gets you into your "zone", one of those activities that you loose yourself in. For me, that could be going skiing, hiking, or working on the garden. You want something you genuinely enjoy and pretty much loose yourself in. An activity that is in your "zone" is something that leaves you not thinking deeply about anything else while you are engaged. This gives your busy brain a little vacation, which is essential to staying on track when the path is not perfectly clear. Believe me, even a full day off will probably be a better use of your time than grinding through a day of discouragement.

Refocus. Once you have given yourself a break, you will be in a much better place to tackle the challenges you are facing realistically, and from a new angle. If you are feeling discouraged, you may well benefit from a little time back at the drawing board with your newly refreshed brain. Take a little time to refocus, and remind yourself of where you are going. I recommend writing down your key goals, again. You should have them in your strategic plan already, but take a good look at them, and consider if you want to rephrase any aspects. A good strategic plan sometimes requires adjustment along the way, so use this opportunity to keep yours on track. Review your tactical plans, are they still mapping you where you want to go? If not, make adjustments. Again, plans have to be dynamic to be effective, you can't expect to build a plan and put it on the shelf if you really want to have your idea go anywhere. You are in a different place than when you started your plan, your goals and objectives may have adjusted since you started. Do you need to make changes to your roadmap to accomodate those changes?

Brainstorm. Once you have taken some time to review where you are and where you are going, and you have a little more focus in your tactical plans, consider using a brainstorming approach to shake some ideas loose. If you have team members, pull them into the mix. Brainstorming benefits from other brains. It also helps to move around, sitting still doesn't help you think differently. Post some paper on the wall, write some questions on the top, grab some sticky notes and start running through ideas. Consider using a timer and giving folks 2-5 minutes to write their ideas and put them up on the wall. Depending on the size of your group, you can do this together, in pairs, or as individuals, and the rules are pretty simple.

• Don't spend any time evaluating your thoughts.
• Don't discuss anyone's posting.
• Don't be critical.

The point is just to get as many thoughts out as possible. The point is not to get the "solution" immediately, but to get your brain going in new directions. Remember that our brains work by connecting one idea to another. If we keep going down the same track, we keep having the same ideas. If we get thinking creatively, we may find some really good solutions much more quickly. It is essential that you not be critical of ideas here. It is often the completely unrealistic or off-the-wall idea is the one that completely shifts your thinking to a new direction.

Try some of these questions for starters:

• What is good about the idea you are working on?
• What is working well in moving your idea forward?
• What do you like about this idea?
• What confuses you about this idea?
• What confuses others about this idea?

Evaluate. Take the ideas that are posted and review them in light of your goals and tactical plans. What can you bring into your existing plan to make it more effective? What will improve your approach? What can you take out of your plan to streamline it? Where are you hitting opposition? Did your brainstorming provide any insights you can use to overcome opposition? Are there points that are confusing that suggest a need for redesign of your plans?

Integrate. Don't just think great thoughts. Integrate them into your work. Use the insight from your brainstorming and evaluation process to CHANGE your tactical plans. You hit a wall, you got discouraged, you need to try something different, and you need to make that tangible, not theoretical. All too often this is the point where even the most enthusiastic architects and innovators stop. The idea may be great and the goals clear when the effort began, but when it comes to making things real, in the face of challenges, many don't go back to update the tactical plans that are in place. As a result, discouragement grows and the effort slows. Give things a jolt. Built a new aspect to your plan. Focus efforts on an area that has not gotten enough attention yet. Revise your approach and you are likely to see things go differently.

Communicate. The worst thing you can do when you feel discouraged is to keep it to yourself. Get together with other people who bring you up. Bounce around ideas. Talk about their challenges and successes. Okay, you can whine a little, too, but don't spend too much time there. Use your time to add new ideas to your thinking, connect with other people, and remember why you liked going out on the limb in the first place. Even when your good work may be going nowhere...it is still good work!

Architecting Work

Work...we all spend a major portion of our time engaged in work. For some of us, that time is time well spent. We enjoy what we do most of the time, and when things are difficult, we can actively endeavor to make positive changes, and have a solid hope that we will see that change come into reality. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone at every point in their career. If you work for any length of time it is likely that you have found yourself feeling less like your work is building something worthwhile than that it is like pouring water out on sand.

If you think about it, in an average week, most of us will spend at least 8 hours every day engaged in work activities, and probably close to two hours getting there and back home. For the majority, that represents an investment of at least 50 hours of our most vibrant, energy intense waking hours. And you likely spend additional time outside of your "job" that can also be counted as work. How is that investment of time and energy paying off for you?

If it is going well, congrats! If, however, you find yourself struggling to hold on to what seems like an investment that is not paying off, it may be time to consider taking an architecting approach to what you do, and begin building the work you want, rather than merely engaging in a job that pays for your time.

I know, I know...you have bills, you have responsibilities, you have a cat who only likes fresh salmon. All true (although even the most finicky cat will eventually eat what you put in front of them, so you can cut back on the salmon), but no reason you can't make a change and begin to take steps toward a major work redesign.

So what can you do? It is not all about changing your job...in reality, it is about changing some aspects of your life...and then building the right kind of work. Interested? Consider the following:

1. Get your debt under control. If you really want to be in a position to architect your work and career, you have to start by gaining control of your life, and don't kid yourself, when you owe someone else money, they control your life. Think about it. Are there expenses you have that are related to debt that keep you feeling trapped in work that you don't like? For many people this includes things like a car payment, credit card debt, and outstanding loans. Start with the smallest debt and pay it off. Take the money you used to pay toward that debt, and tackle the next smallest debt. Repeat this process and you will be surprised how quickly the red turns to black. Cut back your expenses and focus that money toward paying off debt and you will quickly see major changes. Your goal is simple, but all too often ignored. Live on less than you earn. Once you have that reality working for you, you are well positioned to architect new work options.
2. Build a network. This is key to successfully growing your options, and your ideas. Get formal about it. Start a system that will allow you to keep track of contact information, and make contacts with people that are in your network. Make it a point to expand your network actively. There are great networking options available online, but don't limit yourself to virtual connections. Get out into your community. Meet people. Get involved in things you feel strongly about. Do things you enjoy. Be genuine. As you do this, you will get to know people share a passion with you, and your network will expand. Don't make the common mistake of thinking about network connections as "people who can help you find a new job". That approach doesn't work, and you miss some wonderful connections. Remember, every person is connected to other people. Typically it is the people that you have a sincere connection to that are the most helpful to you in networking, regardless of their jobs or positions.
3. Explore areas of interest. You don't have to just jump right in. You can test the waters a bit and that starts with a little exploration. Think you want to open a bed and breakfast? Start by exploring the reality, and a vacation at a B&B doesn't really count, although it is a start. How do you learn more? Begin on your vacation and add to your network, talk to the owners, ask for introductions to other people who are living your dream. Get their insight and add it to your thinking. Consider volunteering in an area you think you might like to grow your options. Volunteering may give you experience while letting you try something new without the committment of starting a new job. Think you might want to work in technology but don't have a lot of experience? Many schools and churches can use help in this area, and you can learn along the way. Have some flexibility in your time due to retirement or job loss? Internships can be a great opportunity to learn and grow. The hiring manager may be surprised to get someone over 20 in the door, but if they are smart, they may well jump at the chance to bring in more experience at a low price. In short, take some of the time you are not investing in work...and start to explore what is of interest to you.
4. Begin a written plan. This is important. If you don't write it down, you don't have a plan. So get started. The first plan does not have to be great, it just has to be written down somewhere. Begin with a goal. Where do you want to be? Once you have that, think about where you are today. Write that down. Now you have a starting point and a destination. Now plan out the steps from A to B. Easy? Not exactly, but you can do this. A good way to think about what the steps to your goal will look like is to consider what MUST happen in order to reach your goal, in a way that works for you. These are your imperatives and they will help you to clarify the boundaries for your steps. For example, for a person who has dependent children, an imperative might be, "I must have health and life insurance to protect my children". If you really love living in a rural area, an imperative for you might be, "I must be able to work remotely". As you work through your imperatives, the path toward your goal will become more defined and you will be able to chart your steps more accurately. Don't worry that the path won't appear to be very direct (it usually will not be), some of the most interesting things you are going to experience will be off the beaten path.

That should give you plenty to get started! And don't wait. Just start. You will be amazed at where you end up going.

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step— Lao-tsu c. 604-c.531 BC