This story appears in the
September 2004 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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Colleagues perched on your desk regaling you with weekend
anecdotes, customers insisting they must see the president now-who
doesn't hate interruptions that bust your concentration and
muddle work flow? Top CEOs don't, says Stephanie Winston, an
organization expert and bestselling author of The Organized Executive. In her latest
book, Organized for Success: Top Executive and CEOs
Reveal the Organizing Principles That Helped Them Reach the
Top (Crown Business, $19.95), Winston reveals surprises
about how high-achieving businesspeople keep their ducks in a row.
One is that the execs regard interruptions not as disruptions but
as valuable tools for connecting effectively with fellow workers
and thereby getting more work done.
Another unexpected finding: High-producing CEOs rarely try to
multitask. Instead, they focus laserlike on one task at a time,
pursuing completion relentlessly before going on. This topic is as
well-covered as any, but Winston's original observations make
her new book well worth a look.
Play Nice
Mom taught you to say nothing if you can't say something
nice. How Full Is Your Bucket: Positive Strategies for
Work and Life (Gallup Press, $19.95) goes Mom one better by
insisting: Say something nice-usually. Authors Tom Rath and Donald
Clifton (the co-author of the bestselling Now, Discover Your Strengths)-are Gallup
management consultants who used 50 years of research to reveal how
positive reinforcement can powerfully boost productivity,
satisfaction and stability in all kinds of organizations. Though
brief, it's highly specific. Example: The best ratio of
positive to negative reinforcement is 5 to 1. Increase to 13 to 1,
and it does more harm than good. Looks like even Mom could learn a
few things.
Mark Henricks is Entrepreneur's "Smart
Moves" columnist.