14 Oct Coda: Diminishing returns

After writing Diminishing returns, a post about how executives can work less and produce more, I came across a brilliant exposition on the same topic. From Spain the prolific Jesus Gill Hernandez, wrote The Law of Diminishing Returns in January 2014. Jesus captures the essence of the insight this way "The ability to recognize the point of diminishing returns and cut off further activity from that point onwards can result in a huge benefits. These benefits can manifest in the form of increased productivity, fulfillment, happiness and vitality, depending on what area you are using it in."

19 Jul To be a top performer, manage your energy not your time

The common stereotype of senior executives working 60 hour weeks, not taking holidays, and enduring unhealthy levels of stress is well founded. Those fuelling this stereotype do indeed invest huge and unrelenting hours in being top performers. If you recognise yourself in this caricature, the personal price you are paying is very high. Executive life is widely and rightly regarded as tough. Witness the shortening tenures of CEOs in major corporations, the prevalence of stress and burnout, and the constant refrain “I never have enough time”. Ironically, you would be an even better performer if you invested your energy, not your time. In researching how to help a seriously stressed corporate executive, I recently dipped back into ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ by Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr. Their research reveals that the old paradigm of being a better time manager is less helpful than a new way of thinking, namely managing your energy.

28 Jan Coda to ‘How often do you get lost in your work?’

My first post of 2013 asked 'How often do you get lost in your work?'. In this post I drew on the work of Milhály Csíkszentmihályi in explaining how the idea of finding ‘flow’ can help you develop your career. In his latest book Flourish, Martin Seligman–of Authentic Happiness fame–expounds a theory of well-being. Reading Flourish reminded me of a very useful and relevant tool that Seligman makes freely available. One major component of well-being is being engaged and this, according to Seligman, is the same as being in flow. To help you explore how you can find flow in your work, I recommend you complete Seligman's Values in Action questionnaire.

21 Jan How often do you get lost in your work?

I was privileged to be in the Sydney 2000 Olympics stadium the night Cathy Freeman won the 400m Gold Medal. It was an experience of a lifetime that still makes me feel at once overawed and exhilarated. Years later I heard Cathy speaking about her state of mind and body when she runs competitively: “I am swept along. My feet don’t touching the ground. There is no noise; sound is absent. I have a deep sense of detachment and contentment. In that moment everything is turned off.”