Where’s that Confounded Piano?

In my book, published just about a year ago—“The Grand Piano Principle”—the first “parable” teaches that, if something is really, really important, focus on getting that really, really important thing done and figure out the rest around it.

Recently, it struck me, that sometimes, hard as it may seem, the really, really important thing, that grand piano, is not always readily identifiable. That concept, hidden in raft of other ideas in “The Grand Piano”—that is not being able to spot the piano in the room, so to speak—was in itself a grand piano for me.

Here’s how I came to find that grand piano, one book and 20-plus blogs later.

I have a friend, Fred, who is the Chief Operating Officer of start-up company in Pittsburgh. They are growing rapidly, are out of space, and need to double or triple their footprint. Fred found an ideal property which enables Fred Inc. to consolidate the company’s various locations, eliminate a warehouse, and provide room for growth. Every time I spoke to Fred, which was every one or two weeks, I’d ask, “How’s the lease negotiation coming?” “It’s going ok but that landlord is a pain in the butt,” Fred would answer. “How’s that?” I said. “Well, the landlord has a standard lease and they don’t want to vary from it.”

For a landlord that has good properties and is used to getting its way, that is not so unusual…especially if it the perfect location for the prospective tenant and they know Fred Inc. is backed by a deep-pocketed venture capital group. Why negotiate?

So, every week, I’d ask Fred how it was going and every week I got the same answer. Fred was, months and months later, getting a little nervous about getting the lease inked because they were running out of space and therefore time.

One day, I asked him to give me an example of the type of issue the landlord was insisting on. The example he gave had to do with limitations on the tenant restructuring the parking spaces, letting non-employees park in them, etc. I asked Fred for more examples which he gave me. Many of them were picayune issues. As often happens, between one tenant, one landlord, three lawyers and fourteen egos amongst the five of them, the negotiations went on. (It doesn’t help that attorneys are paid by the hour. Not a criticism. A fact. Yeah, it’s a criticism.)

Finally, Fred realized that, even though some of the issues were obnoxious, trite or totally unnecessary, the “grand piano” was that the lease needed to get done. ASAP. Even if some of the provisions were less than desirable. Afterall, wasn’t continuing the rapid growth more important? Didn’t he have the capital behind him to afford the lease? Couldn’t his company live with or work around some of the landlord’s standard language? The answer to all these was yes. Fred had found the hidden grand piano. Get the dang lease signed. Period. Had Fred found it sooner, his company could have moved in sooner, had more time to make sure the move was properly planned, limited the time pressure on the move, etc. It all ended well but, geez.

So, why is it that we miss the grand piano in the room? It’s right there. It’s really big. You can’t…yes, you can. Why?

Fred’s case illustrates several of the reasons and offers some of the potential remedies for avoiding these pitfalls.

1)      Details…while Fred knew he needed to get the lease done as quickly as possible, he got lost in a “do-loop” of weeds and had a hard time getting out.  Solution: Take a time-out, step back, and deliberately get out of the weeds.

2)      Misalignment…in this case, Fred’s attorneys did not, for quite some time, get the importance of getting the lease done quickly as opposed to done properly from their point of view. Solution: Clear communication to others involved about what is important to you and what is not. And don’t forget the 80-20 Principle…or let your business partners forget it either.

3)      Egos…once the gloves came off, the game became one of who scored the most points as opposed to the practical approach of getting the darn thing done. Solution: Sometimes, you just have to knock some heads together; or at least make sure the egos getting in the way know that the objective is more important than their egos. And it might affect their future business if not.

4)      Time…Fred is a super busy guy. He juggles a thousand and one balls. The lease being just one of them. With all that going on, Fred didn’t, for a long time, have the luxury of stepping back and asking himself, “Which more important? Getting this thing done by Friday? Or spending another three weeks rewording Section 3, paragraph 6, lines 7 through 10? Solution: Get help. Delegate, Prioritize. Maybe writing the HR Manual wasn’t as important as focusing on the lease. 

5)      Clear Objectives/Priorities…while not the case in Fred’s situation—he knew he needed to get the lease signed yesterday, he let other factors, (1 through 4 above) get in the way—sometimes we lose sight of or don’t know what the objectives and priorities are. Solution: Write out what you need to do; both on an overall basis and on a per item basis. Or ask someone. Like your boss?

The risk of not identifying the Grand Piano in a timely manner can be devastating. Like it can fall on your head. Say Fred kept focusing on the nits and gnats of the “this-es and thats” instead of stepping back and seeing the big picture? Maybe they rush the move, make mistakes, costs increase. Maybe they install the lines improperly because of the time pressures, start producing crappy products and alienate customers. Maybe the time pressure becomes so great that Fred agrees to terms and conditions that actually impede the ability to operate the company. Or maybe Fres gets an ulcer. You can let your imagination run wild. And it isn’t pretty.

Identifying the Grand Pianos doesn’t just apply to big projects. It applies to everything you do in life. Sitting at your home office, you have to know what things on your “To Do” list need done first, second, etc. In your personal life, do I need to go to Tim’s soccer game, Eva’s dance performance or make some 1:1 with my spouse? For me, God is grand piano number one, my wife is grand piano number two, family/friends are grand piano number three, and everything else falls behind that like an upright Baldwin. (See the book. ) When it comes to grand pianos, I don’t always play the tune correctly, but I do know how its supposed to sound.

You will find, over time, that identifying the grand pianos—either within a project, within a job, within your personal life—makes your life a lot more pleasant. And had the added benefit of minimizing the risks of getting crushed by that sucker.

Show A Little Faith.