Understand the Impact of Your Style of Working

Your individual role in making your best better requires that you: (1) know the way you work and get things done, and (2) constantly ensure that you are aligned with the way you work and get things done.

There’s a simple question you can ask to distinguish your own working style: Are you a verb person or a noun person? To help you answer that, it’s best to have a list with more than 30 things that need your attention. Now look at the first (or sometimes, only) word of each item on the list. Is it a noun or is it a verb?

There’s no right or wrong way to write a list. I find that although everyone will switch between nouns and verbs here and there, the very real data is there for you to see in your own hand; some people tend to choose nouns over verbs; others prefer verbs to nouns. As you clarify the ways you can work smarter, consider the distinction between the two.