Black Belt Productivity

Due to some health issues in my family the last couple of weeks, I have not been able to post on Friday’s as I have been. Fortunately, everyone is getting better, and I will once again post my leadership columns this coming Friday.

Until then, here is a good read.

I often receive forwards from one of our executives from Dr. Alan Zimmerman. Last Tuesday’s tip hits particularly close to home for those who are into goal setting.

- Jason

Tip:

Today, the David Allen Co. has announced a new membership program for GTD zealots. It is called GTD Connect. The details of the program are listed on their website.

It includes members-only library, website and forums, quarterly newsletter, 4 teleseminars with David Allen, 25% discount on live events, and special store pricing.

All for the low, low price of $48.00 USD per month. Yep, for a mere $576/year, you can have the joy of all of the above stuff.

Now, me, I am not going to ‘connected’. I can be a LOT more productive with my blog here, 43Folders forums and other resources around the internet, and spend that $500+ dollars on something else.

Lead Up Principle #8 in John C. Maxwell’s book The 360° Leader is about becoming a go-to player.

Often you hear people refer to athletes that perform well in the clutch as “go-to players”. This basically means that a player gets the job done when pressure is on. What separates the Michael Jordans, the David Ortizes, the Tiger Woodses and the Ronaldinos of the world from all other athletes?

There is a passion within them that refuses to give in to pressure. They manage to treat pressure packed situations with a calmness and skill that few possess.

David Seah has posted his comments on my answers to his questions regarding the adaptation of the Printable CEO (PCEO) for the IT industry.

Read David’s thoughts then read on.

I totally agree with David’s assessments of the Dilemma of Support and Customer-Facing Support wholeheartedly. I feel, and have felt, that way much of the time in my various flavors of IT work that I have done in the last 10 years.

WOW…Where did summer go?

Many who are sweltering across the country are saying, “What do you mean…Where did it go?”

As young people everywhere are getting geared up to go back to school (ok…some may not be so young…but I digress), we buy supplies for school, get new clothes for the kids, and try to make sure that our students have everything they need to have a successful year at school.

I did a lot of thinking on the previous post regarding adaptation to the Printable CEO (PCEO) to Information Technology (IT). David Seah wrote a nice post and challenged readers to three questions:

1. What is the Goal of Information Technology?
2. To Whom is the Goal of IT Important, Not Counting IT Professionals?
3. What are the tangible signs that tell us that IT is actually fulfilling its goals?

I pondered these over the weekend, especially in the vein that I, as a 1-man IT Department, now have many more roles than I did in my previous employment.

I am pleased, and excited, to announce that I will be assisting David Seah of the Printable CEO (PCEO) develop a list of general Concrete Goals for the IT industry for use in the Printable CEO.

For those not familiar with the PCEO, it is a series of forms that David has created to “focus [his] time more productively.” [emphasis his] His area of expertise, and the focus of the original PCEO, is the freelance new media business. Currently there are five parts to the PCEO:

1. Concrete Goals Tracker - this helps identify the tangible items to move you forward towards your goal.