The big con with Pros and Cons lists

I've been reading a bit about early-american statesman Benjamin Franklin this week. Apparently Benny-boy was a pretty big deal. A founding father of the US-of-A, he was a musician, theorist, general agitator, and an all round pretty handy guy to have around. One of his real talents was coming up with a truckload of inventions. Just to be clear, I said truckload not that other word I tend to say when I am excited.

It turns out one of his legacies, alongside cool stuff like bifocal glasses and zapping some poor child's kite with lightning, was the first celebrated pros and cons list. Yep, he's the one...I'm not going to bore you with the details, but in a letter in 1772 to his peep Joseph Priestly* he detailed how he went about his decision-making process. If you're a history buff, you can read a littlemo' here

So I am guessing Priestly didn't exactly take a vow of silence (ha! geddit?) and before long the Pros and Cons list became more popular than a One Direction concert at a Westfield Shopping Center in a school holidays. And boy oh boy haven't we used the old P&C list to death...

* Wanna decide where to go on the next holiday...do a pros and cons.

* Can't make a decision on if you should buy that new day-bed? draw a line, label your pros and cons, and get to work!

* Having trouble over whether you should put Nanna into a retirement home...pro and con the bejesus out of it! Yeah!

But there's one problem. It's a pretty big problem actually...

Pros and Cons lists don't actually work very well. Along with Maccas Cafe and Starbucks** it just might be the worst gift those kooky Americans ever bestowed on the world.

You see, P&C lists tend to narrow our frame of thinking and also cultivate confirmation bias.

By creating a P&C we tend to get specific about the issue but in doing so cut out a multitude of cool options. And whaddya reckon goes into the two columns? Everything we want to go on there, rather than everything that should go on there.

So ditch the pros and cons list and try the following for better decision-making;

1. Widen your scope rather than narrow it - forget about either/or frameworks and think in terms of and/possibility thought patterns.

2. Don't give in to your pre-determined thoughts - think of the absurd and ask the counterintuitive questions. What if there were no blades on a fan or there was only one button on a phone? These types of questions change our world.

It's time for me to find something for lunch...hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Cheers,

Alison couldn't contribute to this weeks post...she was online shopping for shoes. Turns out she doesn't use any method for decision making other than 'they're pretty'.

Jason was trying to make his own decision this week; it's a biggie. Whether he should enter the grown up world. Yep, he's looking at houses to buy...yikes!

Jen has been deciding on whether her session with a clairvoyant is tax deductable

Dougs' only decision needed this week was exactly how many minions he needed to do his design work so he could surf full time.

Sean and Joe...most likely they're probably drinking terrible coffee at Starbucks :) You'd think as Canadian's they could do better.

 

*Turns out bromances have been around for a while, eh

**We tend to engage in unashamed coffee snobbery at Pragmatic Thinking...at least the 'cultured' ones of us do.

Crushes: Here are a few of ours (Part 1)

It’s time for us to come clean.

At Pragmatic Thinking we have a few crushes we need to declare. Not feel-giddy-gonna-faint* crushes, but rather the type of crush that only comes from groovy thinking.

In no particular order, these are some of the crushes we have on people doing awesome stuff...check out what we have in the first part of our crush list.

The Thrash Lab 

Beautifully produced and directed videos on cool topics. Great storytelling, and some interesting angles on topics we know well, they have looked at coffee drinkers through to the art of butchery. So good.

Click here to watch some of there awesome videos

Gary Vaynerchuk  

He’s a tour de force this guy. Incredibly brash, fully American and absolutely passionate, Vaynerchuk probably ‘gets’ social media better than anyone on the planet. More importantly, he understands and dissects how humans behave on social media. Follow Gary just for the value he provides. A legend.

Check out what we mean by clicking here

Jane McGonigal  

Jane is a guru who has dedicated her passion to sharing the concept about why games make us better and how they change the world. She has a New York Times Bestselling book, ‘Reality is Broken’ and a high rotation TED Talk, both of which you wont regret checking out.

Find out more about Jane’s genius here

Nicholas Felton 

Our design brains quite simply want to kidnap Felton, and keep his genius in the attic, all to ourselves. It’s a little disturbing just how much we love his amazing blend of design and brilliance contained within his yearly reports. If you haven’t browsed these, you haven’t lived.

Be warned, if you have a look at his stuff you might be just as captivated as we are:

Click here if you dare

We’ve got a few more so rather than slam them all on you today, we’re going to come back with a Part 2.

Competition versus comparison

Y'ever notice how different drivers can effect different outcomes? 

For all you golf freaks* out there we're not talking about how the Callaway Big Bertha compares to the Ping G25 (that's fancy golf-speak) we are talking about the drivers of behaviour. 

Competition is a great driver for behaviour. It creates great games and if harnessed effectively can get you awesome results, throwing motivation and fun all into the mix. 

Then there is the ugly-evil cousin of competition. He's a nasty piece of work. Comparison. Comparison tends to invariably make us feel a little less-than. Think of the cliches that exist in this space; 'the grass is always greener' etc. 

Here's a tip. Hang out with the cool kid. 

Make competition your playing partner.** 

How you choose to set up the rules of the competition is up to you. You can do it in big groups, you can do it in small groups, you can do it one on one, or you can even do it on your own. Sounds like a 1980's beer commercial doesn't it?  

It's often said the only person you're ever competing against is yourself...well it's a nice sentiment, but the truth is it's a bit of B.S. It's all a bit mystical and unproven; like how Russell Crowe is considered a sex symbol?! 

You see competition is a contest between two things. You kind of can't compete against yourself...but you can benchmark really well. Let's explore the wonderful world of benchmarking in another newsletter eh?

Whilst benchmarking against yourself can work well, there's a heck of a lot of fun to be had competing against others. It's called a game; and if played in the right spirit, can bring about your best. Holy smokes! That's another great idea for a future newsletter; 'How to create the right spirit'. 

So enjoy competition, and let comparison remain where it should be. Out of bounds. 

Ok. We got a little carried away with the whole golfing analogy there. Sorry. 

Competitively yours, 

Alison, Darren, Dougz, Jason, Jen, Joe & Sean 

*some of us at Pragmatic Thinking are saying 'Woot!' To Adam Scott's recent win at the Masters. Some less than enthusiastic others are going 'who gives a toss?'. And others are saying 'hmmmm Adam Scott...he's dreamy...what? he plays golf?'. We will let you guess which said which. 

**see what we done there? It's a golfing analogy...geddit? 

Dealing with the Tough Stuff - Gold Coast - 29th May

Managing staff performance and building a positive feedback culture are essential elements for any successful leadership role. The litmus test of your leadership is not how you lead when times are good, it's how you lead when times are tough. 

Using real-life case studies and current research into the science of human behaviour, Dealing with the Tough stuff program will boost the confidence of anyone working in a management or leadership role. Discover how to lead critical conversations including: 

* tools for depersonalising tough feedback

* strategies for overcoming resistance and defensiveness

* tips for finding the best way to be assertive in any situation. 

This program will enable you to have more productive discussions in the workplace - and less conflict. 

GOLD COAST PROGRAM 

Date: Wednesday 29th May

Time: 9am - 4:30pm

Venue: (To be confirmed)

Investment: $550pp (inc GST)

Program Flyer: Click here to download the program flyer

The only two questions that matter

Consciously or subconsciously every workplace leader and manager reflects on two questions repetitively on a daily basis: 

Question 1 : How do I motivate my team to do their best and hit our targets? 

Question 2 : How do I have an effective conversation with them when they aren't motivated?  

This has been our playing field at Pragmatic Thinking for the past 5 years, and we use the term 'playing field' quite intentionally. The continued research and application of contemporary science with ambitious clients make it a wonderful game to play. Through playing this game fiercely and with good spirit with like-minded organisations and leaders we have found there are three rules to guide people towards the goal of addressing the two big questions posed above. 

Rule 1 : Behaviour is your saviour 

Quite simply most manager's don't get what they want because they seldom explain it properly. Gaining a true understanding of what behaviours are and communicating them clearly and succinctly is the cornerstone of effective workplace cultures; especially when times are tough. 

Note: Asking your staff to 'lift their game', 'show more initiative' or 'treat Bob better' aren't actually behaviours. Your staff need clarity from their leader...and by the sounds, Bob needs it the most! 

Rule 2 : Make work itself the perk 

There's too much focus on extrinsic and intrinsic reward systems. Don't get us wrong, external and internal drivers can be powerful and should be a useful tool within a manager's kitbag, but if you make the work inherently challenging and motivating, then the use of carrots, sticks, moving cheeses and fish becomes occasional rather than the foundation. 

Rule 3 : Align and refine your design 

Let's face it, most workplaces and education programs are terribly designed from both a workflow and aesthetics standpoint. IT platforms that frustrate and hobble talented staff and office designs that make employees feel like battery hens are commonplace. Training courses delivered by people who don't know their topic; collaterals delivered on boring and uninspiring 50-shades-of-grey-photocopy paper...c'mon! Seriously? If you want staff to care, design with some heart and some art. Use real case studies and examples and stop the sheep-dip training - y'know, 'let's put everyone through the same process every 12 months; that'll do the trick!'. Last time we looked; sheep aren't real bright are they? 

So if you are asking yourself the two big questions - and you are sure to be - play the game by starting on the three rules that matter.