Are You Too Accessible?

I just got the paperback in the mail from Debbie Aroff at Random House and I'm already a big fan. The Age of Speed by Vince Poscente is filled with twists and turns and is a fast read. It's about learning to thrive in a more-faster-now culture. Think about this, we want things faster, but we don't necessarily want to do things faster. According to Poscente, speed is the new change.

Many of you already know that. To remain competitive, we must change by design. What things stay, what things go? What interruptions add value, what are just a distraction? It's not so much about keeping up with everything that is out there, but selecting what you anticipate - as in being truly immersed, passionate and interested. That is the only way speed can work to your advantage.

I've seen great use of technology like BlackBerries to speed up while not detracting from the conversation. I spent a few hours between morning greetings, lunch and dinner with Chris Brogan at Marketing Profs B2B Forum in Boston back in June. Now I have a better idea of how he does it. He's in the room with you, in the chair next to yours, totally present to what you are saying - listening and participating, remembering what else you talked about.

Then during a break in the conversation - the waiter brings the salad, you talk to other people, the speaker is getting ready to start - he quickly checks one or two messages. He's so fast and discreet, you might not even notice. For a few moments he is totally with the message, then he's back with you - totally back. I suspect that Chris invests his time and is very selective about what he does, when. Can you do that, too? Can you choose when you are accessible and then to be fully there?

My mentor used to say that paper is like blood, you have to keep it flowing. He had devised a very simple system to deal with memos and emails - deal with the quick answers immediately, including redirecting what needs to be, then align the rest to the projects and context of the day. It's about making choices that align with your authentic purpose. He then had time to walk the halls, talk with colleagues, learn about what was going on - he was accessible of his own choice.

Provide fewer, immediate, faster results and you'll be golden in your career. How do you do that? You focus on your destination. Ask Google about speed, it's as much part of their success as their algorithm. You can also learn to use the velocity of others to your favor - just like in martial arts. A body (and mind) in motion is more flexible and faster on tasks than one that slows down. Yet every movement is choreographed

Today at the Fast Company expert blog we explore if more-faster-now is the answer in relationship to customer conversations. Faster does not mean busier. Accessibility can be designed for speed.

I've recently cut down on some activities that were distractions to focus on others that although afford interruptions on occasion are more aligned with my purpose and destination. Maybe the question is not if you are too accessible, maybe it's about choosing when. Are you selective on who and when has access to you? Is there a difference between work and home?

Read the book and learn if you're a balloon, a zeppelin, a bottle rocket, or a jet.

Comments

[Matt Searles]

hope you can excuse my somewhat contrarian perspective:

I believe the flow of our energy and attention, if not controlled by conscious will / design is controlled by what you could call "a complex of self organizing principles." My feeling is that the true challenge lies in aligning ones conscious will with said complexes.. which is to say it's more about sublimation then discipline.

[Amrita Chandra]

I do think we live in the age of speed but I am not convinced it is a good thing.

I think it's important that people keep some time in their lives when they are not working and the lines seem to be getting more and more blurred because of the expectation on the consumers part that they need to have 24/7 access to a company and the expectation on the company's part that they must provide this to the customer.

It is one thing when a company with multiple employees tries to do this, because you can implement shifts, etc... but what about the small businesses or solo businesses?

I also want to point out that the age of speed is much more prevalent in the US than it is in other countries where people do seem to give more time and importance to their non-work lives.

Great post though for inspiring discussion and contemplation on this subject.

[Ann Handley]

I like this a lot, Valeria:

"What interruptions add value, what are just a distraction? It's not so much about keeping up with everything that is out there, but selecting what you anticipate - as in being truly immersed, passionate and interested. That is the only way speed can work to your advantage."

... as it's something I've been thinking about lately. I like being accessible, but some things are just time-sinks, and don't offer much value for me, at the end of the day, (to quote a quote I dislike)!

Nice post.

[Anita Bruzzese]

Very interesting post.
I've read research that says our multitasking, which is what we do when we're trying to get things done faster, is actually counterproductive. What that means is that we do a lot of stuff, but we don't do any of it well. I think people may be willing to go slower when they're assured that QUALITY will be an end result. They're more likely to demand speed when they're convinced it's going to be a bad result, so they've got to hurry up and go elsewhere to find what they want.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Matt - I do not see it as a contrarian stance at all. I see it as complementary. To me even spiritual alignment is about choices. I'm intrigued by your assertion that sublimation is not about discipline. Why would we call those who have achieved it disciples?

@Amrita - that is the same objection that Poscente addresses in the book. Speed is not the same as multitasking. Nor it is equivalent to busy body. It's about eliminating or reducing the functions that do not add value to accelerate those that do. Think about it, how many times you can't get to the juicy part of a project because you have to take care of admin stuff or are answering emails as they come in? The other point he makes is that we are the same people on two ends - customers and providers. If we expect 24/7 service, are we willing to provide it in turn? There are ways to do that and stay anchored on values. Trade offs are part of life. And about other countries, I was made in Italy. Just because it is notorious that things are slower over there, it does not mean that people are happy about it. In some cases, they are not. In many others, they've learned to live with it.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Ann - there is a time for every purpose, too. That is why being part of the conversation is so important. You do not know when people will be available to engage - and it has to be on their own terms. Thank you for making the time.

@Anita - I blogged about some research to that effect a couple of days ago http://tinyurl.com/5ucvdv I actually write better when I write faster. Speed does not dilute focus. There is plenty of research (I used to work with child brain neurological development) that proves that speed in reading, for example, actually increases comprehension. It's doing multiple things at the same time that dilutes focus. My eye-opener in Poscente's book is that we get impatient when there is no anticipation. How excited are you to go grocery shopping? Now think about standing in line (even online) to get tickets for a concert you've really been wanting to see.

[Peter]

Valeria,

Have you ever noticed how patient an audience is with a speaker but how impatient it becomes at question time.

My experience is audiences are incredibly impatient with questions - what anticipation fuels this impatience ?

But to your question - Einstein wrote a lovely Book called "The world as I see It (published in 1935) In it he gives an insight which is worthy of reflection in the context of your post:

"I gang my own gait and have never belonged to my country, my home, my family, or even my immediate family, with my whole life; in the face of all these ties I have never lost an obstinate sense of detachment, of the need for solitude...One is sharply conscious, yet without regret, of the the possibility of mutual understanding and sympathy with one's fellow creatures. Such a person no doubt loses something in the way of geniality and lightheartedness; on the other hand, he is largely independent of the opinions, habits and judgments of his fellows and avoids the temptation to take his stand on such insecure foundations."

I wonder if accessibility is a function of commerce which has a tendency to compromise a deeper faculty of humanity. The loss of time being the least of your worries if you are too accessible.

In the search for something truly "new" Einstein philosophy of logging is worth logging out to think about.

Co-incidentally, relativity is also fundamental to this question. Your speed is relative to the speed of everything that is going on around you. Too fast or too slow (of mind and/or movement etc)and the spot that marks your position amongst all the elements of the "moment of truth" will be empty.

Too fast and you've left the spot; too slow and you're alone with your thoughts.

Curiously, the older I get the more I observe that too slow is seldom the problem. Rather, and it comes back to patience, I sense I am too impatient to wait.

So many more observations - The internet is such a poor place for a conversation about such matters.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Peter:

I have noticed that individuals become impatient in group settings where someone else is in the spotlight other than the speaker.

Thank you for the Einstein quote - I have "Out of my Later Years" and have enjoyed his musings a lot.

Maybe a thought would be that everything - or almost - is considered for sale today. Commerce, even if just of ideas, has become one of the gods we worship.

When I was reading scientific columns, I learned that "at rest" is not possible for any organism. Everything is constantly moving in relation to each other. We say that timing is everything probably for that reason - finding the right spot is important for the connection to be made.

Was your observation on impatience due to experience? In other words, are we too used to instant gratification - whatever that may be?

We should stay in touch on timing if you plan to come to the US. Lots happening with me at the moment and I want to make sure we are the correct speed in relation to each other ;-)

[Peter]

I'd agree that commerce shares a lot with religion. But we can discuss this later.

As for instant gratification, perhaps dopamine was always the drug of a nation. Everyone needs their hits - from consumption to content.

For me, I'm not sure where my impatience comes from. What I have picked up is that I have a tendency to be patient with things that I should be impatient with and impatient with the things I should be patient with. For example, I patiently sit through a really boring speaker but find myself being impatient if someone asks a long question ( even if it is more interesting than anything the speaker said).

Good to hear that things are moving into to place.

[Serge Lescouarnec]

Hi Valeria

Hope everything is well.

I just offered my take in 'Is there Really a Need for Speed or Should we Reclaim our Right to Idleness?' http://www.sergetheconcierge.com/2008/08/is-there-really.html on Serge the Concierge.

Bonne Journee

Serge