It is possible to increase your results without increasing the time it takes to achieve them.
We've been taught that attaining professional success requires spending many hours with our noses to the grindstone and our shoulders to the wheel. This sounds like - and is - a very uncomfortable process. In the next five years it will be our ability to solve problems and leverage opportunities by working with people that will be most effective in increasing our professional “face value.”
In a less competitive job environment, adding more work hours was the most important way to maintain your competitive edge. More time at work was considered non negotiable in your pursuit of the next rung of the corporate ladder. Those days are gone.
Here are three steps for expanding your professional effectiveness process.
EFFECTIVENESS STEPS
1. Improve your relationship skills daily.
What did Mother Teresa and Sam Walton have in common? They were highly skilled in developing and maintaining relationships. There is no skill more important than this one. Here are four critical relationship building tips:
- The least important word: “I.”
- The most important: “We.”
- The two most important words: “Thank you.”
- The three most important words: “All is forgiven.”
Take action immediately on this top priority. Take out tomorrow’s calendar and block out 15 minutes for developing your relationship skills.
2. Prioritize your work based on Moore’s Law.
Moore’s Law is the 80:20 Rule. Eighty percent of your results will come from 20 percent of your work. Identify all items as either an A priority or a B priority. An A priority moves the organization forward toward its stated goals and will yield the largest results. A “B” priority keeps the business going and fulfills its existing commitments. One way to make more room for A priorities, identify three time-consuming administrative tasks (always B priorities), such as accounting, filing, or administrative support and delegate them to an employee or an outside vendor.
3. Keep Your Promises
Become known as a person of your word. Follow through on your commitments to yourself and to others – no excuses.
Time spent worrying about anything is time squandered. If the task seems daunting, break it down into a process with steps. Write each step of the solution on a slip of paper and estimate how long it will take you to complete this item. Write the time and date on the page. You are making a promise to yourself. Keeping that promise will move the project forward, build your self-esteem and give you confidence to solve the task at hand.
Remember the answer to that age-old question, “How do you eat an elephant?” “One bite at a time!”
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Increase Personal Effectiveness 
