Do you know about the Bay of Pigs invasion where 1,400 Cuban exiles, backed by President Kennedy's team, attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro's regime? Do you know how it's connected to the corporate world and the effectiveness of meetings? Ever wondered why some individuals outperform others even while working fewer hours? Are you aware of the power of disciplined collaboration, a balanced approach that involves five rules to ensure effective teamwork? Do you want to learn how to master a skill by using the learning loop approach? Discover how you can transform your career into a fulfilling and high-performing journey by adopting the 'work smart' practices.

Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More

Morten Hansen, the author, vividly remembers the day he began his dream job as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in London. Dressed in a sharp blue suit, with an elegant briefcase from his girlfriend, he was ready to conquer the world. 

However, his strategy for success was to work insanely long hours, often knowing the cleaning staff by name as he stayed late into the night. Despite his efforts, he found himself puzzled by a colleague named Natalie, who consistently delivered better results while working fewer hours.

Years later, during his time as a professor at Harvard Business School, the "Natalie Question" lingered: why did she perform better in less time? This curiosity led Hansen to dive into extensive research on individual performance. Collaborating with Jim Collins on "Great by Choice," they explored corporate success, but Hansen's focus gradually shifted to personal performance. He wanted to uncover why some individuals excel while others don't.

Common wisdom attributes success to innate talent or sheer hard work. Yet, Hansen's research suggested otherwise. He launched a comprehensive study in 2011, involving 5,000 managers and employees across various industries. They identified seven "work smart" practices that explained a staggering 66% of performance differences, far more than factors like education, tenure, or hours worked.

These practices included selecting a few key priorities and obsessing over them, creating value rather than just meeting goals, practicing skills with intent, aligning passion with purpose, deploying influence tactics, cutting wasteful meetings, and disciplined collaboration. Top performers weren’t just working hard or relying on talent; they were working smart by being highly selective and focused.

Testing these principles revealed that the more an individual adopted these practices, the better they performed. This approach not only boosted job performance but also improved work-life balance, job satisfaction, and reduced burnout. It debunked the myth that high achievement requires sacrificing personal well-being.

Through stories of diverse individuals who successfully implemented these practices, Hansen offers a practical framework for anyone striving to excel. Whether you're fresh out of college or well into your career, adopting these evidence-based strategies can help you achieve exceptional performance while leading a balanced and fulfilling life.

Can 'Working Smart' Outperform 'Working Hard'? What Does the 'Natalie Question' Reveal?

In October 1911, two teams raced to be the first humans at the South Pole. The British team, led by Commander Robert Falcon Scott, had superior resources: a grand ship, a large budget, and a big crew. In contrast, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s team had fewer resources but a singular focus on dog sledging. 

Amundsen had painstakingly apprenticed with Inuits to master dog sledging, even securing the best Greenland dogs. His obsession paid off as his team reached the pole first, while Scott's diverse but unfocused approach led to tragedy.

This story highlights the power of the principle: "Do less, then obsess." Unlike Scott's scattered approach with multiple transportation methods, Amundsen's singular focus on dogs led to success. This principle isn't just for polar exploration; it's crucial in work and life. By narrowing your focus and obsessing over a few key priorities, you can achieve extraordinary results.

Consider the case of Jiro Ono, a sushi chef who has perfected the art of making 20 exquisite pieces of sushi, earning three Michelin stars. His obsession with quality, from massaging octopus for 50 minutes to require apprentices to perfect tasks through hundreds of trials, demonstrates the power of doing less and obsessing.

Research supports this approach. In a study of 5,000 employees, those who focused on a few key priorities and poured their effort into them outperformed those who spread themselves thin. The study found that employees who mastered the "do less, then obsess" principle could leap from average to top performers.

Yet, many struggle with focus due to broad work scopes, distractions, and demanding bosses. For example, Susan Bishop, an executive search consultant, initially took on every client but found her performance suffering. She turned her business around by narrowing her focus to senior-level searches in the media industry and obsessing over those.

To adopt this practice, wield Occam’s razor to cut unnecessary tasks, tie yourself to the mast to fend off distractions, and manage your boss’s expectations by explaining the need to prioritize.

In essence, achieving excellence isn't about doing more; it's about doing less with an obsessive focus. This shift in mindset can transform your performance, leading to remarkable success.

Success through the 'Do Less, Then Obsess' Principle: Lessons from Amundsen to Michelin-Starred Chefs

It was a brisk spring day in 2010 when Greg Green, the principal of Clintondale High School in Detroit, faced another round of disappointing student test results. Clintondale was grappling with plummeting student performance, financial woes, and a community hit hard by unemployment. The school was on the verge of being shut down or converted into a charter school.

Desperate for a solution, Green found inspiration in an unlikely place: Little League baseball. He had been using YouTube instructional videos to coach his son’s team, and it struck him—what if he applied the same concept to his school? Instead of traditional lectures, students could watch video lessons at home and do "homework" in the classroom with the teacher's help. This “flipped classroom” model allowed teachers to act more as coaches, assisting students with their work during school hours.

Green decided to test this idea with a single struggling social studies class. The results were astonishing. The failure rate dropped to zero, and students who had been repeating grades began to thrive. Encouraged by this success, Green proposed flipping the entire school. Despite initial resistance, Green pressed on, flipping four ninth-grade classes in the fall of 2010. Failure rates plummeted, and the model proved effective.

By January 2011, Clintondale became the first school in America to fully implement the flipped classroom model. Student performance soared, with failure rates dropping from 35% to under 10%, and graduation rates climbing from 80% to 94%. College attendance rates also saw a significant increase.

Green’s story highlights the power of redesigning work to create value. Instead of pushing people to work harder within the existing model, he changed the way teaching was done, achieving greater impact with the same effort. This principle of working smarter, not harder, is supported by research. A study of 5,000 managers and employees showed that those who redesigned their work to add more value performed significantly better than those who didn’t. The key lies in focusing on activities that maximize value—benefiting others, improving quality, and working efficiently.

For instance, at a Maersk shipping terminal in Tangier, manager Hartmut Goeritz boosted efficiency by eliminating low-value tasks and optimizing container handling. Simple changes like ensuring trucks never drove empty almost doubled efficiency, demonstrating how small redesigns can lead to significant improvements.

Redesigning work doesn’t have to be a grand overhaul. Sometimes, it’s about addressing pain points or asking “stupid” questions to challenge the status quo. For example, at Yale–New Haven Hospital, moving blood tests to times when patients were already awake improved patient satisfaction without compromising care.

Ultimately, effective redesign is about creating value by focusing on the right activities and continuously refining them. It’s a strategy that anyone can adopt, whether you’re a principal, a manager, or an individual contributor. By questioning existing practices and seeking new ways to benefit others, you can transform your work and achieve outstanding results.

Can Redesigning Work Boost Efficiency and Transform Education?

On April 5, 2010, Dan McLaughlin, a commercial photographer from Portland, Oregon, made a bold decision. At thirty years old, he quit his well-paying job to pursue a seemingly impossible dream: becoming a professional golfer. The catch? Dan had never played a full round of golf and had minimal experience with the sport.

Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" and its 10,000-hour rule, Dan created "the Dan Plan," dedicating 30 hours of practice per week for seven years. Four years and 5,200 hours later, Dan achieved a remarkable handicap of 2.6, placing him in the top 5 percent of golfers in the United States.

Dan's success wasn't just about putting in the hours. It was about practicing deliberately. According to Professor K. Anders Ericsson, deliberate practice involves meticulous assessment, feedback, and correction of flaws. Dan's methodical approach—tracking every swing, using 3-D technology, and seeking precise feedback—set him apart from others who practiced aimlessly.

In the workplace, deliberate practice isn't as straightforward. Employees often don't receive the continuous, detailed feedback that athletes do. Performance reviews are typically annual, akin to a tennis coach giving advice once a year—a scenario as absurd as it sounds. Moreover, the skills required at work, like prioritizing tasks or handling customer complaints, are harder to measure than a golf swing.

However, there's a solution: the learning loop. This approach involves learning while working, using real tasks as opportunities for improvement, and seeking informal, rapid feedback. Unlike traditional deliberate practice, the learning loop is tailored to the realities of the workplace.

Brittany Gavin, a supervisor at Scripps Memorial Hospital, exemplifies the learning loop. Facing low patient satisfaction and engagement scores, Brittany needed to improve her team's problem-solving skills. She started running idea sessions with her team, initially struggling but gradually improving through feedback and iteration. Over time, Brittany's team proposed and implemented numerous improvements, leading to higher patient satisfaction and employee engagement.

The learning loop involves six tactics:
1. Carve Out the 15: Dedicate just 15 minutes a day to improving a specific skill.

2. Chunk It: Break down a skill into micro-behaviors—small, daily actions that are manageable and impactful.

3. Measure the “Soft”: Track micro-behaviors and their outcomes, even for abstract skills.

4. Get Nimble Feedback, Fast: Seek quick, informal feedback from peers or use technology to facilitate this.

5. Dig the Dip: Embrace short-term challenges and failures as opportunities to learn.

6. Confront the Stall Point: Push beyond the plateau that comes with becoming "good enough" and continue to seek improvement.

Top performers, like Magnus Carlsen, the world chess champion, never stop learning. Despite his achievements, Carlsen believes there's always more to understand. This mindset prevents him from stalling and keeps him at the top of his game.

In a rapidly changing work environment, where new technologies can render skills obsolete, combining the learning loop with continuous redesign of work practices is crucial. High performers consistently adapt and improve, ensuring they stay relevant and excel.

In short, mastering a skill, whether in sports or work, isn't just about putting in the hours. It's about deliberate, thoughtful practice and continuous learning, adapting methods like the learning loop to fit the unique challenges of the workplace.

Mastering the Craft: The Learning Loop and the Power of Deliberate Practice

In his 2008 commencement speech at Stanford, Oprah Winfrey emphasized the importance of passion in one's career, declaring, "Trust your heart and success will come to you!" This idea resonates widely, with figures like Richard Branson and Jim Carrey also advocating for following one's passion. Yet, is passion alone truly the key to success? 

The reality is more nuanced. While passion can be motivating, it doesn't guarantee success, as illustrated by the story of David Sobel, who pursued his passion for digital copywriting only to face unemployment and financial hardship. On the flip side, ignoring passion can lead to a dreary and unfulfilling career, as seen in Jim Carrey’s father, who chose a "safe" career in accounting but ultimately faced failure and dissatisfaction.

The true secret lies in combining passion with purpose. This concept, known as "P-squared," involves not just doing what you love, but also contributing to something meaningful. Our research found that people who matched passion with purpose performed significantly better than those who didn't, showing an 18-point increase in performance percentile.

Consider the story of Genevieve Guay, a concierge at a luxury hotel in Quebec City. Her passion for helping guests and her sense of purpose in improving their experiences led her to go above and beyond, even hunting down rare items for a photographer guest. This dedication not only earned her a spot in the prestigious Les Clefs d’Or but also made her a top performer.

Similarly, Steven Birdsall at SAP found his match by shifting from an administrative role to leading a new business venture, aligning his passion for customer interactions and entrepreneurship with the purpose of meeting market demand.

Passion can stem from various sources beyond the work itself, such as achieving success, being creative, social interactions, learning, and competence. For instance, hospital janitors in Amy Wrzesniewski’s study found purpose by seeing their work as caring for patients, not just cleaning floors.

To find a passion-purpose match, consider these steps:
1. Hunt for a New Role: Like Birdsall, explore different roles within your organization that align better with your passions and sense of purpose.
2. Expand Your Circle of Passion: Identify and nurture different sources of passion in your current role, whether it’s achieving success, socializing with colleagues, or continuous learning.
3. Climb the Purpose Pyramid: Start by adding value without causing harm, then craft personal meaning in your work, and finally, seek activities with a strong social mission.

In essence, matching passion with purpose boosts energy and performance. It’s not just about working more hours but about bringing more energy and focus to each hour worked. By aligning what you love with what contributes meaningfully, you can transform your career into a fulfilling and high-performing journey.

Is Passion Alone Enough for Success or Does the Secret Lie in Combining it with Purpose?

In 1999, during the dot-com boom, Ian Telford, a young sales manager at Dow Chemical, had a unique idea: sell epoxy online. His vision was to create e-epoxy.com, offering epoxy at lower prices without any "frills," targeting smaller customers. Despite a solid proposal, Dow's leadership team rejected his idea, fearing it would cannibalize their existing customer base. Unfazed, Telford sought a second chance.

Reflecting on the leaders' concerns about pricing, Telford devised a clever solution: show higher prices online than those offered to existing key customers and use promo codes for discounts. This way, large customers wouldn't feel cheated. To convince his bosses, Telford staged a fake competitive threat, sending a spoof email about a new online competitor, Epoxies-R-Us.com. The dramatized threat jolted the leadership team, securing Telford $1 million in seed money.

Yet, Telford faced another hurdle when a new president, Bob Wood, halted the project. Telford's enthusiasm won over Wood, and the project resumed. Despite resistance from Dow's IT department, Telford collaborated closely with them, making them feel integral to the project's success. Fourteen months later, e-epoxy.com launched in the U.S. and Europe, becoming Dow's most successful e-business.

Telford's story exemplifies the importance of gaining support from others to achieve goals. He used two key tactics: inspiring others by tapping into their emotions and applying "smart grit" to overcome opposition. These skills are essential in today's collaborative work environment. Research shows that employees and managers must adeptly work with people across departments without formal authority. Top performers excel in advocacy, teamwork, and collaboration.

Forceful champions, those who inspire and apply smart grit, perform significantly better. They evoke emotions, showing rather than telling, to make people feel the purpose behind their work. Telford's fake threat sparked fear and urgency, while Jamie Oliver's dramatic demonstration of unhealthy eating habits in Huntington, West Virginia, disgusted parents into action.

Smart grit involves understanding opponents' perspectives and addressing their concerns. Telford empathized with leadership fears about pricing, while Arunachalam Muruganantham, who invented low-cost sanitary pads, initially failed because he didn't consider the women's perspectives. He later succeeded by involving local women in the production and distribution process.

Another example is Lorenza Pasetti of Volpi Foods, who faced a legal threat from the Italian Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma. By empathizing with their desire to protect Italian heritage, she convinced them to back off, preserving her company's identity.

Forceful champions also mobilize others. Telford rallied his boss and IT colleagues, while Muruganantham enlisted women to advocate for his pads. This approach builds positive relationships and social capital, making future support easier to garner.

In short, inspiring others and applying smart grit are crucial for achieving goals and creating a more engaging workplace. By understanding and addressing opponents' concerns, making strategic concessions, and mobilizing allies, anyone can become a forceful champion, driving success and fostering a collaborative environment.

Smart Grit and Forceful Champions: The Art of Inspiring Collaborative Success in the Workplace

In 1961, Ulises Carbo and 1,400 Cuban exiles embarked on a mission to liberate Cuba from Fidel Castro's regime. The operation, known as the Bay of Pigs invasion, ended disastrously. Despite being planned by President Kennedy's "best and brightest" advisors, critical flaws and a lack of dissent led to failure. The invasion's collapse underscored the importance of rigorous debate and critical thinking in team settings.

In today's corporate world, ineffective meetings plague organizations. A study found that 69% of people feel their meetings aren't productive, often leading to more meetings without resolution. However, successful teams like those at Reckitt Benckiser and Amazon demonstrate that productive conflict and unity can drive exceptional performance.

Reckitt Benckiser’s CEO Bart Becht encouraged "constructive conflict," ensuring vigorous debates during meetings. This approach led to innovative products like Air Wick Freshmatic, which succeeded despite initial resistance. Becht emphasized preparation, data-backed opinions, and respect for minority views, fostering an environment where the best idea wins.

Unity was equally crucial. Reckitt Benckiser teams made swift decisions and committed fully to their implementation. They avoided the pitfalls of office politics and ensured everyone was on board, even if they initially disagreed. This commitment to unity, alongside rigorous debate, propelled the company to outstanding performance.

To replicate such success, teams must embrace diversity of thought and create a safe space for all voices. Leaders should encourage participation from quieter members and ask non-leading questions to uncover the truth. Commitment to decisions, even when disagreeing, and confronting disruptive behaviors are vital for maintaining unity.

In essence, the lessons from the Bay of Pigs and successful companies highlight that effective team performance hinges on balancing rigorous debate with unwavering commitment to decisions. By fostering an environment where diverse views are heard and respected, teams can achieve remarkable results.

Can Lessons from the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Successful Corporations Revolutionize Your Team Performance?

In November 2012, Tom Wilson, a 68-year-old veteran living alone in Fort Dodge, Iowa, faced a barrage of health issues that frequently landed him in the hospital. Despite seeing multiple specialists, his care was uncoordinated, leading to repeated emergency visits and high medical costs. This chaotic scenario was a classic case of undercollaboration, where siloed departments failed to communicate effectively, causing Wilson's care to deteriorate.

This isn't an isolated issue. A Harvard Business School study revealed that poor coordination among health providers often results in medical errors, which can be mitigated by simple communication tools. The lesson here is clear: collaboration is essential, but it must be disciplined to avoid the pitfall of undercollaboration.

Conversely, overcollaboration can be equally detrimental. A Harvard study on Centra Consulting showed that too much collaboration led to inefficiencies and lower success rates in sales bids. Teams with deep expertise suffered when they sought unnecessary external input, leading to wasted time and conflicting advice.

The key is disciplined collaboration, a balanced approach that involves five rules to ensure effective teamwork without falling into the traps of too little or too much collaboration.

First, establish a compelling reason to collaborate. Mike McMullen, then a manager at Agilent Technologies, faced a challenge when his sales team identified a market demand for a new product, the LC triple quad. He built a solid business case, showing potential earnings of $150 million in three years, which convinced another team to collaborate.

Second, craft a unifying goal that excites everyone involved. Mike’s goal was clear: achieve $150 million in sales within three years, which motivated both teams to work together.

Third, reward collaboration results, not just activities. Mike ensured that all revenues from the new product would benefit the collaborating team, aligning incentives and driving commitment.

Fourth, devote full resources—time, skills, and money—to the collaboration. Mike allocated full-time staff and sufficient budget to ensure the project’s success, adhering to Agilent’s motto, "Part-time people, part-time results."

Fifth, engineer trust quickly. By verifying commitments and conducting regular reviews, Mike built trust among team members, ensuring dedicated efforts towards their common goal.

Mike’s disciplined approach led to the successful launch of the LC triple quad, resulting in substantial revenue and his eventual promotion to CEO of Agilent Technologies.

Similarly, Fort Dodge Hospital leaders launched a program to coordinate care for high-risk patients like Wilson. They established a compelling case, set a unifying goal to reduce readmissions, aligned incentives, committed full resources, and built trust among caregivers. This disciplined collaboration led to a significant decrease in readmissions and improved patient care.

In essence, disciplined collaboration—balancing the right amount of teamwork with clear goals, proper incentives, and trust—is crucial for achieving better performance and avoiding the extremes of undercollaboration and overcollaboration. The ultimate goal of collaboration is not just to collaborate but to improve performance and outcomes.

Disciplined Collaboration: The Secret to Effective Teamwork and Optimal Outcomes

Hansen, the author, began his research by asking: Why do some people excel at work more than others? Along the way, he discovered that those who embraced the practices he identified not only performed better but also found improvements in their personal lives. 

Susan Bishop, a small business owner, transformed her executive search business by following the principle of "Do less, then obsess." By setting strict client and project criteria, Susan saw her performance soar and her stress plummet. This newfound balance allowed her to energetically support her family and even pursue a Ph.D.

Similarly, Greg Green, a high school principal, saw his stress levels drop dramatically after redesigning his school's teaching model. Initially overwhelmed and facing potential school closure, Greg's innovative approach revitalized him and his staff, showing how smart work practices could foster well-being.

Intrigued, Hansen dived deeper to see if a statistical link existed between these practices and improved work-related well-being. The results were clear: mastering these practices not only boosted performance but also enhanced work-life balance, job satisfaction, and reduced burnout. However, passion for work, while increasing job satisfaction, sometimes worsened work-life balance by making it harder to switch off.

To mitigate this, he identified three additional strategies: spend your "time dividend" wisely, keep your passion in check, and manage emotional conflicts. Susan Bishop, for example, used her time savings to enrich her personal life, maintaining a healthy balance. Passionate workers, like Hartmut Goeritz, managed to keep work from encroaching on personal time by switching to "family mode" after work hours.

Emotional conflicts, especially those stemming from heated debates, can lead to burnout. To avoid this, make disputes about ideas, not people. This approach fosters productive debates without emotional drain.

Ultimately, the key to greatness lies in working smarter, not harder. By adopting these practices, anyone can outperform and lead a more fulfilling life. Maybe someday, they'll be that colleague who leaves work on time yet consistently excels—a testament to the power of working smarter, not harder.

Can Working Smarter, Not Harder, Boost Your Performance and Well-being?

Success isn't about working long hours but working smart. Focusing on a few key priorities and obsessing over them can lead to better results. This insight led to research on personal performance, uncovering that seven "work smart" practices explain a significant portion of performance differences.

These practices include prioritizing critical tasks, creating value, practicing skills intentionally, aligning passion with purpose, using influence tactics, cutting wasteful activities, and fostering disciplined collaboration. Studies showed that adopting these principles boosts job performance and enhances work-life balance, job satisfaction, and reduces burnout.

A pivotal strategy is "do less, then obsess," demonstrated by historical and modern examples alike. This principle, along with disciplined collaboration and redesigning work to add value, helps achieve extraordinary results without compromising personal well-being.

Additionally, combining passion with purpose—termed "P-squared"—proves crucial. Passion alone isn't enough; it must be directed towards meaningful contributions to truly excel. This balance energizes work and prevents burnout.

Effective teamwork also hinges on balancing rigorous debate with unity. Encouraging diverse viewpoints and ensuring commitment to decisions fosters high performance.

Lastly, managing collaboration wisely—neither under- nor over-collaborating—ensures efficiency and success. Establishing clear goals, aligning incentives, and building trust are essential for effective teamwork.

In short, working smarter, not harder, through focused effort, meaningful passion, disciplined collaboration, and continuous improvement, leads to exceptional performance and a fulfilling life.

Home

Trending Books

News & Mags

Relax

Curated

Collections

Key Ideas & Notes

Insights

Highlights & Bookmarks

Listening History

Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More

Morten T. Hansen

Do you know about the Bay of Pigs invasion where 1,400 Cuban exiles, backed by President Kennedy's team, attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro's regime?

Do you know how it's connected to the corporate world and the effectiveness of meetings?

Ever wondered why some individuals outperform others even while working fewer hours?

Are you aware of the power of disciplined collaboration, a balanced approach that involves five rules to ensure effective teamwork?

Do you want to learn how to master a skill by using the learning loop approach?

Discover how you can transform your career into a fulfilling and high-performing journey by adopting the 'work smart' practices.

Key Ideas

#1