The past two days I’ve been holed up in the Hampton Inn next to the North Market. A team of super smart, super technical, and super skeptical engineering types, were stuck in a room with me, the BTL playbooks, some U2, a little Johnny Cash, and more why questions than they’ll ever remember.
This team wore me out. Every team does. It looks like I’m just going with the flow and super laid back, nothing could be further from the truth. After facilitating these kinda practices for almost ten years, I’ve become very tuned into the energy drain that operating “just this side of chaos” brings. My brain rarely works harder than when it attempts to call the right play for the situation, for the team, and for building trust between them and between us. And, attempts to make it look and feel like “they” did the calling.
Yesterday, I noticed my whole body trembling uncontrollably, as if it was having an encounter, out in the wild, with an unseen predator that my subconscious knew was about to come into sight. At that moment, I was “eavesdropping” on two different teams and trying to find the melody line. Kinda weird, I know.
As I continued to listen to Doug speak with his team, and somehow remain locked into Greg and his, I knew exactly what play to call next. I interrupted them, like I always do in these practices, called the next play, and over the next hour watched their engagement reach a fevered pitch and my internal trembling subside. Freakin’ MAGIC.
I’m certain none of them noticed my trembling and few of them felt the same kinda magic. A few of them did.
Remember, we practice to turn the few. We practice to turn the few high performers into even higher, more disciplined, and more passionate performers. And, we practice to turn a few of the passionately disengaged performers, into productive ones.
And, did you know that you are at your creative and productive best when you are working with your whole mind on ONE thing. And, when that ONE thing is “just this side of chaos,” at least that’s how your brain perceives it. Your brain works at it’s optimal best when it’s in this exact state. The problem is it can only hold ONE creative mess at a time in its working memory. And, most humans have not built the discipline to train their brain toward this kinda focus. Flow is possible. It looks easy. It’s not.
Great practice team of 14. Get busy with your productive action and next month we’ll study, learn, and apply a bit more. Flow is coming, just not yet..
BUILT TO LEAD 