Virgin Group CEO Josh Bayliss Is No Procrastinator

Five expert users, including Virgin Group’s chief executive New Zealander Josh Bayliss, tell the Financial Times about the best tools to beat procrastination in a recent ‘Future of the workplace’ special. What can corporate leaders of the future learn from today’s experts at getting work done? the publication asks.

“Problems that arise out of nowhere can feel like a challenge to your productivity, but any leader needs to be agile and responsive,” Bayliss, 46, explains. “Sometimes I turn off emails, freeing myself up to get on with the real to-do list. If there is a true emergency and somebody really needs your input urgently, they will find you.

“Hour-long meetings are often booked out of habit. I make sure everyone is clear on why they are in the room and what everyone wants to get out of it.

“Shorter meetings, letting emails wait and making time for exercise [work best].

“A few years ago at Virgin we introduced a ‘digital detox’ policy – switching off the email server for a couple of hours each week. Some embraced it more than others. Now we have adapted the policy so it is not so strict, but still nudges teams to leave their screens and get social for a little while.”

Originally from Auckland, Bayliss has been with Virgin since 2005, previously serving as the Group’s General Counsel before taking on the CEO role in 2011.

Bayliss is responsible for the Group’s strategic development and licensing of the Virgin brand globally, and the management of direct investments on behalf of the Branson family in various branded and unbranded companies around the world.

Original article by Amy Bell, Financial Times, February 13, 2020.