Not enough hours in the day. Need less sleep and more hours. Are 60 hour weeks the norm? Are all nighters de rigueur? The eight hour day, so long a mainstay of the business world has long disappeared, courtesy of the Internet and technology that follows and interrupts us at every opportunity. Yet we believe if we had even more hours, we'd be even more productive. The correlation of more hours equals more work is as plain as the report you finished last night at 2am, with all the corrections you've had to make prior to presenting it a the next meeting. Seems more hours make you less productive and research in Europe and the US seems to agree.
The ILO (International Labour Organisation) and the EFILWC (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), after extensive research, agree longer hours don't make you more productive and along with HBS (Harvard Business School) data, agree the 50+ hours you work should be more like 30 indicating you would still be productive. Taking a break, not just a Kitkat or a quick trip to the toilet but real breaks to relax and recharge, is their antidote to staying productive. A study in the journal of Cognition makes the parallel between frequent breaks and downtime to heightened productivity and worker focus. Seems the Europeans are working on flexible hours and less hours being the way for more productivity and happiness. The research indicates 30 hours is the bench mark for getting the most out of your people, while still giving them a high quality of life outside work.
No wonder Europe is in the state it's in, how do they get anything done? We didn't get to be the "lucky country" without putting in the hours and the more the better as far as business is concerned. How can you pull that million dollar bonus if you aren't working 80 hours a week, not seeing you kids, onto your third wife of husband, 20 kilos over weight, have no friends and are not acquainted with the words holiday and sunshine? That's real work, like our forefathers in the mines, like the pioneering spirit that built this country with no weekends, just a Sunday roast and then back to work. And all that discourse about being happy is just radical hippy talk designed to bring down the establishment.
Seems we have a way to go before the business establishment comes to its senses and acknowledges the correlation between hours and productivity and happiness is askew and better ways can be found for both to live under the same roof. Some are working towards that horizon with a good example, the current list of best places to work in Australia, showing successful companies that are fun places work at. After extensive research it comes as no surprise that 5 out of the top 10 companies are IT related, giving credence to evidence, technology can be used to enhance both productivity and happiness. After all, happiness is an up to date iPad, making everyone productive, without the 60 hour week. 30 hour weeks may not be on the agenda but there are no reasons we can't get better at what we do, without pulling those all nighters.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Innovate or die part 2.
Innovation, the application of new solutions meeting new requirements for new and existing market needs, accomplished through products, processes, services, technologies, and ideas readily available to markets, governments and society. All very well, as long as you are creative, courageous, bright, forward thinking, audacious, perceptive and have an innovative culture within your company. Not easy but achievable amongst the continuous need for change and improvement that has seen the above catch cry become voluminous, as companies rush to embrace anything new, no matter its effectiveness. Are all companies innovating or are some dying slowly or just ambling along, not accomplishing anything? The redundancy factor, not bringing out something new every quarter, has seen the competitive pressure rise to an unsustainable level where most companies are challenged by their knowledge or staff to keep up.
Today innovation is focussed on the technology we use and the value of that focus, can be observed in the dollars traded in companies such as Apple or Google. Today innovation is focused on inventions that make our communications easier, come up with ways to entertain us on the move and interrupt us at every opportunity to sell us something new. It feels like this wave of innovation is being ridden by a few select individuals with almost supernatural powers of invention like Jonathan Ive of Apple, Diane Green of VMware, Caleb Chung of Pleo, Dan Olschwang of Jump Tap and Martin Eberhard of Tesla Motors.
Yet innovation isn't all about the end product and accumulating accolades and shares to make you wealthy, it's about having the belief and confidence in yourself to bring about change. It's about being able to observe change and adapt solutions that make your life easier. It can be a process to make your mail room more efficient because everyone in the office spends too much time organising their own. It can be using better technology so your meetings and the subsequent action items are collated quicker, providing shorter and more effective meetings. It can be a raft of things that speed up, make things more convenient, help others to do their job better and generally make the world a better place.
Innovation is about eyes wide open and having the courage to speak up and use what you have to improve. If someone had pointed out the folly of Blockbuster, so focused on market share, growing to 5000 stores at their peak, that a simple idea of sending DVDs by mail would totally disrupt their model, that person would be hailed as an innovator. Instead it was Reed Hastings of Netflix who seized the moment and it was Reed Hastings who nearly suffered the same fate when streaming started to gain momentum. Luckily Netflix have reinvented themselves as a viable cable and streaming competition to companies such as HBO, by embracing an innovative culture based on employees not afraid to speak out.
So while companies may cry the catch phrase loud and try to keep up with the competition, there is much you can do individually to be seen as innovative and creative within your own sphere of influence. Be aware of the inefficiencies in your work life, be open eyed and perceptive to changes, have the courage to speak up and not be daunted by failure and finally, be willing to take the accolades as an innovator.
Today innovation is focussed on the technology we use and the value of that focus, can be observed in the dollars traded in companies such as Apple or Google. Today innovation is focused on inventions that make our communications easier, come up with ways to entertain us on the move and interrupt us at every opportunity to sell us something new. It feels like this wave of innovation is being ridden by a few select individuals with almost supernatural powers of invention like Jonathan Ive of Apple, Diane Green of VMware, Caleb Chung of Pleo, Dan Olschwang of Jump Tap and Martin Eberhard of Tesla Motors.
Yet innovation isn't all about the end product and accumulating accolades and shares to make you wealthy, it's about having the belief and confidence in yourself to bring about change. It's about being able to observe change and adapt solutions that make your life easier. It can be a process to make your mail room more efficient because everyone in the office spends too much time organising their own. It can be using better technology so your meetings and the subsequent action items are collated quicker, providing shorter and more effective meetings. It can be a raft of things that speed up, make things more convenient, help others to do their job better and generally make the world a better place.
Innovation is about eyes wide open and having the courage to speak up and use what you have to improve. If someone had pointed out the folly of Blockbuster, so focused on market share, growing to 5000 stores at their peak, that a simple idea of sending DVDs by mail would totally disrupt their model, that person would be hailed as an innovator. Instead it was Reed Hastings of Netflix who seized the moment and it was Reed Hastings who nearly suffered the same fate when streaming started to gain momentum. Luckily Netflix have reinvented themselves as a viable cable and streaming competition to companies such as HBO, by embracing an innovative culture based on employees not afraid to speak out.
So while companies may cry the catch phrase loud and try to keep up with the competition, there is much you can do individually to be seen as innovative and creative within your own sphere of influence. Be aware of the inefficiencies in your work life, be open eyed and perceptive to changes, have the courage to speak up and not be daunted by failure and finally, be willing to take the accolades as an innovator.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Eddie would go.
Eddie Aikau was the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay, he was a big wave surfer, a winner of the Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Championship and an all round waterman who saved countless lives. Eddie Aikau died in 1978. On a 4000 kilometre voyage, tracing the ancient Polynesian migration between Hawaii and the Tahitian Islands, the double hulled ocean going canoe, with Eddie on board, developed a leak after capsizing. Eddie volunteered to paddle the 20 kilometres to the nearest island for help, as the crew clung to the upturned craft. Eddie was never seen again, even after the largest air and sea search in Hawaiian history. He is remembered via the Eddie Aikau Classic, held each year, as long as the waves are large enough to hold a 10 to 12 metre face. It has only been held eight times since its inception in 1984.
How often have you heard the sporting analogy used in the corporate world, from playing hard, good team work, through to go hard or go home and how often have you winced as the boss strode out of the boardroom expecting the staff to win the game of business. The analogies have been around a long time and are slowly being replaced by corporate buzz speak, put together by marketing and media people who have never kicked a footy, run around the paddock or tackled anyone. Yet some analogies hang around long enough to find their true synergy in business and there is a certain type of business person who engenders all that Eddie and his attitude stood for, the entrepreneur.
The last decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneur, one who isn't afraid of putting it all on the line, one who is more courages in making decisions and one who is prepared to have a go for all the right reasons. People who have the ultimate self belief, who don't want to die wondering and who's audaciousness and tenacious faith in their decision making process is infallible, as far as they are concerned. Jobs, Bezos, Zuckerburg, Brin, Page, Hsieh, Gates, and a long list of others have redefined the notion of corporate courage by laying everything they have, including their most precious assets, reputation and credibility, on the line, because they believe in their products and their decisions. Decisions made without a lot of knowledge gained from past experience, no bench marks because there were none, there was only the future and somebody had to invent it, make the decision and take off first and risk it all.
Gut instinct, sixth sense, conviction, intuition, adventurous, self belief, bold, enterprising, resolute, the thesaurus keeps on with descriptions of people who have that something extra we all look to for guidance, safety, the hard decisions and leadership. At the inaugural Eddie Aikau classic, the waves were enormous and the top wave riders in the world, stood on the sand waiting for a lull that didn't seem to be coming, when Mark Foo uttered the words they all knew were true, "Eddie would go". The contest had begun.
Think about your work, your life, are there moments when you should just take off on that 10 metre wave? Have the courage to make those decisions, Eddie would.
How often have you heard the sporting analogy used in the corporate world, from playing hard, good team work, through to go hard or go home and how often have you winced as the boss strode out of the boardroom expecting the staff to win the game of business. The analogies have been around a long time and are slowly being replaced by corporate buzz speak, put together by marketing and media people who have never kicked a footy, run around the paddock or tackled anyone. Yet some analogies hang around long enough to find their true synergy in business and there is a certain type of business person who engenders all that Eddie and his attitude stood for, the entrepreneur.
The last decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneur, one who isn't afraid of putting it all on the line, one who is more courages in making decisions and one who is prepared to have a go for all the right reasons. People who have the ultimate self belief, who don't want to die wondering and who's audaciousness and tenacious faith in their decision making process is infallible, as far as they are concerned. Jobs, Bezos, Zuckerburg, Brin, Page, Hsieh, Gates, and a long list of others have redefined the notion of corporate courage by laying everything they have, including their most precious assets, reputation and credibility, on the line, because they believe in their products and their decisions. Decisions made without a lot of knowledge gained from past experience, no bench marks because there were none, there was only the future and somebody had to invent it, make the decision and take off first and risk it all.
Gut instinct, sixth sense, conviction, intuition, adventurous, self belief, bold, enterprising, resolute, the thesaurus keeps on with descriptions of people who have that something extra we all look to for guidance, safety, the hard decisions and leadership. At the inaugural Eddie Aikau classic, the waves were enormous and the top wave riders in the world, stood on the sand waiting for a lull that didn't seem to be coming, when Mark Foo uttered the words they all knew were true, "Eddie would go". The contest had begun.
Think about your work, your life, are there moments when you should just take off on that 10 metre wave? Have the courage to make those decisions, Eddie would.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Motivation.
What gets you out of bed in the morning? Why do you keep going to work? Where do you get the energy to run around the block every day? How come you're always on time? Why do you never wait for others to clear the dishwasher? Is it fear of losing your job, not wanting to get fat, your Mother told you never to be late, or are you just motivated? It's a question asked everyday in interviews, on the sporting fields, in the kitchen and talked about in thousands of self help books. Why do we do the things we do? Where do we get the motivation?
Motivation is what sparks you to action, it's a purpose to achieve, a behaviour to optimise and a psychological bent to act in a certain manner to fulfil wishes and desires. Yet if you asked people why they did things they would likely answer in two ways, because they want to do it or someone else wants them to do it. Does my wife want me to unload the dishwasher or am I motivated by it being the right thing to do? Do I run around the block because I know it's good for my health or because the trainer is shouting "move your arse slow poke" at boot camp? The challenge is untangling where your motivation comes from, because over time they merge and what started out as a motivated day at work slides into time you want to spend somewhere else, maybe making more of a difference. Sure you may enjoy your work but would you do it for free? Too often motivation is left up to others and you relapse into a state of limbo where your decisions are not your own.
Some say motivation is intrinsically built in, like the motivation to survive in a flight situation or the need to eat, others point to learned lessons from parents and family. Today an awful lot is left to others as trainers, counsellors, motivators, coaches, teachers, bosses, managers, reality stars and self help gurus are looked to for answers on laziness, goal setting, mile-stoning, saving, fitness, career advancement, social mobility and life directions. Along with all of those helpers is a library of inspirational and motivational sayings to get you out of bed and propel you to your next achievement, for if you don't run your own life, someone else will.
If you really look around, you'll find the really motivated people, those willing to do for others without agenda, those achieving in fields other than just going to work and the footy on weekends, those with knowledgeable opinions, those willing to put themselves up for criticism in their field of expertise and those open enough to accept change and also to affect change are few and far between. So the field is open for you to be someone different, be someone to look up to, someone who can change things and someone whose self motivation affects others around them. The decisions and direction in your life, should not be left up to the Richard Simmons and the Anthony Robbins of this world, so what are you waiting for, motivation?
As the great Zig Ziglar once said, "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great".
Motivation is what sparks you to action, it's a purpose to achieve, a behaviour to optimise and a psychological bent to act in a certain manner to fulfil wishes and desires. Yet if you asked people why they did things they would likely answer in two ways, because they want to do it or someone else wants them to do it. Does my wife want me to unload the dishwasher or am I motivated by it being the right thing to do? Do I run around the block because I know it's good for my health or because the trainer is shouting "move your arse slow poke" at boot camp? The challenge is untangling where your motivation comes from, because over time they merge and what started out as a motivated day at work slides into time you want to spend somewhere else, maybe making more of a difference. Sure you may enjoy your work but would you do it for free? Too often motivation is left up to others and you relapse into a state of limbo where your decisions are not your own.
Some say motivation is intrinsically built in, like the motivation to survive in a flight situation or the need to eat, others point to learned lessons from parents and family. Today an awful lot is left to others as trainers, counsellors, motivators, coaches, teachers, bosses, managers, reality stars and self help gurus are looked to for answers on laziness, goal setting, mile-stoning, saving, fitness, career advancement, social mobility and life directions. Along with all of those helpers is a library of inspirational and motivational sayings to get you out of bed and propel you to your next achievement, for if you don't run your own life, someone else will.
If you really look around, you'll find the really motivated people, those willing to do for others without agenda, those achieving in fields other than just going to work and the footy on weekends, those with knowledgeable opinions, those willing to put themselves up for criticism in their field of expertise and those open enough to accept change and also to affect change are few and far between. So the field is open for you to be someone different, be someone to look up to, someone who can change things and someone whose self motivation affects others around them. The decisions and direction in your life, should not be left up to the Richard Simmons and the Anthony Robbins of this world, so what are you waiting for, motivation?
As the great Zig Ziglar once said, "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great".
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