Strategic stress is the gap between planning and execution. If you plan to finish with a presentation deck before a meeting, and get too busy to complete the deck, the gap caused will lead to strategic stress and affect your performance in the meeting. Many researchers have suggested that the right amount of stress is actually good for productivity. It is known as the Yerkes Dodson Law. But, what is this right level?
Will the hardships faced by Will Smith in the film ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ when he is left homeless with his son be the right amount, or when Ross in sitcom ‘Friends’ is divorced for the third time be the right amount of stress?
You can identify the right amount if you understand strategic stress in three phases.
Routine
When you find your work unchallenging and get into a comfort zone, it means that there is minimum stress at work. The concept of strategic boredom does not necessarily suggest that the content of the strategy is boring, but that the conformity and limited challenges give rise to the risk of strategic complacency. This is the time to set higher challenges.
Burnout
This scenario is characterized by many divergent projects, fragmented activities that have little in common with the initial strategic plan, and projects that do not fit together. When your POA is too visionary for the day, you might find yourself getting distracted by the overwhelming amount of stress.
The Sweet Spot of Stress
Remember Erin Brockovich, where Julia Roberts pushes her limits and uncovers the biggest industrial scam in her region. This is a case of the right stress, where situation boosts your productivity without burning you out.
At IBM, a gang of dissenters tried to connect with early adopters of the web, and thus caught the internet wave at the right time. The strategic stress generated by these employees was enough to change the organization while not moving it too far away from its original domain.
So, hit the right level of strategic stress, and use it to boost your performance.
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