Book recommendation: “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
I’m a bit late to the party on this one, I know. I tend to avoid anything that’s been hyped up, from movies to clothing to books, so while I’d heard about Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking'>“Blink” for a while, I’d avoided it until recently.
Then I bought a Kindle.
My favorite feature allows me to read the first chapter of a book for free. My budget-minded tendencies led me to read many, many first chapters and subsequently want to buy many, many books. This was the most compelling at the time (though two books by Jon Krakauer were also tempting).
The same week I read Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking'>“Blink,” I attended a training class on Agile methodology. Together, they solidified a new way of thinking about change: life changes because of small moments, not dramatic declarations. You do something different when faced with a situation you’ve been in hundreds of times – you stop and think, you react positively, you calmly and gently refuse to be swayed – and change happens.
I’m an implementer by trade and a fixer by nature. I’ve spent my whole career making change happen, too often by defining the steps between “here” and “there” and then acting on every one. But there’s so much noise! So much of what we act on isn’t really necessary. So much of what we hear is complaining (“not actionable” in corporate-speak). Many challenges will work themselves out if left alone.
I’m finding that to sort through the noise, to figure out what matters, to focus on only those things that matter to me, to my coworkers, to my career, I’m better off focusing on just the next step. Just one.
When I’m in the right kind of job, I know exactly what the next step should be. (I learned that here.) When I focus on just the next thing, I almost always know how to do it. (I learned to trust my instincts from “Blink.”) When I do it, I should seek feedback often to make sure we’re all on the right track, then adjust if necessary. (I learned that principle through this.)
