Last week, I was having a discussion with some people at a conference about the relationship between productivity and quality. It dawned on me that not everybody had come to the realisation that you can too much time on getting something done well and this is something valuable to both individuals and organisations as it impacts both the enjoyment of our work and the bottom-line of our companies.
The big issue is that most people are, at heart, perfectionists. They want to make sure that everything is JUST RIGHT. Unfortunately, the economics of it do not make sense. Some years ago I realised that in advertising, clients will usually be happy with something that is perhaps 70% good and, because they don't know any better, this is exactly what the agencies deliver. Developing and executing an idea at 70% is, generally, quite easy and not necessarily that time consuming. Getting it from 70% to 100% will take ages and will add very little value to either the client or the agency's bottom-line. Personally, I've learnt to set my levels at about 85% (still a bit more of a perfectionist ;-)), but the last 15% would make no sense as I've come to realise that I'm the only one who would appreciate the extra effort.
Therefore, I was quite pleased to see that I was not the only one thinking about this and over at Lifehack.org there is an article about how to avoid overspending time on a task. If you've ever fallen into this particular productivity trap, I recommend you read the article as it could lead to a more productive and happier life - as well as increase the financial results.
02 May 2008
Do not spend too much time on a task!
Get the most from Excel 2007
I have just realised that I haven't written a single post on how to get more from any of the Office applications that we all end up spending an inordinate amount of our time working in. I thought now might be a good time to make up for that oversight and bring you some wisdom and knowledge about how to increase your productivity when using Excel. If you've found similar great walk-throughs of Word 2007 and Outlook 2007, please let me know.
Over at Techmender, I came across this great walk-through of Excel 2007, its main features and you can quickly see how to get the most from it.
If you would like to read this great set of tips about Excel 2007, go to Techmender and read the full article.
5 Quick Tips for Email Productivity
I just came across this old post at 43 Folders, where Merlin Mann has some great trips for email productivity.
The tips are as follows:
- Don't use auto-check
- Pick off easy ones
- Write less
- Cheat
- Be honest
If you would like to find out more about these five tips, head on over to 43 Folders. Sphere: Related Content
10 April 2008
Productivity guru launches personal blog
Claus Møller, the Dane who invented the Time Manager® results tool and is well-known for his productivity enhancing seminars and corporate turn-arounds for the likes of British Airways, SAS and other global service organisations has recently started his own blog.
It should be mentioned that Claus is actually my father so as to counter any responses about similarity of names etc.
On the blog he will post articles and thoughts about not only productivity, but also the other cornerstones of his management philosophies: relations, quality and leadership.
It is going to be interesting to see the content that will be developed on this site. So far there is a link to a short article on Bnet about how leaders could and should learn how to manage.
I'm sure that all of you productivity fans out there will welcome one of the true productivity gurus into our blogosphere and help him through engaging debate about how individuals, teams and organisations can improve their productivity.
Visit Claus Møller's blog here.
If you would like to find out more about Claus Møller's books and seminars, you can visit Claus Møller Consulting.
09 April 2008
Transparency and openness in the workplace create a better environment for productivity
A new survey by Deloitte shows that transparency and openness by the leadership of a company help foster a more engaging and productive workplace. Furthermore, the "Deloitte 2008 Ethics & Workplace" survey also shows that these traits lead to a more ethical workplace.
The background for the survey is that we live in a world where flexibility in terms of career paths and how we choose to spend our time are the most important factors for many employees and managers. Organisations must be creative when it comes to allowing individuals the flexibility in terms of working habits and being able to "customise" their career paths. The survey also showed that one of the key factors in creating an engaging and productive workplace was for the employees to be able to better balance work schedules and personal priorities.
The main findings of the survey can be summarised as follows:
- 72% of respondents agreed that openness by leadership about why they need to take time off will lead to a more engaging and productive workplace
- 84% said that openness by leadership would lead to a more ethical organisation, and 68% said it would lead to a more values-based organisation
- 81% take advantage of customised work arrangements, whereas 74% agreed that they would be more productive and engaged at work if they were able to better balance their work schedules and personal priorities.
Perhaps the most worrying thing is that although 75% of respondents feel that overall most employees are treated equally when it comes to being able to set flexible work options, 50% still feel that the leadership set different standards for themselves.
For the summary of the survey, please go to the press release from Deloitte at the Sun Herald.
Do you agree with these findings? Are there other things in the behaviour of leadership that would have a greater impact on your personal productivity and work engagement? Please feel free to comment. Sphere: Related Content
Book of Tricks
Gina Trapani, of Lifehacker.com fame, has published the long-awaited second edition of her book full of tips on how to increase your productivity through software. Like the first edition, it is well-written, concise and has some great productivity tips for computer users at all skill levels. I highly recommend getting this book. Remember that if you only find one tip worthwhile, but it can save you 10 minutes a day - you'll get almost an extra hour's work done every single week.
Read more about Gina Trapani: Upgrade Your Life
01 April 2008
Very useful articles for your business
I got an email today from Microsoft about some new research that they were giving away for free to members of the Microsoft Intelligence Service (MIS). If you already have a Passport account it takes no time to sign up and get access to great free articles from Harvard Business Review and The Economist. There is an article about "Britain's Digital Elite" and another one is The Economist's "Book of Bright People". By reading these articles, I'm sure that you will find some inspiration by finding out more about what motivates and drives these people. If you're more financially inclined there is a very interesting article for Finance Directors about why we should can budgets as we know them.
When you sign up you can also register to get a free copy of "Listening to the Future", the first book in the PRB Leadership Book series.
Click here to see more of the cool content that Microsoft are giving away.
31 March 2008
Don't search... find!
Here's a quick tip: The Daily Telegraph have put together a quick list of the 101 most useful web sites for UK internet users. This ought to pretty much cover most of your needs for everything from social networks to entertainment, travel and technology. If it means that you can cut out some web surfing and instead go straight to the content you need then it will have worked.
Click here to see the list.
28 March 2008
New productivity store
Today I've started creating a store on Amazon.co.uk, where you can find great books, software and training CDs/DVDs about how to increase your productivity; become a better project manager; lead a fuller and happier life; and obtain a better work-life balance. It will be an on-going project to extend this store to its full potential. If you know of any products which you think should be included then please drop me a line.
Click here to go to The Productivity Store
04 March 2008
Does technology kill meeting productivity?
I just read an article at EffectiveMeetings.com about how technology can often limit (or even kill) meeting productivity as we spend all of our time playing around with our PDAs, cell phones and PowerPoint. I guess you've all tried sitting in one of the meetings where everybody turns completely apathetic and stare blankly at one slide after another as they're crammed with data and the presenter just isn't capable of rising above the noise that he or she has created through their presentation...
Personally, though, I really do believe that mobile phones are the real bane of meetings. Some years ago I did quite a bit of consultancy work in Greece and the meetings were always the biggest waste of time imaginable. A meeting that ought to last about 60 minutes to do a status update, discuss key issues and make decisions could easily extend to four, five or even SIX(!) hours. This was due to the fact that the managers never arrived on time - sometimes showing up 1 1/2 hours after the meeting was due to begin and they would then invariable answer any incoming phone calls and step outside. This happened even when what we were discussing was the direct responsibility of the person taking the call. He would just ask his no. 2 to run things while he was away. He would then return and the no. 2 would get a call and stepped outside to take it. However, they just wanted to continue the discussions so by the time the no. 2 came back in the room neither he nor his boss had a full picture of anything and were therefore completely paralysed when it came to making the decisions - or, even worse, they would make them based on incomplete information!
Have a look at the article and think about how you use technology in meetings next time.
