The Productivity Mastery Programme

3 May – 7 August 2012

Hi, I’m Gerrit Cloete of Productivity Pit Stop.

Would you like to have 3-4 extra weeks every year to use at your discretion, be more in control, find information fast, delegate and follow up effortlessly, have less stress, be more relaxed and enjoy a balanced lifestyle?

The Productivity Mastery Programme is a 13 week programme for executives, entrepreneurs and managers that will leave you happy at the end of every day that you have done what you wanted to do and are on track to achieve the things that are most important in all areas of your life.

 

Does this describe where you are in your career right now?

• You are already a successful executive, manager or entrepreneur– BUT want to work fewer hours and be even more successful and earn more by making a measurable difference in your productivity.

• You want to achieve more – BUT  spend less time “at the office” and more time with people and doing things that matter most to you.

• You’d like to master personal productivity once and for all  so that you have the foundation, skills, momentum and confidence to do what needs to be done exactly when and where it has to be done.  And you’d like to do this in a balanced way instead of spinning your wheels and working long hours.

• You enjoy what you are doing - BUT also want to enjoy a well integrated and balanced lifestyle.

• You and your company are heavily invested in the latest technology (Outlook, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, Android devices, G-Mail and what not!) but still find yourself not using the technology as effectively as you could.

• Success and progress in your career is very important to you.  You subscribe to what David Allen has said: “The better you get, the better you’d better get!”.

• You are obviously good at what you do – BUT you still get caught up in interruptions, distractions, emails to read, information overload and the mantra that “faster is better”.

• Even though you are close to the pinnacle of your career you still have the feeling at the end of a working day that have been caught up in “busy-ness” instead of business.

• You have experienced “pockets of high productivity” in the past – BUT still cannot predictably replicate the conditions that made you highly productive at these times.

• You have a team of people working with you BUT  find that it sometimes takes more effort to delegate and follow up than doing the work yourself.

If this is you, participating in the Productivity Mastery Programme will not only teach you what to do and how to do things that will move you forward, but also gives you hands-on one-on-one and group support to put what you learn into action to achieve higher levels of personal productivity.

 This programme doesn’t work with any secret “Silver Bullet” productivity tricks, but by mastering time-proven principles and processes.

The formula is simple.  If you want to create a happy, productive and fulfilled life, you need to focus on these areas:

•  Implement a time-proven system of high performance workflow management in your electronic and physical workspaces.

• Identify the things that are making you ineffective and then apply the system to turn it into success areas.

• Understand what makes you highly productive and use this “pattern of high performance” to repeat success.

• Slow down to speed up; live an integrated, well balanced life.

• Simplify your life; identify what matters most to you and discard the rest.

• Integrate your priorities and actions into your planning and calendar tool, e.g. Outlook and smartphone.

• Work on limiting mindsets that are holding you back.

I’ve been through what you are experiencing now…

My career began in 1975  teaching science and maths at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch.  Then I moved on to project management and product development.

Then I turned 40, completed my MBA and joined Toastmasters.

As a result of all of this I left the corporate world and ventured out on my personal mission to discover new ways of getting things done with the least amount of effort and tell as many people as I can about it.

This sounds so easy now – but there was a lot more to it!

Initially I tried one thing and dabbled in another, but then I started out on an intuitive journey that put me in touch with respected thought leaders in leadership, management, workflow management and productivity.

Since 1994 I worked with and rubbed shoulders with these great people (Titles of their most well known books in italics):

• Stephen R Covey – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
• David Allen – Getting Things Done (GTD).
• Jerry Fletcher – Patterns of High Performance, Paradoxical Thinking.
• Barbara Hemphill – Taming the Paper Tiger at Work (and at home).
• Carl Honoré – In Praise of SLOW.
• Robert Middleton- Action Plan Marketing.

This broad experience and exposure put me in a rather unique position to synthesize the best of the best and put that into the Productivity Mastery Programme for you.

As you can see, you and I are in this together.  I am here to help you shorten your “productivity learning curve” and improve your life based on my experience and expertise.

Objectives of the Productivity Mastery Programme

In this programme you will learn and implement these key disciplines of productive living:

•  You will create and implement a step-by-step plan to successfully integrate new habits of thinking and doing into your self management system. I’ll help you get up to speed as quickly as possible to put your plan into action.

• You will master a proven system designed to efficiently manage your workflow from the moment any input appears on your “radar” until it has been completely dealt with.

• Managing your time and information for small projects  - I’ll coach you on how you can use proven processes to manage information for your projects and your day-to-day actions. This includes using mind mapping as planning tool. You will see where your time goes to and select to do the things that you enjoy and energise you – delegate or outsource the rest.

• You will delegate and follow up effortlessly – You should only do what only you can do. I will guide you to discover things that you enjoy doing – and how to do more of that – and also get to know the things that drain your energy – and do less of that.

• Productive Mindset – You will learn skills for overcoming any limiting mindset related to increasing productivity and ways of working. I want to work with you to make sure that limiting attitudes and beliefs are not holding you back.

• You will use technology appropriately – Our resident technology expert Duncan Hattingh will assist you to use your current technology tools more efficiently, including Outlook, BlackBerry, iPad and other systems you may be using.

• You will get the insights and tools to help you live according to the principles of “SLOW Productivity: The Art and Science of Slowing Down to Speed Up”. This does not mean living at a snail’s pace but at the appropriate pace. I will work with you to create your special “SLOW Productivity” project to help you have more energy for the times you run in the fast lane.

• Discover your pattern of high performance: Using your past experiences, we will work together to discover your unique “Pattern of High Performance” which describes what you do when you do your best work, and define your own “conditions of high productivity”.

The Results and Benefits You Can Expect

The Productivity Mastery Programme is about increasing your productivity and learning the systems and tools that will enable you to keep working effectively and efficiently year after year. But it’s also about having an enjoyable “total life”. Here are some other benefits and results you can expect to achieve through the Productivity Mastery Programme.

Take Your Productivity To The Next Level. You will determine your current “Productivity Index” at the beginning of the programme and then again immediately after the programme and again 2 months later. Our aim is to get you on an increasing curve of your Productivity Index.

Have Balance In Your Life. This means managing your time and energy so that you run your business, your business doesn’t run you. It also means loving your business and making a lasting contribution to your colleagues, family and community.

Make It Fun to Work More Productively.  Anything can be fun once you know how to do it and create consistent results. The same goes for productivity. It’s really fun when you can achieve everything you want to achieve with relative ease.

Discover the Power of Collaboration. Often the best way to achieve your goals is with the support of others. In this programme you can work with one or two of the other participants of your choice in a “mastermind group”, collaborating and supporting each other during – and after – this programme. To quote Napoleon Hill who coined the phrase, a “Mastermind Group” is about “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

Here is what others had to say about working with me

Moosa Karodia, PrEng Ceng;  Production Manager at SAPREF (Durban) Refinery:

“I have been benefitting tremendously from Gerrit Cloete ever since I saw his article in the Cape Times when I lived in Cape Town.  I have since been on his Outlook Productivity Course and took my productivity habits a step further.  The Mastery Programme is however designed to entrench a new habit, a new and improved way of working, organizing, thinking and feeling.  I have personally benefitted immensely from the Mastery Program in that a new productivity mindset has been created.  I now feel much less anxious and much more relaxed.

I am now also able to find precious time doing the strategic and important activities that are necessary at my level in the organisation.  I no longer get bogged down by the burden of carrying inboxes that are bursting at the seams.  I am able to differentiate between what’s urgent and/or important, find a place for things in my head and most importantly to do something about them.

I would recommend the Mastery Programme to anyone who wants to take back control of their lives, both business and personal.”

Jan Mocke, COO, The Joburg Market

“I would like to thank you at this stage while we are still busy with the Productivity Mastery Programme.  [Even] if we would stop at this stage, I would already feel that is probably the best value for money I received from any course that I have done – and I have done quite a few.

My desk is better organised than it has ever been.  For a change I do not lose a lot of time looking for documents.  I am prepared for meetings, as all is ready in one place.  The principle of having only the documents related to what I am busy right now is helping me to stay focussed. To have a single tray for all incoming documents help me not missing anything important.

Some of the articles you share are really enlightening and all I regret is that I was not exposed to this information earlier in my life.”

Penny Milner-Smyth, Human Resources Executive, SA Sugar Association

“Herewith details of this excellent trainer who has been so helpful to us in the field of improving productivity through optimal use of MS Outlook. You will especially like his focus on achieving better work-life balance through smarter use of technology.

We have a lot of “knowledge workers” – scientists etc, and any one of them will tell you that their effectiveness, personal organisation, stress levels etc have improved since they have had exposure to Gerrit’s input.

Furthermore, you get value from him long after you have left the workshop/s as he keeps sending new ideas and encouraging delegates to implement and advance the practices he has covered.”

Rob Dennison, Founder/Owner of TRAINIAC

“Working with Gerrit Cloete enabled me to streamline my email Inbox in such a way that I am able to go on a business trip for three days, return and still get on top of things within an hour of being back in the office! I don’t jump in and out of my Inbox anymore, but dedicate a certain time of the day to reading new emails.

I’m not looking to work hard. I’ve got a business to run and although I don’t want to be both boss and administrator, my company doesn’t need a PA right now. By re-engineering my Inbox I have improved my productivity and freed myself up to concentrate more on my business.”

Catherine Botes, HR Manager SA Sugarcane Research Institute

“The South African Sugarcane Research Institute converted to Microsoft Outlook in 2008, after more than 10 years of using the GroupWise messaging system. Initially the change over presented employees with considerable anxiety about the potential loss of information such as contacts and stored emails. From a technology point of view that process took place smoothly.

Then however, came the learning. Our organisation uses the calendar function extensively for the purposes of arranging meetings, both for groups and smaller meetings. In addition, we have high volumes of emails as information is exchanged between various collaborating institutions. We decided to enlist the help of Productivity Pit Stop [founded by Gerrit Cloete]  to help us firstly get to grips with Outlook and secondly to use the system as efficiently as possible to save time and reduce frustration in the working day.

After over 100 people from our laboratories, research farms and offices attended the programme, I can confirm that everyone learned something (many learned lots) and almost all delegates said that they learned things that have helped them so much in organising their time and incoming information that they never even realised were possible.

We can highly recommend the courses offered by Productivity Pit Stop in terms of improving both time management and efficient use of Microsoft Outlook.”

Three Big Things that Make the Mastery Programme Different

What makes this programme different? After all, there are many ways, workshops, books and programmes that could help you increase your productivity.

1. The Participants:  The key difference in this programme is the level of the participants. This is not just a “time management” programme for beginners.  Yes, we will revisit the fundamentals, but this programme is for those executives, managers and entrepreneurs who already have achieved success in business and in life and are willing to share what they have learned.

2. A Proven Productivity System: Since 1994 I have been on a quest for living a more productive  and fulfilling life.  I‘ve tried many things.  Some worked, some did not.  The ones that worked have found their way into my Productivity Mastery Programme. So you will not get any “flavour of the month”  stuff on this programme – only things that work.

3. The Hands-On Coaching: The information, strategies and techniques in this programme are proven to help you get things done easier, faster and with less hassle – if you use them. But that’s the problem with most programmes, courses, videos and books. The information goes in one ear and out the other. It’s rarely translated into action.

In this Mastery Programme we go beyond information, strategies and techniques and I will work with you closely and intensively to make sure you implement what you learn. Each step of the way you’ll get training, guidance, and coaching to put what you’ve learned into action. As a result, this programme ensures you get the results you desire.

Why do professionals at your level need a programme like this?

Because you want to take your business and personal life to places that your current efforts will simply not get you. You know the kind of work it took to get you where you are now. It wasn’t easy. And along the way, you got support in the form of books, programmes, coaching and workshops. (Or perhaps you are one of the rare few who did it mostly on their own.)

What I discovered (a lot later than a I wish I had), is that some kind of structured support makes all the difference. But not all support is created equal. Some support is rather random, with a few ideas and inspiration here and there. This might be good if you are just getting started with your business, but isn’t sufficient to build a solid foundation on which you can continue to build and grow a career with increasing productivity.

We tend to go only as far as our current knowledge, plans and limitations. With new knowledge, plans and attitudes, what we can accomplish is virtually unlimited. Sadly, very few people even reach a fraction of their potential in their businesses (or other areas of their life, for that matter).   Within the structure of the Productivity Mastery  programme you will step outside your comfort zone and take on new challenges.

How do you know if you’re right for this programme?

 

This programme is not for everyone. Typically participants in this programme fit the following criteria.

 

• You are an executive, manager or entrepreneur - and you enjoy what you are doing.

• You are disciplined and are good at getting things done.You demonstrate this by your quality and consistency of work, and high standards of integrity. You likely exercise regularly, manage your life well and are interested in personal growth and life balance.

• You are a lifelong learner. You are focused on discovering ways to make things work better, make a bigger contribution and earn more money. You want to take your business to a whole new level of success and productivity.

• You have the ability to increase your performance, but have an inadequate system to get you where you want to be. Despite your success, you are mostly self-taught when it comes to getting things done both as effectively and efficiently as possible.

When I talk to people about the Productivity Mastery Programme, they often ask about the quality of the other participants. Well, I screen them according to the criteria above, so that’s your answer! As I said earlier, we have some of the best people you can imagine in this programme.

The Structure of the Programme Includes:

•  Two Group Sessions by teleseminar per month with screen sharing facilities so you can enjoy what I share from my computer. Each meeting will be approximately 90 minutes long. Sessions will be recorded.

• One (or more) small group meeting per month with your “Mastermind Group” of 1-2 programme participants where you’ll work on assignments, share expertise and resources and give support in moving forward.  It will be up to you to select the members of your Mastermind Group and manage your group activities.

• Two individual meetings with me by Skype each month.  If your company policy prohibits the use of Skype we will use telephone and other screen sharing technology. Depending on what you are working on, we can schedule these sessions more often. Sessions are typically 60-75 minutes but I don’t watch the clock.

Technology requirements

A high speed ADSL internet connection is required for participation in this programme.  We will be using web based technology for group and individual sessions and you will be required to  share your computer screen with me as we implement your productivity improvement  system.

The group sessions will use both traditional telephone technology and the technology from www.glance.net  and for the individual sessions we will use Skype if your company firewall does not block it.  Otherwise we will make a phone call.

Programme Schedule

Programme applications: The programme is now open for applications.

Pre-programme work: From the day your enrolment fee has been received you will get started on the programme with assignments to help both of us understand your “current reality” in terms of various aspects related to your productivity.

Group Webinar Sessions – Starts on 3 May 2012. Then every second week (on Thursdays from 15:30-17:00) with a special closing session on Tuesday 7 August. You’ll get the complete schedule once you apply.  To get the best from these sessions you will need access to a landline (preferably) and high speed internet access.

Individual Coaching Sessions – Your individual session of 60-75 minutes with me will be every second week (or more if needed – just ask) between the Group Sessions, at one of these time slots: 09:00 or 11:00 Monday to Friday, with slots also available at 07:00 or 13:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  If none of these suit you, we will make a plan.  We will also make special arrangements for dates that clash with public holidays or previous commitments you may have.

Some concerns you may have

It is quite an undertaking to join a 13 week programme. Above all else, you want to make sure you get the value you’re looking for and actually gain the skills to increase productivity, not to mention implement these ideas and be successful in achieving your business goals, personal goals and specific productivity improvement goals.

Q: Will the information in this programme address my needs? Will I be able to apply what I learn?

A: If you are an executive, manager or entrepreneur, the information and models taught in this programme has been used successfully with hundreds of people over the 10 years I have been working with clients in workshops or one-on-one coaching. If you are willing to make the effort to learn and apply this information, it will work for you. We have seen no exceptions to this up to this point.

Q: Will the other participants be quality business people?

A: I make a great effort to screen the people who participate in this programme. They are successful, professional and fun people! You will learn as much from them as you will learn from me – and more. You’ll have ample opportunity to work with the other participants, through the group coaching sessions and your mastermind group.

Q: What if I get stuck? After all, I’ve tried many different things to be more productive! How can I be sure I’ll implement it during the Mastery Programme?

A: Good question. The short answer is, we hold your feet to the fire and give you continual support in moving into action. In the first part of the programme you will share your desired results with me. Everyone does that. And then you get the coaching and hands-on support to make sure it happens and move you forward.

Q: What if I have to miss one or more of the Group Sessions?

A: This happens with everyone. You may have prescheduled vacations or an emergency. However, we ask you to make these a priority, and not to schedule anything over these sessions unless absolutely necessary.  The good news is that all these sessions are recorded and available to you online after the session.

Q: What if I don’t like the programme (for whatever reason)?

A:  I can’t guarantee you’ll always like the programme. In the program we push you past your comfort zone. We make you question some of your limiting beliefs. We challenge you to do things you’ve never done before. And this isn’t always fun! However I want to assure you that I’m always working to make this programme an experience you will remember and value for a lifetime. Although it won’t always be easy, the final results will be more than worth the effort.

One thing is absolutely guaranteed: You will laugh as you learn. I take this programme and the participants seriously, but I try not to take myself too seriously, and one of my big priorities is to have fun myself. I note that if I’m having fun everyone is getting the value they came for.

Q: OK, sounds good but what if I want to quit the programme?

A:   This would mean that we both made a serious error in judgement before we “signed on the dotted line”.  Therefore I make sure to the best of my ability during the review of your application and our telephonic interview that you understand what you are wanting to achieve and the commitment this will require.  You will not become more productive just by paying the programme fee.  You have to put time and energy into it.

We will, however, discuss your situation, and see if and how we can work together to fix what’s not working.

If we cannot get that right – which I doubt – It will be sad to see you go, but I can’t force you to do something that does not work for you.

Programme Fee (Excl VAT)

If you were to invite me to come to your office for an 8 hour one-on-one workflow coaching session with altogether 4 hours of pre- and post-coaching work, your fee would be R17 500 plus travel and accommodation expenses, bringing it close to R20 000.

For a one–day Outlook Productivity workshop for up to 12 people in your company the fee would be R26 000.

In the Productivity Mastery Programme you and I work together intimately for a minimum of 21 hours spread equally over 13 weeks, turning concepts and thoughts into habits.  Just based on the time portion of the above, the fee for your Productivity Mastery Programme comes to  R30 625.

That’s the “investment” side of the equation.

To understand the value your Productivity Mastery Programme will deliver for you, calculate 8% of your annual remuneration.  Based on feedback we get from clients, this is the value of yuor time that is going to waste every year just because you are still using inefficient ways of managing your workflow.

This is the value of what the Productivity Mastery Programme will return to you every year.