I used to spend 3 hours learning for every hour of doing. Fast forward twenty years, and I’m now spending 15 hours learning for every hour of doing.
My productivity has gone WAY UP, yet the percentage of time I spend actually working has done down.
My mentor, who was the CEO of American Airlines, spent hours in his corner office– feet on his desk, looking out the window.
His colleagues thought he was just spacing out, but in reality, it was his most productive time.
As CEO, he’s paid to think, not attend meetings all day. And I’m paid for results, not the number of hours I bill. So I spend most of my time thinking and learning– then take a couple of small actions that have high leverage.
The junior folks are so eager to rush into just “doing” without consideration for strategy and competence.
Measure twice, cut once— or if you have an hour to chop down the tree, spend the first 50 minutes sharpening the blade.
