Implementing the Trans Minimum Labore principle

For the past two or three years I’ve been working into a new posture - embracing the Trans Minimum Labore principle in practical terms.  A couple of years ago when asked to bring some input to the annual Growth Resourcing Group annual gathering, I put some extra time and effort into developing some things I’d been working on into a useful chart - handy for future reference.  I even researched and then learned to use Prezi, a new presentation tool to share content in a more visually engaging fashion (easier to absorb and take notes on; I confess I have for years resisted the “faddish” pressure to use PowerPoint presentations).

Last year I attempted to build on this when incorporating some of the same material into sessions at the Asia Connect conference, with mixed results.  The chart developed earlier was very timely, and well received.  But it turns out my presentation platform requires a good internet connection in the preparation process, which I wasn’t tracking.  So I wasted hours of prep time and almost bombed the first session, before figuring it out (with the help of some tech-savvy friends) and then happily utilizing the virtual presentation platform for the remaining sessions.

Earlier this summer I was asked to send a brief of material I could present to a gathering of Kingdom-minded business leaders in New England.  Rather than simply scratch out a paragraph or two of thoughts and hit “send”, I locked myself in my study and fleshed out a segment of personal “core material” I’ve been developing in bits and pieces for many years.  The paragraph I finally sent out on “Cultivating Transformational Marriages” was, frankly, powerful and impacting.  Every sentence was meaty, linking out to a sub-set of material I had fleshed out on my Personal Brain mind-mapping software.  

Along the way I had to spend hours re-activating and relearning the current version of the software … in order to do the comprehensive brain-dump of related material I’ve been meaning to do for so long … which pushed me to simplify and clarify and sort out the best language for each segment … which gave me the overview I needed to be able to select the material appropriate for that particular audience.  

On its face, the process was actually not very “efficient”.  I could have fired off a quick email in a fraction of the time.  But the next time I would be asked to do something similar, I would have had to re-invent the wheel, again; re-develop the material, again; and waste time just getting back up to speed.  This approach took more hours but leaves me with a batch of material I can easily access and repurpose in a variety of situations, and eventually re-purpose for other uses (mentoring, curriculum development, writing).

Moving into new territory is never comfortable, and it often involves an element of risk, or presents a learning curve.  Expending precious time and energy that you could economize and spend elsewhere always feels costly.  But making the stretch to put smart time into things that will bear multiplied dividends in the future is worth the risk, and will likely prove to be a good investment.

Have you discovered this to be true, or found it applicable in other areas of life?  What kinds of returns make it worth the investment, for you?