Posts Tagged momentum
Is Multi-tasking the Antithesis of Productivity?
An article on yesterday’s CNN discusses the findings that multi-tasking is dangerous. The premise is that those that multitask are easily distracted by minor pieces of information. People lose focus and become less effective. In some cases this can be dangerous (eg. driving).
A book titled Fast Innovation by The George Group presents the idea that people that switch between projects take longer to get all the projects done than those that focus on one project at a time. The typical switching cost is about 20 minutes every time you switch. Going from project A to project B takes up 20 minutes of time refocusing on a new project.
Why do people multitask?
- Is it a lack of being able to prioritize which should get done first?
- Is it a lack of getting buyin from others as to which projects should get priority?
- Is it a sign of ADHD/ADD that is becoming more prevalent in our society?
- Is it because people look more at how many things you get done rather than the quality of the finished work or the timeliness?
I think it is a combination of all three. This definitely affects a startup in how they get things done. Investors look at the momentum of a startup not the number of things they get done. If a startup does one thing that makes them a million dollars, its better than four things that got them a million dollars (or typically four things that got them a half a million).
Do you multitask? Why? What is your answer to my questions? Is this multitasking really helping you? Can you try to cut down on the multitasking and focus more?
One thing to try: Turn off your email program and open it only four times a day. You might be surprised by the results (more productivity).
Multitasking has gotten out of control and we are losing productivity because of it. Get it under control and increase your productivity.
Momentum
All investors want to see that your company has momentum. This means that you are consistently moving forward, making milestones, setting schedules, conducting meetings, selling products, and opening up new avenues. They want to see evidence of teamwork…essentially, a real company.
Momentum is the tendency of a person or group to repeat recent success. (Dictionary.com)
Are you repeating success?
Ask yourself two questions:
- What did we accomplish last week?
- What do we know today that we did not know at the beginning of last week?
If the answer is “nothing” to either question, then you have a momentum problem.
Some very simple steps:
- Set some Goals or, whether they can be done today, this week, this month or take several months.
- Identify what objectives need to be accomplished to hit those goals.
- Break down each objective into smaller tasks.
- Identify how those tasks will get done, who will do them and when they will get done.
- Write everything down.
- Distribute it to the team.
- What tasks will you and your team do this week?
- Get focused on those tasks.
- Follow-up on what everyone is doing.
Every Monday morning, repeat this by re-examining what you set down before. Celebrate team accomplishments.
You will notice after a while that your business now has momentum. Investors will see this.