How Smart Companies Stay Smart.

5 min readJul 25, 2016

The smart companies attract great people.

But, importantly, they have learnt how to keep them. They know they are in a talent war.

When you look beyond a good salary, other factors begin to play a much bigger part. Is this company a learning environment? Can I control my own destiny? Does this company want to change something? And, indeed, are they interested in looking after me?

The pioneers have found ways to bring all these aspects to their businesses. It makes them stand out. And it makes them great places to work for. Which, in turn, makes them great businesses.

The pioneers understand the importance of how humans work best, when they are at their most creative, and the importance of long-term thinking when it comes to its people.

There is another way.

Work Smarter Not Longer

The old way of thinking was to celebrate the workaholic. The badge of honour goes to those who work the longest, the ones who pull the all-nighters.

But the longer you work, the less productive you are. The less creative you are. And, the more grumpy you are. And the chances of burning out are not if, but merely when.

Jason Fried, from Basecamp, sets his company’s servers using a new ‘Work Can Wait’ system that allows individuals to set their own work notification schedule so that work doesn’t follow them home.

No weekends. No nothing. He believes that no one makes the best decisions when they are just plain tired. And workaholics don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done. He encourages a maximum of 40 hours work. And 8 hours sleep at night.

Who’s Already Figured This Out?

Sweden

Officially moved to a 6-hour work day to increase productivity and ensure that people have the energy to enjoy their private lives.

Arianna Huffington (Co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Huffington Post)

Urges employees to leave their desks at lunchtime, utilise the meditation and yoga practises offered at the office, use all of their vacation days, and leave email worries at work.

Stefan Sagmeister (co-founder of Sagmeister & Walsh Inc)

Closes his New York graphic design studio every seven years for a year-long sabbatical to rejuvenate and refresh their creative outlook.

Carlos Slim (Business magnate, philanthropist, and self-made billionaire)

Proposed a 3-day work week to allow individuals more personal time and give younger workers more opportunity to enter the workforce.

The rev counter on a car has a red line. The engine can occasionally go there, but it can’t stay there.

No car can.

Correspondingly, neither can humans. We can all work at our maximum to hit a deadline. But if that becomes the norm, well, we all know where that ends up.

This is the third post in an eight-week series of articles all about stress and how to make it work for you and your business.

The next article will be published on Wednesday the 27th of July, where we’ll be sharing with you the secret to how smart company’s stay smart. We’ll see you there.

Do Stress. One Day Event. London. Oct 14th.

The Do Lectures is holding a one-day event called ‘Do Stress’. It will deliver insights, future strategies, and will examine the zeitgiest for ‘human based companies’ and how ‘work’ is going to change. And what that means for your business?

There will be 10 talks from entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, change-makers and visionaries. As Dan Pink reminds us all: “Talented people need organisations less than organisations need talented people”.

That is why smart companies are creating human cultures, not corporate ones in order to thrive. How you stay ahead in the future is not the same as what kept you ahead in the past.

Why attend?

It answers the question of who leads the way in looking after their people, what are they doing, why is it working? How does culture help your business? How does your purpose? How does the design of your office? Even, how you sit at a computer?

How does a human culture prevent burn out? How does it help you win the talent war? And how, just as importantly, does it help you retain your people too. What perks are the most important?

The good news is companies who look after their people are also the best businesses over the long term. Human based companies are the future. So how do you become one? Our one day event is designed to give you the answers.

The One Day Event — Do Stress

10 speakers.

2 workshops.

200 attendees.

For more information, or to register your interest, head over to our website.