I just recently watch a Dave Allen GTD Webcast and thought I'd post my notes as future reference.
Organizational Pressure Points (Process Issues)
· Decision Making (slow)
· Communication (telling people what they need to know)
· Accountabilities
o who owns stuff?
o Is this yours or mine?
o If two people own it then no one does
o Fingers point back and fourth
· Stress
o Over commitment (eyes bigger than their stomach)
o Easy to start 14 new projects, but hard to drop 14 projects
o New stuff means chop old stuff, otherwise stress factor gets high
· Trust
o You need trust
· Executive Exposure
o All the above
People need to walk out of a meeting with a good feeling and knowing what they need to do.
Knowledge Work Athletics
· Clearing
o Clean up
o Brain dump
o Clean out the weeds
o Clean the garage
· Focusing
o Unfocused = unproductive
o Needs training
o Why are we here today
o What are we trying to get done today
o Shifting focus can improve productivity
· Streamlining
o If your system is inefficient, the competition will have the upperhand
o Lots of holes and gaps in personal systems
o Get better systems in place
· Engaging
o Need to have action clarification
o What's the next step
o Figure out what needs to get done
o Do it
o "Too smart to start"
o People become the bottleneck with too much information in their heads and on their desks.
· Mismanaged Commitments create stress and drag
· Handling "open loops"
o Eliminates drag on systems
o Frees up attention for higher-level thinking
o Get the mundane out of the way to free up your mind
· To manage your commitments you must
· Know what they are, then
o Un-make them,
o Keep them, or
o Renegotiate them
o Keep them out of your leaky mind
Check with direct reports, are they still working on what they should be working on? Should they be working on what they are working on?
Keep track of commitments keep them in your face.
Most people feel best about their jobs right before vacation, because they get their stuff in order. Renegotiate their agreements
Focusing
· Stuff = things that have our attention, but are out of focus
o Somethings landed in your world and you still need to decide what to do with it.
o Do something with it and it reduces drag
· Fundemental Focus Questions:
o Whats the desired outcome?
o What's the next action?
What do you want to be when you grow up, how do you allocate your resources to make it happen?
Projects need thought
Six levels of outcomes and commitment
· 50,000 ft (purpose & values)
o The mission statement
· 40,000 ft (vision)
o position in the world 3-5 year horizon (past 6 mos in SW is a visionary)
· 30,000 ft (goals)
o 12 - 18 month windows, strategic plans, what needs to get done to make the vision happen
· 20,000 ft (areas of responsibility)
o Staffing, job description, in life (family, relationships, etc), Steven Covey - roles in life etc.
· 10,000 ft (projects)
o 30-100 projects, something to finish which needs more than 1 step. Takes a few months to finish. Very operational.
· Runway (actions)
o SNA's
o Buy computer
o Buy nails
o Board and nail
· Streamlining
o Inefficient systems drain energy
o Is execution managed with the least possible effort?
Need what you need to have where you want to have it
Have your call list when you have your cell phone
Engaging
· Take a little risk
· Take actions
· Lack of action decisions promotes procrastination, stress, and bottlenecking
· Action focus, empowers, clarifies accountability, and triggers real thinking
Executive Workflow Coaching
· Collect
o Fill up the in-basket
· Process
o Go through the in-baskets
· Organize
o Outlook
o Folders
o Pocket pc
o You need a tool, but it can be anything
· Review
· Do
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