Turn intentions into behaviours
I once read that culture is a set of collective beliefs and behaviours. In organisations, the productivity culture is influenced by the behaviours of the people within the organisation, especially senior managers. Staff see how managers and leaders operate and tend to copy these behaviours. The behaviours then become the norm. For instance, if an organisation has a meeting-heavy culture, it is […]
Read MoreA more proactive approach to toilet paper
What is it with people not replacing the toilet paper? How hard can it be? On the odd occasion that I walk into a bathroom to find no toilet paper, I am struck by how selfish the behaviour of the previous occupant was, and how reactive that person’s work life must also be (I will […]
Read MoreHow visibility can influence your culture
I recently visited Launceston to spend a day with a local management team. I stayed in a very cool new hotel – Peppers Silo Hotel. As the name suggests, it is an old converted grain silo, and I loved it! I had dinner in the hotel restaurant and was blown away by the way the kitchen worked. I have worked in restaurant kitchens in […]
Read MoreProductivity lessons from school
Well, today is the last day of school for my son Finn. He starts his HSC in a few weeks, and then takes on the World. I am so excited for him. And just a little sad. Just yesterday I was walking him to kindy!Here are three productivity lessons I hope he takes out of his schooling and into the […]
Read MoreAre your subject lines fuzzy or focused?
I recently helped a team create a more productive culture around email usage. They were all past alumni of Smart Work, and all passionate users of the system, but they still struggled with the high volume and poor quality of email communications they received each day. One of the big breakthroughs they had on the day was to agree on a set of email subject abbreviations […]
Read MoreStay in the loop and in control
I recently worked with the head of a consulting team in Sydney. He was receiving a large volume of emails every day and was struggling to keep up. During our discussions I discovered that he was CC’d on every email sent to his clients by his team. This resulted in him getting over three hundred emails every day! When […]
Read MoreThe 25 Minute Meeting
My good friend and colleague Donna McGeorge has just published a new book that I can’t wait to share with you. It is called The 25 Minute Meeting and shows you how to double the impact of your meetings in half the time. If you’ve have been following my recent blogs, especially since I released Smart Teams, […]
Read MoreLeadership at all Levels
I’m going to start by talking rubbish but will get to an important productivity point a bit further on. Plastic bags are a huge burden on the environment and the healthy future of our planet. This is a big issue in NSW at the moment as many shoppers wrestle with the prospect of bringing their […]
Read MoreHow Wasteful Email Habits Can Cause a Productivity Drought
The early 2000’s brought the worst drought in recorded history, which in Sydney meant severe water restrictions. We couldn’t wash cars, water the garden, or allow the kids to play in the sprinklers on hot days. Hard as this seemed at the time, it made me change my behaviour around water wastage, and to this […]
Read MoreSand in your Shoes and Emails in your Inbox
You might recall my last newsletter was written in the sunny glow of a holiday in Europe. Well, I’m back in Sydney, with sand in my shoes and emails in my inbox! Returning home got me thinking about my ‘back-to-work’ process. I like it because it ensures I start back in a focused and productive […]
Read More