Nick McCormick, author of Lead Well and Prosper, interviews me on his podcast, “Joe and Wanda on Management.”
I share my three “Hard Facts of Working with People.”
If you want your team to come alive and give 110% on the job, they need an opportunity to:
Listen in and join the conversation.
I love it when data emerges that validates my hunches.
People who surf the internet while at work are more productive. Gotta love it.
“People who do surf the Internet for fun at work – within a reasonable limit of less than 20% of their total time in the office – are more productive by about 9% than those who don’t.”
The productivity arises from our need to zone out (take a break) every once in a while in order to restore our concentration. It’s simply not possible to focus all of the time.
Seems obvious, but some employers are (now irrationally) concerned that they’re not getting their money’s worth out of employees who are not fully focused on work every moment they’re “on the clock.” I’ve long counseled that this attitude foments an adversarial posture with the very people on whom you depend for maximum engagement.
With one set of policies (e.g. no personal internet use) you communicate that you don’t trust them. Then you turn around and ask them to give 110%, go the extra mile for a client or contribute to brainstorming restructuring ideas, and you wonder why they hold back.
No matter how you feel about personal internet usage at work, the facts about its impact are emerging. Can you turn this information into a learning opportunity?
What’s the one thing that, more than any other, you want to get done this week?
I know there are many candidates all shouting for your attention. But which one do you want to see completed most of all?
Do it today.
Yeah, go ahead and do it this morning. Get it done. Start the week off with a success that is important to you.
Give yourself the gift of diving into and polishing off a significant task right off the bat. It’ll feel great.
If it’s not a one-day project, then break it into three parts and complete the first part now.
You’ll give yourself a great Monday and set yourself up for a week of making and acting on choices.
On your side,
– Karl