Here’s what the research says: as you approach 50 hours per week, your productivity drops sharply. And, as you approach 55 hours per week, your productivity nose dives. Classic illustration of diminishing marginal returns. The research implies, obviously, that we only have so many golden hours per week. If we dig a little deeper, something else emerges. The “something else” is that since we only have so many good hours per week, what gets our attention and effort? The limitation on our productive time forces choice. It forces us to decide. Some don’t think they have to decide. “If I just work longer, then I can do it all.” Nope. But consider this a good thing. Limitations force creativity. Limitation forces thought. Since limitations are inevitable, why not take advantage of those limitations? Why not allow your competitors to chase after everything and dilute their efforts while you laser focus on the most essential? It might become your competitive advantage.
With your teams, don’t get out of the way, do this instead
"Get out of the way!" I often hear some version of this sentiment when talking about building a culture to incentivize high performance teams. "You have to find the right people, equip them, and then get out of the way." People who talk about getting out of the way...