Think Week
Scott Aughtmon emailed me a cool article about Bill Gates today. I think he models what it means to "know the times" like the tribe of Issachar.
Every year he goes on two week-long retreats to assess what his company has been doing and where it ought to be going. He calls them "think weeks." Until very recently, what he did during those seven days "in a cedar forest in the Pacific Northwest" was "a tightly held corporate secret."
It turns out that what Gates does during his away time is not so remarkable: He spends fifteen hours a day reading newspapers, magazines, and company reports. Except for a caretaker who brings him two meals a day (lunch and dinner--typically a cup of clam chowder, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a diet Orange Crush) he doesn't see anyone--even his wife. He sleeps in a small bedroom that takes up a corner of the cottage and shuffles around all day, reading and taking notes. Gates is searching for ideas about trends--trends in digital communications, advances in microprocessor clock speed, digital photography, etc. The week is a cram session of inputs, followed by a flood of e-mail messages to his colleagues and employees about new ideas, old ideas, existing projects, and proposed ones. Gates has done some form of his Think Week since the 1980s. Prior to each Think Week, Gates has his assistants collect papers from every corner of Microsoft, according to what they think his priorities should be. It's actually an open call for papers that lets employees of any level reach the top with their ideas. The retreat is not relaxing. He sometimes works 18 hours a day. For breaks, he gives himself five minutes to solve a daily online bridge problem. Occasionally, he'll take a short walk.
The output is significant. One of his generals said he spent an entire weekend reading through a six-inch printout of Gates's most recent Think Week comments. And then there are follow-up meetings for weeks afterward. I love this "Think Week" idea. I think my thoughts would amount to slightly less than Bill Gate's six-inch volume. I might be good for a dozen pages or so! But I might give this a try. Maybe I'll start with a three "Think Days." By the way, I think I'd do it at the Barnes and Noble in Baltimore's Inner Harbor! I just think better thoughts when I'm surrounded by lots of books!
Every year he goes on two week-long retreats to assess what his company has been doing and where it ought to be going. He calls them "think weeks." Until very recently, what he did during those seven days "in a cedar forest in the Pacific Northwest" was "a tightly held corporate secret."
It turns out that what Gates does during his away time is not so remarkable: He spends fifteen hours a day reading newspapers, magazines, and company reports. Except for a caretaker who brings him two meals a day (lunch and dinner--typically a cup of clam chowder, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a diet Orange Crush) he doesn't see anyone--even his wife. He sleeps in a small bedroom that takes up a corner of the cottage and shuffles around all day, reading and taking notes. Gates is searching for ideas about trends--trends in digital communications, advances in microprocessor clock speed, digital photography, etc. The week is a cram session of inputs, followed by a flood of e-mail messages to his colleagues and employees about new ideas, old ideas, existing projects, and proposed ones. Gates has done some form of his Think Week since the 1980s. Prior to each Think Week, Gates has his assistants collect papers from every corner of Microsoft, according to what they think his priorities should be. It's actually an open call for papers that lets employees of any level reach the top with their ideas. The retreat is not relaxing. He sometimes works 18 hours a day. For breaks, he gives himself five minutes to solve a daily online bridge problem. Occasionally, he'll take a short walk.
The output is significant. One of his generals said he spent an entire weekend reading through a six-inch printout of Gates's most recent Think Week comments. And then there are follow-up meetings for weeks afterward. I love this "Think Week" idea. I think my thoughts would amount to slightly less than Bill Gate's six-inch volume. I might be good for a dozen pages or so! But I might give this a try. Maybe I'll start with a three "Think Days." By the way, I think I'd do it at the Barnes and Noble in Baltimore's Inner Harbor! I just think better thoughts when I'm surrounded by lots of books!
1 Comments:
Only a dozen pages?! Come on, PM! When we went on the 2002 NCC Staff Retreat, you gave us a 30 page agenda while simultaneously throwing out the vision of becoming a "paperless" church. If you did one of these Think Weeks, we would have to hire additional staff just to contain all of your ideas.
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