senior manager to chief executive, chairman or owner and all points in between. Otherwise, I sense I might provoke a sense of frustration from those who agree with the ideas but feel powerless to move things forward.
However, if you’ve not yet succeeded in attaining the levels of responsibility some of the examples require, not to worry. Park the ideas until you’re ready and you’ll start off in the right way. It’s much better than trying to change something you’ve put in place that already needs fixing.
Revolutionaries are self-disciplined and focused on the final result. To that end, apply the principles that run through this book. You’ll recognise them in the many stories and anecdotes as the chapters unfold.
• Invest time wisely. It’s always in short supply and not easily stored for another day. An invaluable resource. The revolutionary spends their time on the right things each week to improve the chances of effective results and maximum satisfaction.
• Find better ways. Around you there are many examples of better ways to solve your own problems and create compelling opportunities. Learn to look outside.
• Simple, not complicated. Revolutionaries are mission clear. Too many moving parts and you’ll increase the chance of failure. Avoid the trap of trying to solve complex problems with complex solutions. Whatever you’re doing or saying, keep it simple.
• Now, not later. The enemy of effective working is procrastination. What is wrong with now?
• Evidence-based decision making. Sometimes there will be little to go on. But this is rare. More likely, the facts are there, but overruled by emotions. Be strong. Look for evidence to back up decisions. Before you decide, how do you really know?
• Positive mindset. Revolutionaries never win without belief. Neither will you.
The Monday Revolution is a state of mind to apply on the first day of the week. It’s a metaphor for recognising that some things need to change now. It’s an approach that relies on simple steps to achieve smart ways of getting things done, immediately.
The business world is complex and that’s not going to stop anytime soon. The ever-increasing supply of information, disruptive competition and growing demands on executive time point to a different approach to organising and running a company. Traditional ways of operating are simply no longer good enough.
Change rarely suddenly arrives. It’s a constant. The pace may vary but it never stops. Recognition and acknowledgement are the drivers of action, which is about taking control and building those challenges into your daily routine. It’s a rocky journey where you never arrive at the destination. But that’s why life is exciting. In the early part of my business career, I used to think all I needed to do was deal with the current challenges and some form of steady state would kick in. After a few years, I realised that was the steady state! Constant disruption and left-field moments to sort out are part of the way strong companies are built. They become part of the business DNA.
Changing an organisation from the middle, or even the upper, ranks is no easy task. Yet, there are steps to take which can significantly improve productivity, the working day and the satisfaction of going to work. Evolution is how the world has developed over millions of years. But we haven’t got that long. There’s a good chance your working model is broken in many places and will require a more radical approach if things are to change for the better.
And that’s The Monday Revolution.
I’ve worked at and with many businesses, big and small. Some incredibly successful, some not so and some that went bust. In what has been a long life of learning I’ve concluded that simple things done well are more rewarding and definitely more effective. Long-term planning, processes and approvals have their place, but not at the expense of immediate improvement and an ability to look forward to the working week. For me there’s a good test: it’s how you feel on Sunday evening when you think about the days in front of you.
And too often the week is a congested mess of internal and external meetings of little direct relevance. Or tasks that make a limited contribution to the company’s or your own advancement. Yet there they are, sitting in your calendar, a depressing reminder of what’s in store.
I remember that playing for the school football team meant you always escaped double physics (the teacher, not the subject, was the problem) at least twice a month. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the cut so double physics it was. And that’s how many people feel on the eve of their working week. Not enough bright spots and too many things to just get through. Not enjoying their week but enduring it. But it doesn’t have to be like that. With a positive mind and some new ideas, it’s possible to become a better, more effective person. And that means being more satisfied and happier too – which ultimately is what we all want to achieve. Life is far too short to spend it looking back wondering why we didn’t change our ways sooner.
The Monday Revolution is about changing your personal approach to work and life. It’s about taking control of time and spending it on the things that matter. There is great satisfaction in getting things done. Who wants to spend long days in pointless meetings or writing reports that never serve any real purpose?
In many senses it’s about what I call self-honesty. We have a great capacity for misleading ourselves. This is often so subtle that we believe our own deception. We procrastinate, delay or reach hypothetical conclusions that prevent us taking action. Without doubt, one of our greatest hurdles is self-doubt. That in-built fear that most of us seem to keep in reserve for difficult and challenging moments. What might have been originally designed to protect us now regularly holds us back.
Not everything we’re going to do will hit the right spot. Inevitably, there are necessary tasks that we don’t look forward to. But instead of putting them off, it’s much better to deal with them as quickly and efficiently as possible and move on to something better. Not leave them lying around taking up valuable headspace while we worry about not doing them.
We all know people who seem to crack through work at a pace that leaves others in their wake. Are they so much brighter or working longer hours? Usually not. They’re the sort of people who have their own version of The Monday Revolution and apply it within the rules and culture of their organisation. In short, they’ve worked out how to get things done.
Over the coming chapters, we’ll explore everyday tasks and topics you can apply to revolutionise your approach to work. I’ll be covering all those challenging areas that just seem to get in the way, providing real hands-on practical advice that I apply in my own Monday Revolution.
The Monday Revolution will transform how you think about the things that really matter and help you achieve your goals in a highly time-efficient way. You’ll find a summary at the end of each section, which will provide a quick reference to help solve those important daily issues.
Chapter 1
Who’s in charge around here?
Good leader, bad leader
We can all recall bosses we feared, respected or loathed. Some had a major impact on our lives, often extending beyond the workplace. True examples of the best and worst of management behaviour. No doubt we said to ourselves that should our lucky day come, we would remember these times and do our best to manage others as we would like to have
