What Works

 

On Management

Increasing Production by Defining What to Do

It's of course important to be productive day to day, but I have found that the step before production or execution is the real secret—the actual planning of what needs to be done prior to doing it. If you can create a clear list of target goals that are doable or executable, you can then simply execute them. It wastes so much production time to attempt to hustle and “be productive” without fully visualizing what needs to be done and why, and then defining in writing the doable steps to be completed. When I say doable steps, I mean it's written in an actionable format. Here is an example:

1. Pick up the phone and call Mr. Peterson to discuss proposal.
2. Create the proposal as discussed for ABC Corp. and e-mail it to John.

The preceding two steps are both actions that can be done easily. If you break down your daily and weekly goals and targets and think them through, defining exactly what individual actions need to be taken, from there all you need to do is execute. That's when genuine speed, efficiency, and productivity start to happen. This simple action will make your life easier and will speed up production, allowing you to get more done.

Knowledge and Management

As the saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” By knowledge I ...