Book Review: The ONE Thing By Gary Keller

Review Summary:

This book is for anyone who has big dreams and doesn’t know how to get started. Gary Keller will walk you through the process of being more productive and purposeful all while avoiding harmful habits, thoughts and patterns that might currently be stunting your success. My ONE complaint is, if you are an avid business psychology or self-development reader, you might find some heavy overlap from other popular personal development books. For those of you that fall in that category, this is still definitely worth a skim, as the author puts an interesting twist on old ideas.

Overall if you’re looking for a quick read that will help you take control of your work instead of allowing your work to control you this is a must read!

Critical Analysis

Goal Setting to the Now Technique:

The entire premise of The ONE Thing hinges on the idea that in order to achieve extraordinary results you must build a habit of asking yourself, how can I break down my biggest goals into chewable sized tasks that can be done right here, right now. The author argues that these small focused tasks are like a line of dominos tumbling one after another creating a powerful chain of results (Keller & Papasan, 2017). In other words, small actions, create large results!

Keller’s technique pulls on expectancy theory which is, “the belief that effort will lead to the performance needed to attain the rewards” (Locke & Latham, 2002). However, I would critique the effectiveness of his model as it lacks a feedback loop which is critical for the success of task performance and goal attainment (Locke & Latham, 2002).

The “goal-setting to the now” technique is certainly applicable to modern-day workplaces. It can be used to ensure that the tasks you spend the most time on are leading you towards your future career, business and life goals. In my opinion, placing increased importance on which tasks you prioritize will allow you to better align your daily tasks with your greater purpose. For managers, this could lead to increased productivity and workplace engagement!

Multitasking:

Multitasking! The best way to get the most done, when your do-to list is 50 items long… Or is it?

Multitasking occurs when a user’s attention switches between several independent tasks at once (Adler & Benbunan-Fich, 2012). Gary Keller claims that multitasking is a big fat lie. He supports his claim by backing it with research done by Dr. David Meyers who’s work demonstrates that moving from one task to another in a short period has a switching cost which is unfortunately paid in time wasted (Keller & Papasan, 2017). In comparison to Keller’s view on multitasking, another study that explored the performance effects of multitasking found that there is a curvilinear relationship between arousal and performance (Adler & Benbunan-Fich, 2012). This relationship is otherwise known as Yerkes- Dodson Law and looks at productivity on two dimensions: performance effectiveness (accuracy) and performance efficiency (productivity) (Adler & Benbunan-Fich, 2012). The relationship between productivity and the number of task switches produces an inverted-U curve that demonstrates the following results, “the most productive are those with medium levels of multitasking, while those at the extremes with low or high multitasking are least productive” (Appendix B) (Adler & Benbunan-Fich, 2012).

Therefore, this study refutes Gary Keller’s insights that single-tasking is always the best way to be productive. However, it should be noted that Keller was not completely off.

Another study that looked at the effects of multitasking on work performance found that individual differences in memory capacity, processing speed and even gender can affect an individual’s ability to multitask. This study concluded that in general better multitaskers have larger working memory capacity, and cognitive processing speed had no effect on multitasking (Hambrick, Oswald, Darowski, Rench, & Brou, 2010). Furthermore, contrary to popular belief women are not better at multitasking than men (Hambrick, Oswald, Darowski, Rench, & Brou, 2010). With all that being said, it can be concluded that multitasking is a complex action that might work better for some than others. The author's evidence on multitasking is an important consideration for managers and employees whose attention is constantly being pulled into email threads, phone calls and other forms of workplace distractions that have emerged with a workplace culture that is expected to be reachable in an instant.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this book can help graduates in their future careers by providing insights on how to get started when you don’t know where to start. This is particularly important for students that might feel overwhelmed either choosing a career path or students are looking to enter new industries. The overarching literature for productivity indicates that multitasking to a certain extent is actually arousing and can lead to increase productivity. However, for the most part multitasking is NOT effective for most people and often leads to wasted time. This can be helpful for breaking old habits or conceptions of how to work effectively and getting the right tasks done first. Additionally, the insights provided in this book can lead to increased long term and short-term job satisfaction as the “goal setting to the now” technique will allow students to treat all their jobs, big and small with the upmost importance. Ultimately, focusing on your most critical tasks without getting overly distracted is a habit that will put undergrads ahead of their peers. Research demonstrates that we are losing our ability to stay focus, therefore by using both Keller’s goal setting technique and productivity model graduates can be more promotable and engaged in their careers than their peers. In conclusion, I give this book a rating of 4.5 stars and would recommend other books by this author to graduates and managers who are looking to increase workplace engagement.

References

Adler, R. F., & Benbunan-Fich, R. (2012). Juggling on a high wire: Multitasking effects on performance. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 70(2), 156–168. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2011.10.003

Hambrick, D. Z., Oswald, F. L., Darowski, E. S., Rench, T. A., & Brou, R. (2010). Predictors of multitasking performance in a synthetic work paradigm. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(8), 1149–1167. doi:10.1002/acp.1624

Keller, G., & Papasan, J. (2017). The one thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results. Place of publication not identified: Skillsoft Ireland Limited.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. doi:10.1037/0003–066X.57.9.705