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Time is the single greatest investment and resource you put into your career. However, this time is not automatically converted into the experience and algorithm that will drive your real individual growth
and career success. To convert time into experience, you require a catalyst, and that catalyst is TMRR: Target, Measure, Review and Reflect. To make this effective, you must build an anchored habit of reflection on the question ‘What could I have done better?’ The single greatest difference I have seen between more successful people and less successful people is their ability to catalyse and convert time into experience. Hence, it is worth all the effort that you can put in to adopt the catalyst of TMRR in your work and develop an anchored habit of daily reflection.
Successful people seemed to have participated in more major learning cycles than those who are less
successful. Successful people seemed to have extracted more experience and real individual growth out of the learning cycles they participated in than less successful people.
successful people seem to realize that major learning cycles represent a fantastic opportunity to gain experience and drive a steep jump in real individual growth. Hence, they increase the intensity of their engagement and prioritize the learning cycle in their work lives. They try to be at their best in a major learning cycle. They do this by increasing the extent of time they spend on the learning cycle, being at their best in terms of concentration, creativity and communication and being ultra-disciplined on the TMRR execution for themselves.
Trying to operate at a level higher than your organizational position in a major learning cycle is a fantastic way to maximize the learning value of that cycle.
success is a partnership of the experience algorithm and
productivity. The algorithm is your ability to respond to a situation and get to the right answer; it is the ability to generate solutions to complex problems. In a way, the experience algorithm is the summary of your capabilities. That summary of capabilities has to be put to productive use to be able to finally create value and a favourable output. The output, then, is a multiplication of the algorithm
and the productivity used i...
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Productivity is the means by which you convert your algorithm into output.
the only thing common between a watchman and a chairman is twenty-four hours a day.
Superior capabilities and algorithm helps you deal with the higher complexity of the problem, but it is only higher productivity that will help you deal with the quantity/breadth of issues.
To increase your productivity, focus relentlessly on whatever is in your circle of influence. Spend all your time on what you can make a difference to, even if in the beginning it looks small. Avoid the circle of concern like the plague. It is not about how much time you waste there—maybe you can afford to waste that time—but the more harmful impact of it is the energy it destroys, the negativity it creates in you, which then has a cascading impact even on the time you spend in your circle of influence.
Frustration happens when you feel you are doing your best and yet things are not moving ahead. Then I go back and analyse why.
assess whether the circle of concern is taking up too much of my focus. I go back and check whether I am spending my time/energy/resources on the rocks. Typically, the problem would be in one of these areas, and once I correct it, I can sense my productivity come back up fairly quickly.
To be successful, to generate real individual growth, just developing your experience algorithm is not enough. You have to employ that algorithm in a highly productive way. Your productivity is the means by which you convert your experience algorithm into value and results for yourself and your organization.
The higher you go in the corporate ladder, the more the need to grow your productivity. And your productivity does not increase by itself; it has to be catalysed to grow. The catalysts I have used in my work life for my productivity are: Relentless focus on the circle of influence and avoiding like a plague what is in the circle of concern. Having a disciplined ‘rocks first’ time-allocation system, where I ensure that I provide my time/energy for the rocks
and not the sand. If you’d like to, you can use my methods. If not, you can develop your own. Whatever be the method, plea...
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Converting time into experience is
the very bedrock of real individual growth. An effective TMRR model is the key to converting the time you are spending at work into an experience algorithm that will drive your success in the future. Applying the TMRR algorithm on major learning cycles is an exponential way to drive real individual growth. Just building the experience algorithm is not enough. You have to parallelly grow your productivity. Productivity is the means through which you can convert the experience algorithm into results. The key to growing productivity is to focus on the circle of influence
and to make sure you allocate your time to the rocks ...
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win where it matters—in the second half of your career.
The more significant career achievements are often in the second half of the career. Most people succeed in the first halves of their careers, very few in the second.
The question that naturally follows is the ‘why’ of it—why do most people find it easy to succeed in the first halves of their careers and difficult to succeed in the second? There are three factors that explain this:
The nature of the organizational pyramid. The impact of the boss and supervisors. The preparation required to succeed at each level.
there are fewer opportunities in the second half and those few opportunities are determined on relativity and not absolute capability. Hence, opportunity becomes a constraint in the second half of your career.
In the first half, bosses and the organizational systems and processes make up for weaknesses that individuals have, and hence, it does not impede their career progress. However, in the second half, the supervision that people receive from their bosses and others in the organization is limited. Results have to be produced based on your own capabilities, and impact can be measured far more accurately.
the current job of the individual does not prepare them adequately to succeed at the next level, and so people often have to learn after getting there in order to succeed.
the three factors that explain why most people succeed in the first halves of their careers, and very few in the second, as explained above are: the nature of the organizational pyramid, the impact of the boss and supervisors and, lastly, the preparation required to succeed at each level.
where you need to succeed is where it is more difficult to succeed.
The question then is, if it is so obvious that there is tremendous ROI in focusing on foundation-building in the first half rather than chasing short-term career success, then why is it not practised? I believe there are three reasons for this: inability to
delay gratification, being in the rat race of comparing self with others and, lastly, lack of knowledge and guidance in building the foundation.
To truly succeed in your career, you need to win when it matters, which is the second half. Most people win in the first half, very few in the second. However, success in the second half does not happen based on what you do in the second half. It has to be catalysed by the foundation-building
building you do in the first. Foundation-building in the first half is easier said than done. There are three key barriers people have to overcome to do the foundation-building: Inability to delay gratification. The pressure of winning the rat race. Lack of knowledge and suitable guidance on how to do foundation-building.
focus on depth over width, complete major learning cycles and get out there when you can.
depth builds skills, while width primarily builds knowledge and information.
too much knowledge can be a barrier at times, as knowledge and information is continuously changing, and if you are a prisoner of past knowledge, then you are not able to accept new knowledge and information
these, then, are my three principles for foundation-building in the first half—favour depth over width, complete major learning cycles and get out there when you can.
Unleash the Catalyst Foundation-building in the first half is the catalyst for success in the second half. To make the right
career choices in the first half, take decisions that maximize real individual growth rather than short-term career success. Focusing on career choices that favour depth over width is important for foundation-building. Depth drives skill-building, which is more important for the experience algorithm in the longer term. Length in roles also allows you to learn how to get to high-hanging fruit, which is important for success in the second half. There will be many learning cycles that you will experience in your career. However, out of these many, there would be only 4–5
major learning cycles. These will be the career-defining ones. It is important to know when you are in one of them. Always take decisions that allow you to complete a major learning cycle; never leave one incomplete. Get out there when you can. It is imp...
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there is a catalysing impact that your bosses in your foundational years have on your long-term career success.
These bosses, in a very intuitive way, are responsible for establishing the TMRR framework in you in your foundational years. Of course, they push for the target and the measurement, but the review they do is not just for results but also for learning.
The other type of boss ensures that you deliver the results—you might even get a promotion because of that—but they do not aid your conversion of time into experience and they are not enablers in establishing the TMRR algorithm in your head. They
In your foundational years, evaluate a good boss based on what they do for your algorithm, what permanent good change they bring in you, and less by whether they make you ‘feel good’.
Being nice is a good human quality which all of us must aim for.
there are only two things you can’t choose in your life—your parents and your bosses.
If you can be a good subordinate, you will be noticed by the good bosses in your ecosystem. Good bosses also have a lot of leverage in the organizations they work in. If they spot a good subordinate, they have the leverage and influence to get that subordinate working for them in their team soon.
Good bosses are gold dust and if you do end up with one, it is worthwhile to make career choices to try and prolong working with that boss.
Hence there are three clear pathways, three things you can do to improve the probability of getting a good boss in your foundational years. These are—being a good subordinate, working in companies that have a higher percentage of good bosses and hanging on to good bosses when you find them.
