Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) is one of those rare people who can definitely be said to have achieved greatness in many, very different domains. He was a politician, a scientist, an author, a qualified printer of books, a newspaper publisher, and an inventor. In addition, he was a leading figure in the American independence movement. In 1729, he started championing his enlightened-puritanical ideals in his publications. He also started becoming more involved in politics, first as a minute-taker in 1736 and later, from 1751 to 1764, as a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly. He was involved in planning a North American Union and between 1757 and 1762 and again from 1764 to 1775 represented the interests of Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts as agent to the British crown in London. Of course, his name is etched into our collective memory as a coauthor and cosignatory of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Franklin was highly successful as an ambassador to France, among other things bringing about France’s entry into the American Revolution in 1778, but also negotiating the peace treaty with Britain, known as the Treaty of Paris, in 1783. The United States Constitution of 1787 also bears his signature.
Alongside these impressive achievements in the political sphere, Franklin also devoted his time to extensive scientific experiments on electricity, hydrodynamics, magnetism, thermal conductivity, and heat radiation. He drew the first map of the Gulf Stream and recommended its exploitation by shipping. He also made a name for himself in Europe as the inventor of the lightning rod. Other inventions of his include bifocals and also the glass harmonica, for which Mozart and Beethoven even wrote pieces of music. As an author, too, Franklin gained widespread recognition, preferring to pen shorter works like maxims, essays, and satirical pieces, which he worded in humorous, elegant, and invariably clear prose. His widely read autobiography is still being reprinted today.
Goethe admired Franklin, seeing in him a quintessential ideal combining creative energy with versatility. Should you happen to embody similar genius and achieve as much as Franklin did, then maybe one day your image will grace the American 100 dollar bill as his does now. Genius, unfortunately, cannot be learned, but what Benjamin Franklin can teach us is the value of working methodically. This was something he perfected. Otherwise he would not have been able to achieve so much in so many different areas.1
Contrary to widespread belief that there is one optimal way of working that suits everybody, a working method is actually highly individual and personal. Just as no two signatures are the same, no two people work in exactly the same way, even if both employ very sound working methods. A person’s adopted working method will depend on the general conditions under which the work is done and the specific circumstances associated with it, including the respective:
Duties
Powers associated with the job
Responsibilities
Travel requirements
Boss’s way of working
Availability of assistance
Infrastructure
Size of the organization
Modus operandi of the organization
Sector
Individual’s personal life situation and phase of life
There is a rich literature on working methods and no shortage of seminars on the subject, too. The key is to adopt a critical attitude and remember that no single method works for everyone. Consequently, the ideas about practical implementation you should select are those that suit you best personally. What needs to be done can be defined, yet how a situation is to be handled cannot be generalized. So experiment and optimize until you find a solution that suits you.
True top performers fine-tune their chosen working method right up until late in life, constantly adapting it to changing circumstances. In so doing, they leave as little as possible to chance, just as they do when deciding how things are to be done in their organization, where they make sure that the working methods used meet the highest standards of professionalism.
An astonishing number of people do not know how to perform. As a result, they employ working methods that do not suit them and thus fall way short of their potential. Often they are not even aware that different people work in different ways, which has catastrophic results, especially for knowledge workers, because taking the wrong approach almost always guarantees a weak performance. Look at yourself and find out how you perform and how capable you are of working well. If you have some professional experience, you will not find this hard to do. So all that remains is rigorous self-organization, which many people find more challenging.
The first thing you need to do is ascertain whether you are a reader or a listener, when absorbing information. Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower was a reader. When he was commander in chief of U.S. troops in World War II, his aides made sure that all the questions to be asked of him at press conferences were submitted to him in writing half an hour in advance. That way Eisenhower had everything under control; in fact he excelled at press conferences, performing with exceptional eloquence.
Later, when he became president, he succeeded two listeners, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and made the big mistake of adopting their way of holding press conferences, rather than insisting that questions needed to be submitted in advance. This led to journalists complaining increasingly vociferously that Eisenhower never answered their questions and instead talked about other matters altogether. Eisenhower was evidently unaware that he was a reader.
By contrast, John F. Kennedy was keenly aware that he was a reader, so he surrounded himself with excellent writers, who prepared topics for him in writing before discussing their memos in person. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman were equally aware that they were listeners, so they made certain that things were read out loud to them before dealing with anything in writing. Truman trained himself so well in the finer points of foreign policy and military matters through his daily briefings and discussions with General George Marshall and Dean Acheson that he became a true master in both domains.
People learn in many different ways. Some learn by writing, like Winston Churchill or Ludwig van Beethoven, who wrote thousands of pages in sketchbooks. Others learn by hearing themselves talk. Many excellent professors, legal and medical experts, and authors learn this way, Peter F. Drucker was among them. Yet others learn by reading, like John F. Kennedy as mentioned above, or by listening, as is the case with many politicians, like Lyndon B. Johnson, who became president after JFK’s assassination. Finally, there are people who learn by doing.
Most people are aware of how they learn, but very few consistently act upon this knowledge. If you know that you learn best by hearing yourself talk, you should act on that knowledge and set up your learning process accordingly. Doing anything else would be like using your left hand to write even though you are right-handed. Learning the way that suits you is the key to performing effectively, especially if you are a knowledge worker.
Do you work well with others or do you work best on your own? If you are able to work well with others, you need to find out how you can do this to optimal effect. Some people make excellent leaders at the very top level; Winston Churchill was undoubtedly one such person. Others are brilliant managers, but not quite at the top level. For example, General George Marshall once said of General George Patton, the most outstanding U.S. troop commander during World War II, that Patton was “the best subordinate the American Army has ever produced, but he would be the worst commander.”2
Are you a good decision maker or a good advisor? Some people make great advisors, but cannot handle the pressure or responsibility of decision making. Others can self-confidently justify what they decide, but need advisors or people to bounce their ideas off, to help them properly think through their decisions. Some people make great mentors; others are clearly not cut out to be mentors. Likewise, some people make tremendous contributions when in a team, but barely deliver an average performance if left to their own devices.
Do you work well under time pressure or perform best if you are left to work in peace and quiet? Do you need a well structured environment or draw energy from constantly changing situations? Which kind of organization would suit you best? Do you belong in a large organization or are you at your most successful when working for a small organization? It is extremely rare that people achieve the same level of excellence in both types of organizations. Some individuals who lead major organizations with as much virtuosity as a world-class pianist brings to playing the piano would be hopelessly wasted in a small organization. And the reverse may also apply. So where do you belong?
Your best bet for finding the tools that best suit your personal needs is to refer to specialist literature on the subject. For good reason there are plenty of books on the subject, suggesting every conceivable kind of tips and tricks. Treat such advice as a source of inspiration and then devise your own personal working method. There is no one “right” way, so experiment and find yours. The issues you should definitely consider in this connection include the following:
Time management
Scheduling and preparing for appointments
Processing input
Systematic follow-up
Storing and filing knowledge
Using the telephone, conference calls, and other methods of communication
Computer use
Checklists for routine procedures
Systems for cultivating relationships
Working together with assistants, including via the use of dictation equipment
Drawing up reports and other documents
Be resourceful, optimize your approach, and derive genuine pleasure from attaining a new level of productivity, like many others before you.
A good working method forms the basis for achievement and success. People who do not take this issue seriously will squander their potential and may even miss out on a successful career. Yet people who really get on top of this issue will find themselves holding an important key to success.
Perfect your own personal working method.
Which issue do you intend to work on this week? How about next week? And the week after?