Use the Theory of Seven to motivate others

Use the Theory of Seven to motivate others
Bruce Kasanoff
helps simplify the way you think about, manage and describe your business

There are a lot of words in business: job descriptions, memos, briefings,
meetings, quick updates (that last 45 minutes), more meetings. This flood
of words create the impression that adults have endless attention spans,
and that you can keep talking and people will keep listening.

This impression is wrong.

Some of you know that I spend my winter weekends at Stratton Mountain,
coaching incredibly talented seven-year-old skiers. Last weekend, they
inspired my Theory of Seven. (True confession: I named and capitalized it
to illustrate a point. Young kids love it when you come up with goofy
names.)

My Theory of Seven says that adults are not much different than
seven-year-olds, except that we pretend to be different. Our attention
spans are ridiculously short. We love distractions. Given a choice, we'd
eat cookies all the time. If you leave us in line too long, we start
pushing and shoving.

So how can the Theory of Seven help you motivate others? Like this...

Be clear about what's next: The second - and I mean the very second - we
finish a ski run, my kids want to know what we are doing next. They have no
interest in the run after that; its too much information. Assume the same
is true for your colleagues. Be simple, and focus on what's next.

Don't be intellectual: One kid is a great skier, aggressive and talented.
But he has a quirk: every time he does a hard "skating" stop, he stares at
his toes, which shifts his weight in the wrong direction. I tried
explaining this, but it just didn't sink in. Finally I said, "You must have
beautiful toes. You must love your toes so much, you can't help but look at
them."

He thought this was hysterical, and so did the other kids. But then he
stopped staring at his toes.

A small percentage of adults are intellectual; most are not. Most need
simple, memorable guidance. Most don't pay attention to complex
explanations.

Don't assume that others are idiots: Seven-year-old may be goofy little
human beings with short attention spans, but they are much more perceptive
than you might assume. They constantly surprise me with their observations.

If you're not getting through to others, the reason may not be because they
"are idiots." The problem may be that you haven't figured out a simple and
interesting way to communicate your messages.

Keep things moving: Even the best-coached, most responsive group of kids
start acting like babbling idiots if you keep them waiting too long in a
ski lift line, or at the cafeteria. Adults are no different; when they get
bored, they start to gossip, complain, and even act irrationally.

If you aspire to lead or motivate others, keep things fresh.

Edited by: Lawyer Asad