I picked up this book to learn how to delete more of my emails and how to get out of way-too-many meetings. I gave a copy to my friend because she's got a boss who just doesn't get it! And I showed it to my boss because he's trying to figure out how to get more money in our budget, and how to keep _his bosses_ happy. Now, I'll admit that some of the 32 ways to do less take more courage than my friend, or my boss, or I have. Frankly, only about a third of his ways work for me. But that's still great. Because I learned that I can reclaim some small portion of my life back. That made this book an invaluable investment.
Jensen organizes his material within three Sections: Daily Rituals, Career Milestones, and Leader Essentials. In each, he provides a series of "How tos" in combination with appropriate metrics by which to (a) measure the current situation, (b) identify what must be done to improve it, and then (c) measure the progress of improvement initiatives. For example, the "Less-O-Meters" track Courage, Difficulty, and Yield. All this is much less complicated than I may now indicate. The greatest difficulty, obviously, is taking appropriate ACTION and staying with Jensen's program. The road to self-improvement is paved with good intentions but, too often, is soon abandoned. Most of those who purchase this handbook do so because they sense a great need in their lives to eliminate what is not essential to it. It is human nature to begin with high hopes and great expectations and then become discouraged or distracted. That phenomenon is quite common and illustrates precisely why this handbook will be of greatest benefit to those who need it most because they are most vulnerable to procrastination.
It will also be of substantial benefit to victims of what Jensen characterizes as "corporate crap." For example, quite some time ago, editors of a magazine (whose name I have forgotten) conducted a "Dilbert Quotations" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotations from their real-life Dilbert-type managers.
Here are some of the finalists:
1. "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks." (This was the winning quotation from Fred Dales at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA.)
2. "What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter." (Lykes Lines Shipping)
3. "E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business." (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)
4. "We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)
5. One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said "If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask for it!" (New business manager, Hallmark Greeting Cards)
I urge you to purchase this handbook and follow Jensen's suggestion that you skim-read it from cover-to-cover. While doing so, you will immediate recognize those portions which are of most immediate relevance to your own circumstances, both at work and in your private life. Focus on those sections initially. Precisely follow the step-by-step process which Jensen recommends. Because you will be embarking on an especially difficult journey, expect to encounter obstacles along the way, experiencing frustration and "combat fatigue" as you do so. Stay the course! For Dorothy and her valiant companions, there was yellow brick road for them to follow during their journey to the Emerald City. Whatever your own destination may be, Jensen offers this handbook which can become a yellow brick road for you.
Bon voyage!
This book is highly readable, with a pleasing layout of text and graphics. Crack it open, and you'll immediately see how it is different in a good way. And it gets down to business quickly. Most business books waste chapter after chapter describing and defending a theory, and finally get to the how-to at the end. Fooey!
Bill Jensen is a proven guru about the world of work. His other books have stood the test of time, as will this one.
There are 32 useful chapters in bites you can easily devour in short sittings. Read a bit over lunch each day. There's also a "Do-Less Toolkit" filled with quick-read summaries of the tools you should be using in your world of work.
Works equally well for executives, managers and worker bees (that covers everyone who works for a living).
Best of all, it is not tied to some product or technology. You can apply all the tools in ways that work for you.
Start your new work life by wasting far less time and communicating more effectively.