Solve problems. Achieve goals.
Think – Plan – Do –
This free, easy, and highly effective System
will help you solve problems and achieve goals:
This ultra-simple system has only 3 steps:
Think – Plan – Do
and then just keep going:
Repeat
This system can be used to solve all manner of problems
for individuals, business, and even social issues.
Start now.
Free Quick-Start Guide by Michael McCafferty Visit Michael Mcafferty resources at www.michaelmccafferty.com
Written by Tim Ferriss
“Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance.
The reason is simple: what you don’t do determines what you can do.
Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. The bullets are followed by more detailed descriptions. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items. I’ve worded them in no-to-do action form:
1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers
Feel free to surprise others, but don’t be surprised. It just results in unwanted interruption and poor negotiating position. Let it go to voicemail, and consider using a service like GrandCentral (you can listen to people leaving voicemail) or Simulscribe (receive voicemails as e-mail).
2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
The former scrambles your priorities and plans for the day, and the latter just gives you insomnia. E-mail can wait until 10am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items…
3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
If the desired outcome is defined clearly with a stated objective and agenda listing topics/questions to cover, no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes. Request them in advance so you “can best prepare and make good use of the time together.”
4. Do not let people ramble
Forget “how’s it going?” when someone calls you. Stick with “what’s up?” or “I’m in the middle of getting something out, but what’s going on?” A big part of GTD is GTP — Getting To the Point.
5. Do not check e-mail constantly — “batch” and check at set times only
I belabor this point enough. Get off the cocaine pellet dispenser and focus on execution of your top to-do’s instead of responding to manufactured emergencies. Set up a strategic autoresponder and check twice or thrice daily.
6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers
There is no sure path to success, but the surest path to failure is trying to please everyone. Do an 80/20 analysis of your customer base in two ways–which 20% are producing 80%+ of my profit, and which 20% are consuming 80%+ of my time? Then put the loudest and least productive on autopilot by citing a change in company policies. Send them an e-mail with new rules as bullet points: number of permissible phone calls, e-mail response time, minimum orders, etc. Offer to point them to another provider if they can’t conform to the new policies.
7. Do not work more to fix overwhelm — prioritize
If you don’t prioritize, everything seems urgent and important. If you define the single most important task for each day, almost nothing seems urgent or important. Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of letting little bad things happen (return a phone call late and apologize, pay a small late fee, lose an unreasonable customer, etc.) to get the big important things done. The answer to overwhelm is not spinning more plates — or doing more — it’s defining the few things that can really fundamentally change your business and life.
8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7
Take at least one day off of digital leashes per week. Turn them off or, better still, leave them in the garage or in the car. I do this on at least Saturday, and I recommend you leave the phone at home if you go out for dinner. So what if you return a phone call an hour later or the next morning? As one reader put it to a miffed co-worker who worked 24/7 and expected the same: “I’m not the president of the US. No one should need me at 8pm at night. OK, you didn’t get a hold of me. But what bad happened?” The answer? Nothing.
9. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should
Work is not all of life. Your co-workers shouldn’t be your only friends. Schedule life and defend it just as you would an important business meeting. Never tell yourself “I’ll just get it done this weekend.” Review Parkinson’s Law in 4HWW and force yourself to cram within tight hours so your per-hour productivity doesn’t fall through the floor. Focus, get the critical few done, and get out. E-mailing all weekend is no way to spend the little time you have on this planet.
—
Tim is the author of 4 Hour Work Week and Tools of Titans, his new book, which shares the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers. It was distilled from more than 10,000 pages of notes, and everything has been vetted and tested in his own life in some fashion. The tips and tricks in Tools of Titans Click here for sample chapters.
During a discussion in graduate school, a professor challenged my first-year class: managers and leaders—are they different? The conversation unfolded something like this:”Leaders set the vision; managers just figure out how to get there,” said one student.
“Leaders inspire and motivate, whereas managers keep things organized,” said another.
“Leaders elevate people to the highest values. Managers manage the details.”
The discussion revealed an underlying worship of “leadership” and a disdain for “management.” Leaders are inspired. Leaders are large. Leaders are the kids with black leather jackets, sunglasses and sheer unadulterated cool. Managers, well, they’re the somewhat nerdy kids, decidedly less interesting, lacking charisma. And of course, we all wanted to be leaders, and leave the drudgery of management to others. read more here
The future belongs to companies who better connect with their customers. Winning in the connection economy starts with understanding your customer. Getting more focused on a meaningful value proposition, creating innovative ways of expressing and delivering your value, and building new systems to support your platform will help create a sustainable advantage. Here are five steps to get started.
1. Get more focused
Focus is hard. Today, global commerce has likely flattened your marketplace, creating more competitors and alternatives. Customers are exposed to ever more world-class customer experiences and have higher expectations. New technologies offer more and different opportunities. Where are you going to play? How are you going to win? READ MORE
Content Courtesy of Peopledesign a strategic design consultancy which helps companies need to adapt to a new era. Peopledesign is a collective of diverse talents, skills, and interests – strategists, researchers, designers, writers, developers, and managers – dedicated to helping clients whose work and visions is intriguing and challenging. Check them out at www.peopledesign.com
To update the words of French philosopher René Descartes for the 21st century, “I brand, therefore I am.” There seems to be little criteria today for what necessitates the creation of another brand. Managing all these brands—ingredient brands, co-branded partnerships, multiple brands under the same house—has proven to be difficult work. Organizations that are deliberate about their brand strategy and stay the course will win out in the end.
Read more
Originally published by Peopledesign.com
Peopledesign has been on the forefront of digital design since our inception 20 years ago. They help create digital experiences that balance user needs, business goals, and technology opportunities.
Establishing the right meeting rhythm with your executive team is key. Many executives spend the majority meeting1of their days in one meeting or another; when you consider their salaries and the many other demands on their time, you want to ensure you are doing everything possible to only have meetings that add value. (Rhythmsystems)
Image provided courtesy of http://www.RhythmSystems.com.
Read Collins’ Articles: Read (and re-read) Jim Collins’ Harvard Business Review article titled “Building a Company Vision.” (Download here). Reading will help you become comfortable with the concept of Core Values, Purpose, Profit/X, and BHAG —Also you can go to http://www.jimcollins.com where Collins has several free interactive tutorials to help discover Core Values, discern a Purpose, choose a BHAG, etc.
Confront the Brutal Facts — take this week (Christmas holiday in US) to consider the brutal facts your currently face with in your business/position/brand and what are the measurable task/projects you need to accomplish during the first month of 2017 and/or first quarter of 2017. Start the year strong; start. At, Brand You we’ve been concentrating (themed) on building out our management consulting systems in 2016 and it is time to complete 3 key projects by Dec 31.
By:
When taking on a new project, every student should ask themselves why they are dedicating their time to said project, and what do they hope to benefit from the experience. As a student, if your answer to the benefits is made up of dollars and cents, you are probably not off to a good start.
Brand You, Inc. 