About twenty years ago, I was at one of my first meetings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I noticed that almost every CDC public health professional was carrying a green book. Throughout the meeting, each CDC person opened their green book and took notes or wrote comments on the proceedings. These green books were journals. Since that time, I have observed many public health professionals carry these leadership journals. Today, many of these individuals carry a computer or tablet like the IPAD in which they now write their commentaries. I started carrying a journal a couple of decades back and I am entering the 21st century by carrying my IPAD in which I continue to jot down my thoughts and ideas. In the public health leadership institute that I have been running for twenty years, we have started to give all participants journals. This one tool has become an essential for many managers and leaders.
Our lives are so busy. Ideas seem to come at breakneck speed. As leaders, we need to keep our eyes and ears focused on many things and issues in the course of a working day. Our journals prevent us from losing many of these high speed ideas from getting lost. I would like to use this posting to briefly discuss some of the uses of our journals. First, you would go back at the end of each week and make a new entry that prioritizes the ideas of the previous week. Then, give a score from 1-3 with one being an idea to really continue to develop and three being an idea that is interesting but not of high priority at the present time. Write a few lines on the issues ranked one and what are the next steps in developing these ideas. Each month, it is necessary to look back at the high scoring ideas and determine your progress in addressing them. Should some be dropped because a dead end has been reached?
A leadership journal needs to be a living document. Share your ideas with other leaders and have then share their ideas with you. Then, idea-sharing becomes a collaborative activity. It will be in the process of working with others that some of your ideas and the ideas of others will lead to new programs and policies. Don’t lose your ideas. Make your ideas live through making them come to life.
Rowitz On Leadership 