Chapter 5

Real-world tactics: how to be productive when the rest of the world isn’t

In an ideal world, we’d get ourselves perfectly organised, know exactly what we need to do, be 100-per-cent focused, get it done and go home. In the real world, however, we have to work with and around other people’s priorities, schedules, expectations, delays and last-minute emergencies. What conversations can we have to set expectations and influence others? How can we equip ourselves to respond with calm and agility rather than react with our back against the wall?

In reality, none of us works in a bubble. We work with other people. We rely on other people in order to get our work done well: colleagues, co-workers, customers, suppliers, partners, bosses, staff, ...

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