Effective Ways to Maximize Output and Increase Profit

On this episode of the Process Breakdown Podcast Bob Sutton, professor of management science and engineering at Stanford, co-founder of Stanford Technology Ventures Program and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, speaks about the errors companies make, how to correct them, and how they can adjust their game plan for maximum output and profit. 

He also tells funny stories about certain companies that he finds interesting, about some of the books he’s written and his favorite story that inspired his first book.

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Key Resource List:

* BobSutton.net* Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less

Show Notes:

0:07 – Introduction

1:06 – Dr. Weisz shares the best solution for documenting standard operating procedures, highlighting a 14-day free trial with SweetProcess.

1:50 – Host introduces Mr. Bob Sutton, the guest speaker, sheds light on him and his work, including his new project, The Friction Project, and some of his other books.

3:31 – Mr. Sutton starts to talk about how he got interested in his line of work, and on how to grow organizations.

5:13 – Mr. Sutton gives some examples of things that companies should make more difficult.

9:30 – Mr. Sutton talks about the road map for his new book, and the difficulties he’s undergoing.

12:11 – Mr. Sutton talks about the rise of “flash organizations” that just come up out of nowhere and crash.

13:46 – The speaker talks about Patrick Collison and how he’s into doing things really fast.

15:54 – Mr. Sutton talks about steps he thinks will be valuable for a company to apply, and arbitrary traditions that need to be eliminated.

19:26 – Mr. Sutton talks about when he worked at Facebook for a bit, and how their mentality of operation there confused him.

20:40 – Mr. Sutton shares his take on the annual performance review.

24:00 – The guest speaker talks about his favorite case study in the Friction project.

26:00 – Mr. Sutton speaks about the difficulty leaders face in times of uncertainty.

28:15 – He gives an example using the CEO of Airbnb as someone who’s handling this difficulty rather well.

30:16 – The speaker talks about companies he finds fascinating, and his particular interest in Walmart, and about companies that disrupt themselves.

32:55 – Mr. Sutton talks about co-founding the Institute of Design.

38:41 – The speaker talks about scaling to other markets, using IKEA as an example.