Make It Manageable

Running a marathon is an exercise in perseverance. The only way to make it to the finish is to understand in advance that, at some point, this is really going to hurt. It helps to study the route in advance so you know what to expect, and it’s important to set a pace that will help you finish strong.

At the same time, as much as you need to look at what’s coming ahead, it’s important to deal with what’s happening right now. Without a focus on what you’re doing at the moment, it’s hard to stay on the plan you have set for yourself. You cannot be so focused on what you’ll do farther down the road that you mess up now and never reach the point that you are aiming for. You have a long journey ahead of you, and the best way to finish it is to break it down into manageable pieces, so you can get through what’s happening now and then deal with what comes next.

While strategic planning is important for your business, you cannot afford to lose sight of what’s happening right now. The short-term implications of the projects your employees are working on now will help you get toward your long-term goals, but those short-term implications need to come to fruition. Your employees need feedback now, not just later, and you need to put resources toward current work rather than just toward broader goals.

Yes, it’s important to have a long range view. Yes, it’s important to have a plan. At the same time, it’s essential that you know what’s happening now and what impact it will have so you can adjust your plan as needed. When you’re running a marathon and develop a cramp at Mile 16, you cannot worry too much about Mile 26. You need to deal with the cramp that’s hitting you now, or the effects will snowball. Changing your pace, adjusting your stride, stopping at an aid station for a massage…well, you probably don’t get a lot of massages at work (unless you work in Bangkok, where people get massages all the time) but the idea is the same whether you’re running or working: understand what is happening now so you can deal with it and move on.

It’s tough, of course, to keep a long-range view and a short-term focus, but you can find a way. For some older patients getting Lasik eye surgery, the doctor will give them long-range vision in one eye and close up vision in the other, to overcome to natural vision changes that happen as you age. Their brains are soon able to reconcile the difference between long-range and short-range. Your brain probably will too.