Sunday, January 9, 2011

The Office: Where Work Doesn’t Get Done or How Managers & Meetings Conspire to Prevent Productivity

Jason Fried, of 37 Signals, speaks about why the office is not the place to get work done in a TEDtalks video; you can view the video here.

Fried notes that when he asks people “where do you go when you want to get things done?” the one answer that doesn’t come up is “The office.”

He notes that at the office one doesn’t experience a “work day,” but “work moments.” People need long stretches of uninterrupted time to get something done – that doesn’t happen at the office. Managers and Meetings (M&Ms) conspire to prevent work from occurring. M&Ms don’t exist outside the office.

To overcome the inefficiencies of M&Ms at the office, Fried presents three intriguing proposals guaranteed to turn the culture of the office on its head.

How about you? Where are you most productive? Where do you go to get work done? Are Fried’s proposals realistic? Can they overcome the M&Ms that conspire to prevent productivity at the office?

2 comments:

  1. I get the most work done in the office, when no one else is there - such as the week between Christmas and New Years when everyone else took vacation.

    FYI - 37 signals is one of my favorite success stories.

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  2. Mark...It's a great success story. And I like their reWork book.

    My most productive time is early in the morning, at my home office.

    ~ Scott

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