Keep Things Simple...SIMPLE!!!

I remember my Economics professor in college as an enthusiastic individual, passionate about economics, and about teaching. To say his courses were challenging is a major understatement. As each new semester began he scared his students half to death by addressing all the rumors and horror stories that he knew were circulating around campus about him and his teaching methods. And he always addressed them the same way, with one sentence that let us know right off the bat what we were in for over the next few months:

"All the rumors you heard about me?  They're all true..."

Our response...?

Miraculously, none of us dropped his class as soon as the first day was over.  Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was a required course for our majors that kept us glued (reluctantly) to our seats, as attendance was mandatory.  It didn't help our confidence much when he followed that up with this:

"You will learn that taking my class is like drinking water from a fire hydrant at full blast..."

I can honestly say, having survived four of his classes (yes, I said FOUR...I know, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment), that the good professor was true to his word: he hit us full force with everything he had, week after week and didn't let up until the day of the final exam. I can tell you in all honesty that we did get hit with enough material to resemble a fire hydrant blast on a regular basis, and while I can't speak for others in the class, I can say I was barely able to keep my head above water, I was so overwhelmed with all the material being covered from semester to semester. I was able to get my degree after all of that, but I'll never forget what it was like to sit in Prof. Mullings' classes: like I was watching four 3D movies at the same time, on four separate screens encircling me in surround sound....AUUUGGHHH...!!!!

Now maybe that last description was a bit over the top, but there is method to my madness (with apologies to Shakespeare). With all the information coming at me in my Economics classes, I wasn't able to keep my bearings very well. It was hard to focus, I didn't know which way was up at times, and as a result I wasn't always able to keep track of what I needed to do, or when I needed to get it done. It was a miracle I got anything done at all. I say all that to say this:  if you're leading people and you want to help them get where they need to go, keep these three words in mind:

KEEP THINGS SIMPLE...!!!

Yes, keep things simple. Long story short, if there are goals people want to achieve, and you give them too much to do too soon, they'll feel so overwhelmed, not only will they not know what to do first, they won't do anything at all because they'll feel like it's next to impossible because they'll feel like they have to do so many things at once.  May I make a humble suggestion...?

P-R-I-O-R-I-T-I-Z-E

Set priorities. Yes, set priorities. Let them know what is most important for them to do right now, then what's next most important, then the next thing, and the next, and so on. Everything that needs to be done is not the most important thing that needs to be done, all at the same time. This type of thinking leads to "paralysis by analysis," which leads to nothing getting done because nobody knows where to start. Complete the simplest tasks first, the ones that don't take up much time or effort. I know some people say do the hardest ones first, but I disagree, for one simple reason (remember, we're keeping things simple): each task that gets completed creates momentum and builds confidence needed to tackle the more challenging tasks ahead.  You must crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. Baby steps might not seem significant, but each step, no matter how small, is important as long as you're making progress:

Don't overwhelm your people and don't give them so much to do at once because you're in too much of a hurry to get them where you'd like them to be. Keep in mind, this is not about you, it's about them. Yes it's important to keep the big picture in focus, but remember, everyone does not go at the same pace. What you think might take a few days to grasp might take a few weeks, or even a month, for others to comprehend. Encourage them to keep going, cheer on their progress, and congratulate them with every step forward.

So, long story short, shut off the waterworks. Spare them the information overload. Take baby steps. Give them something they can accomplish right now, something they can do at their pace, not yours. The most important thing is to build their confidence, even if you have to do it gradually. And don't forget, be patient with your team if they don't catch on as quickly as you'd like, because at some point in your life, somebody had to be patient with you. If you can do this, you may become Wile E. Coyote with a Road Runner on your hands:

That's all for now, gotta run. Until we meet again, remember folks:

Keep it simple....See ya!