Michael Bungay Stanier, who wrote the book, Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work that Matters., believes that all work falls in one of three buckets:

1. Bad Work consumes time and energy, and makes no difference.
2. Good Work that you do most of the time, and do it well.  The problem -- it's endless, and it's comfortable, which keeps you spinning your wheels in routine and busyness, as you just get through each week.
3. Great Work is meaningful, challenging, lights you up and matters to you. 

What kind of work are you doing, most of the time? 

If you're like most people, on average, you're doing Bad Work 0-40% of the time, 40-80% of your time doing Good Work, and 0-25% on Great Work.

Check out this YouTube video for a quick overview.

How can you do more Great Work?  Here are three tips that I believe in and fully endorse:

• Create Projects.  See all great work as projects.  Abandon your job description and focus on creating projects where you are focusing on your best work.
• Define 3 Things Daily.  Define three high-impact actions you will take each day, and focus on them. Having a long "To-Do" list completed daily isn't effective if you haven't accomplished what matters most. At the very least, define one thing that you really will do. The other two can be gravy, bonus tasks that you'll be happy if you get to them and if you don’t, you won’t beat yourself up about it.
• Create Great Work Space. Great Work requires a different type of thinking, so create a different kind of space for it. The space can be a coffee shop, a meeting room, another office space, the cafeteria, a library. Find another space to do your Great Work.  Changing the context will change the way you work.

I'll be interested to hear about your success doing more Great Work!

In Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture", he shared some valuable advice for working well with other people in a group:


Find things you have in common. You can almost always find something in common with another person, and from there, it's much easier to address issues where you have differences.  Sports cut across boundaries of race and wealth. And if nothing else, we all have the weather in common.

Try for optimal meeting conditions. Make sure no one is hungry, cold or tired.  Meet over a meal if you can; food softens a meeting.  That's why they "do lunch" in Hollywood.

Let everyone talk. Don't finish someone's sentences.  And talking louder or faster doesn't make your ideas any better.

Check egos at the door. When you discuss ideas, label them and write them down.  The label should be descriptive of the idea, not the originator: "the bridge story" not "Jane's story."

Praise each other. Find something nice to say, even if it's a stretch.  The worst ideas can have silver linings if you look hard enough. (A related piece of advice: Look for the best in everybody. If you wait long enough, people will surprise and impress you.)

Phrase alternatives as questions. Instead of "I think we should do A, not B," try "What if we did A, instead of B?" That allows people to offer comments rather than defend one choice.

Visit here often to learn about:

• leadership tips;
• career development tips;
• coaching challenges;
• recommended tools and techniques;
• brief synopses of recommended resources like articles, books, and websites.

I love feedback, so do let me know what you appreciate, what impacts you, and any suggestions for improvement.


Post your musings. Ask questions. Hang out and enjoy.


Cheers,
Sylvia