Double Double summary

What do you do when you’ve got too much on your plate? Most of us make a to-do list or work out how to break our errands down into smaller tasks.

This simple process of taking a larger goal and working backward to break it into smaller goals is called reverse engineering. And it’s vital for making your company’s vision achievable.

We all know that most conflicts come from simple misunderstandings. Yet, whether it’s with our spouse or our coworkers, we still struggle to communicate clearly. If you really want to eliminate conflict, then it’s time to build better communication practices.

Good communication should flow top-down, bottom-up, between peers and across departments. One way to achieve this multi-directional flow is through an open-door policy for employees and leaders, according to which everyone is welcome to pop into anyone’s office to discuss issues.

Good communication is one of the best ways to boost your business. Taking advantage of innovative technology is another! Smart use of digital tools can leverage the productivity of your employees and even allow your business to lower its operation costs.

One way to up your technology-game is by switching from desktop to laptop computers. Not only do laptops cost the same or less, your employees can use them to work from anywhere at any time. For example, instead of wasting time retyping handwritten notes from meetings, your employees can bring their laptops to meetings themselves and have those notes ready straight away. The author even found that once his employees had laptops, they were more likely to take them home to finish up extra work each week.

Considering Google’s success, their corporate motto must be amazing, right? Got a guess what it might be? They came up with it 14 years ago: “Don’t be evil.” This mantra is the basis of a strong company culture that makes Google one of the most attractive employers worldwide. So how can you start implementing your own positive company culture?

Think about your office. Is it a place people are excited to visit each day? If not, it’s time to make some changes. Walls between staff are barriers to teamwork: they downgrade communication, give rise to office politics and diminish team spirit. Super-traditional boardrooms and bland photos on the walls kill creativity. So, do away with traditional private offices and strive for a work environment that’s both open and unconventional.

Running a business is much like riding a roller coaster: you can hold on for dear life and scream, or you can throw your hands in the air and have fun.

The ability to enjoy the ride comes when you get used to the roller coaster’s different stages. So what are they?

Do you struggle to stay on task? Here’s the good news: You’re not alone. The bad news is that if you don’t improve, you’ll put your business at risk. Time for some good news again: There are things you can do to increase productivity!

First, it’s time to put all delusions about your abilities to multitask behind you. Doing a lot of things at once is really just another way of not doing much work on anything at all. Multitasking is procrastination in disguise, so don’t be fooled! Instead, seek out a focused approach to lift your productivity and quality of work.

Ever felt so overwhelmed with work and home issues that you couldn’t muster up the strength to better either situation? Too often, in striving to achieve their personal goals, entrepreneurs forget their personal priorities. But they’re doing themselves no favors, because overwork erodes the quality of their own leadership and can even drive them to a burnout.

Studies have shown that many successful entrepreneurs struggle with bipolar disorder. In fact, it’s manic depression has even been nicknamed “the CEO disease.” But when was the last time you heard a CEO go public – mysterious complaints on Twitter don’t count – with their struggle for mental health?