Last month I suggested you join a discussion going on at Business Week, offering readers the chance to weigh in and comment on serious workplace topics.

The August 25 issue offers insights gleaned from readers and experts to which I’ll be referring over the next few weeks.

First up are some interesting comments from an interview with Jim Collins of Good to Great fame. Here are some comments that struck me as excellent wisdom.

“…a “stop-doing” list or not-to-do list is more important than a to-do list, because the to-do list is infinite. For every big, annual priority you put on the to-do list, you need a corresponding item on the stop-doing list. It’s like an accounting balance.”

How true! In all my experience I’ve never seen a to-do list, professional or personal, at any level or walk of life that could realistically be finished, although they were constantly added to and/or rearranged.

That made them a continued source of frustration and demotivation.

There’s a reason that IBM’s slogan is ‘THINK’ and Collins research shows that those who with the highest level of effectiveness give themselves time to think. And while his solution takes a lot of self-discipline it’s not rocket science.

“The key is to build pockets of quietude into your schedule—times when you have an appointment with yourself and it’s protected. I have on my calendar “white space” days. I set them six months in advance, and everyone around me can see them. It’s not that I’m not working, but absolutely nothing can be scheduled on a white space day.”

Technology is the excuse I hear most often for not doing this and, again, the solution is grounded in the self-discipline required to turn things off.

“You don’t report to your BlackBerry” should be engraved on your frontal lobe.

Collins also offers great advice to all those functioning in bureaucratic organizations sans the power to alter the situation, but with potential worth staying for.

Although Collins focuses on senior executives with corner office potential, his advice resonates for workers at any level.

“They were focused on what they could control. That is Job One. But they were also really good at figuring out the three to four people in the organization who really mattered and became very good at presenting to them evidence and arguments that were persuasive.”

This is advice that anyone can follow. Instead of allowing all the stuff that you can’t control or change to frustrate you, focus on what you can do while learning and tapping into your company’s social network.

Collins even answers everybody’s question, “How long should I stay—when should I give up and leave?”

“If you produce exceptional work, your ability for influence is very high. Most people, even in bureaucracies, are hard-working, well-intentioned people trying to do good things. If you ever wake up and say the majority of people here aren’t that, then for sure it’s time to jump.”

There’s a lot more packed into a fairly short interview. I hope that you’ll take a moment to read it.

What resonates most with you?

Image credit: stephmcg CC license

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 3:30 am and is filed under Business info, Compensation, Culture, Leadership, Motivation, Personal Growth, Stock Options, Wordless Wednesday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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