Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

Shared Goals

Shared Goals

Maybe an organization having shared goals is more important than we think.

For some reason this all made me think of a family vacation.

See, if mom wants a stress-free trip, dad wants to spend as little money as possible, son wants to only eat at the best restaurants, and daughter wants to visit as many different states as possible – everyone is going to have a miserable time.

But how often we run businesses the same way, being vague about what we truly want.

Do you want to maximize shareholder wealth? Top-line revenue growth? Size of staff? Giving to charity?

Clarity is a beautiful thing.

Understand: Specific objectives matter.

In a study of over one hundred professional theaters by researchers Zannie Voss, Dan Cable, and Glenn Voss, leaders rated the importance of five values: artistic expression (innovative plays), entertainment (audience satisfaction), giving to the community (providing access, outreach, and education), achievement (being recognized for excellence), and financial performance (fiscal viability). The more strongly leaders disagreed about the importance of these values, the lower their ticket revenues and net income. It didn’t matter what their principles were, as long as leaders established consensus about their significance.

-Adam Grant, Originals

Zeigarnik Effect

Zeigarnik Effect

What in the world is the Zeigarnik Effect?

It simply says that people remember things in progress better than they remember things completed.

Kinda wierd, uh?

It’s anecdotal, of course, but on reflection I find this true most of the time.

Items I touch at work and finished with weeks ago I cannot remember even doing.

Tasks on my to-do list are, however, always on my mind.

From trying to read up on this, it looks like later studies did not always duplicate these results, so who knows?

I think. that this is another aspect of focus.

Maybe: Things we focus on (things left unfinished) increase in importance in our minds – and are therefore easier to later recall.

By delaying the task of fleshing out and firming up the speech, King allowed Jones to benefit from the Zeigarnik effect. In 1927, Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik demonstrated that people have a better memory for incomplete than complete tasks. Once a task is finished, we stop thinking about it. But when it is interrupted and left undone, it stays active in our minds.

-Adam Grant, Originals

Sterling Terrell