First, Draw A Cube; Toxic People; Don’t Be Root-Bound

I can’t draw.

And it bums me out. My son’s an artist, so there must be something in my genes, right? But even my stick figures are dreadful.

So I did the adult thing. I signed up for a beginning drawing class.

We spent most of the first night drawing cubes to learn perspective. I really began to get the hang of it. They weren’t pretty, but they were cubes.

Then the instructor pulled out a toy-sized model of a house and told us, “Now draw that!”

I struggled. There were so many windows. And steps. And shingles. And chimneys. The result was a lopsided mess.

“John, why are you making this so hard?” my instructor asked. “It’s just a cube.”

I realized then that I had gotten so caught up in the details that I actually hadn’t drawn the damn house. Buildings are primarily cubes or a series of cubes.

Draw all the cubes first. Then go back and add all the other stuff.

Managers do that a lot at work, too.

We get so caught up in the details of the day-to-day job, we often fail to see that the bigger framework is tilting to one side.

An employee has a problem, we solve that. A machine breaks down, we repair that. A report must be written, we write that.

We just assume that what we are doing fits into the big picture without stepping back to take a look.

I’m not saying start every day with a blank page, but you do need to pause every few months, take stock and make sure the house is not lopsided.

And if necessary, draw a new cube.

In case you missed it …

Here’s what else the ResourcefulManager team has been reading this week:

How Successful People Handle Toxic People

Toxic people create unnecessary complexity, strife, and worst of all stress. But successful people don’t get sucked into the morass. Here’s how they deal with toxic people.

Don’t Underestimate Self-Disclosure As A Leadership Trait

Self-disclosure is important because it relates to trust. The more open a person seems, the greater they are trusted. But just how much should you reveal?

A Tree Stops Growing When It Gets Root Bound

We can’t grow to our full potential if our roots can’t grow with us. That’s true for your business, too.

9 Things Enormously Productive People Refuse to Do

There is no magic formula for being enormously productive – just extremely good habits. Here are 9 that can help.

The Mark Twain Guide To Leadership

Mark Twain’s works are a mother lode of quotable wisdom. Check out this amazing infographic with 20 of his best quotes to live by.

41 Ways To Be More Persuasive Without Being A Villain

Persuasion should be one of the most valuable skills in your arsenal. Don’t think you’re good at it? Well, it can be learned. This Essential Insights report, 41 Ways To Be More Persuasive Without Being A Villain, will help.

Keep an eye out for …

You’re definitely not going to want to miss Monday’s blog post. It’s by Michael Bungay Stanier, author of the new book, “The Coaching Habit.” Find out why so many managers are so bad at coaching employees – and how to fix it.

Yours in success,

John Walston
ResourcefulManager-in-Chief