Extreme Productivity

Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours

By: Robert C. Pozen

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A road-tested formula for improving your performance, from one of the business world's most successful - and productive - executives.

Robert C. Pozen taught a full course load at Harvard Business School while serving as the full-time chairman of a global financial-services firm. He's written six books and hundreds of articles, raised a family with his wife of more than four decades, and served on many boards of local charities and public companies. Pozen is a prince of productivity, a man who has worked smarter and faster than almost everyone around him for more than 40 years.

In Extreme Productivity, Pozen reveals the secrets to workplace productivity and high performance. His book is for anyone feeling overwhelmed by an existing workload - facing myriad competing demands and multiple time-sensitive projects. Offering antidotes to a calendar full of boring meetings and a backlog of emails, Extreme Productivity explains how to determine your highest priorities and match them with how you actually spend your time.

Pozen shows that in order to be truly productive, professionals must make a critical shift in their mind-set: from hours worked to results produced. He helps people at all stages of their careers read, write, and make presentations quicker and more effectively. He provides professionals with practical tips on how to efficiently use their time in the office - while leading full and productive personal lives as well.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2012 Robert C. Pozen (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Title Content Disconnect

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is a nice book worth reading. Most people figure all this stuff out by age 25. Therefore it is best for younger people. This does not mean us older folks could not benefit from reminders. The name implies a potentially huge paradigm shift in thinking. A better title would be "Consistent Productivity: Uncle Bob tells us how to Get Stuff Done"

Would you recommend Extreme Productivity to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would recommend this book to someone who has trouble getting out of their own way. Super achievers would not be challenged.

What about Arthur Morey’s performance did you like?

Friendly voice easy to understand. That is probably why I gave the subtitle Uncle Bob tells us how to get things done.

Did Extreme Productivity inspire you to do anything?

Listening to all of Robert Pozen's accomplishments makes me think his DNA is different than the rest of us mortals. His ability to absorb knowledge makes him an outlier. Not to be funny but my first inspiration was to give up. There is no way I could hold down as many jobs at one time as he did. Later in the book I realized he puts his pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. He seems like someone I would enjoy meeting. That is high praise coming from me.

Loved it

This was an extremely interesting and educational read. I recommend it to anyone who means to learn

He wrote this only for himself

It would ironically be much more productive to skip this book. It’s mostly self congratulatory nonsense.

A short summary of one section:

“Here’s how I read 5 newspapers a day.

I read this section in this newspaper. I read this section in this newspaper. Etc. Then I skip the other sections and I skim the sections that I do read so it doesn’t take too much time.”

Sorry, but that is not reading 5 newspapers a day - and that’s about the level of advice throughout the book. Send emails in meetings, be distracted, don’t give things your full attention, skim when reading - and you’ll be more productive. Inaccurate and dangerous unless the only thing you care about are meaningless metrics.

Tell me something I don't know!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

New Material would have been nice. It seemed outdated, like being lectured by your dad or a vice principal.

What was most disappointing about Robert C. Pozen’s story?

It was regurgitated Zig Ziglar without the personality. I have received better tips from my high school guidance counselor.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Arthur Morey?

Carol O'Connor would be nice alas he is dead, I listened to this at work and it literally put me to sleep.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

no I did not like this book, I don't know if I can waste fifteen words in this category but this book feels like it was written for people who live sterile lives

Any additional comments?

no

One of the most inefficient books on productivity

Author failed to take his own advice and used 5 sentences when 1 would have gotten the job done. The information inside is trifling and has a tendency to circle back around and repeat itself. For example... "to become a better public speaker, outline your speech. Don't write your speech out and read it word for word." Earth shattering. I listened to this at 2.0x speed, and it still felt long winded.