I am not one to challenge the status quo just because it’s the status quo. I’m not a drone, either. But most times I find the status quo is correct as-is, and I attribute this to simple cause-and-effect: Whatever a particular accepted status quo happens to be, it’s probably that way because that’s what has worked […]
This is an excerpt from the Third Edition of Work the System, and has much to do with Mole-Whacking. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept, it’s an “arcade redemption game” that exactly describes how too many people live their lives. -sc If you are like most people, you have not consciously […]
Excerpt from Chapter 6 of the book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less. “If solid goals are established and the majority of time is spent examining and tweaking systems toward those goals, great results will materialize naturally. Conversely, think about ‘holistic’ solutions that cover life’s complexity like a blanket: Another […]
System Improvement All Day Long What about the leader of a typical large, successful company? Most times, these people are not innately special. Beyond their willingness to work hard and an adequate degree of intelligence, their advantage is that they naturally operate from a systems perspective—while the huge majority of people do not. These […]
A business writer can get all wrapped up in analogy and metaphor and I try to avoid going down that road too far, but the dog-and-tail comparison is too vivid not to exploit. In this post I build around the premise that the most important leadership tasks are to establish clear direction for the organization and then to convince […]
This is post number eight (of ten total in this “Obsess” series), and we’re starting to come ’round full-circle, tying things together. The overall message is simple and there’s no reason to do endless reiteration but, in “getting it,” there’s good reason to examine the foundational points from different angles. Point of Sale (POS) obsesses me to the point […]
This ten-part “Obsess” series is intriguing to compose because I’m talking about what’s been stirring inside. For a writer, it’s a joy to expound on personal fascinations. The Main Machine is you. You’re an “enclosed entity with numerous spinning wheels, all contributing to the singular purpose of that entity, this is, to accomplish a goal.” That’s my […]
“Thinking slow, Moving Fast” suggests that we should slow down enough to be able to think ahead; to find the time to evaluate and then do proper foundation building. Do that, and the ROI on that “slow time” will be enormous. A key premise of the Work the System Method is to fix the mechanical problems first. Once we accomplish that, and almost […]
Here’s the second of three “pointed mechanical recommendation” posts, intended to help you become Hyper-Efficient. Everything you’ll need to implement this particular communication tool is here. If you’re a busy business owner or manager, it will be worth your time to slow down and contemplate this post. EVM will change your life if you can grasp what it can do and then put […]
This “Obsess” post #4 is the first of three specific mechanical recommendations for achieving personal hyper-efficiency. Upcoming posts #5 and #6 will complete the mini-series. Always, my challenge to you is to think about how you do what you do. The methodology you use for handling online communications with yourself, and with others is a system […]
