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Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time
Effectiveness, Stack says, is identifying and achieving the best objectives for your organization doing the right things. Efficiency is accomplishing them with the least amount of time, effort, and cost doing things right. If you're not clear on both, you're wasting your time. Stack identifies twelve practices that will enable executives to be effective and efficient, grouped into three areas where leaders spend their time, called 3T Leadership: Strategic Thinking (business), Teamwork (employees), and Tactics (self). For each practice, Stack offers advice from her twenty-five years in the trenches working with thousands of leaders globally. You'll receive scores of new ideas on how you, your team, and your organization can boost productivity."
Audio CD
First published January 18, 2016
35 people are currently reading
523 people want to read
About the author
Laura Stack
119 books27 followersLaura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE, is best known by her moniker “The Productivity Pro®.” Stack is an award-winning keynote speaker, bestselling author, and noted authority on sales, leadership, and team productivity. She is the President & CEO of The Productivity Pro, Inc., a boutique consulting firm helping leaders increase workplace performance in high-stress environments.
For over 30 years, Laura Stack’s keynote speeches and seminars have helped associations and Fortune 1000 corporations improve output, increase speed in execution, and save time in the office. She is a high-energy, high-content speaker, who educates, entertains, and motivates professionals to deliver bottom-line results. Stack is a member of the prestigious CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, which has fewer than 200 members worldwide). She has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association, of which she was its president in 2011-2012.
Laura Stack is the bestselling author of nine books published by Random House, Wiley, and Berrett-Koehler, including her newest, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story (Freiling, July 2021). Her books have been published in more than 20 foreign editions, and she is a featured columnist for the American Business Journal, LinkedIn, Time Management, and Productive magazines. Stack has produced more than 50 online productivity training programs.
Laura Stack has been featured nationally on the CBS Early Show, CNN, NPR, Bloomberg, the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and Forbes magazine. Stack has been a spokesperson for Fellowes, Microsoft, 3M, Skillsoft, Office Depot, Day-Timer, and Xerox. Her client list includes top Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Aramark, Bank of America, GM, Wells Fargo, and Time Warner, plus government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Air Force Academy, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Senate, and the Department of Defense.
For over 30 years, Laura Stack’s keynote speeches and seminars have helped associations and Fortune 1000 corporations improve output, increase speed in execution, and save time in the office. She is a high-energy, high-content speaker, who educates, entertains, and motivates professionals to deliver bottom-line results. Stack is a member of the prestigious CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, which has fewer than 200 members worldwide). She has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association, of which she was its president in 2011-2012.
Laura Stack is the bestselling author of nine books published by Random House, Wiley, and Berrett-Koehler, including her newest, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story (Freiling, July 2021). Her books have been published in more than 20 foreign editions, and she is a featured columnist for the American Business Journal, LinkedIn, Time Management, and Productive magazines. Stack has produced more than 50 online productivity training programs.
Laura Stack has been featured nationally on the CBS Early Show, CNN, NPR, Bloomberg, the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and Forbes magazine. Stack has been a spokesperson for Fellowes, Microsoft, 3M, Skillsoft, Office Depot, Day-Timer, and Xerox. Her client list includes top Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Aramark, Bank of America, GM, Wells Fargo, and Time Warner, plus government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Air Force Academy, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Senate, and the Department of Defense.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 19, 2017
what'd you'd expect, but pretty standard for a leadership / management text
August 22, 2017
I read this book thanks to Blinkist.
The key message in this book:
As an executive you are responsible for the environment in your company, and for the performance of your team. You are their leader, but you’ll find productivity only when you act like you’re a part of the team. That means establishing goals, being respectful and, perhaps most importantly, looking out for the team’s (and your own) well-being.
Actionable advice:
Don’t overthink it.
The next time you need to make an important decision and you’re torn between several options, don’t think too much. Simply compare the possible benefits and repercussions of every action, ask yourself what’s best for your team and business, listen to your gut – and act.
The key message in this book:
As an executive you are responsible for the environment in your company, and for the performance of your team. You are their leader, but you’ll find productivity only when you act like you’re a part of the team. That means establishing goals, being respectful and, perhaps most importantly, looking out for the team’s (and your own) well-being.
Actionable advice:
Don’t overthink it.
The next time you need to make an important decision and you’re torn between several options, don’t think too much. Simply compare the possible benefits and repercussions of every action, ask yourself what’s best for your team and business, listen to your gut – and act.
Read
August 31, 2017هر مدیر باید اصول و قواعد را در جهت اهداف سازمان یا شرکت پیش ببرد وبه سلامتی خود افرادتوجه داشته باشد.نظرسنجی می تواند از افراد صورت گیرد در جهت بهبود
September 22, 2017
Good Book for a leader who manages a team.
October 10, 2017
General leadership advice
January 27, 2021
Good information if you needed a refresher (and who doesn't) ? Not much that is fresh or new however.
May 21, 2021
Leaders must set the right kinds of goals and communicate them effectively to the team. make sure the goal is perfectly aligned with the company’s strategy.
-Remind your team of what’s expected in a simple and straightforward way.
-Make sure everyone knows exactly how they’re contributing to the goal.
-And provide both written and verbal instructions to ensure there’s no misunderstanding.
A leader must be willing to adapt along with the changing marketplace and act on their ideas.
Results are what matter most in business, and there are no results without action. And action, of course, requires a plan.
To do excellent work, a team must have the tools they need and be properly motivated.
If you push your team to work hard, you’ll get amazing results from those promising employees who get bored when they’re not being challenged. This is crucial, because a lack of inspiration anywhere in the team will spread like wildfire. All it takes is one bored person to damage the morale of the entire team.
Also, keep an eye out for unnecessary paperwork or redundant procedures that might be slowing things down. Sometimes, the way things are being done can create problems.
There are many ways to motivate your team, and it’s also important to establish mutual respect.
it’s the leader’s job to motivate their team and get them to care about the work they do.
avoid micromanaging. Motivated employees need a sense of ownership
To be efficient, prioritize your work, don’t overload on data and remember to take care of yourself.
To sort out your work and make sure you’re doing what really needs to be done, adopt a triage mentality and rank your tasks by how important and productive they really are.
limit the time you spend gathering data and you’ll be more productive and make better decisions.
Don’t overthink it.
The next time you need to make an important decision and you’re torn between several options, don’t think too much. Simply compare the possible benefits and repercussions of every action, ask yourself what’s best for your team and business, listen to your gut – and act.
-Remind your team of what’s expected in a simple and straightforward way.
-Make sure everyone knows exactly how they’re contributing to the goal.
-And provide both written and verbal instructions to ensure there’s no misunderstanding.
A leader must be willing to adapt along with the changing marketplace and act on their ideas.
Results are what matter most in business, and there are no results without action. And action, of course, requires a plan.
To do excellent work, a team must have the tools they need and be properly motivated.
If you push your team to work hard, you’ll get amazing results from those promising employees who get bored when they’re not being challenged. This is crucial, because a lack of inspiration anywhere in the team will spread like wildfire. All it takes is one bored person to damage the morale of the entire team.
Also, keep an eye out for unnecessary paperwork or redundant procedures that might be slowing things down. Sometimes, the way things are being done can create problems.
There are many ways to motivate your team, and it’s also important to establish mutual respect.
it’s the leader’s job to motivate their team and get them to care about the work they do.
avoid micromanaging. Motivated employees need a sense of ownership
To be efficient, prioritize your work, don’t overload on data and remember to take care of yourself.
To sort out your work and make sure you’re doing what really needs to be done, adopt a triage mentality and rank your tasks by how important and productive they really are.
limit the time you spend gathering data and you’ll be more productive and make better decisions.
Don’t overthink it.
The next time you need to make an important decision and you’re torn between several options, don’t think too much. Simply compare the possible benefits and repercussions of every action, ask yourself what’s best for your team and business, listen to your gut – and act.
January 28, 2016
Even the title sums up what it is we should be aiming to achieve ie doing the right things right most of the time. As the author says an add-on or an extension to Drucker's wisdom. I have to say this is a but if a must read for execs
Read
August 17, 2017The must-have reference book on the shelf
Read
September 27, 2017read on blinkist
February 10, 2019
This book's title borrows from Peter Drucker's famous distinction that management is doing things right and leadership is doing the right things. In the introduction, Slack says that she aspires to update Drucker's work on the executive worker for the Internet age. She does just that, incorporating advice for new situations throughout her work while remaining true to Drucker's principles.
That being said, she is no Drucker. Drucker's strength is focusing on the concepts in management. Most managers write management books as a bunch of tips. Drucker instead focuses on how to think as a manager. This is likely because Drucker never worked as a manager himself. He just coached managers in founding the field of management. He is the ultimate psychologist of management.
It's a high task to ask Slack to fill Drucker's shoes. In so doing, she reverts back to the "tips" style of writing, focusing on how to manage situations instead of how to think as a manager. She is compatible with Drucker's way of thinking, no doubt. And for this, she deserves a B or a B-minus. But somewhere along the way, she began to focus on situations more than thought.
I find reading books like hers nonetheless helpful check-ups on carrying myself at work. Management is more than being a manager. It is comporting one's self in a professional manner. It is managing one's own affairs rightly. It is prioritizing. It is making good judgments about resource allocation and conflict resolution.
Slack's book indeed touches on all of these areas and does an above-average job in each. She thinks through how email impacts time management and how the Information Superhighway impacts Drucker's concept of the knowledge worker well. (Doing email in bursts and segmenting time away from email helps productivity; the Internet discourages worker loyalty.)
I'm going to queue in my On Deck section Drucker's The Effective Executive, on which this book was patterned. I suspect Drucker will outclass Slack significantly in the ways described. Perhaps if I could find this book on audiobook, I would just read more of my favorite on management: Peter Drucker.
That being said, she is no Drucker. Drucker's strength is focusing on the concepts in management. Most managers write management books as a bunch of tips. Drucker instead focuses on how to think as a manager. This is likely because Drucker never worked as a manager himself. He just coached managers in founding the field of management. He is the ultimate psychologist of management.
It's a high task to ask Slack to fill Drucker's shoes. In so doing, she reverts back to the "tips" style of writing, focusing on how to manage situations instead of how to think as a manager. She is compatible with Drucker's way of thinking, no doubt. And for this, she deserves a B or a B-minus. But somewhere along the way, she began to focus on situations more than thought.
I find reading books like hers nonetheless helpful check-ups on carrying myself at work. Management is more than being a manager. It is comporting one's self in a professional manner. It is managing one's own affairs rightly. It is prioritizing. It is making good judgments about resource allocation and conflict resolution.
Slack's book indeed touches on all of these areas and does an above-average job in each. She thinks through how email impacts time management and how the Information Superhighway impacts Drucker's concept of the knowledge worker well. (Doing email in bursts and segmenting time away from email helps productivity; the Internet discourages worker loyalty.)
I'm going to queue in my On Deck section Drucker's The Effective Executive, on which this book was patterned. I suspect Drucker will outclass Slack significantly in the ways described. Perhaps if I could find this book on audiobook, I would just read more of my favorite on management: Peter Drucker.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews