Don't just settle for a good life...aim for a great life

Sometimes I come across some great stuff that stands out and makes good sense in our daily lives and in our quest to get ahead.

7 strategies to do more great work and live more of a great life - Michael Bungay Stanier:

Read on and enjoy...

1. Define three things
   It’s not a measure of success to check off forty-seven “to-dos” in a day if you haven’t actually accomplished what matters most. Define the three high-impact actions you want to take each day, and list them as “all-day tasks” on your calendar so you remember what they are.
   
   
2. Know who matters
   The brutal truth is that if everyone else is happy, then you’re likely not doing Great Work. Great Work involves making choices, so you need to be very clear about who you want to say “Yes” to—and who matters less. Define your A-list (three people) and your B-list (five people) of who matters. You can consider saying “No” (or at the very least a “slow yes”) to anyone not on these lists. As an added tip here—because it’s always tough to disappoint people—frame any feedback you might get as being professional not personal.
   
   
3. Say Yes . . . Slowly
   It’s difficult to say “No” in most organizations—but until you know how to say “No” to some of your Good Work it will be difficult to say “Yes” to more Great Work. So master the art of saying “Yes” slowly. Rather than making it your default response, ask at least three questions before you make a decision.
   
   
4. Time your meetings
   We all know that meetings can be an enormous waste of time and energy. Marketing guru Seth Godin famously doesn’t do meetings. But for those of us who have to, make how much time they’re taking obvious. Google projects a four-foot-high clock onto a wall in their meetings—and people know exactly how long they’ve got to make their point.
   
   
5. Do a McKinsey
   The consulting firm McKinsey & Company are famous for weeding out the bottom 10 percent of performers in their organization every year. This “up or out” philosophy is harsh—but effective. Apply the same approach to your meetings. Figure out the most ineffective meetings you’re asked to attend—and stop attending them (Ask to be sent a list of action items instead).
   
   
6. Control the Blackberry
   Our culture of relentless connectedness disrupts our focus and our ability to do Great Work. Find systems or structures to manage the relentless flow of e-mail—because answering 150 e-mails a day is no one’s definition of Great Work.
   
   
7. Change places
   When you sit down at your desk at the start of the day and crank up your computer, you set your body and brain into Good Work mode: be productive and efficient. Great Work requires a different type of thinking. Find somewhere else to do your Great Work—another place in your office, an empty meeting room, the cafeteria, a coffee shop down the road. Changing the context will change the way you work

Until next week - Mike Anderson NSBC - CEO