Moving from confusion to clarity is a critical step in accelerating your projects.
- You’ve just been promoted. “Where to start”
- You’ve been given an important project and are out of your comfort zone: “How can I speed up my understanding?
- 2024 will be my best year ever. “But which projects to prioritize, which action plan to implement…”
Complexity generates confusion.
And confusion makes us stagnate
I’ve been promoted 8 times. Took over subsidiaries in various countries, with different cultures, businesses, and languages. My main task as managing director was to gather and help them work better together. I’ve had my share of complexity 🙂
In doing so, I developed a simple process that enables me to move from confusion to clarity more quickly.
I reveal it here…
How to move from confusion to clarity in 6 steps. A practical process for your complex projects.
1/ The accumulation phase.
Whether you’re working alone or interacting with others. Develop a system that allows you to capture information. Don’t judge it at this stage. Just collect it.
When I interact with people, I make notes in a notebook.
The idea is to minimize digital distractions and maximize human interaction.
I take notes directly on a digital tool when working on a project independently.
2/ Same questions, different people
Try to expand your list of stakeholders. In the case of a new job, it could be bosses, peers, employees, customers, partners…
Expand your list as much as possible, but keep the same questions.
A model I used, is “start, stop, continue”.
3/ Don’t argue, try to understand.
The urge to start arguing is strong.
- “My experience”
- “I have in the past”
- “I know someone who”
Let’s try to avoid this trap. We’re here to listen and understand.
Let’s replace argumentation with curiosity.
- “Tell me more”
- “Why, why, why'”
- “What makes you think that?”
4/ 15 minutes to sum up
Reread your notes after every interview and highlight important words and passages.
What links are you beginning to see?
One of my secret weapons is Mindmapping 😀
Open a new map. Put all the names of the people you plan to interview, along with your main questions (e.g., “start, stop, continue “+ my reflections).
Complete the map with the results of your interview. No long sentences, just the essence of the ideas.
5/ The peak of confusion before the birth of clarity
At the end of this process, you have a huge Mind Map with all your ideas and interviews summarized. It’s scary. What do I do with all this?
It’s the peak of confusion 😀
But in reality, you’re approaching the phase of clarity.
- Group duplicates
- Organize themes. The main idea and its sub-ideas.
- Isolate the exceptional.
- Create new links. Your ideas are mixed and improved by what you’ve heard.
- Prioritize what seems most important.
You’ve just gone from a giant, confusing map to one that brings out the essentials.
6/ Next steps
Bring your direct team, present your findings, and create the next steps together.
If you’re working on a solo project. Based on your findings, commit to your action plan.
Conclusion
Whatever project you’re managing, the more clarity you gain, the more obvious the following (good) steps will seem.
What projects could you accelerate by trying this process?
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