Clarity breaks are essential for business leaders to practice on a consistent interval. A clarity break is a scheduled time to get out of the office with just pen and paper to think. Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”

Normally I like to share stories of client sessions, but today I want to share my personal experience with clarity breaks. Something you should know about me is that I’m a doer. I love getting things done. And I have to confess that for a long time, I resisted doing clarity breaks and would skip them because I felt my time would be more valuable knocking items off my To Do list. Plus, taking time to just “think” made me feel like I wasn’t really getting stuff done—after all, “thinking” was never on my To Do list.

I define a business as a group that takes human energy and creates value. Since humans are an integral part of any business, we need to think about their limitations. Actually, as humans, we have a lot of limitations. We can’t run 60 miles an hour, we are not able to teleport, and the one that upsets me the most, we can’t fly.

One that is less obvious but just as much a limitation is that we don’t have the ability to focus for more than 90 days. This limitation is one of the main reasons strategic planning or yearly planning falls short.

All too often, leaders and managers of teams in business, overlook the importance of celebrating small wins. Have you ever heard your boss say “It’s about time this team made some progress”? (I know I have in my early career in corporate sales) Although the intent was to recognize progress, the tone was negative and uninspiring.  

The concept of accountability means different things to different people. Some think that it’s simply doing what you say you will do. Others proclaim it’s when things reach the point where “the buck stops here!”

After working with hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs, I have found that true accountability occurs only when it is ingrained in the company’s culture, and it always starts with the leadership team.

Sadly, most organizations don’t truly foster a culture of accountability. Employees are left to interpret what they’re accountable for, which can lead to confusion, frustration, and apathy.

Seth Godin wrote a blog post a while back called "The Illusion of Control." You can read the whole post here. The gist is that we need to come to grips with the reality that we actually have no control over the outcomes of our actions. In fact, all we are in control of are the actions themselves. We can only influence the outcomes.

This is particularly frustrating for successful business owners who are scaling their organizations. Making the change from doing everything to merely influencing everything is difficult. Some can’t cross that bridge ever, and hopefully can be at peace with whatever size business they can manage to sustain by being a "genius with a thousand helpers."