Academic and former executive Pozen offers his set of recommendations on productivity, urging us to adopt a proper mind-set, to focus on the results we seek rather than the hours we work. He defines personal productivity as “the quantity and quality of your results in achieving your own objectives.” Presented in five parts, his advice and “takeaway” lessons include setting goals with specific priorities, focusing on final results, not sweating the small stuff, organizing your daily routine, improving reading comprehension, writing and speaking effectiveness, and long-term career decisions. His ideas are for all types of professionals, and he suggests action for certain stages of their careers. His insights on traveling effectively, embracing change, and balancing home and work are particularly valuable. He concludes, “Regardless of your employer’s culture, you can adopt most of the specific techniques in this book. . . . Ultimately, it is within your power to boost your results and reduce your working hours.” An excellent how-to on personal productivity.
 

Robert C. Pozen is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He was chairman of MFS Investment Management and vice chairman of Fidelity Investments. He served on President Bush‘s Commission to Strengthen Social Security and was also secretary of economic affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was associate general counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Caplin & Drysdale. The author of six books, Pozen lives with his wife in Boston, Massachusetts.