The last word
Endnotes
About the author: Cyril Peupion
Primary Asset Consulting
Overview
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN WORK?
Most of us have never been taught how to work.
A very bold statement to start with …
However this is one of the most important reasons for lack of execution and lower-than-expected performance. Most of us are committed to our role and want to do a good job. We are neither lazy nor unwilling. But we are not always working efficiently; we are working hard but not always smart.
Quite often we believe that to increase our performance, our revenue or our profits, we need to do more. We believe we must work longer hours, make more phone calls and attend more meetings. And in our busy working life, doing more is either almost impossible or carries a high price. We spend less time with our loved ones, we neglect our health, we put some of our passions and hobbies on the back burner and we end up frustrated, feeling out of control and stressed.
Disorganised work environments, unread emails, missed deadlines and feeling overwhelmed and stressed are real pressures for many people in their working days. Most of us spend important parts of our day on low-value activities, failing to deliver high performance. This greatly impacts on our ability to perform, on the performance of our people and on the performance of our company.
This book is not about having a tidy desk and a clean inbox. It is much more than that.
Cyril Peupion’s main focus is to improve companies’ performances and change people’s lives by challenging their work habits. Cyril will challenge your way of thinking about performance and give you simple and practical tools to be more effective, to focus on the right things. You will learn how to become a proactive leader rather than just being a reactive follower.
Introduction
An evening in Paris
It was a comfortable Paris evening. We had enjoyed dinner and were about to go out to watch a movie. I was with my closest friends. I was happy. I was feeling great. Then someone asked, ‘Have you heard about Sophie? Her father has been diagnosed with cancer and only has a few weeks to live.’
Sophie’s father had not yet retired. He had worked hard all his life, and was just about to enjoy a well-deserved and wealthy retirement. He had a lovely family and was looking forward to spending more time with his wife, children and soon grandchildren.
But now this would never happen.
Later, it hit me more than I had realised at the time. Gradually, the questions took hold and grew within me. Is this what life is about? Working long hours most of your life to retire too old and too tired to really enjoy the things you always wanted to do and the people you really love? Or worse, dying before that retirement can even begin?
It made me realise the value of time and enjoyment of life day after day, to take every day as potentially the last. In all fairness it took many years for me to absorb the lesson of that evening. And I am sure I am continuing to digest it.
When delivering the commencement speech to Stanford University students in 2005, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc, made this interesting statement:
‘For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?
‘And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something … almost everything.
‘All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.’
Although the intention of this book is to get your business life back in control, focusing on what is truly important for you is really what this book is about. Do you live your life, both personally and professionally, as if each day were potentially the last? Do you wake up every day feeling 100% positive about the day?
When is your day?
I would like you to imagine something crazy. Imagine you have just won the lottery. You won five million dollars, and the money has just been transferred to your bank account. The dream is now a reality, the money is yours. What would you do with this money? Be honest, crazy, fun. What would you buy with it, small and big, long term and short term?
When I ask this question in my seminars, I get both serious long-term answers as well as fun short-term crazy spending ideas: ‘I’ll pay off my mortgage,’; ‘I’ll invest in real estate,’; ‘I’ll invest in shares,’ … as well as, ‘I’ll buy a nice convertible,’; ‘I’ll go travelling for a year,’; ‘I’ll buy my wife and kids some amazing presents.’ One woman even said she would go on a shoe shopping frenzy …
Imagine now you won the lottery, but the prize comes with strings attached to it. You have won five million dollars, but you cannot earn, win or inherit any more money for the rest of your life. You can invest some or all of the five million. However, even if you work, you can’t earn a salary. All you have to play with is this five million dollars. What would you do with this money?
When I ask this second question, most of the fun or short-term answers suddenly evaporate. Most people are now thinking about paying off their debts and investing, seeking some financial advice and planning carefully how to manage their money.
Interestingly enough, when the amount of something is limited we better appreciate the value of it. We put more effort into thinking about it and planning what to do with it.
Third test. You must be thinking by now that this is a very strange lottery indeed. And you are right. Imagine this time the lottery man comes with a different proposition. He is holding a briefcase with some money inside. You don’t know how much money is inside the briefcase. There could be anything between five dollars and a hundred million dollars. There could be $5, $10, $100, $1000, $1 million … you do not know.
However this time the offer is different: it’s a ‘deal or no deal’. If you take the briefcase, and the money within, we will take all your belongings and the money in the briefcase is all you will have for the rest of your life. You cannot earn, win or inherit any more money for the rest of your life. You can invest some or all of the money. However, even if you work, you can’t earn a salary. All you have to play with is the amount in the briefcase.
You could be lucky and end up with a hundred million dollars, or be unlucky and end up with only five dollars for the rest of your life. Deal or no deal? Would you take the briefcase?
I have had a few people who have been tempted — less than 1%. The overwhelming majority of people would not take this deal.
Fourth and last test. Same proposition as the third test. The lottery man comes with a briefcase with some money inside, anything from five dollars to a hundred million dollars. Same as the previous proposition: if you take the briefcase, all your belongings will be taken away from you and all you will have to invest
