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(https://blog.weekdone.com/10-productivity-pillars-successful-
company/)
Ott Jgi (https://blog.weekdone.com/author/ott/) 9 min read (https://getpocket.com/edit?
url=https://blog.weekdone.com/10-productivity-pillars-successful-
company/&title=10+Productivity+Pillars+of+a+Successful+Company)

There are a lot of tips and tricks about personal productivity

(https://blog.weekdone.com/10-infographics-that-make-you-more-
productive-at-work/), but not much has been written about company
productivity. These 10 productivity tactics will help you to get the job done
on a team and company level.
1st Pillar: Set the example
It might be a cliche, but before you start teaching others to be productive
you have to get your own house in order. According to
(https://hbr.org/2016/01/how-to-boost-your-teams-productivity ) Elizabeth
Grace Saunders time management coach, you as a leader have to be
smart about how you use the hours of your own workday. The meetings
you attend, the emails you respond to, and the projects you sign on for so
your team can follow your lead.

If youre stretched and overloaded, you cant think strategically about your
own time let alone anyone elses said Saunders. So, the rst pillar of any
organization is to make time for work that matters, so your team can follow
your lead.

2nd Pillar: Seek out crisis

Usually companies do anything to avoid a disaster, but it turns out every

crisis has its own benets. As the former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel
once said: You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. It provides the
opportunity for us to do things that you couldn't do before

Furthermore, according to the best-selling author Charles Duhigg

(http://charlesduhigg.com/books/the-power-of-habit/), a company with
dysfunctional habits won't change simply because a leader orders it. Make
use out of crisis to cultivate the need for change and new productive
habits.
3rd Pillar: Share and track eciency goals
Harvard MBA study
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2014/04/08/why-you-should-be-
writing-down-your-goals/#42177f7a2f14) found that people with goals
achieve 10x as much as people with no goals. Therefore, as a leader it is
smart to use some kind of goal-setting method within your company in
order to increase the overall productivity.

The best method that companies like Google, LinkedIn and others have
used is Objectives and Key Results
(https://weekdone.com/resources/objectives-key-results?
utm_campaign=https://blog.weekdone.com/10-productivity-pillars-
successful-
company/&utm_source=blog.weekdone.com&utm_content=blogcontent).
It is a perfect methodology to show and imagine what success looks like. It
also helps employees to see the bigger picture and helps them to
understand how their objectives align with the overall company goals.

How OKRs work?

1. Dene 3-5 key objectives for one quarter.

2. Under each dene 3-4 measurable results.
3. Set and monitor weekly plans according to your quarterly objectives.

For a more thorough introduction to OKRs we recommend to read this

article (https://blog.weekdone.com/introduction-okr-objectives-key-
results/?
utm_source=resources.weekdone.com&utm_campaign=resources) or see
how other companies have been using OKRs to be successful OKR case
studies (https://weekdone.com/case-studies#okr?
utm_campaign=https://blog.weekdone.com/10-productivity-pillars-
successful-
company/&utm_source=blog.weekdone.com&utm_content=blogcontent).

4th Pillar: Crowdsource productivity methods

Teams are known to achieve better chemistry and results if there is a place
or a forum to share ideas. We at Weekdone urge leaders to implement a
suitable brainstorming format to generate ideas within your team. There is
a lot of different formats out there (http://www.inc.com/john-boitnott/10-
longtime-brainstorming-techniques-that-still-work.html) to choose from.

The benets of brainstorming and sharing ideas are essentially getting

ideas, solving problems and generally being better as a team. Furthermore,
create a idea bank where everyone can contribute. Crowdsourcing
productivity methods leads to quicker problem solving and improved
engagement. For these reasons, ask your team to share and implement
personal productivity tips to increase employee buy-in and overall
eciency.

5th Pillar: Clarify expectations and offer autonomy

According to a productivity coach (https://hbr.org/2016/01/how-to-boost-
your-teams-productivity), the key to improving individual productivity is to
eliminate or delegate unimportant tasks and replace them with value-
added ones. The last thing you want is for someone to begin his day
thinking, I have seven projects to work on, where do I start? Be clear
about your expectations and don't micromanage
(https://blog.weekdone.com/lead-or-manage-6-symptoms-
micromanager/):

1. Describe the outcome you want to achieve

2. Say how much time you expect people to spend on a particular task
3. Get out of the way and give people permission to make decisions

6th Pillar: Shift from process to principles-based

management
Although rare, there are companies that have made the shift from process
to principles-based management. Companies like
(https://hbr.org/2016/06/how-leaders-can-let-go-without-losing-control)
Red Hat, Wikipedia, Google, Amazon and Visa. Good decision principles
help managers to let go without losing control and enable people make
everyday decisions in diverse settings.

Create a doctrine to empower decision making across the organization.

1. Frame a mission statement that has a shared purpose and explain how
the purpose will be fullled.
2. Transform your existing values into decision principles.
3. Find real-world decisions and reverse engineer the most effective
principles.
4. Help people apply them to daily decisions.

According to HBR (https://hbr.org/2016/06/how-leaders-can-let-go-

without-losing-control), Amazon Leadership Principles arent just a pretty
inspirational wall hanging. These Principles work hard, just like the people
do. Amazonians use them, every day, whether theyre discussing ideas for
new projects, deciding on the best solution for a customers problem, or
interviewing candidates. Good decision principles help people make
everyday decisions in diverse settings.

7th Pillar: Provide instant access to workplace info

Such an obvious suggestion to increase productivity, yet poor
communication is responsible for most of the troubles inside an
organization. In fact, 86% of employees (http://www.erceinc.com/about-
erce/press-room/press-releases/new-study-86-percent-of-employees-cite-
lack-of-collaboration-for-workplace-failures) cite lack of collaboration for
workplace failures.

Therefore, as a leader you can save a lot of time and energy by offering a
reliable place where people can easily nd, edit and share all the necessary
information. Tools like Google Docs, Dropbox and Slack. In addition, if you
need a tool to help employees see what others are working on, I would
suggest to try out Weekdone (http://weekdone.com?
utm_campaign=https://blog.weekdone.com/10-productivity-pillars-
successful-
company/&utm_source=blog.weekdone.com&utm_content=blogcontent).

8th Pillar: Teach people how to block their time

Since we are talking about productivity, time management is a key part in
increasing your personal and team productivity. Again, such an obvious
advice, but people still multitask and I feel an obligation to warn you that it
comes with a price. Multitasking makes people slower and dumber. In fact,
their productivity falls up tp 40%.

Great way to save time and be more ecient is to block your time:

1. Identify your high priority tasks according to your OKRs

 2. Break tasks down into chunks and block out a time for each
3. Use a calendar or a tool to visually block your time
4. Schedule breaks and turn off all the distractions (Yes, your phone too!)

9th Pillar: Get over setbacks quicker

Evolutionary psychology (https://hbr.org/2016/06/teach-your-team-to-
expect-success) has taught us that human beings are hard-wired to over-
analyze the negatives. And it is your job as a leader to help others get over
the setbacks quicker and therefore increase the productivity of your
company.

1. Set yourself up for success. Before a task, imagine possible

roadblocks and plan how you will get over them.
2. Shift the focus from failure to possibilities. After a setback, help
people identify the problems and ask what they learned.

10th Pillar: Measure productivity

One of the building blocks of productivity is measuring it in order to see
your improvement. Productivity is measured in terms of the rate of output
per unit of input. According to Hungton Post
(http://www.hungtonpost.com/laura-stack/awesome-eciency-ve-
ways-productivity_b_6724682.html ), you should measure as much as you
can. Keep an eye on all the metrics that matter for your team, from hours
worked and reports produced to productivity per hour.

Use an accountability system (http://weekdon.com), project management

software, SharePoint, a common spreadsheet on Google Docs, Outlook
Task Assignments, or a scoreboarding system that tracks important team
metrics (https://blog.weekdone.com/understand-your-team-better-5-point-
ratings-dashboard/).

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