“It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste time.” –Henry Ford

One of the best things I did 20 years ago was invest in a time management system by Frankin Quest. As a naturally unorganized person who is easily distracted and interested in a lot of things, I realized I needed something to keep me focused, on time, and as organized as possible.

As mentioned in my PowerUp Principles eBook, I HIGHLY recommend that everyone find a system that works for them and give it a try. There are lots of different systems out there and they all have their own approach to time management, but the best ones align you with your short and long-term goals rather than simply being a way to manage time and track tasks.

I’m currently using Simpleology, which I absolutely love and recommend, but it is web-based and you may prefer to have something analog that you can carry around with you (Franklin is good for that). Simpleology doesn’t have a built-in calendar so I actually schedule my activities in Outlook. What Simpleology does is really help me with how I choose to spend my time and what I focus on, which is the most important element of time management.

A Harvard Business Review article (Bruch & Ghoshal 2/02) reports that 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective activities. Can you imagine if you could dramatically reduce your time-wasting activities and get more done in less time? Well, if you’re not using a system, maybe it’s time to go and try one…

Have you ever been in a job where your “shacho” or your immediate boss had no idea of where the company is heading and was unable to lead your team into action? That is one of the most commonly heard complaints in my recruiting practice.

I recently had a candidate come to see me who was wanting to leave his company because his boss was so focused on the immediate day-to-day operations as well as protecting his power and position in the short-term that the candidate had no confidence in his boss’ ability to lead their division towards growth and profitability. His exact words were, “my boss has no vision and I’m tired, not inspired”.

It is shocking how often I hear this. The flip-side of this is when I attempt to recruit people from companies that have visionary leadership. You can imagine the outcome…many of them don’t want to move because they are fully engaged with the vision of their company or their direct boss and they are working toward an inspiring goal.

If you’re a leader now, you’d better make damn sure that you know where your business is going (vision) and how you’re going to get them there (strategy and tactics). If you’re an aspiring leader don’t forget about those times you suffered from poor leadership and how you felt about your boss. I can imagine that you don’t want to become one of them when you get the chance to lead.

I’ll be covering this subject more in-depth in future postings. What’s important to remember is the danger of visionless leadership and its effect on an organization. Beware.

Have you ever been in a job where your “shacho” or your immediate boss had no idea of where the company is heading and was unable to lead your team into action? That is one of the most commonly heard complaints in my recruiting practice.

I recently had a candidate come to see me who was wanting to leave his company because his boss was so focused on the immediate day-to-day operations as well as protecting his power and position in the short-term that the candidate had no confidence in his boss’ ability to lead their division towards growth and profitability. His exact words were, “my boss has no vision and I’m tired, not inspired”.

It is shocking how often I hear this. The flip-side of this is when I attempt to recruit people from companies that have visionary leadership. You can imagine the outcome…many of them don’t want to move because they are fully engaged with the vision of their company or their direct boss and they are working toward an inspiring goal.

If you’re a leader now, you’d better make damn sure that you know where your business is going (vision) and how you’re going to get them there (strategy and tactics). If you’re an aspiring leader don’t forget about those times you suffered from poor leadership and how you felt about your boss. I can imagine that you don’t want to become one of them when you get the chance to lead.

I’ll be covering this subject more in-depth in future postings. What’s important to remember is the danger of visionless leadership and its effect on an organization. Beware.

As we’re in the middle of a traditional holiday week in Japan I hope you’re all taking the time to really unplug from the daily demands of your work time and are engaging in activities that will fully take your mind off work. As a natural workaholic, I know how hard it is to fully unhook yourself from the demands of your work life, but I’ve been on the edge of full-blown burnout before and I make a point to regularly take a step away from work and have some fun.

And it’s not just “let’s party” fun–what’s most important is finding something that really allows you to disconnect from your daily routine, become fully focused on something else, and which gives you real and deep satisfaction. I’ve actually just enrolled in an elearning course for learning how to draw, which is something I’m terrible at but which I also enjoy and is a great way for me to take my mind off of work.

Having been close to burn-out from overwork, it is painful for me to see so many people in Tokyo so far out of balance in their lives. In fact, I had someone in my office the other day who told me of two of his co-workers who were hospitalized from the pressures put on them by their agency. This is a subject for a future post, but it is shocking how common this is.

I am all for working hard (and smart) but in order to be effective you need to take quality time off and refresh and renew yourself. Enjoy the week and I wish you all the best for the year ahead!