Responding versus Reacting

When thinking about productivity and how we go about our days, tasks, schedules, etc there’s an underlying assumption that everything goes as planned.  You have your system in place and you schedule your time correctly, delegating low level tasks or busy work and you make sure email notifications are turned off.  But what happens when things don’t go as planned?  When the day gets away from you?  Does your system hold up?  As you plan your days to be focused on deep work, working towards your goals, your system must have the sophistication to handle the unexpected.  This happens when you understand that responding is different than reacting.  Responding to any professional or personal situation is a deliberate and considerate action.  This means it’s thought out.  Reacting is an immediate reaction which tends to be emotional and rash.  Firefighters, Police Officers, and EMTs are known as First Responders not First Reactors.  Responding to problems as they come up is a skill set that takes knowhow, discipline, and practice.  Over time, sticking with it, you will find yourself able to respond to a situation more appropriately and quickly.  When I am faced with a problem or challenge, I automatically default to 5 questions to help me respond better.  Each question on its own will not necessarily produce a considerate response, yet, when applied together often leads to a response that is.

Why?
Well, that’s a no-brainer.  Well, sort of.  It’s not enough just to ask why.  You have to ask why 5 times.  The Five Whys method is a simple problem-solving technique that helps to get to the root of a problem quickly.  Each time you ask “Why?”, your answer becomes the reason for your next question.  This simple exercise provides a way to identify breakdowns in processes and systems that contributed to the problem and how to prevent future events.  When asking why, ask 5 times.

What data do we have?
Data is important.  It’s not merely just numerical data and we focused on the “why” in our first question. Data is the “who, what, where, when, and how” of the problem.  It is the people involved both directly and indirectly.  The hurdle in front of you.  The time you have to fix it.  The consequences both immediately and in the future.  And don’t forget the numerical data.  You must compile all the details or data you can in order to appropriately respond. 

What have others done?
Those that don’t know history tend to repeat it.  That’s a nice way of saying that if you don’t know what others have done you are likely to do what’s been done before and repeat the mistakes that have been done before.  This is where having a network or circle of people you can trust and talk to becomes invaluable.  This is also where your humility comes into play.  When finding a proper solution is most important, you cannot let feeling embarrassed get in your way.  A trusted circle does away with all that. If your circle judges you then you may have the wrong circle.

Does a solution help or hurt my vision?
At first blush one might think that they have to respond to every situation or challenge that comes up.  It does happen where people will try to pass the monkey to you. See Harvard Business School Case Study “Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?”  Passing the monkey refers to taking a problem, challenge, or issue and passing it on to someone else.  It comes from the idea that whenever a problem arises it’s as if we have an annoying monkey sitting on our backs.  Truthfully, not everything that comes your way is yours to fix. You have to ask if this is yours to take on.  If it is, start with the 5 Whys.  If not, pass the monkey back.

Is there an out-of-the-box solution?
A mentor, coach, and former boss of mine once told me a phrase that I hold with me to this day. It’s the genius of the “and” versus the tyranny of the “or”.  So many of us get caught up in trying to figure out how to accomplish this or that or solve one challenge at the sacrifice of something else. An out-of-the-box solution comes when you ask how we can respond to the challenge at hand yet not drop our focus.  Always fight for the and.   There’s an interesting phenomenon when you become accustomed to responding instead of reacting.  You tend to keep your composure better.  You become less frazzled and stressed.  You begin to handle much more and yet successfully complete what you take on.  Learning to respond is creating a contingency plan for your productivity system.  Keep the five questions handy.  Create a note on your phone or write them on an index card in your wallet.  Keep them close so the next time your day starts to slip from you, you can reign it in.