While the advantages of distributed teams allow your business to be more productive at a higher level, like any organizational paradigm, it can cut both ways. The virtual workspace can be subjected to all the distractions of the modern world. Being productive and harvesting the potential of working virtually can be harder than you think.
Here’s how some of the wisest minds in the business world look at productivity.
1. Catching Clarity
Productivity wizard David Allen sees organization as a prerequisite to being productive. He begins his Five Simple Steps That Apply Order To Chaos with a means to zero in on how to organize even the most disparate of tasks. After capturing fully what the focus of your attention is—to-do lists, things that need to be handled, or finished—these items need to be clarified.
“Take everything that you capture and ask: is it actionable? If no, then trash it, incubate it, or file it as a reference. If yes, decide the very next action required. If it will take less time than two minutes, do it now. If not delegate it if you can; or put it on a list to do it if you can.”
2. Perspectivizing Time
Efficiency and productivity are not always the same thing. Bob Pozen, senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School, a man who has made multitasking the bedrock of his career, sees productivity as results-driven rather than the outcome of the amount of time spent working.
“Most executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs put a huge amount of time into their jobs. In a crisis, it may be necessary to burn the midnight oil, but the ambitious have a tendency to stay late every night. This tendency arises from the implicit assumption that more hours equal more value-added. That is too simplistic. Your success should be measured by the results you produce, not the number of hours you log.”
3. Flow With The Go
Toyota is renowned for its production system. The mind behind it is Jamie Bonini, who shares his knowledge with companies on how they can be more competitive. By staying focused on one task and completing it before going on, you can help avoid what his team calls muda (Japanese for waste). Reevaluating how you process tasks and looking for areas where small improvements can be made can be a powerful means of increasing productivity.
“The summation of many small improvements can have a very big impact. We’re not always looking for a home run; we’re looking for a lot of singles.”
4. Recreate, Reward, Refocus
Joe Joachim, who blogs about innovation, employs a strategy to use downtime as both a reward for work done and as a means of refreshing motivation and creativity.
“… figure out the most important items on your ‘To-Do List.’ Once you knock one of those tasks off your list, reward yourself with a quick walk outside, snack break, or anything that involves getting away from your computer for a minute … This will help revive your brain and keep you fresh for the next thing on your to-do list.”
5. Foster Greatness
Author of “LESS IS MORE: How Great Companies Use Productivity as a Competitive Tool in Business” Jason Jennings sees that a company culture that values the human in its enterprise can be a strong stimulus to productivity.
“The 10 most productive companies in the world … believe that you make incredible amounts of money as a byproduct of the incredible things you do.”
6. The Kindest Cut Of All
Jim Collins, author “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,” a Business Week best-seller for more than six years, understands that revision and change is the courage to adapt and grow.
“A great piece of art is composed not just of what is in the final piece, but equally important, what is not. It is the discipline to discard what does not fit—to cut out what might have already cost days or even years of effort—that distinguishes the truly exceptional artist and marks the ideal piece of work, be it a symphony, a novel, a painting, a company or, most important of all, a life.”
Productivity happens when your business works well. Sococo is a virtual office that unifies distributed teams allowing you to work faster, work better. Sococo’s avatars and office layout enable colleagues to stay in touch and smoothly interact. Team members can easily move from room to room, employing video, voice, screen, and chat sharing.
Capturing the best from your team can sometimes be as simple as fostering communication. Sococo gives your business the tools to stay agile in today’s world.
