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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I was pleasantly surprised by this book - i.e., it wasn't all the exact same thing I've read before. Many times, I have read this type of advice book for companies in general, on the macro level. This book drilled own to the micro level and discussed what individual contributors could do. I loved most of the case studies (I could have done without the guy in India trying to make maxi pads) and the wide range of careers and industries represented. It wasn't all consultants and tech companies. It remains to be seen whether I implement any of the strategies into my life.
Best work-development/career-development book I've read so far. Practical and easy to read but the depth of the research (and fact that it's all included in the book) make this a much read for any worker who wants to improve their work life.
Great tips and anecdotes on improving performance while not living at/to work.
Do less then obsess! Great lesson I’ve only started to internalize recently
My reluctance to grant this book five stars instead of four is because of the history of some of the "Great" books. Some have not lasted well with the test of time. Hopefully, this book will, as there were a number of items I found useful.
The author found seven "work smart" practices attributed to strong performance-- around work scope practice, targeting, quality learning, inner motivation, advocacy, rigorous teamwork, and disciplined collaboration. His mantra, repeated throughout the book? "Do less, then obsess". After analyzing 5,000 people, he categorized them into four types: the "accept more, then coast", which were those who took on a lot of priorities but didn't put in very much effort; those who were very good at focusing on top priorities but didn't make enough effort ("do less, no stress"); employees who took on many responsibilities and then became overwhelmed ("do more, then stress"); and fourth, those who choose a few select number of priorities and put forward "obsessionlike" effort to complete then ("do less, then obsess").
While people are commonly told to follow their passion in life, he warns us that it is instead the marriage and alignment of passion with a sense of purpose that facilitates success. He also disputes another common perception about collaboration. While prevalent advice is that collaboration is on its face good, and that more of it is even better, based on his research, he finds that top performers actually collaborate less, carefully selecting what to be/become involved with, and what to avoid, channeling their efforts and time into those most advantageous and aligned with their passion and purpose. He refers to this as "disciplined collaboration".
He also discusses what he calls the "complexity trap", where the juggling of more priorities taxes our mind, essentially reflecting what has been called by others as "switching costs". And, while the word "obsession" tends to have a dysfunctional, negative connotation in our society, he notes that it can actually be productive (and to me seems he really means "heightened focus", which may sound more palatable). He also discusses Occam's razor, "which stipulates that people should pursue the simplest explanation possible in science and other areas. Applied to the workplace, we can express this idea as follows: As few as you can, as many as you must. Instead of asking how many tasks you can tackle given your working hours, ask how many you can ditch given what you must do to excel” (p. 30).
He contrasts the traditional view of productivity ("a person’s work productivity=output of work/hours of input") against what he views as a better equation: "the value of a person’s work=benefits to others x quality x efficiency” (p. 51). Speaking of metrics, he also reminds us that while we live in the age of the "quantified self", we should be selective in what we measure, and we should chunk intended changes into micro-behaviors of as little as 15 minutes a day.
He talks about the "stall point"-- that spot where our performance, after increasing, begins to plateau and suggests, among other things, to de-automate routines. He also provides some practical tips to debate better and to listen better.
Having just also finished reading Angela Duckworth's book "Grit", I especially appreciated his discussion of passion and purpose as follows: "Passion is ‘do what you love,’ while purpose is ‘do what contributes’. Purpose asks, ‘What can I give the world?’ Passion asks, ‘What can the world give me?’” (p. 90-91).
The author found seven "work smart" practices attributed to strong performance-- around work scope practice, targeting, quality learning, inner motivation, advocacy, rigorous teamwork, and disciplined collaboration. His mantra, repeated throughout the book? "Do less, then obsess". After analyzing 5,000 people, he categorized them into four types: the "accept more, then coast", which were those who took on a lot of priorities but didn't put in very much effort; those who were very good at focusing on top priorities but didn't make enough effort ("do less, no stress"); employees who took on many responsibilities and then became overwhelmed ("do more, then stress"); and fourth, those who choose a few select number of priorities and put forward "obsessionlike" effort to complete then ("do less, then obsess").
While people are commonly told to follow their passion in life, he warns us that it is instead the marriage and alignment of passion with a sense of purpose that facilitates success. He also disputes another common perception about collaboration. While prevalent advice is that collaboration is on its face good, and that more of it is even better, based on his research, he finds that top performers actually collaborate less, carefully selecting what to be/become involved with, and what to avoid, channeling their efforts and time into those most advantageous and aligned with their passion and purpose. He refers to this as "disciplined collaboration".
He also discusses what he calls the "complexity trap", where the juggling of more priorities taxes our mind, essentially reflecting what has been called by others as "switching costs". And, while the word "obsession" tends to have a dysfunctional, negative connotation in our society, he notes that it can actually be productive (and to me seems he really means "heightened focus", which may sound more palatable). He also discusses Occam's razor, "which stipulates that people should pursue the simplest explanation possible in science and other areas. Applied to the workplace, we can express this idea as follows: As few as you can, as many as you must. Instead of asking how many tasks you can tackle given your working hours, ask how many you can ditch given what you must do to excel” (p. 30).
He contrasts the traditional view of productivity ("a person’s work productivity=output of work/hours of input") against what he views as a better equation: "the value of a person’s work=benefits to others x quality x efficiency” (p. 51). Speaking of metrics, he also reminds us that while we live in the age of the "quantified self", we should be selective in what we measure, and we should chunk intended changes into micro-behaviors of as little as 15 minutes a day.
He talks about the "stall point"-- that spot where our performance, after increasing, begins to plateau and suggests, among other things, to de-automate routines. He also provides some practical tips to debate better and to listen better.
Having just also finished reading Angela Duckworth's book "Grit", I especially appreciated his discussion of passion and purpose as follows: "Passion is ‘do what you love,’ while purpose is ‘do what contributes’. Purpose asks, ‘What can I give the world?’ Passion asks, ‘What can the world give me?’” (p. 90-91).
honestly my favorite and most practical work book i’ve read yet
Although what the author conveys is not entirely new, is seems to be backed by good research and interesting stories. Definitely picked up some interesting nuggets which I will experiment with.
I’m in a weird spot professionally where I’m old enough to know about Good to Great by James Collins but was never required to read it at any point in time. Since almost all of my coworkers have read it already, my boss assigned “Great at Work: The Hidden Habits of Top Performers” by Morten Hansen, which builds upon Good to Great, for our quarterly team read.
What I Like:
• It has a good balance of statistics and story telling. It also has a few helpful graphs and images to explain the concepts.
• It is encouraging in the sense that everyone can get better at these seven practices. They are accessible tips that can always be improved upon.
What I Don’t Like:
• I didn’t have any big takeaways. Each of the seven practices is something I’ve heard before. I’m not saying I’m perfect at all of them by any means, but I was already aware I should be doing these things.
• Each practice starts off with a historical example to prove the importance of the practice, and they feel super cherry picked to me. To boil these complex events down to one practice lacks nuance and makes me distrust the author from the get go.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
In part, I may be judging it so harshly because it was something I was required to read, which takes some of the goodness out of it for me. The book has good reminders and some interesting stats, but I ultimately would say it’s not worth your time.
What I Like:
• It has a good balance of statistics and story telling. It also has a few helpful graphs and images to explain the concepts.
• It is encouraging in the sense that everyone can get better at these seven practices. They are accessible tips that can always be improved upon.
What I Don’t Like:
• I didn’t have any big takeaways. Each of the seven practices is something I’ve heard before. I’m not saying I’m perfect at all of them by any means, but I was already aware I should be doing these things.
• Each practice starts off with a historical example to prove the importance of the practice, and they feel super cherry picked to me. To boil these complex events down to one practice lacks nuance and makes me distrust the author from the get go.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
In part, I may be judging it so harshly because it was something I was required to read, which takes some of the goodness out of it for me. The book has good reminders and some interesting stats, but I ultimately would say it’s not worth your time.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Really insightful book with a lot of practical information presented in ways that made sense. I would love to revisit it later in life to assess how my career is at the time.