The workers who just don't do it

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“When you make a commitment, you build hope. When you keep it, you build trust” - Stephen Covey

For my first office job, I was employed by Modern Printing Company (famous for the Spirax notebook) who at the time had been around for 100 years. It was a great place to learn fundamentals because most systems were processed manually so understanding interdependencies between processes and having an attention for detail were necessary skills. Modern Printing Company was the first time I encountered a colleague who had absolute clarity about what needed to be done but happened to be ineffective. I was young and thought the person had too much work to do (that’s because he repeatedly told me so). I was sympathetic to his situation but as I gained more experience I discovered the real issue was he didn't execute well.

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Productivity not a priority?

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“Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people” – John D. Rockefeller

Recently I was talking to a friend who shared with me how his company wasn’t meeting their sales targets. This in turn put pressure on cash flow. What he was really frustrated about was his new boss had communicated the need for increased productivity. My friend explained how the focus was all wrong, the new boss just doesn’t get it, the real issue is they just need to sell more. He said: “That makes sense, doesn’t it?”

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Are you maximising or minimising your potential?

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"We are anxious to improve our circumstances but unwilling to improve ourselves. We therefore remain bound" –  James Allen

What I enjoy about my job is I get to help people and the organisations they work for be more effective at what they do. I find those who are committed to improving embrace the opportunity to perform better and more efficiently. Whereas those who don’t take action merely spectate. It’s consistently revealed that a superior technique combined with an appropriate level of effort enables individuals to maximise their potential and prosper in even challenging environments. It all starts with a decision to improve.

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Is your job bad for your health?

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What is a typical workday like for you? Do you work between 7 to 12 hours a day? If you do this consistently then during the weekdays you’re working between 29% to 50% of the total available hours. Did you know that working more than 11 hours a day increases the risk of heart disease by 67%? (Source: University College London). We might think we’re invincible or are just too busy to contemplate anything different, but maybe it’s not our job that’s bad for our health. Instead, we just might need to rethink our approach to work.

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5 tips for any team

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Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. - Henry Ford

Teams come in all shapes and sizes. Over the years I’ve been a member of many teams at work and in sport. Essentially, I’ve been involved in both high performing teams and teams who have struggled to function cohesively. I know that business and sporting teams cannot be treated the same way because there are particular aspects where they’re uniquely different ie. passion, a sense of belonging to a tribe etc. However, there are also principles that can apply to both.

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Good time management is a habit worth building

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When I was a child my mother introduced me to the phrase “we’re a creature of our habits.” I’m not sure whether she would say it to explain a situation or use as an excuse when something happened. Most of us tend to have a mixture of good and bad habits. The first step in kicking a habit is to recognise what it is and then make a firm commitment to do something about it. It sounds easy in theory but proves to be difficult in practice for many.

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What the top CEO expects from employees

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Ever experienced working with the full spectrum of bosses – a great boss at some point and a terrible boss at another time? I know I have and the difference is night and day. What if you had the opportunity to work for the best CEO? On face value you’d be crazy not to consider it. However, let’s flip it and ask whether you have what it takes to measure up as an employee?

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The 7 traits of an ineffective team

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Tug of war is a contest where 2 teams pull at opposite ends of a rope until 1 drags the other over a central line. It’s not always the biggest or strongest team that wins but the team who works better together while pulling in the same direction. Being part of a team at work provides a similar experience. You’re either a member of a high performing team or you’re not.

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The top 5 productivity excuses

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The simple fact is everyone has 168 hours available each week. Why are some people able to accomplish so much more at work and in their personal life week after week? Are they naturally good at getting stuff done or did they have to learn how to? For many it presents a dilemma - you either have it or you need to get it. However, not everyone takes action to improve their situation.

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Downsizing companies must invest in developing the remaining employees

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Recently I wrote how we’re in the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that will see automation, artificial intelligence, and robots make 5 million jobs obsolete globally by 2020. Last week Telstra CEO Any Penn announced that 1,400 jobs (approximately 4.5 % of the workforce) will be cut where “technology innovation and digital disruption are combined with the increased competitive pressures and the accelerated rollout of the NBN." These types of challenges aren’t isolated to a specific company or industry so we need to brace ourselves that job losses will happen across most sectors with some regularity.

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Get ready now for the future of work

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The World Economic Forum reports that automation, artificial intelligence, and robots are going to make 5 million jobs obsolete by 2020. We’re already in the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution which will continue to dramatically change how we work. It’s a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity (VUCA). What we need to be doing now is future proof ourselves by adapting the necessary skills to survive and thrive in this new world.

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Fix your personal workflow

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When a customer order is received, businesses tend to have a systematic way they go about fulfilling the order, invoicing the customer and so on. Those who do it well leverage economies of scale, customer satisfaction etc. Applying the same logic, individuals need an efficient workflow when new work they need to action is received ie. what happens next? However, many white-collar workers don’t and this severely impacts their ability to be effective.

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Reduce “the noise” to increase clarity

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Recently I’ve been coaching some terrific people ranging in roles from owners of small business through to managers and supervisors in large organisations. While industries, experience and size of business have differed, a common thread has emerged. Seventy percent have lacked clarity, despite the intent to achieve being exemplary. This manifests into to feelings of frustration while limiting the ability to lead and reach potential.

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80% of your task list shouldn’t be there

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Whether I’m talking to the most senior or junior person in an organisation, almost everyone seems to be busy. Delving into what’s causing the busyness, responses vary from vague to detailed or even confessions of tasks that aren’t critical to their role. However, an immediate justification reasons why they’ve got so many tasks to action. You see we lack clarity when we’re overwhelmed by too many tasks.

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The habit behind Warren Buffet’s success. Could 1 habit make a huge difference to you?

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In a recent meeting, the person I was talking to had this annoying habit of underestimating the facts. You see they were in a very dire situation but kept downplaying the magnitude. At first, I thought it was a lack of comprehension, but then I realised the behaviour was a defence mechanism. Even though the person had requested me to help them, a habit was getting in the way from making progress.

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NEVER work like Eddie McGuire

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Eddie McGuire is one of the most recognisable and successful people in Australia. His is the story of a kid from a working class suburb who made the most of his opportunities through talent, tenacity and sheer hard work. Try to replicate the workload of “Eddie Everywhere” and most of us will fail. You see it’s the gruelling work schedule that sets Eddie apart from all but a small minority. 

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