By Chris DallaVilla
There's important information in this video and here's another take on the topic at hand:
Working in a state of FLOW means working at your optimum. You can always achieve that state by using the circular workflow pattern.
I describe this pattern in more detail in this video from one of my courses on LinkedIn Learning. Basically, it allows for the three necessary stages for all projects to move forward in cooperation with one another. I have more formal language for these in The New Playbook but for now, you can just refer to these as - plan / act / track. In other words, you come up with a plan, act out that plan, and track the data to understand how well things are performing.
This means achieving the next level of effectiveness because it helps you to focus on moving the needle. And, it means achieving the next level of efficiency because it helps you to focus on what matters the most.
Circular workflow enables The New Playbook by providing a clear and understandable framework for your work to 'flow'. That way you can quickly achieve performance, growth, and results.
The video talks about using this approach in the marketing context but it works across the board - so whether you are in marketing or some other profession, you can use it to transform your own work.
To more fully understand what this means you can think about what it 'is not'. To do that imagine a triangle and think of each of those three stages assigned to each of the vertices in that triangle. This means that each of these three stages may happen at some point but that they are disjointed. Sometimes there is a significant lag between one or the other or it's difficult for any one individual stage to influence another. That is a triangulated workflow.
Here's a self-assessment you can use to know how well your own work is in "flow" right now:
The circular workflow pattern has those three stages and it also has three qualities:
*Integrity
* Autonomy
* Adaptability
Integrity in that each of the three stages work closely and cooperativley with one another. How often does one stage of your work influence another stage? (for example, the data you are tracking should help shape the plan)
Autonomy in that you have the capability and skill required to carry out each of the three stages. Do you have what you need to tackle each stage? (for example, the data that you are tracking should be accessible and you need to have enough of it to make statistically reliable predictions)
Adaptability in that your three stages can evolve over time to achieve a state of validation. Do you have an established cadence to review and revise? (for example, you should 'zoom out' once every 7-14 days to calibrate)
So if you ask each of those three questions and answer on a scale of 1 - 5 where 1 = never, 2 = mostly no, 3 = some, 4 = mostly yes, 5 = always. Then add up those three scores for your 'flow' score where where 3 = my work is never in flow, 6 = my work is not in flow for the most part, 9 = my work flows some, 12 = my work is in flow for the most part, and 15 = i am in a state of optimum flow.
How's your flow score? Feel free to let me know on LinkedIn or by sending a comment.
Valid provides business transformation coaching and support services for individuals and teams to accelerate performance, growth, and results including data analytics and growth marketing.
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