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Uncomfortable Productivity: Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone for Maximum Effect

Posted on 05/22/2013 by ·

"People who never make mistakes never make anything else either." -- Adrian Savage, Anglo-American business writer. "The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity; moving beyond it necessitates intuition, which in turn configures new perspectives and conquers fears." -- Dan Stevens, British actor. Comfort may be nice when snuggling into bed, but in the workplace it leads to laziness, complacency, and stagnation. To get ahead (much less retain your current place in the line-up), you need to get on the ball and regularly step outside your Comfort Zone. If you don't make what some of my colleagues call "Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals" and enthusiastically reach for the brass ring as it comes around, you'll soon develop an aversion to risk—a crutch that limits both productivity and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,

The Magic Touch: What’s Your Special Productivity Talent?

Posted on 05/21/2013 by ·

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see." -- Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher. "I don't have a lot of respect for talent. Talent is genetic. It's what you do with it that counts. " -- Martin Ritt, American actor and film director. While I've always emphasized competence, persistence, and hard work over talent, I'll readily admit that talent does exist. We all have a few things we do well without struggling, whether because of personality, genetics, environment, education, or some unique combination of these and other factors. The talent rule holds as true in the productivity field as in any other aspect of life. Right off the bat, you may be the best multiple-project juggler in the company; a natural at focusing; a genius at tweaking … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged:

Patching Productivity Holes: New Thinking About Handling Productivity Weaknesses

Posted on 05/17/2013 by ·

"Man is most free when his tools are proportionate to his needs." -- Soetsu Yanagi, Japanese philosopher. "Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest." -- Leo Babauta, American blogger and journalist. In 1900, Lord Kelvin reportedly declared during an address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, "There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement." Just five years later, Albert Einstein burst onto the scene with a unique theoretical approach that helped firmly establish the precarious new field of study we now call quantum physics, and we're still exploring its ramifications today. The lesson here? Just because we've studied a field intensely for a century or more doesn't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged:

Managing UP: Maximizing Efficiency for Your Boss’s Sake

Posted on 05/15/2013 by ·

"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it . . . Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine." -- David Ogilvy, British advertizing executive; often called The Father of Advertising. Most people regard management as overseeing and directing the work of subordinates: giving orders, delegating tasks, providing guidance, and making sure everyone consistently produces quality output. Of course, that is a fair textbook definition. But management doesn't always flow downhill—great employees manage UP as well. In recent years, the theme has become an increasingly popular one in management circles. Basically, managing up hinges on actions that make life easier for both the boss and the employee, offsetting the boss's bad … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged:

Breaking Parkinson’s Law: Six Ways to Deliberately Constrain Your Workflow

Posted on 05/13/2013 by ·

"I might as well put some action in my life/Breaking the law, breaking the law..." -- Judas Priest, British heavy metal band. "[Parkinson's Law] is the magic of the imminent deadline… The end product of the shorter deadline is almost inevitably of equal or higher quality due to greater focus." -- Timothy Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week In an essay published in the The Economist in 1955, British historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson formulated his most famous axiom: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Though originally applied humorously, Parkinson's Law hits uncomfortably close to the mark. You can apply it to everything from committees to finance to corporate structure—and people have. I believe it's especially applicable to personal productivity. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: ,

Go, Speed Racer, Go! How to Think Faster on Your Feet

Posted on 05/08/2013 by ·

"A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace." -- Ovid, ancient Roman poet. "Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." -- Wyatt Earp, Old West gunfighter and lawman. As a professional speaker, I’m frequently faced with questions I haven’t been asked before and must think quickly on my feet. Or suppose you’re the team expert on Boxlets, your company's proprietary spreadsheet program. If your boss needs a quick fact or a doubtful customer starts grilling you on why he should buy Boxlets and not Lotus 1-2-3, you'll require the capacity to think fast and produce accurate answers. If you feel like your brain doesn’t move as quickly as you need it to, here’s what I’ve found has helped me make it THINK faster: 1. Take care of yourself. This should always come … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management · Tagged: ,

Welcome Change to the Family: Helping Your Team Embrace the New

Posted on 05/06/2013 by ·

"If you have always done it that way, it's probably wrong." -- Charles Kettering, American inventor and former head of research at General Motors. "The only completely consistent people are dead." -- Aldous Huxley, British writer As surely as hair grows and flowers bloom, change will come rolling through your organization today, tomorrow, and always. Trying to resist it would be like trying to hold back the ocean. That didn't work for King Canute, and it won't work for you. Instead, take advantage of change: catch the wave, hang ten, and use its energy to your advantage. Admittedly, that may prove easier said than done. But you can use that argument for almost anything. You can also blame someone else when change leaves damage in its wake because you did nothing. You can actively resist … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: ,

The 3T Approach: Aligning Strategy with Daily Operations

Posted on 05/01/2013 by ·

"The most empowering condition of all is when the entire organization is aligned with its mission, and people’s passions and purpose are in synch with each other." -- Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic, and leadership expert Peter Sims "Alignment begins with a constituency of one." -- American inspirational writer Kristin S. Kaufman. One of the business world's standing challenges is aligning long-term organizational strategy with day-to-day operations—the short-term tactics and logistics that combine to ensure the organization stays afloat. Indeed, bringing the two together may represent the most difficult part of a leader’s job. It's tough at any level, especially on the front lines where workers have a hard enough time taking care of their basic duties, plus the new initiatives … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tools & Systems · Tagged: , ,

Promises, Promises: What To Do When Your Coworkers Fail You

Posted on 04/29/2013 by ·

"Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable, and you will never be asked to do a thing." -- Paul Theroux, American travel writer and artist. "From the backstabbing co-worker to the meddling sister-in-law, you are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life, or you can choose happiness instead." -- Anais Nin, French-American diarist. Volunteer leaders, freelancers, and corporate employees alike all depend on others to contribute or provide work. At some point, you will run into people who fail to deliver what they've promised. How should you react when people leave you in the lurch? Your reaction depends on a number of factors: • Was the failure an oversight, or did they outright break a promise? • Was this a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged:

Increasing Creativity in Your Organization: Six Ways to Spark Innovative Thinking

Posted on 04/24/2013 by ·

"You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore." -- André Gide, French author (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947). "An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all." -- Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and poet. While the business environment requires a certain level of built-in routine in order to maximize productivity, that doesn't mean you can't have creative fun at work. Remember what Peter Drucker taught us: "The business enterprise has two—and only two—basic functions: marketing and innovation." So what does that have to do with creativity? Just this: when you reduce it to its essentials, innovation is creativity. Innovation facilitates the agility and flexibility all organizations require to survive. So … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: , ,