Great topic Ron and clearly managing time is key to business success at any level. Here’s another discovery about managing time as it relates to productivity. In my 32 years at the helm of Speakeasy working with thousands of executives annually from some of the most respected companies in the world, including as you know, Cisco, this is what I hear repeatedly. Most internal meeting led by managers are an absolute total waste of time! Why? Because the messages they communicate are the wrong messages and not relevant to job execution. Why? Because most managers are out of touch with the execution itself, what motivates execution, and most of all, the efficiency of successful execution that comes from optimal time management and communicating effectively. Here’s a perfect example, one of Speakeasy’s large global enterprise clients did an internal time audit and discovered across multiple positions that 20% of time was being spent on creating PowerPoint slides for internal meetings of which 80% of those slides had no value to successful execution. Essentially, a total waste of time. Instant solution, they issued a policy that slides could not be used for internal meetings. Instead, motivational communication was employed with meaningful conversations. The result, that 20% of time used on deck production was invested in client outcomes that significantly impacted revenue. Time optimization executed! Amen!
"The result, that 20% of time used on deck production was invested in client outcomes that significantly impacted revenue." DECK PRODUCTION! The bane of "time."
Thanks for the great conversation Ron. I am happy to read that we are very much on the same page when discussing these subjects. It's very interesting to see that big corporate and entrepreneurs can learn from each other. I will add this to my "wider" thinking.
Your insight on "deeper" thinking and "wider" thinking could be a game-changer for time utilization. Thanks for sharing to the readers of Managing in the Age of Uncertainty.
Great topic Ron and clearly managing time is key to business success at any level. Here’s another discovery about managing time as it relates to productivity. In my 32 years at the helm of Speakeasy working with thousands of executives annually from some of the most respected companies in the world, including as you know, Cisco, this is what I hear repeatedly. Most internal meeting led by managers are an absolute total waste of time! Why? Because the messages they communicate are the wrong messages and not relevant to job execution. Why? Because most managers are out of touch with the execution itself, what motivates execution, and most of all, the efficiency of successful execution that comes from optimal time management and communicating effectively. Here’s a perfect example, one of Speakeasy’s large global enterprise clients did an internal time audit and discovered across multiple positions that 20% of time was being spent on creating PowerPoint slides for internal meetings of which 80% of those slides had no value to successful execution. Essentially, a total waste of time. Instant solution, they issued a policy that slides could not be used for internal meetings. Instead, motivational communication was employed with meaningful conversations. The result, that 20% of time used on deck production was invested in client outcomes that significantly impacted revenue. Time optimization executed! Amen!
"The result, that 20% of time used on deck production was invested in client outcomes that significantly impacted revenue." DECK PRODUCTION! The bane of "time."
Thanks for the great conversation Ron. I am happy to read that we are very much on the same page when discussing these subjects. It's very interesting to see that big corporate and entrepreneurs can learn from each other. I will add this to my "wider" thinking.
Your insight on "deeper" thinking and "wider" thinking could be a game-changer for time utilization. Thanks for sharing to the readers of Managing in the Age of Uncertainty.
Check out Jan's interview: https://open.substack.com/pub/ronricci/p/managing-in-the-age-of-uncertainty-57d?r=50vuo2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false