Peter Drucker once observed that, "Much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work." Nine years after the management guru's death, his remark is truer than ever: employees often have to negotiate a mass of clutter--from bulging inboxes to endless meetings and long lists of objectives to box-tick--before they can focus on their real work. For the past 50 years manufacturers have battled successfully to streamline their factory floors and make them "lean". Today, businesses of all types need to do the same in their offices.

With more than four decades of experience observing and measuring a wide range of workplace issues, my bottom line advice on such metrics can be distilled into two simple maxims.

With more than four decades of experience observing and measuring a wide range of workplace issues, my bottom line advice on such metrics can be distilled into two simple maxims.

With more than four decades of experience observing and measuring a wide range of workplace issues, my bottom line advice on such metrics can be distilled into two simple maxims.

With more than four decades of experience observing and measuring a wide range of workplace issues, my bottom line advice on such metrics can be distilled into two simple maxims.