HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done Quotes

“Give yourself permission to screw up.”
― Harvard Business School Press, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

“There are five degrees of initiative that the manager can exercise in relation to the boss and to the system: wait until told (lowest initiative); ask what to do; recommend, then take resulting action; act, but advise at once; and act on own, then routinely report (highest initiative).”
― Harvard Business Review Press, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

“Specify Level of Initiative Your employees can exercise five levels of initiative in handling on-the-job problems. From lowest to highest, the levels are: Wait until told what to do. Ask what to do. Recommend an action, then with your approval, implement it. Take independent action but advise you at once. Take independent action and update you at an agreed-on time; for example, your weekly meeting. When an employee brings a problem to you, outlaw use of level 1 or 2. Agree on and assign level 3, 4, or 5 to the monkey. Take no more than 15 minutes to discuss the problem.”
― Harvard Business Review Press, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

“To determine the “right things,” we need to make choices that will move us toward the outcomes we most want. Which, of course, means we need to know what our priorities are. In terms of the second challenge—the “doing” or follow-through—we need tools. Rituals. To-do lists. Delegation skills.”
― Harvard Business Review, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

“There are two main challenges in doing the right things: identifying what they are and then doing them.”
― Harvard Business Review, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

“Sometimes we avoid checking in on our progress because we don't want to acknowledge how little progress we've made.”
― Harvard Business School Press, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

“Trying to avoid a thought can make it more active in your brain.”
― Harvard Business School Press, HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done