When Ricardo Semler, heir to the family business, took over a huge corporation at the age of twenty, he was full of the most incredible ideas and plans, and his enthusiasm seemed to know no bounds. But a year later everything changed.
“… My throat constantly hurts,” Ricardo told the doctor, “antibiotics no longer help. There are fainting spells from time to time. I take medication for heart palpitations and migraines. I have gastritis, and during the day I have to drink milk for heartburn. Because of a sore throat, I cannot eat solid food in the morning, and in the evenings I am so tired that I no longer want to eat. Sport? Only up the stairs to the office, but after that I need to lean against the wall for a few minutes.
After passing the examination and passing all possible tests, Ricardo was preparing to hear an unpleasant diagnosis and had already resigned himself to the fact that he would have to go to the clinic, but … the doctor said that the results were excellent and he had no abnormalities.
Except for the most neglected stress a doctor has ever seen in a twenty-five-year-old man. Treatment? He didn’t know what to suggest. “But it is clear that you need to change absolutely everything in your life. I recommend taking 2 aspirins 8 times a day. These 16 pills won’t help much, but they will be a regular reminder that you have a huge problem that needs to be solved.”
Ricardo began to think what to do. And he came up with it as soon as he analyzed the main problems: what steals time and how to deal with it.
What steals time?
1. Belief in a directly proportional relationship between labor costs and results.
The Brazilian flag reads “Ordem e progresso” (“Order and Progress”). It would be more correct to say: “Order or progress” – after all, in fact, these are incompatible phenomena. Achieving business results is often associated with labor costs. If a sales manager who managed to close a good deal in the morning goes home in the afternoon, considering his job done, then he will be considered a lucky lazy person, not a talented manager.
2. The belief that the amount of work done is more important than its quality.
Anyone who knows how to properly organize their time is always under suspicion. And if he goes to the theater, does not take home a briefcase with papers, spends weekends with his family, and even sometimes picks up children from school at lunchtime, he is already perceived as a slacker.
3. Fear of delegation of authority, fear that you can be replaced.
Ricardo abandoned time-stealing factors shortly after attending a concert by Brazil’s most famous pianist, Magda Tagliaferro.
Listening to Sibelius in her performance, he thought that she was born when Brazil was still a monarchy, caught the invention of the automobile and the airplane, survived two world wars, and still plays the piano.
It occurred to him that time should be measured in years and decades, not minutes and hours. It is impossible to comprehend life in all its grandeur and complexity if you constantly turn to the minute counter.
Treatment of the disease “lack of time”
- Start from the end. Set a specific time to leave work and follow it automatically. Ricardo chose 19 pm only because he often worked until midnight.
- A significant acquisition is the second wastebasket. Don’t forget the question that legendary General Motors executive Alfred Sloan used to ask: “What’s the worst that could happen if I throw this away?” If you don’t shiver, don’t break out in sweat, and your breathing doesn’t quicken, go ahead, throw it away. Leave this magnificent symbol of freedom – the second basket – next to your desk for a few more months.
- Ricardo limited all documents in his company to one page with a headline at the beginning (like a newspaper) that articulates the essence of the problem. There are no exceptions, even for marketing reports.
- Ask yourself: “Can anyone else do this task at least 70% as well as me?” If yes, then give this job to someone else.
How to stop long meetings
Through trial and error, Ricardo Semler and his staff came up with binding rules.
- Start on time. If the meeting started 5-10 minutes later, this still corresponds to the concept of “on time”. Start with those who are currently present. Do this a few times and the late lovers will learn their lesson.
- Don’t start a meeting without deciding in advance when it will end. Do not exceed the set time by more than a few minutes. If you’re in your own office, when you want to end the meeting, get up from your chair and say, “Okay, that’s it for today.” “Sometimes I sit on the edge of my desk right from the start. Maybe it’s impolite, but it works,” says Ricardo.
- Before the meeting, announce the agenda. List the items in order of importance. Resist the temptation to clear up old questions first or get rid of easy new questions.
- Assign one or more people to solve those problems that may take longer than the allotted time, or that lead to protracted discussions with no hope of a result.
- Do not arrange meetings that last more than 2 hours. After that, attention melts every minute.
- Avoid “shows with circus dogs and horses.” Keep reports concise and avoid tables and charts. Avoid also slides and never turn off the lights.
- Instead of a huge number of meetings, try making phone calls or exchanging brief phrases in the hallway. People tend to have a meeting on issues that can be resolved in 10-15 minutes over the phone or email.
Source: R. Semler “Maverick” (Good Book, 2007).