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775. Busy Isn't Productive: Why Progress Matters More Than Activity · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence, your daily dose of positive influence.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Brian Smith founder of IA Business Advisors and co-author of the Iain team series.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Each day we share stories and insights to help you find be and build your influence in a positive and responsible way.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Greg Clino, partner at IA Business Advisors, and co-host of Daily Influence.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Be sure to follow, subscribe, and share Daily Influence with someone who could use a little extra positivity today.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And make us part of your daily routine, whether it's during your commute on a walk or an quiet moment just for you, because you're influenced matters.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, everybody, Brian Smith here with the IA Team Series and your Daily Influence.
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to be talking about
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Have you ever looked around your organization and noticed everyone is working hard?
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: phones are ringing, emails are flying, meetings are happening all day long, calendars are full, everyone seems busy and exhausted.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know I see that I a sometimes it's concerning.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Get some out when Friday arrives.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Very little has actually moved forward.
• 1:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now while I don't agree with that here, it does something that we deal with at IA for our clients.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: They feel like they're spinning their wheels.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you ever felt that frustration, you're not alone.
• 1:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: It happens all the time.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is a very common issue that we face here at IA.
• 1:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of the biggest leadership mistakes that we see in small amino-sized businesses confusing activity with progress.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Being busy made fuel productive, but movement isn't measured by motion.
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's measured by outcomes.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today, I'm going to talk about why organizations become trapped in busyness.
• 2:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: How operational drag quietly slows everything down,
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: real traction instead.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: So look, activity is easy to see.
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Progress is what takes the discipline.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Many organizations reward visible effort.
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: People answer emails quickly.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: They attend every single meaning they respond to every interruption.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: They'll stay late.
• 2:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: All of those things look like productivity, but none of them guarantee progress.
• 2:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Smart leaders don't ask how busy
• 2:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: was everyone.
• 2:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today they asked, what meeting for results did we create today?
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: What value did we bring to our area of influence?
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that is a very different conversation because business can hide operational problems, can make it look like everything's going along okay.
• 2:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: When I walk into a client's organization, one of the first things that I look for isn't the speed
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: people waiting for approvals, questions that shouldn't have to be asked.
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: The same problem is being solved over and over again.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Three meetings to make a single decision, employees chasing information, instead of serving customers or their peers.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Physiorganizations often aren't understaffed, they're over-complicated.
• 3:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Every unnecessary process creates operational direct, just like driving with the parking brake,
• 3:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can still move, but it takes far more effort, far more energy than what is really necessary.
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And look, meetings are one of the biggest sources of false productivity.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have to tell you, I just really don't enjoy being at meetings oftentimes.
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We've almost accepted meetings as proof that work is happening, but meetings don't produce value, not in the way that we're talking here.
• 4:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Clarity creates value and yes, you can get decisions from meetings and you can get clarity from meetings.
• 4:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Execution, however, doesn't come from those meetings unless the meetings are done the right way.
• 4:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So a meeting without an odor, without action items, without deadlines, without accountability.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's simply an expensive conversation.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: You have to have all of those things.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's why smart management is so important.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: What decision was made?
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Who owns it?
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: When will it be completed?
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: If those answers don't exist, the meeting probably didn't accomplish very much.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: And look, traction in our business comes from completing, not from starting.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Many businesses celebrate new ideas, new initiatives, new software, new projects.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Very few celebrate finishing.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I hear the 80% syndrome where people get 80% of the work done and then pivot into something new.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Smaller organizations build momentum by completing important work before creating new work.
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Completion creates confidence, completion builds trust, completion gives people the energy to tackle the next challenge.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: It also excites them for that challenge.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Constantly starting new initiatives without finishing old ones creates organizational and individual fatigue.
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: One reason we built smart management the way we did is because execution has become measurable, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely.
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: These are just goal-setting words, not in our area of influence.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Their operational filters, every project should answer.
• 5:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: What exactly are we doing?
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: How will we know it's complete, who owns it?
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Why does it matter?
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: When will it be finished?
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: If your team can answer those questions, they probably aren't executing.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're staying busy.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: But the IM team series starts with individual worship.
• 6:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's why we wrote it.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of the principles to rule out our series is that organizations don't move.
• 6:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Individuals move.
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Every person should finish each day asking one question.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: What did I move forward today?
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: What was my value?
• 6:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, what kept me busy?
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever individual owns progress instead of simply managing activity, organizations begin to gain traction almost automatically.
• 6:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Look, busy organizations often look successful from the outside, but inside people can be frustrated.
• 6:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're tired, they're overwhelmed.
• 6:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Not because they're doing too little, but because they're doing too much that doesn't matter.
• 6:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great leaders create clarity.
• 7:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: They simplify the execution and they help people focus on the few things that truly move the organization forward.
• 7:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because at the end of the day, success isn't measured by how hard everyone worked.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's measured by how far the organization actually moved.
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for joining me today on daily influence and until next time remember this.
• 7:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Don't confuse motion with momentum.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Move your organization forward, have a great day.