Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life

Richard Medcalf on Boosting Your Productivity by Making Time for Better Strategy

Feb 5, 2024

Richard Medcalf, founder of Xquadrant, discusses the power of strategic leadership and the impact of energizing activities on productivity. He explores the pitfalls of being overwhelmed by daily tasks and offers practical insights and actionable tactics for effective time management and lasting success.

44:00

Episode guests

Richard Medcalf

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Investing time in strategic thinking leads to long-term planning and success.

Being busy with operational tasks hinders growth, prioritizing strategic time is essential for breakthroughs.

Deep dives

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Introduction

2min

Creating Space for Strategic Thinking

17min

Ads/Sponsors and the Importance of Creating Space for Reflection

6min

The Pitfalls of Firefighting and the Importance of Strategic Task Management

2min

Finding Balance in Productivity

13min

Richard Medcalf on Making Time for Strategy and Assessments

3min

This week it was my pleasure to welcome Richard Medcalf to the show for a discussion about his book, Making Time for Strategy: How to Be Less Busy and More Successful. Richard describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender". He is the founder of Xquadrant, which helps elite leaders reinvent their 'success formula' and multiply their impact. His personal clients include CEOs of billion-dollar corporations, successful serial entrepreneurs, and the founders of tech 'unicorns'.

Richard has advised the C-Suite for over 25 years. After a Masters at Oxford University, where he came top in his year, he joined a premier strategy consultancy and later became the youngest-ever Partner. He then spent 11 years at tech giant Cisco in an elite team reporting to the CEO. In this episode, we uncover the power of strategic leadership, time allocation, and the impact of energizing activities on productivity. Richard shares real client success stories and practical tactics to move beyond mere task management and into deep strategic thinking.

In addition, Richard and I explore the pitfalls of being overwhelmed by daily tasks, the transformative power of taking time for rest and reflection, and the shift from task orientation to strategic planning. Richard offers listeners practical insights and actionable tactics to guide you towards more effective time management and lasting success.

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Connect with Richard:

Website

Book

Free Assessment & Resources

Twitter

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Facebook

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