Saturday, May 7, 2011

Recommend "Getting Things Done" as a good read for all managers

I just finished the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and recommend it for any manager who is constantly inundated with requests, needs, unfinished business, and "to do lists" at home and work.

This book provides a personal productivity system for organizing and completing all the ongoing activities in your life. Even if you don't apply the entire system that David Allen presents, there are enough good tips and tools to make it worth reading.

One of David's best suggestions is getting "open loops" out of your head and onto a written record. These are the things that you know you need to do but haven't completed, and all to often, haven't started. These often mentally nag at you and can easily lead to stress and feelings of being overwhelmed as they pile up. Having them out of your head provides immediate piece of mind because you can now see the list in its entirety and begin the task of prioritization and planning

As anyone familiar with Lean and Agile management, there is a lot of power in having visual tools that can be used for quick reference on the status of ongoing activities

A second very good recommendation is David's focus on "what's the next action". It almost a mantra from the book. For everything you need to do, you should decide "what is the next action". This must be a very specific next step to take. Once this next action is identified, you then decide whether to do it, delegate it, or defer it. Whether it's a home improvement task or an important business meeting, the best way to get things done is to be very clear on what the specific next step is in completing the activity. Don't leave the activity open ended. Rather make sure you know who is doing what and by when to keep the ball moving forward. Implementing these two key tips of 1) organizing what you need to do, and 2) deciding what the next action is to get it done is a simple, but often unused, tip to increasing your personal performance. 

David does a very good job in explaining his system which provides value whether you implement the entire productivity program or just a couple helpful tips. If you prefer audiobooks, the version read by David Allen himself is a very good listen.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Another good podcast for Managers: "What Great Bosses Know"

For those who read my blog or know me well, you know I love podcasts, especially great educational podcasts that are free-of-charge. Between podcasts and audiobooks, my commute has become very enjoyable and I don't mind getting stuck in traffic while listening to a great presentation or book.

I came across another great management how-to podcast. It's called "What Great Bosses Know" and can be freely downloaded from iTunes or listened to directly at the link http://poynter.podomatic.com/. Like my favorite podcast "ManagerTools", "What Great Bosses Know" gives advice that you can immediately implement. Unlike many so called informational seminars or training sessions that speak in generalities, this podcast gives concrete advice and tells you what to do to improve at work. You can listen to it during your morning commute and literally implement the advice when you get to work.

Each podcast is only 3 to 4 minutes long so it's great for short periods of listening time.

As always, let me know if you come across a podcast that you recommend. I'm always on the lookout for great advice. The key is to never stop learning.

Friday, March 18, 2011

"Building a Business" is a very good series of podcast seminars for entrepreneurs

I recommend the podcast series "Building a Business" for anyone interested in entrepreneurship and starting their own business. This is true regardless of what industry you're in and is definitely appropriate for someone interested in starting a biotech/med device company. This podcast series is freely available from iTunesU and is a set of recordings of entrepreneurship lectures from Oxford University.

The series provides 9 very nice overviews on key topic areas, including:
Writing a business plan
Intellectual property
Negotiation skills
Venture Capital deals

Each seminar has a different presenter, so they do vary in quality and clarity. Overall, they are all a good listen and very informative. I particularly enjoyed the podcasts entitled "Taking the First Steps", "Intellectual Property", "Negotiation Skills", and "Entrepreneurship and the Ideal Business Plan".

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