WorkPuzzle

Confessions of a System Innovator

In my last blog, I described the importance of following and executing a system for any lasting success or improvement to take shape.  I used the example of my ups and downs with regard to my physical workouts over the last 25 years to drive home the vital importance of following and measuring results though a proven system.  My final points were as follows:

1. Find and follow a system. 
2. Do not venture off of the system. 
3. Have someone hold you accountable to the system. 
4. Compete with someone who uses the same system.
5. Track your results and aim for constant improvement.

Now here comes my confession:  While I had been largely following my well-established workout "system," I couldn't help myself.... I had to innovate some variations of my own plan.  

Now the eventual fallout of my innovated system, is that I didn't experience the improvements others had been describing for the last several decades.  So, I did some online research in an effort to figure out what might be going on with my lack of constant improvement, and I found the following emphatic words written on a forum by someone who has trained others to use this system.  He said:  "What is it with you people who think you can alter a system that has been around for four decades?  Do you have some sort of attention deficit disorder, or do you think that you are so special that you can invent a new way of doing something that has been honed by 10's of thousands of people?"  He went on to conclude:  "Listen Carefully.. Don't MESS (he used another word) with the system! Don't add, delete or alter it in anyway.  Follow it and it will work!"   

I needed to read those words, and I needed to read them in that tone to really get it.  So, what is the lesson here?  Why am I reminding you of something that appears to be common knowledge?  Because we all are guilty of innovation when it's not needed.  Why do we do this?  I believe the following are some reasons for our tendency to wander off the system path: 

1. We think that we are facing unique challenges that require a different angle. 
2. We feel bored with the system and want to entertain or stimulate ourselves with variety.
3. We get lazy.  Systems can be mundane and take energy to execute well.
4. We think we're smarter than we really are. 

I'm beginning to believe that one of the primary reasons that McDonald's is so successful, is that it is managed by 24-year-olds and executed by 16-year-olds, who are too young and green to make the erroneous assumption -- "I might know a better way."  

If you are a manager of agents, take it upon yourself to meet with all your struggling agents to investigate in detail what they are actually doing daily.  Get them to sign up for Toggl (time management) and categorize their efforts into the primary tasks that drive success and see if their real time matches their imagined time spent in those activities. 

If you are an owner, CEO, or GM, and you haven't been getting the recruiting results you're accustomed too, peer into your systems that measure activities and see for yourself what is actually happening.  

We all get off course - That's going to happen.  But sometimes we need others to remind us to not "MESS with the system."  I'm back on track, following someone else's system... How about you?

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

The Secret Ingredient of Every Healthy Manager-Agent Relationship

It is pretty ironic that I find myself involved in the real estate industry.  My mother was, at any given point in my life, a bank manager, credit union mortgage officer, or the marketing director for several title companies.  Many of her very close friends are real estate agents.  

During a recent visit to see my mom, I spent a few minutes with one such woman, who started telling me how her manager could ask/tell her to do this, that or the other thing, but she didn't really have to act upon the request.  

“I’m an independent contractor, I don’t have to do any of that!” 

To some degree, the smugness of this comment surprised me since I've never really taken that stance when it comes to my own performance.  In fact, I found myself identifying with many of the real estate managers who have to work with the difficult agents who possess such a perspective.  

But thinking more about the exchange in the weeks following the visit, I started to have more sympathy for the frustration this agent was feeling.  Why did the agent feel so uninspired by her manager? Certainly, there had to be some fault on both sides of the relationship  that created strain and hindered it from blossoming into something more productive. 

As the conflict of the competing perspectives remained unresolved in recesses of my subconscious, the memory of the event was triggered when I came across an article written by business author, Jeff Haden.  Here is part of the article I found:

“Great leaders don't need to struggle to motivate, inspire, and lead their employees. Here's why.

I was struggling to engage the audience. Okay, be honest, I tried not to let it show but I was dying onstage.

So I took a different approach. "In one sentence, what is the key to leading people?" I asked.

So I asked the question and then paused to read the room. Some people looked down. Some looked away. As I expected, no one was going to answer. Cool.

I was about to speak when a voice broke the silence.

'I think I know,' a man sitting in the back corner said, somewhat hesitantly.

A few heads turned in his direction.

'No one cares how much you know until they first know how much you care about them.'

Wait--what?

'Can you repeat that?' I said.

'We think we have all the answers, and maybe we do, but that doesn't matter. No one cares how much you know until they first know how much you care about them,' he repeated.

He took the silence in the auditorium as disagreement.

'No, really,' he said, starting to sound more confident. 'Yeah we're in charge and yeah we talk about targets and goals and visions, but our [agents] don't care about any of that stuff for very long. We can communicate and engage and connect all we want, but no one really listens to us. They just smile and nod and go back to doing their jobs the way they always do.'

'Our employees don't really care about what we want them to do until they know how much we care about them. When an employee knows--truly knows--that you care about them, then they care about you. And when they know you care, they will listen to you... and they will do anything for you.'

Best answer ever.”  

Somehow, I don't think my mom's friend was convinced that her manager truly cared about her and had her best interests at heart.  Harsh comments, such as the one she delivered to a near stranger, suggest that she did not feel valued by her manager.  

Is the manager to blame?  Maybe, or maybe not. I didn't have any information about the manager (there may have been an unknown reason to devalue this agent). I do know that if you want any relationship to prosper, building upon the foundation of genuine care and concern is critical.

If you're feeling strain in the relationships with some of your agents, consider asking questions related to this topic.  At a minimum, you'll rekindle the fire of care and concern that needs to burn at the center of every healthy relationship.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why using Scripts might kill your recruiting

I realize that using scripts for both selling and recruiting in the real estate industry has been one of the most sacredly protected principles over the last century.  I recently read a fairly long list of scripts used for both selling and recruiting, and found myself bristling at the thought of having someone use them on me.  I'm not sure that they would work.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that they would turn me off.

Now, maybe I'm more hypersensitive than most to being treated like a "target" rather than a person...but I don't think so.  I know that what I am about to say, I have said before, but I will say it again:  People want and need to be understood in every human interaction. 

In the May 21^st and May 28^th editions, I shared a fairly in-depth backdrop to the topic of how to build attunement in order to build attachment.  But, contrary to what I was saying...if, on the other hand, a manager focuses on scripts without a deep understanding of how Attunement and Attachment fit into recruiting and retention, then their "pitch" will never be accepted by the smartest people. 

Much of what is being written about tips on how to recruit Generation X's will (in my opinion) take many managers off into the weeds when trying to recruit.  Many of these tips focus on how Gen X's are "so different than the rest of us."  In my opinion, this is very dangerous thinking.  If we try to get "tricky" with trying to pitch to Gen X candidates in the "right way," we miss the point.  And the point is:  Human nature NEVER changes!!  

There are far more similarities than differences between every generation, and most psychological research would confirm this.  The common denominator that we all need to know is that people want to be attached to leaders who are genuinely curious about who they are, and what they want.  They want leaders who are willing to teach them what they know, and who will mentor and speak into their lives, and/or introduce them to existing successful peers who can do this.  One of our clients, when interviewing a new agent candidate, routinely calls an existing (successful) agent that is within that person's age group and gender, to be at the office at the time of the interview.  Simple, but smart! 

In the next edition, I'll share with you another theory I have about the difficulty with hiring Generation X candidates, and tell you an interesting story about a golf store salesman who practices much of what I've shared above. 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why Facebook Will Always Underperform as a Real Estate Sales Tool

I came across a new technology a few weeks ago that I found to be profoundly interesting.  This is a little off topic from what we normally discuss on WorkPuzzle, but I think you’ll find it thought-provoking as well.  It concerns eye-tracking software.

While this technology has been around for awhile, it is becoming more useful to marketers because of companies like EyeTrackShop.   

This company has learned to harness the little webcams that are now nearly ubiquitous on laptops.  When marketers want to test an ad, they send it to EyeTrackShop and the company distributes it to thousands of volunteers/affiliates around the world.  In turn, the testers look at the ad while the software automatically tracks where their eyes naturally focus.  

For example, the ad below was recently submitted for testing.  The heat-map demonstrates where the consumers’ eyes focus as a person views both versions of the ad.

Ad example courtesy of FutureNow/ Bryan Eisenberg

As the red (hot) areas indicate, the ad on the left is much better at getting the consumers' eyes to focus on the product and the message.  Even small changes, such as where the model focuses her gaze, can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of an ad.  EyeTrackShop can complete research like this in just 48 hours, giving designers quick feedback on how to tweak their ads to make them most effective. 

Here’s another example:  One of the questions we often get in our business of recruitment advertising is…Why don’t you use banner ads to attract people to your recruitment opportunities?

We know these types of ads are not very effective because we’ve tested them.  But, now we know why they are ineffective.  Look how an average consumer views these three web pages:

Ad example courtesy of Jakob Nielsen/useit.com

The three examples demonstrate what happens during quick scanning, partial reading, and thorough reading.  Those green boxes are banner ads of various types.  The consumers' eyes have been trained to totally ignore these. 

So, what does this have to do with Facebook and real estate?  I’ve noticed over the last few years, that there are many real estate companies that are being encouraged to embrace Facebook (and perhaps other social networks) as a way to market to potential real estate clients. 

My question…what can eye tracking technology tell you about the effectiveness of such a strategy? 

Here is how the human eye processes a typical Facebook page:

 

Image courtesy of EyeTrackshop/Mashable

You’ll notice right away that pictures draw most of the eye’s attention in Facebook.  Once a picture grabs a person’s attention, the verbiage around the picture is then more lightly consumed. 

Many business strategists believe this is the reason that Facebook bought Instragram a few months ago.  Pictures are clearly the definitive “killer app” on Facebook, and having a “picture only” social network gain traction so quickly was a threat. 

What does this have to do with real estate marketing for agents?  I would argue that the large majority of successful sales/marketing strategies on Facebook are going to involve the creative use of pictures.  Pictures will be the only reliable mechanism for attracting a person’s eyes and garnering their attention.  And I'm not talking about just any pictures—the images would have to be compelling and engaging to compete with relationship-based images (i.e. I’m interested in a picture because it is a friend, relative, or acquaintance.). 

This kind of marketing strategy and execution is difficult to both conceptualize and maintain.  While a few agents will be able to make it happen, most agents will struggle to be effective. 

So, next time some consultant tries to sell your agents a Facebook marketing package, you’ll be better equipped to qualify the promised benefit.  Ask your vendor if they have done any eye tracking analysis on what they’re selling.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Books That Will Bring Out Your Inner Entrepreneur

A couple of weeks ago, I challenged you to start evaluating your candidates from an entrepreneurial perspective.  If you missed this discussion, here are a couple of links (1,2) that will get you up to speed.

The line of reasoning in these previous discussions was…if a person approaches becoming a real estate agent from a traditional job perspective, they will not be well-equipped to make the sacrifices and overcome the obstacles to be successful under the current marketing conditions.  The solution?  Find and/or inspire candidates to think like entrepreneurs. 

As I continued to noodle on this topic, it occurred to me that many hiring managers in the real estate industry may be a little rusty on this topic.  While many managers went through a start-up phase when they first became agents, for most that was many years ago.  And while most managers are successful day-to-day business operators, a large majority are running mature offices that are beyond the start-up phase.

So, could you use a little brush-up on what goes through an entrepreneur’s mind?  If so, I would suggest taking a look at the list of books below.  This list was put together by Aimee Groth and Kim Bhasin—both staff writers for BusinessInsider.   

They qualify their selections by saying, “ …we go through dozens of books each year here at Business Insider's War Room.  Many aren't worth a second glance, but there are some every business owner should read.  So, we've put together a list of the best books for entrepreneurs — either from our own recommendations or touted by big-time VCs, CEOs and startup founders.”

Here's the list:

1. "Predictably Irrational," by Dan Ariely
2. "The Four Steps To The Epiphany," by Steve Blank
3. "How to Change the World," by David Bornstein
4. "From Resource Allocation To Strategy," by Joseph Bower
5. "Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, And Made A Fortune Doing Business My Way," by Richard Branson
6. "How To Win Friends And Influence People," by Dale Carnegie
7. "The Zigzag Principle," by Rich Christiansen
8. "The Innovator's Dilemma," by Clayton Christensen
9. "Good to Great," by Jim Collins
10. "The Startup Game," by William H. Draper
11. "Innovation and Entrepreneurship," by Peter Drucker
12. "The Ascent Of Money: A Financial History Of The World," by Niall Ferguson
13. "Never Eat Alone," by Keith Ferrazzi
14. "The World Is Flat," by Thomas Friedman
15. "The E-Myth Revisited," by Michael E. Gerber
16. "Outliers," by Malcolm Gladwell
17. "All Marketers Are Liars," by Seth Godin
18. "The 48 Laws of Power," by Robert Greene
19. "Delivering Happiness," by Tony Hsieh
20. "Steal Like an Artist," by Austin Kleon
21. "Founders at Work," by Jessica Livingston
22. "How Successful People Think," by John Maxwell
23. "The Smartest Guys In The Room: The Amazing Rise And Scandalous Fall Of Enron," by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
24. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," by Robert Pirsig
25. "The Lean Startup," by Eric Ries
26. "Start With Why," by Simon Sinek

No doubt you’ve probably read some of these books already, but I would guess that there are at least a few that are new to you.  As a summer reading project, I suggest selecting at least five books from the list that you’ve not read yet, and try to get through them by Labor Day. 

Doing so will help you increase your own entrepreneurial skills, and will enable you to better connect with candidates who would make good entrepreneurs in your office.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

A PROCRASTINATION OF PROSPECTING PARADIGM SHIFT

We are sometimes faced with uncomfortable situations or daunting tasks, both in our personal, and in our professional lives.  In real estate, or sales in general, prospecting seems to fall into this category.  Picking up the phone to cold call and deal with a potential negative interaction or rejection doesn’t resonate well with many people, so they do not execute, thus adversely impacting their overall success.

In past blogs I have discussed the notion of “re-framing” how we think about recruiting.  Specifically, I conveyed the benefit of shifting from our pre-conceived notion of the term recruiting, to the task of building relationships, which is something most real estate or sales managers do well naturally, and as a result enjoy.  It occurred to me that perhaps “re-framing” the task of prospecting could be beneficial as well, both in terms of recruiting, but also in your agents’ sales process.

I recently read a blog by Anthony Iannarino, Chief Sales Officer of a staffing firm and Director of a coaching consulting firm, that touched on the procrastination of prospecting paradigm.  Iannarino not only points out the importance and simplicity of prospecting in a successful sales business, but also touches on the ramifications of not picking up the phone.

“If you spent more time prospecting, more time cold calling and opening relationships, you would have more opportunities.  You’d even have a stronger pipeline.  But your resistance to prospecting keeps you from doing as well as you might.

Knowing all of this is true probably still isn’t enough for you to stop procrastinating.  You may not even be motivated by the fact that your fiercest competitors are prospecting, and they are calling your existing client and dream clients (just ask them).  There is a simple solution that makes prospecting easier.

Just start making calls.

If you run or do any aerobic exercise, you know how uncomfortable it is to get started.  My friends who run tell me that it takes them 3 or 4 miles to finally get their body to adjust.  That metaphor works for prospecting.  It’s just like that.

The most difficult call you make is the first call.  It has nothing to do with who you call or the outcome of that call.  It has everything to do with overcoming the internal resistance to starting.  Each call after the first gets easier.  You adjust.  You find your rhythm.  It gets easier.

This is why it’s important to prospect early in the day.  That’s when you have the mental focus and the greatest capacity to overcome your resistance.  As the day goes on, you will find other work to take the place of prospecting, and the world will start making demands of you.”

This new paradigm can be applied both in your recruiting process as well as in the training, coaching, and professional development of new and experienced agents.  Helping them to understand this prospecting framework may help them develop successful habits and a newfound commitment to prospecting in their own business.   

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

You Can’t Handle the Truth

“You can’t handle the truth” are the famous words uttered by Jack Nicholson’s character in the 1992 classic movie, “A Few Good Men.”   

In business, as well as any relationship, truth is either withheld completely, allowed to trickle out disguised, or delivered with excessive amounts of criticism and hostility.  I'm not sure which is the worst, but fortunately we are given a much better alternative -- clear, objective truth delivered from personal observation or concrete data. 

One very successful businessman and friend goes so far as to say “Everyone deserves the truth.”  He says this with a near religious conviction.  Whether positive or negative news, he believes that it's compassionate to always describe truth.  Without it, we are potentially lost, confused, wandering, underachieving, and less than our best.  One of the pioneers of organizational psychology, Dr. Harry Levinson said, "Leaders must be able to face and deliver reality if they want to lead well." 

When we believe that people “can’t handle the truth” we are typically projecting our own pre-conceived (and unconscious) views of the world onto them.  We tend to get bogged down by our old fears and become frozen in our current situation.  When in reality, people can't grow, and the current situation will not improve, without truth.  

I want to be clear here.  I am not talking about brutal honesty that comes across as mean, uncaring, or overly critical.  I am talking about direct and loving discussion about what we observe, and what we interpret as a result. 

If you didn’t catch the key words there--- they are WE observe and WE interpret.  Notice that I didn’t say “YOU do this—YOU do that.”  When you make your observations personal, you leave the other person plenty of room to disagree and to offer their own observations.  Using "we" is less likely to put the other person on the defensive right out of the gate.  A verse from the Bible says:  “Speak the truth in a spirit of love.”  This is the key...How you convey your message will largely impact how it is received.

If you have been waiting to tell someone the truth, do it compassionately, following this formula: 

1. Share your observation of the data –- Behavior etc
2. Share your interpretations of this data -- Behavior
3. Clearly tell them your expectations.  Leave no room for error -- Ask them to repeat what is expected.  

While I know these conversations can be difficult, you owe it to yourself, your company, and your employees to be truthful, even when it hurts in the short run.  We can't grow without reality.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

When You Can't Predict Talent; Foster It

While we make our living by assisting our clients through the murky waters of predicting a candidate's future performance, we've learned an important lesson:  there are always exceptions to every sourcing profile, pre-screening process, and well-intentioned interview.  And these exceptions come in every shape and size--good, bad or indifferent.  

So, if you can't always predict who is going to be successful, what can you, as a manager, do to foster talent?  Margaret Heffernan, an entrepreneur and author, explains how she was able to create an environment where those whom she selected to work for her were able to thrive.  

Margaret explains that it wasn’t so much her innate ability to see and select talent, but rather her ability to create the conditions in which her staff could grow.  So what were those conditions?  

An open atmosphere.  Every team Margaret ever ran had been profoundly democratic—which is to say that any good idea got attention.  She never cared about status, except in disliking those who did.  She took in good ideas from anywhere for anything...from making the lunch room more pleasant to improving the core technology.  Ideas didn't have to fight their way through a structure.  They could be blurted out.

Extravagant diversity.  It wasn't just that they employed Russians, Taiwanese, Indians, Americans, Brits, and Italians.  Their youngest employee was eighteen and the oldest was 68.  They'd worked in different countries, states and industries.  Some demonstrated enormous emotional intelligence; some had virtually none.  

Time didn't matter.  She never cared when the work got done—as long as it did get done and in a way that didn’t cause co-workers undue inconvenience.  Hours are not what count; productivity is.  The same applied to maternity, paternity, and family leave.  Individuals figured out what worked for them, and for their families—and that worked for the business.  Too many companies seem to feel they have to fight for priority over family life and in that jealous feud, vast amounts of energy and goodwill are dissipated.

Stretch goals were just the start.  Almost everything her team tackled was hard.  And if they cracked it, work got harder.  They liked big challenges and cheered anyone who met them.  People coming in for interviews witnessed that the company was fun, but not an easy option.  

Sure, you can see great potential and talent as you have candidates sit before you during interviews, but even the most talented people need an environment where they can grow.  This is not only true for hiring, but most certainly for retention.  One of our tenets is that people look less at compensation in career choices and more at where they feel they will fit and flourish.  Creating and showcasing that environment will draw talent to you, and keep it there.

Inevitably, you will hire a few exceptionally creative individuals who may then attract others like themselves.  “But none of that will matter if the work itself isn’t joyful and hard.  It may sound like a contradiction, but doing great work is hard—that's why great people love it.”

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Assessing the Real Problem

In my practice as a clinical psychologist, it has become clear to me that the initial problem reported at the first meeting rarely turns out to be the REAL problem.  In well over 35,000 hours of psychotherapy and individual evaluations I've found that, more often than not, the "presenting problem" turns out to be an external symptom of a deeper underlying problem.  I learned early on that deciphering the underlying problem is the key to alleviating the symptoms, disorder, or pain.

Within our own business, and certainly within the realm of recruiting, we witness the same scenario.  Humans are incredibly stubborn, short-sighted, committed to their biases and unable to assess their own blind spots.  Because of this blindness we need the input of others.  We need fresh eyes.  We need experts who know how to see through the symptoms and locate the core roadblocks. 

In order for an organization or office to flourish, the leader must be humble enough to actively be on the watch for what they might be missing.  They need to seek out their blind spots.  They should welcome critique.  Even Jim Collins found the best leaders to be "humble" in his well-known book, "Good to Great."  

Humility can be seen in several characteristics.  One that Ben and I have noticed is that humble leaders ask questions...lots of them.  They always want to know..."What's going on out there?  What could I be missing?" 

When leaders are humble, they demonstrate a greater tendency to actively search for the "real problem," rather than trying to fix the superficial symptoms...or worse yet, ignoring the symptoms all together.  Humble leaders don't experience a mistake or a failure in the company as an insult to their ego.  Because of this, they are free to self-examine and improve.  Companies and offices with this kind of leadership are the ones that thrive. 

In the next edition, I'll share some characteristics of poor leaders. 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How to be Fully Engaged

We, at Tidemark (and I, personally), are in the process of trying to simplify our daily workflow.  The purpose of this exercise is to free ourselves from extraneous, unproductive tasks, and replace them with more critical, strategically driven tasks, as well as free up time to think, imagine, and innovate.  This exercise has already taken an enormous amount of thought, and is likely to take even more.  But I'm optimistic that the end product will be worth it. 

I can already begin to imagine a more productive workday, where each task is laid out the night before; where I keep track of the time that I spend on each task (using the Toggl App); where I delegate tasks that should be done by someone else; and where I am freed up to research and develop new ideas.  

Our quest to achieve efficiency while maintaining the excellence in productivity that our clients have come to expect, has caused me to research and listen to experts, on ways that this can be done.  While I have written extensively on a number of research supported ways to improve engagement on a personal level, the following is a valuable exercise that we’ve found helpful for our staff. 

1. We re-worked and re-affirmed our key strategies for the next year.
2. We named three critical tasks that support these strategies.
3. We had everyone in the organization memorize these tasks so that they can improve anything that supports these objectives, and exclude the things that do not support the objectives.

Another exercise that I am personally integrating into the mix was found in the article “The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time.” 

The author recommends being fully engaged at each moment rather than attempting to juggle several duties throughout the day.  I am fully committed to giving this a try.  The following are suggestions that I am most likely going to experiment with.  

“It's also up to individuals to set their own boundaries.  Consider these three behaviors for yourself:

1. Do the most important thing first in the morning, preferably without interruption, for 60 to 90 minutes, with a clear start and stop time.  If possible, work in a private space during this period, or with sound-reducing earphones.  Finally, resist every impulse to distraction, knowing that you have a designated stopping point.  The more absorbed you can get, the more productive you'll be.  When you're done, take at least a few minutes to renew.

2. Establish regular, scheduled times to think more long term, creatively, or strategically.  If you don't, you'll constantly succumb to the tyranny of the urgent.  Also, find a different environment in which to do this activity — preferably one that's relaxed and conducive to open-ended thinking.

3. Take real and regular vacations.  Real means that when you're off, you're truly disconnecting from work.  Regular means several times a year if possible, even if some are only two or three days added to a weekend.  The research strongly suggests that you'll be far healthier if you take all of your vacation time, and more productive overall.

A single principle lies at the heart of all these suggestions.  When you're engaged at work, fully engage, for defined periods of time.  When you're renewing, truly renew.” 

Just like our garages need a spring cleaning, by ridding ourselves of items that have become cluttering, so too our work lives require occassional cleaning to optimize talent, efficiencies, and focus.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.