Planning is the first step to better productivity

Planning is the first step to better productivity | Be early, not on time | Agility will soon mean deliberation over speed Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( December 12, 2019 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [FORWARD](  [] Leading Edge [] [Planning is the first step to better productivity]( Productivity can wane without a specific, actionable and relevant plan that can be measured, writes Naphtali Hoff. He offers five steps for planning your productivity, including categorizing tasks by priority, setting goals using the SMART model and physically organizing your workspace. [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (12/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Be early, not on time]( Ryan Estis shows up 15 minutes early for meetings in the style of the late football coach Vince Lombardi, and that mindset can be extended into how you schedule meetings and manage your daily life. "As simple as it can be to show up early for something, it's also a powerful sign of respect and consideration -- showing that you value someone's time as much as you value your own," he writes. [Ryan Estis & Associates]( (12/9) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Strategic Management [] [Agility will soon mean deliberation over speed]( The growing complexity of technology will require more collaboration and exploration of new innovations before they are brought to market, making agility more about bringing together divergent ideas instead of "moving fast and breaking things," writes Greg Satell. "Power in this new era will not sit at the top of industrial hierarchies, but will emanate from the center of networks and ecosystems," he writes. [Harvard Business Review online (tiered subscription model)]( (12/10) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Smarter Communication [] [Use open-ended questions to foster team dialogue]( Use open-ended questions to foster team dialogue (Pixabay) Team members are more likely to engage in open and honest dialogue when asked open-ended questions and encouraged to provide feedback, writes Scott Eblin. "When you're the designated leader, people are always trying to read you for clues about what you really think and how you really feel," he writes. [Eblin Group]( (12/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Be specific when coaching young employees]( Younger employees will be happier and perform better when they understand the goal, are fairly compensated for their time and are encouraged to communicate with managers, writes Dillon Smith, who is less than two years into his career. "A lot of young leaders like me have the right desire, but we miss the mark because we don't see how our actions impact others or how we missed the mark," he writes. [Carey Nieuwhof]( (12/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Holiday Buying Guides Recommended buying guides from T3 - [Best apple watch accessories]( - [The best gifts for him this Christmas]( - [Best toys for Black Friday 2019]( - [Best tablet 2019]( - [Best smart speaker]( [] The Big Picture Each Thursday, what's next for work and the economy [] [Surveys: CFOs, CEOs are worried about the economy for 2020]( The Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook shows that 52% of US CFOs expect the economy to be in recession by the end of next year. Meanwhile, CEOs at the Business Roundtable expect economic growth next year, but they are cautious about the state of the economy. [Fuqua School of Business]( (12/11), [CNBC]( (12/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] In Their Own Words [] [Alphabet chair: Be humble, look to inspire others]( Being humble enough to seek knowledge and expertise has been the key to success for former Stanford University President John Hennessy, who is nonexecutive board chairman at Google's parent company, Alphabet. Hennessy says he's discovered that threats have limited effect, whereas "people respond a lot more to inspiration, to being challenged to do something really great." [Strategy+Business online (free registration)]( (12/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [Mathematician partially solves one of math's quirkiest problems]( Mathematicians have been struggling for more than 80 years to solve the Collatz conjecture -- which posits that any number put through a simple formula will end up at 1. Mathematician Terence Tao, a Fields Medal winner, recently made the most progress with the ineffable problem, creating a system where nearly all numbers produce the expected result. [Quanta Magazine]( (12/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Editor's Note [] More insights from SmartBrief Besides our more than 200 newsletters, SmartBrief publishes [original insights]( on leadership, marketing, education and more. Here's what you may have missed: - [5 lessons for education leaders]( - [5 steps to a crisis-communication plan]( - [Forget digital transformation: Companies must evaluate digital maturity instead]( - [How to win with social at live experiences]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [] One positive thought produces millions of positive vibrations. 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