Oblique Strategies

I'm a wrangler ... in the connotative sense. In other words, I don't wrangle in the traditional sense ... with horses. What I wrangle are my thoughts. All day long my thoughts direct themselves toward everything. My thoughts are about my deadlines, requests for my help, requests that I'm waiting for responses, responding to personal tweets, emails, blog comments, how my family is doing, etc. etc. etc.

Sometimes all is well and my wrangling keeps everything controlled. Other times the thoughts are out of control. They break the fence and run amok. And all of the regular strategies that I typically use to get the thoughts back in the corral are not working. It's at this time that I require an oblique strategy.

Oblique Strategies are a deck of cards designed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt designed to remove mental roadblocks during their creative process.  Eno is renowned for using these when he's creating his own music and producing music for others such as David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2. Examples of these strategies are as simple as
1. Do nothing for as long as possible.
2. Water.
3. Put in earplugs.

What I like about them is not only are they oblique but they also obtuse.  They're evasive and not pointed.  They're out of context but applicably relevant. They're simple statements that say what they say and help the reader clear the block and get their thoughts back in the corral.

The cards are interesting and entertaining and available for purchase.  There are even some websites that provide the strategies in a random fashion.  But you don't really need the cards. Oblique strategies come at us all the time. You just need to keep your eyes and ears open to the random ones that come your way.

Even Heads of Concrete Can't Keep Their Thoughts Corralled

Sometimes metaphorically I bang my head against a wall waiting for the oblique strategies.  I'm stubborn and I'm inclined to wait for answers instead of asking for help. I push myself to continue onward and wait for the strategy to reveal itself. Then suddenly, unexpectedly one comment, one event or one action changes everything.

Good HR and good managers know how to deal with these hard headed cases. The other day my boss said one oblique thing that unlocked weeks of frustration on a project that I'm heading. My boss was aware of my frustration but was unsure of the direct advice. But my boss continued to communicate which eventually led to the oblique statement which for me turned into the Oblique Strategy. The best part was my boss wasn't even aware they were doing anything.

Good HR and good management are not always able to find the right words.  But when we keep the line of communication open, sometimes we offer up the oblique strategy that unlocks frustration.  Sometimes we don't even know we're doing it.

Then again, next time someone seeks your help, just say "water".  And see what happens.