Jan 17, 2018
Daniel H. Pink, the #1 bestselling author of
Drive and To
Sell Is Human, unlocks the scientific secrets
to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at
home.
Everyone knows that timing is
everything. But we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives
as leaders are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions: when to
start a business, when to hire people, when to deal with sunk
costs, when to take on debt, etc. Yet we make those decisions based
on intuition and guesswork.
Timing, it’s often assumed, is
an art. In When: The
Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, we learn that timing is really a
science.
Key Takeaways
The discussion starts with the topic of the
Free Agent Nation - people
working for themselves. Asked about Autonomy and Solitude as
“motivators” versus the need for Collaboration as a team, Dan says
that leadership needs to provide a balance between the two. He says
the challenge is the architecture - both physically and
metaphorically. He says that leaders should provide the same
autonomy inside and outside the organization; and a sense of
purpose whether the team member is full-time, part-time, or
contracted.
[4:07] By 2020, 43% of the
workforce will be in the ‘gig’ economy. This requires different
work environments and skills from leaders. Daniel wrote
Free Agent Nation
in 2001, before smartphones. In the
years since, the difference between employee and freelancer has
shrunk.
[5:56] Leaders
influence, persuade, convince, and
cajole. These leadership
roles are sales activities. and effort, time, commitment, belief,
and zeal are the currency. Leaders and sales reps have little
coercive power. Both roles must be adept at broadly influencing
people.
[7:41] ‘If/then’ motivators are
effective only for simple, short-term tasks. Most leaders
undervalue questions of timing in leadership decisions. They think
of who, what, and how, but don’t consider when to do it. The
book, When -is really
about the science of timing… and that leaders have systematically
undervalued questions of when and timing when making critical
decisions. Too often leaders focus on who, what and how, and short
shrift when. Time management and
timing overlap.
[9:28] “Time-of-day explains
about 20% of the variance in human performance on the sorts of
tasks people perform at work.” Timing is important. Leaders can
boost productivity, creativity, and team performance at
essentially no cost by putting the right task during the right time
of day. “All times of day are not created equal.”
[11:34] Be conscious of the
stages of the day. THere are three stages - peak, trough, and
rebound. Your best analytic and focused work is done in the peak
time. The trough period is when you lose attention. Administrative
tasks could be done in this time. The rebound period is an ideal
time for creative and collaborative work. Doing the right work at the right time will
lift performance.
[14:40] Chronobiology: There are
morning people (larks) and evening people (owls). Younger people
are more often owls, and older workers are more often larks. For
example, people aged 14-24 are usually Owls, so you need to allow
for rhythms according to their ages (no meetings at 7am for a young
team!).
[19:19] Daniel explains
the new ABCs of Selling: Attunement, Buoyancy, and
Clarity. Attunement is the
difficult leadership skill of seeing from another’s point of view.
Clarity is communicating intent. Leaders need to explain the what,
the why, and the significance of the mission. Buoyancy represents
treating everyone fairly. Attunement is seeing someone’s else's point of
view (a little different than empathy). As for “Commander’s Intent”
- people often don’t know what they’re supposed to do and how it
fits in at a strategic level; which is a leadership imperative.
Other ways to communicate intent: Here’s why; Here’s what it means
to all of us; and Here’s why it’s significant...
[22:53] Daniel takes
organizations through an exercise described in “DRIVE,” he calls
“Whose Purpose Is It, Anyway?” That is, what’s the purpose of this
company? It reveals that many employees have no idea about the
purpose of their company. It leads to discussion of an organization
finding their purpose.
[27:10] From the book
DRIVE, Daniel says we have an innate drive to grow,
but we can only do it with information on how we are doing. Leaders
need to give continual feedback to employees. Weekly, informal
one-on-ones work well for that. Leaders need to be coached on how
to do them.
Asked, “What drives you, Dan?”
He say he was making timing decisions in a haphazard way, and
wanted to make better decisions about when to spend
time.
[31:37] Most people are curious
about something. Leaders are taught to talk, not to listen, and to
answer questions, not to ask them. Curiosity can be developed
somewhat... If you get better at asking questions and listening,
you’ll get better at being curious. This also requires
patience. Dan is committed to reading more - at 30
minutes per day. How about you?
Twitter: @DanielPink
Facebook: @DanielHPink
Website: DanPink.com
Website: DanPink.com/resources/
Website: DanPink.com/pinkcast/
Quotable Quotes
“All times of day are not
created equal”
Too often leaders focus on
who, what and how, and short shrift when.
Doing the right work at the
right time will lift performance.
“Treating everyone well
doesn’t mean treating everyone the same!”
People have a deep-seated
need for belongingness - and leaders who account for this - can
derive tremendous benefits.
Fairness doesn’t get enough
attention. Humans are attuned to the norm of
fairness.
“Leaders who are fair are
those who will thrive in the long run.”
“The ability to listen well
is a deeply under-developed skill.”
“The feedback mechanisms in companies are
fundamentally broken.”
“Leaders need to establish
continuous conversations.”
Annual performance reviews
are an absurd channel for feedback.
Leadership should provide
informal and frequent high-metabolism kinds of
feedback!
Follow your
curiosity!
Find about where people are
curious in some other realm of their life.
Help people get better at
asking questions to develop their ability listen.
We need to be more
intentional - and less like driftwood.
Schedule what’s actually
meaningful!
Schedules should be
sacrosanct.
Bio
Daniel H. Pink is the author of five provocative books —
including three long-running New York Times bestsellers,
A Whole New Mind,
Drive, and To Sell is Human. His books have been translated into 35
languages and have sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. He
lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and their three
children.
Books mentioned in this episode
When: The Scientific Secrets of
Perfect Timing, by
Daniel H. Pink
A Whole New Mind: Why
Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, by Daniel H. Pink
Drive: The Surprising Truth
About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink
To Sell is Human: The
Surprising Truth About Moving Others, by Daniel H. Pink
Free Agent Nation: The Future
of Working for Yourself, by Daniel H. Pink