Great at Work: How Top Performers Work Less and Achieve More

Hansen (coauthor of Great by Choice) here provides businesspeople a refreshingly data-based, clearheaded guide to achieving better work performance. According to him, neither innate talent nor work ethic can fully explain the difference between workplace superstars and their colleagues. He recounts launching, in 2011, a study on individual performance that focused on differences in people’s working methods. The study, considered alongside analysis of existing academic studies and a pilot survey, was used as the basis for a targeted survey of 5,000 managers and employees. The result is a framework of seven “work smart” practices linked to high performance, some unexpected. Top performers perform fewer tasks, but with a greater concentration of effort, and they collaborate less and target their efforts more carefully. Hansen presents a series of “smart practices” along with concrete advice and direction for integration into the reader’s own work. Interestingly, following these practices had a notable effect for survey respondents not just on work output, but on work-life balance and quality of life; practitioners were more satisfied with their work and more attentive at home. Illustrated with easy-to-follow anecdotes, this encouraging guide assures readers that superior performance is within reach, and provides a road map for getting there. Agent: Christy Fletcher, Fletcher and Co. (Feb.)