Juggling Elephants Blog

A common question we get in training programs is "How do I get other people to stop interrupting me?" If the performers in your circus are breaking up your acts on a regular basis, try these strategies to help stay focused:

• Clarify the interruptions. When someone says, "Do you have a minute?" give them a specified amount of time that you do have, or say "Not right now. Let's set up a time later to give it the attention your issue deserves." Then, set up a time to meet with them that works better in YOUR lineup. This does not apply in cases of emergency, of course.


• Determine the reasons for the interruptions. Is it because they have incomplete information? Lack of knowledge about processes/procedures? Boredom/Procrastination on their part OR yours?


• Be less available/Have something else to do. If they are physically in front of you, use body language to signal that you need to end the conversation. Give a point in time when you can assist them (after I finish this report). Don't respond immediately to e mail (unless required by your supervisor or work team). That's a clear signal that you are fully available.

Remember, you're the Ringmaster of your circus. You have to keep the focus on the right act in the right ring at the right moment.

It's always interesting to see what others are saying about Juggling Elephants. A "googling" of the book title brings a myriad of sites where people are talking about the book. One review I found particularly unique was one in which the reader initially thought the book was "cute but hokey." What happened next, however,changed their mind. They wrote:

...but over the course of the next 2 days, I found myself asking the question of "what ring am I in now?" and "should I be putting this in a ring at all?" So, I guess it had an impact on me. Any book that makes me think about how I think is worth it. (Read the full review at http://blogs.msdn.com/maamktg/archive/2007/10/06/book-review-juggling-elephants.aspx)

How have you been impacted by the message of the book? We'd love to hear from you. Send us an e mail at info@jugglingelephants.com.

While planning my lineup for today, I had this great quote on my planning page:

Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. One who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal, will one day realize it.
-James Allen

For me it would be so easy to slip into "Holiday mode" in the coming days and start putting off the tough acts until the first of the year. When I stop and think, however, doing that gives me a vision of a January that starts out with me feeling like I am 'juggling elephants." What I should do, instead, is bring those difficult acts into my lineup as soon as possible so that I can more completely enjoy my "intermission" over the holidays and have a much better focus heading into the new year.

Think about what you want your January to look like... and start lining up your acts today!

Labels: focus, planning

To celebrate Domino Day in November, a group of people from 12 european countries (Domino World Record Bid Falls Over) worked eight hours a day, five days a week for eight weeks putting together what they hoped would be a domino world record. Over 3 million dominoes fell during a two hour period, but the record was not broken when the dominoes on a bridge did not fall correctly to continue the process. I saw the video and it was painful!!! While there were literally miles of dominoes set correctly, the section that failed was about 1 foot long-Over 320 man hours of work lost due to an area that would have taken about 10-15 minutes to prepare correctly.

To see the dominoes falling so perfectly only to have a single line about a foot long not work correctly highlights one of the key principles from Juggling Elephants. In the circus, every performer must be fully engaged in an act or the act will fail-or fail to get a standing ovation.

Think about the acts you have planned for the end of the year or to start 2008. Have you got all the performers properly engaged? Do they have the resources they need to be successful? If not, all your hard work may not be enough to "keep the dominoes falling correctly into place."

One might think we would be disappointed to hear that people read Juggling Elephants and comment that some of the concepts are not new. That is certainly NOT the case. We take great pride in knowing that the book reinforces powerful strategies and tools that have been tested over time.

As Pat Snyder, a humor columnist (Balancing Act), writes:

Just had to let you know how much I l enjoyed Juggling Elephants, which I've been listening to in the car. I love the way you took a familiar visualization (the three-ring circus) and used it to convey well-established but easily forgotten principles of time management and prioritization. Just as elephants never forget, I expect I'll be remembering the art of the ringmaster for a long time to come!

Last night I participated in a teleconference on Juggling Elephants. The audience was made up of students from Kaplan University. Many of them are individuals in their thirties who are attempting to get a degree while still working full time AND being parents and spouses-true Juggling Elephants candidates!

One of the most interesting comments from the moderator was:
You are making a huge difference in the lives of your readers when you remind us that we can’t do it all. Several students were typing in the chat area that your point hit home that they must establish priorities and determine their goals in a concrete fashion.

I appreciated their honest feedback and questions and look forward to my next opportunity to help anyone stop the Juggling Elephants routine in their circus.

As the authors of Juggling Elephants, we have always been passionate about not using "work-life balance" as one of the key phrases describing our book. Our belief is that seeking balance only gets you part of the way to a solution and also factors out the importance of focusing more energy on key events or circumstances unique to an individual-and less on others at that point in time.

The M.A.P. Maker has written a great blog (The Great Balance Boondoggle) about the fallacy of balance and how Juggling Elephants is a more effective way to accomplish what is most important.

Here's a review from the India Times:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Sunday_Specials/Book_Mark/Juggling_Elephants/articleshow/2495871.cms

Jay Leno may not be an actual trapeze artist, but he can certainly relate to the following quote from Juggling Elephants about the trapeze act: Every team member is important and has to be fully engaged if the act is to be successful.

When you think of Wal-Mart, you no doubt think of low prices, big stores, and a very successful business model. But even Wal-Mart recognizes that it must make changes to its lineup to get a standing ovation from shareholders, customers and employees.

In Time Magazine's article, Restoring Wal-Mart, CEO Scott Lee is quoted as saying , "You do more and more of the same thing and put more and more energy against the same activity, and the rate of improvement diminishes. So then do you put more resources against doing the same thing, or do you finally back up and say, 'You know what? The world's changed.'"

What is changing in your workplace, community or life that indicates you need to make a change in your lineup?

We got an encouraging note from an executive in Queensland, Australia who picked up a copy of Juggling Elephants while traveling through the US since it is not yet available in Australia:

Having picked up a copy of the book when I was recently in the US, I think my senior managers would really appreciate the story. I'd like to order 15 copies.

Good to have the affirmation that the story has a universal appeal.