Getting Things Done

CHAPTER 11 
| THE POWER OF THE COLLECTION HABIT
handled in the system instead of tying up our attention in the
relationship.
Unfortunately, you can't legislate personal systems. Everyone
must have his or her own way to deal with what he or
she has to deal with. You can, however, hold people
accountable for outcomes, and for tracking and man-
aging everything that comes their way. And you can
give them the information in this book. Then, at
least, they'll have no excuse for letting something fall
through the cracks.
This doesn't mean that everyone has to do
everything. I hope I have described a way to relate to
our relatively new knowledge-based world that gives
room for everyone to have a lot more to do than he or
she 
can 
do. The critical issue will be to facilitate a
constant renegotiation process with all involved, so
they feel OK about what they're not doing. That's
real knowledge work, at a more sophisticated level. But there's lit-
tle hope of getting there without having bulletproof collection
systems in play. Remember, you can't renegotiate an agreement
with yourself that you can't remember you made. And you cer-
tainly can't renegotiate agreements with others that you've lost
track of.
When groups of people collectively adopt the 100 percent
collection standard, they have a tight ship to sail. It doesn't mean
they're sailing in the right direction, or even that they're on the
right ship; it just means that the one they're on, in the direction
it's going, is doing that with the most efficient energy it can.
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Organizations must
create a culture in
which it is
acceptable that
everyone has more
to do than he or she
can do, and in
which it is sage to
renegotiate
agreements about
what everyone is
not 
doing.

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The Power of the
Next-Action Decision
I HAVE A personal mission to make "What's the next action?" part of
the global thought process. I envision a world in which no meet-
ing or discussion will end, and no interaction cease, without a
clear determination of whether or not some action is needed—
and if it is, what it will be, or at least who has responsibility for it.
I envision organizations adopting a standard that anything that
lands in anyone's "ten acres" will be evaluated for action required,
and the resulting decisions managed appropriately. Imagine the
freedom that would allow to focus attention on bigger issues and
opportunities.
Over the years I have noticed an extraordinary
shift in energy and productivity whenever individu-
als and groups installed "What's the next action?" as
a fundamental and consistently asked question. As
simple as the query seems, it is still somewhat rare to
find it fully operational where it needs to be.
One of the greatest challenges you may
encounter is that once you have gotten used to
"What's the next action?" for yourself and those
around you, interacting with people who aren't ask-
ing it can be highly frustrating. It clarifies things so
quickly that dealing with people and environments that don't use
it can seem nightmarish.
We are all accountable to define what, if anything, we are
committed to make happen as we engage with ourselves and
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When a culture
adopts "What's the
next action?" as a
standard operating
query, there's an
automatic increase
in energy,
productivity, clarity,
and focus.

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