Productivity & Effectiveness

The Effective Executive

The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

The Effective Executive, The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done - Peter F. Drucker

One Sentence Summary: An executive – one who makes decisions that affect your business – must be effective, that is, he must do what it takes; this book teaches us to do that, by teaching us to learn how to watch our time and to organize it, to ask ourselves about what we contribute rather than what is owed to us, to nurture the energy in ourselves and in others by focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses, concentrating on priorities by trimming the past and having the courage – rather than the intelligence – to determine what they are, making effective decisions based on 5 basic principles, and to understand that every choice has alternatives.

By Peter F. Drucker, 160 pages, 1967 (first edition), 2002 (second revised edition).

Résumé et chronique du livre :

The Effective Executive is the first in my crazy Personal MBA challenge written by Peter Drucker, renowned management specialist and theorist and classic among classics. It is also the very first book of his that I have read. The author begins by explaining to us that efficiency is the primary function of executives. Being efficient is simply doing what is necessary. Effective men are scarce in management positions, and it seems that there is no correlation between a person’s effectiveness and their intelligence, their imagination and their knowledge. These qualities are certainly essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results.

For a long time, the strength of a nation, an enterprise, or an institution was more assured in its manual labor force than by the effectiveness of its intellectuals. Yesterday’s hospital did not have the specialists, technicians, chemists, physiotherapists, dietitians and assistants who are the norm today. Today, the proportion of intellectuals in institutions and companies in relation to manual workers is enormous. These intellectuals are experts in many disciplines whose training has cost an enormous amount, and who produce nothing by themselves. The specialist only produces knowledge, ideas and information. Therefore he can’t put the intrinsic value of his product into practical use, as he would if he was making a pair of shoes, for example, and he must produce efficiently.

The key to efficiency for an executive is to apply his effort where it is necessary. An executive is a specialist who bears the responsibility of contributing to the operation or results of a company. Many members of the hierarchy are not real executives, because even though they have the power of command over – sometimes many – people, they provide no real contribution to the operation of the company. Executives are people who make decisions that have a significant impact on the company. Thus, a businessman or a self-employed worker is an executive.

Executives today are subject to major four constraints:

An executive’s time is less and less his own.

Everyone can take their time and nobody denies it to them. Even the most organized executives find that most of their time is taken up by interruptions from people who provide minimal or no contribution to the goals they pursue.
Executives are forced to do menial tasks that do not change the environment in which they live and work.
If an executive stops caring, over time, to determine what he must do, he is condemned to remain stuck doing something and can’t step back from it. Executives need criteria that allow them to work according to what is truly important, that is, their contribution to the results.
Executives act at the heart of an organization.
They are therefore effective only if others make use of their contributions.
Executives act on the inside of an organization.
It’s on the inside of the company that we see executives, and it is there that they have close contact. They see the problems that arise first hand, the relationships that are formed there, the oppositions that develop there, rumors that spread there.

So, the performance of an organization can be determined mainly by external results, and it is the outside that often has the largest influence on the company. It may have indicators in the form of figures and statistics, that can easily be presented in the form of beautiful graphics in this age of information processing, but the important events that are passed to the outside can’t be put into a computer. We need the power of the human brain – though not particularly logical – to understand this information.

The danger, then, is that executives come to despise the information and stimuli that can not be reduced to the status of electronic language or logic. Unless they make serious efforts to understand what is happening outside, the inside of the organization can hide what is really going on.

There are techniques and habits to increase the effectiveness of each of these constraints, which I have summarized for you:

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The Path of Least Resistance – Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life – 2

Dec 16th, 2008

by Olivier Roland.

5 comments

One Sentence Summary: Our freedom in life, like our freedom of movement in a building, is partly defined by its structure, thus to be able to create our life, and move towards our ideal, it is better to change its structure rather than change our behavior within the same framework, this book teaches us to do so by showing how we can create a structure in our life, which draws us inexorably, and almost effortlessly, along the path of least resistance- and pushes us to create what we really want for ourselves.

By Robert Fritz, 285 pages, 1984 (first edition), 1989 (current revised edition).

Note: Because this book is extremely heavy and interesting, and somewhat dry (translation: difficult to summarize ), I am posting it in two parts. This is the second part (the first part is here).

Summary and Book Report:

Part 2 – The Creative Process

Chapter 11: The Creative Cycle

There are three major steps in the creative process of constructing your life and its development:

1) Germination. Full of a particular energy – an energy characteristic of new beginnings – this step is the ideal moment to act. Motivation, excitement and enthusiasm are at their zenith. Unfortunately, most personal development approaches focus on this step exclusively, and while it’s certainly vital it can’t produce sufficient results on its own. Numerous people get stuck at the peak of the energy that comes with this step and procrastinate over the next steps, ultimately forgetting them amongst other activities and never truly advancing.

2) Assimilation. this step is crucial, but it’s the least obvious in human development – particularly in its beginning phases. What we’ve created grows organically during this time, developing within us and calling upon our internal resources while we work on developing it. We teach ourselves our vision – a vision that goes beyond beginner status and becomes like an old friend. This is how intuitions, ideas and connections appear.

3) Achievement. Completing what we create is a step that few people master. We all know people who haven’t finished what they’ve started, sometimes even with very important projects, and we’ve all surely been there ourselves. This step is characterized not just by the completion of our creation, but by the fact of learning to live with it as well.

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The Path of Least Resistance – Learn to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life -1

Dec 9th, 2008

by Olivier Roland.

8 comments

One Sentence Summary: Our freedom in life, like our freedom of movement in a building, is partly defined by its structure, thus to be able to create our life, and move towards our ideal, it is better to change its structure rather than change our behavior within the same framework, this book teaches us to do so by showing how we can create a structure in our life, which draws us inexorably, and almost effortlessly, along the path of least resistance- and pushes us to create what we really want for ourselves.

By Robert Fritz, 285 pages, 1984 (first edition), 1989 (current revised edition).

Note: Because this book is extremely heavy and interesting, and somewhat dry (translation: difficult to summarize ), I am posting it in two parts. Here is the first:

Summary and Book Report:

Robert Fritz is an American composer, director and screenwriter, and creator of the Technologies for Creating concept that he teaches in the company he created, and that he shares with us in this book.

He begins by telling us that the roads from downtown Boston appear to have no precise structure. Yet they are built on former cow trails that existed in the 17th century. The cows were content to put one leg in front of the other, but once they had been to a place, it was easier to return, because the path was increasingly more useable and defined. The cows followed the nearest path that was easiest for them – that of least resistance. Thus, the structure of the plains and the path of least resistance for seventeenth century cows still determines the organization and construction of urban Boston today.

Note: Although it seems that downtown Boston is effectively a shambles, and a source of numerous outcries by its inhabitants, the history of the cows is an urban legend. The image is none-the-less valuable for explaining that unsuspected structures – created by forgotten paths of least resistance – influence our behavior every day.

Therefore, energy goes where it is easiest for it to go. It is a fundamental point on which the whole book is built, and from which flow the three following ideas and insights:

1. We move through life by taking the path of least resistance.
2. The underlying structure of our lives determines the path of least resistance.
3. We can change the underlying fundamental structures of our lives.

Out of these three insights comes this guiding principle: We can learn to recognize the structures that play a role in our lives and change them in order to create what we really want to create.

In a very structural and systemic manner, Robert Fritz explains that structure refers to both its elementary components, as well as how those components interact with each other and with the global framework that they form, the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

This may seem complicated, but let’s take an example: the human body. The human body is made up of many very different elements, and each has a specific function: the brain, heart, lungs, red blood cells, nerves, muscles, etc., all interacting with each other on different scales to create a whole which is much more than the simple sum of its parts. Anything that affects one element can affect other elements at the same time, and the whole system, all the components, are in related to one another, and doctors and surgeons learn to think of the body as a system and structure.

Thus, a surgeon who operates on one organ is not only concerned with the state of the organ itself, but also the whole body of which it forms a part, and he takes factors into account which may be completely external to this organ – such as blood pressure, brain waves, the presence of bacteria, allergic reactions …

Everything has an underlying structure, whether physical, as with bridges or skyscrapers, or intangible, as with the plot of a novel or the form of a symphony. Our life has a structure, it consists of multiple factors interacting with each other and with the structure itself.

So the structure determines the movements and behavior of the objects that it consists of, and certain structures are more useful than others for getting the desired results.

How can you change the structure? By creating it. Often we think in terms of solving problems, but this approach only allows us to change some elements here and there without changing the structure, and the structure could then return the elements to their initial state. By creating we are changing the structure.

When we try to solve a problem we are acting to remove something: the problem. When we create, we are acting to produce something: the creation. Therefore, by thinking structurally, rather than saying to ourselves "How can I make this undesirable situation go away?” we say to ourselves “What structure do I need to adopt to create the results that I want to create?”

It is a radically different approach. The author explains it to us throughout his book, after having shown us the fundamental problems with the problem-solving approach. Let’s learn about it.

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The Unwritten Laws of Business

Nov 22nd, 2008

by Olivier Roland.

3 comments

One Sentence Summary: To succeed in your career, you must understand and apply many unwritten rules with respect to the work, the chain of command, colleagues, project management, the organizational structure, what managers expect from their subordinates, character, personality, and personal development; sometimes these laws seem obvious but even so, those presented in this book are regularly forgotten.

By W.J. King, with revisions and additions by James G. Skakoon, 100 pages, published in 1944 (first edition under the name The Unwritten Laws of Enginnering), and in 2001 (current revised edition).

Summary and Book Report:

This little book (size-wise) is the epitomy of a universal short and concise text that has outlasted generations and specializations. First published in 1944 under the name The Unwritten Laws of Enginnering, was republished under the same title in 2001 after some touching up.

It’s story becomes fascinating after that: William H. Swanson, CEO of the huge American defense corporation, Raytheon (73,000 employees) released a book in 2005 entitled Swanson’s Unwritten rules of Management, which the New York Times showed to be a plagiarism of the 1944 classic. Before this revelation, the book was very successful, attracting positive reactions from leaders such as Warren Buffet (American billionaire and richest man in the world – ah yes! he has dethroned Bill Gates ) or Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric).

William Swanson acknowledged this and apologized. Suddenly, public attention was turned towards the original work, very intelligently renamed by its editor under its current title, which represents the universal appeal of its contents very well.

Even though it was conceived by an engineer for engineers, the 63 recommended rules go beyond this sector and apply to anyone who ends up working in a team, whether you are at the very bottom or the very top of the ladder. Some may seem obvious, but according to the author, they are all without exception often forgotten within organizations, from small businesses to multinational corporations.

Here are the 63 rules, summarized for the most post – I have not listed the ones that are pretty self-explanatory:

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The Creative Habit – Learn it and use it for life

Nov 16th, 2008

by Olivier Roland.

3 comments

One Sentence Summary:

Creativity is learned, nourished and maintained; for inspiration to flow through us and spring forth from the mind, you must prepare, have rituals that invoke it, to know our creative DNA – what we are made for, use our memory and connect disparate things with each other, organize work documents so that we always know where to find them, know how to scratch the surface of things to extract the essential, use the accidents and incidents that that appear in our life, have an idea-base which serves as a backbone for our creation, use our talents wisely, recognize roadblocks and the moments that overtake us, know how to fail, and pace ourselves over the long term – to the very end.

By Twyla Tharp, 243 pages, published in 2003.

Summary and Book Report:

First of all, this book is nice. Not only from the point of view of pure aesthetic, like 45 Effective Ways to Recruit Wisely, but because of all the books I have read for my Personal MBA Challenge this is the one that best that combines form and substance, using one to reinforce the other. Being an amateur writer (of science fiction), I am especially aware of this: why are today’s books content to put sad black letters on a white background, while modern technology allows creativity? It is time that writers understand that their expression space is not confined to words alone, but also to the way in which they are represented.

The Creative Habit brilliantly manages to break out of this centuries old canvas by using a sober and original framework to highlight key elements of its content. This is done by putting some words in color, or using a larger character that stands out from the rest of the sentence, free placement on the page, or at the bottom of the page, shaded gray, or strategically placed drawings to illustrate the work. This book is therefore a joy to read and it is much easier to glean the important parts from it – it is almost enough to read the big red words. A book which makes excellent use of highlighting – almost reaching utter perfection – is The October Man Sequence, but only the initiated know about it.

Extrait de The Creative Habit - Learn it and use it for life

The Creative Habit - Learn it and use it for life

Great examples of highlighting in the book

Extrait de The October Man Sequence

But the beauty of The October Man Sequence remains unsurpassed. It is a work of art unto itself.

Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, born in 1941. She has created numerous ballets and musical comedies, most of which have been successful, and some of which have been seen on Broadway. She directed the opera sequences in the film Amadeus and she has been the recipient of many prizes in her career, which began in 1965. On Youtube there are numerous extracts of her work, and I invite you especially to watch this clip of Movin’ Out – a musical comedy based on the songs of rock star Billy Joel – to give you an idea of her work.

For many people, the beginning, symbolized by finding oneself in an empty room, is something deep, mysterious and terrifying. It’s opening up your word processing software and finding yourself faced with a blank page. It’s picking up your brush and contemplating the immaculate virgin canvas. It’s taking your chisel and moving towards your block of stone in the rough. It’s being in front of the piano, fingers poised over the keys – to create rather than to play.

White space is perhaps humbling. Some people cannot handle it, and choose to avoid it. For Twyla Tharp, facing it is her job. She finds in a white, empty room a mix of challenge and trepidation, as well as peace and promise. Filling this empty room comprises her identity. She has become its roof.

However creativity is not limited to artists. It is important for business men who are looking for new ways to sell, for engineers who are trying to solve a problem, for parents who want their children to see the world in a new light.

We can have a gift and be especially talented to create in a particular area, but whether we are gifted or not, there is no creativity without apprenticeship, without preparation and daily routines which become second nature.

To be creative, you must know how to prepare yourself to be creative.

That’s the object of this book.

Twyla Tharp therefore shares with us the fruits of her 35 years of experience to help us develop, maintain and nourish our creativity, whatever it is. Every chapter, except the first one – is augmented with exercises, to help us practice the concepts that she has just outlined.

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Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Nov 3rd, 2008

by Olivier Roland.

16 comments

One-Sentence Summary: To be efficient, your mind must be crystal clear, like spring water; to get to that point you need to get rid of all the parasitic thoughts that permanently distract you, which you can accomplish by putting everything that you want to, or must do into an external automated system, thus relieving your brain of the need to think – which it does badly, without directed prioritization and without consciously choosing the right moment.

By David Allen, 272 pages, published en 2001.

Summary and Book Report:

Let’s get right to the point: the GTD method is famous in the United States, it is a best seller and features in numerous web-based resources, whether in the form of articles to help you get things done or software to go with it (there are over forty currently, for all platforms, and most are free!) I have also translated [into French] different articles on using it on my blog, Habitudes Zen, which allowed me to understand the method before reading the book.

The author, who has been a business management and productivity consultant for 20 years, begins by showing that the working world has evolved and that managers often have to multi-task to get several things done at once, and even if they could dedicate their whole life to it, no doubt they would not have enough time to do things as well as they would prefer. What’s more, numerous organizations have had their internal boundaries eroded, and their effectiveness rest on endless collaboration and communications using different services – and you can no longer avoid any of the many mail services in use. Executives therefore generally need to multitask more than before. This evolution by organizations must necessarily come with new tools and new work approaches.

Imagine if you could do, if you could choose to focus completely on your tasks, without any interruptions, parasitic thoughts, daydreams and other sources of distraction, while remaining alert and in full possession of your faculties. Sound like a dream? It’s possible. David Allen recommends with his method something that martial arts practitioners call “mind like water,” or athletes call “in the zone”, a state of mind that is free from worry and totally focused on the goal you want to reach. You have no doubt already experienced it at times. Were you able to perform better, feel more satisfied with yourself and your accomplishments in that moment? David Allen recommends a system to make those moments the norm. Let’s see how.

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Productivity & Effectiveness

The Effective Executive

The Path of Least Resistance – Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life – 2

The Path of Least Resistance – Learn to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life -1

The Unwritten Laws of Business

The Creative Habit – Learn it and use it for life

Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

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