Business Intelligence

Work Less, Worry Less, Succeed More, Enjoy More

by Richard Koch (14100)

By doing less, you can actually end up achieving more.

The key is to make sure you’re doing less of what adds only marginal value (most likely 80 percent of your current tasks) and focus instead on doing better whatever generates the majority of the value you add (the other 20 percent). To find the time to do this, don’t even try doing your marginal value tasks. Instead, focus on your key tasks and completely drop everything else.

In practice, the best way to ahieve this is to work backwards from where you want to end up.

First, describe your destination — something personally motivating that cuts through all the irrelevancies and spells out where you want to end up in terms of personal development, career, money, relationships and quality of life. Define what you really want.

Next, figure out your 80/20 route possibilties. Usually there will be a number of options for reaching your specified destination. Your 80/20 route will be many times more productive than all the other options, and it will be easier for you to do.

Finally, get into action. Do the very few things that will hel pyou achieve more with less effort than you ever thought possible. It is only when you actually take action rather than merely knowing what you should be doing that changes will start to occur.

Living the 80/20 Way

(16407) Dave Lakhani says:

If you’re a recognized expert in your field, people will take more notice of your opinions. To become a guru:

(24100)

Ideas from publications by Napoleon Hill, Brian Tracy, Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson

Leading a wealth life is a goal that many people dream of from the time they begin their careers (those of uncommon talent may nurture this dream from childhood). And while we start out thinking of wealth in purely monetary terms, as we grow older and gradually see that there is more to life, this dream begins to evolve.

All human behavior begins with a thought, and achieving wealth is no exception. This is because thoughts have the power to penetrate into the subconscious, govern our beliefs and behavior, and transform impulses into rewards. In this respect, man is a marvelous creation. We have only to believe in something deeply, and we can turn it into reality. Other than self-imposed limitations, our lives are filled with boundless possibilities, and poverty and wealth are both products of our thinking. If you want to achieve wealth, first learn how to apply your thoughts.

Once you have decided on a clear direction, it’s time to move forward step by step. The best way to achieve your dreams is to follow in the footsteps of successful people. How does one do this? Should you attend the same schools? Or move in the same circles? No and no. All you need to do is study the habits of successful people, make these habits second nature through repetition, and you too can become a successful person.

Human life is an ongoing process of pursuit. As children we pursue good grades, and as adults we pursue success. Our desires are like arrows, and the target keeps getting moved higher and higher. But does this kind of life lead to happiness and satisfaction? There’s no such thing as a perfect life, so in the end we need to make choices about our goals in life. How much happiness do we need? What level of achievement? How much significance? What legacy do we want to leave behind? The foolish try to have it all, but the wise know that “just enough” is the best path to happiness. As it turns out, the secret to a truly wealthy life lies in the wisdom of give and take.

Are We Hardwired for Success?

by Chuck Martin, Peg Dawson and Richard Guare (24400)

Every person on the planet is hardwired differently and uniquely. In terms of the twelve executive skills — the skills that help you get things done — that means there are usually two or three areas you are naturally strong in and two or three areas of weakness. With planning and a little luck, you’ll probably move into a career that plays to your strengths while minimizing the impact of your weaknesses.

From an organizational perspective, if you understand the strengths and weaknesses of the others who may be involved, you can build better teams and match the right people to the right jobs.

“The effects of understanding executive skill strengths and weaknesses are enormous. Aligning your strengths with the jobs, tasks or teams that best use those strengths presents a winning combination. When an organization does this as a matter of course, there are a number of positive benefits:

Smarts

A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play

by Neil Fiore (24500)

Despite the fact that procrastination is a known drain on personal and organizational productivity, very few people ever take the time to define precisely what procrastination is.

A good working definition of procrastination is: “Procrastination is a mechanism that people use to cope with the anxiety or stress involved in starting new tasks or completing old ones.”

When you adopt this definition, it then becomes clear that the key to overcoming procrastination isn’t the usual collection of cliches:
“Just get out and do more.”
“Try harder.”
“Get better organized.”
“Stop being lazy.”

Instead, to genuinely overcome procrastination you’ve got to deal with your more deeply seated inner dialogues and your own personal definitions of “failure,” “perfectionism” and “work ethic”. Instead of a collection of how-to advice and tactics, you need to have a strategic system in place that will give you the tools you need to mentally shift gears intoa higher level of functioning. Once you take more control over the way you think about your work and motivate yourself, you will then naturally become more efficient and productive.

1. Create a mental safety net
2. Use positive self-talk to reprogram your attitudes
3. Use the symptoms of procrastination to trigger the cure
4. Strategically schedule some guilt-free play time
5. Use three-dimensional thinking and reverse calendars
6. Make worry work for you rather than against you
7. Create and use an unschedule on a daily basis
8. Set a few realistic goals that deserve your attention
9. Learn how to work in your most productive flow state
10. Turn setbacks into opportunities to move forward

The Now Habit