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“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself” - Andy Warhol
The Future of Work will dramatically change how we work. We’re already transitioning into this world that presents a level of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). As the year draws to a close, how will this impact us in the short term
“The majority of meetings should be discussions that lead to decisions” - Patrick Lencioni
The Number 1 complaint I get from busy workers is they waste too much time in meetings. It doesn’t matter whether they’re face to face meetings or virtual meetings, workers don't have enough time to actually do their job. Does this happen to you?
“The true measure of the value of any business leader and manager is performance” - Brian Tracy
Depending on when you read this, there’s only 14 work days or less until Xmas. That’s great news if you’re on schedule or if you’ve already reached your targets – you can enjoy this time of the year and even look at making some inroads into getting ahead of next years’ goals. But it’s a completely different situation if you’re behind schedule.
“IQ gets you hired, EQ gets you promoted” – Source Unknown
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) matters. Ninety percent of top performers have a high EQ (Source: Doctor Travis Bradberry). In the Future of Work there will be increased levels of artificial intelligence, robots and automation. However, machines have no empathy. It’s those with a high EQ who’ll stand out as the leaders and potential leaders.
“Each minute is a little thing, and yet, with respect to our personal productivity, to manage the minute is the secret of success” - Joseph Wirthlin
I often get asked the question “will productivity help me?” If you’ve heard me talk before you’ll realise I’m an advocate of productivity. However, let me step you through 4 scenarios.
"A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work” - John Lubbock
Xmas for many workers is the start of the holiday period. Are you looking forward to the break or is your head mired in all the work that needs to be completed before Xmas? Besides work, there might be gifts to buy, functions to attend, a holiday to organise and so on. That sinking feeling of having too much to do could be a case of Déjà vu. But you soldier on convinced you’ll be more organised next year. The reality is you won’t unless you take specific action to break the cycle.
"You are not your resume, you are your work" – Seth Godin
The difference between effective and ineffective workers is like night and day. If 2 workers in identical roles both have positive attitudes, how is it that 1 can drive outcomes and exceed targets, whereas the other frequently fails to reach expected outcomes or targets? The answer is work methods.
“The trick to success is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it” –Gary Keller
In the book The ONE Thing, authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan talk about it’s always the ONE Thing that delivers extraordinary results: “What's the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Workers usually have ONE Thing that constrains productivity to the extent they would be more effective if they were able to do this ONE Thing better.
“Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential” – Stephen Covey
Not all workers are effective. The reality is some lose sight of focusing on the key aspects of their role that are important to success. Instead, they get caught up wasting time and effort on lesser important tasks. What can be done to break the cycle for ineffective workers?
"You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights" - Brian Tracy
We don’t reach our potential if we’re unable or unwilling to let go of our limiting beliefs. This is often the difference between the people who continue to learn and evolve versus those who don’t. Mindset can be just as important as ability.
Good values are like a magnet. They attract good people – John Wooden
There’s a difference between delaying or postponing something that should be done today (procrastination) versus committing to do something but not intending to do it (values). In either case letting ourselves or others down should never be tolerated as acceptable behaviour. Upholding values is central to the culture of high performing teams.
“We were all born with a certain degree of power. The key to success is discovering this innate power and using it daily to deal with whatever challenges come our way” – Les Brown
Workers are unique due to their respective strengths, weaknesses and preferences. For instance, someone who’s organised and busy doesn’t necessarily translate into a productive person. It could be that they’re tidy but focused on the wrong priorities. Whereas a worker who just makes deadlines could be quite productive due to the high workload they take on and deliver. How we interact with our work influences the level of output. Are productive people born or made? The answer isn’t straightforward but I think it’s a combination of both.
“Great acts are made up of small deeds” – Lao Tzu
Recently I caught up with an ex-colleague who lives by the adage of making every effort to do what he said he’ll do. It’s not surprising he’s a highly successful senior manager in his chosen field. It got me thinking how much I prefer to be around achievers more so than the people who overpromise and underdeliver.
“A place for everything, and everything in its place” – Mrs Beeton
Recently a friend frustratingly said to me “you’ve got to write a blog on organisation because I’m sick of wasting time looking for things.” Although it’s not always recognised, disorganisation is often the Achilles heel hampering progress for many at home and at work.
“Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before" - Franz Kafka
Unless you’ve strategically designed your productivity eco system then output can be quite inconsistent. Some days you’ll feel you’re making tremendous progress and other days you’ll seem to be going backwards. Recently while attending an event a CEO asked me for what I consider to be the 3 most important overarching productivity principles. Before I could answer he added “don’t give me 100 different detailed techniques, just 3 overarching principles. I responded I didn’t have 3 but I had 4 if he was interested. Today’s article has the 4 principles I shared with the CEO.
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort” - Paul J. Meyer
What happens when capable staff aren’t as effective as they need to be? When they become somewhat stuck, when they stop progressing and seem to be just treading water. Layer in not reaching goals or targets and the result is the disillusioned employee. Companies who ignore employees in these situations do so at their own peril because there’s untapped potential with an opportunity to increase profit for those who can unlock it. Productivity is the key to unleashing this potential.
“Indecision and delays are the parents of failure" - George Canning
Productivity in its simplest form is about making progress. While there are numerous variables that can restrict output, there’s also plenty of strategies that can be applied to drive efficiencies and outcomes. A common impediment to achievement is when we’re unable to decide. Do too many choices cause you to choose nothing?
“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.
“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?”
"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.
