The Power of Human Leverage

I just returned from Dave Lakhani’s unforgettable Renegades of Persuasion event. It was memorable not only for its content but for the unique collection of interesting and talented people that attended. I am sure that the experience will provide material for many future Living With Leverage posts. Here’s the first.

I came away with these observations:

1. Not All Leverage is Created Equal.

If you need to have a website designed, and you don’t have the time or ability to do it, you can put the project up for bidding and have someone do it for you. Your designer could be, say, in the Philippines and leverage knowledge, technology and exchange rates to get the job done. Bravo!
However,

2. You Can’t Underestimate the Power of Human Leverage.

Savvy people attend quality trainings and conferences for the human interaction as much as for the content. Sitting around and sharing knowledge in an atrium, a patio, a restaurant booth etc. increases your experience exponentially because everyone gains from the sharing. Personal contact with a variety of talented people in a variety of fields unleashes a synergy that results in possibilities that were unknown before.

3. Is there any question, then, that it is called Networking.

Louis (Lazar) Green

Breaking the Drought.

I’ve had a pretty severe case of writer’s block for this blog. I’ve had some dandy ideas but didn’t quite flesh them out. In the last couple of months, my eyes have been opened to the power of Social Media, particularly Twitter. At first I thought it was a just a copy of the “What am I Doing” line of Facebook. I read posts from people I knew talking about minutia in their lives that I really didn’t care about. Even worse, I read about minutia from people I didn’t know, but just happened to accept as a friend on Facebook for one reason or another.

Over time, I’ve come to appreciate the sometimes clever & witty mini-blogs (“tweets”) as an incredible extension of leverage. I’ve gotten to “know” several people just by reading their posts. These people are from all over the world and from right in my city. Some are entrepreneurs, authors, and even lawyers. They extend out in some of my core areas of interest: Judaism, Creativity, Vegetarian/Veganism, etc.

It’s amazing how bits of information here and there have aggregated to expand my knowledge-base and more importantly my own personal network. Now I am interconnected with people that are becoming extensions of my own mind.

The world has truly shrunk, and I have the ability to easily add my voice to the World’s conversation from my own living room 140 Characters at time.

That is true leverage.

Louis (Lazar) Green

All writings here are copyrighted by Louis M. Green. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

The Double Catapult Technique

I received an inspiration for a strategy to implement leverage. It took a couple of days to come up with a name, but I decided to call it the Double Catapult Technique.

Here’s How It Works:

• I’m creating a propulsion system between 6:00AM & 7:00AM and the other hours from Sunday to Friday mornings. That is, I’ll work to make 6:00-7:00AM the most pivotal hour of the day, and then spend the remaining hours to make 6:00-7:00AM more important and useful.

• I am observing G-d’s command to work on the six days of the week and to rest on Shabbat (Sabbath).

I asked myself to determine the most critical hour of my day. The answer came back between 6:00 & 7:00AM.

Why?

Because if I am awake and together in that hour, it is easier to get to my office at a normal time, with a proper focus. If I have been up late for a number of reasons (spending time on online, lack of exercise, evening caffeine), I get up later and get to the office later. Time gets away. I start out playing from behind.

There are many possible activities to choose from in the morning. The automatic are actually getting, up, showering, shaving, getting dressed. Others are praying, exercising, cleaning, writing, reading, phone calls, etc.

I will put a major emphasis into getting the most out of each day, evening, overnight, so that when I awake, I wake to a supporting environment geared toward a fantastic focussed start which will in turn (i.e. The Double Catapult) propel me onward and upward.

The Genius of Shabbat.

The next level up is to leverage the work week with Shabbat (the Sabbath). Just as there is a day to day strategy, there is also one to the whole week. Each day builds value to the end of the week, so that a full day of rest can be observed. The day is not just of idle-rest, but really of RENEWAL. The day of rest allows time for prayer, study and social and spiritual connection. This day counters and uplifts the rest of the mundane week. This is certainly not anything that I am inventing, it has been around as an instruction for the beginning.

How many actually take advantage of the Sabbath? Talk to those who do on a regular, deep level… they’ll tell you how wonderful and powerful it is.

Louis (Lazar) Green

All writings here are copyrighted by Louis M. Green. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

Applying Leverage to Uncluttering.

On December 9, 2007, I put up a post entitled “How Uncluttering Applies to Leverage.” I intended to make this the next post, but weather and electricity issues kinda got in the way. Ironically, the articles I wrote regarding the ice storm posts led to an expansion of this blog’s readship.

In my quest to add leverage to my life, it occurred to me that I had to apply those same principles to the uncluttering process. I concluded I had four options:

1. Doing It All Myself.

2. Hiring a Professional Organizer.

3. Enlisting a Friend or Friends to Help Me.

4. Using a Combination of the Three.

Allow me to explain.

Doing It All Myself is the most time consuming and the most challenging. I created this mess. I should be able to get it organized, right? There are books like Julie Morgenstern’s Organizing From the Inside Out and David Allen’s Getting Things Done. I should be able to put my intentions and lofty words into a public action plan. I can start with a single victory: a mopped floor, a cleaned counter, an uncluttered cabinet, and build confidence and momentum.

Downside: The “Freakout Factor.” I am not good at sorting, which is why I’m in the mess I’m in. Furthermore, I found that I freaked out a bit when I cleaned my kitchen floor and counters, then later did some cooking and emptied a cabinet. I looked up, and it was a bunch of clutter all over again! Ergo the freakout. It took me a while (days because of aforementioned ice storm) to calm down and work through it. Also, you know those irrational bonds and hoarding tendencies fellow clutterers have? (I might NEED that again even though I haven’t used it in ten years) DIY* doesn’t always overcome that in self-help mode.

Hiring a Professional Organizer is the most time efficient and most expensive. As a professional person (lawyer), I do not begrudge people who become professional organizers and are excellent at what they do. I could see taking off a week that might otherwise be regarded as “vacation time” and taking the money spent on an excursion and putting it into an organizer. That would be something. Actually, I’m a pretty frugal traveler, and I don’t know how far my travel money would go with a professional organizer (One cabinet?), but I think we all get this in theory (though there would be friends & relatives who either think we’re nuts or sing “Hallelujah.”) Set aside a concentrated amount of time with a professional and just get it done.

Downside: Expense. My income ebbs and flows.

Enlisting a Friend or Friends to Help Me brings two things to mind. One is story of Tom Sawyer getting his friends to whitewash the fence by turning it into an event, and the other is an old episode of Oprah where a circle of friends get together (I think with Julia Morgenstern’s help), and each of them rotated going to each others’ homes as a team and spending a day to help them unclutter.

A couple of years ago, I had a friend help me with the kitchen. She helped me sort and unclutter several drawers and cabinets. It was a lovely gesture and lot of work. It was also a one-time, “Don’t Ask Me to Go Through That Again” project. We were able to accomplish quite a bit. As big a challenge the kitchen is today, the work from two years ago still makes it much more manageable.

I’ve thought of throwing a “Tom Sawyer”-type party, where I might put out a lot food and drink and ask friends to help for an hour or two. I think it would work, but would also require a quantity of chutzpah and would be better suited to do in a season other than winter. I also think, ironically, I have to do more uncluttering before I invite people over to help me unclutter [see i.e. Cleaning Before the Cleaning Person Arrives (I think it's a Jewish thing)]. Such an event would have to be organized ahead of time.

There’s no way I would ask any one person to help with the entire house (and who would be that insane to say “yes” anyway), but I might ask several people to help with one project.

Downside: Potential guilt at asking friends to help me clean up messes I created, even if I become gratefully available to help them with a project.

Using a Combination of the Three makes sense. Getting a start myself would certainly be a good test, and building on success has great value. Hiring an organizer for a specific, high-value project like a garage, kitchen, or home office would give me the experience of working with a professional. I could add more projects on a piecemeal basis. I could learn techniques and strategies and work through emotional barriers, I could apply to projects I take on personally or with friends.

Downside: Would still take longer than a concentrated efforts with a professional organizer.

All in all, I think the flexible fourth option is best; however, this mental exercise does not have value without action.

Louis (Lazar) Green

*Do It Yourself

All writings here are copyrighted by Louis M. Green. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

Sometimes Life Slips You a Curve (or Ice) and Leaves You Powerless.

I was going to buckle down and put more time into the kitchen, but life slipped me a curve. The power went out in my house on Monday (Dec. 10) about 4:00 PM. I shouldn’t have been shocked because the TV weathermen predicted the ice storm days ago, and it came in pretty close to the estimated time. I figured that if my power went out, it would be for maybe a few hours. I didn’t anticipate such a major chunk of Oklahoma City, let alone the entire state, losing power for long periods of time.

Falling trees and branches have knocked out powerlines, and out-of-state crews have even come in to help. There are a lot of areas that are hit and miss. For some reason, the lucky people across the street from me all got their power back already.

I’ve been fortunate enough. I’ve been able to stay with a friend one night and my office one night. It makes me wonder: How many people are shivering in their cold homes because they simply are too afraid to ask for help?

When I get back in the house, I will need to work on the the refrigerator. I don’t think it’s too bad, and the inside of the house is about that cold!

I’m sure there’s a good metaphor in all this, which I probably won’t properly see until I catch up on my sleep.