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Trevor Manning Consultancy
Achieving  Business results 
through Real-World Training 
and Leadership Development

Go on holiday to get more done

4/28/2014

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I have just returned from a very refreshing Easter holiday break with my family. Before I left, I wondered how I would cope with my workload, taking time off when what I really needed was more time.  I am developing a new training course and was behind my schedule. Yesterday, I managed to produce a whole day’s work in a few hours. How did I do it?

 

I have come to realise that our “thinking” brains work best in sprint, rather than marathon mode.  Just throwing time at the problem works well for repetitive, routine tasks, but the part of our brains responsible for creative and intelligent thinking – the Pre Frontal Cortex (PFC) - gobbles up so much energy that it is incapable of marathons.  It works best when well rested, and focussed on one very specific task, uncluttered by random thoughts and distractions. By deliberately limiting the time available for the task, our brains can move into superman mode and achieve amazing things in a very short time period.   Having sucked all the oxygen and glucose supplies from our blood, they then need a rest and an energy boost before again being asked to perform miracles.

 

When I reflected on my pre-holiday work routine I realised I often started demanding tasks fatigued and unfocussed and a new module of material could take me a full day to create.  

 

So that’s the secret – go on more holidays! This produces two key outcomes – a well rested brain and less time. Ironically, having less time creates urgency and the need for sprints. There is nothing like a deadline to get you to sprint the 100m in under 10 seconds….

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Why KPI's do not work

4/8/2014

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There is an old management adage that says “if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it”.  

We have measures for everything - at work, in schools, in sport and even in our police force. ….One manager told me he has over 100 Key Performance Indices (KPI’s) to meet in his role.

People focus on what is inspected, rather than what is expected, so it is important to measure the right things. The reason KPI’s don’t always work is people measure the wrong things. Having 100 KPI’s may look impressive on a status report but how can that possibly focus your attention on the things that really matter.

I have found the most useful KPI’s, are those related to the outputs I produce, not my activities. Outputs are delivered to a customer, so it is probably best to start there. Instead of tracking dozens of activity based measures, that tell me how busy I am, I should be asking how my customer defines success.  

To be an effective team leader I need to know why my team exists, what outputs I produce, who my customer is and how they measure success. If I make those few items my KPI’s, it will focus all my activities in the right place and allow KPI setting and tracking to actually help me manage my team’s priorities, rather than trying to navigate the instrument panel of the space shuttle!

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    Author

    TMC Global has been established to provide real-world training and consultancy in wireless technology and technical management. 

    Its founder, Trevor Manning is passionate about people development and has developed training courses and business offerings that combine theory and practice to make a real difference in the workplace. 


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