This week was filled with work, travel, running, and family time. Although I enjoyed being in Switzerland, I’m also happy to be going back home again today.
Have fun reading this week’s ‘thingsThisWeek’.
Work
How I stay productive and go through my tasks
I received a text message from a former colleague and friend about how I stay productive and avoid procrastination. This colleague is not the first to notice my strengths in this area and ask for tips, tricks, and book recommendations. So here I go.
First things first, there is no silver bullet to doing things right. Many things that work for me might or might not work for you. Ultimately, you need to design a system that works for you. Staying productive in my work and private life comes down to building habits, being consistent, and optimizing what needs improvement.
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Strategic ambiguity
I heard a good reflection on the ambiguity that employees experience regarding the company’s direction/strategy.
As a manager, you are often confronted with employees who say they do not understand the business strategy. Your manager’s default reaction is to clarify the strategy again through a 1:1 explanation or by creating the next version of your strategic PowerPoint, which you then put on the agenda in a team meeting.
Usually, the problem is much simpler.
The employee understands the company’s long-term direction but does not know how they can contribute to it today.
Don’t forget, as a manager, it is often better to focus on the following action(s) for the employee (and yourself) instead of returning to work on the next version of your strategic plan.