Things Harvard Doesn’t Teach You

Chapter 11. Get best result

If you are born poor it’s not your mistake,

but if you die poor it’s your mistake. ― Bill Gates

If you ask managers to list their problems,

there may not be enough time to write them all down.

In the process of working,

we always encounter interruptions,

which prevent us from using our time the way we want.

There will always be unexpected things happening,

so at the end of the work day,

we find everything a mess.

The solution to these problems is much simpler than we think.

It’s about taking control of your workday

instead of letting it control you

and forcing yourself to follow your plans.

But many people assume that

when they don’t seem to be immersed in work,

they are not busy or important people.

They really don’t want to manage their own time well.

When you truly believe

that being in control of your time not only works,

but also makes you feel good,

it’s easier to get everything done.

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TIME MANAGEMENT

If you’re changing the world,

you’re working on important things.

You’re excited to get up in the morning. ― Larry Page

People have always considered me to be a very effective time manager.

I do my time management by treating a week as 168 hours,

and I organize my time

so that I can work and rest comfortably.

I always arrange a time for myself to have time to rest

whether it is playing tennis,

reading the morning newspaper,

taking a nap at the office or simply playing.

I want to free my mind from work-related thoughts or decisions.

For example, if my first job is at 7 a.m.,

I’ll wake up at 5 a.m.

and spend an hour reading, resting,

and exercising.

I don’t like to leave work unfinished,

so I work with urgency to get some free time – a minute,

an hour or a weekend

– to enjoy my leisure.

It is this that makes me become highly conscious of my own time management.

I always treat a business or commitment

as a function of the time I spend on it.

I also challenge myself with time management.

If I have to attend a meeting in an hour,

and I have ten things to do first,

I will do whatever it takes to get all ten done in an hour.

I might have to cut a phone call short,

write a short note instead of a long letter,

but by organizing my work into these tiny chunks of time,

I’ve learned to make the most of every minute in his own time.

I know exactly how long it takes to get something done,

and I also know the fastest way to get things done.

I know from restaurants that serve fast and slow

and where you should order your food immediately

to the fastest elevators in buildings.

For example, when I fly to a certain place,

I often ask people to come pick me up at the exit

because it is not as crowded as the arrival door,

so it will save time.

In short, I try to be very precise at everything.

I am always looking for the most effective “shortcuts”

to reduce the time spent on activities.

For example, when booking international flights,

I always research each airline,

such as Qantas to Australia and Cathay Pacific to Asia,

and put priority tickets on first class baggage.

I know Concorde handles baggage issues very quickly

for flights to London from the US

but very long for flights to Honolulu from Asia

and Australia or international flights to Los Angeles.

I also realized that I was an expert on traffic

and traffic jams in major cities around the world.

I use this information to save time, or to pre-arrange work.

For example,

commuting from one place to another is very light for me

and I usually only carry hand luggage.

But to do this on a regular basis,

I have to have five wardrobes in the five places I frequent

and one small closet at the office.

If I knew I needed something in Paris,

I would send it to Paris first,

not take me to New York

and then London…

I am referring to examples of international travel,

because in fact this movement is very difficult to control.

However, I use this method for every aspect of my business.

When I knew the time it took

and the shortest way to get something done,

I was able to take control of things

that didn’t seem so easy to control.

As a general rule,

to do something the fastest,

do what everyone else is doing when everyone else isn’t.

I usually go to work very early

so I never have trouble getting to work in the morning.

People often complain about traffic jams

during rush hour without realizing

that if they get to work 20 minutes earlier,

there will be no more traffic jams.

However, for many people,

adjusting the 20-minute schedule is not simple.

I also saw a lot of staff trying to withdraw money

around 12 noon and 3 pm

on the day of their monthly paycheck,

and then complain that they have to wait too long.

I’ve also seen a number of managers book flights out of New York

at just the right time to get off work.

Ninety percent of cases of queuing

and wasting time can be avoided if we know

how to organize our time and think properly.

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ORGANIZATION SYSTEM

Action expresses priorities. ― Mahatma Gandhi

The whole solution to time management is to do

what you’ve planned and it doesn’t take longer than expected.

This requires you to work with some overarching organizational system.

I always write down all the things to do

and the people to meet in a day on a piece of paper.

I kept this paper for about 50 days,

later I would have many pages of meetings

and things not done during those 50 days.

When I ask someone when he wants me to contact him

and he says at 10:30 a.m in next Wednesday,

I will put the person’s name

and his phone number on the note for Wednesday.

In addition,

I record more phone calls and activities that day.

From time to time,

I review this paper to see how far I’ve come.

If I miss something,

I won’t skip it,

I’ll make everything more urgent.

I also keep notes pages by region and location

so that when I need to deal with work in these regions,

I don’t have to spend a lot of time searching.

In addition to the schedule sheets and other notes,

I always keep in my pocket a few business cards of employees

or partners with whom I regularly contact.

When something has to do with one of these people,

I’ll put it on their business card.

Therefore, when I worked with that person,

I obtained all the necessary facts.

I also always carry small white sheets of paper to write down the

miscellaneous things of the day,

at the end of the day,

I will transfer these data into a notebook.

I write down everything I intend to do,

and after I have written it down,

I don’t keep it in my head.

How you choose to organize your work life

is the most personal aspect of time management.

There are people who use a pocket calendar

and a notebook the way I do,

there are also people

who rarely organize their work a week in advance

or simply work with a “to-do” list.

But no one can succeed in business

without working within a personal organizational system.

There are two important things in personal time management:

First, write it down.

Write anywhere, even on the sleeve if necessary.

This allows you to forget about them

and focus your mind on other things.

But more importantly,

writing them down means you’ll do it

Writing something down is a commitment.

By writing them down,

you’re motivating yourself to get things done.

It is the feeling of comfort

when completing work that motivates you to work.

Second, schedule the next day’s work at the end of the previous day.

This leaves me feeling relaxed at night and euphoric

when I go to work the next morning.

After organizing my work for the next day,

I have a feeling I’m off to a good start.

I also take notes and organize my work into longer cycles:

weekly, monthly,

bi-monthly,

semi-annual,

one-year,

and bi-yearly.

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COMPLETE PERFORMANCE PER TIME TIMES

You will never find time for anything.

If you want time, you must make it. ― Charles Bixton 

Once you have arranged a work schedule,

if you do not follow it closely,

the arrangement will not make any sense.

An important part of staying on schedule is realizing

that very rarely is something so important

or a crisis so critical that it needs to be addressed immediately.

Deal with interruptions.

Don’t immediately deal with the unexpected,

but schedule time to deal with

these situations on your next schedule – afternoon,

tomorrow or next week

whenever you have free time.

Another important aspect of staying on schedule is figuring out

the right amount of time to get things done.

Inappropriate time arrangement is not effective for work.

However, scheduling short time is more dangerous

than scheduling excess time.

Because of that, you always have to chase after work

and make things worse at the end of the day.

I think most people can estimate the amount of time

it will take for their businesses to run,

but they often deceive themselves.

To manage your time well,

you must believe in your own knowledge.

If you know a weekly meeting usually takes about 30 minutes,

don’t force yourself to believe

that today will only take 15 minutes just

because you have a lot of work to do right now.

If you have to be somewhere in 10 minutes,

don’t make another phone call just

because you don’t want to get there.

People who are not able to manage their time

They all seem to be unrealistic

and often do unusual things to create situations beyond their control.

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ORDERING WORKING TIME PER PERSON

There is never enough time to do everything,

but there is always enough time

to do the most important thing. ― Brian Tracy

Because in business,

most of your time is spent working with people,

you must factor in their style and personality

when arranging your working time.

With some employees,

I can talk to them about 25 topics in 15 minutes on the phone.

However, there are employees

who take me a whole week to discuss,

who tend to turn the simplest words into the beginning

of an endless dialogue.

This is the nature of some people and I cannot change that.

Therefore, the most effective solution is to spend more time

with them or discuss less topics with them.

You must understand the issues to be discussed

and their complexity before talking to someone,

the time to solve each problem depends on two human factors:

the time it takes the other person to approach the problem

and his personal working style.

For example,

when I worked with Bob Anderson President of Rockwell,

I knew he often got to the point even before I finished.

I also knew that if I ended the sentence halfway just

because I wanted to end it, it would be a waste of his time.

Roone Arledge,

the brilliant manager of ABC’s sports and news division,

has a completely different working style.

We had several lunches that lasted until late in the evening.

That’s Arledge’s very efficient way of working,

and so when I work with him,

it’s easy to get results.

I just need to schedule time to have lunch on such special days.

Instead of worrying,

fidgeting with a schedule of having to receive a few other guests

that afternoon,

I often leave the rest of the afternoon empty.

Learn all about the people you’ll be working with,

including their work practices and time management habits.

If I knew that the people I was meeting

with were often 20 to 30 minutes late for meetings,

I would calculate everything based on that.

I would schedule work with them

and use the time they were late to do other things.

That will be more beneficial than waiting in frustration

and expecting them to be on time.

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CONTROL YOUR OWN PHONES

Life is as simple as these three questions:

What do I want?

Why do I want it?

And, how will I achieve it? ― Shannon L. Alder

Phones and meetings take up most of my time,

and I think the same goes for managers.

If you can control these two things, everything will become a lot easier.

I rarely answer the phone.

Because in my opinion,

the phone often interrupts everything.

I like to use my phone for as long as I want.

Calling gives me more control over time to figure out

what I want to say than answering the phone.

But usually I’ll return the call to the person who called me,

except in two cases:

I don’t want to talk to the caller or someone in my organization

is better able to solve the caller’s problem

(in this case,

I know for sure that the capable person will call the caller back).

Returning calls to all callers is often a matter of personal style rather

than time management.

However, for me this is a very effective method

because I don’t have to waste time looking to see if there are people

I haven’t called back or feel guilty about.

Pause to decide

Every time my secretary told me someone was waiting for me

to answer the phone,

I would put my hand on the receiver

and pause for a moment before actually putting the phone to my ear.

I do it for the purpose of thinking:

what do I want to achieve and what is the fastest way to get there?

There’s a saying that goes,

“If you know where you’re going, you’ll go somewhere else”.

This is very true of talking on the phone.

If you don’t have a clear picture of what you want to achieve,

you will inevitably end up achieving nothing.

Straight to the problem

Although I’m a pretty strict person in terms of scheduling,

I still often find myself in situations

where I have to stop talking on the phone.

I’ve always believed that it’s not difficult to get straight to the point

or end a phone call.

However, a lot of people still find it difficult to do this.

They usually take 5 times longer to say the necessary things over the phone.

They consider ending a phone call impolite or insensitive.

If I knew the person I was talking to on the phone,

I would tell him I had to get out or call him back

when I wanted to end a call.

If I don’t know him well, I’ll say,

“I’m five minutes late for an important meeting”

or “Sorry, I have an important phone call from Switzerland on hold.”

I usually go straight to the point when I make a phone call,

then talk about other things if I have time.

However, everyone else

usually do the opposite.

They usually chat for about five minutes

before starting to talk about the main purpose of the phone call.

In some cases,

this also works,

but usually it doesn’t.

Because if you do so,

you will not only waste your own time,

but also the time of the interlocutor.

And it’s even worse if the other person has to take another phone call

and you hang up without saying what needs to be said.

In the end,

I was able to fairly accurately estimate the amount of time

it would take to make all the phone calls on a given day.

If I have promised to call someone back at a certain time,

I will call close to that time.

Usually, I’ll schedule a time period

– usually 30 to 90 minutes

– to make phone calls.

I list these calls in order of importance and put the unimportant calls

(eg internal calls with employees)

to the bottom of the list, because without enough time,

I these calls will be shortened.

When I do this, I always keep the time frame

that I have arranged.

Shorten unproductive calls

In all phone calls,

you have to achieve a certain purpose.

If it is not possible to get a definitive answer from the interlocutor,

try to get an appointment to get an answer from him.

If you still can’t reach your goal,

try to get another appointment.

If you still don’t get anything,

then drop it.

If you continue to pursue that deal,

it will bring almost nothing.

Get results in just two calls

Sometimes it’s important to know the right time to call.

Usually, if you take the initiative to call someone,

you rarely have to make more than two phone calls.

If on the first call, you can’t reach the person you need to meet,

don’t ask them to call you back.

Ask when they can pick up the phone and call them back.

I often ask the secretary of the person

I want to talk to when they can call me back.

Once I figured out a specific time,

I told the clerk I would call at that time.

If you can’t get the time of the person you need to see,

set a time limit on how long you’ll call back:

“Please tell him

I’ll be in touch with him in about 2 hours.

hours 45 to 3 pm today”.

Once the time you will call back is recorded,

appointments will be arranged

so that your phone can be picked up at that time.

If you have to make more than two phone calls to reach the person

you need to meet,

this is probably not a problem on the part of the secretaries

or their assistants.

It’s because the other person doesn’t want to talk to you.

How do they answer your phone?

Tell them what they want to hear or what they are afraid to hear.

Once, someone I didn’t know left me a message:

“I have some good news”.

I had to call him back even though some of the good news

turned out to be just some bullshit compliments.

Not long ago,

I called the president of a large airline,

whom I did not know very well,

to talk about the sports program we were running.

Since I knew at the time, no airline had the money,

and since we always needed to use an air travel credit card,

I said to his secretary:

“Please tell him I have one an offer to discuss with him,

and if he’s really interested,

he won’t have to spend a dime.”

Then he talked to me right away.

Silence means consent

A phone call does not have to be a two-way exchange of information.

If you are specifying news notifications,

rather than exchange or discussion,

leave them a detailed message

and do not call back.

If they have any questions,

they will call you back.

If you need answers,

to determine something,

or to gain the other party’s support,

put the matter in the way that silence means agreement.

“Please tell him that if he doesn’t agree, call me back.”

Many salespeople use this method to get appointments

and meet people they either don’t know or don’t intend to see:

“Please tell him I’ll come see you.

It’s at 10:30 a.m.

next Wednesday.

If that time is not convenient,

he will call me back.”

Act on the phone etiquette of the person you need to meet

Some managers feel very awkward talking on the phone.

They often don’t call themselves and lose a lot of time

because they don’t speak up first in the phone call.

Some people always assume

that if I’m not on the line when they answer the phone,

I’m being condescending to them.

That’s why when I call these people,

I’m waiting at the end of the line.

Some people don’t like the secretary

to receive information for them

and always want arrange your own appointments.

Some people prefer to answer the phone themselves,

and I always talk to these people myself.

However, there are also some people

who never take actions like this.

Get to know the personalities of the people you’re working with

and accept their phone etiquette,

even if it’s ridiculous at times.

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INTERNAL MEETINGS

In all planning,

you make a list and you set priorities. — Alan Lakein 

Internal meetings are a nuisance in office life.

They are essential for passing

and decision-making,

but most meetings yield nothing and waste everyone’s time.

However, since they cannot be eliminated,

we must minimize the number, frequency, and duration of meetings.

Who are they and what do they do in my meeting?

Rule: The effectiveness of a meeting is inversely proportional

to the number of attendees.

Corollary 1:

Four or five more people than prescribed,

the efficiency drops exponentially.

Corollary 2:

The longer the meeting, the more people attend.

At most internal meetings,

the number of attendees is often more than necessary.

This can be attributed to two practical reasons in office life.

First, every company has a number of managers

who tend to judge

what they have to say by the number of people

who are forced to listen to them.

For these people, an important meeting is one

that doesn’t have enough chairs to sit in.

Second, there is the “missed element”.

Meetings can become part of a company’s value system,

and people begin to gauge their importance

to the company by the number of meetings

and the nature of the meetings they are asked to attend

We used to have an informal subcommitte

that sometimes met to make some decisions on a very small scale.

But after a few years,

the size and purpose of the subcommittee grew

until it ceased to be a decision-making meeting

and became a purely informational meeting.

However, everyone still wants to attend.

Finally, I decided that this subcommittee would meet once a year,

anyone could attend,

and its purpose was no longer to make decisions

or information,

but purely to let everyone know people feel comfortable.

This way everyone is satisfied

and we can return to our subcommittee.

Meetings,

as well as company policies,

must be regularly evaluated

for their frequency, necessity, and size.

There may be people who want to attend,

but there are also people who find it very refreshing to not have to attend

and have time for more productive purposes.

I also sometimes set rules

for who can attend our most “popular” meetings.

These rules depend on

who I want or don’t want to be there.

Although this is a bit unfair,

it is still more effective than letting them join meetings

and argue and ask questions.

Consolidate meetings

We can change the frequency and purpose of most meetings

without losing their effectiveness.

The start time alone people arrive,

settle down and get ready to work

costs the company time.

Often, a monthly one-hour meeting is more productive

than two 45-minute meetings a week.

Consider and scrutinize all meetings held more than once a month.

Meetings with overlapping functions can be grouped or combined.

Usually, however,

meetings are conducted according to Parkinson’s Law:

the number of issues discussed is aggregated to fit the time one has.

Subcommittees’ decisions are often both ineffective and ineffective,

and the results of those decisions are often not the best.

However, assigning responsibility to a subcommittee is also not simple.

The best way to have a meeting get out of hand is to announce

that a decision needs to be made before the meeting is over.

In meetings that are more than just news,

you must allow everyone to speak

to help the final decision-maker find appropriate solutions.

But it’s better to let the decision come on its own.

Because that means you can eliminate lengthy discussions,

minimize friction,

reconcile those who want to pressure public opinion,

and make the best decisions.

Manage the meeting

The start and end times of a meeting must be planned as early as possible.

Write it down (thus encouraging punctuality)

and distribute the list to each person.

Meetings that start at odd hours ‒ 10:15

instead of 10:30 ‒ often make people arrive on time.

If there are multiple issues that need to be discussed,

distribute the agenda to each attendee as they arrive.

This is not meant to announce but lead the meeting.

If everyone knew when the meeting ended

and the number of problems to solve,

People will know how to solve problems quickly.

When chairing meetings,

I often include brief,

informative topics at the beginning of the meeting

and leave longer topics at the end.

For topics that are longer and need more discussion,

I will summarize the issue

and highlight the important aspects

to cut down on time-consuming debate.

Small exchanges

I wanted to find the person who said,

“There is no such thing as a foolproof question,”

and force him to attend all the monthly meetings of any major company.

A “dumb question” is one

that could easily have been raised at any point in the meeting

but failed to capture anyone’s interest.

Most meetings at a medium-sized company in the US

can be eliminated without making anyone feel uncomfortable.

Meetings are the result of problems

that are too complicated to be resolved over the phone.

In fact,

small,

short,

informal congresses of three to four people to exchange information

and quickly reach consensus are a better,

more effective way.

And those who weren’t invited to

those meetings were also less likely to feel confused.

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OUTSIDE MEETINGS

Never lower your price, add value. – Grant Cardone

In fact,

we can more easily control the timing of an internal meeting than an external meeting.

However, I have become adept at managing the timing of meetings

with someone outside the company,

whether in that person’s office or mine.

To do this, we must set the agenda at the beginning of the meeting

and communicate it to the partner.

Almost everyone enjoys that

and they get a clearer idea of ​​how much time to spend on each topic.

I have always believed that the first moments of a meeting

from greeting to actual work

are very important to the content of the meeting

and decisive for the outcome of the meeting.

I always set a work schedule,

create a working atmosphere

and make an impression at my discretion during this time.

That’s why,

I always try to make a good impression on my partner

such as always ending phone calls,

cleaning up papers before inviting him into the office

and I can give all my attention to him.

If it’s time to end a meeting

and your partner doesn’t seem to want to leave,

there are ways to let them know

(on one occasion,

I picked up the phone and twirled the receiver in my hand).

In meetings

where the two sides

do not know each other very well,

people often cannot close the meeting

because everyone wants to let the other party speak first.

However, just a small sign can help close the meeting.

Running the meeting is slow

Most of our managers like to act fast,

jumping from one thing to another,

trying to get one thing done,

and then jumping into another.

It is absolutely essential that

we know among the people we are dealing with,

who can withstand this fast-paced work.

The Japanese always think that it is not polite to want

to end a meeting at the beginning,

and it is not suitable for their culture and customs.

This is especially true when we work

with the presidents of sports federations.

These people work without pay

and people take the position not because they have to,

but because they want to:

it is their pastime.

Therefore, if you try to keep your meetings

with them as short as possible

or force them to get straight to the point

instead of letting them talk around,

you’ve cut your throat.

I worked with a British sports official,

he was a very slow man.

We often go to lunch together

and it usually takes me three hours to get him to the main topic.

He also never wanted to end the meeting,

so whenever I wanted to look like I needed to go,

I took off my watch and set it on the table.

However, he still didn’t realize what I meant.

Later, a business partner of both of us told me that he had noticed

that I had a strange habit of taking off my watch during lunch,

and he wondered if I had lost my mind many watches

because this habit does not.

Meeting at a restaurant

Breakfast, lunch,

or dinner meetings are an important part of my workday

because they make everyone feel closer,

more informal, and less formal.

At the same time,

they also help us better understand the partner,

and the partner also becomes more vulnerable

and receptive to all problems.

I am always concerned

with ensuring a relaxed yet work-oriented atmosphere for these meetings.

Therefore, I always follow the following rules

when conducting meetings at restaurants.

First, I rarely meet with more than one person

when I hold meetings at restaurants.

(With two or more people, psychological developments

become more diverse, difficult to understand and difficult to control.)

Secondly, I always book a table for many people

so that when I have a meeting,

I will be able to sit comfortably

Third, I won’t talk about business

until I’ve ordered the food.

I think the beginning of the meeting is so important

to the arrangement of the conversation later,

that I feel uncomfortable when a waiter stands next to me

while I am trying to get to the point.

Finally, although there is no need to go

to restaurants that are too luxurious,

I always believe that holding meetings at restaurants understand

the atmosphere of a business meal,

ensuring comfort and quiet,

relax and prepare special dishes of the day will bring efficiency to our work.

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UNDERSTANDING WORKING HABITS

If you chase two rabbits,

you will not catch either one. — Russian Proverb

Over the years, I have come to understand my work habits well

and organize my work in accordance with this habit.

Early morning is my best time to think

and make phone calls to areas where the workday has started.

I usually get up two to three hours

before my first appointment to do everything from exercise

to reading business reports to making phone calls.

I also often hold meetings early in the morning.

Most of my meetings start at 7:30 or 7:30,

and I usually have two meetings before the start of the workday.

The first thing I do

when I get to work is write down all the things

that need to be done for the day.

So by midday, I’m usually able to feel a little more relaxed,

and by afternoon it’s really nice.

I schedule indefinite appointments and activities at the end of the day,

when I feel most relaxed.

In a week, I spend half of my evenings at work.

The rest, I use to rest and relax.

Usually, people work better in the morning

and start to feel sluggish after lunch.

However, there are also those who do the opposite.

Therefore, it is important

that you understand your time clock and organize your day accordingly.

Once you’ve organized your day at its best, stick to it.

For me, getting the most out of my capacity is directly proportional

to getting the most out of my time.

I always try to control my time rather than letting time control me.

One of the very simple realities of effective personal time management

is working more than 40 hours a week.

No trader can be successful

without working more than 40 hours a week.

In fact, the people

who use the most time are also the people

who know how to use their time most effectively.

These two things always seem to go hand in hand.

By organizing my work to fit my work routine,

planning my leisure time as well as my work time,

and writing down all the to-dos,

I can completely free my mind from thoughts work-related while I rest.

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LEARN TO SAY NO

Investing energy and resources in yesterday prevents you

from creating the future you deserve. – Grant Cardone

Saying no is one of the most effective time-savers.

However, people often feel awkward when they have to do it.

They fear that it might offend others,

they feel they avoid responsibility

or don’t want to have to make a decision at the time.

Saying no and still being polite is a simple thing to do.

A “no” is expressed with hesitation,

regret,

or with a believable excuse

(“If I hadn’t been so pressed for time…”,

“If I had known about this six months ago.”)

can be a definitive answer

and also mean something like:

“I don’t care”

The big problem is that by saying no,

people feel like they might miss out on an opportunity.

I’ve been in this state too,

and I’ve forced myself to say no even though it hurts others.

Not long ago,

we were invited to host a large sponsored sports competition.

Although I knew we could do this,

because the cost of time and manpower was too great,

I refused.

Each opportunity must be viewed in the context of other commitments,

and sometimes you will have to pass up an opportunity.

If you’re feeling confused or overwhelmed,

it’s much easier to say “Let me think about it”

or “Let me call you back” than it is to deal with it right away.

In particular, knowing the answer will be negative

makes you more likely to want to do so.

Of course, these situations won’t go by simply,

and if you don’t take five minutes to deal with them,

it will certainly take longer in the future.

A “no” answer is usually better for everyone.

It didn’t take long for both sides to feel satisfied.

Realizing that you don’t have to deal

with it anymore will make you feel like you’ve accomplished something.

********

MAKE DECISION

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere

with what you can do. — John Wooden 

I know that when Ford is interviewing for a manager position,

they often notice whether the person has added salt

and pepper to the food before tasting it.

They assumed that if he did,

it would mean he was the one

who would make the decision before capturing all the data.

I hope this is not true,

because I think it is not

has nothing to do with decision-making

I know some of the top experts in decision-making

who like to eat spicy food.

The theory above of the Ford company also assumes

that when there is more data, decisions will automatically come.

However, the people I respect most in business are people

who know how to make instant decisions.

They do not claim to know all the facts.

They accept responsibility for wrong decisions

and always believe that most of their decisions are correct.

People often judge a person’s ability

to make decisions based on how quickly

and decisively that person makes decisions

as well as on the actual outcome of the decision.

Intuitive factor

Some companies, when asked the simplest question,

always respond in a way that doesn’t answer at all,

“I think we’ve got some facts on this.”

Decision making is often the result of intuition rather than an analytical process.

The important thing is

that the more data one has to study the more

and become less intuitive.

In fact, in sales,

good timing is often the result of translating sensory perceptions into conscious action.

Decision making is similar,

but in reverse.

It has to take analytical data, facts,

numbers and convert them into sensory perceptions.

If you remove the “feeling” of a decision,

you will not be able to make the best decisions

or may not make any decisions at all.

A scientist at Columbia University conducted a study on the effect

of sound vibrations on killing insects.

In his experiment,

he trained a cockroach

to jump over a pencil in response to the chant “Jump”.

But during the experiment,

the cockroach got stuck in the drawer and

when it tried to get out, it broke some of its legs.

The scientist commented

that after this accident when he shouted “Jump”,

the cockroach remained still.

In the report of his discoveries, he concluded:

“The cockroach was so frightened by the broken leg that he went deaf.”

Facts are instrumental in decision-making,

but (1) they are no substitute for intuition,

(2) they do not make decisions for us,

(3) they are only useful when we have the ability to explain them.

Some people don’t use data in the decision-making process

because they think it only confuses them,

but most people use it to explain their decisions.

Obviously, it is very difficult to make good decisions

based on bad conclusions just to suppress and justify yourself.

Look for signs

The best use of the facts is to study what they indicate.

A red traffic light means you have to stop,

but what it does indicate is that this is a crossroads of traffic

and if you don’t pay attention to it,

you could have unfortunate consequences.

An average decision-maker will say,

“We shouldn’t do that because three people have tried and failed,”

but a good decision maker will find out

what those three people did and didn’t.

what to do before making a similar decision.

Look beyond the signs

The most valuable information for decision making may lie beyond the facts.

Don’t tie yourself to what you already know.

While we are very successful in generating income

for our sports clients after they retire,

this level of income inevitably declines

when they are no longer active extreme anymore.

In fact, this affects the company more than the individual athlete.

For example, when Bjorn Borg decided to retire,

he could still live comfortably on a million dollars and profit fees.

But for the company,

it is no small matter

to maintain a steady rate of yield for him.

It puts constant pressure on us,

forcing us to always look for the “next Mr. Borg”,

even when that person is not available.

To solve this problem,

I decided that I couldn’t see problems in obvious facts

but had to consider all situations.

I decided not only to represent individual athletes

but also sports organisations.

It is this decision that has led us to represent Wimbledon

one of our most successful and consistent representation programs.

This tournament provides us with a solid source of income

to balance representing amateur athletes.

Making effective decisions

for the company is a process of constantly monitoring the situation,

recognizing how new information changes old decisions

and calculating based on that.

Decide on the “elephant” style

A circus keeps a small elephant from running around by tying it to a stake.

When the elephant tugged at the chain,

the circle on his leg squeezed his leg,

and he concluded that it was better

to stay out of pain than standing still.

But when the elephant grew up,

the circus still tied it to a small stake.

Now, the elephant was able

to easily pull the stake from the ground,

but he still remembers the pain of pulling the chain as a child,

so he did not pull the stake away.

The elephant did not know

how to use the new facts when the situation changed.

The small stake still holds a two-ton elephant as effectively as

it holds a baby elephant.

Many managers are too dependent on old data,

the rules no longer apply.

These are the elephant decision makers.

Based on first impressions but

I almost always do things based on first impressions,

but I let them settle for a while.

Decisions often and must involve emotions,

but it is necessary to open the possibilities of choices,

to be able to think about whether

there are issues that we have not considered?

If in the first 24 hours

I don’t notice a problem,

that means there won’t be a problem.

The best decisions must create satisfaction

If immediately after making a decision you feel confused,

it is most likely a bad decision,

not because it was a bad decision,

but because you have ruined its chances of success.

Some decisions are uncertain but still work,

because the person making those decisions is determined

to make them work.

There are also many good decisions

that fail because the decider never overcomes his doubts.

When I decided to create services

and marketing for the Wimbledon tournament,

I ran into all sorts of resistance from people in the company

that would be participating in the program.

First of all,

Wimbledon has been around for over a century,

and if that’s a good idea,

why hasn’t anyone else done it yet?

Second, there’s plenty of evidence to believe

that one might like Borg, Palmer,

or a certain fashion designer,

but no one likes to wear a shirt with a tennis title on the back.

Finally, and most disastrously,

we are at a disadvantage.

More than 25 companies

around the world are using the name “Wimbledon” extensively on their products.

Our legal department doesn’t believe we can clear the market,

and create a better one.

But I believe in my decision

and we are the ones who made it a success.

If at that time

I had shown a lack of confidence in my decisions,

or simply looked for signs that I was wrong,

then I certainly would not have been as successful as I am today.

******

COMMUNICATION IN THE OFFICE

Simplicity is the glory of expression. ― Walt Whitman

I believe that getting things done quickly in the office

and communicating quickly is the result of a matter of style,

not of a system.

I prefer a quick, informal exchange of information rather than a formal one.

I prefer visiting someone else’s office than letting them come to my own

(it’s easier to leave someone else’s office than

to invite someone else to leave my own).

I would rather exchange information with someone in the hallway

or on the phone than arrange formal appointments.

All in all, I feel I can get 90% of the information

I need in these brief, informal meetings.

I often ask my managers to provide “a few lines”

or “a summary of information”

about something rather than a formal report.

When visiting a corporate branch,

I usually spend the last 10 to 15 minutes doing these things.

I will meet a few people to get some ideas

or give them a brief opinion.

These quick, informal exchanges tend to trickle down to organizations

as a form of communication.

Employees often tend to work in the style of leaders

and one of the easiest ways to learn is

how to exchange information.

If a leader is good at communicating,

most of the people who work for him are also good.

If he had a sloppy or long-talking style,

his entire office would certainly follow suit.

A director’s personal style

how good he or she is at communicating contributes positively

to the effectiveness of the organization’s structure.

*******

THINGS YOU SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT WRITE IN PAPER

If you look at what you have in life,

you’ll always have more.

If you look at what you don’t have in life,

you’ll never have enough. — Oprah Winfrey

If there’s a reason to write write it down for future reference,

assert an understanding,

record complex amounts of facts and figures write it.

But if there is no particular reason,

consider whether verbal communication is better,

simpler and more effective.

The most important thing to remember about conveying information

through paper is that it will consume more time

for both you and the reader.

Bob Anderson,

the chairman of Rockwell International,

told me that he always prefers

to hear the problems of his partner rather

than having to read it on paper.

Paper information can cause problems.

How will the recipient of that information have to respond?

What does the sender want to say?

Are there any legal implications or something else?

Is this an advice,

or a threat?

what?

Therefore, we should only communicate through papers

when that issue has been mentioned before.

Here are the rules to follow when writing insider newsletters:

1. Always start with dear;

subject the sender’s name, date and content.

2. Straight to the point.

A short bulletin is more powerful than a long one.

3. Must be simple.

Bulletins are used for communication, not discussion.

If you send out a complex piece of information,

people will talk back about the content in that newsletter.

Statements expressing personal positions

or opinions can often lead to heated debates.

4. If the information sheet is controversial,

do not reply immediately.

Otherwise, it could affect you for years to come.

5. Archives are also useful.

They help you get information that you have forgotten.

The data in the archived information sheet is recorded

with more confidence than the information

that you recall after a long time.

And the archives do not require the reader to respond.

The last point I want to mention in paperwork in general

and newsletters in particular is

that I always try to write newsletters

that can be read once and then thrown away.

However, I do the same with other correspondence.

I really enjoy throwing papers in the trash,

I probably do with 95% of my papers.

There are also times

when I throw something away and then regret it again.

But, I think it still helps

because I don’t have to deal with the rest of the paperwork.

This reminds me of the story of Lew Wasserman

and his famous late-night trashings at the MCA.

Although it’s hard to believe,

I’ve heard it so many times

that it should really happen whether it is or not.

Wasserman often burst into MCA offices near midnight

and threw all the papers he saw left on anyone’s desk in the trash.

The next day, he told his outraged managers:

“If you don’t get the job done before you leave,

the work isn’t worth it.”

Apparently, that’s Wasserman’s way of making some employees aware of

how they spend their time.

So, some people who see me around the time

I’m about to leave work often joke,

“Mark, you’re probably not that busy.

There are no papers on your desk…”

*******

OFFICE ORGANIZATION

Be sure you put your feet in the right place,

then stand firm. ― Abraham Lincoln 

I believe that the neatness,

cleanliness of an office can have a profound effect on the time

it takes to get a job done.

When you walk into a sloppy office,

you will also feel sloppy.

We always ask employees in the company to clean their desks

and not eat lunch at the desk.

However, our employees often think of me as an inquisitive person.

In fact, this is a very important thing.

The level of efficiency of an office is directly proportional

to the form of that office.

Many offices are organized

and arranged in a very complicated and inconvenient way

the photocopying room is located several floors away

from the specialized departments that use it;

the typing departments are set up in separate rooms

and are located on the same floor of the accounting

and finance department;

they always carry papers from one room

and store them in another.

Rearranging the position

and reorganizing the office does not take you much time.

If professionals at work spend more time organizing their departments,

they’ll see work progress much more quickly.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future;

it is something you design for the present. – Jim Rohn