Brett Arends : https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettarends/2014/06/02/ten-things-i-learned-at-mckinsey-co/#260007cd5c7f
A manager once told me his number one personal productivity tool was sitting down for ten minutes, at the end of every work day, and writing out his to-do list for the next day.
I remember something similar in "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" by D Carnegie - the laggards leave the office early to "go spend time with the family" whereas the go-getters plan the next day.
Shame on me though :)
But, wait! What are the ten things this person learned at McKinsey?
- There are no experts in business - they've just mastered the "act". There's a reason they pay these young smart consultants from McKinseay and Bain.
- The answers are usually hidden in plain sight. That is, the information is accessible. It takes so analysis to convert it into actionable insights.
- MBAs are a waste of money. This person did two years of history at Oxford and concluded : in a few weeks of formal study, you can learn enough about economics, finance and strategy. It helps to read about two dozen good books on strategy. (I guess speed reading comes naturally to someone who's doing a PhD in history at Oxford😊)
- No jerks. Ever. Would colleagues want to sit next to you on a long flight? (the "flight test"). Bascially : follow the no a$$hole rule!
- Everything's a grid. As in - important/urgent risk/reward pain/gain.
- The basics matter - agenda before meeting, lead time planning for next day, minutes and next-steps!
- Start at the end and go backwards. State the hypothesis and look for evidence the supports/contradicts.
- Don't look to consultants to save your company. They can only offer recommendations.
- Everyone is in sales - like it or not.
- Manage upwards - handy for the case that your company doesn't follow rule 4 😊 Example : DD works for "the Rottweiler" who works his team to death. Predecessors who burnt out focused on mastering work-work while DD mastered meta-work - in this case, he figured out the office phone-system so he figured out a way to let the Rottweiler's calls go to voicemail. He'd listen to the message at his leisure, do the bare minimum and then use the phone system to record a message to his boss to be delivered later - at 10:30 at night! The Rottweiler was actually telling DD that he was working too hard!
BTW, Brett Arends is the guy who claimed he was going to invest in Russian stocks back in 2014. How did that play out?
