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Lately I’ve been on a bit of a calorie-counting kick.  Nothing too extreme, but more closely monitoring my intake and trying to make better food choices to ultimately minimize the excess mass I carry around with me.  

I understand that calorie counting is just the first step, and that more holistic change needs to happen for ongoing success.  But as a starting point, I need to make sure the inputs and outputs are more closely aligned in this ecosystem of my lifestyle.  

In theory, if I can shift the I/O balance in a certain direction, it should shift the scale similarly.  

And so, I’m actually finding success in the early stages - in the neighbourhood of 20lbs down over the course of a couple months.  However, it’s not without its challenges.  

Splurging and cheating happen, and I’m taking the ‘look the other way’ approach at the moment, so that’s a non-issue… for now.   The biggest problem I have at the moment is dealing with my old food habits and trying to manage the amount of snacking, eating out of boredom, and eating-for-no-discernable-reason that I tend to do.  

Being the analytical person I am, the easiest way for me to wrap my head around these food choices is to try to remove the emotional element with every peek in the fridge, and actually force myself to discern between craving and hunger.  Every time I go to grab something to eat, I force myself to define why, why that, and why now.  

Hopefully then, conscious of my own motivations, the most appropriate food decision takes shape.  

So, you’ve read this far.  You must wonder;  WHAT ON EARTH DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH CRM?

Thinking about the classification of input and breaking down something seemingly trivial - like my brain’s desire for food - into its composite emotional, physical, and other requirements really does share a fair bit with what admins or consultants need to do when prioritizing user/client requests.  

It reminds me of an oldie-but-goodie post by JP Seabury on prioritizing Salesforce ideas/projects from end-users.  In the post JP describes using the importance, urgency and effort required of each user request, and using those criteria to determine the appropriate level of priority - and ultimately end up with a task list for the CRM admin.  

FEATURE REQUESTS & REQUIREMENTS: Craving vs. Hunger

Like in dealing with change requests from users or with solution ideas on implementation, we really need to be conscious with each request if it’s something the ‘body’ is hungry for, or if it’s simply a craving.  As the voice of reason, we need to prioritize accordingly.  

Is the requested item something that the body needs now to run effectively, or is it a frivolous nice-to-have?  

Like that donut that seems destined to be had with your coffee - as great an idea it seems at the time - how does it really contribute to the long-term health of the system?  Is there something else that can satisfy the craving that in a better way supports the underlying requirements of the entire body itself?  

Also, consider the process around consuming that coffee where the craving reared its ugly head.  Why does the craving come about in the first place?  Is there any way the process of coffee consumption can be optimized to reduce or eliminate donut-craving altogether?  If so, might repairing that be a better course of action?  

… and then of course, sometimes the body wants a donut and getting in the way of it is more harm than it’s worth.  

I guess the altogether random thought I had was;  we can’t just be dishing out donuts without first considering healthier alternatives and keeping the body’s overall health in mind.  

In that beautiful ecosystem that exists in our body - and orgs, discerning between craving & hunger and focusing more often than not on addressing hunger, is ultimately what our systems need to survive and thrive.