You can check out anytime you like but can you ever leave?

2012 is the Chinese year of the dragon and I have decided, the western world’s year of distraction.

Have you ever noticed that whenever a new email appears in your inbox, it initially will appear to be more interesting than anything else that you are currently doing? If not, why are you now reading this?

In 1977, Don Henley, from The Eagles sang about the Hotel California.

"On a dark dessert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air…"

The killer line for me in the song

“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”.

To survive and be successful in 2012 you have to find a way to check out at times and leave work behind.

How else can you stay fresh?

I’m convinced that your success, personally and professionally will be determined by how you manage to deal with all of the distractions that come your way.

Yes, that includes this newsletter.

Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, and LinkedIn look like they are here to stay for a while.

How anyone can get any work done is beyond me.

Ask yourself, how many changes have you really made to the way you operate from the endless articles, updates, blogs, tips and videos, ideas you constantly click on?

If you can grab one fresh idea per month and use it and get it to stick, I’d say you are ahead of the pack.

Like most things in life, you can run from these things, but you can’t hide.

How you manage them is the key. I’d love to know your plan. What works for you?

Some will argue that using social media is essential to their role. I don’t dispute that, but at what price? How essential is it?

Does it really help you in your career to know that an old friend from high school who you never see any more (thankfully) had a great weekend at Noosa with their new husband and 6 kids?

I’m still not convinced it helps you.

Perhaps Henley was 35 years ahead of his time when he famously ended Hotel California singing;

“Relax said the night man, we are programmed to receive, you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave”.

Posted in Leadership; Tagged Leadership; Posted 6 February 2012 by Steve Herzberg