Question of the week: What is the best way to battle complacency?

[JoeSorge]

Ahhhh complacency, born out of success in my experience, it can be such a disaster for an otherwise effective manager and leader.
And one of the toughest parts of fighting complacency is in its discovery.

But when it is discovered, what's the best way to battle against it?
Or for that matter, how do you keep yourself or your key people from becoming complacent in the first place?

Looking forward to your ideas on this topic.

[ChrisReimer]

Fear of failure fuels me. If it's important enough to you, you'll fight through complacency. Good enough is never good enough.

[drew_oz]

For me it's all about having a reason to get out of bed in the morning. This is aligned to the old adage "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing properly". When I'm working on anything, I usually think: "well, if I'm bothering to do this thing at all, why not just do it well and be done with it?", and then all thoughts of cutting corners evaporates. I enjoy what I do, (after all, I chose to start my own business), and doing something poorly tends to take away my enjoyment.

Obviously, I am only human so this works most of the time, but not all of the time. Other factors play a part as well: I might be over-tired or short of time or just plain over it today and so I just have to recognise these things and manage them as best I can.

Physically, I find if I'm feeling good, I do good. Four things help in this regard: a brisk walk around the block gets the blood flowing, I take a good quality multi-vitamin most days (I do sometimes skip meals), I drink loads of water through the day (our bodies are about 70% water, so it's obviously important to keep it topped up), and of course a good stiff coffee is never too far away.

[arinehartdc]

My energy and productivity are in line with how well I take care of myself with food and exercise. I do take some adrenal support to get me through the longer days. I think having some sort of cheerleader behind you is important, especially when you are only accountable for yourself.

[raulcolon]

The best way to battle complacency is working along people that think different from you. By having people see thing from different perspectives and all being hungry to achieve more you can mitigate the probability of people being complacent.

Once you set your goals be ready to have a next step or new project!

[JoeSorge]

In researching this point I found what seemed like a great solution.
Create a sense of urgency! And create that sense of urgency EVERY DAY.
Lastly, make it measurable.

There were lots of great ideas today during kitchen table talks today.
See those ideas here: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23ktt

[susang]

What Raul said! I love the idea of surrounding myself with people who,essentially, kick me in the ass. Of course those people need to be trusted and trustworthy and safe. No good to have people around who tear you down. But more, push you to be better and do more.

That sense of urgency idea is good, but personally I can't exist in 'urgent' all day every day. That leads to me to feel anxious and burn out.

I make a list every day before I go to bed of what needs to be done the next day. I order it from "must do"s to things that don't have to be done, but are in preparation for my next project (I always have a next project). I make sure to get to at least one future planning task a day. Taking a step forward daily keeps me on my toes and out of complacency...

[aaronnelsont]

... I love the idea of surrounding myself with people who,essentially, kick me in the ass. Of course those people need to be trusted and trustworthy and safe. No good to have people around who tear you down. But more, push you to be better and do more.


Love it!
I think not being complacent needs to become a way of life. I think everyday - and don't you find every few minutes - you have to remind yourself to be diligent. Stay focused. Like I enjoy so much from watching a few Chris Brogan vids - keep priorities on huge poster boards or postits - RIGHT ON YOUR SCREEN. All over the wall. Keep your priorities where you can see them to help you not be complacent.

And love Joe's idea of keeping yourself measured.

[vickyz]

Complacency seems to come when you are no longer energized by what you are doing. I think it is a signal that you need to start a new project, get a new product going, or some other business related action that gets you excited and moving. It means that everything is going smoothly so there is now time to start on new ideas!

I also think that health and exercise are related to energy level. Its hard to remember that one sometimes, especially after a long day when sitting down with a glass of wine seems much more interesting than taking the dogs for a walk.

[phild]

I think most entrepreneurs will agree that responsibility and thirst for success and fear of failure will stave your own complaceny.

The challenge comes with preventing it among people on your team. Just keeping it fresh and setting the example, maintain high energy, keep the working area clean and maybe the occassional desk re-organization will both literally and figuratively keep the dust from settling.

[magpiecreative]

I feel that if you are always actively learning, reading, doing or making...complacency isn't an option. There is always someone that is doing it better than you, smarter and more efficiently - I like to learn from them.

Never feeling like I "know it all" is how I battle complacency. I also agree that starting a new project or having open ended conversations with folks that may or may not be in your field can provide fodder for new ideas and new collaborations.

Maggi

[marilynhight]

I have been reading, "Do The Work!" by Steven Pressfield. He talks about resistance from yourself and others that you are closest too. Learning from others' experience can really help you.

[jimeverett]

I've subscribed to the approach that Maggie describes here and for me, it's led to something frightenly close to an addiction.


I feel that if you are always actively learning, reading, doing or making...complacency isn't an option. There is always someone that is doing it better than you, smarter and more efficiently - I like to learn from them.

Never feeling like I "know it all" is how I battle complacency. I also agree that starting a new project or having open ended conversations with folks that may or may not be in your field can provide fodder for new ideas and new collaborations.

Maggi

In fact, it might be a full-fledged addiction. The quest for more information can cause us to drown in a 'sea of information and mis-information'. Most of what you find are theories that apply to only to specific situations, yet the information is presented as a solution to nearly everything that ails you.

The rate of change we're experiencing on the planet requires us to learn and adapt faster than any time in our history, but what to learn and how to apply it has become more tricky than ever. I'd love to hear what other members are doing that's effective to discern what to learn and what to ignore.

The same fear of failure that drives complacency or inaction may be the same one that drives 'information addiction'. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[arinehartdc]

I'm addicted to consumption, fueled by my 8 years in academia. It's a tough habit to break. At this point in social media, there's great information everywhere, inside and outside of your industry. I'm making it a focus to just read things when i need more information on a specific task. It's tough when reading is your leisure and can be an easy excuse for "working".