Productivity 2.0

Just found this article on Zenhabits.net about the shifting paradigm and understanding of what productivity means in the workplace.  While reading the article a couple of things came to mind.  First, technology has provided us with lots of tools to make our jobs easier and more efficient.  But I’m sure most of work with more than a few laggards in this regard.  Second, I thought of Gen Y and how they live and breathe the concepts of ‘productivity 2.0.’  Its going to be important for businesses and HR departments to be aware and adapt their policies so to allow this upcoming generation to be their most productive and make the biggest impact to the business.

Productivity 2.0: How the New Rules of Work Are Changing the Game.

A couple things that stood out the most for me:

• Less planning and more doing.  For most businesses the world is moving a lot faster than it used to, and too much planning just makes you slow which gives the competition a head start.  Besides, most meetings are ineffective.
• Automate with technology.  Just this week a co-worker was busy compiling results from a paper-based survey.  She spent hours typing in all the answers into a spreadsheet.  Had this been done with one of the many online survey tools (many available for free), the results would have been instantaneously available.  Plus those hours spent typing could have been put towards another project.
• Tag it, then search it.  Forget about being organized with folders, and sub-folders with more sub-folders.  You know you can’t find anything, and pity the person who has to figure out where things are in your folders.  Search technology for the desktop has come along way (Spotlight on Mac, Google Desktop on Mac/PC, and Windows Desktop Search 4.0 for PC) which make it feasible to just throw everything in the proverbial pile but still find what you’re looking for with ease.  I still use a few folders on my computer, but not nearly as much as I used a couple of years ago.
• Flatten that hierarchy.  We’re all adults here, and if you’re hiring smart, everyone is capable of making decisions to positively impact the business.  Allow people to work more independently and make decisions faster.  “People with freedom are generally happier with their jobs and more passionate about the work they produce.”