Energy management
University of British Columbia, Nitobe Garden. An ideal place to “slow down” and meditate. Photo by Greogry Ronczewski
By Gregory Ronczewski, Director of Product Design at Ibbaka. See his skill profile.
In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman writes about how we think and make decisions. It is a beautiful text worth reading again and again. He points to the two operating systems that drive our day-to-day activities. One is very fast, responsive, intuitive and emotional. The other is slow, deliberate, and logical. Both systems operate automatically. Knowing their modus operandi, one could try to overwrite the natural settings by consciously engaging in one or the other. For most of us, though, it is not that simple. The underlying condition governing them is simple energy management, which is always the key factor in any activity - physical or intellectual. It is why 95% of what we do is done without our conscious participation, whether we like it or not. Wasting energy is not an option.
When my phone battery reaches 20%, it will show me a message that it is entering energy-saving mode. A very smart move - I suppose that's why we call them smartphones. It seems that our bodies are smarter - waiting for 20% would be foolish, so the energy-saving mode is always on. There are, however, moments when some energy will have to be traded for learning a skill. Driving is a good example. Once you know how to drive, it is done automatically. We can think about so many other things while driving, it just happens in. the background. The process is identical in most daily activities, including those during working hours.
The Power of Habit is a brilliant book by Charles Duhigg. In chapter six, The power of a Crisis, How Leaders Create Habits Through Accident and Design, the author points to the same truth that whatever we do, we will always seek the most energy-efficient way to accomplish any given task. Very often, many conflicting directions compete for attention, monetary reward, or simply domination. The ability to work together comes from habit formation—a set of rules which does not require deep thinking or vast amounts of energy. Duhigg points to a simple feedback loop: cue-routine-reward. It is about getting the work done without wasting too much energy. But, when external factors shift the playground through an unexpected event, the relatively peaceful, energy-efficient habits may not be able to stay afloat.
"Good leaders seize crisis to remake organizational habits," writes Charles Duhigg. A crisis can be seen as a problem or as an opportunity. Interestingly, Thinking Fast, which takes cues from emotions, contrary to what one may think, is the one that saves energy. Quick decisions applied in the blink of an eye cost us less. Thinking Slow is the one that looks into the details, analyzes everything, and draws the most out of our energy supplies. When faced with a problem, a good leader connects with the team on an emotional level instead of painstakingly describing possible outcomes and trying to predict the future. Such a future will be based on the known past, so one could argue that it will be nothing more than an already-known future. What if the team is ready to take a different approach? Make a leap forward, innovate and find another path sizing the opportunity. Such a team will need an energy boost to propel them toward their goal. Once things are set in motion, Thinking Slow will find its place, providing enough details to make the new product, service or whatever the team is trying to accomplish real.
What kind of energy boost could a leader choose? Well, a brilliant, inspiring speech may work. Perhaps, a monetary incentive, but this may be hard to fulfill in a crisis setting. What if there is another way, a push from within that creates a positive setting at a low energy expense? Ibbaka Talio, with its skill management tools, is a good example of a possible boosting force, propelling the team toward whatever the future holds. Through a set of guiding questions, skill suggestions, relations and above all, the vast skill library, an individual skill map, or a team map, for that matter, will be created within minutes. Seeing my own potential in the form of a skill map is a powerful motivator. Not only for individuals but also for the whole team.
Here is an example of one of my colleague’s skill maps.
It is proven that the human brain can reach extraordinary potential when the mind is not rushing around, picking up too many signals. The slower the mind, the more powerful the brain. Slowing down can be achieved through breathing and meditation but also routine tasks or movements. Gardening is a form of meditation. Or organizing assignments. The Way of Qigong is a fascinating book by Kenneth Cohen that takes the reader back more than two thousand years to ancient China. Is there a way to connect the wisdom of "internal alchemy," the ancient meditative practices of "circulating Qi"—Qi means "the vital force" in Chinese—with the cutting-edge, innovative companies that thrive regardless of the economic setting? Absolutely, after all, it's the thinking behind all those inventions that we admire so much. And since there are ways to improve it, collecting and organizing skills can be seen as a meditative practice. Am I pushing it a little too far? Perhaps, but at the end of the day, everything starts with a thought. Any invention or work of art. Every thought generates energy. Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow, using the energy to move forward.
