Four tips to be more effective at work, as inspired by Ben Hammersley, one of the world’s leading futurists.
- Maximise on Humanness
Find the functions in business that are driven by human thought, maximise these and you will be more effective. Can a robot do this job?If yes, find modern technology that your company can implement to free up your time to focus on the tasks that truly add value to your business. Do what only you can do, outsource the rest. - Schedule thinking time
The workplace used to be the only space that had the technology required to perform your job. However, with ever-evolving unified communication systems, we are better enabled than ever for remote & flexible working practices.
Yet, not all businesses have caught up? That’s why it is important if you do have to be in the office, to take moments to yourself. This will help you maintain balance, focus and ensure you are working efficiently. Take a moment for yourself. - Ask for help. Don’t work in isolation
Following from the previous point, leading experts in innovation, from Scott Berkun to Tom Kelley, continually reinforce the view that innovation and creativity is not a game for soloists. In 2012, Forrester Research surveyed marketers to discover the biggest blocks to innovation; 30% said it was a lack of internal collaboration and 33% said it was due to poor external collaboration. Fitzpatrick and Collins-Sussman, two senior engineers from Google, point out that no matter how smart you may be “Working in Isolation Leads to Disappointment’. The answer? Improve the richnessof our collaboration skills, through effective listening, questioning, open dialogue and knowledge sharing – it’s as simple as setting up a Skype conference. Get together and collaborate if you want to be more effective at work. - Be mindful. Question absolutely everything
Why am I doing this? What problem am I solving? And find new and interesting technologies to help solve your daily tasks. A simple example, cleaning your teeth. The problem you are solving – dental hygiene. “You have to be really ruthless. If you look at the most successful companies of the past decade, the ones that have been really successful have been ones that have been deeply ruthless about focus.” If you have to ask “why?”, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
These four tips to be more effective at work were inspired by Ben Hammersley, from our latest Hunterlodge event:
In a Tech Mad world… who is really in control of effectiveness?
Watch the trailer and sign up to watch the full event video.
