GREAT COMPANIES ARE BUILT BY GREAT LEADERS. That’s why the ability to identify and attract talented people is almost as critical as the ability to develop talented people.
Companies aspiring to achieve global dominance require a work ethic of putting in the extra effort and time. To compete against the biggest and strongest corporations, with the smartest employees in the world; a digital technology company requires even more time, effort and drive to succeed.
At INFINI Global we value hard work and encourage a culture of working longer and smarter. 12-hours-a-day, from 8am-to-8pm, 6-days-a-week routine, is de rigueur for passionate young employees. Those who can stick to an 8-8-6 schedule are those who have found their passion, purpose and can commit beyond monetary gains. Working longer and smarter than others is the requisite to attain mastery and excellence in your area of expertise. There are only 24 hours in a day. If you sleep 6 hours a day, then you have 18 hours left. On average, individuals work 8 hours a day. Meaning, if you work 8 hours you still have 10 hours left. What you do with these 10 hours, is what sets apart the achievement oriented individual on a path to mastery and the average to mediocrity.
The real 8-8-6 work culture should be spending time learning, thinking and for self-improvement. You don’t have to spend all of those hours literally working at your desk, but rather putting work into yourself – whether that means reading a self-help book, attending networking events, going to the gym or meditating to clear your mind. As long as you put in the effort to push yourself forward, you are making productive use of your time and energy.
At INFINI Global we are not advocating for working as though we’re living in the Industrial Revolution, but the traditional “9-to-5” just isn’t enough to succeed. An individual can never rise to the top by doing the bare minimum. The ones who do are average. The people who put in more time and effort tend to excel. Human capital must be in sync with corporate culture in addition to a very strong 8-8-6 work ethic. This will be key to INFINI Global’s success.
In a typical 9-to-5 company, a typical employee will arrive to the office at around 9:30 a.m. and grumble about the bus or train being delayed or getting stuck in traffic. Then, he needs to discuss all the sports he watched the previous night, while others join in talking about the breaking news or a trending TV series. After a little gossiping, he gets coffee and breakfast and goes to the bathroom. At the crack of 10 a.m., he’ll start working. At about 11:30 a.m., he will start texting with co-workers, inquiring about where to go for lunch. He will return from lunch probably 30 minutes late, then proceed to read through new posts on his social media accounts, respond to DMs and engage in WhatsApp chats. After work he may head to the bar for a drink with colleagues, nurse a hangover the next day at work – distractions are endless! This cancerous behavior is metastatic with serious ramifications to the whole body. The company will be unproductive, uncompetitive, miss quarterly targets or even shut down. In future, jobs that can be automated will be automated, as a longterm solution to the human capital inefficiencies.
The workout regimen of Tiger Woods’ triumphant return to Masters glory in April 2019, exemplifies the 8-8-6 work culture philosophy, beautifully. According to reports, his typical routine starts early in the morning with an hour of cardio, usually involving bicycling, a 7-mile run or 3-mile sprint. After cardio, Woods starts lifting weights for an additional hour—and this is all before breakfast. Later in the day, Woods practices golf and then returns to another round of weight training in the evening.
It’s similar to a person looking to build a career. You need to put in the time, effort and drive to succeed. It sounds harsh when we refer to putting in the hours at work, but think it’s perfectly natural as it relates to sports. Some people are blessed with athletic skills. Those who have those gifts but don’t constantly practice and improve will lose out to those with lesser innate talents but a stronger work ethic and always practice to improve. By the same token, a company with a team of ordinary people striving for mastery, prepared to embrace the 8-8-6 work culture can do extraordinary things.