Are you pushing yourself so hard and so fast that you don’t have time to think? Are you so busy getting through each day that you’re not planning for the long term?

Being caught in execution mode isn’t a bad thing. But you have to stop from time to time and ask yourself if what you’re doing is, in fact, the RIGHT thing. The thing that will get you closer to your long-term goals.

So, how do you make space in your calendar to consider the long game? How do you become a long-term thinker in a short-term world?

Dorie Clark was named the #1 Communication Coach at the Marshall Goldsmith Leading Global Coaches Awards and one of the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the World.

Dorie also teaches at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School, and she is the bestselling author of several books, including The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World.

On this episode of Workplace Forward, Dorie joins me to explore why it’s so challenging to commit to the long game and explain how to decide what’s worthy of the long game for you.

She discusses the confusion around being busy versus being important, challenging leaders to maximize our time and make space in the calendar for long-term thinking.

Listen in for Dorie’s insight on developing the clarity and character to achieve worthwhile long-term goals in your personal and professional life.

Themes explored in this week’s episode:

• Why long-term thinking is more difficult now than it was 10 years ago
• How to get clear about what’s worthy of the long game for you
• Why it’s so challenging to commit to the long game (and what to do about it)
• Dorie's take on why we confuse being busy with being important
• How to maximize your time to create open space for long-term thinking
• What you can learn from conducting a detailed time tracking study
• How Dorie applies the ‘hell yeah’ test to say no to good opportunities
• Being intentional about company culture in a remote or hybrid work setting
• What companies can do to promote diversity and tap into everyone’s full capacity
• How to think about outsourcing anything that’s not your highest and best use
• Recognizing good team members and understanding their long-term career goals
• The #1 question leaders of the future need to ask themselves

Resources from this episode: 

• Read along with this Workplace Forward Podcast episode's text transcript
• Follow @dorieclark on Twitter and Instagram
• Connect with Dorie on LinkedIn or Facebook
• Learn more about Dorie’s work at https://dorieclark.com/
• Get your copy of The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World
• Take Dorie’s free Long Game self-assessment
• Register for Dorie’s Trajectory Mastermind or Recognized Expert Course
• Explore Sylvia Bellezza’s research on busyness as a status symbol
• Read Dorie’s articles on time tracking in Harvard Business Review and Fast Company
• Read ‘Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time’ by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy
• Learn more about Derek Sivers ‘hell yeah or no’ test
• Understand the gender stress gap and the idea of emotional labor

I would love to hear from you! Have an idea for a podcast or a question you want me to address? Interested in additional support, resources and workshops? Here are all the ways you can interact with me!

• Tweet me @TeganTrovato
• Email [email protected]
• Follow me on Facebook @BrightArrowCoaching
• Follow me on Instagram @TeganTrovato
• Connect with me on LinkedIn: Tegan Trovato
• Download free tools and sign up for my newsletter, coaching and workshops at  https://www.brightarrowcoaching.com/