SMART Talk...Conversations That Matter
I enjoy watching Face the Nation on Sunday mornings. It's great to hear discussions from both political perspectives. One thing I appreciate about Sunday morning news shows is how they prioritize the information that's important to their viewers.
One of my favorite quotes about priorities comes from Stephen Covey's book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Covey explains that the key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.
Scheduling your priorities can lead to progress. However, I've noticed that progress can be intimidating for many people. In business, we often fear progress because we're unsure of how our customers will react to any changes we make. Just look at K-Mart and JCPenney for examples of this fear. We fear progress because we worry about not being good enough or failing.
But what if we could choose our priorities every day, both in business and in our personal lives? How liberating would that be? And what if that freedom was precisely what led to progress?
I recently had a heartfelt conversation with a creative business owner who is afraid to scale up his business and open an art studio. He worries that expanding might make his customers think he's selling out to profitability rather than prioritizing his art.
I asked him, "What's wrong with making a profit?" He needs to establish a profit margin he's comfortable with, which can determine the difference between being authentic and being a sell-out.
I provided him with three ways to prioritize for progress. Here's a straightforward approach that works for businesses of any size and individuals:
1. Decide what's important: Not everything can be essential. Avoid hustling, which can lead to mediocre results. Prioritize your most significant challenge.
2. Stay focused when prioritizing: Don't get distracted by the next big thing. Instead, focus on your core business and avoid chasing trends.
3. Prioritize for humanity: Consider if what you're doing is purely about making money or if it can make a difference for more than just yourself. Sustainable progress is what truly makes a difference, as seen with companies like Coca-Cola.
Progress is about moving forward towards a destination. What progress are you aiming for in your life? Remember, if something is urgent, you can always refocus and reprioritize.
These are the conversations that truly matter.
The WEBB Advisory Group
The WEBB Center for Social Impact was created and shaped by over 50 years of lived experience as a Black woman in America.
Focusing on domestic policy specifically, our institute provides a global worldview perspective for black and brown women from the diaspora living in America today.
Using research data, lived experiences, and stories of impact, policymakers and leaders can understand the social impacts various policies have on black and brown children and women, today and tomorrow.
In response to various incidents in our country's recent history, history mustn't repeat itself. Therefore, the WEBB Center For Social Impact strives to provide voter information, information on issues for policymakers, information for community activists, and information for anyone who seeks to understand the social impacts of public policy on individuals and communities.
Attention Bias
What is attention bias? Attention bias is our tendency to prioritize certain types of stimuli/information over others. At any given moment, an individual's senses can perceive countless stimuli in our immediate surroundings. Threat-related attention bias refers to the tendency to prioritize the processing of threats over benign or neutral stimuli. Is it no wonder we have biases related to race, ethnicity, disability, and more?
Each of us individually generates more information than ever before in human history. We take in almost 90,000 pieces of information daily, yet our brains can only filter in about 10 percent of that information. The rest, well is stored in our subconscious minds and often when we perceive a threat we act upon it.
How do you perceive the world around you and how can you understand your attention bias?
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Prayer for the Week
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV)
Dear God,
Even during struggles or busy seasons, help us to remember to enjoy this life you’ve given us. Give us grace when we notice that we are out of alignment with you. Help us to prioritize what is important in order to make the progress you intend for us to make on this journey. Thank you, Father, for filling us with your wisdom and teaching us to number our days.
Amen.
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