9 Steps to Work Less and Do More - Book Review

We as a society are working smarter now, aren't we?  We have all this fantastic technology available. Many businesses have downsized and refocused on their core businesses.  Hasn't our productivity improved?  Not necessarily according to the Departmental of Labor (DOL). The DOL released a report in September 2010 that indicated labor productivity declined by 1.8% during the second quarter of 2010 compared to the first quarter, even though hours increased by 3.5% and output increased slightly by 1.6%.   This seems to indicate that we are working longer hours, yet our productivity is actually declining.  What can we do about it?  What is occurring here?  It has been ingrained in our minds that the longer and harder we work, the more we will produce.  Is this a fallacy?

I had an opportunity to read several chapters of the Get-It-Done-Guy's book called "9 Steps to Work Less and Do More" by Stever Robbins.  This book provided excellent insight on this very concept of working smarter.  It is an easy read and is written in such an engaging, humorous and insightful manner that it easily drew me in. 

Here are the nine steps:

Step 1 - Live and work on purpose
Step 2 - Stop procrastinating
Step 3 - Conquer your technology
Step 4 - Cultivate focus
Step 5 - Stay organized - mentally & physically
Step 6 - Don't waste time.
Step 7 - Streamline your tasks & Optimize them
Step 8 - Build stronger relationships
Step 9 - Leverage your strengths & achieve better results

Lessons on Creating Learning Organizations from the Dog Park

This weekend, I was teaching my young black lab, Jack, to swim at the dog park. Yes, you heard it correctly. My labrador retriever doesn’t like water. There were some young dogs at the park and they hopped into the plastic swimming pool without hesitation. On the other hand, Jack was terrified. I picked up his 60 lb. body, gently placed him in the swimming pool and offered words of encouragement. The other dogs were playing a splashing game and they engaged Jack in their game. Gradually, he forgot he was in water, his nemesis, and started to play. By the time they finished playing, he seemed to be more receptive to the water. He’s not 100% comfortable in the water yet, but he showed marked improvement. This event prompted me to begin thinking about my own assumptions about business and the vital role that learning plays.

As business owners, we often develop a high level of expertise in an area. Perhaps we are excellent chefs or hair dressers or carpet cleaners for example, and we assume we know how to manage a business. We have to be cautious that we do not allow this competence to distract our focus from the needs of the business. Successfully managing a business requires additional skills such as marketing, sales, accounting, finance, negotiations, and leadership, just to name a few. As business owners, we have several issues to consider in our decision making process.

1. Are you open to learning those new skills and do you have the time to invest in learning them? Or would your time be better spent focusing on your core business and utilizing someone else to handle those tasks?
2. Do you have the talent within your business to handle those tasks or do you need to look outside the organization? Does this talent currently exist or could it be developed over time with training, and/or experience?
3. If you wish to hire an outside professional, do you know the right questions to ask so that you can get answers that truly meet the needs of your business?
4. Do you have the financial resources to hire an outside professional to perform the task?
5. Regardless of which option you select, it is likely that you will need additional education and information. Where do you go to obtain the information you need?

In his book titled, The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter Senge states “Leverage often comes from new ways of thinking”. In order for businesses to thrive in our dynamic economy, businesses need to shift their thinking. The ability to learn and apply knowledge can serve as a measureable competitive advantage and provide businesses with the leverage needed to move past their competition. Here are some opportunities for learning:
 
1. Your local chamber of commerce. I recently attended a breakfast briefing at the West Chester Liberty Chamber Alliance that focused on “Tips and Advice for Securing a Business Loan”. Key leaders from the banking industry and SCORE provided business owners with insights they need to obtain financing in order to grow their business. In addition, chambers sometimes provide industry resources to serve as a sounding board, share business knowledge, and help you grow your business. As an example, I serve as a Chamber Advisor for HR for the West Chester Liberty Chamber Alliance.
 
2. SCORE – SCORE provides free one-on-one counseling to small businesses as well as workshops that focus on relevant topics for growing your business. I recently attended a Cincinnati Score Workshop titled “Score/Amex Speed Coaching” and gained valuable knowledge about marketing, social media and financing for your business. It was an excellent resource and one I highly recommend.
 
3. Local Universities – Depending on your needs and time commitments, you may wish to explore continuing education programs, professional certification or even a degree such as an MBA. I currently attend Indiana Wesleyan University’s MBA program on Saturday mornings and highly recommend it. There are several nurses in my class that decided to obtain the MBA degree so they can increase their business knowledge since they have worked for many years in nursing.

There are many opportunities and resources available in the community for small business owners to expand their knowledge. The key is to take action and reach out for them. Your openness and active engagement in learning is the lever that can propel your business forward.


I would love to hear of additional ideas for learning from you! If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to drop me a note at chrissann@blacklabventures.com.

Jack (black lab with orange collar) didn't stay in the pool long!

Employee Engagement Lessons from the Dog Park

My black lab, “Jack”, looks forward to spending Sunday afternoons at the dog park. It is a treat for both the owner and the dog. Yesterday, it was raining in Cincinnati, yet there were still a lot of people at the facility. I wondered what compels people to come out and stand in the cold rain to watch their dogs play; beyond their basic love of dogs. I put on my business hat and pondered what key learnings would apply to business. After much reflection, it came to me. As business leaders, how can we create an environment in which people are excited to come to work, even on difficult days, and fully engage their natural talents?

Jack and I visited a new dog park this weekend. Upon entering facility, there was a sign that provided guidelines for using the park. We stopped to read the sign and observed other dog owners and their pets. Our goal was to identify both the written and unwritten guidelines for the park. This prompted me to think of new hire orientations and on-boarding. As business owners, we need to communicate our expectations to new employees upfront. It is important that new employees learn both the written and unwritten policies and procedures. In addition, we need to help new employees develop positive working relationships throughout the organization. When performance expectations are clearly communicated, employees have a greater opportunity for success.

As leaders, it is critical that we identify employees’ natural gifts and talents, and place them in roles which allow them to freely utilize their strengths. There was a beautiful greyhound at the dog park. He was standing quietly in group and did not interact much with the other dogs. His owner threw a ball to the far side of the park. The greyhound took off running to fetch the ball. He broke into a beautiful, fast stride around the park. The other dogs in the group followed, but the greyhound leaped out in front of them. It was beautiful to see the greyhound striding with such freedom, grace and confidence. Employees inherently want to do good work and feel a sense of accomplishment. We need to look for opportunities and create an environment which unleashes their natural talents.

Another interesting observation was related to learning and knowledge acquisition at the dog park. There were several mini communities that formed. Dogs and owners would cluster around one group for an activity such as a game of tennis ball toss and fetch. One dog started the game while the others watched. The other dogs joined in after a few tosses. After the dogs progressed in their knowledge and mastered the tennis ball game, especially the “teaching” role, they would move on to a new and more challenging game such as Frisbee toss and fetch, and become a “student” again. While the dogs were learning from each other, the owners were sharing their lessons learned in training their pets. As business leaders, we need to search for opportunities to create “learning communities” in our organizations, which fosters relationships and facilitates the lateral transfer of knowledge. Every person has life experiences from which learning can be derived. Additionally, we need continually assign challenging assignments that empower and foster growth in our employees.

Employee engagement can be cultivated through a number of methods. When employees are fully engaged, they can propel your business forward and help you to leap ahead of your competition.

Chrissann Ruehle is Co-Founder of Black Lab Ventures, LLC. A human resources management consulting business, Black Lab Ventures focuses on on-boarding, training & development, performance management, and health & wellness initiatives. Our signature service, called Culture Branding, is a form of employer branding designed to help companies attract top talent and retain employees they already have. For small businesses, we offer our HR Start-Up Kits – a simple and affordable method to achieve an HR presence. We also offer full service packages for mid and large-sized companies, and function as a complement to their HR departments so they can focus on their core business.

For more information, please visit our website at
http://www.blacklabventures.com/ or feel free to call us at 513-443-2365.