“Project Oxygen found that a good manager (1) is a good coach (2) empowers and does not micromanage (3) expresses interest and concern in subordinates’ success and well-being (4) is results oriented (5) listens and shares information (6) helps with career development (7) has a clear vision and strategy (8) has key technical skills.” Google’s People Analytics team undertook a study code-named Project Oxygen to determine why some managers were more effective than others.If you are struggling to answer a tedious stream of emails, decide to reply to one from the middle of your inbox.” “This is a useful lesson for anyone hoping to motivate themselves or others, because it suggest an easy method for triggering the will to act: Find a choice, almost any choice, that allows you to exert control.You won’t get home any faster, but it feels better because you feel like you’re in charge.” -Mauricio Delgado “You know when you’re stuck in traffic on the freeway and you see an exit approaching, and you want to take it even though you know it’ll probably take longer to get home? That’s our brains getting excited by the possibility of taking control.They are, on average, more confident and overcome setbacks faster.” “When people believe they are in control, they tend to work harder and push themselves more.To motivate ourselves, we must feel like we are in control.” Motivation is more like a skill, akin to reading or writing, that can be learned and honed…The trick, researchers say, is realizing that a prerequisite to motivation is believing we have authority over our actions and surroundings. “Self-help books and leadership manuals often portray self-motivation as a static feature of our personality…But scientists say motivation is more complicated than that.

It’s about getting things done without sacrificing everything we care about along the way.” It’s a process of learning how to succeed with less stress and struggle. “Productivity, put simply, is the name we give our attempts to figure out the best uses of our energy, intellect, and time as we try to seize the most meaningful rewards with the least wasted effort.

Smarter faster better book