Beyond Collaboration Overload
Beyond Collaboration Overload

Author: Rob Cross

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1647820138

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Named the Best Management Book of 2021 by strategy+business Named one of "this month's top titles" in the Financial Times in September 2021 Named to the longlist for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award in the Management & Culture category A plan for conquering collaborative overload to drive performance and innovation, reduce burnout, and enhance well-being. Most organizations have created always-on work contexts that are burning people out and hurting performance rather than delivering productivity, innovation and engagement. Collaborative work consumes 85% of employees' time and is drifting earlier into the morning, later into the night, and deeper into the weekend. The dilemma is that we all need to collaborate more to create effective organizations and vibrant careers for ourselves. But conventional wisdom on teamwork and collaboration has created too much of the wrong kind of collaboration, which hurts our performance, health and overall well-being. In Beyond Collaboration Overload, Babson professor Rob Cross solves this paradox by showing how top performers who thrive at work collaborate in a more purposeful way that makes them 18-24% more efficient than their peers. Good collaborators are distinguished by the efficiency and intentionality of their collaboration—not the size of their network or the length of their workday. Through landmark research with more than 300 organizations, in-depth stories, and tools, Beyond Collaboration Overload will coach you to reclaim close to a day a week when you: Identify and challenge beliefs that lead you to collaborate too quickly Impose structure in your work to prevent unproductive collaboration Alter behaviors to create more efficient collaboration It then outlines how successful people invest this reclaimed time to: Cultivate a broad network—not a big one—for innovation and scale Energize others—a strong predictor of high performance Connect with others to reduce micro-stressors and enhance physical and mental well-being Cross' framework provides relief from the definitive problem of our age—dysfunctional collaboration at the expense of our performance, health and overall well-being.

Beyond Collaboration Overload
Beyond Collaboration Overload

Author: Rob Cross

Publisher:

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781647820121

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Companies consume 85% of workers' time in collaborative activities. But they have no idea if all this collaboration benefits corporate performance, individual productivity, or employee well-being. Today's corporations are plagued by stress, loss of engagement, and attrition, which cripple them in their quest for a competitive edge. What's going on? Collaboration. Yes, that seemingly Good Thing all companies encourage is creating overload and burnout. It crushes our vitality and well-being, prevents us from being innovative, and blocks our companies from being the most successful organizations they could be. To some this is surprising. It's assumed that it's always better to collaborate more—and faster. But the toll of all this time on collaborative platforms, email, phone and video calls, meetings, and texts after work is far more severe than companies know. So what can be done? In his breakthrough research using network analysis and hundreds of in-depth interviews, Rob Cross has found the answer to collaboration overload. By taking action on three fronts, the best performers streamline collaboration and keep overload from derailing their careers. They use their freed-up time to invest in collaboration activities that drive performance by: Mobilizing a broad network for scale Creating "pull" by drawing people and ideas to them Engaging in renewal activities to promote well-being High performers in today's hyperconnected world create enormous impact through their networks while, amazingly, spending the least amount of time on collaborative tasks. They don't do anything magical. They simply make sure that they collaborate only where they can add unique value—and only where collaboration provides unique value to them. You can do it too. And by applying these collaborators' best practices, you can reclaim a whopping 18 percent to 24 percent of your time—a workday every week—to invest in activities that contribute to your professional success and your overall well-being.

Overload
Overload

Author: Erin L. Kelly

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-10-05

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 0691230803

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Why too much work and too little time is hurting workers and companies—and how a proven workplace redesign can benefit employees and the bottom line Today's ways of working are not working—even for professionals in "good" jobs. Responding to global competition and pressure from financial markets, companies are asking employees to do more with less, even as new technologies normalize 24/7 job expectations. In Overload, Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen document how this new intensification of work creates chronic stress, leading to burnout, attrition, and underperformance. "Flexible" work policies and corporate lip service about "work-life balance" don't come close to fixing the problem. But this unhealthy and unsustainable situation can be changed—and Overload shows how. Drawing on five years of research, including hundreds of interviews with employees and managers, Kelly and Moen tell the story of a major experiment that they helped design and implement at a Fortune 500 firm. The company adopted creative and practical work redesigns that gave workers more control over how and where they worked and encouraged managers to evaluate performance in new ways. The result? Employees' health, well-being, and ability to manage their personal and work lives improved, while the company benefited from higher job satisfaction and lower turnover. And, as Kelly and Moen show, such changes can—and should—be made on a wide scale. Complete with advice about ways that employees, managers, and corporate leaders can begin to question and fix one of today's most serious workplace problems, Overload is an inspiring account about how rethinking and redesigning work could transform our lives and companies.

Site Reliability Engineering
Site Reliability Engineering

Author: Niall Richard Murphy

Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."

Published: 2016-03-23

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 1491951176

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The overwhelming majority of a software system’s lifespan is spent in use, not in design or implementation. So, why does conventional wisdom insist that software engineers focus primarily on the design and development of large-scale computing systems? In this collection of essays and articles, key members of Google’s Site Reliability Team explain how and why their commitment to the entire lifecycle has enabled the company to successfully build, deploy, monitor, and maintain some of the largest software systems in the world. You’ll learn the principles and practices that enable Google engineers to make systems more scalable, reliable, and efficient—lessons directly applicable to your organization. This book is divided into four sections: Introduction—Learn what site reliability engineering is and why it differs from conventional IT industry practices Principles—Examine the patterns, behaviors, and areas of concern that influence the work of a site reliability engineer (SRE) Practices—Understand the theory and practice of an SRE’s day-to-day work: building and operating large distributed computing systems Management—Explore Google's best practices for training, communication, and meetings that your organization can use

Beyond Individual Differences
Beyond Individual Differences

Author: Charles A. Ahern

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-09-15

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 1461406412

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In an era of intense interest in educational reform, spurred by increasing global competition for jobs and advancement, it is more critical than ever to understand the nature of learning. And although much attention is paid to differences between learners, short shrift is often given to cognitive functions that characterize successful learning for all students. Yet these are the very functions that determine the difference between successful and rewarding learning versus merely “doing” without truly learning. Firmly grounded in the principles of neuropsychology, Beyond Individual Differences analyzes both successful and unproductive learning in terms of the brain’s organizing processes – that is, its unconscious sifting, selecting, and meaning-making that enable students to incorporate and build on what they’ve learned in the past. At the same time, it explores the learning situations that cause organization to break down and offers several preventive strategies. Key areas of coverage include: The complex role of mental organization in learning and education. Specific organizing processes and the links to success or failure in learning. Information/cognitive overload. The student’s experience of learning and its impact on development. Accommodating a range of individual differences in the classroom. Practices for supporting students’ unconscious organizing processes. Beyond Individual Differences is essential reading for a wide range of professionals and policy makers as well as researchers and graduate students in school and clinical child psychology, special and general education, social work and school counseling, speech therapy, and neuropsychology.

Collaboration
Collaboration

Author: Morten T. Hansen

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1422115151

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"Deciding when to collaborate - and when not to - is the first critical step in disciplined collaboration. To master collaboration is to know when not to do it. ... Highlights common collaboration traps that managers must avoid. ... Also identifies four major barriers to successful collaboration - the "not-invented-here" syndrome, hoarding, search problems, and transfer issues - and show leaders how to spot them." - cover.

A World Without Email
A World Without Email

Author: Cal Newport

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-03-02

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0525536558

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New York Times bestseller! From New York Times bestselling author Cal Newport comes a bold vision for liberating workers from the tyranny of the inbox--and unleashing a new era of productivity. Modern knowledge workers communicate constantly. Their days are defined by a relentless barrage of incoming messages and back-and-forth digital conversations--a state of constant, anxious chatter in which nobody can disconnect, and so nobody has the cognitive bandwidth to perform substantive work. There was a time when tools like email felt cutting edge, but a thorough review of current evidence reveals that the "hyperactive hive mind" workflow they helped create has become a productivity disaster, reducing profitability and perhaps even slowing overall economic growth. Equally worrisome, it makes us miserable. Humans are simply not wired for constant digital communication. We have become so used to an inbox-driven workday that it's hard to imagine alternatives. But they do exist. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, author and computer science professor Cal Newport makes the case that our current approach to work is broken, then lays out a series of principles and concrete instructions for fixing it. In A World without Email, he argues for a workplace in which clear processes--not haphazard messaging--define how tasks are identified, assigned and reviewed. Each person works on fewer things (but does them better), and aggressive investment in support reduces the ever-increasing burden of administrative tasks. Above all else, important communication is streamlined, and inboxes and chat channels are no longer central to how work unfolds. The knowledge sector's evolution beyond the hyperactive hive mind is inevitable. The question is not whether a world without email is coming (it is), but whether you'll be ahead of this trend. If you're a CEO seeking a competitive edge, an entrepreneur convinced your productivity could be higher, or an employee exhausted by your inbox, A World Without Email will convince you that the time has come for bold changes, and will walk you through exactly how to make them happen.

HBR Guide to Collaborative Teams (HBR Guide Series)
HBR Guide to Collaborative Teams (HBR Guide Series)

Author: Harvard Business Review

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2021-08-03

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 1647820901

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Break down the barriers to effective collaboration. For cross-functional projects to work, you need to bring together diverse ideas and resources from across your organization. But office politics, conflicting objectives, and lack of clear authority can get in the way. The HBR Guide to Collaborative Teams provides practical tips and advice to help you collaborate more effectively. Whether you're leading your own direct reports or building a talented group from disparate parts of your organization, you'll discover how to align others' goals and skills so you can solve problems as a team and deliver great results. You'll learn to: Develop a shared purpose Bust departmental silos Lead employees who don't report to you Overcome conflict and turf wars Prevent collaborative overload and fatigue Use the right tools for virtual information sharing Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

The Hidden Power of Social Networks
The Hidden Power of Social Networks

Author: Robert L. Cross

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press

Published: 2004-06-02

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1633691535

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A powerful, visual framework helps managers discover how employees really communicate and collaborate to get work done - and helps them identify ways they can influence these social networks to improve performance and innovation. In The Hidden Power of Social Networks, Cross and Parker, experts in "social network analysis"—a technique that visually maps relationships between people in large, distributed groups - apply this powerful tool to management for the first time. Based on their in-depth study of sixty informal employee networks in well-known companies around the world, Cross and Parker show managers how to conduct a social network analysis of their organization.

Brave New Work
Brave New Work

Author: Aaron Dignan

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2019-02-19

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0525536213

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“This is the management book of the year. Clear, powerful and urgent, it's a must read for anyone who cares about where they work and how they work.” —Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing “This book is a breath of fresh air. Read it now, and make sure your boss does too.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg When fast-scaling startups and global organizations get stuck, they call Aaron Dignan. In this book, he reveals his proven approach for eliminating red tape, dissolving bureaucracy, and doing the best work of your life. He’s found that nearly everyone, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, points to the same frustrations: lack of trust, bottlenecks in decision making, siloed functions and teams, meeting and email overload, tiresome budgeting, short-term thinking, and more. Is there any hope for a solution? Haven’t countless business gurus promised the answer, yet changed almost nothing about the way we work? That’s because we fail to recognize that organizations aren’t machines to be predicted and controlled. They’re complex human systems full of potential waiting to be released. Dignan says you can’t fix a team, department, or organization by tinkering around the edges. Over the years, he has helped his clients completely reinvent their operating systems—the fundamental principles and practices that shape their culture—with extraordinary success. Imagine a bank that abandoned traditional budgeting, only to outperform its competition for decades. An appliance manufacturer that divided itself into 2,000 autonomous teams, resulting not in chaos but rapid growth. A healthcare provider with an HQ of just 50 people supporting over 14,000 people in the field—that is named the “best place to work” year after year. And even a team that saved $3 million per year by cancelling one monthly meeting. Their stories may sound improbable, but in Brave New Work you’ll learn exactly how they and other organizations are inventing a smarter, healthier, and more effective way to work. Not through top down mandates, but through a groundswell of autonomy, trust, and transparency. Whether you lead a team of ten or ten thousand, improving your operating system is the single most powerful thing you can do. The only question is, are you ready?