The secret door to your productivity powerhouse...🚪

"The creative mind doesn't have to have the whole pattern. It can have just a little piece and be able to envision the whole picture in completion." Arthur Fry

Join 1,405 leaders getting good busy

Hi there,

How was your last week? 😊 Mine was a bit unexpected - I found myself under the weather and stayed in bed for a few days. But, if, like me, you believe everything happens for a reason, perhaps it was a gentle nudge for me to take a break. 

Let's talk about post-it notes, shall we?

I'm a big fan! Did you know that post-it notes didn't start as a company project but as a personal one? 

🤔 the why

Back in the 1970s, Dr. Spencer Silver, a brilliant mind at 3M, stumbled upon an adhesive. It clung lightly to surfaces but didn't lock on too tightly.

This was quite the opposite of what 3M was aiming for at the time: bigger, stronger, tougher adhesives. 

The discovery sat in limbo for years as Silver wrestled with finding its purpose. 

Meanwhile, another 3M scientist, Art Fry, faced a weekly frustration. During choir practice for his church, he used little pieces of paper to mark hymn pages. But, they were all missing from the hymnal the next day.

Fry needed something that would stick to paper without damaging it. 😉 

Teaming up with Silver, they came up with a product nobody knew they needed until it became a must-have.

🏆 the how

You see, back in the 70s, 3M rolled out the 15% Culture. Employees were given the green light to invest up to 15% of their work time in personal projects. And Post-It Notes turned out to be one of them. 

Personal growth is the second most vital factor in our workplace happiness. But here's the twist: we all need the time to grow. 

Just 30-60 minutes a day is your ticket out of the corporate box and into your world, where you can create real magic. ✨ 🪄  

⏱️ your results

Connecting the dots is a powerhouse for productivity. You won't get new results by doing the same thing repeatedly. Magic happens when you dare to try something new. 

In my role as a client experience manager, my mission was to educate the team that client experience is a team effort. 

During a casual chat with my dad, he said "An F1 pit stop is the epitome of teamwork in action." 

Given that my company was an F1 sponsor, and our CEO was a huge fan, the F1 talk was already a familiar language among the teams.

The next day, I built a workshop around this analogy. My manager was blown away. 

Result 🏎️ : Our workshop was booked by 50% of local offices within a week.

That's the outcome of being good busy. 💪

🪤 bad busy traps

Wasting time:

1/ Repeating the same actions and hoping for "aha" moments

2/ Expecting creativity and solutions to adhere strictly to the clock

3/ Inventing pricey and complicated employee engagement schemes

▶️ play of the week: start a 15% initiative 

Or 5%, or 10%. Just start. Offer your team a chance to unleash their untapped potential. And ask your manager for the green light to explore yours.

Need some convincing arguments for your boss?

This morning, I shared 3 arguments with 1,405 leaders. Every week we get one inch closer to the good busy! 🏆 ⏱️

Join us at thegoodbusy.com/newsletter so you don't miss the play of the week next Monday!

PS: you'll receive 5 free playbooks directly in your inbox! 😉