Tag: team work

Conversation

FabrizioLeave a comment

The mere presence of a meeting on a calendar does not imply that the meeting has happened. Even if it started at the right time, with the right people, each one of them sharing some words, cheering, laughing, nodding, moving on. That still does not mean that the meeting has happened.

Meetings should inspire action, and yet how often does that happen in reality? How many meetings do you need before you actually get something done?

Consider spending half of the time you have scheduled for meetings tomorrow in a conversation instead. Turn to someone who could help you get unstuck, ask thoughtful questions, relax and listen. Then spend the remaining time applying what you learned to what you are doing.

Get going.

Single-tasking

FabrizioLeave a comment

If there is one thing we can learn from moments of crisis is the importance of focus.

We can only be effective if our attention is on one thing at a time. It is not possible to work as you are helping your kids through their day. It is not possible to enjoy time with your son if all you think about is the email you will have to send later in the evening. It is not possible to engage in a meaningful conversation with your partner if you are surfing the news at the same time.

Different interests and pursuits have their own time, and you should become accustomed to isolating your attention as you dedicate resources to each one of them.

Multi-tasking is a myth, rarely a necessity, never a skill.

We should get rid of it.

The greatest failure

FabrizioLeave a comment

Sheer logic and numbers struggle to convince people that they need to act.

When is the last time you have done something because of a wonderfully illustrated argument? When were you last impressed by the architecture and technology beyond a new piece of software? When have you last felt you belong in a percentage?

If you are anything like me and most of us, you are rarely moved by logic, rationality and utilitarianism. What instead changes our minds and makes us feel as if we want to do something right now are stories and feelings.

While the majority understands this, very few practice it. And this is the greatest failure in businesses nowadays.

Business or people

FabrizioLeave a comment

Is your company about business or about people?

Of course, the former is a given and the latter is claimed by the majority. Yet decisions and behaviour, particularly in difficult moments, tip the scale.

Another way to put the question would be the following.

In the past few weeks, have you asked your people to do more or have you offered to do more for your people?

The fact is, when you offer to do more for those around you it is very likely you’ll end up getting more in return.

Game changer

FabrizioLeave a comment

We are often puzzled by success, as in most of the cases we do average work and expect outcomes to be average at best.

And so, when something extraordinary happens, we invest time in trying to figure out what is the reason, what have we done this time we have not done before, what is the difference. We do this because we’d like to replicate such unexpected success, make it the norm, the future average.

The truth is, most of this type of success is due to a weird combination of factors that we often call luck.

So if you really want to craft your success, at least do it before it happens. Build a practice, be consistent and relentless, use common sense and reiterate. All these things tend to get lost when we look back at success, as we desperately want to focus on that tiny little detail that changed it all (it did not, of course).