by Gene, originally published to Axiom
Not all quips are immutable truths. Some are patently false. Some are true to a certain point or in a particular setting. Few are inerrant, indisputable, immutable truths. Very few.
Today, I will examine some common misconceptions, or false axioms, if you will. They apply to life itself, business in general, but also to claims in particular. Buckle up.
The Myth of Multitasking
People pride themselves on multitasking, when in the strictest sense, there is almost no such thing. No matter how many “tasks” you have open on your desktop or your to-do list, they come down to one thing at a time. Right now, I am writing this article. I am also monitoring my email, which is a bad habit because it causes me to mistype words, lose a thought that may never return, or write something in a halting, awkward way, meandering through babbling brooks and plush meadows of flowery words when one word or phrase would do—and do better.
If my email dings, I have a choice: finish the sentence, leave the groove, and check the email to decide whether to answer it or mark it “junk”; or, finish the thought and the article and then give my full attention to the email.
Even the juggler knows multitasking is a myth. No matter how many balls he has in the air, each hand only touches one ball at a time. So, he is doing something with each hand, but it is not something totally different. It is one task, two hands, multiple balls.
Generally, multitasking is inefficient because it means you are doing a bunch of things with only part of your attention and capability. So, you mislabel a photo or botch a measurement or fire off an email that reads like a train wreck.
Most of what we call multitasking is microbursts between tasks. Do this, do that, do this again, do the other thing, and another thing. Rat-a-tat-tat. The trouble comes because there is a cognitive cost. The brain has to switch gears constantly, refocus, and often never fully focus on anything.
I was on the phone the other day with a friend who works in a different industry. He has an impressive title and resume. I have known him for years. He is extraordinarily gifted, extremely capable.
He told me all the things he was doing in his business.
I said, “Wow! That’s a lot.”
He said, rather proudly, “I wear a lot of hats, Gene.”
I asked, “How many are you wearing right now, this very minute?”
Silence.
“Hello? You there?”
“I hate you,” he muttered.
Since in this industry we inhabit the word “catastrophe,” here is a quote from the American Psychological Association to wrap up this myth-buster:
Doing more than one task at a time, especially more than one complex task, takes a toll on productivity. Although that shouldn’t surprise anyone who has talked on the phone while checking E-mail or talked on a cell phone while driving, the extent of the problem might come as a shock. Psychologists who study what happens to cognition (mental processes) when people try to perform more than one task at a time have found that the mind and brain were not designed for heavy-duty multitasking. Psychologists tend to liken the job to choreography or air-traffic control, noting that in these operations, as in others, mental overload can result in catastrophe.
The Myth That Hard Work Always Pays Off
I knew this one would get your attention!
Hard work pays off!
We hear it all the time — in sports, in business, in politics.
Have you ever known anyone, or better still, ever been someone who worked hard at something and the payoff never came? Meanwhile, someone else who did not put in the amount of effort you did hits the jackpot!
It is frustrating, isn’t it? Infuriating even.
I am not saying that hard work is not part of a winning formula. It almost always is. I am saying it is never, ever the only part.
You hear winners like Nick Saban say, “It’s about the process.”
And it is.
Plenty of other coaches were just as committed to the process—some of whom learned that process from Saban himself—but never experienced the same level of success. A few didn’t even come close.
Same process. Same commitment. Same message. Different results.
Hard work and commitment to the process pay off when they are coupled with other components, some under your control and many that may not be.
You may ask, “How do I make the hard work and the process work for me?”
- Work hard when people are watching and even harder when they are not.
- Control what you can control.
- Don’t trust the process. Test it. Refine it. Mold it to your needs, resources, and style.
- Accept the outcome, because denial is no place to build success, but don’t stop there, whether it is success or failure. Learn from it. Reassess it. Amend the goal, if necessary. Maybe you were aiming at the wrong outcome all along. Or, perhaps the outcome is still in doubt, even if it feels final.
Why do we reward the worker who grinds all day ineffectually and reject the one who accomplishes more in a fraction of the time than the hard worker does all day but doesn’t appear as busy?
Maybe we need to rethink the reward system altogether.
Every time I think about hard work, I remember Art, who was Clark Griswold’s father-in-law in Christmas Vacation. The whole family is gathered on the front lawn in their pajamas in the dead of night to witness Clark’s triumph, which is the house aglow in Christmas lights. Only the lights don’t work.
“Beautiful, Clark,” Art grumbles.
Art’s wife, Frances, says, “I hope you kids see what a waste of resources this was.”
Audrey, Clark’s daughter, says, “He worked really hard, Grandma.”
Art deadpans, “So do washing machines.”
I don’t care how hard the washing machine worked or how long it took. I just want a clean load. The more efficiently the machine does it, the less it costs me, and the happier I am.
When I plug it in, I want the lights to come on.
The Myth That Anyone Can Be an Adjuster
I speak to prospective adjusters every month. They have either just secured their license or are studying to do so.
Some of them are like sponges, soaking up every word of advice, listening to every story of success or failure, and just absorbing all the knowledge and wisdom they can. You can see it in the way they lean into the task, in the way their eyes light up, and the way they take notes. You can hear it in their questions. You can feel the vibe.
Others come along and are pretty sure they have the whole thing figured out and they are just going through the process, enduring the classes, ignoring the insights, just biding their time until it is their time to shine. They fail to realize that being a know-it-all is a detriment to success.
If you know everything, you cannot learn anything.
Then there are those who had a friend, a family member, or someone they know make a bunch of money on a big storm. They think, “If so-and-so can do it, so can I.”
They may be right or they may be wrong. Claims adjusting can be very good money; it is not easy money. It is a career choice, not a lottery ticket.
Claims adjusting is a brilliant career path for the right person and a horrible choice for the wrong one.
A few attributes of the wrong person…
- Knows too much to learn much.
- Substitutes cockiness for confidence.
- Takes every shortcut.
- Averse to networking.
- Offended by accountability.
- Not that into people.
- Lacks empathy.
- Has too much empathy to be objective.
A few attributes of a good candidate…
- A lifelong learner—every room is a classroom and every person a teacher.
- Bathes confidence in humility.
- Wants to know the process, inspect it, and improve upon it where possible.
- Builds genuine relationships that are not strictly transactional, giving as much as gaining.
- Is accountable without offense.
- Loves people, even when it is hard to do.
- Is empathetic.
- Is not hobbled by empathy, but tells and records the truth in love.
Examine every axiom. Keep the truth. The comments are open. Jump in with your observations, answers, or questions.
More next week.
My name is Gene. This is Axiom.