Retreat To Silence and Lead - John Bossong

We live in a world full of noise.  Clutter.  Loud is vogue.  Take a minute, that’s all you will need, and just listen.  What do you hear?

Too much, that’s the problem.

The loudest try to win.  They think they win.  Blogs, tweets, podcasts, video, media and the list goes on.   Everyone wants your attention.  Maybe 10 years ago the loudest won, not today, not anymore.

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More isn’t better.  It may be worse.   The loudest and noisiest isn’t necessarily the best.  Is it clear?  Does it make a difference?  Does it move you to lead and take action?  Can you decipher the noise?

If not, why are you listening?

Focus

The key now is to be hyper focused.  Drown out all the noise.  Stick to what you do and do it better than anyone else.  Listen selectively.

What’s truly important?  That’s what you need to focus on.  That’s the noise you need to hear.   How do you do it?  How do you dismantle the noise, clutter, media and everything coming at you every day?

Retreat to Silence

Be still.  Get somewhere and relax.  Be quiet.  Really listen.  Don’t “miss out” on something because the surrounding noise is overwhelming.

The best and clearest is quiet.  Creativity lives in the calm.  Surround yourself with noise and you will find it hard to lead.  Search for the calm, quiet and relaxed places and listen.

Spend some time over the Holiday’s and listen to the quiet.  It’s a great sound.  Loud is out, quiet is in.

Leaders need to make sense of the noise, or lack of it.   The “best” lies in the silence.   Listen.  Can you hear it?