"One of the great challenges of our age, in which the tools of our productivity are also the tools of our leisure, is to figure out how to make more useful those moments of procrastination when we're idling in front of our computer screens." -- Joshua Foer, freelance American journalist and 2006 U.S.A. Memory Champion.
Excellence, Planning, and Effort: Baking the Productivity Cake! |
As a rule, you don't just stumble across productivity---and it doesn't strike you out of the blue like a gift from Heaven. One of the most cogent observations I've seen on the subject comes from motivational speaker Paul J. Meyer: "Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort."
Print out that quote, frame it, and hang it prominently on your wall. Take it to heart-because Meyer certainly did. At a young age, he became keenly interested in personal achievement and goal-setting and made the above quote one of his formulas for success. By age 27, he was a millionaire-and that was back in 1955, when the term really meant something. By 1960, he was teaching other people his secrets, and many now consider him the founder of the Personal Development movement. Let's take a look at how each of Meyer's ingredients contributes to true productivity:
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Commitment to Excellence.
You can have nothing less than a positive desire to do incredible work. Think of attitude as leavening in a cake: without it, your team won't rise to the occasion. As a leader, it's your responsibility to encourage team commitment to excellence in every way possible. Build an experienced, talented team, and then make them feel that visceral need to create a product or service that will carve out a large slice of the market share.I've written whole articles and book chapters on the subject of motivation, so I won't belabor the point here. Typically, though, a commitment to excellence arises through factors such as: - Leadership by example
- A culture of mutual cooperation
- Effective team building exercises
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Incentivization (via money, perks, promotions, rewards, awards)
- Employee empowerment
- Full engagement
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Thanks for reading! Make it a productive day.™ |
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All Articles (C) 2013 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. This information may not be distributed, sold, publicly presented, or used in any other manner, except as described below. Permission to reprint all or part of this article in your magazine, e-zine, website, blog, or organization newsletter is hereby GRANTED, provided: (1) The ENTIRE credit line below is present, (2) the website link to www.TheProductivityPro.com is clickable (LIVE), and (3) you send a copy, PDF, link, tearsheet, etc. of the work in which the article is used when published.
This credit line MUST be reprinted in its entirety to use any articles from Laura Stack: (C) 2013 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is America's premier expert in personal productivity. For over 20 years, her speeches and seminars have helped professionals, leaders, teams, and organizations improve output, execute efficiently, and save time at work. She's the author or coauthor of 10 books, most recently, What to Do When There's Too Much to Do. To invite Laura to speak at your next meet or register for her free monthly newsletter, visit www.TheProductivityPro.com. |
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