You are pushed from pillar to post. You have multiple demands on your time, your focus and your energies.

That is why you might try to seek out an easy solution to a problem or try to find a shortcut to success.

Being aware of this is why I share simple and easy ways to communicate and work better for you to try out. They have worked for some of my clients and they might help you too.

But the hack culture that has developed over the last few years ignores a fundamental of good performance. It puts an emphasis on the shortcut and ignores the fact that a proper process needs to be invested in first.

While it is of course fine to want to improve your performances whether a pitch, presentation, how you run meetings or lead a team you need to get the basics right first.

Seeking out that one per cent marginal gain will help you to be better at what you do. But only after you have put in place the fundamentals and turned these fundamentals into good habits and ways of working.

Hack culture is everywhere but few of us are world class at what we do. Being world class takes effort and an investment of time and energy.

The truth is the majority of us will never be world class. But that shouldn’t deter you if you measure yourself against your previous self not others.

And if you put in place the basics (and are relentless in repeating these time and again) you will be adding that extra one per cent marginal gain to concrete foundations.

By doing this you are far more likely to see an uplift in your performance.

So, what do you want to be better at?

Now ask yourself what are the basics you need to get in place first?

It might be your schedule, your work environment, the agenda for your meetings, your lack of preparation…

Be honest with yourself. How are you going to get the basics right?