On “Falling to the Level of Your Systems…”

I didn’t want to, but I caved and read Atomic Habits after my book club suggested it. It’s just about impossible to not have heard of James Clear’s NYT best-selling book, but I was never interested.

As a DI swimmer, I felt I already internalized the power of incremental improvements driven by habits. You have gazillions of opportunities to practice Clear’s stages of habit-building every day:

• Cue: do a flip turn and push off the wall.

• Craving: oxygen! Oxygen! Oxygen!

• Response: strong underwater kicks and a few powerful strokes before breathing.

• Reward: momentum and ideally an edge over your competition.

Now do it again. And again. And again. Swimming is nothing if not an exercise in habits – good or bad.

Reflecting on Clear’s advice from a business operations perspective began to win me over as to why people love the book though. I mean, he says, “Fall in Love with Systems.” How could my bizops heart not soar a little?!

In operations world, there are countless opportunities for systems. Looking at one of Clear’s big messages, I thought through an example of how it might play out.

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." - James Clear 

Goal: Onboard new hires to your team.

 With no operational systems in place, you have to stay motivated to make sure new employees have a good experience and can start contributing. BUT, you also have a full plate, a special project going off the rails, and planned PTO to protect. Relying on motivation to make this a successful experience is possible, but is it likely?    

Alternatively,  you could have a system. With systems, it’s less about the motivation, and more about the discipline.

• Cue: calendar reminder that the new employees are starting in two weeks.

• Craving: you want them to have a good experience and be ready to start working, but you’re swamped.

• Response: pull up on the onboarding calendar and skim the:

  • Links to key documents to review/sign

  • Onboarding buddy guidelines

  • Recorded trainings

  • Presentations for company-specific content      

  • Schedule for new hires to be introduced to relevant teams. Each team has met with new hires before, so they know what to share.  (Plus, you aren’t responsible for explaining everything about every department.)

• Reward: at each weekly check-in, you have proactive progress discussions with the new hires. There are always bumps, but with an established onboarding plan, the new hire is already learning, knows next steps, and understands where to go for help. Come their 90-day review, they’re feeling – and performing – like part of the team.

Plus, you have the peace of mind that all the above will unfold without having to white- knuckle it each week. You can enjoy your vacation knowing everything is on track.

And perhaps most importantly, with this system and operational habits in place, there is more space for serendipity. If a new hire isn’t struggling through the table stakes work of onboarding, you can take advantage of their fresh perspective to add value to your team’s work. They can contribute in the meaningful ways that only new employees can.

Yes, I agree with Clear that “goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress.” They are also the foundation that frees us up to focus our energy on the big problems needing creative solutions.

Thanks for reading,

Shannon