TL;DR
Successful women entrepreneurs raise productivity by letting company values guide decisions, staying out of email and social media during focused work, talking face to face instead of sending internal email, and scheduling what matters. Many reward quality and results instead of hours, and some run on a 30 hour work week.
Here are some tips I learned from successful women entrepreneurs who have increased the productivity levels within their companies. Many of them have also created businesses models based on the 30-hour work week that is being used by Amazon and other countries around the world.
♦ Have written and well known company values
The values should be discussed regularly and actually run the company rather than the people.
♦ Reduce or eliminate personal use of technology
Avoid getting trapped in 'technoland' during the workday, i.e. email, cell phone, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
♦ Allow work from home and pay by project rather than hourly
OR reduce full time salary slightly and reward based on quality and bottom line rather than just hourly.
♦ Have weekly planning sessions for teams
Be thoughtful about the amount of email that is sent internally. Use face-to-face communication rather than email for basic communication.
Utilize leadership and leader behavior to increase the level of communication among the team.
♦ Allow for leaders to emerge at every level of the company
Breed creative thinkers and problem solvers.
♦ Negotiate contracts on a work week that is shorter
Have set contact hours that are less than the ones you actually work.
♦ Take frequent vacation/time off
If you schedule it, it will happen!
♦ Everyone in the company should have goals in all areas of their lives
Maintain a state of freedom and choice versus the thought that life is all work.
♦ Other 30 hour workweek benefits
Research has shown that people who work longer hours have a significantly higher chance of suffering from a stroke. A study published in The Lancet looked at 600,000 workers in multiple countries over a period of eight-and-a-half years. The people who worked 55 hours a week had a 33 percent greater chance of having a stroke than people who worked between 35 and 40 hours a week.
If you want to learn how to unwind and not stress after your vacation, click here!
Keep reading
- Tips For Getting Your InBox Amazingly OrganizedWhy your inbox makes a poor to-do list, and what to use instead.
- Healthy New Year Habits for EntrepreneursTheme days, your three most important tasks and learning to say no.
Frequently asked questions
How can I stop email and social media from eating my workday?
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Avoid getting trapped in what Kathi calls technoland during the workday, meaning email, your phone, Twitter and Facebook. Be thoughtful about how much email goes around inside your company, and use face-to-face conversation instead of email for basic communication.
Should I pay my team for hours or for results?
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Some of the entrepreneurs Kathi learned from reduce full-time salary slightly and reward people based on the quality of their work and the bottom line, rather than only on hours worked. Many have built their businesses around a 30 hour work week.
Is working long hours bad for your health?
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Yes. A study in The Lancet followed 600,000 workers in several countries for eight and a half years. People who worked 55 hours a week had a 33 percent greater chance of having a stroke than people who worked 35 to 40 hours a week.
