Taylorism: Work Faster!

In 2004, General Stanley McChrystal took over as commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. The sprawling organization—encompassing strategists, analysts, and elite special forces from every branch of the U.S. military—was struggling to make headway against an unconventional enemy and environment.

In Team of Teams, McChrystal describes how he transformed the slow-moving bureaucratic task force into an agile, adaptable network of teams united by a “shared consciousness”, trust, and decentralized decision-making. After years of being outmaneuvered by Al Qaeda, the reinvented task force pulled together to eliminate terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and began winning the fight against terrorism in Iraq. These accomplishments hold lessons for all kinds of organizations struggling with unconventional challenges and environments today.

Peter F. Drucker is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the field of modern management. Drawing from his decades of experience as a consultant, Drucker authored dozens of books on organizational management and innovation, and he’s been cited as a major influence on many of today’s business leaders. The Essential Drucker is composed of key chapters from Drucker’s most respected works and provides an overview of Drucker’s core ideas.

In this guide, we’ll distill the heart of Drucker’s writings, from the roles and duties of management to the skills managers need to keep a workforce productive. We’ll explore the responsibilities of management to society and its importance in fostering innovation. We’ll also turn to other business writers who’ve expanded from Drucker’s principles, companies that have successfully implemented Drucker’s concepts, and experts who offer ideas that contrast with those that Drucker presents.

How did Toyota grow from its humble beginnings in pre-WWII Japan to become the biggest automaker in the world? Why does the company guarantee job security to their workers, even during global crises? And how can you use Toyota’s methods to improve the efficiency of anything from a multimillion-dollar business to your own morning routine?

In The Toyota Way, engineering professor and lean manufacturing consultant Jeffrey Liker describes the work practices that led to Toyota’s meteoric rise and became known as lean manufacturing. Behind the scenes at Toyota, workers problem-solve on the spot and ruthlessly eliminate waste, and the company supports them by offering job security and constant on-the-job challenges. Liker also points out ways in which businesses commonly misunderstand or misapply these principles and offers advice on how to tailor Toyota’s methods to individual businesses.

In this guide, we describe Toyota’s methods and add tips on applying them outside the manufacturing sector. We also balance Liker’s account by discussing cases in which Toyota’s practices seem to conflict with its ideals.

In 2004, General Stanley McChrystal took over as commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. The sprawling organization—encompassing strategists, analysts, and elite special forces from every branch of the U.S. military—was struggling to make headway against an unconventional enemy and environment.

In Team of Teams, McChrystal describes how he transformed the slow-moving bureaucratic task force into an agile, adaptable network of teams united by a “shared consciousness”, trust, and decentralized decision-making. After years of being outmaneuvered by Al Qaeda, the reinvented task force pulled together to eliminate terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and began winning the fight against terrorism in Iraq. These accomplishments hold lessons for all kinds of organizations struggling with unconventional challenges and environments today.

In today’s fast-paced world, our lives increasingly revolve around productivity, efficiency, and work. It’s now normal for many people to answer emails during dinner and pack their days with as many tasks as possible. Yet in Do Nothing, radio journalist Celeste Headlee argues that by trying to do too much, people are working less efficiently because the human brain isn’t designed to multitask or work without rest. In addition, the culture of overworking has led to worse health outcomes and increased social isolation.

So if all this work isn’t serving us, how can we end an addiction to productivity? And if not work, what should we be doing? Headlee’s solution is to embrace true leisure—doing things just for the fun of it. In this guide, we’ll explain the historical origins of the modern work addiction, how it impacts society, and what you can do to live a healthier life. We’ll also supplement Headlee’s ideas with more context on global labor trends and tips from other wellness and productivity experts.

In Nine Lies About Work, Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall argue that many of our workplace norms and practices are flawed. As a result, a majority of workers aren’t engaged at work and productivity growth is lagging. Thus, these typical practices prevent people and organizations from flourishing. To build thriving organizations, they assert that today’s leader should be a freethinking leader, one who questions established systems and beliefs and who values individuality over conformity.

In this guide, we explore why people don’t need feedback, why organizations shouldn’t invest in people who have “potential,” and why we should forget about work-life balance. We’ll also compare the authors’ ideas with those of other leadership experts, discuss research that supports or counters their arguments, and include tips to help you replace the lies with truths.

In 2004, General Stanley McChrystal took over as commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. The sprawling organization—encompassing strategists, analysts, and elite special forces from every branch of the U.S. military—was struggling to make headway against an unconventional enemy and environment.

In Team of Teams, McChrystal describes how he transformed the slow-moving bureaucratic task force into an agile, adaptable network of teams united by a “shared consciousness”, trust, and decentralized decision-making. After years of being outmaneuvered by Al Qaeda, the reinvented task force pulled together to eliminate terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and began winning the fight against terrorism in Iraq. These accomplishments hold lessons for all kinds of organizations struggling with unconventional challenges and environments today.

In today’s fast-paced world, our lives increasingly revolve around productivity, efficiency, and work. It’s now normal for many people to answer emails during dinner and pack their days with as many tasks as possible. Yet in Do Nothing, radio journalist Celeste Headlee argues that by trying to do too much, people are working less efficiently because the human brain isn’t designed to multitask or work without rest. In addition, the culture of overworking has led to worse health outcomes and increased social isolation.

So if all this work isn’t serving us, how can we end an addiction to productivity? And if not work, what should we be doing? Headlee’s solution is to embrace true leisure—doing things just for the fun of it. In this guide, we’ll explain the historical origins of the modern work addiction, how it impacts society, and what you can do to live a healthier life. We’ll also supplement Headlee’s ideas with more context on global labor trends and tips from other wellness and productivity experts.

What’s the secret to a happy marriage? That’s the question relationship researcher John Gottman (along with co-author Nan Silver) answers in The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work—a step-by-step blueprint to cultivating a happier, emotionally fulfilling marriage. Gottman’s expertise stems from his research at the Love Lab, a laboratory at the University of Washington in Seattle devoted to deciphering the secrets of happy couples.

In this guide, we’ll explain why becoming genuine friends with your spouse is essential to your marital happiness and how you can improve your marital friendship by following four principles. Then, we’ll describe how fighting can increase your risk of divorce—and which relationship behaviors Gottman relies on to predict divorce with 91% accuracy. We’ll also share Gottman’s three principles for learning to handle conflict effectively. Along the way, we’ll compare Gottman’s advice to that of other relationship experts and share further strategies to implement Gottman’s suggestions.

In 2004, General Stanley McChrystal took over as commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. The sprawling organization—encompassing strategists, analysts, and elite special forces from every branch of the U.S. military—was struggling to make headway against an unconventional enemy and environment.

In Team of Teams, McChrystal describes how he transformed the slow-moving bureaucratic task force into an agile, adaptable network of teams united by a “shared consciousness”, trust, and decentralized decision-making. After years of being outmaneuvered by Al Qaeda, the reinvented task force pulled together to eliminate terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and began winning the fight against terrorism in Iraq. These accomplishments hold lessons for all kinds of organizations struggling with unconventional challenges and environments today.

Peter F. Drucker is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the field of modern management. Drawing from his decades of experience as a consultant, Drucker authored dozens of books on organizational management and innovation, and he’s been cited as a major influence on many of today’s business leaders. The Essential Drucker is composed of key chapters from Drucker’s most respected works and provides an overview of Drucker’s core ideas.

In this guide, we’ll distill the heart of Drucker’s writings, from the roles and duties of management to the skills managers need to keep a workforce productive. We’ll explore the responsibilities of management to society and its importance in fostering innovation. We’ll also turn to other business writers who’ve expanded from Drucker’s principles, companies that have successfully implemented Drucker’s concepts, and experts who offer ideas that contrast with those that Drucker presents.

In today’s fast-paced world, our lives increasingly revolve around productivity, efficiency, and work. It’s now normal for many people to answer emails during dinner and pack their days with as many tasks as possible. Yet in Do Nothing, radio journalist Celeste Headlee argues that by trying to do too much, people are working less efficiently because the human brain isn’t designed to multitask or work without rest. In addition, the culture of overworking has led to worse health outcomes and increased social isolation.

So if all this work isn’t serving us, how can we end an addiction to productivity? And if not work, what should we be doing? Headlee’s solution is to embrace true leisure—doing things just for the fun of it. In this guide, we’ll explain the historical origins of the modern work addiction, how it impacts society, and what you can do to live a healthier life. We’ll also supplement Headlee’s ideas with more context on global labor trends and tips from other wellness and productivity experts.