The art of working smart

Automotive Design & Production, Sept, 2004 by Ted Pollock

Being more productive doesn't mean working yourself to death. More often, it means substituting brains for brawn, organizing your efforts and practicing some old-fashioned discipline. Some tips to get you on the right track.

SET GOALS AND ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REACHING THEM. Goals are necessary for achievement because they channel your energies. Make sure yours are specific, realistic but challenging, and measurable. They should be compatible with each other and not mutually exclusive. Give each one a deadline. Putting your goals in writing can be helpful, but don't fall into the trap of believing that because they exist on paper that they are cast in concrete; keep them flexible and subject to change. When you establish your goals, set them on a long-term, intermediate, and daily basis. After setting them, rank them in order of importance and tackle the most important first.

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KEEP ACCOUNTS OF YOUR TIME. People who wouldn't dream of not maintaining meticulous accounts of where their money goes often have no idea of how they spend their time. Don't be one of them. Most time use is habit and we don't know what happens to it unless we keep track of it. Keeping a time log for a week or so periodically can help you uncover waste, keep you sensitive to the whole problem of time management.

KNOW WHAT NOT TO DO. Achievement isn't always the result of doing more. Frequently, it's the result of doing less ... better. A great effectiveness killer is the inability to say no. When you find it necessary to decline a job, do it promptly to avoid raising unrealistic expectations. Don't think you have to offer an explanation for every turndown, either.

CASH IN ON YOUR STRENGTHS. What we do easily, we usually do well. Whenever possible, therefore, look for work that allows you to build on your strong points. How well you work, remember, is more important than how hard you work.

AVOID THE "PERFECTION TRAP." Few of us are perfect. Fortunately, there are Few tasks in the world that require perfection in their execution. Of course, if you are a brain surgeon, that's a different story, but for most of us, a little less than perfect can be more than adequate. Sure, sometimes perfection is required, but learn to recognize those rare occasions and maintain your perspective.

DON'T PROCRASTINATE. Putting things off is probably the single biggest achievement killer. Things have to be done eventually. Why not now?

MINIMIZE INTERRUPTIONS. The best laid plans can be sabotaged by meetings, telephone calls, and visitors. Keep yours down to the barest of essentials. If you know a meeting will leave you no wiser than you now are, skip it. If you have to call a meeting, make very sure it's necessary. Maintain "visiting hours"--times during the week when people can see you; keep the rest inviolably private. You will be surprised by how much you can accomplish. Police your use of the telephone. If its overuse is wasting your time, cut down. When you want uninterrupted time, have your secretary take your calls. Few phone calls can't wait.

KEEP CLUTTER OFF YOUR DESK. Few things are so daunting as a desk piled high with papers. They discourage action on sight. If you want to get things done, clear your desk of everything related in any way to projects other than the one at hand; that's your top priority. Any other items will have to wait their turn. Resist the temptation to leave the project you are working on for other, more appealing tasks. When you are finished with the job at hand, send it on its way, then start on the next one.

Don't Demand Unconditional Surrender

When we get into an argument, most of us try to prove that we are totally and completely right, and the other person 100 percent wrong on all counts.

Skillful persuaders, however, always concede something and find some point of agreement.

If the other person has a point in his favor, acknowledge it. And if you give in on minor, unimportant matters, he will be much more likely to give in when you come to the main point.

Are You Getting the Truth?

Whether you manage two, ten or twenty people, by virtue of being a boss you run the risk of never quite getting the truth from your people. They may not even be aware of stretching the truth when they speak to you, but subordinates tend to tell the people they report to (a) what they think the boss would like to hear or (b) what they would like the boss to hear. In the process, what is actually happening may slip between the cracks.

To add to the information that comes to you from the usual sources, consider these techniques for wringing out the distortions and adding to the perspectives you usually get.

Build mutual trust between yourself and your people. To the extent that you reduce fear, you reduce the emotional need among your people to mislead you. Although you may seldom receive absolute frankness, you can hope for occasional helpful hints.

Put a premium on integrity. When people know that all the news is welcome, they are more likely to share what they know and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but. Centuries ago, the bearers of bad news got their heads chopped off--and, at least Figuratively speaking, they sometimes do today.