The Winner Effect – The Science of Success and How To Use It

Listen to the full Podcast here or if you’re time-poor I’ve selected 3 sound bites I found compelling.

Rather than our normal book review, linked here is a great site rating the best books of 2021, some we reviewed here earlier in the year. For anyone looking for a book for themselves or as a present, this is a great place to start.  

From the excellent BBC Sounds site this is a compilation of new producers and legends with two hours of non-stop beats for concentration and focus. Research shows that the correct ambient music can lead to a 7x increase in focus with a 3.6x decrease in stress … We think it’s worth a listen.

A thoughtful article reviewing purpose primarily related to work but this can be modelled for anything. The useful aspect here is moving beyond Why, popularised by writers like Simon Sinek. While acknowledging the use of reflecting on Why, the article takes us to the next step. 

Acknowledging that fulfilment comes from a ‘cause that is bigger than us’ – (this can be your cause within the company or a connection with your companies cause) as well as connection to the people in the organisation, the tribe, as is the expression of your talents. To move beyond this, we need our own purpose and to be able to connect to the organisation from that place, knowing at times that this may differ from social norms and what is regarded as successful. 

2 mins

An interesting question and one that comes up regularly. The article digs deep into the question of, is “focussed doing” enough or what else is at play. There is some trade off involved, including:

–        Go-figure versus being taught

–        Piecemeal versus tackling the whole task 

–        Practice versus Performance

–        Are all skills learnable?

Some advice on this subject includes:

–       Instruction + practice beats practice alone

–       Start simply with lots of examples

–       Background reading is useful but it’s not better than doing

–       Alternate between the whole task and breaking it down

It’s a detailed article but a super starting point for anyone working at complex tasks or learning a subject or skill. 

4 mins

Despite what appears to be an overwhelming consensus that bad meetings are typically wasteful and unproductive, many companies continue to struggle to avoid them.

The authors examine the psychological traps that lead us to schedule and attend too many meetings, as well as ways for helping individuals, supervisors, and organisations overcome those obstacles.

While there’s no way to totally eradicate the basic human biases that underpin these tendencies, a better understanding of the psychological variables at play can help us all work toward healthier communication norms, more productive interactions, and more organised calendars.

4 mins