Why Having More Meetings Is Not The Answer
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
2y ago
One of the participants in my Conclusion Trap class was grappling with a persistent problem at her company: their website regularly crashed after upgrades. She believed that one of the primary drivers of the problem was poor communication between two teams. The solution was obvious—schedule additional meetings between those two teams. Along with spending more money on technology, adding meetings to everyone’s already overburdened schedule is an example of conclusion jumping at its finest. Fortunately, before instituting a new set of meetings, she took the time to deeply understand the situatio ..read more
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Problem Framing Is More Consequential Than You Might Think.
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
2y ago
In 1971, President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” In 2017, President Trump declared a “public health emergency” to battle the opioid crisis. These two declarations were essentially about the same thing: dealing with the financial, emotional, and social scourge of drug abuse that was destroying individuals and communities. But the framing of the problem—a “war” versus a “health emergency” makes a huge difference in the countermeasures that citizens, politicians, and communities are ready to consider.  If you’re fighting a war, you’re thinking about military action. You’re going to mobili ..read more
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What is a Healthy Company?
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
What is a healthy person? We can argue over specific metrics, but we’d all agree that we have to account for physical as well as mental/emotional health. What is a healthy organization? As with  individuals, there will be disagreement over metrics, but clearly we have to consider financial performance, internal stakeholders (employees), and external stakeholders (community). Healthy organizations recognize the importance of all three areas, and while a specific decision might prioritize one over the others, in aggregate, healthy organizations make decisions that, on average, address all o ..read more
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I'm Teaching an Open-Enrollment Time Management Class on Apr 17-18
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
How often have you started your workday with a clear plan and objectives. . .but by the time you pull your head out of your inbox it's lunchtime (or later), and you haven’t actually accomplished anything important? Do you lose precious time hunting for files or emails? Do you wake up at 2am panicking about something you forgot to do? It doesn't have to be that way. Imagine finishing the day with your desk clean and your mind clear. Imagine being able to drive your strategic priorities rather than always putting out fires. I’m teaching (via Zoom) a time/workflow management class at the Stanford ..read more
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One Easy Way to Squander Time, Money, and Credibility
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
Just in case 2020 wasn’t challenging enough for you, here’s a brilliant example of how to waste time, money, and credibility in 2021. The HR department at a company approached me recently about teaching employees process mapping. This company recognizes the utility of process mapping in continuous improvement and decided that a class would be a good place to start.  Sounds sensible. But with all due respect to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), I can’t imagine a bigger waste of time or money­ than this class. Not because training has no value—of course it does, in the right ..read more
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Pay Attention to the Trenches, Not the Stars
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
Prior to the Super Bowl last Sunday, you couldn’t pick up a sports section without reading about the duel between Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, and Patrick Mahomes, the best quarterback in the game today. But it turns out that the battle between the two big name quarterbacks was much less important than the battle between the Chiefs’ offensive line and the Buccaneers’ defense. The Chiefs’ offensive line lost its starting tackles (those are the two big guys on the right and left end of the offensive line), forcing them to not only use backup players, but to shift the players ..read more
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Why Your Productivity Hacks Don’t Hack It
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
(Note: a modified version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. You can read that version, with more links to related articles, here.) ———————————————————————————————————————————————————— Leaders in organizations are always seeking to improve employee productivity (including their own). All too often, that quest goes no further than time management training provided by the HR department. Those classes cover the pros and cons of Inbox Zero, the Pomodoro technique, the Eisenhower matrix, Getting Things Done, and countless other approaches that tantali ..read more
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The Conclusion Trap Workbook Is Out (and it's Free)
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
Response to my latest book, The Conclusion Trap, has been strong, but I’ve heard from some readers who that they’d like a workbook to accompany it. Done. You can download the Conclusion Trap Workbook here. For free. Gratis. No charge. $0.00 dollars. In it, you’ll find a recap of each of the four steps, along with questions, and recommendations you can use to experiment with the approach in your work (or personal!) lives.     Give it a try, and let me know how you’re using it at work. It’s a pdf, so it’s easy for me to make changes, edits, and improvements in response to your input ..read more
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New Workshop: Avoiding the Conclusion Trap (and Other Pitfalls)
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
Need a break from the tedious bickering over the presidential election? Can’t stand the thought of talking heads bloviating about the cataclysmic importance of the upcoming Georgia senatorial election? If so, join me in January for a workshop on better problem solving. I’m joining forces with the fantastic folks at the Iowa Lean Consortium for a 4-part, 4-week workshop based on my new book, The Conclusion Trap. Why Do You Need This Workshop? Organizations (and individuals) frequently struggle to make good decisions. They spend money, invest in new technology, and invest enormous amounts of tim ..read more
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Avoiding Bureaucratic Snapback
Markovitz Consulting Blog
by Dan Markovitz
3y ago
Last week, I wrote about how the pandemic lockdown and work from home have made employees more productive by removing some of the bureaucratic barnacles that keep them from doing high value work.  But how do we ensure that the administrative “drag”—bloated meetings, excessive documentation, repetitive approvals, etc.—don’t snapback with a vengeance when we return to the office? Many older managers have preconceived notions of telework as a refuge for slackers, and will push for a return to pre-Covid work routines. Similarly, many established companies with exhaustive employee manuals will ..read more
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