Here in Houston, traffic can be horrible. It doesn’t even require an actual wreck, just a simple pickup changing a tire will suffice.

For as long as the eye can see cars will stack one atop of another on 6-lane highways moving less than 3mph.[pullquote align=”right”]Rubbernecking is reactive. It’s instinctive. [/pullquote]

To make things worse, one-by-one the drivers emerge from the traffic, not by speeding up, but they slow down to rubberneck.

The logical response would be, “I sat here for 2 hours and can fix this traffic by moving along.” Instead, we instinctively think, “I paid my dues, now it’s my turn.”

Rubberneck. One at a time.

Schools have a tendency to do the same thing almost out of instinct.

The school has goals and strategic plans, but something new comes along [the wreckage]. It grabs attention and all of sudden, a rubberneck.

Everything grinds to a halt and progress moves less than 3mph. It’s reactive. Instinctive.

Maintaining focus, on the other hand, is hard and requires organizational discipline. Focus is the solution to rubbernecking. It’s also the path to efficiency and reliable improvement.