What's Wrong with Work?

Give us a break

About 100 years ago two scientists called Yerkes and Dodson (don't ask me their first names!) decided to explore the relationship between effectiveness and pressure. They wondered whether stress enabled us to be more effective or less. 

It is interesting to me that we ofen believe ourselves to be working at the height of our capabilities when we have been plugging away for 8 hours straight, barely stopping for toilet breaks, surviving on coffee and chocolate hobnobs.

We describe ourselves as being in the zone, a bit like a compulsive gambler might describe himself as being on a winning streak.

Both sentiments are equally misguided.

Yerkes and Dodson's research showed that up to a certain point, pressure does increase effectiveness and productivity. But beyond the optimal level we begin to lose focus, efficiency, attention to detail and creativity. The trick is knowing where this optimal point is for you.

More recently it has been found that if you take a break and do a different type of mental or physical activity at this optimal point, you can return to your work not only refreshed but also still at that peak performance level. According to mind-body expert Herbert Benson, who developed the breakout principle, you can then maintain that level without going in to negative stress for another period of time.

Why is this relevant to success? Because "busy" isn't the same as effective, and stressed isn't the same as committed. Successful people focus on important tasks which will bring them closer to their overall goal, rather than on running on a speeding treadmill and going nowhere.

Next time you ask yourself why you're not as succcessful as you think you should be, consider whether you are making the distinction between working long hours and working productive hours.

Ps and Qs

In the research for my new book, The Recipe for Success, (out in May, although you can pre-order on Amazon) the one quality all my experts identified as being fundamental to success was good manners. 

Saying please and thank you, hand-written notes, remembering people's names and using basic etiquette when introducing people to one another were all cited as important if you are going to distinguish yourself, make an impact and get to the top of your field.

This surprised me, given that so many portrayals of successful people present them as mean, rude, dismissive and coarse.

Of course, when we are under pressure (which can feel like all the time) manners are the first thing to go. We make crude gestures to other drivers, we leave out niceties in our emails to save time, we take people close to us for granted.

Yet the evidence shows that good manners are like a lubricant which makes everything else run more smoothly. Far from taking time, it actually saves time. People who feel appreciated will go the extra mile. People who feel acknowledged will want to help you in return. People who have been patted on the back will pass on their good fortune and maybe spread a little happiness wherever they go next.

This isn't a soft skill. It is the grease that oils the wheels. In your workplace this is a time of intense pressure. Even if you are doing well, you probably know someone who isn't. This is not the time to be cutting back on the Ps and Qs but a time to be expressing your thanks and your gratitude to those who help you every day. 

Such good deeds do not go unrewarded. We all need help getting where we want to get to and other people are far more likely to lend a hand if they are shown some thanks, and not just given the finger. 

Is passion enough?

Philosopher and theologian, Albert Schweitzer wrote "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful".

Far be it from me to disagree but, well, I am going to. Or rather, I am going to explain how I think this statement has been misinterpreted by many people seeking the secret key to success.

It is often assumed that this statement means passion is enough. If you care enough about something you can make it a success. Part of the problem is the definition of success. Obviously, if all you want or need is to love what you do then, by doing something you love you have succeeded.

For example, if you are passionate about sport and you get to play football and cricket at the weekend then you could define that as success. You love it and you get to do it, so you have succeeded.

Except that most of us have a far more complex definition of success. We want to do what we love for a living. So at the very least it needs to pay us a living wage. And we want more:

• We want to be better than other people, maybe we want to be the best at the thing we love.
• And we don't just want a living wage we want to improve our quality of life and continue to do this for the rest of our lives.
• We want to leave something behind - a legacy, money, children.
• We want to be well regarded, respected or even famous.

And there is probably more.

To achieve all that you have to love what you do. It doesn't have to be a love of the "subject" - you can run a fruit and veg business and not care about fruit and veg. But you have to love something about running the fruit and veg business...the customers, getting the best from your staff, marketing, even making money. 

But loving it is not enough. You have to have other qualities too:

• You need to be relatively good at it. You don't have to be the best, but you need to have talent (whether learnt or innate).
• You need to be able to work the system - play politics or negotiate well with others.
• You need to be professional. If it is too personal every rejection feels like a rejection of you. It will be too hard to continue knocking on doors, making phone calls, taking tough decisions.
• You need to have focus. Following your nose wherever it takes you may result in success but it will be more by luck than judgement. 

What else? 

I would be interested to know what you think enables someone to be successful.  And if you disagree and believe passion is enough, present your case here! Oh, one other quality of successful people - they are open to critique!

To England with Love

I was recently given a copy of a book about England called To England with Love, written by David Frost and Antony Jay in 1969. I was interested to contrast the England of 40 years ago with the England of today. My curiosity came out of a comment Deborah Meaden made in her interview with me (which you can hear on this blog) when she said that although the British used to be known for our "chins up" attitude to trouble and strife, this may no longer be the case. As a nation we may have lost some confidence and are no longer able to shrug off adversity as we would have been in the past.

Imagine my surprise when I read this opening paragraph of the book:

"The State of the Nation. It seems to have been the sole preoccupation of English pundit and Swiss banker alike for the past eighteen months. Both appear to have found a picture of unrelieved gloom. Any pundit worthy of the name has found it incumbent upon himself to point out in words of a great deal more than one syllable that we are in the depths of a great economic crisis"

It seems that our joy in wallowing in our woes is not a recent phenomenon!

But what do the experts say about such negativity? How does it impact on our chances of success?

Olympic swimmer, Adrian Moorhouse, now runs his own performance consultancy, Lane4. In his book on Mental Toughness he describes his mindset as he set out for the 1984 Olympics and the 1988 Olympics. After coming fourth in '84 (despite huge expectations that he would win) he worked primarily on his mental state for the next 4 years. Little changed in his physical training but he transformed his mental approach. By the time 1988 came around he knew he was going to win and how to handle the pressure put upon him by the media and by himself. He did indeed win the gold 

It seems it is not enough to go through the motions. In order to succeed, we must believe we have what it takes. We must be able to ignore insecurities and the continual pressure heaped upon us by those with less self-belief (or a vested interest in undermining ours) and become mentally tough.

This week I am focusing on this lesson. As some of my clients change their payment terms without warning I feel the real impact of the economic situation encroaching on my life. However, with my worst-case scenario plan in place (more on this in the next blog) I can now focus on success, winning new business and delivering great value to my clients so that we all come out of this stronger and more confident. What do you need to do this week to strengthen your mental toughness?  

Deborah Meaden remains optimistic

Most famous for her appearances on the BBC's Dragon's Den programme, Deborah Meaden is a multi-millionaire businesswoman who now focuses her attention on investing in businesses she believes in.

I was delighted to find, when I spoke to her this week, that she was a supporter of my campaign to focus on success. She is convinced that success is connected with mindset and believes it is time to change ours.

Her message - fear is the biggest obstacle to success. By all means, look at where you are wasting resources and make savings (something she regularly does even when the economy is booming), but do not give in to your fears. Instead concentrate on what your situation really looks like and then design an action plan to address the specific threats facing you. We all feel more in control when we are taking action and that, in turn, gives us confidence. Confidence leads to success. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on her ideas.  Download Deborah Meaden Interview

Reading between the lines

I was a journalist for nearly a decade so it is second nature for me to read between the lines of the news headlines. But most people do not do this. In fact, most people rely on the headlines only to tell them what is going on in the world. The Internet society might have amplified this phenomenon. We have become so used to getting information in sound-bite format that we can't be bothered reading web-pages which require us to scroll down. 

But without the detail the implications of the news are often missed.

Let's take the latest news that another well-known British company, Waterford Wedgwood, has called in the receiver.

Wedgwood is an icon like Woolworths is an icon (but at different ends of the brand-values spectrum!) It is great for journalists when a well-known company hits the wall because we care much more when we know the name.  It is the same buzz we get when we read that a famous couple are about to split up.

Of course a couple getting divorced and a company going out of business are bad news but it is  important not to read too much in to it. Wedgwood employs about 1,900 people in the UK and it seems highly likely that the company will find a buyer and most, if not all, of those jobs will be safe.

On the stock market, The FTSE-100 is now more than 20% above its low point of last year. The S&P 500 is 26% off its 2008 bottom. Asian stocks have been rising solidly for the past eight days. Bet you didn't know that!

As trading begun again today after the Christmas break, there were no emergency announcements by the main retailers so although things were bad over the holidays they were no worse than anticipated. It's not brilliant news but it's not disastrous.

So what are we supposed to do when we read stories like this? Should we even read the papers? 

The news is a bit like a soap opera. If you are addicted to it, it can feel like events move very quickly from day to day and if you miss one episode you will have missed some vital twist or turn. If you are like me and you check in on the soaps every couple of years it seems as though, basically, nothing much has changed.

It's the same with the news. Watching events unfold on the rolling news channels can make you feel like there is so much to know you can't afford to look away for a moment. In fact, reading through the Sunday papers each week will probably give you the gist.

But go further than the headlines unless you want to be scared half to death!

By all means change your behavioiur as a result of what you learn but aim to do so in a positive, thoughtful manner rather than a rash, reactive manner. If you aren't going to spend your cash on "nice to haves" like Waterford Crystal what are you going to do with it? Saving it might feel like the best option but a bit more research may show that overpaying your mortgage might be a better option (check out moneysavingexpert, Martin Lewis, for advice on this kind of thing). 

Just as the headlines won't give you the full picture, the obvious solutions won't necessarily give you the security you crave. Rash, gut-feel reactions have got us in to this mess. Only positive, creative, thoughtful responses are going to get us out.

Martha Lane Fox on being successful in adversity

Martha Lane Fox came to public attention as the co-founder of lastminute.com which she started with Brent Hoberman in 1998. She is now on the board of Marks and Spencer, runs her karaoke company, Lucky Voice and is a patron of Camfed, the Campaign for Female Education. She has also launched her own charity, Antigone, a grant-making trust intended to support healthcare, education and criminal justice projects.

In May 2004 she was severely injured in a car accident in Morocco and spent a year in hospital having metal inserts and bone grafts.

She spoke to me just before Christmas, suffering slightly from a cold, about the Let's Be Successful Again campaign and about how she was proposing to approach 2009.

Download Martha Lane Fox interview 08