The Campbell Academy Blog | Colin Campbell (47)

Shaun’s in tray

One of the greatest mentors in my developing business set-up in the noughties and early 2010 was Shaun Reason.

For those of you who know Tom, our academy and marketing director at the Clinic, Shaun is Tom's dad. He was a real role model for me growing up, both in the way that he raised his kids and also in the way that he ran his working life.

Shaun was a head teacher who went on to be a CEO in business and the Science Educators Association, among various other things. He did amazing things in business and met amazing people.

But in the days when he was a head teacher of a very busy, very challenging secondary school, he would talk about the stories of exam results days when he would head in for the GCSE results and then a week later, the A level results.

Shaun worked super hard all year round except for the school holidays, particularly the summer holidays. During these, he would have an extended period off with his wife and four children because of the crazy hours he put in during the rest of the year.

So, when he attended school for GCSE Results Day, he said his secretary would be purple in the face with a whole fistful of papers and tasks that had to be attended to that day because he hadn't been in for a few weeks.

His policy at all times was to completely ignore everything that she had for him to do, focus on the GCSE results Day and go home only to return a week later when she was an even deeper shade of purple with a fist full of pieces of paper and absolutely essential and urgent tasks that had to be completed that day.

What Shaun will tell you, though, is that the tasks that his secretary presented to him on the first day that he attended were different from the tasks a week later. The super urgent everyone's going to die tasks that existed a week previously had been superseded by some more urgent tasks that were more urgent again and needed attention (which, in fact, they didn't really).

Ignoring these tasks through the summer holidays and on both the results days never seemed to hold Shaun back.

He made extraordinary progress throughout his career, going on to bigger and better things beyond the school that he worked in, but it's worth a reflective thought, isn't it?

When things become particularly overwhelming, it's often better to go for a walk, shut your laptop, and move away.

You can then figure out what is important and what needs your attention instead of the little voice in the back of your head telling you that you have to get everything done now.