⚡️ Three simple tips to 10x your team’s output:
- Leverage.
- Process.
- Simplification.
Let me explain:
👉 10x via leverage:
Andy Grove, in his seminal book ‘High Output Management’ says:
Managerial output = L1 × A1 + L2 × A2 +…
where A = Activity and L = Leverage.
So a manager should spend most of her time doing only high leverage activities (planning, removing obstacles, bringing resources + enabling team via coaching, training, ideating). Delegation, when done properly, is a high leverage activity.
The way you can identify high leverage or 10x leverage activities is by asking the question – “Which one problem can I solve first that will make 10 other problems go away?”
You can then apply the same 10x leverage question to the team – “How can I design and enable each team to unlock 10x?”
👉 10x via Process:
If anything is repeated more than twice, ask yourself – “How can I automate it?” It could be a daily update email that replaces a project management call, a metrics dashboard that replaces multiple follow-ups with a team, a team onboarding FAQ doc that replaces multiple 1x1s.
Process has become a dirty word in today’s hustle culture, but it is anything but boring. Think of a process as predictable streamlining of communication, and your mindset will change.
👉 10x via Simplification:
When you are in the weeds or a project or a problem, you tend to lose sight of the big picture. You forget what you were truly solving for.
Ask yourself – “If I could do this easily in a couple of hours, what would that look like?” This helps you take a step back, and will always give fresh ideas to you and your team.
Repeat this process often, try to get to the essence of your problem statements and your craft. Then codify it for your team by writing it down.
🚨 Leverage + Process + Simplification = High team output.