The Little Trick That Multiplies Effectiveness By 6
Published June 29, 2009 | 
You may not have heard of Charles Schwab, but around the start of the 20th Century he was a super-rich industrial magnate – something like the Bill Gates of his time.
To his surprise, Mr. Schwab was contacted by someone whose line of work was still unusual – an expert in efficiency – and was made an offer that intrigued him.
“If I can spend 15 minutes with each of your executives,” the expert said, “you’ll boost your productivity and profits six times over… and after 90 days, you can pay me what you think I’m worth.”
Charles Schwab was happy to accept the challenge. He hadn’t got to where he was by being inefficient, and he’d trained his executives to be as effective as himself. He was confident that no-one could achieve a 600% increase in his business’s efficiency… but just suppose that someone could?
He couldn’t lose. If it worked, his company would get the benefit – and if he didn’t, that would prove him right… and, either way, it wasn’t going to cost him to find out.
He accepted the offer, and gave permission for the efficiency expert to talk to the executives in turn, for about a quarter of an hour each.
Against all his expectations, within the 90 days Charles Schwab saw his company transformed beyond all recognition. In his delight, he gladly gave the efficiency expert the equivalent of almost 10 years’ salary.
So, what was the revolutionary process that the expert had devised? Something no-one else had ever heard or thought of? Something sophisticated and difficult to understand? Something that would take many extra hours of data-collecting, form-filling, tracking and constantly monitoring? Something so complex it would take a top executive could use?
Not at all. It did involve a new technique – but one that couldn’t really be more simple.
What’s more, you’ll find it works just as effectively for YOU – and you can start right now.
It doesn’t cost you anything, except a bit of thought – and it has the power to transform your own achievements as effectively as it did Charles Schwab’s.
Before you finish work each day, list the 6 things you can do next day that will have the greatest effect in helping you to get to where you want to go, and next day, when you start your work…
Just do them.
Make sure you don’t let anything distract you.
Focus on them till you’ve got them finished.
Switch off the phone. Ignore the door-bell. Pull the plug on the TV. Ignore your e-mails, unless the nature of your work makes an early check on them one of your priority 6 things.
Don’t log into Twitter, or any other social network sites don’t worry – you can catch up later, without interfering with your work). Don’t respond to friends or even family wanting coffee and a chat – again, you can do that later, without the nagging feeling that you should be doing something else.
In fact, make sure you don’t let anything get in the way of your 6 main tasks.
If you’ve chosen wisely (and you will, with practice), clearing those 6 tasks will move you massively towards your goal. As well as improving your effectiveness beyond all recognition, you’ll have more spare time and energy, as well. Just like Charles Schwab, you really cannot lose.
A clear view of what you need to do (deciding which next actions will best move your project forward) and a strong and energetic focus on achievement (getting those things done) will transform your life and fortunes, too.
Take the same challenge Charles Schwab did – just try it yourself for 90 days, and see!
Posted in Success | 
achievements, Charles Schwab, effectiveness, efficiency, executives, productivity, profits, techniqueLife Success – Success Skills Of A Different Kind?
Published May 1, 2009 |
Success skills don’t always bring you life success. That might seem like a contradiction in terms. After all, to achieve success in life you have to have success skills, don’t you? And isn’t life success what happens when you use them? Not quite – at least, not always. You see, there’s one big difference between life success and the success skills you need to achieve success in projects. If you have success skills, you already know that to complete successful projects you need to specify exactly what you want the outcome to be – the launch of a new business, completing your first novel, moving house without a hitch, getting that promotion, etc. These are outcomes you can easily define. Life success can be another matter. What DOES it really take for you to feel your life is totally fulfilled – that it’s successful? The problem is, the definition keeps on changing and developing. At one point in your life, success might just mean getting an A-Grade for that science exam that you’ve been dreading. Two years later, it might be to get a hot date before your best friend does… and then a partner… home and children. Next, your success skills might be dedicated to your LATEST definition of your life success – a foot on the promotion ladder towards someday being CEO of the company you work in. By the time you ARE the CEO, your idea of life success may have shifted towards your family and ambitions for your children. You might be looking to help and encourage them in their careers – or it may be your idea of life success simply to make sure that you pass on to your children the ideals you were brought up with, or have learned along the way. See the problem? Success skills are like a roadmap – they’ll take you anywhere you want to go… but ONLY if you’re clear about the destination. Fortunately, like a roadmap, they’ll accommodate whatever changes in direction you might want to make – but only if you’re clear on what they are. That’s why it’s vital that every so often you take a step back and review your progress in your life success, just as you’d evaluate your progress towards any other project. Once a year is generally enough, and you can pick any time you find convenient. Some people find the ending of the year is a good time to look back at the progress that you’ve made so far, and evaluate what desired outcomes you should focus your success skills on next (that’s where the idea behind New Year’s Resolutions comes from). Others prefer vacation time, when they can take a break from work, relax and let their mind explore ideas. Still others make it a rule to do it just before their birthday, so that they can start their own personal new year off on the right foot. If you’re a teacher or a student, the ideal time might be the start of the new school year. It doesn’t matter when you do it, as long as it’s a time that means something to you, and when you conveniently can, and actually will, take some time to think about what life success might mean to you – right now. Look at what your definition of life success was at the same time last year. Have you achieved the objectives you set then, or at least made as much progress as you’d thought you would by now? If not, what corrections do you need or want to make? Do you need to update your success skills in any way? Either way, does that definition of life success still fit in with the way you feel, your aims and aspirations, right now? If so, great. If not, no problem. Just ask yourself what life success now represents to you. THAT is your new aim… and as long as you’re clear on what it is, you can use your success skills to take you there. Don’t worry about how many times you change your definition of what life success is. It’s bound to evolve and to develop exactly as YOU do. After all, everyone’s underlying definition of success in life is doing or achieving all the things that make them happiest. For some, those things are always constant – but for many more, they’re not. Whatever those things are for you, they’re what your life success depends on… and where your success skills need to be most focused.
Posted in Success | Add new tag, aims, aspirations, happiness, life success, New Year's Resolutions, objectives, Success, success skills