How to Position Yourself for Success Through Productivity

My personal motto has always been, “if it isn’t broke, fix it anyway.” By having this proactive mentality, I’m able to continuously improve things, and stay productive. How can you do the same?

Before you can position yourself for success through productivity, you must first have a thorough understanding of what it is.

For companies, it is the efficiency in which it can transform its resources into goods and services; always striving to do more with less. Productivity increases the overall efficiency of businesses, therefore the more services offered = lower overhead costs = higher profits = lower prices = improved competitiveness = more customers = more sales = reputation and goodwill of the company increases = ability to share more with employees.

For individual employees, it is the efficiency in which he or she can transform resources into critical goods or services. As the Productivity Manager at Faith Technologies, for me it might include increasing the number of productivity reviews I can complete in a shorter timeframe and at less cost.

The most productive companies have happy, healthy employees; so how can they aid in positioning them to be successful? They can first consider the 80/20 concept. This concept, in short, says that “20 percent of the things you do account for 80 percent of the value of all the things you do.”

Employees are then tasked to identify what that is, and take initiative. Highly productive people are intensely action-oriented, so if they can develop a reputation for speed and reliability, break down barriers between departments (for example), and constantly reinvent themselves – they’ll be on the track to success.

Customers are the most important part of the 80/20 concept process, as they account for the 20 percent, so individual employees’ need to not only identify who they are; they also need to focus on the value-added activities they’re expecting. Some factors to enhance their productivity include: 

• Constructively challenging themselves and those who report to them
• Challenging their key production targets
• Showing and encouraging initiative
• Constantly and consistently measuring performance improvement
• Participating in, and encouraging personal development

In order for companies to be productive, they must have productive work environments where employees can share ideas, and tap into each other’s knowledge. When this exists, people are focused on common goals, and the business will benefit from greater innovation, better problem solving, and greater efficiency in project delivery. The result is greater productivity and utilization.

The workforce must be seen as a strategic advantage, not just a cost to be minimized or avoided.  Employees must feel secure, and not afraid to ask questions, admit mistakes, or ask for instructions.

Steven Covey, the author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says it well – “When people are crystal clear about the most important priorities of the organization and team they work with, and prioritize their work around those top priorities, not only are they many times more productive, they discover they have the time they need to have a whole life.”

I am fortunate in that I work for and with a company that fosters productivity, and shares the results of our collective efforts in being more productive. What’s in your head?  Are you crystal clear on both your company’s priorities and personal priorities? If you aren’t sure, or if you’re doing things the same way you did six months or more ago – try to increase your productivity and find better ways. What’s your 20?