On the OPEN Forum
Overseeing Productivity
Scott Belsky of Behance | April 16th, 2008 - 07:00 AM
(20) found this useful. Do you? 
Action steps are worthless without a sense of accountability to complete them. In our jobs and daily chores, the oversight of colleagues, wives/husbands, and clients helps us stay focused. In the mishmash of daily life, we must feel accountable in order to stay productive and push ideas forward.
However, at some point, supervision backfires. Having a boss over your shoulder or constant nagging reminders will actually reduce our motivation. After all, we want to take pride in our own productivity. As such, the drive must start from within. But methods to support our drive for productivity are critical defenses in a world of TIVO, email, and countless other distractions.From the Behance team’s work with especially productive teams in the creative world, here are a few of the tactics we observed:
- Accountability via Photocopy & The Mailman. There is a non-profit board that has developed an interesting method for boosting productivity and ensuring that people complete their tasks. Everyone is given a sheet at every meeting to capture action steps, and then, at the meeting’s conclusion, every person’s sheet is collected, photocopied, and returned. You leave the meeting with your original copy, just as you normally would. However, one month later, you stumble upon a letter when opening your mail and – surprise – there is a photocopy of your action steps, in your own beautiful handwriting. It is a reminder from…yourself.
- Action Step Recounting. Some teams have a quick “action go-around” at the conclusion of every meeting. Each person takes a turn reciting the action steps that he/she captured. After each turn, the rest of the group has a minute to comment on anything that may have been missed (after all, most ideas never happen because the actions required are not captured!). This verbal exchange that takes place is a powerful force of accountability. Magic happens when you state publicly that you are going to do something.
- Public To-Do Lists. Imagine if your to-do lists were transcribed in 32 pt font on huge pieces of paper gracing your walls. This is a surprisingly effective method for accountability in a team environment. In fact, we use this strategy ourselves at Behance. The benefits we notice include:
- Public disclosure of productivity – everyone knows where everyone is at.
- Sharing of action steps – it is visibly alarming when someone has too much on their plate and needs help.
- Efficiency in utilizing resources – we are more likely to provide assistance to our colleagues if we know what they are working on.
We spend a lot of time focused on general productivity and too little time on the forces in our lives that keep us motivated and on track. While our instinct is to seclude ourselves into our own productivity cocoons, we must also incorporate the necessary pressures to stay on task. Most often, these pressures are external and must be tolerated, if not embraced!
Behance articles and tips are adapted from the writing and research of Scott Belsky and the Behance team. Behance runs the Behance Creative Network , the Creative Jobs List, and develops knowledge, products, and services that help creative professionals make ideas happen.
All Information (c) Scott Belsky, Behance LLC
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Discussion Boards
CHARLENE RAY | April 21st, 2008 at 6:51 am
Hiring new cleint help stay foucus and reach your goal increase productivity
James McArthur | April 24th, 2008 at 6:20 am
The Real Fight is for Growth
From the Great Wall of China to Wall street, New York, and on to the oil fields in between, the global economy is an ever changing and dynamic entity. An entity which no matter how much analysis or data interpretation is done seems to be, at times, a thrashing, uncontrollable and very unpredictable animal. This said however, there is little doubt that through some ways and some measure’s this wild animal can be, not necessarily tamed, but controlled to a degree. There will always be the risk that this animal, without warning, will break free of is harness and escape from it cage, but this risk can also be measured, subsequently resulting in great losses or gains. The global economy is an intriguing animal, as it is driven by such a diverse range of factors. The primary factor however, is the nations and individuals desire for power, money and most importantly resources.
In recent years the boom that has been seen in China has been blindingly obvious to those associated or following the world economy. What has not been so obvious is the increasing steps China and now other large western Countries including the United States, are taking in order to try and secure more resources in more places. Iraq, being in the world spotlight is obviously a country that has been infiltrated by foreign powers, some would say for the wrong reasons, reasons that must undoubtedly include the large deposits of oil within its boarders. Today, with oil currently being one of the major necessities to stimulate any economy, especially ones growing at substantial rates, is seen as a resource worth fighting for. With this understanding of the importance of such resources, and the influence they can have on the stimulation of an economy, countries like China are becoming proactive in their actions to secure the next great deposits of resources around the world. They are pumping billions of dollars into the search and acquisition of new energy and resource deposits and interestingly this search is being centered in Africa. A continent ravaged by war and disease, an economy that’s capabilities are not matched by its performance. However one of the countries leading the economic revival is South Africa.
South Africa is a nation with a ‘deeply troubled history’ (Stokes), one that is scarred from the turbulent racial conflict and the extremely violent ethnically fueled rioting of 1976. ‘In a country that is 79 percent black, most schools are still segregated in fact if not by law. If you are black, you are at least six times more likely to be unemployed than if you are white. You are 22 times more likely to have AIDS, and are much more likely to be a victim of crime.’ (Stokes) Considering this, South Africa has made great strides towards racial harmony, political stability, and in turn economic growth. This progression has been noted, as demonstrated by Cyril Ramaphosa, the former secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress, and is now executive chairman of the Shanduka Group, a South African investment firm, in his comments regarding the development of South Africa: “This country has moved a lot. By all accounts, we have done extremely well economically. Our democratic system is vibrant. We are entitled to pat ourselves on our shoulders. But, going forward, our people are going to want to see a better qualitative social dividend.” (Stokes)
The South African economy grew at a 4.7 percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2006, but expansion is expected to slow this year to 3 to 4 percent. Since 1995, the first full year of black rule, the economy has averaged 3.3 percent annual growth. This growth has topped the 1.2 percent annual economic performance experienced in the last dozen years of white rule. South Africa is a country that, with smart economic policy and a well balance political environment has great potential to rise from its somewhat tragic past, and become a growing force in the world economy. It is a country with the resources, resources which are fast becoming a very highly valued entity. This said however there are still many issues that remain with the South African economy, which need to be fixed, issues like the increasing unemployment rate as a result of more mechanized industry and also a lack of infrastructure within the country. The South African government has already started to try and remedy some of these problems as they have just announced plans to spend $51 billion on infrastructure over the next three years; some of that amount will go towards improvements for the World Cup soccer in 2010. (Stokes)
Africa is just one of an increasing number of countries that are raising the attention of many booming economies, like China. For example there are reports of Chinese development and Chinese funded infrastructure in northern parts of Africa, in an effort to establish their presence there for the later extraction of researches like diamonds and oil. Their investment and decisions in these areas are very tactical and politically motivated as they are pushing money into roads and aid for local communities which are located near areas of interest regarding resources, in an effort to establish and certain credibility and goodwill with the local people and in turn the political leaders. These moves and decisions are motivated less by good will and more by the demand for resources.
China, who at the moment has been signing countless energy contracts around the world, for example they just signed a multi-billion dollar deal to buy natural gas from Australia, is undoubtedly one of the greatest energy demanders in the world at the moment primarily because of their incredible economic growth, which is place at 8.80 percent GDP per capita in the period 1990 to 2001 (Globalis-China). This growth is not without its risks or problems as with such growth in any economy, the threat of demand inflation become an issue, also the certain supply side and structural factors like energy becomes another apprehension. However, though China’s aggressive and very optimistic economic policy, they show no intention of slowing down, thus with these ambitions that China is demonstrating to the world, the race for more resources is only just beginning, and while the United States fights a seemingly invisible enemy in Iraq, possibly for the good of the people also for the control of the oil, China and other growing nations are mapping out the new and promising resource deposits from which they can use to grow, expand and produce more for more people around the world. As a result it will be the countries which are smart, intuitive and decisive which will obtain a place full of promise and in turn open up a whole new market from which to grow. After all, growth is what we all ultimately strive for, and it is growth which most people are willing to fight for, is it not?
Work Cited
Globalis – China. 01 Feb 2008. Global Virtual University. 02 Feb 2008. http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator_detail.cfm?Country=CN&IndicatorID=45
Stokes, Bruce. “South Africa Striving.” National Journal 39.5 (03 Feb. 2007): 28-34. EBSCO. 11 February 2008. .