Summary: The One Thing

Review and Analysis of Keller and Papasan's Book

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• Publisher: Must Read Summaries
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9782511024331
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Careers

The must-read summary of Gary Keller and Jay Papasan's book “The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results”.

This complete summary of the ideas in Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book “The One Thing” explains that, surprisingly enough, the best way to achieve incredible results is to do less. The key is to focus on actions that will rule out less meaningful or time-consuming things. This summary points out the six main steps to get there:
1. Live with purpose
2. Live by your priorities
3. Live for productivity
4. Make three commitments
5. Watch out for four thieves
6. Start now!

Added-value of this summary:
• Save time
• Understand the key concepts
• Learn key secrets to achieving incredible results

To learn more read `The One Thing` and improve your performance!

Summary of The One Thing (Gary Keller with Jay Papasan)

1. The Six Lies About Productivity

There are six common myths which are really misunderstandings when it comes to being more productive. See these lies for what they are and you start on the path to doing more.

1. Everything matters equally
2. Multitasking is a good thing
3. You must be “disciplined” to succeed
4. Willpower is always on “will-call”
5. You can achieve a balanced life
6. Big is bad, and to be feared

1. Everything matters equally

The idea of equality of achievements is a lie pure and simple. When everything seems to be of equal importance, you become busy doing stuff but if you’re not careful, your efforts in one area can inadvertently offset all you achieve in another area.

“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?”

– Henry David Thoreau

“The things which are most important don’t always scream the loudest.”

– Bob Hawke

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The truth is activity is often unrelated to productivity. Working through a long and impressive list of To-Do’s is nice, but if that list is filled with trivial and unimportant stuff, you’re not getting any where meaningful even while you check the various items off.

Achievers don’t try and do everything and anything they can think of. Instead, they follow a different strategy – they have a clear sense of priority and a clear goal for where they want to head. Instead of putting together a long To-Do list, achievers put together a much shorter list of the items they absolutely must do to succeed. This is a much more productive way to work.

In the 19th century, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto came up with his famous 80/20 principle. His initial conclusion was based on the finding 80 percent of the land in Italy was owned by 20 percent of the population. In the late 1930s, Joseph Juran, an executive with General Motors, described this principle as the idea of the “vital few and the trivial many.” Author Richard Koch then labeled it as the “80/20 Principle” and stated the minority of your effort leads to the majority of your results.

“The 80/20 Principle has been one of the most important guiding success rules in my career. It describes the phenomenon which, like Juran, I’ve observed in my own life over and over again – but there’s a catch. Pareto doesn’t go far enough. I want you to go further. What Pareto started, you’ve got to finish. Success requires that you follow the 80/20 Principle, but you don’t have to stop there. Keep going. You can take 20 percent of the 20 percent of the 20 percent and continue until you get to the single most important thing! Start with as large a list as you want, but develop the mindset that you will whittle your way from there to the critical few and not stop until you end with the essential ONE. The imperative ONE. The ONE Thing.”

– Gary Keller

To offset the myth that everything matters, don’t focus on being busy – focus instead on being productive. Keep asking what really matters until there is only One Thing left on your list and then find ways to make that your core activity for the majority of each day. In other words, to achieve more, go small. Figure out what core activity generates the most results for you and then make maximizing the time you do that your top priority – even if you have to say “No” to lots of other nice things. Success comes from doing what matters most.

2. Multitasking is a good thing

In 2009, Stanford University professor Clifford Nass set out to prove definitively how multitaskers work. He studied 262 people who were accomplished multitaskers and was stunned to find multitaskers performed worse right across the board. He concluded multitasking is a lie and this in a completely inefficient way to get things done.

“Multitaskin...

Table of contents

• Title page
• Book Presentation
• Summary of The One Thing (Gary Keller with Jay Papasan)
• About the Summary Publisher
• Copyright