"Clear the Mechanism"

A few weeks ago, I sat down and finally watched the 1999 movie "For Love of the Game" starring Kevin Costner and the late Kelly Preston.  The movie is based on a book by the author Michael Shaara with the same title (Shaara also wrote the book, The Killer Angels, which was made into one of my all-time favorite movies, "Gettysburg").  The movie follows the perfect game performance of aging star baseball pitcher and future Hall of Famer Billy Chapel, played by Kevin Costner, as he deals with the pressures of pitching in Yankee Stadium in his final outing by calming himself with memories of a long-term relationship with Jane Aubrey, the character played by Kelly Preston.  It's actually a really good movie.

There's a scene at the beginning of the movie, when Chapel takes the mound to start the last game of a losing season for the Detroit Tigers as they play against the New York Yankees, who are trying to win the game in order to make the play-offs.  He is trying to warm-up for the game amidst all of the noise and confusion (with many fans even yelling and screaming at him).  In order to quiet the noise and focus on the task at hand, he whispers to himself, "Clear the mechanism".  Everything suddenly becomes quiet.  The fans behind home plate become blurry, and the only things that he sees in sharp clarity are the batter and catcher.  It's a powerful scene and a great reminder of the need to focus on the task at hand.

Legendary baseball play-by-play announcer Vin Scully has a cameo appearance as the play-by-play announcer in the movie (which I found interesting, since he spent most of his career calling games for the Dodgers, not the Yankees).  At one point, he quotes the famous line from Rudyard Kipling's poem "If":

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...

There's another line from the Kipling poem that doesn't appear in the script, but I think it certainly applies:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

Chapel fights through all the pain of his long and storied baseball career to do the unthinkable - pitching a perfect game in his final start!  He throws a perfect game (no hits, no walks, no runs) by his incredible ability to ignore everything that is going on around him and concentrating on the player in the batter's box.  It is his focus by "clearing the mechanism" that gives him the stamina to fight on and finish the game.

Focus is a very powerful thing.  But here's the catch - it takes effort to focus.  Focus is an active activity, not a passive one.  There are a number of ways to improve your focus and "clear the mechanism":

1. Create a distraction-free work zone - When possible, we should eliminate clutter in our normal workspace.  I like the Lean 5S model (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain) to organize a workspace.  5S achieves “a place for everything and everything in its place.”  In addition, sometimes it's helpful to designate an area where distractions are minimized that is separate from our usual workspace.  For example, I know some hospitals that have set aside areas on inpatient units designed for staff to relax and recuperate while they are taking a break away from the bedside (these are called "Tranquility Rooms", "Serenity Rooms", or "Meditation Rooms").  We can't focus when we are overly stressed!

2. Practice mindfulness and meditation - We can help "clear the mechanism" with a variety of techniques, such as mindfulness, meditation, or prayer.

3. Set clear goals and priorities - When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.  We should set clear goals (I like SMART goals), and as leaders we can limit the number of goals that we set for ourselves and for our teams.  Prioritization is important here too.  If something is not a priority for the organization, we shouldn't be dedicating time and resources on it.

4. Embrace single-tasking - Multi-tasking is a fallacy.  Study after study has proven that we can't focus on more than a few things at a time, at least if we are trying to do something well.  Dedicate time and resources to just one single task at a time, and in the long run, you will save time and reduce mental strain.

The ability to focus is an important skill for leaders and their teams.  We should not try to do everything, but instead we should do one thing very well.  The late Steve Jobs was particularly adept at this skill.  He said, "People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got your focus on.  But that's not what it means at all.  It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.  You have to pick carefully.  I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done.  Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things."

"Clear the mechanism" and in an instant, everything fades away and out of the picture.  "Clear the mechanism" will help you get the job done.  "Clear the mechanism" will help you get the job done well.