Get It Done, by the book

The other day I got my hands on Stever Robbins' book, "Get-It-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More (Quick & Dirty Tips)," which is a great collection of tips & tricks to be more productive.

When I picked up the book, I was wondering how this aligned with David Allen's "Getting Things Done."  Turns out it's very complementary - GTD is focused mostly on how to collect, capture, and organize the things you want to do so you can pick your activities based on context, energy, importance, etc - you still need that, even with Robbins' book.

So what is Robbins' book about, then?  While it does have some overlap in terms of defining life goals, priorities, and "purpose" stuff, much of Robbins' book deals with tactics to help you free up more time to be productive - how to overcome procrastination, how to get better at saying "no," how to block out distractions so you can focus, and those sorts of things.

Practical and fun to read

Robbins' style is very conversational, making it an easy read.  He also has a lot of quirky stories and memes going on (hint: zombies abound).  In the midst of the quirkiness, there are a lot of sound ideas - and he illustrates them with stories from his life.  For example, there is a section on "baby chunks" which is a strategy to break daunting tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces.  He discusses how he used this approach in writing his book, and I found it easier to understand the techniques involved because of this concrete example.

Likewise, he illustrates most of his concepts with real stories you can identify with (except for the zombies, of course).

So, you may be wondering, "What are the 9 steps?"  Let me fill you in:

• Step 1: Live on Purpose, deals with identifying you top-level life priorities;
• Step 2: Stop Procrastinating, offers tips to get your butt in gear and do the things you're avoiding;
• Step 3: Conquer Technology, which helps you figure out ways to prevent technology from hijacking your productivity, as well as how to use technology to help you get through your tasks more quickly;
• Step 4: Beat Distractions to Cultivate Focus, is perhaps my favorite chapter, and it deals with how to establish an environment / habits that will help you focus more (you might also want to look at my post on how to focus in a cubicle environment, if you have trouble focusing on your tasks);
• Step 5: Stay Organized, which helps you implement systems to support a more organized life;
• Step 6: Stop Wasting Time, which is mostly about how to identify your leverage points - the 20% that's most important in your 80/20 life;
• Step 7: Optimize, which has some very interesting tips to help make time-consuming or mundane tasks more efficient, and even "outsource" them to others if you can;
• Step 8: Build Stronger Relationships, which is about doing the care & feeding of relationships to make your life more meaningful and create a network that can support your efforts when you need help;
• Step 9: Leverage, which is partially about automating things to give you more power over getting them done, but also a lot about how to use your skills to their best advantage to increase your personal value.  Leverage is also about how you can tap into the strengths of others to move past your own limitations.

In summary, I got a lot out of this book and found it to be very practical.  Through this book, I also discovered the "Get-It-Done Guy's Tips & Tricks" site, which is loaded with great ideas.

If you're looking for a good way to refocus your energy on being more productive, you won't go wrong with this book.

Be Bodacious: Improve your career with cowboy wisdom

Just finished reading Steven D. Wood's "Be Bodacious: Put Life In Your Leadership" and I must say I am impressed.

This book is solid theory for personal leadership development, presented in the form of a story about a guy who learns  some powerful lessons from his boss.  The boss is a colorful character nicknamed "Cowboy," who teaches through a series of stories from a Journal he's assembled during his life.

To be transparent, I avoided this book for a little while because I'm kind of tired of these "leadership fables" - there have been a lot of them in the past several years, and they sometimes take too long to get to the advice.  Now, I wish I'd jumped right in.

I'm happy to report that "Be Bodacious" doesn't waste time in getting to the point - with just a little story setup, you get to the meat of the learning pretty quickly.

This is an easy, entertaining book to read and it goes quickly (it's only 150 pages).  In this book, you'll learn:

• How to get out of crappy jobs and into jobs you really enjoy and feel passionate about;
• How to lead a team by igniting their drive and spirit;
• How to get to know your team as individuals so you can give them what they need to be challenged and successful;
• And a whole lot more.

Some other things you'll learn are just as important - like how to get out of the trap of comparing yourself to others, which can really mess with your confidence and limit what you can achieve.  Closely related to this are some good techniques to help you identify when you are hanging on to old habits that are preventing you from being successful (the chapter "Rocket Fuel" was very relevant to me).

The book also deals with some proven "sharpen the saw" techniques to make sure you spend time on yourself, so you can improve your own skills.  There are some thought-provoking elements on this topic.

This book is a quick read, and I think it's perfect for anyone who's a business leader or aspires to be. You can find out more at Be-Bodacious.com including seeing the "Be Bodacious" movie (it's short, but good), and you can download a sample chapter.

You might also check out Wood's blog, where you can get a taste of his writing style, philosophy, and leadership mojo.

So, 'nuf said - Be Bodacious, and put some life in your leadership.

The Image of Success

I've been quiet here lately due to some hectic schedules, but I have had the opportunity to do some reading so you'll see a few book reviews pop out here soon.

I'm starting with a book I really enjoyed - Lizandra Vega's "The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land the Job You Want."  A long time ago, I read a book called "Dress for Success" but the copy I had was written in the last era of 70's attire.  This book reminded me of that, but was far better than I expected.

Put your best foot forward (and keep your shoes on!)

As you can tell from the title, Vega's book is focused on helping you make a great impression as a job hunter.  I was impressed with how holistic her approach is, as it covers everything from soup to nuts.  For example, you'll become educated on:

• how to market yourself;
• what to wear, and how to match your attire to the company where you're interviewing;
• how to make the most of your physical characteristics;
• how to prepare for a job interview;
• how to behave in the interview;
• how to follow up, and more.

Vega is clearly an expert in her field, having spent many years in recruiting and working as a career and image coach.  The practicality of her advice is definitely rooted in real-world experience.

The style is very clear and easy to read, and there are plenty of visual examples in each part of the book.  Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the book is Vega's collection of horror stories, which show just how much some people need this kind of help!

For example, you might be amused with stories of coffee spills, foot odor (hence the admonition to keep your shoes on), shocking remarks people make, and other interesting things she's encountered in her career.

Not looking? It's still applicable.

I'm not job hunting at the moment (I received a review copy of the book), but I still found a lot of value here to help me re-think the image I portray at work.  There are some things I can do to "up-level" my image and remove some of the rough edges for sure.  I may not do them all, but at least I'm more conscious of the areas I can improve.

If you want a full run-down, check out the table of contents from The Image of Success, or visit Lizandra Vega's web site.

Traction: A fabulous resource for your business

I've gotten some emails asking why I'm not posting more on the site lately - the short answer? I've been really busy lately! As I mentioned in the past, I've recently taken on a new role in my company - running a new line of business. As part of this move, I've been building a new team and trying to establish new "habits" around the way we communicate, work, collaborate, etc.

As is often the case, some resources showed up at just the right time to help me (I love it when that happens). This time, it was in the form of Gino Wickman's book, "Traction: Get a Grip on your Business." This book is really designed for a someone running an entire business - not just a division like mine. However, the concepts can easily be adapted for a team, a department, or anything larger.

Even more intriguing to me: this book just showed up for me, but it's been out there for about 3 years. Apparently, there is a re-launch going on around this book - Providence, just in time for me.

Write your own EOS

Core to Traction is the 'EOS,' or Entrepreneurial Operating System - a set of practices, principles, and more - designed to help you establish and maintain clarity, accountability, and alignment within your business.

The book focuses on what I believe is the "trifecta" of a successful business:

• everyone is on the same page about what you're trying to achieve, how you plan to get there, and has the right metrics and indicators to track progress;
• everyone is crystal clear on their roles & responsibilities (and there is only one owner for everything);
• everyone agrees how they will work through issues, red flags, and obstacles encountered along the journey.

Wickman's content is crisp, actionable, and supported by a great tool set (the EOS Toolbox, available from the EOS Process web site for free). The book takes you through a lot of essential exercises, geared to help you establish the artifacts you need to align your business. This Toolbox makes the "hard work" of business a Hell of a lot easier. I'm not sure where Wickman got all of this content, but it's good stuff. While it intersects with lots of things I've read already from other authors, Wickman's approach smacks of real-world, tried & true process - not a bunch of theory.

One example is the notion of "Get the right people on the bus, and get people in the right seats," popularized by Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great." I've read this advice before, but have never been quite sure of how to really go about making sure that was happening. Wickman provides a set of tools and techniques to figure this out pretty quickly - using a simple "plus / minus" analysis of people's suitability to their roles. The book provides an example of this evaluation, and a worksheet is available on the EOS Process site.

Leadership Abilities - they're not just for the leader any more

One thing I think you'll like is "The Five Leadership Abilities" in this book:

1. Your ability to simplify.
2. Your ability to delegate & elevate.
3. Your ability to predict.
4. Your ability to systemize.
5. Your ability to structure.

Each of these five areas is addressed as you progress through the book, and you'll get better at every one of them if you use the methodology in the book.

I really like the way all of the techniques drive toward focus and alignment - for example, pushing to get you down to a small number of metrics you focus on to run your business, making sure everyone is focused on "one number" for their job, driving toward small objectives that move toward bigger goals, etc.

The side benefit of this process is that you end up spreading leadership throughout the team - each person gets to own some part of the business, and act as a leader within that area. This is key for scalability, engagement, and keeping people challenged as the business changes. I've worked in environments where I never felt a sense of ownership or empowerment, and I want to try to prevent that within my team.

Test your business - and see if you need Traction

This book is a quick read, but it is jam packed with content, and each aspect of the EOS is a significant project. If I were to detail every bit of the book here, this would probably be the longest post I've ever done. To boil it down: I recommend this book to leaders (and aspiring leaders) without reservation.

If you want to quickly find out whether Traction would benefit your business, why not take an organizational assessment today? It's free, and only takes a few minutes. Then, if you find out you should be better than you are, pick up your own copy of Traction and get to work.

By the way, if you aren't convinced but want a taste of Wickman's work, there is a free ebook called "Decide! The One Common Denominator of All Great Leaders" that you might enjoy.

Books, Leadership, management

Master Your Work Day - Now!

I've just finished reading Michael Linenberger's book "Master Your Work Day Now!" You may recall I've reviewed Michael's previous book, "Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook," (TWC) here in the past. You'll also recall that I'm a big fan of his views on productivity and focus, as well as the framework he's created to achieve both. His methods are very consistent with David Allen's "Getting Things Done," but he definitely has his own (pragmatic) spin on the techniques, plus some changes that may make the methods easier to implement.

This book was timely, at least for me. I loved Michael's last book, which focuses on using Microsoft Outlook as a productivity hub; however, I am using a Mac for most of my work these days which means I use Entourage which is very different from Outlook. The result? My old tools, tips, and tricks have to be adapted to a new platform. This book works well for that, since it is system-agnostic. In fact, the basics of the system Michael takes you through are demonstrated using a couple of sheets of paper (yes, ye olde paper).

At first I was wondering whether this was just a rehash of Michael's last book. Verdict? It's not. While I recognized a lot of the core concepts that carried forward from TWC, but this is by no means a re-hash of the previous material.

Layers of work

There is a hierarchy in Michael's view of the world from most "important" to most "optional" -

• Critical Now: Must do today
• Target Now (would like to do today)
• Significant Outcomes (SOCs): Achieve or make progress toward, within this week
  
• Opportunity Now (start this week or next; review daily)
  
• Over the Horizon
  • Review Weekly
  • Review Monthly
  • Review Every 3 Months
  • Review Every 6 Months
  • Review Every 12 Months

My favorite new concept here is the "Significant Outcome," or "SOC." A SOC is used to keep your attention on a "milestone" toward a goal - you can think of it as a way of identifying something as "I want to make progress on this area this week" - it's not a specific task, just a specific zone of activity you want to move forward in a given week. This is a good reminder so you can move things ahead when you have a few moments here and there.

To make this easier to jump into, Michael also provides a great set of free resources on the Master Your Workday Now! web site. These resources include a workbook, some Word and Mind Manager templates, and other resources to help you apply the techniques in the book (you can sign up now, just by providing your email address - which isn't shared with any other organizations).

The bigger picture

One other thing I loved in this book was the section (and the tools) that deals with how to create a Vision, Goals, etc. These are not new concepts to me, of course, but I never can seem to write goals or visions that feel "right" to me. Finally, from this book, I have found a process I can actually use.

As a visual person, the many examples in Michael's book really helped me "get" the concepts faster - in addition to the mindmaps he shares, there are examples of goals, projects, filled-in templates, and other visual artifacts.

The book also guides you through very specific steps to connect your actions to your goals & aspirations, and take specific steps to "activate" your goals so they are more likely to stick.

In summary, I was expecting this book to be more of the same with regard to productivity, email management, "Getting Things Done"-like techniques, etc. I found it to be way more than that, and recommend it to anyone looking to use their time more effectively and more meaningfully.

If you read Master Your Workday Now! I'd love to hear what you think.

book reviews, Books, gtd, Personal Productivity, productivity, Productivity