ACHIEVING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

 In his book, "Anything You Want", Derek Sivers succinctly explains a widely known (but may not be a universally understood) thought. Excerpt from the book:

"To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.

Explanation:

AWFUL IDEA= -1
WEAK IDEA= 1
SO-SO IDEA= 5
GOOD IDEA= 10
GREAT IDEA= 15
BRILLIANT IDEA= 20
-----------------
NO EXECUTION= $1
WEAK EXECUTION= $1000
SO-SO EXECUTION= $10,000
GOOD EXECUTION= $100,000
GREAT EXECUTION= $1,000,000
BRILLIANT EXECUTION= $10,000,000

To make a business, you need to multiply the two."

Bottom line is simple, to win, execution is paramount. Are there a set of principles that can help one execute flawlessly ?

There can be many variants, but i quite liked ideas shared in Keith Rabois video (~46 minutes)- 'How to Operate' https://lnkd.in/g_ZQMsi

The video is very well summarized in this tweet thread by George Mack- https://lnkd.in/gHmrvYk

My favorite:
"The more you simplify, the better people will perform. Force yourself to simplify every initiative, every product, every marketing - everything you do."

Catch my Sketchnote Summary with the key ideas below:

#execution #ideas #product

Sketchnote:

LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6705440763809034240/

Tweet:

https://twitter.com/anujmagazine/status/1299634717923241984?s=20

BEING COACHABLE IS A HUMBLING THING

 MS Dhoni (among the best Cricket captains ever) recently retired from Intl Cricket. In one of his tributes, Greg Chappell (his first India coach) says he was amazed by Dhoni's ability to hit balls into parts of the field that others couldn’t.

Recognizing his immense tactical ability & speed, Greg wanted Dhoni to learn the skill of staying till the end & winning games consistently. That meant cutting the big shots that Dhoni liked. Dhoni seemed unconvinced of this initially but Greg challenged him in the next match to not hit the sixes, play down the ground and stay till the end. With India chasing 261 runs vs Sri Lanka, Dhoni did as indicated till the score was 256, then hit a big 6 to win the match. Post the match, he ran past Greg and said, ‘is that alright coach?’. Greg happily nodded.
Greg considered Dhoni as one of the most coachable player.

Coming to organizations, Coachability is such an underrated professional skill. To be coachable, you must always be looking to learn something new, from any resource at any level & see if that new piece of information can improve what you do or the way you do it.

Sharing some thoughts on Coachability from Simon Taufel's book- "Finding the Gap" (Highly recommended) via this Sketchnote.
#coaching

Sketchnote:

LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6702828586497400832/

PRODUCTIVITY PRINCIPLES IN 1 PAGE

 Meb Keflezighi, in his book '26 Marathons', narrates a story of 2002 New York marathon. He came 9th with the timing of 2:12:35. Given that he was a professional runner, he was mighty upset with his performance. He had almost made up his mind to not participate in any of future full marathons. A couple of weeks after this, he went to his native country Eritrea where he grew up. He observed how hard the daily life was for most people there. Struggles to get water from wells miles away, searching for wood to build fires for cooking and much more. It gave him a new perspective in life, he came back, worked harder and won a silver medal in 2004 Olympics.

In most professional sports, taking a break is considered as an integral part of achieving peak #performance. Something that the corporate world/professionals can learn from and imbibe.

What are the other factors influencing #productivity at workplace? Probably many, but i quite liked the perspectives shared by Shreyas Doshi in his recent tweet where he mentions 4 worthy aspects of achieving productivity- Presence, Priority, Quality, Renewal.

Do read here https://bit.ly/31Wr0Xg and catch summary in my #sketchnote

Please do share some #productivityhacks that worked for you.

My Sketchnote:

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6700946027664568320/

My Tweet:

https://twitter.com/anujmagazine/status/1294636266890223616?s=20

WATCH THE PLAY, NOT JUST THE BALL

 One of the most successful Cricket Umpires of our times Simon Taufel in a recent podcast revealed an under-appreciated aspect of an cricket umpire's job. He said that umpires make 100s of decisions every ball and the job is not just about addressing the bowlers appeal. Decisions like- Is runner not taking unfair advantage,fielding restrictions being followed,anyone tampering with the ball,Where is the batsman standing... Good Umpires not just watch the ball, they watch the play and then start to package the things, leading to decisions.

I loved this thought and think that this metaphor of watching the play and not just the ball is so relevant in organizational context.

One of the core intrapreneurial trait is situational awareness. A situationally aware person understands organization's lay of land and develops a sense of its direction. Gap opportunities often come unannounced and people are able to take notice of these gaps are the ones who are most aware.
How can one raise situational #awareness ?
- Attend exec all hands
- Be curious about organization's positioning
- Read about company's financials
- Be intentional to listen to what #customers are saying
...
How else do you watch the play ? Please share.
#intrapreneurship

My Sketchnote:

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6698040923407958016/

NOTES ON DEALING WITH CRISIS

 The sport of Formula 1 is getting a tad unexciting with one racer-Lewis Hamilton dominating the scene like a very few have done in the history.

Last weekend while chasing his record-equalling 7th championship title, Hamilton won British Grand Prix. This win, though predictable, was far from being dull. Why ?

Because he won the race with a punctured tyre. In a sport where victory margins are in split seconds, this win was nothing short of a miracle.

Lewis credited his survival instincts in helping him manage this crisis like situation. He said-
"I think in the heat of the moment you have the adrenaline going. I'm guessing that fight for survival instinct comes out. I was able to stay calm and really measured.."

Crisis situations often comes unannounced. To gain a perspective on dealing with crisis, I found this podcast (here: https://lnkd.in/gsMYFB8) between Pankaj Mishra & Ravi Venkatesan relevant.

Few thoughts that resonated with me:
1. Stockdale paradox: Embrace reality that you are in and plan for the worst but at the same time hoping for the best & staying optimistic

2. Lead with heart and head in these times

3. Seek #Opportunities Every organization can make something that can be leveraged during #crisis

Catch my #sketchnote below-

My Sketchnote:

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/anujmagazine_opportunities-crisis-sketchnote-activity-6696954837231276032-iSwu/

QUESTIONS FOR WRITING CLEARLY

 The ongoing epidemic has seen us adjusting to the 'new normal'. Over a period of several months now, by and large, most professionals have reasonably figured out the routines that work for them.

The adjustment to the new way of working isn't limited to routines, it is also about embracing new modes of communication. This phase has also given birth to terms like 'Zoom Fatigue' that was non-existent before.

While video conferences calls have become a norm now, one of the most underrated skills to master in current scenario is one's writing skills.

#Writing has become a default way to connect with colleagues. Be it responding by slack messages, chat apps, writing emails or taking meeting notes, Writing is turning out to be a crucial skill in these times.

In the quest to figure out the ways to consistently improve writing, I quite liked this twitter thread by Shreyas Doshi https://bit.ly/33kxJN4

For clear writing, answer these questions

-What Am I Really Trying To Say
-Why Should People Care
-What Is The Most Important Point
-What Is The Easiest Way To Understand The Most Important Point
-How Do I Want The Reader To Feel
-What Should The Reader Do Next

My Sketch summary here.

What are the writing tips that have worked well for you ?

My Sketchnote:

My LinkedIn Post:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/anujmagazine_writing-activity-6695876814126088192-ptZW

My Twitter Update:

https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1294649057843933185?s=20