I recently finished reading Super Competent – The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best by Laura Stack.
The main premise of the book as Laura best describes it is summarized as: “Success will come to those who can accomplish more in less time and consistently perform at their productive best. The people who achieve their fullest potential are not simply competent; they’re SuperCompetent.” The book then goes on to outline the main areas that SuperCompetents excel in:
“SuperCompetent people are better in the following areas than everyone else:
Key 1: Activity – SuperCompetent people are driven by intense focus on priorities and have a clear sense of direction. Value determines priority; priority determines goals; and goals determine activities.
Key2: Availability – SuperCompetent people control their schedules, so they can make time for important activities. They know they can’t be available to everyone every day, so they learn how to control their time and protect it.
Key3: Attention – SuperCompetent people are masters of focus and concentration. They develop the ability to pay attention to the task at hand and tune out distractions that aren’t related to their activities.
Key 4: Accessibility – SuperCompetent people are well organized. They have systems in place to find what they want when they want it and can quickly locate the information needed to support their activities.
Key 5: Accountability – SuperCompetent people possess self-discipline and self-control. They eliminate time wasters, strive for constant improvement, and don’t blame other people when things go wrong.
Key 6: Attitude – SuperCompetent people get the requisite skills and training when they lack ability. They have the motivation, drive, and can-do positivity to make things happen. They’re proactive, decisive, and fast.”
A very direct, practical and direct book. It includes personal assessments and action planning worksheet.
On a closing note, an organization related concept presented in this book that I found particularly helpful is:
“To effectively organize your time, you need several different types of lists. Daily to-do list. Essentially your daily plan or marching orders, this list captures everything you truly intend to get done today…A daily to-do list is the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you see before leaving the office. It keeps you focused and on-target throughout the day. Master to-do list. This is a running list of everything you need or want to do. Think of it as your memory list; you need one for work and one for personal items. Every time you think of something you need to do, capture it on your master to-do list…A master to-do list is an ongoing list to keep track of things you might want to do someday that aren’t ready to move to your daily to-do list.”
Regards,
Omar Halabieh
Super Competent
The Timesheet Chronicles 