7 Practices to be Great at Work
We all want to be great at work. Great at work by Morten Hansen is a wonderful take on how we can get the most out of ourselves. The main thesis is it is not just about working 60 hours a week. In fact, the research confirms that you cannot work more than 50 hours without losing your edge. So, it pays to really ensure we are paying attention to burnout.
The book starts with the story of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott when they were trying to reach the South Pole. This story has been documented in multiple books. Obviously, Roald Amundsen won the race and it was not because he had bigger resources. In fact, Scott had the bigger budget and a bigger team. However, Roald Amundsen focused on only one mode of transport which is using dog sleds. He also ensured he got Greenlander dogs instead of Siberian huskies because they were stronger. He also ensured he got the best dog handler in his team. This shows his meticulous preparation. This was in stark contrast to Scott who had everything going for him but he scattered his focus into multiple things like using five modes of transport. The key is doing less and obsess more. Here are the 7 practices with a brief description of each
Do less then obsess – The key takeaway here is reduce the activities you do by eliminating everything which is non-essential. Like Warren Buffet says write down 25 things you must do then choose top 5 eliminate the rest. The other part of the equation is once you decide your top priorities obsess about them. Another strategy is to ensure your environment supports you. For example, if you want to do your best work log off Facebook remove all apps that might distract you and disable notifications. Check only when you want to.
Redesign your work – This involves looking at your work through two lenses one is doing the right things and then doing things right. Find how the activity benefits others, add quality to the work you do and finally do it efficiently. Spend time on activities of high value.
Don’t just learn loop – This is more like the concept of deliberate practice for your work. Spend 15 minutes on one activity daily, never stop learning, do it in chunks and remember to have a growth mindset. For example, Magnus Carlsen the chess wizard never thinks he has learned everything and due to this mindset, he never reaches the stall point. High achievers never stop learning.
Passion and Purpose – There are many types of passion like achievement passion, creative passion and anything that makes you feel good about your work. The second part of the equation is to find the larger meaning of work. The key is to find something that is meaningful to you even if it doesn’t for others. Finally, you can find a social mission to be committed to.
Forceful champions - This is all about working smartly with others. It is displaying smart grit. To get the most out of your people make them angry about today but hopeful about the future. They consider the perspective of opponents and they confront when needed.
Fight and Unite – This is all about creating an environment for everyone to speak up without limits. This also means ensuring everyone has a voice to speak up. Let the team commit to the final decision even if they disagree. The two sins of collaboration – Here the topics are under collaboration and over collaboration. Both are not desirable.
Finally, 3 strategies are provided. First is to keep your passion in check for example if you are compelled to check email at 3 am in morning then you are over passionate. Spend your time dividend so if you follow first step by eliminating activities you will have more time. You can use that to obsess more on work or spend time with family which is your choice. Finally, don’t take it personally or fight nasty. I think this is very easy to do in a team setting. However just take a deep breath before something gets blown out of proportion and of course never send an email when you are angry.
I found this book to be useful for our work lives and how to streamline it. Yes, some of it is very common sense but as someone said common sense is anything but common. I think sometimes we are thinking of some complicated strategy to win but maybe it is only the simple strategies that work in the long run.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
The book starts with the story of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott when they were trying to reach the South Pole. This story has been documented in multiple books. Obviously, Roald Amundsen won the race and it was not because he had bigger resources. In fact, Scott had the bigger budget and a bigger team. However, Roald Amundsen focused on only one mode of transport which is using dog sleds. He also ensured he got Greenlander dogs instead of Siberian huskies because they were stronger. He also ensured he got the best dog handler in his team. This shows his meticulous preparation. This was in stark contrast to Scott who had everything going for him but he scattered his focus into multiple things like using five modes of transport. The key is doing less and obsess more. Here are the 7 practices with a brief description of each
Do less then obsess – The key takeaway here is reduce the activities you do by eliminating everything which is non-essential. Like Warren Buffet says write down 25 things you must do then choose top 5 eliminate the rest. The other part of the equation is once you decide your top priorities obsess about them. Another strategy is to ensure your environment supports you. For example, if you want to do your best work log off Facebook remove all apps that might distract you and disable notifications. Check only when you want to.
Redesign your work – This involves looking at your work through two lenses one is doing the right things and then doing things right. Find how the activity benefits others, add quality to the work you do and finally do it efficiently. Spend time on activities of high value.
Don’t just learn loop – This is more like the concept of deliberate practice for your work. Spend 15 minutes on one activity daily, never stop learning, do it in chunks and remember to have a growth mindset. For example, Magnus Carlsen the chess wizard never thinks he has learned everything and due to this mindset, he never reaches the stall point. High achievers never stop learning.
Passion and Purpose – There are many types of passion like achievement passion, creative passion and anything that makes you feel good about your work. The second part of the equation is to find the larger meaning of work. The key is to find something that is meaningful to you even if it doesn’t for others. Finally, you can find a social mission to be committed to.
Forceful champions - This is all about working smartly with others. It is displaying smart grit. To get the most out of your people make them angry about today but hopeful about the future. They consider the perspective of opponents and they confront when needed.
Fight and Unite – This is all about creating an environment for everyone to speak up without limits. This also means ensuring everyone has a voice to speak up. Let the team commit to the final decision even if they disagree. The two sins of collaboration – Here the topics are under collaboration and over collaboration. Both are not desirable.
Finally, 3 strategies are provided. First is to keep your passion in check for example if you are compelled to check email at 3 am in morning then you are over passionate. Spend your time dividend so if you follow first step by eliminating activities you will have more time. You can use that to obsess more on work or spend time with family which is your choice. Finally, don’t take it personally or fight nasty. I think this is very easy to do in a team setting. However just take a deep breath before something gets blown out of proportion and of course never send an email when you are angry.
I found this book to be useful for our work lives and how to streamline it. Yes, some of it is very common sense but as someone said common sense is anything but common. I think sometimes we are thinking of some complicated strategy to win but maybe it is only the simple strategies that work in the long run.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
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