low tech
DCO reader and friend Lauren, recently sent me a Harvard Business Publishing’s Management “tip of the day” she found interesting. The teaser title in the E-mail was The Simple Way to Capture Big Ideas. Clicking through, the actual article’s heading was The Next Big Idea in Management. There must have been something pretty special in that article to warrant those two headlines, right? There was.
Note cards. Those brilliantly simple, 3×5 lined notecards.
The article uses as it’s foundation something called the behavioral school of economics to initiate a conversation around how current management and leadership theory is changing and looking more at how we truly think and operate in the real world as leaders. Towards the end of the article, the author draws a seemingly obvious but nonetheless insightful observation:
The ultimate lesson of the 3 x 5 card school of management is this: in turbulent, unpredictable, rapidly changing times, we’re all looking for things that work.
Amen, brother.
As a Leader – what should matter most?
This point struck me as very similar to a frequent conversation I’ve had in relation to technology over the years. Whether from subordinates, managers or leaders, it seems we all too often forget what the true goal of any project should be: positive results. Therefore one of my consistent mantras in any conversation involving technology is: Technology is a tool, not an end. Over my career I’ve found there are often many ways to achieve the results you are seeking without the time, effort and money to implement a technological solution. I’ve also too often observed the close corollary that many times the value created from a technology solution is not greater than the resources required to implement and maintain it.
Don’t get me wrong – I love technology. I tend to be an early adopter. I’ve been a Director of IT and implemented several high value solutions. I’m a computer game junkie and was a level 60 in World of Warcraft before you probably even knew what it was. And while I wouldn’t be lost without my Blackberry, I would prefer not to test that assertion. But at some point, both personally and professionally, it becomes a matter of focus: what is more important, the results or the method?
My new simple tool
There is another DCO reader out there who shares my passion for the ultimate organizational system. I think we both recognize it is a Holy Grail quest, but yet we continue the search. With my recent switch to a Mac at home, I have a whole new field of contenders to review that claim they want to organize my day and my life. While many offer valuable pieces of the puzzle, and one or two came close to being lifesavers, the process of demo-ing them all simply reinforced the message that my day and my life are in my own hands and I alone am solely responsible for the positive results I create out of them.
I’ve recently come full circle back to that “3×5″ approach to life management. As part of my personal coaching, I’ve come to adopt, and very quickly love, a new simple tool: the Moleskine notebook.
You’ve probably seen a moleskine; you may recognize the name even if you haven’t. Moleskines have a rich legacy:
MOLESKINE is the legendary notebook that has held the inspirations and ideas of everyone from Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway to famed author, Bruce Chatwin. Artists, authors, and geniuses of all variety have long appreciated the simplicity and superior functionality of these notebooks.
Originally these books were produced by small French bookbinders who supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde. However, In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family operation in Tours, closed and Moleskines were gone – but not forgotten. As a result of their previous popularity and demand, they did return. In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought these books back for writers, artists, travelers and all free-thinkers around the globe.
I carry my Moleskine (a 5×8 square ruled softcover) with me wherever I go now. I love the attention to detail and the pure functionality of this diary-sized notebook. It may seem extravagant versus simple 3×5 cards, but I find it to be a fitting repository for my “next big ideas”!
Some simple resources
You can visit the official Moleskine website for overviews and specs of all their products. While you can order off the Moleskine website, I actually found Amazon’s Moleskine Store to be ever so slightly cheaper on a product by product basis, and many times you can get free shipping at around $25.
As is the case with many Harvard Business Publishing’s articles, the author was plugging his book, Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self. While this tends to annoy me in other venues, I really don’t mind it when HBP does it since their authors consistenly write thoughtful, pragmatic, useful information geared toward personal and professional excellence. Basically, everything we’re all about here.
Tell me – What’s YOUR favorite low tech tool?
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