TAKE A “SH ULTZ HOUR”

Inside the hurricane of today’s swirling crises, take what might be termed a “Shultz Hour.” As a young aide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sometimes sitting behind then Senator Joe Biden, I was always impressed with Secretary of State George Shultz’s candor, calm, and strategic wisdom. And so, after we lost him weeks ago, at age 100, borrow one of his best lessons:

In the 1980s, Shultz developed a weekly ritual. Close the door. Disconnect. Sit down with pen and pencil. And for at least an hour, clear your mind, imagine, and think about big ideas . . . but not the tyranny of daily details that crash upon us all.

As pathbreaking psychologist Amos Tversky advises: “You waste years by not being able to waste hours.”

So, go waste hours. Channel your inner Bill Gates and schedule your own mini “Think Week,” as I write in Innovating Innovation.

And see David Leonhardt’s 2017 story in the New York Times —and here is great luck wasting time with your new ritual: The “Shultz Hour.”

David Morey and Team DMG Global