As Drew Neisser reminds us, some ideas need to be drilled into our head over and over again. Jim Collins might object ... I'm sure I could find a clean copy of his list ... but editing Drew's memory here, I can cement these ideas more firmly into my own mind.
The Drew Blog: Jim Collins’ To Do List, 2008-10-5, by Drew Neisser
I had the pleasure of seeing Jim Collins speak at the World Business Forum a week ago. Collins is the author of Good to Great, the only business book I actually read from cover to cover and then re-read. ...
He ended with a to do list for all the attendees, especially the CEO’s in the audience. Here’s his 10-point to do list that I somehow turned into 11 points:
Here's my version, edited for my own situation (solo entrepreneur and innovator)
1. Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses.
2. Figure out what kind of help you need and where you can find it
3. Establish a personal 'board of directors' who can serve as tribal elders
4. Present your ideas to younger people who can more easily challenge them
5. For decision-making, have a circle you can consult (How is this different from 3?)
6. Ask twice a many questions and give half the number of statements (How can you police yourself of this?????? Oh well, I usually converse these days by asking questions and when someone asks what I do they usually aren't interested in my answer.)
7. Schedule time to think, away from electronic devices and interruptions
8. Create a stop doing list. (This is so hard for me. It means giving up either something I love doing or that is good for me and my family.)
9. When delegating, focus on responsibilities, not tasks.
10. Keep core values in the front of your mind and your teams'.
11. Set big, hairy audacious goals with 10-15-25 year horizons, figure out what the obstacles are and work on removing them.
12. Find a copy of John Gardner's Self-Renewal
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