I spoke to an MBET class at U of Waterloo today. Always enjoy their energy and questions.
Time Tip for the day.
I have a friend who recently closed down half of his business. Prior to doing that he was concerned that he would not have enough to do, but he said that he made up for it by having by being twice as ineffiecent.
I have often found that if I overchallenge myself and give myself too much to do, I tend to get it done anyways. Perhaps this is the opposite to what he did.
At the same time, much of my greatest value comes from the times when I have a bit of space.
Overchallenge has its good points, at times, or for short periods of times. Many people tend, indeed, to perform well under pressure. Especially, when the pressure is self-imposed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, creating a corporate culture of constant pressure and the expectations to perform well in overchallenged situations all, or most of the time, cannot be productive and sustainable.
As a culture (?), we must return to a more sustainable "speed" of working and living.
In 1991, I toured a Honda parts warehouse in Toronto where they pay employees based on their hourly productivity. The company measured how many parts were picked by all workers and statistically set standards from the study. Once the 5 wage standards were set, most employees performed in the top 2 levels for a few months, but then the majority returned to the mid-wage level. Around Christmas, vacations, etc. it was noted that employees tended to perform at a higher level to increase their pay, but historically, most employees could not sustain the higher production level for more than 2 months.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I love the thrill of overchallenge, but find I am not interested in sustaining it for the long periods like I used to.