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A key secret of effectiveness
Monday, 23 July 2007
What is effectiveness exactly? It's a special term that can sell a million books, and make or break a commercial enterprise. It's a key difference between the average and the successful in this life. And the main secret of it is as simple as it is powerful.
Simply put, effectiveness is the art of achieving a result while using the least possible amount of time, effort and other resources.
Read over the last section again and take it to heart. Use it as a lens through which you view the world and you'll achieve a lot more in your life. In almost everything you do, take a moment to think to yourself "How can I achieve what I want while using the least possible amount of resources".
In fact, much of humanity's success in taming the reality we find ourselves in comes down to this one simple idea. Take the internet as an example. We use it for correspondence and sharing various media - writing, movies, games and music. Yet pretty much all of what we're using the internet to trade existed before its arrival.
Rather than sending email, you could write a letter, put a stamp on it then post it. At the other end, a person could do the same to reply to your mail. The effect is similar to that of email or even instant messaging. The difference is that the old way used much more time, effort and other resources. The outcome was the same,it was just slower and less efficient. The internet effectively makes our communications more effective.
Much of modern technology is like this. The plane is a more effective way of travelling than walking. The ATM is more effective than a bank teller. The phone is more effective than a messenger on horseback.
And much of success in other areas depends on this also. The difference between a bad investor and a good one comes down to this definition of effectiveness. The good investor can make more money from the same input using less time and effort. A business that can produce the same as a rival using this definition of effectiveness will trounce the competition.
Many people think there's something noble or pure about doing things the hard way. They take pride in making each move agonisingly difficult - worrying and planning excessively. They may kid themselves that what they're doing is special and worthy of praise, but in fact they're just being vain and stupid.
The key to a lot of success comes from putting in less effort, time and resources to achieving the same result - not more. Develop a mind-set that looks at the world and thinks often about how to achieve results more effectively in this manner. It's a skill well worth developing.
 | Tap into your subconscious | | When I was at school, I used to get in trouble for “daydreaming”. It was seen as an unproductive activity, interrupting my sharper “conscious” learning. It was something I had little control over. My mind just seemed to want to drift off sometimes. |  | Know when to be cold and calculating | | When I was in my twenties, I got quite interested in going to pool halls with my friends. Generally, in such places there'd be more people wanting to play pool than there were tables to accommodate them. Under such circumstances, it often became necessary to play strangers for control of a table. |  | Learn the gentle art of paying compliments | | Often in life, it's the areas which others ignore that hold the best prospects. When everyone around you is using the same strategy for getting ahead, you can often find an easier and better method by looking elsewhere. | | Do lots of small favors for people | | One of the most powerful unspoken rules in human behavior is that of reciprocation. In other words, if I do you a favor, I expect you to do one for me in return. |  | The best type of business to be in | | In the 1967 film, The Graduate, an experienced and successful Mr McGuire gives the main character Benjamin a piece of advice on what type of business to pursue - "Plastics". This sums up many people's attitude to business. | | Discover ways to make people laugh | | One of the best skills you can learn to improve your relations with others is the ability to make people laugh. Everybody loves someone who can make them giggle. Being able to do so will help your career, your friendships and your business dealings. |  | Most things won't be as easy as you think | | You know what really upsets me? When things don't turn out the way my optimistic side expects them to. When the girl I thought liked me just wants to be friends, when the job I thought I had in the bag goes to someone else, and when that cool party I was planning flops. |  | Concentrate on the future | | We all have miserable events happen to us in life. Believe me, I’ve had my share too. | | Work around reality, don't fight it | | What makes me so angry that I want to scream? Almost always the event takes a similar form. It's when reality doesn't behave as I expect it to. | | A good anger management trick | | We all get angry sometimes and “lose it”. Good things rarely come from such episodes. Wouldn’t it be better if we could deal with the world more rationally, and keep negative emotions out of it all? Here’s a good trick for doing just that. |
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