Lessons From a 103 Year Old Productivity Technique

Have you at any time caught your self partaking in efficiency envy? Some individuals complete so a great deal, still it would seem like no matter how hard you get the job done, your activity checklist retains expanding and you never experience like you’ve got manufactured major development.

Whilst there are a lot of “productiveness resources” and hacks that assure instantaneous efficiency at lightning speed all you have to have is one sheet of paper.

Charles M. Schwab, was president of the Bethlehem Metal Company, the most significant shipbuilder, the 2nd-greatest metal producer in The united states, and 1 of the richest men in the earth.

Schwab was continually searching for new methods to strengthen the effectiveness of his organization and preserve an edge around his levels of competition.

Ivy Lee, a properly-identified advisor in productiveness and administration, effective businessman, and a pioneer in public relations arranged for a conference with Schwab. (As retold by Charles “Large” Jones in his reserve “Leadership Is For You”, pp. 42-44. (1968)

Schwab mentioned, “Clearly show us a way to get more matters carried out, I am going to be happy to hear to you. And, if it will work, I am going to pay out you whichever you question within explanation.”

Lee responded, “If that is what you want, I will show you a strategy that will increase your personal administration performance, and that of any person else who applies it, by at minimum fifty percent.”

This daring assure intrigued the organization mogul.

Lee “handed Schwab a blank piece of paper and claimed, “Create down the most crucial items you have to do tomorrow.”

Schwab took about five minutes to do this.

Lee then requested Schwab to variety them in the order of their true relevance. (This took a small more time for Schwab.)

Lee then shared the very last step of this straightforward program, “The initially factor tomorrow early morning, get started performing on merchandise Amount 1, and keep with it right until it is concluded. Then just take item Selection 2 the exact same way. Then Variety 3, and so on.”

“You will have completed the most critical projects before getting to the considerably less vital ones. If you won’t be able to finish all that you prepared for tomorrow with this technique, you can find no other way you would have completed. And without the need of this system you possibly would have taken a great deal more time to complete what you set out to do, with no getting treatment of matters in the purchase of their real benefit to you and your corporation.”

Lee then encouraged Schwab to do this each and every doing the job working day. Just after he experienced convinced himself of the worth of this program, have his adult males try it.

He shut the assembly by declaring, “check out it as extended as you like, and then deliver me your verify for whichever you think the idea is well worth.”

Charles Schwab and his executive workforce at Bethlehem Metal applied Ivy Lee’s System for productiveness with excellent achievement. 3 months later on, Schwab sent a verify for $25,000 to Ivy Lee. ($25,000 in 1918 is equivalent to $475,318 in 2021.)

Schwab stated that this lesson was the most successful just one he learned in his organization occupation. It was afterwards said that this was the approach mostly dependable for turning a very little steel organization into a person of the most significant producers in the entire world.”

Ivy Lee’s 4 phase approach for achieving peak productiveness:

1.) At the close of every do the job day, write down the six most crucial points you require to carry out tomorrow. Do not generate down far more than 6 tasks.

2.) Prioritize people 6 items in purchase of their real relevance.

3.) When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first process. Do the job right up until the first process is completed just before moving on to the 2nd activity.

4.) Method the relaxation of your listing in the exact style. At the end of the day, shift any unfinished goods to a new record of six duties for the subsequent working day.

Repeat this course of action just about every operating working day.

Many companies about the very last 103 many years have made use of Ivy Lee’s procedure for peak efficiency with terrific good results. It is all about concentrating on “running priorities effectively”.

I promise you, this will overcome your case of productivity envy!

Permit me know how it functions for you!