I recently read a article that reminded me of flow…

Organisers brought in a group of kindergarten children and divided them into small teams. The children were given a challenge to assemble the tallest structure they could within a time limit by using uncooked spaghetti sticks, strings, tape, and a marshmallow (the marshmallow on top of the structure indicated that it was complete).

The organisers then brought in teams of MBA grad students to compete against the kids. These students took the challenge very seriously. They approached the problem analytically, discussing how to best combine the sticks, string, and tape to achieve maximum altitude.

If you think the winners were the MBA students, think again.

Here’s why.

The MBA’s spent most of their time speculating, trying to figure everything out in advance. They also spent much time arguing who should be in charge. As a result, their constructions kept falling apart.

But the kids got to work quickly. They tried one way of building and if it didn’t work, they quickly tried another. They learned from their mistakes and got in a lot more tries. As a result, they quickly built one tall structure after another.

The MBA students spent too much time speculating on possible ‘What Ifs’ while the kids moved quickly from ‘What If’ to How.

The takeaway here is: While planning is important, it’s no substitute for trying things – getting stuck in! Move quickly from speculation (What If) to testing (How). Identify what works and then do more of it.

So in which aspect will you pose the “How” question today? And in what way in this ‘How’ similar to ‘Flow’?

In my personal experience as a professional musician, whenever I’ve overthought anything it’s worked against me. My best performances have always happened when I’ve allowed my performance to ‘flow’ and think less… Just like I naturally did when I was a kid. It’s also a lot more fun.

Georg Voros is a Performance Consultant with 45+ years of top-level experience and author of two books on performance. He delivers high-impact workshops on productivity and flow, and offers tailored mentoring packages to support personal growth and achievement. Learn more at www.vorosperformance.co.uk