In The News
Google’s ‘Simplicity Sprint’ Plea Confirms It: This is the Most Valuable Workplace Skill
What CEO Sundar Pichai wants from top talent applies to us, too
--
Google’s CEO has pumped the brakes on hiring until employees recommit to one critical skill.
“I would love to get all your help,” Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told the tech giant’s 170,000 employees at an all-hands meeting on Wednesday, according to CNBC. Parent company Alphabet reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the second quarter in a row as revenue growth slowed to 13%, down from 62% in Q2 2021.
In an effort to bolster innovation and efficiency, Google is internally soliciting ideas from employees through August 15th via a survey whose questions are telling. Questions like:
- “What would help you work with greater clarity and efficiency to serve our users and customers?”
- “Where should we remove speed bumps to get to better results faster?”
- “How do we eliminate waste and stay entrepreneurial and focused as we grow?”
Some ideas will be used to practice sprints, jargon for rapid product development pushes or iterations. But none of these ideas will work until Google’s workforce (And workers at many other companies) can find their productivity footing again.
One skill gets you there when it comes to innovation and moving quickly — and it‘s a skill anyone can start working on today.
What’s the skill? That would be the ability to tap into deep focus.
Deep Focus: An Appreciating Asset
As author Cal Newport notes in his book Deep Work, the ability to concentrate deeply and/or for extended periods of time is a mental muscle that atrophies in society with every passing year. Social media culture and a general reduced latency in technology mean we spend more time on screens, consume more content, and see more advertisements than ever before.
Newport refers the prerequisites for deep work as having “two core abilities for thriving in the new economy”. They are:
1. “The ability to quickly master hard things”, and
2. “The ability to produce at an elite level, with regard to both quality and speed.”
Deep focus has long been a career asset
And at the moment, tech companies like Google and others are clamping down on their workforces especially hard as they attempt to correct course from both bloated staff counts and declining ad revenue.
“Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here,” said Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg on an internal call to the company’s 77,800 employees in June. The founder noted in an earnings call earlier this year that Apple’s iOS privacy updates are expected to stunt Meta Platforms’ advertising revenue by $10 billion in 2022.
“I think some of you might decide that this place isn’t for you, and that self-selection is OK with me,” Zuckerberg added.
Yikes.
When the heat turns up, being able to produce under pressure may determine whether you sink or swim in a recession-esque economy (Since we can’t seem to figure out if we’re officially in a recession or not).
How To Cultivate Deep Focus
Whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur, developing the craft of concentration will pay dividends for years to come. Here are some strategies to help you get a running start.
- Focus on addition instead of subtraction. Instead of quitting social media cold turkey, try layering in the act of reading a book for a few minutes each day. Practice focusing on one slow input to increase your brain’s endurance over time.
- Explore entrepreneurship. Oh, God — really? Yup. The good news (and bad news) of entrepreneurship is that it forces you to completely self-start and create something from nothing. Try your hand at a side hustle or new income stream; nothing cultivates career confidence more than knowing you can turn on a dime and go fishing for clients when needed.
- Put yourself on the clock. Clockify is my nemesis, but the free time tracking app is great for getting honest with yourself about where your time is actually going. I use it as a stopwatch to see how quickly I can kick out an article draft. Aspire to work less, but with more intensity.
Our digital worlds become more and more of a visual assault with every passing year. Get intentional about blocking off time for slow, focused thinking and you’ll find yourself increasingly capable at both work and life.
🎉 P.S. — I write new articles every week for websites like Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and TIME. I use templates to make the process go faster. Get a free copy of my 9 most-used templates and start publishing in less time with my Article Template Toolkit:
Nick Wolny is the senior editor of Financial Independence at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. A self-employed marketing consultant of six years, he has previously contributed to Fast Company, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, CBS, NBC, FOX, and USA Today, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021. He now resides in Los Angeles.
