What Matters To You – Do More Great Work
Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier.
I love reading books that provide tools and insights to help me widen my learning perspective and deepen my quest for personal growth improvement. I am selective in what I read, taking bite-size nuggets of information and implementing them into my personal learning program. Do More Great Work is one of those books that offers a range of tools to help you focus on work that matters.
The book begins with the premise that you will spend half your life working. With that in mind, what matters to you? What is your roadmap to get you doing great work? Work that has meaning? That makes an impact?
First, the author defines three categories of work: (p. 4-5)
1. Bad Work – work that is a waste of time and energy; it is pointless
2. Good Work – work that is productive, useful; it is a source of comfort
3. Great Work – work that is meaningful, has an impact and makes a difference; we want more of this kind of work
The author then provides 15 key tools to help you identify that which matters most to you in your work. The author calls these “conceptual maps” to help you get to more meaningful work and to do great work throughout your career.
The 15 tools divide into the following categories:
- Laying the Foundation
- Planting Seeds for Great Work
- Discovering your Great Work
- Choosing a Project
- Creating Opportunities
- Your Great Work Plan
- Continuing the Journey (What to do when things get off track)
The goal is to find the right combination of good work and great work while eliminating as much of the bad work as possible throughout one’s career.
There is lots of wisdom and inspiration peppered throughout the book. Below are some insights from the book that I found actionable, that includes one of my favorite tools for personal growth – asking questions, and keeping a notebook.
Questions to find Meaning and Abundance (from Dave and Wendy Ulrich, p. 23-25)
- What am I known for?
- Where am I going?
- Whom do I travel with?
- What challenges interest me?
- How do I build a positive work environment?
- How do I respond to setbacks?
- What delights me?
- How do I manage the transitions necessitated by change?
More Questions
- What are you like while being at your best? (from Map 3)
- Think, at my best, I am this, not that….
- Ask questions for what’s possible (from Map 9)
- What ideas do you already have?
- What’s the:
- Fun thing to do?
- Easiest thing to do?
- Fastest thing to do?
- Bravest thing to do?
- Provocative thing to do?
- Ask, what’s the next step? (from Map 14)
The book concludes with a summary of the Principles or Truths of Great Work (p. 184-185)
- Things only get interesting when you take full responsibility for the choices you make
- To do more Great Work, you must both narrow and broaden your gaze
- Decide what to say “no” to
- Stop making everyone happy
- Ask for help
What matters to you?
What tools help you focus on work that is meaningful?
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