Do less

My friend Kevin Koval sent me a video of this guy who broke down 30 years of productivity and time management books into a short list.

His first recommendation?

Do less.

People who want to do a lot try to do MORE things, and that leads to stress, (burnout), doing low-value things, and feeling like you can’t get it all done.

So it’s counterintuitive for most, but DO LESS instead.  

Put no more than five things on your to-do list for the day.  You will do them better and have a better experience.

Of course, for maximum productivity, make those five things the MOST important things that will have the greatest impact on you and your business, short and long term.

I like it!  Recently, I had a string of days where there were only 3-4 things on my to-do list – and they were important things.  I got them done well, had good days, and wasn’t stressed that I had so much that I did not do.

What about you?

Don’t just work harder; think better.

Hard work is noble and great and commendable.  

But working hard doing things that are not working is not smart.  That’s working hard to produce bad results.

Think.  Learn from your work.  Look at the numbers and other results and make adjustments.

If you are stuck in your thinking, you need to learn from others more.

Think well, work well, repeat.

Control the controllables that produce results.

Focus on the process, not just the outcome.

The outcome is from the process.

You can’t always control the outcome (as fast as you want), but you can control the process.

There is your process of leading, and your team’s process of doing what they do in each department.

Winners commit to daily excellence, knowing results will follow.

What are your inputs?

From the invisible – comes the visible.

From your thinking (the invisible), comes your actions and your results (the visible).

What raw material are you starting with?

What or who’s ideas and teachings are you putting in?

Are you putting them in casually when you get a chance, or each day with intention?

Your best thinking got you here.

Your best thinking got you here.

To believe your business can get better is to believe you were wrong about some things.

If you have been doing it in this way for a while, you are getting the results your approach and actions deserve.

To achieve what you want to achieve, what inputs, thinking, or actions needs to change now?

Introvert Power

Are you an introvert?  Do you need your alone time to think and work?  Do you like the quiet vs the energy of other people around all the time?

Don’t get me wrong, being an introvert doesn’t mean you don’t like other people.  I love other people.  I just can’t focus when they are talking to me or buzzing around.  Sometimes I am ready for other people and it’s all good.  But I don’t need to interact as much as others who are not introverted.

Dr. Helgoe says in her book “Introvert Power” that introverts should “Claim your space and tempo.  Whether it’s a quiet corner or pacing your day, introvert power lies in setting environments that recharge you, not exhaust you.”

She says “Introversion values depth over surface.  Introverts connect deeply, express meaningfully, and lead thoughtfully – there’s real power in stillness.”

Leaders must know themselves, and know their team members to foster harmony and high performance.

Introverts are the majority

I am an introvert.  And I am not in the minority.  Studies show that introverts make up 50% – 57% of the population; being quiet is more common than you think.

In the book “Intorvert Power” by Dr. Laurie Helgoe, she says that introversion is strength, not deficiency.  I certainly never saw it a a weakness.  It’s an “inward energy economy that fuels creativity, insight, and intentional living.”

I love that explanation.  And I love intentional living.

Dr. Helgoe goes on to say “Solitude is fuel.  For introverts alone time isn’t loneliness – it’s the creative space that sustains depth, focus and clarity.”

This is certainly true for me. I am thinking about my introvert employees and their workspace/workplace and the ones who work from home.  Where would the introvert do their best work – in a noisy place near a busy hallway, or in a quiet place or working at home?  I know where I’d like to be…

More on introverts tomorrow….

Margins matter

If you don’t make a good gross profit margin after you take out your direct costs, then you can’t pay your indirect costs and have enough money left over to make a profit.

Do you know how much gross profit you make?

Sometimes we make money on one kind of sale, but don’t make any money, or lose money, selling something else.

Do you know if you make money on everything you sell?

I’m going to rip you off! Big time!

Here’s how I will do it.

I will hack into your computer system OR the system of one of your suppliers.

I will monitor emails and contacts and find out you owe this company (insert amount here) for the legit order they sent you.

I will send an email that says “Hey (due to fraud) we changed our bank info.  ACH the payment here instead of the old account.”

You will email the company and ask “Hey is this legit?”  

But I am ahead of you.  I will get the email and say “Yes it is”.

OR you will CALL the phone number on the email that has the new payment instructions and speak to a person to ask if it is legit.  But the person you are calling is me, the bad guy.  I put my phone number on the email.  (Duh!)  I say “Yes it is legit”.

You are satisfied and you send a huge amount of money to me.  I withdraw it and close the new account.

Haha!  Sucka!

Send this Think Daily to your accounting/payables team.

Don’t be a sucker!

Encouraging change in others.

When trying to influence others, know that people resist when they feel forced.

Don’t say “You better do this”. 

Instead, encourage them.  

Do say “This is your choice”.

Empowerment opens the door to change.

How do you try to influence others?