Last week, I asked “What should we measure?” And talked about the need to measure outputs/outcomes rather than inputs – in terms of workers’ contributions. Working long hours is not a key to success. Those hours have to make a contribution to strategic goals.
Now, I read that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has called the 60-hour working week the “sweet spot of productivity” as he urged staff to have more onsite days to help the tech giant meet its AI goals.
I agree that we need more staff to be in the office – but this is to improve communication, interaction, creativity and team bonding, rather than as a direct impact on productivity.
But this does show that very smart – and very successful – people can misunderstand the nature of productivity and concentrate on the wrong measures.
Sergey Brin might not have been saying exactly what he seemed to mean but it was very kind of him to underline my message and my lesson in such a timely manner.