The Most Important Question Your Business Should Always Ask

The most important question a business can ask itself is: What should we do next? In any workflow, not just end-of-year reviews and lessons learned analyses. From failure to focus There is a challenge to working on lessons learned.  That challenge is negativity.  When all you talk about is problems and mistakes, you end up…

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How to Turn This Year’s Lessons Into Next Year’s Success

Every year a business writes its own story—full of wins, surprises, and lessons.  The secret to a stronger sequel?  Knowing exactly what worked well and what to improve. Lessons Learned This is the time to capture the lessons that will set you up for a stronger new year.  Perform an after action review on the…

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Goals Don’t Work—People Do: The Challenge of Gaining Employee Buy-In

You’ve set the goals for the quarter. Now comes the real work.  Because let’s be honest: businesses don’t hit targets, people do.  Getting your team’s buy-in isn’t optional. It’s the secret to getting things done. Buy-In is more than a memo Getting buy-in isn’t just about announcing a new goal at the Monday meeting or…

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Sticking with the Plan: Keep Your New Productivity Alive

Congratulations: your productivity plan is in place.  You’re on track to hit your targets and see real business growth. But here’s the part many overlook: Now comes the maintenance phase — and it’s just as critical. Productivity stumbles The period after a change is the most vulnerable.  You have gone through the extra attention and…

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Productivity for Every Role: Applying Equal Rules to Unique Jobs

The principles of productivity are the same across all roles in a business.  But no two “to-do lists” look exactly the same.  Let’s explore how professional priorities shape our productivity plans. Productive roles From an intern to the CEO, each role in a business has different targets and different expectations on their shoulders. And that…

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Move From Productive Foundations to Productive Work

Last week, we explored how productivity starts well before the first task is ticked off your to-do list.  It’s a management practice.  Today, let’s turn our focus to the crucial steps to make every day genuinely productive. Steps to productivity The steps to productivity are: Goal Setting With Meaning Effective productivity hinges on clear, actionable…

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Beyond the Checklist: Productivity Is a System, Not a To-Do List

Now that we understand what productivity is—and what it isn’t—it’s time to explore how it works.  Productivity isn’t about checking tasks off a to-do list.  It’s about the way you work and how your entire business operates.  Productivity comes before work The truly productive business has become so by building systems geared towards productivity.  It…

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Are You Productive or Just Really Good at Looking Busy?

It is September.  You can feel the days getting shorter, the end of the year getting closer. Still, there are 4 months left. Let’s make them the most productive yet.  Let’s make Productivity our autumn theme.  What productivity is Productivity is the measure of how you turn inputs into outputs.  Your inputs are time, effort,…

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Remarkable Communication: Use Consistency For Eye-Opening Clarity

In a recent study, a major retailer wanted to increase sales across all its locations. Researchers split employees into two groups: Group A was promised five percent of any revenue increase each month. Group B was promised biweekly performance reviews.  The results?  Group A’s sales didn’t budge, while Group B saw a seven percent jump…

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Painting a Clear Picture of Success: Give Answers, Not Clues

Agatha Christie wrote what are called Fair-Play mysteries, or whodunits. In other words, the story includes all the clues needed to solve the mystery.  You are not Agatha Christie.  Do not hide clues in your company messaging. Instead, say what you mean openly and clearly.  Know the goal A clear mission is the foundation upon…

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