We have all seen examples of business leaders focusing exclusively on productivity growth - and failing to develop the business. Elon Musk - and his (‘hard-nosed’) approach to managing Twitter (now ‘X’) is just one example. Does this mean that a very strong focus on productivity is wrong? As often is the case, the answer
Yes, you should. We all need a break from work occasionally to rid ourselves of accumulated stress, to refresh ourselves. But I've learned that there are things you can do to help maintain productivity whilst still having x complete break. Firstly - prepare for the vacation. One of the worst things about a vacation is
Your personal productivity depends on how well you know yourself. What interests you? What are you good at? What don't you like doing? In the past, when have you performed well - and what were the circumstances? Each of us is different. We have different interests, different motivations, different abilities, different skills. This means we
The answer to the question is obvious. Yes, you should. We all need a break from work occasionally to rid ourselves of accumulated stress, to refresh ourselves. But I've learned that there are things you can do to help maintain productivity whilst still having x complete break. Firstly - prepare for the vacation. One of
At the personal level, many people associate the word ‘productivity’ with working (too) hard, suffering a poor work-life balance and increasing stress. At the organisation level, many people associate the word ‘productivity’ with working harder, restructurings and layoffs. At national level, few people understand the word ‘productivity’ - talk about it confuses and frightens them.
Most of us have done some form of study that involves a section on improving communications. We learn about the importance of making any message appropriate to the target audience - using the right language, using appropriate images, and so on. We also learn about choosing the medium for the message according to factors such
Just imagine you were the CEO of Walmart several years ago. You can see that Amazon is starting to gain a foothold in markets beyond the books and music where it started. You know you have to have some kind of response, some preparation for when Amazon (or someone like Amazon) starts to intrude on
Sometimes keeping things simple yields the best results. This is particularly true for start-ups and small businesses. Don’t get sucked into complex (and expensive) systems of control or ‘improvement’.Stick to the basics. Set realistic goals (consistent with your declared mission and vision). If the goals are long-term, set intermediate targets. Communicate those goals/targets throughout the organisation (especially
Climate-change activists often insist theirs is the right way. They insist that everything we do (or more often not do) must help ‘save the planet', rather than make us richer or more secure. Yet, in all fields of human activity, the two can co-exist, even help each other…. If we look at green policies and practices
Of course it does! However, concentrating on squeeing every last drop of productive output from each day and multi-tasking to get more done can lead to burnout, to stress and anxiety and to a drop in performance. If this sounds like your existence, then think about what it represents. Time is managing you, rather than