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Kill BUSYness

This series is my perspective on the #KillBUSYness movement I co-lead with Manoj Onkar. Each entry is one idea, stress-tested in the open. If you test one in your own organization, tell me what happened. We share the commitment to killing BUSYness, and the larger purpose behind it. The movement is at KILLBUSYness.com. The first book on KILL BUSYness, authored by Manoj, is on Amazon.

  1. The work may be necessary. Do I need to do it?

    I used to look at a task and think I could do it better than the other leaders around me. Sometimes I may have been right.

  2. The loop you are standing inside

    A loop you have not named is a loop you are standing inside.

  3. A multiplier does not repair a broken loop

    Speed is attractive because it is easy to see. A task takes 2 hours instead of 2 days. A report appears in seconds.

  4. If it cannot make you wrong, it is not a decision

    Clarity about priorities does not make the next decision easy. It makes the exposure visible. That is where motion becomes attractive.

  5. Indispensable is a diagnosis, not a compliment

    I have held a version of this as a rule for some time. If an operator cannot leave for ninety days, they may have built a demanding job for themselves.

  6. Busy is often a priority problem

    "Busy" might be the most socially acceptable answer we have invented. How are things? Busy. Why didn't this move? Too much going on. Why haven't you started?