When in doubt cut it out

Are you stretched too thin? Even after pruning out your to do list and leaving just the good stuff? Perhaps it's time to cut out some more. But how to make this easy?

Writers talk about "murdering their darlings—"the ruthless approach to removing chapters and characters in favor of a better story.

Video editors say, and they say it a lot, "when in doubt cut it out."

I invite you to repeat this to yourself many times as well. Why?

This phrase will help you consider your mental debate, not as a drag, but as an ally.

Here's how it helped me write this very post you're reading now.

• First, I got this wonderful idea to tell you about the "murder your darlings" phrase.
• But then I was having second thoughts: "Will this make it longer? Will this stall the flow?
• Instead of engaging on an eternal battle, I acknowledged my discomfort and cut out the paragraph.
• Then, I reread what I was writing and was happy with the result: "Now I arrive to the main point faster. My readers might appreciate this way better."

More often than not, things improve when you leave out what you're not 100% sure. And when not, you can bring it back to the mix.

This Jedi mind trick works in organizational settings as well.

This may be the difference between...

Pursuing 10+ OKRs—and getting timid progress on each of them but no meaningful impact on either—versus focusing on just 3 OKRs—and getting remarkable business outcomes on one or more of them.

For three years they tried...

One executive team I got the opportunity to coach went through this. For three years they tried, among other things, to improve their position on a well-respected industry ranking. On year one, they saw no improvement. Year two was the same. On year three, they cut out a lot of "good strategic initiatives," allowing them to move from 5th position to 1st (their target was to enter the top 3).

What's the good thing on your plate you're not 100% sure about? Cut out the good, leave the great.

Try it and tell me all about it. I'm eager to hear from you.

Enjoy the exercise!
Alberto

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