The Power of Reminding
"People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed" is an observation from 19th-century author Samuel Johnson.
I first heard this quote as it was shared by one of my favorite business authors, Patrick Lencioni. Lencioni’s books are must-reads, but I think he would be the first to admit that he probably isn’t introducing new breakthroughs. Instead, he’s powerfully reminding us of what we already know. But the reminder is still powerful. This seems to be true in every walk of life.
As a leader of a company, I’ve embraced Lencioni’s more apt job title for the CEO – the CRO – the Chief Reminding Officer. The role of the senior leader is to continue to remind people what we value, what is our purpose, where we are going, what is our strategy, what are we focused on right now. Over and over and over.
Why do we require so many reminders?
Likely because reminders reinforce our learning.
Likely because a void (a lack of reminders) compels us to question what we know or even fabricate a different reality.
Likely because we are distracted by shiny new ideas and we need to be reconnected to foundational first principles.
Likely because we become biased toward what’s new or what’s recent.
Likely because revisiting what we already know allows us to focus on execution – and execution always trumps novelty.
Maybe I’m a simpleton, but I think I’ve read 200 business and management books that reinforce many of the same core concepts. But I still get tremendous value from each book.
With regard to exercise, the scientific community continues to publish research that confirms what we already knew. Of course, the additional research adds to the strength of our understanding.
The amount of weight you lift doesn’t matter as long as you train close to muscle failure.
You can be more efficient with your time if you perform just one, intense set of each exercise.
Lifting and lowering the weight slowly and reducing momentum makes an exercise safer.
Both experienced trainees and beginners produce better results when they train with supervision.
For best results, employ progressive overload, consume adequate protein, and allow for recovery between workouts.
A great colleague and mentor of mine, and one of the best-selling fitness authors worldwide over the last five decades is said to have written the same book, 60 times. I think I’ve read 58 of them and I still reap benefit.
Make no mistake. I love learning new ideas. I love reading new exercise science research. I’m interested in what’s new and I’m on the edge of my seat awaiting a breakthrough.
But in the meantime, I’ll take the reminders (and continue to provide the reminders).
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