1. 7. Effective decision
1.1. 1st rule of decision making
1.1.1. There is no decision unless there is a disagreement
1.1.1.1. disagreement alone can provide alternatives to a decision
1.1.1.2. disagreement is needed to stimulate imagination
1.1.1.3. The effective decision maker organizes disagreement
1.2. Do not start with assumptions that 1 course is right and others wrong
1.3. Is a decision really necessary?
1.3.1. Compare effort and risk of action to risk of inaction
1.3.2. The effective decision maker acts or does not act. He does not take half action
1.4. A decision requires courage as much as it requires judgment
2. 6. The elements of decision-making
2.1. Effective Execs do not make a great many decisions
2.1.1. They only concentrate on the most important ones
2.1.2. They try to make a few important decisions on the highest level of conceptual understanding
2.1.3. An Exec who makes many decisions is both lazy and ineffectual
2.2. The Elements of decision process
2.2.1. Is this a generic situation or an exception?
2.2.1.1. Generic should be answered through rule/principle
2.2.1.1.1. As much as possible
2.2.2. Clear specifications as to what the decision has to accomplish
2.2.2.1. Objectives of the decision?
2.2.2.2. Goals of the decision?
2.2.2.3. Conditions it must satisfy?
2.2.2.3.1. Thinking through Boundary conditions
2.2.3. One must start with what is right rather than what is acceptable
2.2.4. Must convert decision to action
2.2.4.1. Most time consuming step
2.2.4.2. No decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific spets has becomes someone's work assignment
2.2.5. Feedback has to be built in
2.2.5.1. TO provide continuous testing against actual events - against expectations
3. 5. First things first
3.1. Concentration
3.1.1. The one secret to effectiveness = Concentration
3.1.2. You require big continuous chunks of time to make meaningful contribution
3.1.2.1. That is how you get concentration
3.1.3. Effective executives do first things first and they do one thing at a time
3.1.4. Concentration is necessary precisely because the executive faces so many tasks clamoring to be done.
3.1.4.1. doing one thing at a time means doing it fast
3.1.5. The more one can concentrate time, effort, and resources, the greater the number and diversity of tasks one can actually perform.
3.1.6. This is the “secret” of those people who “do so many things” and apparently so many difficult things. They do only one at a time.
3.1.6.1. As a result they need much less time to do any given thing
3.1.7. Concentration—that is, the courage to impose on time and events his own decision as to what really matters and comes first—is the executive’s only hope of becoming the master of time and events instead of their whipping boy
3.1.8. The way to do great things is to focus all your energy on one task at any given time
3.2. Ineffective Exec
3.2.1. The people who get nothing done often work a great deal harder.
3.2.1.1. they underestimate the time for any one task
3.2.1.2. He tries to hurry—and that only puts him further behind
3.2.1.3. He tries to do several things at once. Therefore, he never has the minimum time quantum for any of the tasks in his program
3.3. PRIORITIES AND POSTERIORITIES
3.3.1. Who makes the decision of what you will do next?
3.3.1.1. You
3.3.1.2. Or the pressures around you
3.3.2. Priorities
3.3.2.1. Pressure must never define priorities
3.3.2.1.1. The most important things will never get done
3.3.2.1.2. Work of top mgmt doesnt get done
3.3.3. POSTERIORITIES
3.3.3.1. The reason why so few executives concentrate is the difficulty of setting “posteriorities”—that is, deciding what tasks not to tackle—and of sticking to the decision
3.3.4. Most Important thing
3.3.4.1. The most important thing about priorities and posteriorities is, however, not intelligent analysis but courage
3.3.5. As a rule, it is just as risky, arduous and uncertain to do something small that is new as it is to do something big that is new.
4. 4. Making strength productive
4.1. To achieve results one cannot build on weaknesses
4.2. To Make strengths productive is the unique purpose of an organization
4.2.1. We don't have to overcome our weaknesses but using our strengths can make Our weaknesses irrelevant
5. 3. Results not efforts
5.1. The man who focuses on efforts is a subordinate no matter how exalted his title or rank
5.2. But the man who focuses on contribution and who takes responsibility for results is in the most literal sense of the phrase -- top management
5.3. Having an outside orientation
5.3.1. What does the other fellow need
5.3.2. What does the other fellow see
5.3.3. What does the other fellow understand
5.4. What can I and no one else do which if done really well would make a real difference to this company
5.5. Four basic requirements of effective human relations
5.5.1. Communications
5.5.2. Teamwork
5.5.2.1. Ask yourself the question " who has to use My output for it to become effective"
5.5.3. Self development
5.5.3.1. Asking yourself the question "what self-development do I need in order to be able to make contributions that I need to make this organization"
5.5.4. Development of others
5.5.4.1. Peoples results are a function of the demand they make on themselves and not the effort they put in
5.5.4.1.1. If they demand little of themselves they will remain stunted
5.5.4.1.2. If they demand a good deal of themselves they will grow to giant stature – without any more effort than is expended by the non-achievers
6. 2. Know your time
6.1. three-step process to finding effectiveness
6.1.1. 1. Recording your time using
6.1.1.1. There is no management without measurement
6.1.1.2. In Order to manage your time you first have to know where it actually goes
6.1.1.3. Is not important what method is used but what is important is that The record is made in real time after the task is completed rather then from memory at a later time
6.1.1.4. Do it in real time
6.1.1.4.1. not how you spent your time yesterday from memory
6.1.1.4.2. But record it as you go....
6.1.1.4.3. Your memory will never match the real time use
6.1.1.4.4. Record every little break you take
6.1.1.5. It will most likely shock you.
6.1.1.5.1. You think you are working 8 hours
6.1.1.5.2. You are probably doing less than 4 hours of real work
6.1.1.5.3. Your time is very fragmented.
6.1.1.6. Notice
6.1.1.6.1. Total time worked
6.1.1.6.2. Only look at time you worked on one thing for 30 minutes or more without a break/distraction
6.1.1.7. Total High quality work time
6.1.1.7.1. Add up all time you worked on any one thing for 30 minutes or more (without any break or distraction)
6.1.2. 2. Managing your time
6.1.2.1. Eliminate nonproductive time wasting activities and get rid of them if you can
6.1.2.1.1. 1. Identify and eliminate the things that need not be done at all, the things that are purely a waste of time without any result whatever
6.1.2.1.2. 2. Which of these activities on my timelog could be done by someone else just as well if not better
6.1.2.1.3. 3. Are you wasting others time
6.1.2.2. Pruning the time wasters
6.1.2.2.1. Identify the time wasters which follow from lack of system or foresight
6.1.2.2.2. Over staffing
6.1.2.2.3. Malorganization
6.1.2.2.4. Malfunction in information
6.1.2.3. One rarely over prunes
6.1.3. 3. Consolidating time
6.1.3.1. Most of the tasks of an executive require a fairly large quantum of time in order for the executive to be effective
6.1.3.1.1. To be effective an executive therefore needs time in large chunks at a time
6.1.3.2. To spend in one stretch less than that quantum of time is sheer waste because one accomplishes nothing and has to begin all over again
6.1.3.2.1. To have small dribs and drabs of time available will not be sufficient even if the total is a very impressive number
6.1.3.2.2. Even one quarter of the working day if consolidated into large time units is usually enough to get the important things done
6.1.3.2.3. But even three quarters of the working day are useless if they are only available as 15 minutes here or half an hour there
7. 1. Effectiveness can be learned
7.1. There is little correlation between a man's effectiveness and his intelligence, his imagination or knowledge
7.1.1. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources but only effectiveness converts them into results.
7.1.2. By themselves they only set the upper limits to work can be attained
7.2. Efficiency
7.2.1. The ability to get things done right
7.3. Effectiveness
7.3.1. The ability to get the right things done
7.4. The flow of events
7.4.1. If the executive list of flow of events determine what he does, What he works on and what he takes seriously, he will fritter himself away just operating
7.4.2. What the executive needs are criteria which enable him to work on the truly important..... But Those criteria will not be found in the flow of events
7.5. Effectiveness is not personality trait ...it is a set of practices that can be learned
7.5.1. Effectiveness in other words is a habit and which only comes through practice
7.5.1.1. These practices are deceptively simple but exceedingly hard to do as well
7.5.1.2. Practices One learns by practicing and practicing and practicing again
7.6. In order to be effective we do not need mastery but we do need competence in the following five habits
7.6.1. 1. Effective executives know where the time goes
7.6.2. 2. Effective executives gear their efforts towards results rather than work
7.6.3. 3. Effective executives build on strengths, not weaknesses.
7.6.4. 4. Effective executives concentrate on the few major areas where superior performance would produce outstanding results
7.6.5. 5. Effective executives make effective decisions