54: Administrative Nonsense Day

Elon Musk. Jack Dorsey. Marissa Mayer. How do these high-flying tech CEOs get so much done? Media profiles tally their super-clever strategies for making it work, but the Priority team asks a more basic question: are they even getting that much done? The research paints a bleak picture. Each hour over 40 provides diminishing returns, each hour over 65 provides no additional return, and at 80 hours, even highly-trained medical residents make crazy errors. Max observes that successful CEOs have something at their disposal that most of us mere mortals lack—namely, gobs of money. But among the trite (non-wealth-related) advice on offer, Jack Dorsey provides a clue about how a two-company CEO—or Max, or Caitie, or YOU—can make it all work. And what is that? Don’t fret, our hosts promise they’ll get to it before hour 40.

Elon Musk, whose successes and 100-hour work weeks are celebrated. Interestingly, you don't hear much about his relationship with his six sons. 

Elon Musk. Jack Dorsey. Marissa Mayer. 

How do these high-flying tech CEOs get so much done? Media profiles tally their super-clever strategies for making it work, but the Priority team asks a more basic question: are they even getting that much done? 

The research paints a bleak picture. Each hour over 40 provides diminishing returns, each hour over 65 provides no additional return, and at 80 hours, even highly-trained medical residents make serious errors. 

Max observes that successful CEOs have something at their disposal that most of us mere mortals lack—namely, gobs of money. But among the trite (non-wealth-related) advice on offer, Jack Dorsey provides a clue about how a two-company CEO—or Max, or Caitie, or YOU—can make it all work. 

And what is that? Don’t fret, our hosts promise they’ll get to it before hour 40.  

Links: 

Elon Musk | Wikipedia

Paypal | Wikipedia

"Why PayPal Freezes (aka Limits, aka Restricts User Accounts" | PayPalSucks.com

Tesla Motors | Wikipedia

"How Elon Musk Thrives with a 100 Hour Work Week" by Patrick Hankinson | Quora, via Quartz

Tim Ferriss | Wikipedia

"Sweden is shifting to a 6-Hour Work Day" | Science Alert

"Having It All Kinda Sucks" by Amy Westervelt | Medium

"Let's Talk About Marissa Mayer's Work-Life Balance Policy" by Meredith Lepore | Levo

"Elon Musk Didn't Like His Kids' School, So He Made His Own Small, Secretive School without Grade Levels" by Maya Kosoff | Business Insider

"Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace" by Jodi Kantor and David Streitfeld | The New York Times

Priority Episode No. 35: "Six-Foot To-Do List" | Previous Episode

Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life by David Allen | Amazon

"The 80-Hour Workweek Doesn't Truly Work" by Leah Eichler | The Globe and Mail

"How Can Doctors Restore the Heart of Medicine?" by Michael Finkelstein, MD | Huffington Post

The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne | Amazon

"A Guide to Jack Dorsey's 80-Hour Workweek" by Stacy Cowley | CNN Money

Jack Dorsey | Wikipedia

"A Conversation with Joseph Finder and Malcolm Gladwell | Audible

Back to Work Episode No. 61: "I Handed Him My Luke" | 5by5 Podcast Episode

"How Do the Best Professors Work?" by Cal Newport | Academic Productivity, via Archive.org

"21 Rugrats Episodes That Everyone Should Re-Watch ASAP" by Maggie Malach | Bustle

What They Teach You at Harvard Business School: My Two Years Inside the Cauldron of Capitalism by Philip Delves Broughton | Amazon

"When Your Business Success Hides a Multitude of Business Sins" by Bill Vincent | The Examiner

Million Dollar Genius | History