Letter
from Lhasa, number 379. The 5 Choices. The Path to Extraordinary Productivity
by
Roberto Abraham Scaruffi
Kogon, K., A. Merrill,
and L. Rinne, The 5 Choices. The Path to
Extraordinary Productivity, Simon &
Schuster, 2015.
(Kogon 2015).
Kory Kogon,
Adam Merrill,
Leena Rinne
One needs acting on the
important instead of reacting to the urgent.
Created four boxes (Q1.necessity,
Q2.extraordinary productivity, Q3.distraction and Q4.waste), the author puts in
Q2. Extraordinary Productivity: Proactive work, High-impact goals,
Creative thinking, Planning, Prevention, Relationship building, and Learning
and renewal.
Quadrant 2 [Q2] is the
place where to be for high productivity.
The returns of the other
three quadrants are:
Q1 = breakeven,
Q3 = considerably less
return than the energies invested in it,
Q4 = zero return.
The urgency addiction
hampers from focalizing on high productivity tasks.
Facing whatever task,
using a Pause-Clarify-Decide (PCD) frame, we have to constantly ask
ourselves: Is it important? If you decide to waste time, be at least
aware you are doing that.
The culture of busyness,
procrastination and the fear to say “no”, are all against high
productivity.
The essential skill for
getting into Q2 is the Pause-Clarify-Decide frame. For creating a Q2
culture around you, you have to share the time matrix, use the language for
identifying in which Qx there be, use the Pause-Clarify-Decide frame together
with co-workers or employees. Craft a Q2 role statement for each role.
The thinking brain must
overcome the reactive brain. Reactivity enslaves to events while one needs some
insulation, for high productivity. Go for the extraordinary. Don’t settle for
the ordinary. Schedule the big rocks. Don’t sort gravel! One needs to
accomplish what is important, not only thinking about it.
“If there is no
stillness, there is no silence. If there is no silence, there is no insight. If
there is no insight, there is no clarity.”
Summarizing:
1. Act on the important.
Don’t react to the urgent.
2. Go for the
extraordinary. Don’t settle for the ordinary.
3. Schedule the big
rocks. Don’t sort the gravel.
4. Rule your technology.
Don’t let it rule you.
5. Fuel your fire. Don’t
burn out.
Kogon, K., A. Merrill,
and L. Rinne, The 5 Choices. The Path to
Extraordinary Productivity, Simon &
Schuster, 2015.
