Even better than inbox zero

Photo by Juan Salamanca.

The neat part about the drive down the mountain is that you can do the whole thing in neutral and just roll toward your destination. Gently braking through the small towns dotted along the way. And occasionally accelerating past a big truck, once you're mostly certain the other lane is clear.

We were off last week, along with many of you. And for our family, that means mountains. Cool air. Trees. And a surprising number of ants. Just after the last school bell rang, we packed up and headed out of town.

When we left, it was the tail end of Q2. And today, back in front of computers, we're more than a full week into Q3. Somewhere on our way back down the mountain, we tripped a quarter boundary. Quarters always seem sort of arbitrary anyway. But especially in early July.

There is a special kind of magic in the Q2-to-Q3 quarter boundary but most of North America sails right past it. The Canadians are off for Canada Day. The Americans are off for the Fourth. And when we get back to our desks, there's the usual post-PTO pile to get through. Many of us take down the email pile with the same three, powerful words. "Just digging out..."

Bosses, we need you to put down your shovels.

There's actually something far more pressing than your quixotic obsession with Inbox Zero. We are now in the second half of the year. That metaphor about rolling down the mountain. That's your org. And we don't mean to harsh your put-it-in-neutral-and-still-make-progress summer vibe. There's nothing wrong with using the slower months to store up energy. For yourself and your team. But coasting on momentum doesn't mean you can close your eyes.

So! We've got three chewy questions every leader should ask themselves (and their teams) to set up the rest of the year. The good news is that all of this can be done from a pool lounger. Promise.

The first July question

If you do find yourself with a moment of breathing room, the first thing to do is breathe. For real though, don't read another word of this newsletter until you've closed your eyes, taken a slow breath, and let your shoulders relax.

— Holy shit, how long have they been like that? No one can lead from a place like that for too long. Take it from us, it'll wreck you. In fact maybe you specifically should take another breath.

Okay, that's better.

So with a breath taken, and your shoulders down, and your inbox shovel on the ground, let's take stock. Start with a close look at whatever your official plans, or strategy, or goals are for the year. Ask yourself, does our plan still make sense?

You have six months more perspective and context than you did when you wrote them. How much is done already? How many goals are on track? And how many are laughably outdated or impossible?

Where your goals don't make sense any more, this is a very good time to challenge or drop or rewrite them. Your team already knows they are nonsense. Your boss (or board!) may or may not. But a great thing about July is that it feels proactive and on-top-of-your-shit to talk about them now. It won't feel that way in November.

Saying to your boss (or board!), "I've been reviewing our progress and I don't think this target makes sense any more, given X and Y" may land or it may not. But if you can credibly follow up with, "I think my team should be tracking to Z instead, and I'd love your thoughts on whether you agree, and what it'll take to get that done," you might find a surprisingly receptive audience. Almost every boss we meets wishes the leaders they manage were spotting this stuff earlier. That doesn't mean they're flawless about accepting that feedback when it comes. But know that, in their hearts, they believe they are the kind of leaders who want to hear it and make a better plan.

If all that comes out of your July is renewed clarity about what matters most for your team in the second half of the year, you're already winning. But there are a few more questions worth asking.

The second and third July questions

Given some clarity about what matters, the next question to ask yourself is, what work have we accumulated that isn't in service of those goals?

It happens. Things come up. Fires need to be stamped out. Someone asks for help. Someone leaves and you have to pick things up. Every team is engaged in a constant balancing act between their day-to-day work, the longer-term projects they're trying to make progress on, and the nonsense that comes out of left field. July is a good time to scrutinize the nonsense, because it often gets more time than it deserves.

Sometimes the right thing is to do some of that left-field work because it needs more undivided attention than you could give it in April. If so, great, let's get it done and off our plates. But if not, July is often also a good time to drag it into the light and say, "this is taking more time than we can give it, we need a different answer." That's, of course, something you can say literally any day of the year. But our experience has been that it's often a little easier to notice the cost/benefit issue with the benefit of a quieter morning or inbox. Use that noticing.

The third question. In some ways the most important question, while you have those deliciously proactive July moments. Is this: what is Q4 going to feel like, and what can you do now to make that better?

Remember last Q4? How everything crash-landed all at once? And then Julian showed up with entirely new work that was in no one's plan? And all your clients and partner organizations suddenly woke up all at once — many with good things that you really wanted from them — and it was two and a half months of chaos? Remember how that was Q4 two years ago, too?

Okay, so what can we do now to build capacity for that? What systems, what elasticity can we build in to allow us to stretch when we need to? What can get done right now, even though that seems premature, so that it won't get abandoned when the crush comes?

So many of the leaders we talk to wish they were more proactive. They feel like they're reacting all the time, always a little behind. Some days are like that in every job, and some jobs are like that every day. But not all months are created equal. And July, in particular, is a gift for many orgs if you're able to grab it.

And while you're doing all that, go find out whether your benefits plan covers massage. Because it's time to do something about those shoulders.

— Melissa & Johnathan