Bias for Action

Most managers & executives are under extreme pressure to perform and they are loaded with a lot of work which are mostly routine or attending to crises that demands firefighting. Thus, although most of them are very busy but they cannot add value in their work and cannot be productive.

Energy is the intense personal commitment which happens when an individual emotionally attaches himself with the work by aligning his positive emotions with the goal, i.e. there is a tremendous personal enjoyment in getting the work done. This happens through intense personal commitment, being proactive & putting in sustainable hard work / heavy workloads against stringent deadlines.

Focus is the ability to visualise the goal and making a personal commitment to achieve the goal. It begins when we can create a vivid mental picture of the goal, i.e., the success story after fulfilling the goal. When the picture is clear in the mind, we can clearly see the outcome and the benefits of the outcome. The path to achieve the picture also becomes clear and it becomes easier to sustain the effort in the work. It helps to stay committed long term even if there are obstacles & road blocks. Since the road map becomes transparent, one can plan for overcoming the obstacles and difficulties that come along the route. However the mental picture will have to be supplemented by a deep personal desire to commit to the task in order to maintain the steady focus. This can happen only if the intention excites and the personal beliefs & values can be attached to the intent. Thus personally the work must challenge the individual so that he is intrigued and encouraged to take purposeful action.

However, it is the combination of energy & focus in individuals which accounts for purposeful action that benefit organisations. The following may be noted,

1. Low energy – Low Focus: Individuals are overcome with negative feelings of failure, lack of clarity of purpose, personally not challenged by the role, lack of belief in the project, a sense of helplessness. All these factors lead to a total lack of focus & energy and results in engagement in mundane daily activities which keep them busy. There is no purposeful action at all.

2. Low energy – High Focus: It is all about having a clear vision (mental picture) with an understanding about the requirement, but failing to align his or her own feelings / thoughts, desires with the vision thereby lacking the commitment to strive towards the goal. This results in lack of ownership and detachment / disengagement from the work and also avoidance of problems instead of addressal.

3. High energy – Low Focus: This is a habit displayed by frenetic short-sighted managers driven by their own creation & management of crisis. They never see the long term objectives since they lack focus and cannot visualise the goal & the path to the goal. They are often interested in dousing