Eight Things Leaders Can Do to Cut Out "Noise" at Work
(and Why We Must)
Information overload and endless digital disruptions are crippling your employees
and harming your business. Joe McCormack shares strategies to help employees
manage the "noise" so they can stay focused and give you their best.
Hoboken, NJ (January 2020)—Remember when we thought "more" was better? In a more innocent time, leaders really believed the more information people had, the smarter they'd be, the better decisions they'd make, and the greater success they'd have. Now we know how wrong we were: Nonstop e-mails, endless meetings, and 24-7 connectedness are crippling employees' ability to think, focus, solve problems, and do the deep work a company needs to stay competitive. And here's the real question: What are we going to do about it?
Too often, the answer is "nothing," says Joe McCormack. Too many companies let what he calls "noise" squander our most valuable resource: our employees' time and attention.
"It's ironic that we'll go to great lengths to protect our intellectual property and physical property, but don't think twice about allowing a deluge of digital disruptions erode our employees' ability to perform," says McCormack, author of the new book NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus (Wiley, January 2020, ISBN: 978-1-119-55337-3, $25.00). "Employees are so distracted and inundated with so much empty information they don't know what to focus on—or even how to focus."
This is a problem for many reasons. When people can't focus, performance suffers. There's less of a sense of accomplishment because it's hard to get things done. All this cuts into employee engagement and work fulfillment. It's impossible to create the kind of culture that attracts and retains good talent.
McCormack wants leaders to stop accepting the status quo and start protecting workers' minds from noise. He says we can and must get conscious and intentional about the type and amount of information we're letting into our workspaces and on our desktops.
It's not that McCormack is anti-tech. Not at all. But he says most businesses are using tech in a way that impedes good work instead of enabling it.
"Right now, we're taking an incredible high-end, intricate tool and using it to bludgeon our minds and our lives," says McCormack. "We obviously can't disconnect from technology, and we shouldn't. But we do need to be more discerning about what we allow in."
Read on for some simple and practical changes to break the noise cycle and help your leaders and employees regain their focus.
First, get clear on why noise is a problem. Noise hurts our attention span, impacts our brain and working memory, and eventually causes us to stop caring and listening, says McCormack. For example, consider the interruptions (digital and otherwise) that break your employees' concentration multiple times a day. Now consider that it takes 25 minutes to get back into the swing of things when you've been interrupted. Now multiply this by every person on your team.
"That's a lot of time and money lost," says McCormack. "Businesses that help their people mitigate constant disruption—in its many forms—will have a leg up on the competition."
Make sure everyone is aware of the issue. Narrate the consequences of unchecked noise, not just to leaders but to everyone in your company. This is job one. Once people are consciously aware of what noise looks like (and—obviously—sounds like), they'll get more intentional about minimizing it.
"Just calling it 'noise' goes a long way toward helping people see that it's a problem that needs to be dealt with," says McCormack. "By naming, framing, and claiming it, we make it real."
Turn off the firehose of information (or vastly reduce the output). Leaders, in the name of transparency, may bury their teams in excessive information, says McCormack. When there's a steady stream of e-mail blasts, town hall meetings, social media posts, video tutorials, and cascading messages, employees get confused, frustrated, and finally they tune out.
"While you can and should keep employees informed, don't force them to consume so much information that they can't decipher the message," he says.
Get brief in your communication. When trying to inform, explain, update, and convince, simplicity goes a long way. Focus on being lean, clear, and concise, whether you're speaking or writing. Ask yourself: What is the single most important thing I want to convey in this conversation or communication? Then, tailor that e-mail, voicemail, phone call, or presentation accordingly.
Help employees grasp the concept of single-minded focus. Juggling too many balls at work is awkward and counterproductive, and constant distractions can be so irresistible that people end up saying "yes" to everything. Make single-minded focus one of your company's core concepts. Allow your people to concentrate on one task at a time.
A good trick to teach them: Write one task on a Post-it note and throw it out once you're done. Check the trash can for all the little things you accomplished by doing one thing at a time.
Commit to running better meetings. On average, business professionals spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Unfortunately for everyone involved, few meetings are run well, with a stated purpose and a defined agenda. They're often painful and unproductive.
First, be mindful of the number of meetings going on. Ask yourself if you really need to hold a meeting in the first place. When a meeting is justifiable, invite only those who are essential to attend. Set your objectives for the meeting ahead of time and state them at the beginning of the meeting. Get people involved and ask questions so you can get the feedback of the people in the room. Finally, use your time wisely so you won't lose people's attention.
Design your office space around quiet and focus. If you've ever worked in a building with few to no offices, at first it seems so inviting, creative, and collaborative. Yet, the day-to-day reality is that these environments breed distraction and literal noise, and people have to fight to stay focused and do their work.
"In general, open floor plans are a bad idea for anyone who needs to focus for their job," says McCormack. "Even if it's just cubicles, it's better for employees to have walls for privacy and noise buffers. Make sure there are dedicated quiet rooms where people can go for interruption-free focus. Also be sure to provide several wi-fi cold spots where there are no tech distractions."
Give people permission to "unplug" without consequences. Foster a culture of patience that allows people to disconnect from their e-mails and work phones for periods of uninterrupted work and focus, even if it means they will return calls and answer e-mails at a slower pace. This helps your employees develop psychological safety, which empowers them to give their best work without fear of reprisals.
"By the way, don't expect people to be reachable by phone or e-mail 24-7," says McCormack. "While there are always exceptions, don't make it the norm for employees to be connected on nights and weekends. People need downtime to recharge."
"Once you understand how deeply noise can impact your business, you can change the environment and enable everyone to do meaningful work," concludes McCormack. "Imagine what potential this unleashes. A united front of leaders and employees concentrating 100 percent on what really matters is a force to be reckoned with."
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About the Author:
Joseph McCormack is the author of NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus. He is passionate about helping people gain clarity when there is so much com¬peting for our attention. He is a success¬ful marketer, entrepreneur, and author. His first book, BRIEF: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less (Wiley, 2014), sets the standard for concise communication.
Joe is the founder and managing director of The BRIEF Lab, an organization dedicated to teaching professionals, military leaders, and entrepreneurs how to think and communicate clearly. His clients include Boeing, Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Mastercard, DuPont, and select military units and government agencies. He publishes a weekly podcast called "Just Saying" that helps people master the elusive skills of focus and brevity.
To learn more, visit www.noisethebook.com.
About the Book:
NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus (Wiley, January 2020, ISBN: 978-1-119-55337-3, $25.00) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797. For more information, please visit the book's page on www.wiley.com.
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Press Release
USDA Invests $5.7 Million in Broadband for Rural Nebraska Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 17, 2020 – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Greg Ibach announced that USDA has invested $5.7 million in a high-speed broadband infrastructure project that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity in parts of three Nebraska counties. The investment is expected to connect 489 rural households, 24 farms and eight businesses to high-speed broadband internet in unserved portions of Madison, Wayne and Pierce counties. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program investments.
“From my experience on my family’s farm to my time as Nebraska’s Director of Agriculture, I know first-hand that high-speed broadband internet connectivity is essential to making agricultural businesses more efficient and profitable,” Ibach said. “While serving the state of Nebraska, I saw the potential impact that high-speed broadband would have not only for agricultural producers, but for everyone in our community. It is a privilege to now serve at USDA, under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, and see the Administration make the deployment of this critical infrastructure in rural America a top priority.”
Eastern Nebraska Telephone Company will use a $5.7 million ReConnect Program grant to construct 221 miles of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband infrastructure. The company will use matching funds of $1.9 million to complete the project, for a total project cost of $7.6 million. Eastern is a certificated local exchange carrier providing broadband service to its eight exchanges in eastern Nebraska. The company, headquartered in Blair, Neb., provides long-distance and wireline voice to all its exchange areas and high-speed broadband service to select areas.
Background:
In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America. On Dec. 13, 2018, Secretary Perdue announced the rules of the program, called “ReConnect,” including how the loans and grants will be awarded to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. USDA received 146 applications between May 31, 2019, and July 12, 2019, requesting $1.4 billion in funding across all three ReConnect Program funding products: 100 percent loan, 100 percent grant, and loan-grant combinations. USDA is reviewing applications and announcing approved projects on a rolling basis. Additional investments in all three categories will be made in the coming weeks.
These grants, loans and combination funds enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service. Insufficient service is defined as connection speeds of less than 10 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload.
In December 2019, Agriculture Secretary Perdue announced USDA will be making available an additional $550 million in ReConnect funding in 2020. USDA will make available up to $200 million for grants, up to $200 million for 50/50 grant/loan combinations, and up to $200 million for low-interest loans. The application window for this round of funding will open Jan. 31, 2020. Applications for all funding products will be accepted in the same application window, which will close no later than March 16, 2020.
A full description of 2020 ReConnect Pilot Program funding is available on page 67913 of the Dec. 12, 2019, Federal Register (PDF, 336 KB). To learn more about eligibility, technical assistance and recent announcements, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force. To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
Don’t Fret Over A Career Path;
Take The Road Less Traveled
By Sandra A. Miller
“The road less traveled” is an iconic idiom that has bounced around for decades, but sadly, not enough young people are taking it as they head into adulthood.
Paraphrased from a line in the Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken, the road less traveled conjures the image of a young person acting independently, freeing themselves from conformity and perhaps making bold choices or even ill-advised, risky ones. It sounds exciting and can lead to spectacular successes – or failures.
Most, of course, prefer the safer path, with a four-year college degree becoming almost cliché as the most secure way to go forward in life. And there are other conventional routes: getting a stable job right out of high school, a training program leading to a career, etc.
Look, college is still a great gateway to your future. It’s one I took and recommend. I teach writing in college now. But what I’m saying is, whatever you do, don’t let societal conformity or expectations, peer pressure, know-it-all professors, parental pressure, or your own fears and insecurity prevent you from taking the road – or several side roads – less traveled.
There cannot possibly be a better way to learn about yourself. Take the scenic route down the dirt path by the creek. Through the woods, over the mountains. The road less traveled. Follow your heart wherever it leads.
Give yourself a green light
Allow me to flash a blinking red light on your safe path as an absolute danger to the quality of your life, your development and potential, and not least of all, to the wealth of your memories.
From the luxury of looking into my own rear-view mirror, I can tell you that being spontaneous, courageous, and zestful can lead to extraordinary experiences that will make your life far richer than it otherwise would be.
Most of us grow up being told what to do by well-meaning parents, or at least guided in some ways. And that’s as it should be, to a degree; on the other end of the spectrum, the overbearing or helicoptering parent snuffs the freedom out of you before it has a chance to breathe once you’re out of the house. You feel obliged to a life of conformity.
But as you teeter on the threshold of your adult life, having this golden chance that will never come again, I want to tell you some things.
First of all, use your voice and be big in the world. Be big and loud and bold.
After 18 years of being told how to think and what to believe in, this is your chance to show who you are and to decide which direction you want to start in.
Don’t feel guilty. Try owning your voice to reject what doesn’t feel true and right, and then consider what you’re passionate about, what enthralls you. Go for it then; don’t wait to have time for it later. Otherwise, that time might not come as life’s conformities start coming at you in waves – the 9 to 5 job, marriage, children – all before you took the grand opportunity to explore and discover more of yourself.
Don’t worry about choosing wrong. You can change your mind again, and then again.
Live in the moment – and live large
That’s the incredible thing you don’t realize yet: Life is more fluid than fixed. You get to jump streams, change paths until you find the one that’s singularly yours.
And while you’re looking for your path, you can also stress a little less. Getting A’s in college is commendable, sure, but grades aren’t the real stuff of life. That comes with impromptu adventures and midnight escapades, meeting new people, even messing up a little. These are some of the best years of your hopefully long life, and there’s a lot of fun to be had and things to discover – including yourself.
So, with that, you might think about leaving the library now and then and shedding the nickname “bookworm.” Cram less. Live more. Maybe even crawl into the bell tower and drink beer with your friends.
You do not want to look back with regrets. I had fun in my younger life as an adventurer, but one major event stopped me in my tracks when I was in college and really before I embarked on out-of-the-box choices and the road less traveled.
I was driving home on a dreary December afternoon in the middle of final exams, shortly after getting the call that my father had died. Our relationship had long suffered. I wondered what I could have done differently before losing him, and I would spend decades trying to heal my broken heart.
From the vantage point of midlife, people who suffered similar losses in their distant past can finally see the truth behind the pain. For me, my difficult relationship with my dad was part of my journey, and looking back now, the perpetual ache I felt to connect with him propelled me, led me around the globe to the most magical places.
It led me to Asia to teach. To Europe, where I fell in love with languages. And South America, where I stumbled onto a spiritual path.
Sometimes taking the road less traveled may create the impression you’re running away, but this is all part of your search to find yourself apart from your family. You’re beginning on the edge of adulthood as I did, a shy, 18-year-old worrier, constantly wondering if you are doing the right thing for your future. The right thing is being you, and the journey is about discovering you.
Whatever road – or roads – you take, don’t worry about wrong turns, and just keep living forwards, not backwards or sideways. You’ll find your way, in part by stumbling into your truths far down the road. Every step, every mistake, every regret and every moment of incalculable joy is essential to this journey you are on.
Sandra A. Miller (www.SandraAMiller.com), author of Trove: A Woman’s Search for Truth and Buried Treasure, teaches writing at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She previously worked in the editorial department at NAL/Penguin and later worked as a literary agent. She has written stories, articles and essays that have appeared in hundreds of regional and national publications, including Modern Bride, Glamour, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, Yankee, and The Washington Post OnParenting blog. She has facilitated workshops on treasure hunting as a spiritual experience. Miller also has created her own armchair treasure hunt with a custom-made jeweled bracelet worth $2,200 as the prize. The bracelet is hidden somewhere in New England, and she will be providing clues through the blog on her website.
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Press Release
USDA Invests $11 Million in Broadband for Rural Minnesota and Iowa Communities
HARMONY, Minn., Jan. 17, 2020 – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky announced USDA has invested $11 million in three, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 1,395 rural households and nearly 120 businesses throughout several counties in Minnesota and northern Iowa. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program investments.
“When Americans are connected to high-speed internet, productivity and prosperity skyrocket,” Censky said. “This task of providing rural Americans with broadband is of the highest importance for President Trump and his Administration. We cannot leave millions of Americans out of the successes of this booming economy simply because they do not have access to the internet.”
Harmony Telephone Company will use a $2.7 million ReConnect Program loan and a $2.7 million ReConnect Program grant to construct a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network to connect 577 households, a health care center and a critical community facility spread over 143 square miles in several counties bordering southern Minnesota and northern Iowa.
Osage Municipal Utilities (OMU) in northern Iowa will use a $397,749 ReConnect Program grant to provide broadband service to underserved households, farms and businesses in Mitchell County. This will be accomplished by directly accessing a fiber trunk line that runs through the heart of Mitchell, Iowa, and up to the border of Minnesota, allowing OMU to increase its service area bandwidth. The funded service area includes 151 households spread over 20 square miles.
Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) will use a $5.2 million ReConnect Program grant to construct a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network of up to one gigabit of symmetrical high-speed internet to nearly 700 homes and public facilities in portions of Cherry and Great Scott townships in Minnesota’s famed ‘Iron Range.’ CTC will leverage existing middle-mile infrastructure, in partnership with Northeast Service Cooperative, and require only an additional 157.1 miles of new FTTP construction. The funded service area includes 667 households, two educational facilities and two critical community facilities in St. Louis County.
Background:
In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America. On Dec. 13, 2018, Secretary Perdue announced the rules of the program, called “ReConnect,” including how the loans and grants will be awarded to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. USDA received 146 applications between May 31, 2019, and July 12, 2019, requesting $1.4 billion in funding across all three ReConnect Program funding products: 100 percent loan, 100 percent grant, and loan-grant combinations. USDA is reviewing applications and announcing approved projects on a rolling basis. Additional investments in all three categories will be made in the coming weeks.
These grants, loans and combination funds enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service. Insufficient service is defined as connection speeds of less than 10 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload.
In December 2019, Agriculture Secretary Perdue announced USDA will be making available an additional $550 million in ReConnect funding in 2020. USDA will make available up to $200 million for grants, up to $200 million for 50/50 grant/loan combinations, and up to $200 million for low-interest loans. The application window for this round of funding will open Jan. 31, 2020. Applications for all funding products will be accepted in the same application window, which will close no later than March 16, 2020.
A full description of 2020 ReConnect Pilot Program funding is available on page 67913 of the Dec. 12, 2019, Federal Register (PDF, 336 KB). To learn more about eligibility, technical assistance and recent announcements, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force. To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
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SCOTUS decides constitutionality of discriminatory “Blaine Amendments”
No images? Click here
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2020
CONTACT:
pr@edreform.com
202-750-0016
COMING NEXT WEEK:
Supreme Court to Hear Biggest Education Case in 60 Years
In Espinoza v. Montana, educational opportunity & parental rights at stake as SCOTUS decides constitutionality of discriminatory “Blaine Amendments”
Montana among 37 states with Blaine Amendment on law books, threatening education choices for families most in need
WASHINGTON — On January 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will hear the most monumental case involving both education and civil rights in more than 60 years — Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue — in which state-level “Blaine Amendments” could finally be struck down after nearly 150 years of undermining equal opportunity in education and First Amendment rights.
The Center for Education Reform (CER) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Kendra Espinoza and the other plaintiffs last year. It was joined by a dozen other organizations and civil rights leaders. *READ IT HERE*
“The stakes truly don’t get any bigger than this,” said CER founder and CEO Jeanne Allen. “If justice prevails and all Blaine Amendments are struck down, then hundreds of thousands of students in lower-income families nationwide will be free to obtain or continue a quality education without fear of having it taken from them because of an outdated relic from a prejudicial past—which is tragically what occurred in Montana.”
The significance of the high court ruling in favor of Espinoza is that state legislatures would then be able to enact programs providing parents the opportunity to use tax dollars allocated for their children’s education at the schools they choose, including religious schools. In all 37 states with a Blaine Amendment on the books, the government currently retains the power to deny families of lesser means certain educational options that other families enjoy.
The author of the CER amicus brief, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement (2004-2008), emphasized the following:
“For many parents, this is not about choosing a religious school, but about choosing the right school for their child and his or her learning needs. Well-off parents have the ability to make that choice, and if they have multiple children, they often pick different schools for the different learning needs of each child. But parents like Kendra Espinoza and her fellow petitioners aren't able to exercise that right. That’s what this case is truly about.”
As Kendra Espinoza sadly learned, Montana is one of 17 states operating under an oftentimes confusing interpretation of the Blaine Amendment, the result of which can be the discrimination under review in this case. For the children of Montana families like Kendra’s, Blaine being overturned would mark a tremendous victory as it would remove future justification for inhibiting educational options.
“In every Blaine Amendment state, overturning the 19th century amendment would open up endless possibilities for students to receive the kind of 21st century education they need and deserve in this global economy,” added CER’s Allen.
Following the case’s likely decision in June, lawmakers in all 37 Blaine Amendment states are poised to enact corresponding legislation in the event of an Espinoza victory.
For in-depth information about Espinoza v. Montana and the true history of the Blaine Amendment, visit CER’s online resource bank here.
OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
THE HILL: The 7 big Supreme Court cases to watch in 2020
THE ATLANTIC: The Court Case That Could Finally Take Down Antiquated Anti-Catholic Laws
A Decision 144 Years In the Making: CER’s exclusive podcast with Kendra Espinoza
Stay up to date with the latest news about Espinoza v. Montana and the Blaine Amendments by following CER on Facebook and Twitter!
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According to a recent study from SmartAsset, people working in Weber County have among the best access to workplace benefits in Utah. The study measures local unemployment rates and living expenses, as well as the percentage of the population in each county that have employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement plans.
Take a look at the table below to see where Weber County compared to other top places in Utah:
Additional study details including the methodology and interactive map can be found here: https://smartasset.com/retirement/401k-calculator#Utah
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