Volkmar Völzke's BLOG

How do you make the first quarter of the new year substantially more successful than last year? In the video, I explain a core idea.

My latest (German-language) magazine article deals with the (often) insufficient productivity in management and the considerable damage it causes.

I took up the topic for a good reason: The waste of resources is enormous, in 3 dimensions:

1. Direct costs without corresponding results. For managers, these costs are usually considerable, but still low compared to the following two points.
2. Opportunity costs. These are significantly higher, because leaders in particular should have an enormous leverage for results when they spend their time on the most value-creating activities. Every minute in an unproductive meeting becomes a significant waste.
3. Role model function. If you are not highly productive as a leader, how can you expect it from your team? Don't delude yourself: People are very good at feeling whether or not the management team is productive. And they will behave accordingly.

How can you significantly increase productivity in leadership - with fun and...

When you study the science of productivity (and I’ve been doing so for years), you learn two things: first, it never stops, and second, you decide your level of productivity at any given time.

If you know people who complain that they never really do what’s most important, then they’ve made the decision not to be productive. It sounds harsh, yes, but it’s true.

Here’s the proof: there are always those who manage to generate significantly more results than the average person (and probably you as well) despite all the adversities.

The secret to their high productivity? Extreme awareness of what is important and delegation or omission of everything else. In other words, it’s all about suppressing all the noise so that you can hear the music.

Here are three practical tips on how to stop hearing the noise and start hearing the music:

1. Practice mindfulness. Become aware of what is really happening in your conscious mind. The brain is simply not designed...

Do you and your team always have your priorities fully under control and never externally controlled? Do you always achieve what you want? Then you don’t need to read on.

All others (approx. 99.9 percent of you) who are repeatedly absorbed by the urgent things before the important things and who spend too much time on reactive activities should definitely take a look at the following. It could change your life.

The brain is a fascinating organ. Simply put, you can program your subconscious mind with your consciousness through strong emotions and continuous repetition. This programming is important because the subconscious mind is responsible for over 99 percent of our daily decisions. This mechanism causes you to do increasingly more of what you have done in the past, and this realization is crucial for your success.

Here’s an example: if you are used to spending most of your time as a leader solving urgent problems and extinguishing allegorical fires, then you will get...

Here is a short and important reminder of how you can stay on course this week and often achieve a lot more than average.

Answer this question: "What will be better by the end of the week?" Watch the video for additional insights.

Who else could benefit from this message? Forward it to friends and colleagues.

Productivity does not mean being busy! You probably know enough people who are busy all the time, but their results are hardly recognizable.

In any case, what I see time again and time again is mainly managers who have too much to do, but who, according to their own statements, rarely tackle the really important issues.

Alarm signals:

• They rush from meeting to meeting.
• They always have a full email inbox.
• They feel constantly interrupted and hardly ever get to the really important things.

The good news: Productivity is your choice.

Here are the three most important tips, which can serve as a reminder to massively increase your productivity:

1. Willpower. Ask yourself which mindset prevents you from becoming more productive. Often it is the ongoing reward of feeling important when you are constantly "needed". Often it is fear of massive results (yes: fear of results is real). You can become 10x more productive. But for that, you really need to want it. Most people don't even try
2. ...

There are concepts in psychology that, if taught in school and university, would make all the difference in people’s lives and careers. But nobody teaches them. 

Only when we study the “old” masters of success psychology, such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Darren Hardy, John Maxwell, and others, we find out about the power of these simple truths. 

This is no “theoretical stuff” (as you might think), but precisely the difference between the most successful people and the rest. 

One of these principles is this: you attract success by who you become, not by pursuing it. I was writing about this in earlier posts.

Today, I want to give you three concrete examples you can apply in your business immediately: 

• If you want more sales, become a person that attracts people who want to spend money with you and your business. No matter what you sell, first, you sell yourself as a person. Are you somebody, who others want to leave large amounts of...

The next three seconds decide your life! Doesn’t that sound too dramatic? Well, there is some truth in it.

You can completely change your entire life within a few seconds. Also, you had already done this in the past: when you asked your partner perhaps the most important question. When you called the prospective buyer, who later became your best customer. Or, when you separated from a team member - for the good of both sides.

You can prepare every decision for a long time. Making the decision then takes seconds or even fractions of a second.

But, here's the most important thing: you can use the next three seconds to make a decision that will have a significant positive impact on your success. Alternatively, you can let these three seconds pass.

Examples for applying the 3-second rule:

• Take a deep breath and then call the ten people you've been trying to follow up for a long time.
• Take a deep breath and then finally sign up for the course that will take you massively forward...

"A few years ago we had a burnout due to overwork in our staff," says the HR director at the meeting, where the aim is to increase the winning team spirit. Then he adds: "We must not demand too much from our people".

The others nod casually and the CEO remarks: "Yes, let's approach the whole thing with a sensitive touch." I know such objections quite well in a similar form. This reasoning is based on the belief that peak performance and fun are a contraction.

The problem: If you firmly believe that top performance stands in contrast to a pleasant working atmosphere and well-being, you will always shy away from establishing a winning team culture.

The consistently proven fact, on the other hand, is a different one: the happiest and most fulfilled people of all times challenge themselves again and again, measure themselves against the best, are more productive than the average person, and have an overall "winning mentality".

Any sustainable increase in performance begins with the...

"I have to go to the next appointment now!" The words of the division head do not go unheard. The CFO immediately joins in: "I have important things to do" he says, adds "until next time" and leaves the room. The CEO quickly inserts "OK, thanks for the meeting, we'll see you again next week" before packing his things too.

What happened? Nothing unusual: Another meeting without clear results, without clear decisions, without clear actions. Instead, they had been discussing a single point for over 30 minutes in circles.

Why am I telling you this? Well, first of all, the situation described may seem familiar to you. Perhaps you also have meetings whose usefulness can be questioned. In addition, there is a significant problem for many companies: missed opportunities.

Every unsuccessful meeting is a sin of omission.

Why? Well, the time of the participants is the most valuable resource you have in the company. Whoever is in the meeting cannot do anything else during this time, i.e. cannot...