As you might be aware, I was invited to discuss on radio, my favourite concern: #Productivity; the second episode of which I present here; you may click the play button (Soundcloud plugin) further below to listen to a playback of the second episode. There is additional essential notes on this all important issue of #Productivity further below the audio plugin below…
You may click here for the first episode: Let’s Talk #Productivity – I
The sad reality is that, as a people, our productivity is so low; even among Christians (if not especially among Christians!) And we will get to understand/appreciate why this is so; don’t miss any part of the series.
Understanding the problem, they say, is half the solution, so let me proceed with some global statistics to put the issue into quantitative perspective. And in most cases Ghana/Africa’s situation could only be worse; evidently.
Often, people’s priorities/occupations in life, are misguided
There are three main degrees of Happiness in Life: The Highest level is ‘The Meaningful Life,’ then we have ‘The Good Life,’ and the lowest is ‘The Pleasant Life.’
Research shows that even though each individual born into this world has the inborn capability to pursue and live the Meaningful Life, majority of people pursue the Pleasant Life, and in some cases, the Good Life which are generally classified together as the bottom because their combined value does not compare anywhere near that of the Meaningful Life. And those who pursue the meaningful life are very few indeed; just 3 percent. And mind you, you don’t stumble into the Meaningful Life; it is a deliberate path you choose with the appropriate guidance.
Of all the 7 sources of difficulties, only 1 is attributable to spiritual causes
I must emphasise that, most of the problems we face as a people are not spiritual at all; they have no spiritual causes; otherwise they could be easily solved or dealt with by simply fasting and praying against them in the name of Jesus; because the power in that name is above every spiritual wickedness even in high places! Indeed, there are seven (7) main sources/causes of problems/difficulties, and out of the seven, only one could be attributed to evil forces or demonic beings; so statistically, there is almost ninety percent (90%) chance that a problem/difficulty that occur is man-made. We are often too quick to either put it on God (We suppose that He is taking us through a lesson) or otherwise, we (often erroneously) put it on the devil. I dare say that, you shouldn’t even think of spiritual causes until you’ve sought the appropriate professional advice on the problem, and unless all the relevant and adequate professional and scientific remedies, properly applied, prove impotent for your situation; though they happen to work for other similar or same situations.
When you only pray, and do not take the appropriate practical action(s), you are being unproductive; after all, faith without works is dead! (James 2:14-26) Therefore, always look out for the natural causes first, and deal with them adequately in addition to prayer; don’t be too quick to assign spiritual causes to every problem.
The topmost regret you are likely to face in life is a product of lack of productivity
In a landmark research to determine what people regret most when they are about to die, five (5) particular regrets came up. And do you know what the topmost regret happens to be? “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself.” That is an admission by majority of people that they have not been that productive; only to realise so just before death.
Most people live with Fears, and are thus prevented from allowing themselves to contribute meaningfully to progress
The issue is that, Most people would rather not think, make their opinion known, or speak in public. It is said that “5 percent of the people think; 10 percent of the people think they think; and the other 85 percent would rather die than think.” Indeed, “85 percent of Business Executives have issues or concerns at work that they are afraid to raise.” as research shows. Notably, the fear of public speaking is ranked above the fear of death; in adults.
Majority of people do not enjoy their work life, and so are unable give of their best
Of all the people that go to work every day, only 18 out of 100 really feel good about going to work. A whopping 82 percent wish they didn’t have to go to work. There goes productivity! 82 out of every 100 workers are so dissatisfied with their jobs someway, somehow! They go to work not because they want to, but just because they have to; in order to pay the bills. Note that there is a higher probability of 82 out of 100 that you or your people may fall into the category of those who wish they didn’t have to go to work; out of job dissatisfaction of some sort.
Most organisations or teams could be at Least four times more productive
In any organisation, we have bosses, and subordinates. Research shows that in most organisations, only 15 out of every 100 of the subordinates know what their organisation or department’s top goals and priorities are. A vast majority of subordinates, indeed 85 out of 100 of subordinates, don’t know what their organisation or department’s top goals and priorities are. Of those who know the top goals and priorities, only 19 out of 100 feel passionate about these top goals and priorities; that translates to about 3 percent of all the subordinates. Again, of those who know the organisation or department’s top goals and priorities, only 49 percent of their working hours is spent on the most important goals; More than half of the time is spent on less important activities. In a sense, in a lot of organisations what the people accomplish the whole year, is actually doable within 3 months; supposing the people were truly productive; i.e. if the all the people had harnessed their true/hidden potential and applied same to the work most of the allotted time. Especially if you are a manager, a business owner; or even if you just hope to be one, this should concern you.
Indeed, most businesses fail!
Global statistics show that 80 out of 100 businesses fail within their first 5 years. Of those that survive, 80 percent, still fail within the subsequent 4 years. Out of those that remain after these 9 years, only 15 out of 100 make a significant profit; the remaining 85 percent just hang in there. That means if 100 businesses start today, in 9 years only 4 of them will be surviving; and of the 4, only 1 will be making a significant profit. Again, especially if you are a manager, a business owner; or even if you just hope to be one, this should concern you.
Epilogue
So, the crux of the matter is that, majority of people have accepted to be less than they were born to be and are thus accomplishing far less than their true capabilities; and I refer to that as the greatest tragedy in life! Note that we are talking about 97 percent of people! Meaning, if you take every 100 individuals, then with the exception of 3 of them, all the people will be underestimating themselves, and will thus be using very little of their true potential; far less than 10 percent of their true potential. And it is such a big deal because this is the root cause of all the difficulties/challenges people face in life. If you asked me what our major problem is as a people, I will say low productivity!
Below is a playback of the third day’s discussion on the issue of Productivity; my first quote was that of Prof. Sir William Arthur Lewis, that: “Education and schooling are not the same thing. What goes on inside the schools are not always education, and the result may well be to reduce productive capacity rather than to increase it.”
Actually, most people go through avoidable struggles and regrets in life as a result, and it is highly likely that you (or your people) may be going through similar avoidable struggles and regrets in life.
You may want to try a short exercise to test the above; scroll down to the button labelled “Squares” and click on it to proceed.
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