An interesting thought exercise for large corporations: Reverse the org chart. Put the people at the bottom in charge and people at the top do the grunt work. There are people at the bottom that are more capable than you think. And a lot at the top that have been pulled up politically, not on merit. Expose them to the muck and bullets and they might not last long. Conversely, if you are at the bottom, imagine you were already at the top and the org chart has just been reversed. What would you do to get back on top? What would be your priority? Do that. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog The majority are visible in the office. The majority could do their daily work faster. The majority allow themselves to get interrupted. The majority are complicit in making meetings longer than they need to be. The majority are afraid of trying something new. The majority are unhealthy. The majority complain about their situation rather than changing it. The majority watch hours and hours of TV. The majority have never started their own project. The majority have regrets. Pause and reflect. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog People are always saying to me that they have no time. No time to do what's important. To do things that will get them promoted. To do things to develop themselves. To read a book. To spend time with family. Looking around, no one, and I mean no one, can run a meeting . Not even the top of your organisation. Does this sound familiar, waiting for a senior to come into a lower level meeting and they are always late? This has a cascading effect throughout the organisation and it shows others that this is acceptable. When others get promoted, they also stack their meetings back-to-back and are proud that they are late for everything because they are so important and so busy. No one is thinking like Tim Ferriss' quote: "Busyness is a form of laziness. Lazy thinking and indiscriminate action" 80% of senior managers are just busy and it cripples organisations. It stems from the "being in the office" culture. It does not matter what you do, as no one knows what anyone else does in a large organisation anyway. It only matters what you are seen to be doing. It does not matter that two senior managers who can't use excel spend until midnight filling out a new tracker by hand, not using formulas and calculating things on their phone and typing it in. It does not matter that someone else could have done what took them 6 hours of work in 10minutes. They are lauded for burning the midnight oil, for going the extra mile. So, no one is thinking about meetings because it is an easy way to stay in the office longer. Yet, for people that are truly busy (they cannot get the work done which is needed to keep the organisation running, even if working all waking hours), they must prioritise. And they the easiest thing to cut is meetings. Don't go to them. Leave after your part (hardly anyone does this, because meetings are a jolly, especially off site ones). Or actually pay attention and move them along, even when you are not the leader. Running meetings is hard. It should not be left to chance. Like being mindful of your time is hard if you do not focus on it consistently. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Everyone has their thing. What's your thing? I have no interest in Rolex watches. When the Apple Watch came out everyone was saying “£500? That’s expensive, what does it do?” Well if it just told the time, it is still only 10% of the price of an entry level Rolex. So, what is the real question? That people in the know, know how much it is? A Rolex to me looks the same as £50 watch, but I am not in the know. An Apple Watch is definitely more functional, as in it has more functions, but you definitely do not need one. How much value is an object adding to your life? Maybe a lot? Is it bringing you the same happiness as financial freedom? Everyone has their thing, but if you can minimise your things, happiness is behind them. Would you rather have a Rolex now or £500k 40 years later. Most people aren't thinking like this, even when they are buying their £3 latte’s three times a day. It adds up and compounds. Buy what you want. But if you can want less in the short-term, you will have to work less to get freedom in the long term. Realise it is a choice. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog How much work left outstanding is acceptable? No one is leaving work having completed everything they must do. So how much work left outstanding is acceptable? It seems to be arbitrary. If you are in the office for eight hours then if you have stuff left over that is okay? What if Jane get twice as much done as Greg. Why is it acceptable for Greg to leave twice as much outstanding? Why is it not acceptable for Jane to work four hours and have the same amount of work left for tomorrow? In the corporate world, no one is thinking like this. Like they have finite time on the planet. If you can do a day’s work in half a day why are you working full days? Because they have paid for your time, not your results, despite what your annual review says. And no one cares, as long as they see you around looking busy. The most important decision you can make is what time you are going to stop work today. But realise this is for you and your family, not because you have done enough work for the day. There is always more to do. So why not do something you love to do? "The ordinary man is always doing things, Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog
If you have a corporate job you need to read this book. A fan of Tim Ferriss? You also need to read this book.
This is the definitive book on time management and how to work effectively and efficiently. For managers and individuals alike, this is a must read.
Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog In part one, we said how to think about your meeting and decide what you want to get out of it. In part two is similar as we consider splitting this down. Write an agenda. Decide what you want to get out of each agenda item and estimate how long it will take. Each agenda item should start with a verb, preferably "decide". If you are just reviewing finances then read them at your leisure and set up a slack group for questions. If you are tempted to write “discuss”, then think about splitting out a few people beforehand to align. Or include a follow up agenda item to “decide”. Preferably, just have one agenda item to “decide” as everyone knows this will involve some discussion, but no one is left uncertain of what is needed when the time for that agenda item runs out. When estimating how long you need, think about other meetings and the personalities you have in the meeting. Do you have all the options? Have you counted the votes? Review what happened last time and adjust. There will always be people that say they need more time, more information or more resources. If you have prepared correctly push for the decision. As soon as you have decided, you can move onto the next agenda item. If you have not decided by the time run out? You are out of time… Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Time is relative and absolute. Time is finite yet most people carry on as if it can last forever. What if today was the last day you could see your parents? What if you kept putting off seeing them because it was an extra half hour on your commute? What if you got out of two meetings 15mins early? Everyone agrees that family comes first, yet rarely is this seen in work. There is no urgency to get something agreed, decided, put to bed. The scourge of being visible in the office cripples productivity and consistently places the urgent above the important. Even top execs are one pay check away from being broke. Learn how to spend your time and your money or you will quickly lose both. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog What is “must”? What is “have to”? If imposed on yourself, these thoughts can be the drive greatness. If imposed by someone else, they can can hold you back. You don't have to do anything, there are just consequences if you do and consequences if you do not. Remember there are always three sides, even to a coin. Find the edge and make your decision from there. Still don’t know, then do what Derek Sivers says. Think long term. The best option is the one that provides the most options. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
What would you do with an extra hour per day? More from the Blog Tony Robbins is a big believer in the power of questioning to influence someone. It is obvious, in hind sight, that they need to come up with the answer to be bought in to the solution. This is instinctive but gets beaten out of you as a child. We learn it is bad to say “why why why”, It just is. Learn this text book. Regurgitate this date. Why not teach your child to ask better questions? Maybe because you have not asked or answered them of yourself. Maybe because you will not like the answer you think of. “Daddy, why do you have to go to work?” Easy answer “to pay the bills to buy toys.” Hard answer, “because I did not invest in myself enough to generate income that is not linked to my time. So now I have to miss seeing you in return for buying you things that will never replace the short time you have with me.” Time adds up, minutes turn to hours, turn to days. Shave the excess, spend time on the important things, ditch the rest. Fed up of meeting hell? Our iPhone app can help. Find out more.
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