What I’ve read
I’ve finally got round to reading Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan – A topic close to my heart.
My favourite quote from the book which grabs attention to this topic…
“Execution is the great unaddressed issue in the business world today. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to other causes”
This book is just as relevant today as its ever been – Many companies have great strategies but are terrible, slow and / or disconnected when it comes to executing – This is a practical guide to a relentless focus on execution, I particularly enjoyed the personal insights and recommendations from the vast years of experience from Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan which help to give really simple and practical tactics / techniques which you can seek to employ.
One final thought - If your company doesn’t do this in depth, you aren’t getting what you deserve…
What I’ve heard
Brené Brown featured on the finding mastery podcast – The thing that was really powerful for me in this episode was the reference to Roosevelt’s “Man In The Arena” quote. A really important reminder to get specific on who’s opinions really matters and focusing on those that are brave enough to join you in the arena…
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt
What I’ve seen
Matt Killingsworth TED Talk - Want to be happier stay in the moment – Starting from the provocative question: Why haven't got happier, whilst our conditions have improved beyond belief? He generated his own unique way of collecting data to assess, when are humans most happy?
Matt Killingsworth built an app to track happiness and let people capture their feelings in real time, this TED talk shares the questions that he asked and how mind wandering and unhappiness are correlated (notice the word correlated – important note from me: Correlation doesn't imply causation...