The Productivity Pro® Blog by Laura Stack - Time Management, Getting Things Done, How to Be More Productive

TODAY’S THE DAY!!! Laura Stack’s latest, extraordinary book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (John Wiley & Sons), was released in bookstores TODAY, AUGUST 9! After almost 20 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity, Laura Stack reveals the six behaviors high-achieving professionals demonstrate over their lower-performing peers.

Today is the day to purchase SUPERCOMPETENT and receive the valuable free bonus gifts listed at http://supercompetentbook.com/bonuses.php, as well as hundreds of dollars in valuable bonuses from her sponsors listed at http://supercompetentbook.com/sponsors.php.

What should you do?

1. Purchase your copy of SuperCompetent TODAY from any retail or online store:

• Amazon
• Borders
• Barnes & Noble
• Booksamillion
• CEORead

2. Forward your receipt to Book@TheProductivityPro.com.

What do you get for FREE? All the gifts at http://supercompetentbook.com/bonuses.php!

• Dianna Booher is providing a free eBook Write to the Point.
• Joe Calloway is providing the eBook Becoming a Category of One.
• Eric Chester is providing the eBook Employing Generation Why.
• Terri Sjodin is providing a free subscription to the Presenters post quarterly e-newsletter.
• Chris Widener is providing his “Totally Motivated” eBook.
• Mark Sanborn is providing you with access to his in-depth Encore Assessment, a regular $25.95 value.
• Ford Saeks is offering his “Keywords Secrets” Audio MP3, a $47 value.

“Laura Stack knows how to get things done and in short order! Her latest book offers a great work-life-mind balance, which is the key to going from good to great on a personal basis. Read this book and soar.”
Tim Sanders, author of Love Is The Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends

In this competitive economy, just being able to do your job is no longer enough. Competence is expected; you’ve got to be Super Competent to get an edge.
Whether you’re an employee, an entrepreneur, a team leader, or all of the above, SuperCompetent will give you proven methods to reach your and your team’s maximum potential and achieve breakthrough results. You’ll get to your productive best by mastering six keys to peak performance:

1. Activity: the value and importance you place on your work
2. Availability: your ability to master your schedule
3. Attention: the capacity to focus intently and concentrate on tasks
4. Accessibility: the ability to organize the inputs and outputs in your life
5. Accountability: the extent to which you take personal responsibility for your actions and outcomes
6. Attitude: your motivation, drive, and proactiveness

Laura Stack is an international author, productivity expert and speaker, and founder of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in creating Maximum Results in Minimum Time®. She is the bestselling author of several other books: The Exhaustion Cure; Find More Time; and Leave the Office Earlier. Laura has been a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, Xerox, and Office Depot, and she is the creator of The Productivity Pro® planner by Day-Timer.

Laura commands fees of over $10,000 for one HOUR. You can discover the secrets she teaches to Fortune 500 audiences for less than $20!

To be successful in the business world and reach your full potential in life, it’s not enough to be simply competent. Our modern, super-competitive world is full of opportunities for the go-getter, but to take advantage of them, it’s essential to become “SuperCompetent.” The SUPERCOMPETENT person is one that companies fight to get, fight to keep, nurture as team players, and see as future leaders in their business growth.

“The Productivity Pro, Laura Stack should be known as the Productivity Doctor. This book is like a medical clinic for those seeking to become more productive. I know it has helped me but more importantly the remedies offered by Laura have benefited the people I coach in my professional life. These people keep asking, “Jeff, how do you know how to solve my productivity problems?” My secret weapon…this book.”
Jeff Bettinger, Director Talent Development
Fluor Corporation

SuperCompetence isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something that you can learn, no matter where your strengths lie or what industry you work in. In SUPERCOMPETENT, productivity expert Laura Stack identifies the behaviors that build leadership skills, boost organizational efficiency, and blast high potential producers to the top of their fields.

“This content-rich book is a must read for even those who thought they were productive. Laura Stack delivers specific strategies that will definitely boost your performance and productivity. Her relevant ideas will take you beyond good to SuperCompetent. This book will change how you think about yourself, your time, your use of technology, and your time with others.”
Lisa Ford, Author of #1 selling training series, “How to Give Exceptional Customer Service”

With Stack’s Six Keys, you’ll be able to consistently improve your performance, develop the confidence that will propel you forward, and achieve breakthrough results in your career.

1. Activity: The value and importance you place on your tasks and priorities
2. Availability: The ability to master your schedule and protect your time
3. Attention: The capacity to focus intently and concentrate on critical activities
4. Accessibility: The skill to organize your workflow and quickly find information
5. Accountability: The extent to which you assume personal responsibility for your actions and outcomes
6. Attitude: The intensity of your motivation, drive, and proactiveness

“Ask executives which employees are most valuable to the organization, and they will almost invariably respond, “The people to whom I can point at a problem or opportunity and know that they will get the job done every single time.” These are the super competent people—who are in control of their work—not the other way around. Laura Stack teaches us how to stress less, get much more done, and have more fun while doing it. Reading this book will make a positive impact in your work and your life. Fabulous!”
Joe Calloway, author, Becoming a Category of One

With worksheets and quizzes that help you evaluate your performance at every stage, and invaluable resources for further information, you’ll be able to integrate the Six Keys of SuperCompetence into your daily, weekly, and lifetime business practices. From the sales floor to the conference room, from board meetings to informal networking events, SuperCompetent enables you to build your focus, manage your resources, and maximize your ability to deliver at every level.

Few books are generating the level of advance publicity and acclaim as Laura Stack’s new book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley, 2010). Here’s what the experts are saying:

“Laura is a master at her craft and offers innovative ideas on how to squeeze the most out of our daily lives. Productivity is more than just staying busy; it’s about achieving success and significance in everything you do. She unlocks the secrets to how we can all do more, be more, and have more each and every day.”
Dr. Nido Qubein
President, High Point University
Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Co.

SuperCompetency is not about mantras but about mindsets. SuperCompetent will transform how you think. The Productivity Pro® gives you a clear and practical system for achieving Maximum Results in Minimum Time®.

“HEY YOU! That’s right, you, the person wondering if a book about being SuperCompetent is worth the investment or has any relevance to your life, career, or company. Haven’t you heard? Simply being competent is for Wanna-Be’s. The HEROES actively manage their performance and productivity to achieve the results they want and need. Isn’t that you … or at least the YOU that you want to be? SuperCompetent is that rare book that combines ideas you can implement immediately with thoughtful truths to keep you focused on what is really important. So what are you waiting for? Buy this book. Study and apply its lessons. And, give yourself an edge in your career and your life.”
Randy G. Pennington, Author, Results Rule! Build a Culture that Blows the Competition Away

Take the SUPERCOMPETENT assessment, download articles, watch a video, and join our Discussion Forum at www.SuperCompetentBook.com!

“Become more aerodynamic. That’s what Laura Stack helps her reader to do with her tremendously practical book, SuperCompetent. Consider the racing industry. In all of its various forms – cars, bikes, humans, horses – the principle of aerodynamics rules. Some of the smallest design changes can elevate performance monumentally. In my work with high-performing, high-potential leaders, I have found time and again that increasing effectiveness is almost singularly hinged upon decreasing interference. Simple? Perhaps. Easy? Not so much. Effective? Without a doubt. Using Laura’s Six Keys, a leader can identify, diagnose, and understand specific sources of interference. Using the numerous practical tips Laura provides with each of those Six Keys, that leader can then work ruthlessly to reduce each source to perform at his or her productive best.”
Catherine Stewart, SPHR
High-potential program developer and manager

With SUPERCOMPETENT, you will discover how to:
• Create systems to perform tasks more efficiently, so you can leave the office on time.
• Accomplish the day’s most profitable and valuable activities.
• Refuse requests when appropriate and learn to say no graciously.
• Push tasks down to the lowest level of responsibility, trusting others to do their jobs.
• Limit your multi-tasking in order to maximize your focus and productivity.
• Create the perfect time management system for your personality, environment, and work situation.
• Organize your email and regularly empty your inbox.
• Track your historical communications, phone calls, and meeting results.
• Work efficiently and get a lot accomplished while traveling.
• Increase team efficiency by improving unusually lengthy or inefficient processes.
• Make decisions quickly, once you have all the information you need.
• Remain open to change and always seek better solutions.

“Every CEO should make this required reading for every employee. After 20 years of turning around the results of companies, I only wish I had this on my recommended reading list for clients earlier. Uncommon sense that will turn any organization into a Thank God It’s Monday Results Rule Workplace!”
Roxanne Emmerich, CEO, The Emmerich Group, Inc.
Author, Thank God It’s Monday!

Purchase SUPERCOMPETENT today, August 9, and forward your receipt to Book@TheProductivityPro.com. You’ll receive free the bonus gifts listed at http://supercompetentbook.com/bonuses.php.

Thank you!

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The book launch date is fast approaching, but it’s not too late to join the online campaign for my new book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best. We will list you on the SuperCompetentBook.com site as a partner with a link to your site, and all you need to do is send a message to your subscribers on Monday, August 9 to share with them the information about my new book. It’s as easy as that!

To join the campaign, visit Hasmark at http://hasmarkservices.com/campaigns/stack.html and sign up.

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This article correlates to the fifth key in my newest book SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley), to be released on August 9: ACCOUNTABILITY. 

Accountability recognizes that “the buck stops here.”

SuperCompetent people mean what they say and say what they mean. They’re authentic, and other people know this and appreciate them for it—and also for their refusal to blame others when unforeseen circumstances trip them up. Their intense focus on their values is borne out in their demeanor and their sense of personal responsibility.

Accountability involves your commitment to yourself and others. It’s about the promises we make to the people who rely on us—and to ourselves. It’s about consistently hitting goals, meeting deadlines, fulfilling promises, and committing to teamwork.

The truly Accountable understand that in almost every circumstance, they’re responsible for who they are and where they are.

A high level of self discipline and Accountability can be achieved by consistently practicing the following precepts:

1. Take personal responsibility for handling your time and productivity. Never lay the blame on anyone else. Unless you live in a totalitarian state or are an indentured servant (unlikely), then when it comes to productivity, it’s all up to you. If something or someone gets in your way, it’s your duty to go around.

2. When a process seems unusually long and inefficient, do what you can to make it easier for everyone. Just because something’s been done a certain way for a long time doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it now. If you find a problem, step forward and fix it if you can—or offer a solution if you can’t.

3. Rather than waste even small amounts of productive time, get right to work. Breaks are necessary, but don’t overindulge in them. Self-discipline is important in any field of endeavor. Without it, deadlines get missed, you feel guilty—and guilt sucks the energy right out of you. Or you get fired. Or both.

4. When you have all the information you need to proceed, make decisions immediately. You have to make critical decisions quickly whenever it’s necessary and you’re empowered to do so. Don’t let worry or social inertia slow you down, because motion beats meditation every time if you have all the data you need.

5. Understand the difference between being busy and being productive. Don’t let little tasks keep you from getting things done. Most of us spend too much time tending to minor issues that other people can handle more cheaply and efficiently, and never have enough time to do all the really important tasks.

The SuperCompetent take charge of their own productivity because, ultimately, they realize that it all comes down to them. They accept the blame when it’s due, not just the credit.

They also do all they can to make things work better for themselves and others, and make every effort to become comfortable with making decisions, without letting the possible negative consequences paralyze them.

Personal responsibility is easy to observe in people who have it. Make sure people can observe it in you.

Make it a productive day! ^(TM)

(C) Copyright 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.

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I’m thrilled to announce the publication of my newest book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (John Wiley & Sons), on August 9, 2010. This work culminates my 18 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity and describes the six behaviors high-achieving employees demonstrate over their lower-performing peers.

However, DON’T buy it! Yes, that’s right–don’t buy it–until August 9. If you purchase the book on August 9 from any online or retail bookstore and forward your receipt to Book@TheProductivityPro.com, you’ll receive bonus gifts from several speaking colleagues, such as Mark Sanborn, Roxanne Emmerich, Terri Sjodin, and:

· Dianna Booher is providing a free eBook Write to the Point. Dianna Booher teaches you to write clear, concise, compelling documents (email, sales letters, proposals, reports) quickly and get the action you want! Get this 48-page ebook to take the pain out of the writing process. Access quick tips to apply immediately to reduce your writing time and get your point across.

· Joe Calloway’s Becoming a Category of One redefined competition with its lessons on how to truly differentiate in a marketplace of sameness. In the revised and updated edition of Becoming a Category of One, Calloway rethinks, repositions, and reenergizes that message. A new chapter includes ideas from guest contributors Mark Sanborn, Larry Winget, Jim Cathcart, Scott McKain, and eight other experts on business and competition.

· Eric Chester is providing a FREE copy of his eBook Employing Generation Why, which is being called the quintessential guide to recruiting, hiring, training, motivating and retaining the emerging workforce.

Read about the book at http://www.amazon.com/SuperCompetent-Keys-Perform-Your-Productive/dp/0470599154 or at the bottom of this message.

I will send out reminders for the BUY DATE of August 9 to receive your bonuses! I’d welcome the opportunity to bring the SUPERCOMPETENT culture to your organization. Please email me at Laura@TheProductivityPro.com or call me at 303-471-7401 if you would like me to speak at an upcoming meeting or conference.

Wishing you a peaceful, productive summer!

Laura
SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best

To be successful in the business world and reach your full potential in life, it’s not enough to be simply competent. Our modern, super-competitive world is full of opportunities for the go-getter, but to take advantage of them, it’s essential to become “SuperCompetent.” The SUPERCOMPETENT person is one that companies fight to get, fight to keep, nurture as team players, and see as future leaders in their business growth.

But SuperCompetence isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something that you can learn, no matter where your strengths lie or what industry you work in. In SUPERCOMPETENT, productivity expert Laura Stack identifies the behaviors that build leadership skills, boost organizational efficiency, and blast high potential producers to the top of their fields. With Stack’s Six Keys, you’ll be able to consistently improve your performance, develop the confidence that will propel you forward, and achieve breakthrough results in your career.

1. Activity: The value and importance you place on your tasks and priorities

2. Availability: The ability to master your schedule and protect your time

3. Attention: The capacity to focus intently and concentrate on critical activities

4. Accessibility: The skill to organize your workflow and quickly find information

5. Accountability: The extent to which you assume personal responsibility for your actions and outcomes

6. Attitude: The intensity of your motivation, drive, and proactiveness

With worksheets and quizzes that help you evaluate your performance at every stage, and invaluable resources for further information, you’ll be able to integrate the Six Keys of SuperCompetence into your daily, weekly, and lifetime business practices. From the sales floor to the conference room, from board meetings to informal networking events, SuperCompetent enables you to build your focus, manage your resources, and maximize your ability to deliver at every level.

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Win Laura Stack’s new book;

Learn how to “Find More Time”

If you’re like most people, you probably never seem to find enough time – in the office or at home – to accomplish everything you hope to in a day. The problem, says internationally recognized productivity expert Laura Stack, isn’t a shortage of time; it’s how we choose to use the time we do have.

“Productivity is my passion and obsession,” says Stack, whose Denver-based business uses the moniker The Productivity Pro. “I see how productivity tips such as those I share through my consulting practice, public speaking and writing can make a difference in people’s lives. And that spurs me to learn more about the topic and to share examples of what others are doing to fulfill their life’s dreams. It’s what makes me a voracious reader, consummate observer and life-long learner.”

Stack, who is a regular contributor to Microsoft Work Essentials, is celebrating the release of her second book, which began appearing in bookstores on June 13. It’s called, “Find More Time: How to get things done at home, organize your life, and feel great about it.”

Her first book, published in 2004, was “Leave the Office Earlier.” It focused on workplace productivity. “Find More Time” is complementary, she says, and teaches readers how to create a “fulfilling, productive life rather than wandering aimlessly, never quite being satisfied with what they’ve accomplished.”

It’s part self-help book, part autobiography and just plain fun to read. And Microsoft employees who send Stack an e-mail detailing the things they’ve done to squeeze more time out of their workdays and into their personal lives, may win one of five personalized, autographed copies of the book, thanks to Work Essentials, MS Web and the book’s publisher, Broadway Books, a division of Random House. Entries should be sent to laura@theproductivitypro.com by July 3 and winners will be notified by July 31.

“Most self-help books focus on a single skill such as organizing, stress or time management,” Stack says. “This book takes a holistic approach and looks at everything you’re trying to accomplish at home and what prevents you from getting things done. It takes a classic study of productivity and moves it from the workplace into the home.”

The book focuses on eight pillars of personal productivity – plans, priorities, personality, pests, possessions, paper, post and play — and you can read its chapters in any order and still learn to improve your use of time, she adds. “The concept is simple. When all eight pillars support you equally, you’re better able to accomplish your life goals. It’s like a house in a flood zone that’s built on columns. If one or more of them are weak or missing, the home’s stability is threatened. In the same way, these eight pillars support your life – your personal house.”

Stack, who confesses to being a huge e-mail/Outlook junkie, says her research is as much for her personal benefit as it is for her clients. “I’m fallible just like anyone else. I’m actually fairly lazy and I don’t like to work hard. So I try to find the most efficient and least brain-damaging way to do everything.”

She averages 10 personal appearances and training seminars a month and considers herself blessed to have found a career that is fun. “I’m one of the lucky ones who can’t tell the difference between work and play. I encourage everyone to keep looking, keep trying, keep reaching – until they find the path that makes them eager to start every day,” she says.

“When you discover that magic, you won’t ‘work’ another day in your life and you’ll be able to focus your time on the things that really matter to you: family, health, happiness, spirituality, or whatever else may be on your list. The money you make will be a bonus rather than the goal.”

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