22 Jan Leadership Nudge® 292 – Control the Clock

The Industrial AgeThe period when humans developed large complex organizations based on machines. Factories, assembly lines, plantations, and railroads were dominant during the Industrial Age. The Industrial Age organizational design was optimized to use humans to reduce variability and comply with their masters’ instructions. This fundamental structure shapes our organizational design and language today. has programmed us to “Obey the ClockThe Industrial Age play where we feel the stress of having to get so much done within a certain period of time.,” which tends to keep us in redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits from reducing variability., feeling the stress of time pressure. Control the clockThe new play where we are able to call a pause or time-out in order to exit the pressures of redwork and shift to the thinking of bluework. is the start of the cycle. We exit redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits from reducing variability. and shift to blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benefits from embracing variability., pause the “doing” work and take time to think. Only in the Control the ClockThe new play where we are able to call a pause or time-out in order to exit the pressures of redwork and shift to the thinking of bluework. play can we be mindful and deliberate with our actions.

Learn more in our Blog Post – Don’t Obey The Clock, Control The Clock