Think Harder: A Day Of Catalysts. A Catalyst For What's Next. (Part of a series of posts recapping #CatalystU2017)
Charles Duhigg, the lead-off hitter.
Behold, my vantage point for a day of inspiration (see above).
2,500+ individuals from the greater Kalamazoo area shuffled into Wings Event Center on Thursday the 26th of January, 2017 anno Domini. We were instructed to give a standing ovation if we appreciated the speaker, and it's safe to say that nearly everyone stood after each speaker. Ron Kitchens - the maestro - opened and closed the day, and he ended his first appearance on stage by passing the metaphoric baton to Charles Duhigg.
Charles is a New York Times Best Selling author, with his two books Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business and The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. I bought Smarter Faster Better in the bookstore onsite at Catalyst, and I had previously purchased The Power of Habit on Audible. I'm looking forward to learning all I can from them. He's a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times as well. Oh, and he's no stranger to the stage or public speaking either it appeared. He had a presence up there, and was a great choice by the Southwest Michigan First team to kick off an energizing day.
I will preface this by saying that most of this information below comes from his books as well. I only covered the 30,000 foot view of these topics - dig deeper to really grasp the concepts.
He started by telling the audience that people who are most productive train themselves to think deeper. You can read more about it here (blog Charles did that Huffington Post shared): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/this-one-productivity-sec_b_10479556.html. He then talked about situational awareness in the form of telling yourself stories about what we expect to happen. This builds mental models. There was a story he told of a pilot who went through worst-case scenarios with his crew, which seemed extremely odd and out-of-place until these actual scenarios paid off and he saved a plane full of people using an exact method he had built in his head preemptively. He told of cognitive tunnels, where our brains have a natural response when there's too much stimulation. Forbes has an article (again referencing Duhigg's work) that discusses this in detail: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinebeaton/2016/07/28/millennial-cognitive-tunnel-syndrome-why-we-miss-the-solutions-to-our-career-crises/#71dbd0cc3272. He said that the deepest thinking occurs when we feel in control. This may seem obvious, as many of us don't think as great as we'd like when we're pushed into chaos. He said, "sit down and think: how do I put myself back in control?"
Charles has studied many companies and their successful practices. One that he picked up from Starbucks is called "The LATTE Method". The barista is taught to Listen to the customer, Acknowledge their complaint, Take action by solving the problem, Thank the customer, and Explain why the problem occurred. Imagine how much better your customer service interactions would be if they ALL used this method! He also told a study of "The Marshmallow Test". It's below. It shows the internal battle of instant gratification, using children and rewarding them if they wait to eat the treat. He said this would be a good practice to build a habit into your routine, like working out. It could be as counter-productive as eating a piece of chocolate after going to the gym. It's important to note here that the reward shouldn't leave you at a net loss when enjoyed after the useful habit you're trying to incorporate. You shouldn't eat a large pizza after running 5 miles, for example.
Finally, it came time for a unique opportunity that no other faculty presenters encountered: a live audience (PNC sponsorship perk) asking Q&A. Not sure if the questions were staged or not, but it appeared from my vantage point they were. Regardless, he answered a question not about leadership but about the news, something as a Times writer he knows a lot about. The question was around "fake news", a term that our commander-in-chief seems to throw around recklessly at times. Charles said that in his opinion, the core of reading news should be finding new information and while doing so challenge the way you think. How often do we scroll through Facebook or any other platform only to find news that we will more than likely agree with and have heard already? It's comforting to have your perspective validated by someone you've never met, and that's essentially what's happening when you read stories that only confirm what you already knew. True learning only occurs when you seek-out topics you know very little about, or perspectives you may not 100% agree with. We can't challenge ourselves if we only stay in our bubbles. As I sit and think about it, what's the point of ever reading a perspective that I know prior to reading I won't disagree with anything in the article?
Charles Duhigg can be reached on Twitter @cduhigg, or by his email that I discovered he does check and respond in a prompt manner - charles@charlesduhigg.com. Thanks to Mr. Duhigg for joining our community at Catalyst, and I hope he will return soon.