The systems mindset. Almost everything we do is a repetitive task, and for every repetitive task we have a process. It’s tempting to think that a lot of what we do is complex problem solving that is not repetitive, but that’s not true. We still follow a process to solve seemingly complex problems, even if we don’t initially realise it or it initially seems complex. That means most of what we can do can be described and documented. If it can be documented, then it can (a) be systematically optimized and improved, (b) act as a guide for us to follow to ensure quality control, (c) reduce the required mental energy to perform the task, due to not wasting energy on thinking about the process, and (d) have someone else (with any necessary requisite knowledge) complete the task.
Hiring excellent people for very little money. People are motivated by much more than just money. You can pay people a lot less by giving them much more in the other areas. An easy way to get started is with outsourcing. If you can afford to pay someone $4/hour there’s no reason for anyone not to have a virtual assistant. This obviously pairs very effectively with documented systems.
People skills. This is a large area but the 20⁄80 is to read and take notes on How to Win Friends & Influence People, and turn it into a 1 page cheatsheet to follow when interacting with anyone.
Idea extraction. This is a term that was coined in a business course I did, the idea being to identify business opportunities by interviewing people to uncover their business problems, and continuously drill down to their root causes. But it has much wider application. The ability to uncover other people’s root causes is incredibly helpful in sales, customer development and all kinds of situations.
Journaling. Whenever I am faced with uncertainty (constantly) I turn to journaling, and it is incredibly effective in problem solving and raising my self-awareness.
Learning. This is one I’m still working on, but understanding how we learn has been very helpful in creating personally effective methods for learning and memorization.
Productive downtime. Another one I’m still working on, but is based around the idea of pursuing tasks that are enjoyable but are still beneficial, as opposed to time wasters like watching tv, playing computer games etc.
Productive downtime. Another one I’m still working on, but is based around the idea of pursuing tasks that are enjoyable but are still beneficial, as opposed to time wasters like watching tv, playing computer games etc.
Another approach is to try to increase the quality of your downtime rather than increase its productivity. For example, do deep breathing meditation. Laughter has been shown to restore willpower depletion, and I’ve found watching cartoons like The Simpsons to be much more rejuvenating than watching stressful live-action TV shows.
Seconded. This feels somehow similar to purchasing fuzzies and utilions separately? Basically figuring out what value you’re getting out of what you already do in your down-time (relaxation, making social connections, etc) and try to get more of it. A possible failure mode for productive downtime would be doing things that are to-do-list productive but don’t leave you feeling like you’ve had downtime.
People skills. This is a large area but the 20⁄80 is to read and take notes on How to Win Friends & Influence People, and turn it into a 1 page cheatsheet to follow when interacting with anyone.
I used metaphors to encode it into a form that would make it easier for me to remember, so it wouldn’t be of much use to you. The book is a really quick and simple read, and I highly recommend you go through the process yourself.
Money is just 1 small part of the equation. People are motivated by other things such as freedom (ability to work remotely, set their own hours, set their own holidays), the ability to learn, respect (treating them like a partner/integral part of the business) etc. I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard that Drive by Dan Pink[1] does a really good job at explaining this.
The $4/hour part refers to hiring overseas contractors on places like oDesk. Again, you can get some fantastic people here by designing a position that gives them what they want in other areas. For example, contractors on oDesk are constantly looking for work, so giving them a permanent position where they are guaranteed a set number of hours per week is a great way to attract high quality candidates. I also wrote about this on my blog: http://42insights.com/how-to-hire-a-virtual-assistant/.
Psychologists now classify motivation as intrinsic vs. extrinsic—are you doing something because you want to, or because someone told you to/offered you something? Importantly, for creative tasks like knowledge work, extrinsic motivators like bonuses are weaker than people’s concern for a job well done. Many studies in a variety of situtations have shown the counterinuitive result that adding bonuses to a task makes people perform worse, give up quicker, and not do it on their own initiative.
The book Drive by Daniel Pink is an excellent walk through the research.
Good point. Here are mine:
The systems mindset. Almost everything we do is a repetitive task, and for every repetitive task we have a process. It’s tempting to think that a lot of what we do is complex problem solving that is not repetitive, but that’s not true. We still follow a process to solve seemingly complex problems, even if we don’t initially realise it or it initially seems complex. That means most of what we can do can be described and documented. If it can be documented, then it can (a) be systematically optimized and improved, (b) act as a guide for us to follow to ensure quality control, (c) reduce the required mental energy to perform the task, due to not wasting energy on thinking about the process, and (d) have someone else (with any necessary requisite knowledge) complete the task.
Hiring excellent people for very little money. People are motivated by much more than just money. You can pay people a lot less by giving them much more in the other areas. An easy way to get started is with outsourcing. If you can afford to pay someone $4/hour there’s no reason for anyone not to have a virtual assistant. This obviously pairs very effectively with documented systems.
People skills. This is a large area but the 20⁄80 is to read and take notes on How to Win Friends & Influence People, and turn it into a 1 page cheatsheet to follow when interacting with anyone.
Idea extraction. This is a term that was coined in a business course I did, the idea being to identify business opportunities by interviewing people to uncover their business problems, and continuously drill down to their root causes. But it has much wider application. The ability to uncover other people’s root causes is incredibly helpful in sales, customer development and all kinds of situations.
Journaling. Whenever I am faced with uncertainty (constantly) I turn to journaling, and it is incredibly effective in problem solving and raising my self-awareness.
Learning. This is one I’m still working on, but understanding how we learn has been very helpful in creating personally effective methods for learning and memorization.
Productive downtime. Another one I’m still working on, but is based around the idea of pursuing tasks that are enjoyable but are still beneficial, as opposed to time wasters like watching tv, playing computer games etc.
Another approach is to try to increase the quality of your downtime rather than increase its productivity. For example, do deep breathing meditation. Laughter has been shown to restore willpower depletion, and I’ve found watching cartoons like The Simpsons to be much more rejuvenating than watching stressful live-action TV shows.
Seconded. This feels somehow similar to purchasing fuzzies and utilions separately? Basically figuring out what value you’re getting out of what you already do in your down-time (relaxation, making social connections, etc) and try to get more of it. A possible failure mode for productive downtime would be doing things that are to-do-list productive but don’t leave you feeling like you’ve had downtime.
Can you give specific examples of things that you systematized/outsourced?
Can I have that cheatsheet please?
I used metaphors to encode it into a form that would make it easier for me to remember, so it wouldn’t be of much use to you. The book is a really quick and simple read, and I highly recommend you go through the process yourself.
Could you expand on this?
Money is just 1 small part of the equation. People are motivated by other things such as freedom (ability to work remotely, set their own hours, set their own holidays), the ability to learn, respect (treating them like a partner/integral part of the business) etc. I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard that Drive by Dan Pink[1] does a really good job at explaining this.
An example of this would be my Hire an Aspiring Entrepreneur strategy, which you can read about here: http://42insights.com/hire-aspiring-entrepreneur/.
The $4/hour part refers to hiring overseas contractors on places like oDesk. Again, you can get some fantastic people here by designing a position that gives them what they want in other areas. For example, contractors on oDesk are constantly looking for work, so giving them a permanent position where they are guaranteed a set number of hours per week is a great way to attract high quality candidates. I also wrote about this on my blog: http://42insights.com/how-to-hire-a-virtual-assistant/.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594484805/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=freeagentnati-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1594484805
Psychologists now classify motivation as intrinsic vs. extrinsic—are you doing something because you want to, or because someone told you to/offered you something? Importantly, for creative tasks like knowledge work, extrinsic motivators like bonuses are weaker than people’s concern for a job well done. Many studies in a variety of situtations have shown the counterinuitive result that adding bonuses to a task makes people perform worse, give up quicker, and not do it on their own initiative.
The book Drive by Daniel Pink is an excellent walk through the research.
Especially on the $4/h part.