Cultivating Conscious Content Consumption
Did you wake up this morning wanting to consume some content? Did you consume any good content this weekend? Did you visit any content stores (in person or online)? Oddly phrased questions for a reason—I’m pretty sure that the only people who care about content qua content are the owners of the containers. As for […]
Cracking the Code: Boosting B2B Sales Efficiency Beyond Marketing Expenses
A study of B2B companies found that just one in 20 was able to consistently grow sales faster than sales and marketing expenses. (Cited in Harvard Business Review) Measuring “commercial productivity” is a great way to quantify the symptom. However, it’s more important to find and fix the causes of low productivity. Here are a […]
I Got Addicted — Again
I had to face it. I got addicted — again. I went from doing it a few times a day to doing it almost anytime I found myself between two tasks. Once again, I had made myself a news-aholic. Several times a day, I was doing the loop of my favorite news sites. I was […]
The Zero-Based Approach
Zero-based thinking is powerful. Do your planning and allocating from scratch whenever you are doing a reset or hitting a milestone (like a new year). • Zero-based budgets: don’t increment past numbers. Start from zero and justify everything. • Zero-based time management: don’t tweak your calendar and to-do lists. Start them from a blank page. […]
What Are You Doing?
Awe, joy, insight, effortless brilliance, and limitless creativity—if your every moment and interaction is not in the fullness of these, what are you doing? What are you doing?
iPad Productivity
On Monday, my MacBook succumbed to swollen battery syndrome and became unsafe to use. While waiting for a replacement, I’ve been getting by with an iPad and I’m noticing: I absolutely love being prevented from multi-tasking. This benefit outweighs almost everything else. After less than a day, I had to boot up my MacBook to […]
Commitment, Not Time
I like to think of my calendar as available units of commitment rather than open slots of time.
Saying No at the Right Time
The better you get at learning what tasks to take on, the better you get at spotting those tasks that just don’t make sense for you. While some tasks fit your talents and match your personal development goals quite well, others may simply be better suited for other people. You also become adept at seeing which projects and client relationships are part of your overall plan and which ones keep you in stasis or even erode your talents.
Strategic Planning for Company You
Can one person go on an executive retreat? Absolutely! Setting aside dedicated time to think through your vision and strategy makes sense no matter what your role may be. Taking an executive retreat for yourself can be an excellent year-end activity as you start to consider what will define success in the year ahead. Your strategy sets the contours for action, for change, and for why and how you respond to what happens. Just as with companies and other organizations, Company You needs a reliable mechanism for creating that strategy. The executive retreat approach accomplishes just that. Follow this six-step process to set aside time and ask yourself the questions you should be asking.
10 Traits of Successful Thought-Leading Organizations
To achieve thought leadership at the organizational level takes some work. But there’s good news. Much of this work does not require a huge outlay of capital or high levels of effort. Instead, it requires simply stopping dysfunctional processes and changing mindsets. Here’s what thought-leading organizations do to stay ahead of the pack