Indianapolis Productivity Summit - March 30, 2009[/caption]From 2007 to 2021, I ran a speaking and consulting firm called AccelaWork. I closed that business because I am running for U.S. Congress in 2022. You're likely here because a search engine still has references to the 4,000+ pages of content from that site.
I stand by what we wrote, and I think the most honest choice is to preserve that information, since its part of what I did before I became a candidate for public office. That writing is all below.
Robby Slaughter
September 2021
A classic op-ed piece in the New York Times by Michael Crichton states a scientific claim which happens to be copyrighted. Here's a hint: it's an expansion on the idea that vitamins are good for you.
Unlike similar statements of fact, such as "the earth revolves around the sun", this sentence of twenty words is the subject of courtroom controversy. It can't be repeated, or even considered, without legal ramifications. According to Crichton:
A corporation has patented that fact, and demands a royalty for its use. Anyone who makes the fact public and encourages doctors to test for the condition and treat it can be sued for royalty fees. Any doctor who reads a patient's test results and even thinks of vitamin deficiency infringes the patent. A federal circuit court held that mere thinking violates the patent.
Obviously a "trade secret" is a time-honored tradition in business. But no matter the age or the size of the company, there's more to a brand then a formula that they keep under wraps. The recipe for Coca-Cola is confidential, but the value of that organization is mostly tied up in sales relationships, distribution systems, employee knowledge, and business processes. The chemical symbols are important, but aren't much in the grand scheme of the enterprise.
No business should rely on a revenue model based on keeping small amounts of information secret. Even organizations with vast libraries of content—like record labels, production companies and software developers—should differentiate themselves on the quality of their service, not the control of information. If your business includes "trade secrets" as a barrier to your competition, contact the business improvement experts at AccelaWork today to evaluate how to transform your business process.
Recent studies---according to an article from Forbes magazine---note that patrons spend, at most, 30 percent of their time actually acquiring merchandise, leaving the remainder for browsing, navigating the store, and completing the checkout process. Retailers believe better store design would increase shopper productivity, boosting that percentage and therefore, overall sales.
Scientists compare the experience of being a retail customer to the to "traveling salesman problem." In short, if a salesperson has to visit a number of different cities, what is the shortest path they can take and then return home? From the article:
Grocery shoppers face the same challenge as they go about collecting milk, bread, cookies or other things on their list, according to Wharton marketing professor Peter S. Fader. “The TSP closely resembles the problem faced by a typical grocery shopper who plans to purchase a certain list of items in the grocery store,” Fader and his research colleagues–Wharton marketing professor Eric Bradlow and doctoral student Sam Hui–write in a new paper, “The Traveling Salesman Goes Grocery Shopping: The Systematic Inefficiencies of Grocery Paths.” For the shopper, the researchers write, “the TSP offers an ‘optimal’ path, which connects the entrance, all the products that she purchases and the checkout counter.”
To achieve the same efficiency as the salesman who meticulously plots his route, a shopper would need to know where products are located and have a game plan on how to go about gathering the items on his list while covering as little distance as possible. But do people really behave that way when they head into their neighborhood supermarket?Work environments are often plagued by similar challenges. We sometimes find ourselves exhausted by overhead, constantly running around the office, or waiting patiently on someone else. Spending 30 percent of our time at the office actually completing work that advances the organization may sound optimistic, as we're too often wasting even more time on distractions.
If it seems challenging to apply the complex mathematics of the traveling sales problem to your organization, you are not wrong. But the first step in any situation is to acknowledge that the issue exists. If you find that the way you organize papers at your desk or emails in your inbox seems random, perhaps a higher level of thinking should be considered. And if they way data moves through your organization's bureaucracy seems equally convoluted, maybe it's time to sit down and draw a map.
And you're not alone if you're just thinking about this systematically for the first time:
“By no means does this study solve all the burning questions that keep retailers awake at night, but it’s a step in the right direction. The main point is that we’re bringing hard science to an area that’s been left to judgment and intuition alone. There are still many steps awaiting us on our ‘path’ to better understand in-store behavior, and we hope we can be fairly efficient---unlike most grocery shoppers---as we move ahead with it.”
Companies leaders who want to better understand their current workflow and make improvements in business processes should pursue business improvement consulting services. If your company is operating on intuition instead of science, contact AccelaWork to arrange a consultation. We would love to help you make the leap, draw the map, and help bring your business to the next level.
Here's how it works: If a baseball team in the U.S. wants to hire an impressive player from Japan, they're not allowed to make an offer directly. Instead, the league organizes a silent auction and any interested party can place a bid. Some commentators believe this secrecy is inflating the market, making foreign players unreasonably expensive.
Sports writer Tim Kurkjian at ESPN magazine explains how Daisuke Matsuzaka successfully secured a whopping $51.1 million from the Boston Red Sox. Because the auction was conducted in secret, the winning team ended up bidding 20 percent more than the second place team to ensure their lead. Still, this figure ended up in negotiation, driving up the final price to just over $100 million.
The backstory is fascinating. From the article:
"It is silly,'' said one major league executive. "It is stupid."The posting process originated from the Padres' controversial signing of pitcher Hideki Irabu in 1997. The Padres entered into a working agreement with Irabu's team in Japan, the Chiba Lotte Marines, guaranteeing exclusive rights to him, which angered a number of major league teams that wanted to bid for him. The Padres traded Irabu to the Yankees three months later, but from Irabu's signing, the posting process was born. Now teams make one secretive bid. The team with the highest bid is given 30 days to sign the player. If the team fails to do so, the player goes back to his Japanese club, and the posting fee is retrieved.
The posting process was adopted in part because the small-market teams didn't feel they had a chance to compete in open bidding against the big-market clubs. But what we've learned from the Matsuzaka case is that the blind bidding by teams can produce an even more outrageous offer. When the Mariners posted $13.1 million for Ichiro Suzuki in 2000, they were afraid that they had overpaid for him, but they knew they had to offer at least $10 million to have a shot at getting him. As it turned out, Ichiro has earned his money.
Many believe the posting process will be changed, but the fundamental challenge for Major League Baseball is the question of secrecy. Any organization which attempts to create a positive economic climate without total openness is always in danger of such imbalances. Keeping details under wraps is very rarely the best move for everyone involved.
This is a classic problem in economics, dating back to the era of Adam Smith. It's sometimes called information asymmetry. If you know more than the other guy, you may have the upper hand. But that also means the other guy may be frustrated or feel the need to retaliate.
There's a lesson for everyone, not just baseball managers and economists. Companies and nonprofit entities should always attempt to ensure that news of incentives, rewards, and opportunities is made available to affected stakeholders. That means if there's a promotion available, a bonus upcoming, or a chance for something new, be sure and share it as widely as you can. Otherwise, people may feel left out and bad decisions might get made.
The opposite is true as well. Holding off bad news or keeping it isolated to a few people is probably not the right move. Share, deal with the issue, and move on.
If your company is facing difficult internal outcomes due to a lack of trust, consider a business consulting firm to assist in evaluating your workflow and information management. Because usually, it's about the system. If the rules are the game are fun, everyone wants to play.
Consider the electrical power in network connections between computers, servers, and other devices—it may seem insignificant compared to the energy required to run the equipment itself.
However, according to The Register, the world's packet-switched networks are wasting a billion dollars in power costs.
Expert Mike Bennett says most of the problem lies in our high-speed connections. They're usually overkill. Network cables and interfaces operate at peak performance, even in the quiet midnight hours when almost no one is online. Just reconfiguring equipment to automatically switch to lower speeds can mean big savings:
A lot of the problem is connections running at higher speeds than they need to, said EEE chair Mike Bennett. He added that the problem has worsened as more and more systems - from business servers and network printers to home IPTV set-top boxes - are left on 24x7."For example, measured at the wall socket, a device that operates at 100BASE-TX instead of 1000BASE-T when the link is operating well under 100Mbit/s could save close to 2W," he said. "Multiply that by two for the other end of the circuit and you're saving roughly 4W per link. It may not sound like much, but over an enterprise with thousands of links, it can add up."
Even if you don't work in information technology, these kinds of process improvement techniques can still apply. How much paper are you wasting that could be turned over and reused on the back? How many lights do you leave on when sunlight will suffice or you're the only one working on the entire floor? How many emails do you keep in your own private inbox filing system when your colleagues are doing the same with the very same emails?
You're probably thinking that this is a strange way of thinking. And in fact, it's a relatively new idea known as lateral thinking.
Approaching problems about resources in this unique fashion can identify creative ways to conserve and reduce costs. But it's not just a savings technique: it's also a method for innovation. Learning to think differently is a common refrain, but a helpful exercise. We all need to "get outside the box"---even if it's just beyond the networking equipment down to the wall socket.
A nice piece on the topic comes from the website 99u.com. To quote:
“We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries,” explains Edward de Bono, who coined the term in 1967. “Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces.” It’s the art of reframing questions, attacking problems sideways. They way a computer hacker or, say, MacGyver would think.Breakthroughs, by very definition, only occur when assumptions are broken. In creative fields, this often happens when people break rules that aren’t actually rules at all, but rather simply conventions.
It's hard, but it's worth it. The best solutions often come not from doing what's obvious, but from trying things that seem completely crazy and unorthodox. And sometimes, it's not even the attempt that makes the difference. Sometimes it's the failure that provides the inspiration for success.
This may be something you can do in-house. Or, you may need to talk to an outsider to get a fresh perspective. If your company wants to better assess existing systems, services, and workflow, contact us at AccelaWork to schedule a consultation. We'd love to help you think differently, challenge assumptions, and achieve more.
Here's what happened: When Horace Harding plead guilty to a serious traffic offense, he accepted his fate and served a 30-day sentence in prison. Unfortunately, the system designed to record his compliance with the sentence took several weeks to catch up. Harding was then picked up by the police, and because of the processing delay, could not prove he had already cleared the warrant. The slow pace of bureaucracy sent Horace Harding to jail twice for only one crime.
Barbara Gayle's expose on the justice system in Jamaica reveals a combination of corruption, incompetence, and tragedy. The case of Horace Harding demonstrates that an inefficient system does not save time, but it can also cause devastating errors. The interplay of court documents, police warrants, arrest records and sentencing requires careful analysis to ensure fairness. One source explained that these issues impact the entire system, noting that:
Three weeks after he filed a suit in the Supreme Court Registry, the file could not be found. After waiting there for more than an hour while the staff searched for it, he left saying that when it was found he would return for the hearing, which was scheduled in chambers for that day. After waiting there for more than an hour while the staff searched for it, he left saying that when it was found he would return for the hearing, which was scheduled in chambers for that day. The file was eventually found but Phipps expressed great displeasure at the system of record keeping at the Supreme Court and asked whether they had ever heard of computers...It is not unusual for people to turn up at the courthouse requesting information in relation to cases which have been disposed of from as far back as the 1960s, the court official disclosed.
The court official pointed out that such information was not easy to come by because, even if a clerk was assigned to search for a particular file, the clerk was going to report that it was not found because the real truth is that unless the person has the suit number or even the year it was filed or disposed of, then it would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack. The court official said that The Supreme Court was badly in need of a records officer to deal with those files.
The final orders of those old cases should really be scanned into computers and reserved because the Supreme Court is a court of record," the court official added.
The island nation of Jamaica is ranked as "medium" on the United Nations Human Development Index and receives millions in foreign aid from the United States. Yet even in offices, factories and government offices of highly-developed countries, stories such as these do not sound implausible. Productive, effective procedures are the hallmark of good business and great service. We all know people like Horace Harding who have been treated unfairly by some broken system---criminal justice or otherwise.
A key reason process improvement is hard is because the people most impacted have the least power to make changes. That's why the best thing you can do is speak up if something isn't working right. Or, if you're in charge of a system, ask for feedback. Process improvement consultants start with asking questions and listening carefully. That's the critical element to improving any system.
If you are concerned about the quality of process in your organization, or if you want to find ways to improve they way you conduct business, contact AccelaWork today. Our team helps companies and non-profits analyze and improve operations for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Quoting from The Times:
As the total number of samples on the database topped 4 million — meaning that 5.5 per cent of the UK population now has their DNA held by the Government — officials acknowledged that 5,000 of those failed entries have never been loaded, so the full consequences of the failures are not known.A Home Office spokesman said that there was one arson attack, three robberies, nine burglaries, nineteen drugs offences, and sixty-two thefts among the 193 crimes that went unsolved because of the inputting failures, which were blamed on incomplete information and technical problems.
The article continues to explain the many controversies around this database including the retention of DNA for people who have been cleared and the existence of many duplicate records. Whether you feel that a biometric registry is a great crime-fighting tool or a serious violation of civil liberties, the role of managing the system is complicated and apparently experiencing major problems. This government admission questions the integrity of the service, and makes discussing the deep social question much more difficult.
There's a similar issue with a similar system in New York.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a review of a national DNA database, has identified nearly 170 profiles that probably contain errors, some the result of handwriting mistakes or interpretation errors by lab technicians, while New York State authorities have turned up mistakes in DNA profiles in New York’s database.
The discoveries, submitted by the New York City medical examiner’s office to a state oversight panel, show that the capacity for human error is ever-present, even when it comes to the analysis of DNA evidence, which can take on an aura of infallibility in court, defense lawyers and scientists said.
The errors identified so far implicate only a tiny fraction of the total DNA profiles in the national database, which holds nearly 13 million profiles, more than 12 million from convicts and suspects, and an additional 527,000 from crime scenes. Still, the disclosure of scores of mistaken DNA profiles at once appears to be unprecedented, scientists said.
In some cases, the discovery of an error has enabled the authorities to identify new suspects in cold cases. One such discovery has breathed new life into the murder investigation of a man found bludgeoned to death in the Bronx in 1998. It also led to new matches in two rape cases in New York City in the 1990s, although the statute of limitations for prosecution appears to have expired. In these examples, the errors were found in the DNA profiles taken from the crime scenes rather than from people convicted of crimes.
The errors had the effect of obscuring clues, blinding investigators to connections among crime scenes and known offenders. It remains to be seen whether the new DNA evidence will cast doubt on any closed cases.
It's one thing if these errors simply make the system inefficient, but the implication of the wrong person is also possible, and that would be catastrophic for those involved. Any time a company, non-profit organization, or government provides a service or introduces a program that inspires divisive emotional reactions, issues with quality and efficiency only muddy the debate. Parliament will not be able to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a national DNA registry if the office in charge cannot be be trusted to operate the database efficiently in the first place. This is the essence of process improvement and in particular process improvement consulting: understanding how data and decisions are integrated to get the best possible result.
Likewise, your operation must be especially effective when working in controversial areas or promoting change. AccelaWork provides business consulting services in these areas; helping companies maximize the impact of their methodologies, so that critics and supporters can focus on true products and services rather than supposed issues in provider quality.According to Khalid Hasnain of the Dawn Newspaper Group, the district government in Khanewal, Pakistan has approved development projects for citizen groups with a failing track record.
This follows some 1.5 million rupees provided for milk chillers, another 1.5 million for furniture for a high school, and just under 1.1 million rupees for an ambulance—none of which have actually been purchased. There are also questions about proper coordination between various offices as well as whether or not application timelines have been enforced by the Executive District Officer.
Sound eerily familiar? Almost every organization around the world deals with challenges in workflow and process management. In the case of this particular story, the process improvement issue has to do with the difference between what was planned and what was actually executed. The report tells a story of a process littered with inefficiencies and process breakdowns. All of this resulted in a tremendous waste of resources, and most importantly, the failure to deliver the contracted services and products. Whether this is fraud or simply incompetence will have to be a detail for future investigative journalism.
The coordination between different departments, agencies, and other stakeholders is always a challenge, not just for governmental entities like Pakistan, but for any organization taking on a major project. It's rare when a project can be completed without some degree of process sharing. Even small businesses and nonprofits require collaboration with other entities from time to time to accomplish certain goals. And the more complex the collaboration, the greater the opportunity for inefficiencies that can cost valuable time and resources and destroy credibility when services aren't delivered. That means the creation of a precise workflow and careful monitoring of progress to ensure completion of the project.
Success in these ventures requires two critical components: communication and accountability. Communication channels and processes must be built in to the overall workflow to make sure all the moving parts in the project can talk to each other. This eliminates delays and inefficiencies waiting for answers to process questions. Accountability pieces must also be implemented, not only to identify the sources of process breakdown and remedy them, but to prevent allegations of impropriety like the ones facing the Pakistani government officials.
Even in the most innocent of circumstances, processes go awry. Absent communication and accountability processes, those breakdowns often go unreported and the project simply and silently comes to a halt until it catches the attention of someone who happens to be looking. Meanwhile, money and time needlessly slip away. And if it's a lucrative project, the potential for fraud and intentional inefficiency is always present.
That's why each project must have an overseer, a "buck-stopper" who enforces accountability, implements necessary changes, and reports progress to relevant stakeholders. It's this person's job to look for the inefficiencies, to anticipate and proactively prevent breakdowns when possible, and to actively step in to restart processes that have run into road blocks. Without this person, we see the all too common breakdowns in process like the ones happening in Pakistan.
To understand how a company or non-profit can improve, business consulting firms like AccelaWork recommends starting with a workplace diagnostic. This helps identify key components of every activity and provides opportunities to transform workflow for the benefit of stakeholders. Although you may not be wrestling with funding issues for municipal projects in the Punjab province, your organization may have inefficiencies that warrant further investigation. Contact AccelaWork to arrange an appointment today!
The problems and overruns during implementation caused an uproar in the ranks of teachers and employees, who demanded remedy. LAUSD agreed to another $9.6 million to fix the issues, spending that money (once again) to pay Deloitte.
An editorial from the Los Angeles Times explains the problem.
The system was supposed to bring efficiency and flexibility to district payroll systems. Instead, it has created the dispiriting spectacle of teachers and other district employees slogging downtown to register complaints and make sense of their paychecks. Back in April, the waits for help averaged nearly five hours; about the only good news the district has to offer lately is that the wait times have fallen to just over two hours. Still, problems persist. Not surprisingly, as employees have missed mortgage and rent payments, concern has mushroomed into outrage. The breakdown has, one board member told The Times, “contributed to the worst demoralization and cynicism I've ever seen in this district.”The details of this story are incredibly complex, and attempting to place blame with either the school district or with Deloitte would be irresponsible and unhelpful. However, this is a case of dramatic, expensive change executed by consultants which did not occur as planned. Process improvement is supposed to make things better and cost less money overall, not make them worse and be more expensive.
Many stakeholders are upset at the turn of events. The decision to pay Deloitte to help resolve the problems continues and reinforces the relationship between the two parties. Although there is no agreement on who is at fault, this choice fuels discontent because whichever group you blame is still involved.
Businesses and consulting firms will forever have a shared interest: to drive major organizational change in an efficient and cost-effective way. But when the two parties don't do their homework up front, the opposite can occur, like this conflict between the LAUSD and Deloitte.
So how can your business avoid this kind of disaster? The answer isn't avoiding change or consulting firms. It's making sure to do your homework up front.
An overview of the field appears in the lead of the article from the New York Times:
Sometimes there is a huge disconnect between the people who make a product and the people who use it. The creator of a Web site may assume too much knowledge on the part of users, leading to confusion. Software designers may not anticipate user behavior that can unintentionally destroy an entire database. Manufacturers can make equipment that inadvertently increases the likelihood of repetitive stress injuries.
The distance between the designer of a system and the user of a system is a phenomenon which is not unique to technology. In fact, this separation is a key frustration people experience when they are learning anything new. Creators of labor-saving devices, software programs and even business workflows often know a tremendous amount about the ecosystem surrounding their invention. Compare this with the everyday users, who just want access to tools in order to complete their work.
In this sense, you can think of business improvement consultants as usability experts for business processes. Instead of having your company's procedures seem arcane and random, experts can help you to "untangle" policy and create smooth, straightforward patterns for everyday tasks.
For the workplace systems, the best experts offer smart business consulting services to bridge the gap between complex systems and the people who use them. the gap between the people who manage your processes and the people who execute them is wide, reach out to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork to set up a consultation. We help people and systems work together to achieve success.
As reported in an interview by iafrica, SAA is “wildly inefficient.? Even after accounting for differences in routes from other Star Alliance partners, the subjects expressed shock that the workforce of the African airline is comprised of 30% management. How is this possible?
There are plenty of theories about how this happens to an organization. But SAA is not alone. Many businesses---both small and large---look nothing like their closest competitors. And it's not just management. In the case of this carrier, not only does the organization employ more people per plane, but those working as crew or in maintenance or other administrative roles make up more than a quarter of the company.
Comparing your productivity against your partners and competitors is an important and healthy diagnostic step. Improving workflow to positively impact your company is the logical next action. If your company reminds you of South Africa Airlines, with too much management and too many people working on internal tasks instead of helping customers, consider contacting the business consultants at AccelaWork. Your future depends on your ability to continue to compete!
As a reminder, the tragedy in Minneapolis in 2007 was a combination of business process failures. Experts did not inspect the bridge appropriately, they did not manage the load on the bridge and they did not track the changing weight of the bridge through repeated resurfacing. The result is something everyone remembers:
A classic Brookings Institution op-ed reviews the main issues, but makes several finer points. So what does the think tank have to say? To quote their paper:
Once funds are allocated the states can distribute them among projects as they see fit. Oversight is limited only to ensuring that they comply with federal guidelines and accepted design standards....A state that prioritized spending so none of its bridges were structurally deficient would not be rewarded in any way, nor would a state that allowed its infrastructure to slip further into disrepair be penalized.
The story of this collapse Minnesota is the same one which occurs under less dire circumstances at any organization at any level. An unexpected and dramatic event usually inspires immediate and swift reaction even though the real need is to understand the larger environment that which allowed the event to occur in the first place.
Well-built, regularly inspected bridges can serve a community without incident for generations. Likewise, all stakeholders can benefit from procedures and processes which have been designed using the best available engineering resources, but only if they are maintained and managed for the life of the organization. If your company or non-profit entity is facing a crisis, resolve the issue and then contact business consultants like the team at AccelaWork. We help businesses understand why anomalies happen, and how they should update policy and workflow accordingly.
Saying that Italians have challenges with government efficiency might sound like the punchline for an insensitive joke. But for the 3.5 million legal resident aliens who live and work in the country, problems with bureaucracy are no laughing matter. This process improvement issue is their livelihood.
According to the The New York Times:
The issue is particularly pressing in this part of Tuscany, where a once-thriving textile industry fueled immigration, especially from China. The influx of new workers had spurred local administrations to meet with the police department to cut through the bureaucracy. The new procedure has been a huge setback, local officials said.“Before, we could get papers processed in 15 days, we were cited as a model area,” said Irene Gorelli, the provincial councilor for social affairs. “Now it's as bad as Milan or Rome, it takes months.”
Read that carefully. Incredulously, the local bureaucrat has a well-defined benchmark for unacceptable delays. She believes that the situation is "officially" dire when turnaround times are as slow as in the major cities!
The language we use to describe processes is essential to understanding our perspective and building new approaches to improving our systems. When we compare ourselves to the worst, it shows that we consider our success in relative terms rather than absolute ones. Get help from the process improvement experts at AccelaWork. Make your systems more efficient and effective for everyone.
What does on a renewal form? Naturally, these documents contain personal information including the name, address, phone number and birth date of the recipient. Unfortunately, an error resulted in printing the same data for a different member on the reverse.
Although nobody at the AFL offices caught the error, over a hundred people reported the problem to the organization. This figure should discourage the league management, because it is probably a tiny percentage of the number of people who were actually impacted by the issue. This is a basic principle of feedback: far more people are affected by a problem than bother to report it.
The Age quoted the media manager of AFL, Patrick Keane:
"We are extremely concerned about it and we apologise unreservedly and we are following it up as to how this has occurred. At this point, we think it is restricted to a couple of batches. I couldn't give you the exact number of how many have been mailed at this point."
The creation of mailings is a common business function. It's likely the case that the AFL sends out batches of letters on a regular basis. Although a mistake was made in this instance, the volume and impact of the problem indicates that the mailing process workflow may have serious flaws.
Experts in business process modeling, such as the business consultants at AccelaWork, can help prevent these issues and provide maximum value for all stakeholders. The key is comprehensive review, a structured approach, and true employee engagement. And of course, making things right when mistakes are made.
The problems were considerable. The extreme measure has forced towns to reduce police protection, decommission fire trucks, close municipal pools, and abandon public safety projects. Many wonder if the cap did any good.
We'll get to the local politics in a moment. But instead of debating the merits of property taxes: let's remember a fundamental fact of process improvement and system design: drastic measures generally produce drastic results.
In this case, an op-ed piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer describes the situation:
Local governments, which use property taxes to finance many core services, are not flush, either. That is especially true of smaller jurisdictions, cities and counties in mostly rural parts of the state. In those places, [the 1% tax cap] has been a disaster, forcing deep cuts in basic services—such things as police and emergency services—that we all rely on for our basic security and well-being.
Tax policy is complex, but the complaint made is simple. The inability to provide basic services was never an intended goal of the 1% cap, just an unfortunate consequence. Dramatic changes in procedure or policy might win votes and be tremendously popular, but drastic measures usually lead to drastic results. The intensity and variation of outcomes is hard to control.
The business consultants at AccelaWork help organizations study, understand and implement organizational change. However, our focus is on long-term sustained effort as opposed to instant, overnight solutions. If you are looking to improve business processes and recognize that improvement takes time and commitment, reach out to experts to schedule an appointment. We would love to help you steadily and productively transform into a more effective organization.
At first glance, the problems in the world’s largest country may make the average American feel thankful. Putin was quoted here as stating:
You can’t start your own business for months. You have to go to every agency with a bribe: to the firemen, the health inspection, the gynecologists. Who don’t you have to go to? It's just terrible.Although a depressed economy and an underbelly of corruption seems a world away, are interoffice politics in many offices so different? Starting a new project often requires making the rounds to visit every department and promising favors to well-connected coworkers. Just like the centers of power in Russia, stakeholders in many organizations often have competing objectives and face conflict whenever anyone suggests change.
President Vladimir Putin urged "far-reaching modernization" of his economy. But you don't have to live in Russia to recognize that this is a goal that would benefit many businesses, government offices and non-profit organizations in every nation.
Here are some steps any organization can take to move themselves into the "first world" and eliminate political inefficiencies:
If your company wants to improve business processes by engaging all stakeholders, consider the business consultants at AccelaWork. We're interested in cutting through red tape and procedural challenges to help you be the best.
Tipping waitstaff 20% or slipping a few extra bucks to a skycap is standard practice. Popular opinion on billable hourly rates for business consulting and professional services, however, varies from begrudging acceptance to outright mockery. Should we open our wallets or raise our fists?
In Colorado Springs Gazette editorial, columnist Jim Flynn wrestles with the debate over hourly rates at law firms---a type of business consulting. His question: what should we pay for services?
On the one hand, rates of $1,000 per hour for superstar attorneys sounds preposterous, but the power of the most elite legal team will often earn settlements that easily cover their fees. Some claim that charging for time encourages service providers to pad estimates and dawdle to earn more funds. If you do less work in more time, you get do get paid more.
The problem is magnified by overachieving junior staff, who are competing with each other for the most billable hours and the least amount of sleep. Furthermore, providing incentives such as bonuses and accolades as rewards for total charges rather than quality of work surely benefits the firm at the detriment of the client.
On the other hand, Flynn clearly articulates a reasonable counterargument:
"Good lawyers are too busy to revel in inefficiency. They want to get their work done, provide cost-effective services for their clients, and have enough time and energy left to go to their kids’ soccer game or read a book."
Should business consultants charge by the hour? It's certainly easier than charging for a project or tying compensation to results. But just as we know that the best employees are those who aren't motivated by money and who aren't supervised minute by minute, the best business consultants are often those that stay away from hourly billing and come up with more reasonable solutions for compensation.
Learn more. Reach out to our Indianapolis consultants at AccelaWork today!
The notion of an ominous vacuum that sucks up everything from emails to files to bagged lunches is not only a plausible argument, but a fantastic scapegoat. In an article by Clement Jones of IT News, statistical data depicts the chaos caused by an employee's failure to locate information. Overall, the surprising results supports Jones' main point that “the inability of many employees to find key files, emails or documents can cause stress, frustration, arguments and a bad atmosphere at work.”
From the article:
A survey by enterprise content management firm Tower Software found that a third of employees at middle manager level or below have been in such a position when stepping into someone else's job or covering an absence.Around 87 percent of those respondents have experienced a variety of negative outcomes as a result, largely because of their inability to find necessary documents.
Over two thirds found it 'extremely frustrating', while 40 percent became 'extremely stressed'.
Nowadays, the choice to save easily-accessible snapshots in electronic form no doubt trumps the hardcopy filing systems of yesteryear. Yet, even with this revelation, there are still many professionals who lose correspondence simply due to a lack of organization. Losing information is unacceptable, but with sheer volume of data we absorb every day, it seems like its inevitable.
How do you keep track of all of the data in your life? Here's a simple piece of advice: file everything as soon as possible. When information arrives in your desk or in your inbox, decide whether it needs to be saved (and put it in the right place) or decide whether it needs to be deleted (and do so accordingly.)
Furthermore, if you work with other people, develop a common filing system that everyone can use. There's no need for multiple people to keep the same information in their own private archives.
After all, the article notes:
Some 43 percent of middle managers and 48 percent of junior managers have had to phone a colleague, customer or supplier to ask them to send a copy of a document or email because they could not find it on their system.
At AccelaWork one of our specialties is helping workplaces to get organized. Whether it involves systematic problems, process failures, employee training, stakeholder collaboration or any other workflow procedures, we can help. Reach out to the process improvement consultants at AccelaWork today to set up a consultation and watch the black hole in your office evaporate.
Pbrown explains why failure may be better than success in a piece that reviews a variety of books and resources on the topic.
For example: Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes, authors of "Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox of Innovation," contend that failure should be looked at as a positive way to learn, grow, confidently take risks and develop solutions creatively. This may sound like the advice of parents everywhere, but researchers at the Harvard Business School and Vanderbilt University back these claims and are studying why it is hard for people to learn from their mistakes.
Here at AccelaWork, we embrace stumbling and crawling as part of the process of learning to walk. Failure is simply information to try something different. No business or individual should expect perfection without trial and error. No system or approach, however ideal for the present moment, should be immune from refinement or reinvention. This is the nature of process improvement.
Every business must learn to recognize that mistakes are signposts along the roadway called improvement. While we will never reach that perfect destination, stopping and convincing ourselves we have arrived means we are stuck at permanent failure. Rewards come from taking risks, and risks from taking chances, learning lessons, and continuing onward.
If your organization is ready for change, reach out to some of the best process improvement consultants in the business. Keeping your patterns the same as they have always been may be safe, but opportunity for growth arises from the willingness to take risks and find success through failure.
An article from siliconrepublic outlines the main points:
The research found that the alignment of IT and business is a priority for most companies, but highlighted a marked difference in how European businesses are trying to achieve it.“In the UK we see a much greater assessment of IT change on business output using process fundamentals," explained Bannister.”
“For instance, businesses are starting to relate a server failure to whether a customer gets their order delivered, not just to an availability metric.”
“The important thing for the IT industry is to remember that these discussions are at a process level, not a product level.”
That final quote may be the most crucial. Discussions in technology improvement must happen at a process level, not a product level. And in truth, all process improvement consulting starts with the patterns themselves, not the industry and certainly not the tools that are involved.
If a department in your company is not as responsive or effective as you feel they should be, the challenges may not be with funding or competence but with workflow and process. Any business service that benefits stakeholders should be evaluated and maintained for the benefit of those affected. Contact the process improvement consultants to seek help improving the efficiency of your corporate operation, whether in technology, sales, production, accounting or elsewhere.
According to the BBC, the condition known as acromegaly occurs in just 0.0003% of the population. One symptom can be oversized, spongy hands, which can be easily spotted by a trained expert. The coincidental interchange between Mark Gurrieri and Dr. Chris Britt led to a life-saving surgery. (Click here to view the area on the site that provides a video.)
This story is about the intersection of expertise with an undiagnosed need. If Gurrieri had failed to extend his hand, he would probably be dead. If Dr. Britt had failed to speak up, he would have lost an opportunity to protect life. Genuine experts are hard to find, but the incredible tale of Mark Gurrieri demonstrates that often people who have a critical need for evaluation and change are not even aware of their problems.
We may have the best business consultants, but they don't diagnose rare forms of brain cancer. However, we do help clients identify needs and challenges which they may not be able to verbalize. If you know that something isn’t quite right with your business or your processes, contact us today!
The process may sound gobsmackingly backward, but the problems are significant. The Indianapolis Star interviewed resident Mark Hudson, who publicized the issues:
When concerned citizens submit a complaint via the Web site or call after hours, they have no automatic way to get a tracking number. Hudson has had to get follow-up information by calling during business hours to ask the person manning the phone to search through his requests. “A Web tracking tool would be a logical next step to reduce this added work and reduce calls,” he said. “I know the city is in a budget crunch, but with all the technology that exists, there has to be a low-cost way to share information more quickly.”
Organizations constrained by their current methodology not only suffer from reduced productivity as well as client and employee satisfaction, but will eventually face public scrutiny. If you are operating less than optimally, talk to the business consulting experts at AccelaWork to assess your processes!
The story came from an American Airlines representative quoted by Ireland Online. There's not much information in the release, but that summary from the journalist is enough to highlight serious issues.
No piece of news is more despised than one which contains no information. We often say that "no news is good news," so if you're in an uncomfortable situation the worst thing you can do is stand up and say "we know nothing."
To be clear: American Airlines expressed two areas of ignorance—when the system would be working again and how many people were inconvenienced. They might as well have announced they were unsure who would win the Superbowl this year and how many fans would tune in to watch the game.
Crisis management is almost entirely public relations, but crisis prevention is business planning. Like all organizations, airlines must have procedures and processes in place that not only enable the company to run smoothly during normal operations, but adjust as much as possible to extreme situations. Workflow analysis, process design and productivity measurement are all aspects of our business consulting services. Reach out to AccelaWork review and renew your workplace procedures, and reduce the risk that a crisis will catch you (or your passengers) unaware.
This is only one of many pointed statements offered by Dr. Culbert's op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal. If you can stand some of the stronger language used in the rant, a few of the points make sense. Consider the following:
The mindsets held by the two participants in a performance review work at cross-purposes. The boss wants to discuss where performance needs to be improved, while the subordinate is focused on such small issues as compensation, job progression and career advancement. The boss is thinking about missed opportunities, skill limitations and relationships that could use enhancing, while the subordinate wants to put a best foot forward believing he or she is negotiating pay. All of this puts the participants at odds, talking past each other. At best, the discussion accomplishes nothing. More likely, it creates tensions that carry over to their everyday relationships.
If you have ever been reviewed or been required to serve as a reviewer, the points outlined above may seem poignant. To the supervisor, the matter of a 1% raise versus a 4% raise is fairly trivial compared with the actual work output. Yet, to the employee struggling to feed a family and cover their bills, those points mean everything. The worker needs new job titles and responsibilities to amend their resume and direct the visible evidence of their own career path. The boss is focused almost exclusively on the work, not how the work is described in some irrelevant documentation.
Dr. Culbert also brings up the painful truth about pay raises:
Another bogus element is the idea that pay is a function of performance, and that the words being spoken in a performance review will affect pay. But usually they don't. I believe pay is primarily determined by market forces, with most jobs placed in a pay range prior to an employee's hiring.
This is certainly repeated by practical experience. The usual advice if you want to a raise is to find a new job. Doing so allows you to explore the market and find out what you're really worth.
Furthermore, while you might feel like you do ten times the work of some coworkers, or a review of your work might prove that one of your employees is far more productive than their colleagues, no payroll budget includes room for such dramatic variations in compensation. The obvious exception is commission-driven sales, where working smarter and harder has an impact on wages. All other departments effectively have no special compensation for performance beyond fighting over a few percentage points at each annual raise or handing the occasional bonus.
Scrapping performance reviews may or may not be possible at your company, but the willingness to explore alternate ideas is a foundation of positive organizational change. If the way to compensate, promote and sanction employees does not improve productivity, perhaps it is time to consider a comprehensive engagement of all stakeholders to rebuild the processes and metrics of your business. Reach out to the business process experts at AccelaWork to learn more.
You can find an overview of the ruling here. To summarize, the court explained that patents should be restricted to cover only “physical objects or substances, [but not] abstractions.” The decision was aimed at the financial services industry, but the outcome clarifies that the detailed nature of work is non-proprietary.
If your organization uses application forms to handle incoming requests, includes a clever approval procedure to reduce errors and ensure quality, or has a coverage system designed to ensure enough staff is always available to complete core tasks, then you are using business processes which can be freely duplicated by anyone. That may seem unbelievable, but the ruling indicates that procedures are something that can be protected.
What does that mean for you? Competitors may build upon your approaches to reach the market faster and cheaper, and your partners may decide your techniques are obsolete. Business process is not a trade secret. That means if you want to compete, you have do to so by executing better, not just by having a better process.
Since you cannot protect your corporate procedures through the vagaries of copyright law, the importance of continuous improvement is more significant than ever. Contact the business improvement experts to for services on how to make your operation more effective.
The link between epidemiology and search engines may seem difficult to believe, but connections between apparently unrelated phenomena are a core element of innovation. Your organization may or may not be able adapt to the market by watching Google Trends, but nevertheless there are undiscovered relationships between the smallest actions in the workplace and the overall productivity of your company.
It's this kind of creativity that makes for radical improvements in productivity, business process design, and overall execution. If you are ready for lateral thinking about your people, processes and organizational culture, consider chatting with some business consultants.
Rowe explains his perspective in a guest editorial in Forbes magazine:
It’s true. People with dirty jobs are in on some sort of a joke. Maggot farmers are ecstatic. Leech wranglers are exultant. I’ve personally witnessed lumberjacks and roadkill picker-uppers whistling while they work. And don't even get me started on the crab-fishermen, spider-venom collectors and chicken-sexers—they're having such a blast they’ve sworn off vacation. So why are people with dirty jobs having more fun than the rest of us?The answer (aside from the fact that they’re still employed) is because they are blissfully sheltered from the worst advice in the world. I refer, of course, to those preposterous platitudes lining the hallways of corporate America, extolling virtues like “Teamwork,” “Determination” and “Efficiency.” You’ve seen them—saccharine-sweet pieces of schmaltzy sentiment, oozing down from snow capped mountains, crashing waterfalls and impossible rainbows. In particular, I’m thinking of a specific piece of nonsense that implores in earnest italics, to always, always ... Follow Your Passion!
Aren’t these sayings meant to inspire us to greatness? According to Mike Rowe, stock business phrases actually demoralize employees in the workplace. These are signs and speeches designed to create productivity and satisfaction through edict. The men and women of Dirty Jobs do not spend their days in the shadow of a motivational poster but out in the muck of work and progress.
This applies everywhere, not just on the set of popular national TV shows. You do not need to be told to follow your passion if you are already having a grand old time digging out, building up, tearing down, breaking apart, forging together, scrubbing down or burning in the stuff of your employment. Motivation to work comes not from the outside but from within.
AccelaWork believes that organizations succeed most effectively when stakeholders are satisfied with their role, purpose and contribution to the larger operation. When people believe in what they are doing and understand how their own work feeds into the work of others, they have the path to find passion for what they do. Get business consulting support to learn more about how to better engage enthusiasm in your business or organization. We believe that stakeholders make work worth doing.
Consider one instance: It was reported that state senator Tom Wyss proposed a ban aimed at teenagers prohibiting text messaging while driving.
Enforcement is one way to react to dangerous behavior, but governments should consider defining opportunities as well as punishing mistakes.
While in a metropolitan coverage zone, the modern mobile phone can detect its own location and velocity. Wireless carriers, therefore could refuse to route non-emergency calls to handsets moving faster than a brisk walk. This could be further refined, as required by Senator Wyss, to only those phones associated with account holders aged 18 and under.
Whether it's the private sector or the business of public safety, focusing on the process rather than trying to control the behavior is almost always superior. Here are some other ideas that are process-oriented rather than behavior-limiting:
Asking police officers to enforce yet another law may slightly improve teen safety but will reduce overall coverage of other services. Adding requirements to modify behavior means adding work. On the other hand, changing the process may only require work for a few people. Plus, the process can inform behavior for future generations.
Whether you feel that a text messaging ban for teen drivers would encourage motorists to behave more responsibly, or you think that government incursion into personal telephonic decisions is unwarranted, the best solution is not always the obvious one.
But no matter If you're considering trying to change behavior through enforcement, you might want to talk to an employee behavior expert to find alternate solutions that may help you achieve your goals.
In 1985, Dr. Roy Koltz, Jr discovered a vintage 1913 Mississippi license plate. With only two in existence this scrap of metal is worth more than $35,000. Other plates are worth nearly twice that, including what Forbes contributor Zach O’Malley Greenburg calls the “holy grail of license plates”: the 1921 Alaska, priced at $60,000.
It's hard to use words to capture the passion radiated by these collectors. Their dedication, patience and meticulous manner resonates in the room. Stakeholder enthusiasm is a tremendous differentiator in any endeavor, and people who love what they do are more effective and less afraid of failure.
If you are looking for the passion that comes from your environment working for you instead you working against it, maybe it is time to talk to some business consulting experts. We help find new avenues and steer businesses away from medians and back onto the fast-paced highway.
The economic strife facing our country is hitting many businesses hard. Unfortunately, employers have few options other than downsizing. Workers are paralyzed with fear about facing unemployment. Yet according to Business Week companies are opting to reduce employees’ working hours rather than eliminating jobs entirely. And these aren't business consultants talking---HR pros at many organizations are pursuing the concept of a four-day work week.
Chris Simpson, senior Vice President at a manufacturing company, is determined to retain experienced staff—even if only for a shortened work week. He believes keeping employees leaves the company better prepared for when the economy turns back around. Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta agrees. “It’s not just jobs we’ve saved, it’s services.”
Unconventional thinking can create opportunities. Applying innovative, unexpected ideas to seemingly unsolvable problems can bring beneficial change to business operations. In some cases, it can even save jobs.
Even if you're company isn't facing a labor problem, you're likely to find value in new perspectives. That's the core of great business consulting. An approach that sounds crazy at first just might the most useful idea of all.
Here at AccelaWork, we believe in the vitality of best practices; yet we also focus on discovering alternative solutions that uniquely fit a company’s needs. Our top business consultants would love to take part in a truly exclusive and in-depth consultation on how your company can broaden its views on problem-solving.
According to the National Public Radio program “All Things Considered”, corruption is rampant throughout Russia:
In Chelyabinsk, corruption has worsened in the past decade. Ask anyone in the city how much he or she makes, and the likely answer is somewhere between $200 and $600 a month.Russia is expensive — really expensive — even in remote areas, so how they live on that is questionable...Few live on their declared salary. People get paid an additional amount under the table, or they take bribes...Bribes can get you out of the army and, if you pay enough, into universities — especially in highly competitive fields like economics, law and medicine.
The Methodology Blog has covered the process improvement issues in Russia before, but this story helps clarify the relationship between ethics and survival. Not surprisingly, stakeholders value their own safety and well-being above that of others. When their livelihood is threatened, it seems reasonable that Russians or anyone else will take whatever steps necessary to protect and feed their own families.
Your workplace probably is not dealing with widespread poverty and corruption, but employees may find themselves caught between helping the organization and helping themselves. If the pattern of work contains drudgery, quality will suffer and productivity will decline. Ultimately, employees will begin to despise their jobs, which not only makes them ineffective, but impacts morale throughout the office. Ensuring stakeholder satisfaction is critical to the continued existence of any company.
If you are concerned that your workers are less than satisfied or if there is a direct conflict between individual and organizational needs, consider talking with a business consulting company with experts in process improvement and facilitation. Programs can help identify workflow challenges and the needs of stakeholders. With the help of outside experts, you can build a better organization---which places you, your employees and your customers in control of your shared success.
This question might bring back memories of school, but it should really make you think about business process improvement. And in fact, it really happened. You can read about the failure on The Consumerist.
According to these sources, a chorus of official excuses unfolded over the 24-hour period as the ticket-holders waited for the train to depart. With no specific planned departure time and freezing temperatures in the station, many passengers slept on the floors of the crowded train carriages.
The actions of Amtrak are inexcusable. Delays are an obvious reality of rail systems, so management should have a clear and comprehensive policy about how to take care of passengers in the event that foul weather, technical problems, labor issues or other challenges adversely impact planned departure times. Processes must be designed to handle exceptions, with the emphasis on situations that are easy to predict and have the greatest impact on stakeholders.
If your company or non-profit deals with customers, clients, vendors or employees who have the potential to become angry, you should ensure that your workflow takes common issues into account. Contact the process improvement experts to assist your institution. We help companies design systems for business which allows them to operate smoothly during both normal times and anticipated periods of stress.
Any new parent will tell you that their child is surprisingly smart. But the lessons we gather from children can have impacts on business process improvement. In the article “Easy as 1, 2, 3”, the magazine explains some amazing experiments conducted by researchers:
The baby is just one day old and has not yet left [the] hospital. She is quiet but alert. Twenty centimetres from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it intently. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards alternate, her gaze starts to wander—until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?Scientists are still interpreting this data, but it has long been clear that human beings have an innate relationship with the concept of quantity. We can instantly tell the difference between objects and experiences that are simply arranged differently and those that are actually distinct in type or number. This comes not with training or experience, but instinct.
Decades later, when that baby enters the workforce, he or she will use an extended form of this skill to evaluate information and make decisions. Business processes should be designed to embrace our ability to recognize differences and act intelligently. In fact, that's really what business process improvement is all about: dividing up work between that which only humans can handle, and that which machines and systems can take care of automatically.
The opposite is what creates the problem. When an automated, unthinking action is required of a human behing, stakeholders begin to feel like cogs in the machine rather than a part of the team. Help your business and your employees embrace the power of their brains for benefit of the organization. Talk with process improvement experts today to learn more.
According to Fox News, many states are cracking down on inefficient bureaucracies using "kaizen." Translated from a Japanese word meaning "continuous improvement," correspondent Julie Carr Smyth describes the system as:
"A way of thinking that puts workers at the center, gives them a sense of the total process they're involved in, and then frees them to think of ways to best do their jobs."
Kaizen is spreading like a bestselling novel. Only two states reported pursuing the approach in 2005, but by 2010 more than 29 agencies nationwide have either participated in or planned a process improvement session based on kaizen. Iowa, for example, drastically enhanced a permitting process from an average of a painful 187 days down to a reasonable 30 days. Ohio has eliminated nearly half of all of one class of hearings and sped up identification of benefit overpayments. These changes save the buckeye state $220,000 a year and are credited for a $33 million increase in collections.
Old processes may be familiar, but they often slow down production, decrease stakeholder creativity and engagement and result in a stagnant workflow. Organizations must embrace innovation as continuous improvement. Using approaches like kaizen, AccelaWork believes that through a combination of observation, feedback and the free flow of ideas, stakeholders are able to make remarkable improvements to their own workload and the workflow of their company. Real change and real process improvement is possible.
Employee contributions can help build an environment of confidence, teamwork, open communication and mutual accountability. Contact the process improvement experts today if your organization is seeking to renew old processes or reinvent the way you operate.
The book The Race for a New Game Machine by David Shippy and Mickie Phipps chronicles this unbelievable folly. As described in the Wall Street Journal, the events played out like a farcical comedy:
All three of the original partners had agreed that IBM would eventually sell the Cell [processor] to other clients. But it does not seem to have occurred to Sony that IBM would sell key parts of the Cell before it was complete and to Sony’s primary videogame-console competitor. The result was that Sony’s R&D money was spent creating a component for Microsoft to use against it.Mr. Shippy and Ms. Phipps detail the resulting absurdity: IBM employees hiding their work from Sony and Toshiba engineers in the cubicles next to them; the Xbox chip being tested a few floors above the Cell design teams. Mr. Shippy says that he felt “contaminated” as he sat down with the Microsoft engineers, helping them to sketch out their architectural requirements with lessons learned from his earlier work on Playstation.
The tale reads like a cloak-and-dagger novel played out under fluorescent office lights. How could such a failure happen? Should one cite Sony as incompetent, IBM as conniving, or Microsoft as devious? None of these explanations seem immediately plausible.
Most challenges in business partnerships come from a lack of establishing clear goals at the outset and problems maintaining truly open communication. To improve business communication, especially with consultants and third-parties, we need transparency and constant dialogue. You can't disappear for weeks or months, and you can't work next to people who you feel you cannot talk to.
Usually, we want to study the competition, not invest in them. Top business consultants focus on great communication to make sure that everyone starts and ends on the same page.
The spreadsheet package Microsoft Excel includes a language for writing macros that allows advanced users to set up automatic tasks for manipulating the contents of rows and columns. Although the Reddit discussion includes many off-color jokes and side comments, there are several gems. One user named andrewljohnson relates the following story:
They hired me at an ad agency when I got outta college. One of my duties was to report to clients how much the stories we placed for them in magazines, newspapers, and websites were worth.So, the method was to measure the article with a ruler, and then look up in the magazine’s media kit what an ad was worth, and multiply the two together.
You have to understand that there were hundreds and hundreds of articles to report on each month. So I could only stand doing this once until I did a few things:
1) wrote some [programs] to [automatically download] articles from websites I was supposed to check
2) figured out the number of words in a “column inch” so I could count the words to calculate their costs, in the cases where I had electronic copies
3) compiled all the prices into a spreadsheet so I could do automatic calculations instead of looking them up by hand.
4) Wrote a script that would spit out the report in the right format, once the data was complete.
All told, I think I saved myself 15-20 hours of work per week, and this led my bosses to let me write more business plans, strategy documents, and ad copy.
So yeah, I knew a guy. He was me, and I replaced him.
Another commenter named munroe talks about a colleague who was responsible for building key reports for their business. Efficiency was his main objective:
Not all tales, however, were positive. A user with the handle starspangledpickle offered some toungue-in-cheek advice based on a reference to the popular television show Seinfield:I literally replaced a big portion(3+ hours) of someone’s weekly workload with a 15 line script.
He was receiving data via e-mail, plugging the data manually, variable by variable, into a [formula] then executing that query in the [reporting program].I set up a mailbox, had him forward those messages to the box, set up [a program] to grab the messages, pull the data out, stick it in the [formula], then run it. Once the message hit the box, the data was inserted in less than 3 minutes.
Tsk, tsk. You need to learn from the George Costanza School of Work.A similar story of business efficiency comes from coc_ar:If it takes two hours to do something manually and your bosses know this, then you use said script and do it in 10 minutes, goof off for another hour and a half and hand in the work 20 minutes earlier. You get praise; you get the job done; you get to surf the [internet].
I once wrote a script to save time doing a dull repetitive task, and when I tried to share it with the others in my group who had to do the same thing, one of them said, ‘oh, you're a cheater’. It totally altered my concept of what ‘cheating’ consisted of.Is your organization one where saving time by developing a macro would be rewarded, or one where it would be punished? Are you interested in improving overall business efficiency, or does getting more work done in less time threaten your job? These are not questions of technology, but of workplace culture. What's the reality at your place of business?
How do you get a carjacker to announce their location? As explained by WBNS TV News, have a friend send a message to your stolen mobile phone announcing you have “hot chicks and drugs”, followed by a request for where to meet. These foolish crooks took the bait, probably thinking they could follow up their original crime with a second score of stolen drugs and perhaps kidnapping. Instead, they were caught red-handed in Huess' stolen BMW.
While armed robbers aren’t known for their brilliance, this is not just another story about idiotic criminals. Alan Heuss outsmarted his assailants by thinking creatively in a time of crisis. Although the bad guys had the upper hand, their greed and bravado led them from a successful crime to a stint in prison. An outside-the-box approach saved a car and sent crooks to jail.
The relationship between the law-abiding citizen and the carjackers started out adversarial, but the clever text message fooled the thieves into thinking they were talking with a fellow miscreant. Up until the cops arrived, they probably expected to bring home a bonus haul of narcotics. Although our relationships at work usually aren't quite as dramatic, we often find ourselves on the opposite end of the spectrum from other stakeholders. We disagree, we argue, and we refuse to compromise. We often need some serious process improvement in order to get anything done.
Thankfully, most organizations are not facing a loaded gun and being forced to hand over valuable property. However, unexpected emergencies do flare up, and we are usually too focused on panic that we rarely pursue non-linear thinking. If you are ready for a fresh approach to workflow which accounts for unusual situations and where no idea is off-limits, reach out to the business process consulting experts at AccelaWork. We help businesses and organizations avoid crisis by working together to understand the realm of likely possibilities to save time and sanity.
Employees a the US State Department have it even worse. They've been warned not to use the “reply-all” feature on their email programs, as a message storm nearly took down a major internal communication systems. According to the Associated Press, an accidental press of the shift key (as in pressing control+shift+R) will invoke unspecified “disciplinary actions.”
Responding to an email may only take a few seconds, but every address in the To, CC and BCC line corresponds to a new copy of the message. Sending one note to a thousand people already taxes resources. If even only a handful fire back using “reply-all”, thousands upon thousands more pile onto the servers all at the same time. More expert users contributed to the issue when they used “reply-all” to inform others not to use “reply-all” in the future. The AP explains that the onslaught of messages began with a mistake:
Officials said the storm started when some diplomats used the “reply-all” function to respond to a blank e-mail sent recently to many people on the department's global address list.Most demanded to be removed from the list while others used “reply-all” to tell their co-workers, in often less than diplomatic language, to stop responding to the entire group, the officials said.
Some then compounded the problem by trying to recall their initial replies, which generated another round of messages to the group, they said.
When organizations like the State Department suffer from embarrassing technical foul-ups, it is easy to laugh and crack jokes about government bureaucracy. The real failing in this story, however, is not just with the people who should have used “reply” instead of “reply-all.” Management should never create giant distribution lists which anyone can use, as there is no reason for every employee to have the ability to fill a thousand inboxes with a few errant keystrokes.
Likewise, reacting to a technical failure by admonishing and threatening employees will only build apathy and discontent. When both of these elements appear in the popular press, the average citizen will likely attribute the story to incompetence. Sure, you probably shouldn't use reply-all. But you also shouldn't be able to accidentally email legions of people you don't know.
The technology of email servers is complex, but the patterns of workflow that should define policies, procedures and system settings need to be clear to all key stakeholders. Tools for communication should encourage positive interaction and make it difficult for people to accidentally consume resources and waste time. Process improvement means helping companies change their culture for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Researchers quoted in news.com.au explained their findings:
"The evidence we found was absolutely shocking," researcher Dr. Vinesh Oommen from the Queensland University of Technology's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said."In 90 percent of the research, the outcome of working in an open-plan office was seen as negative, with open-plan offices causing high levels of stress, conflict, high blood pressure, and a high staff turnover."
"The high level of noise causes employees to lose concentration, leading to low productivity, there are privacy issues because everyone can see what you are doing on the computer or hear what you are saying on the phone, and there is a feeling of insecurity."
Stories that discredit cube farms are nothing new. Fast Company covered the topic September 2008, Time magazine discussed their inefficiencies at the turn of the millenium, Forbes the year before and the New York Times back in 1993. Fortune even reported how the inventor of the cubicle, Robert Propst, lamented his creation before his death in 2000. If so-called "open-plan" offices are universally despised, why do they persist?
Here's an open secret: Most organizations are better at measuring activity than progress. The cube farm lets a manager gauge movement by glancing out across a field of workers or listen to the cacophony of ringing phones and impromptu meetings. This survey of the landscape does not tell you how much work is getting done, but it certainly proves employees are at their desks and doing something.
The age of measuring work by watching for movement must end. Activity does not equal progress. Engaged employees do not need to be watched. Instead: as genuine, enthusiastic stakeholders they are more likely to make progress when they can concentrate on work and be rewarded for producing real results.
Times are changing. If you are ready to begin the conversation about changing the dynamics of your workplace, talk with the business consultants at AccelaWork. We love to help organizations transform workflow and rekindle the passion of their people.
"There was an occasion where two people were arrested on multiple charges. It took six detectives more than six hours to enter the details into QPRIME," he said. "It would have taken even longer to do the summary to go to court the next morning, so basically the suspects were released on bail, rather than kept in custody."
It seems surreal that such a system could fail so tremendously, but The Methodology Blog has chronicled similar problems in large scale, criminal justice software applications several times before. Massive, system-wide organizational change is incredibly difficult. These efforts often create a productivity paradox like the one experienced in by Queensland police, where the system intended to save time actually requires more time.
Here at AccelWork, we don't sell or build giant, one-size-fits-all software applications. Instead, we conduct a true analysis to help companies identify ways to improve the flow of work. If you are already burdened by a slow, counterproductive new system, talk to us about how to help you capitalize on existing tools, processes and skills more effectively. Your challenges may not be a $100 million dollar foul up, but if you believe there is a better way, consider reaching out to AccelaWork
A summary of the report appears thanks to of Inside Indiana Business, but the actual document goes into great detail. The opening explains the techniques used in the analysis:
We use statistical methods and data on consolidation referendum attempts in the United States since 1970 to test whether governments that consolidate (voters approve the consolidation referendum) have higher spending prior to consolidation (measured by local government employment, payrolls, or expenditures) than the average local government in the state. If these indicators are higher than the average local government in the state, this suggests that the consolidation is driven by the level of government spending. Citizens perceive spending to be “out of line,” and consolidation is one way to address this. If, on the other hand, governments that consolidate have lower spending or spending is not statistically different from the average local government in the state, we interpret this to mean that consolidation is driven by the quality of government and that citizens view consolidation as one way of improving quality.The approach employed by researchers to prove their point is brilliant and methodical. First, review other areas across the country and identify correlations between consolidation and savings. Then, use this to weight to the argument for increasing government efficiency. For Indiana, the value of the process is around $620 million per year, every year.
The study also outlines a point of view that is fairly widespread:
Economists (and the general public) have long recognized that there is likely to be a general slackness in government operations. X-inefficiency occurs when a government fails to produce the maximum output obtainable with a given level of inputs. The result is that costs are higher. Government inefficiency may result from several sources including lack of competition, coordination difficulties, corruption, or padding the budget.Although likely not their intent, this paragraph neatly defines the sources of inefficiency into segments:
If you work for a state or local agency looking to reclaim some of that $620 billion dollars, or if you work for a private sector business ready to make improvements to productivity, contact the business consulting experts at AccelaWork.
His op-ed piece, The Perils of Business as Usual, includes the following points:
- Make Changes Now.
- Truly Understand Where the Business Stands Financially.
- Analyze Whether Margins Can be Improved.
- Reduce and Control Spending.
- Manage Accounts Payable.
- Collect Accounts Receivable.
- Watch Credit Like a Hawk.
- Leverage Assets.
- Manage the Sales Process.
All nine of his messages carry the same tone: change is crucial, change is hard, and day-to-day management of both the mundane and the extraordinary cannot be overlooked. Quotes from Efroymson's essay are especially poignant. Consider the following sentence:
The business should make no assumptions about what is or is not needed, and encourage all employees to get involved
Of all of his wisdom, this is perhaps the easiest to understand but the most difficult to embrace. Stakeholders make an organization succeed in the marketplace through their efforts and choices. When managers, employees, and customers all have low morale, the entire system suffers. A business or non-profit can cut costs, chase down delinquent invoices, raise prices or borrow capital, but without the goodwill of those inside the organization, failure is inevitable. Everyone matters, and no source of ideas for improvement is beyond consideration.
At AccelaWork, we provide a variety of business consulting services. But let's focus on one just one area: workflow and process consulting. Where accountants and budget specialists and tax attorneys can help you optimize your use of capital, we can help companies increase their use of an even more precious resource: time. Unlike money, which comes from your customers, lenders and investors, the vault of time is composed entirely of the efforts of your employees. We believe that the everyday actions of those who work for and work with your organization have the greatest potential. We believe that those who best survive the economic downturn will not be those with the most reserve cash but those who never stop improving the way they work and benefit customers.
If you are uncertain about how you will weather the current storm, consider reaching out to the team at AccelaWork. We will support your survival by helping you to become a stronger, faster and more capable organization.
According to The Examiner:
The lawsuit, filed by San Carlos Deputy City Attorney Linda Noeske in San Mateo Superior Court on Jan. 22, seeks a permanent injunction forcing House to maintain garbage service. City officials are also seeking to recoup from House the costs of the lawsuit.The lawsuit claims House broke the city’s municipal code requiring all residential, commercial and industrial properties to contract with Allied Waste for pickup at least once a week — a standard requirement in most cities, San Carlos Deputy City Manager Brian Moura said.
The actions of Eddie House might be great for the planet, but not for exclusive, tightly-worded contracts between the city and a private company. Those agreements have no room for individual exceptions. Eddie House might not have been filling his trash bins every week, but the law requires him to keep placing them on the curb.
Of course, the weekly pickup requirement was originally established for sanitary reasons, not out of greed or an anti-environmental perspective. If most people opted out of regular trash service, they would stink up the neighborhood. They might even create a public health hazard. The city code is wise in this regard. That is, unless you are actively working to generate less garbage.
The case if the lawsuit against Eddie House is another tale of a rigid system responding to an unusual situation by taking the simplest path which maintains that system. The sanctity of the contract between the local government and Allied Waste must be maintained, so when a violation is identified, it cannot be overlooked. Changing the contract to account for individual innovations would require a tremendous amount of work. It is much easier just to require Eddie House to get back into the habit of producing refuse.
Organizations are often so fiercely committed to existing agreements, procedures or perspectives that when an interesting exception arises, they react in a way which is comically unfortunate. Organizational change is incredibly hard, and it is always easier to require the outlier to change to fit the mold than it is to understand the motivations, capacities and importance of anyone who wants to be different. But, we are measured by how well we react in exceptional circumstances, not just how well we work every day.
If your company or non-profit agency is facing someone like Eddie House or is otherwise burdened with a process that you know does not make sense, reach out to the business consultants at AccelaWork. We help organizations to understand and improve their own process to better accommodate change.
Honda's tagline, "The Power of Dreams," offers a grand vision of what is possible. Company founder Soichiro Honda inspired his employees by making just one demand: to take risks and fail. The video clip below (direct link here) provides an in-depth look at how Honda's failures, though taxing, influenced and ensured a pathway to success.
Calculated risks in the workplace are far from easy to make. Yet, without change, you guarantee a future of stagnation. Organizations should encourage creativity and embrace failure as evidence of boldness and a desire to improve. A business willing to gamble on new ideas and ready to listen to any stakeholder is the only one that can win big.The old Wayne Gretzky quote "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" has basically become a cliche at this point, but the reason it's repeated so much is it's so true. If you aren't taking shots, you aren't going to be able to score. If you aren't taking risks with your business, you aren't going to be able to succeed. And if you aren't striving for great success, then you're likely just wasting your time and the time of those you work with.
Robby Slaughter elaborates on this topic further in his book, Failure: The Secret To Success. We've included a sample from that below.
There is an easy way to avoid failure: attempt nothingIf your company finds failure difficult to accept, opportunity from mistakes impossible to see, or a problematic drop in its competitive edge, contact the business improvement experts at AccelaWork for a consultation. We help for-profit and non-profit organizations analyze their own workflow and help them to build out new ideas into successful business practices. We have spoken before on the fact that success requires taking risks, and taking risks means making mistakes. Pursue success by looking inward at business processes with AccelaWork.This is the route many of us pursue when we encounter a challenging project or difficult decision. Failure seems like such a black mark on our record that we often try to escape the pangs of error by not taking risks. We sometimes avoid the possibility of screwing up by refusing to venture outside our safety zone.
This strategy does work. If we don’t sign up for that committee, we can’t be held responsible for any future mistakes. If we don’t apply for that premier university, we will not be rejected.
But there is a tragic side effect to insulating ourselves from the possibility of failure. If we refuse to take chances that could lead to major errors we also miss the opportunity for significant wins. You cannot have great success without great failure.
All of this discussion about failure may seem less than encouraging. After all, we can all look back in our lives at the times where we went wrong and feel regret. You may be thinking that you’d rather not revisit those embarrassing memories. If failure is so essential, why is it still so frustrating? Do we really have to be ready to fail again and take on all of the negative consequences of our next disaster?
The answer may not be what you expect. Failure is essential. Failure will continue to be part of your life. Fortunately, by adopting a new perspective on how failure can actually help, you will be able to achieve more.
. . . group members who spoke up the most were rated the highest for such qualities as "general intelligence" and "dependable and self-disciplined." The ones who didn't speak as much tended to score higher for less desirable traits, including "conventional and uncreative."
With such compelling feedback, researchers wondered whether their first study accurately represented true leadership ability. In their second experiment, which focused on competency and leadership, they discovered that often the two do not go hand in hand.
Repeatedly, the ones who emerged as leaders and were rated the highest in competence were not the ones who offered the greatest number of correct answers.
Though this study does not prove all leaders are incompetent at work, it does shed some light on whether positions of leadership are awarded based on ability or simply through the frequency of communication. Some may even argue promotion comes mostly from confidence. One article from courier-journal.com provided a poll that stated ninety percent of executives and managers believe they perform in the top ten percent of their competition. This is an extreme version of the Lake Wobegon effect, as obviously no more than half of any population can be above average!
Regardless of how leadership is evaluated, the important distinction here is how an individual utilizes their role to make a difference within the organization. Whereas some members of upper management excel at communication and diplomacy and therefore help employees feel satisfied, these leaders often lack the fortitude to make challenging decisions. Likewise, authoritative leaders, who make business and product outcomes their first priority, may not as easily relate to their employees and cause rifts that inhibit productivity.
At AccelaWork, we believe leadership is not the product of title or promotion, but of contribution and initiative. If a company is experiencing downfalls in productivity or success, the question on everyone's mind—executives, managers, and employees alike—should not be "where has management failed?" but rather "how can the process improve?" Through our consulting programs, we analyze stakeholder contribution and seek out ways to transform inefficient processes into a well-oiled machines. By granting every stakeholder the responsibility of being conscientious in their work, individual contribution flourishes and personal empowerment prevails. The key is to create an everyday business environment where management, like a well-written thesis, is simply present to keep structure while the employees satisfy the goals of success. Contact us today for more information.
The MyPunchBowl blog contains the full story, but the initial email response and commentary is particularly interesting:
Your email subject caught my eye — but the spelling error causes me not to look at your resume further. Thought you might like to know for the future. All of that stuff matters.- Matt
I know that I didn’t have to send that email, but this person had a great resume. I know I was being a little harsh, but I wanted to see what would happen. Would she ignore the email? Would she say thank you? Or would she apologize and ask for another chance?
The "Matt" in question is actually Matt Douglas, one of the founders and current top managers at Punchbowl Software. His words show genuine passion for his own organization, and a desire to find and hire new talent that will be equally enthusiastic. The few seconds spent in his email experiment may help to demonstrate more about this candidate than many hour long interviews. The few minutes spent publishing a blog post about a workplace experience illustrates just how deeply the individual cares about building the best possible team and understanding the motivations and perspectives of everyone around him.
The complete response from the candidate is the subject of much conversation on the Punchbowl blog site and elsewhere on the web, but at AccelaWork we are most fascinated by how both employer and potential employee are able to differentiate themselves as true stakeholders. As we've noted before on here on our business improvement blog, failure is a prerequisite to success. The candidate's failure to spell a word correctly on a job application might seem dire, but the subsequent interaction may well earn her a new job.
Every workplace should be a source of satisfaction for stakeholders, whether they are employees, customers, owners or potential hires. If you want to bring enthusiasm back into your office through a rigorous analysis of work, talk to the business consulting experts. We help organizations rekindle excitement and make the world of work a better place.
The opinion column recounts a farcical "informal meeting" stuffed full of insincere undertones. In one excerpt, Katz portrays the obvious irony of a supervisor's nonchalant attitude:
Hey man, whenever you get a sec—and it's no biggie—I was hoping you could just pop on over to my office real quick so I can fire you.Successful companies place a high value on employee contribution and professional respect. Phrases like "whenever you got a sec" and proposals for a "short little one-on-one session" are an attempt to downplay the impact of interrupting someone else's work. Claims that you have "nothing to worry about" and should "trust me" are in fact signals to do the opposite! Being cornered into an impromptu meeting or small talk at the office defeats the purpose of business: to manage time and energy efficiently so we can get things done.Nothing to worry about. Trust me. Just a short little one-on-one session about you being fired. We'll have a bit of unnecessary and degrading small talk and then I'll clunkily segue into terminating your position here. I'll follow up by apologizing like I care and that'll be that. The whole thing will take a second out of your day. Promise.
Although most organizations do take employee termination more seriously than the made-up story from this comedy newspaper, we have all been subjected to fruitless invasions of our time and heard offhand comments that destroy our morale. Even the simplest of statements (such as "it's not a big deal, but...") can rattle an employee's nerves. Cryptic messages have a polarizing effect and can lead to an uneasy and potentially counterproductive environment.
Workplace language can change moods, create resentment or bring unwanted stress. Used properly, however, one's choice of words can also positively impact perspectives. AccelaWork can do more than just analyze your company's existing processes. We can review your flow of communication. We believe that how we talk about work is as important as how we complete tasks. Great organizations have satisfied stakeholders, who use positive language to support each other. Find out more about how you communicate and work together. Contact our business consulting experts today to arrange for a consultation.
It makes sense to focus advertising on the contrast between the fun of a Super Bowl party and the doldrums that many will face the next day at work. After all, too few people have jobs that they would rather work at than watch football and eat food with friends. As the game goes on, the dread of the following work day will surely creep into the mind of many viewers. One example of a company who tried to capitalize on this thought CareerBuilder with this 2009 ad. Though, they went far beyond the point of focusing on workers who are simply unenthused about the work week ahead. The humorous TV spot is well worth a watch below.
Dissatisfied employees may be the target demographic for the spot, but a more profound message awaits organizations and individuals who are willing to openly contemplate the nature of work. The Methodology Blog has already covered that the environment, structure, and sense of ownership is far more important than the topics or materials we encounter during our shift. People leave jobs because they do not feel valued, either by the work itself or by their colleagues or their boss. On the other hand, people excel at work when they have faith that their contribution and ideas actually matter. While you may not be walking around the office calling people "dummy" there could be something more subtle going on that keeps employees from feeling respected and valued. If there's a higher turnover rate in your office than is ideal, it may be time to evaluate the situation.
Of course, CareerBuilder wants people to quit their jobs. They want current employees to be focused on their dissatisfaction in the workplace. After all, the more people who are looking for jobs (and the more companies that have to fill positions) the more there's a need for job finding sites. But don't be so quick to leave a job that you have a few problems with.
Before you quit your job, decide whether the problems at work are caused by impossible personalities or frustrating inefficiencies. The former is a sign to head for sites like CareerBuilder, but the latter is the territory of business consultants like the team at AccelaWork. We analyze the patterns and processes at your job site through and help your organization to grow and change. We can help turn dissatisfied employees into satisfied ones. And oftentimes that change isn't nearly as hard as it would seem at first glance. A few small tweaks to your communication process and the way employees are treated and you could soon have an entire organization of workers who can no longer relate to this CareerBuilder ad. When that happens, turnover rate will go down, and even more importantly, quality of life will go up.
Work should be satisfying and productive. Before you leave an unpleasant job, consider helping to change that workplace for the better. Contact the employee engagement experts at AccelaWork today.
Goodman tells her story in detail, starting with the motivation and the challenge:
I had come to hate e-mail, for all the reasons anyone does. It interrupts and overwhelms. It causes stress. It distracts the brain and encourages the fracturing of attention. Because it’s devoid of verbal tone and facial expression, it leads to miscommunication, confusion, and hurt feelings. All for the sake of making our lives “easier.”In the end, I decided on a 30-day e-mail detox. No e-mail, in or out, for one month. Anyone can do a month, right?
The idea of completely avoiding email sounds refreshing, impossible and insane. We would all love to be freed from our electronic leashes, able to interact with others on reasonable time frames and through appropriate mediums. One assumes that no modern business professional can operate without email. Goodman’s experiment, however, proves otherwise. Check out what happens when she returns from the four-week hiatus:
Nervously, fearing the worst, I go online. How many messages could there be before AOL simply stopped processing them? But the pile is shockingly light. For the first week of my absence, there were about 35 e-mails a day. Then it peters out to 10 or so a day (not including several daily offers for penile enhancement); since I wasn’t sending any mail, I wasn't generating any communication. Several messages, from friends and co-workers, start out, “I know you’re not on e-mail, but...” And by the time I’m reading these, almost everything in them is irrelevant.I missed nothing.
Like all technologies, email can be used for good or for evil, for productivity or as a way to waste time. Many of us feel as much frustration about the size of our inboxes as we do the size of our waistlines. An organization filled with employees who are tired, flustered, and overworked from battling email is not likely to be very productive.
At AccelaWork we help organizations reclaim lost time through a variety of seminars, workshops, and on-site consulting. Reading and responding to email alone consumes about an hour or more a day, according to one study.
Become more satisfied and more productive at your workplace through a minute-to-minute assessment of how time is spent and how information moves throughout your organization. Contact the productivity experts today to arrange for a consultation.
For Scott Abel, author of the article Hey AT&T! Buying Residential Telephone Service Shouldn't Be This Hard, purchasing new phone service was far from the stated promise of "just plug it in and we'll do the rest." When it came time to use his phone the line had not been activated. Scott Abel soon discovered he was unable to access his account, file a grievance report or even receive service in his area. AT&T wasted their own time because of a broken process. Unfortunately for Abel, the experience cost him time, energy and unnecessary frustration. He explains:
[AT&T operators] are guided by written scripts designed to help them obtain the information they need to complete computer-enabled order forms, which run on various computer software applications that—you guessed it—don't talk to each other. So while the marketing department at AT&T shouldn't be promoting services in areas in which they don't provide service, my situation is proof that they do. And, while systems designed to process orders shouldn't allow orders to be placed in areas where AT&T does not provide service, my situation is proof that they do.
As seen through the example above, gaps in a process — no matter how minuscule or innocent they may be — will eventually cause problems, particularly if they are not discovered or dealt with immediately. Like a novelist or football player, at times it can be difficult to find error in the work you partake in day to day. By bringing in a fresh eye or new perspective as editors and coaches do, discovering flaws more readily helps to streamline the product's success. With the integration of new technology as well as stakeholder contribution and feedback, processes are continually evolving in business. Every successful change in workflow requires a thorough examination of the transformation and a system of checks and balances to ensure validity.
At AccelaWork we strive to help our clients improve business efficiency through diverse, highly customized services offered as a proactive partnership. We bring a fresh viewpoint to identify challenges in process and help stakeholders to model and implement effective solutions. Contact us today to learn more about how we help corporate and non-profit teams to transform work environments for everyone.
Due to a broken process, Tony Tran, a law-abiding immigrant, suffered devastating circumstances that went above and beyond his wrongful imprisonment. According to the report in The Age, he also lost his son, was severely beaten by another detainee and has suffered continual health problems ever since. This unfortunate story spotlights a harsh truth to the effects of failed systems. From the article:
Tony Tran, now 35, was taken into detention in December 1999 after the department believed it had notified him that his bridging visa had been canceled years before.
The Methodology Blog often reviews cases where citizens have been mistreated by justice systems due to a breakdown in procedures. As seen in this story as well as Justice in Jamaica and Less Than Due Process, everyday aspects of workflow can dramatically impact people’s lives if not resolved. In this particular situation, it’s not a question of immigration policy, but actually following the procedures that are in place:
Mr. Tran had not received the letter warning him about his status, an apparent breach of the procedure necessary before taking a person into detention.
AccelaWork helps organizations of all sizes address such issues, not through a top-down systemic evaluation, but through individual analysis and engagement of employees. We are most interested in speaking with front-line managers and workers who interact with customers, customer products and company information systems, as much as we are with owners and managers. We believe that working together with a business, non-profit or government to develop effective models is the key component in helping enable change and reduce the risks of procedural failure.
Your operation may not be sending letters that keep people out of prison, but if you do believe there are ways to improve how you get work done everyday, consider reaching out to the business consultants at AccelaWork.
Even grassroots change depends on the choice of an individual to use their power to make something take place.We assume that change can only occur when someone who has authority dictates it. Berkun explains that this is a fallacy of management:
If you want to make innovation happen, you need to create opportunities for people to succeed underneath you. Your job becomes not being the star...If you are hiring good people, smart people, people who have knowledge that you don't have, then they are going to be suggesting ideas or perspectives that you don't entirely understand. If you are always thwarting ideas that do not fit your worldview, then all you are going to get is your own worldview. Which as a manager, is increasingly becoming farther away from the front lines where all the new stuff is happening!
The team at AccelaWork are longtime fans of Scott Berkun’s fresh approach. In fact, his works form a major component of our philosophy. We help companies innovate by including all stakeholders in the process of analysis and conducting implementation on a realistic schedule. Change is not easy, but it is essential. If you are interested in improving the way you work, talk to the business experts at AccelaWork today.
In an editorial, Kay explains that this aging device perfectly meets his needs:
As I fired up and snapped shut this highly reliable machine during a cascade of meetings, I was again struck by its practicality. Although dated by any definition, the old Jornada remains—year after year—exactly the right tool for the job at hand: taking notes in appointments scheduled one after another all day in venues scattered throughout the city.
Speaking as a true advocate of technology, Kay highlights that not only is his ancient computer durable enough to last another decade and reliable enough to provide more than three days of ample battery life, it's also light enough to carry on his back when riding a bicycle. All in all, his humble advice to those debating any upgrade is quite profound:
This year, as IT and financial managers wonder whether, given the economic situation, they can squeeze another year out of their existing client PCs, it's not a bad idea to revisit the principles of useful life. A good tool should last a long time.
We do not always need the latest and greatest of products to be productive. Instead, technology in general, regardless of age or fancy updates, provides value when it helps us achieve our goals. Likewise, systems and processes at work should be effective and long-lasting, instead of hopelessly awkward or mirrored after the current trend. The HP Jornada is the best tool Roger Kay has seen in the last decade for reporting, yet he keeps going to the latest tech conferences to try out the newest inventions. Likewise, great organizations build procedures, policies and systems that are designed to last but maintain a commitment to pursue new ideas. This combination helps to ensure success and enable a business to evolve.
As covered before in The Methodology Blog in Bad Economy Brings Longer Weekends, the pursuit of best practices is key to nurturing company growth and maintaining a positive workplace atmosphere. By embracing beneficial change as well as maintaining effective policies, organizations achieve success. Here at AccelaWork, we recognize that advancement isn't always found through the creation of new systems, but often through creative innovation via familiar resources such as stakeholder ideas, introspection and feedback. Contact us today for further information on how we bring change without the need for costly equipment or confusing technology.
Her advice column opens with an fairly typical recommendation, but it is backed by science in an unexpected manner:
Boost your energy: Stand up and pace while you talk on the phone or, even better, take a brisk 10-minute walk outside. Research shows that when people move faster, their metabolism speeds up, and the activity and sunlight are good for your focus, your mood, and the retention of information. Plus, because of emotional contagion, if you act energetic, you’ll help the people around you feel energetic, too.
It might sound silly to add some physical activity to a frustrating day at the office, since a walk outside will only delay your progress and cause your workload to build up even further. However, if you follow the suggestion carefully, the biochemical benefits of a little exercise will help to improve your productivity once you sit back down again. By investing even a few minutes of conscious thought in improving your well-being, you can have even greater returns on the rest of your day.
Even more important to the larger organization is the phenomenon of emotional contagion. Feelings, both positive and negative, have a tendency to spread between people during social interactions. Wikipedia explains this further:
Unlike cognitive contagion, emotional contagion is less conscious and more automatic. It relies mainly on non-verbal communication, although it has been demonstrated that emotional contagion can, and does, occur via telecommunication. For example, people interacting through Emails and “chats” are affected by the other’s emotions, without being able to perceive the non-verbal cues.AccelaWork is a business improvement consulting firm, not a happiness provider. But satisfaction at work is a key indicator and effective predictor of workplace productivity. The Methodology Blog has already reviewed how emotions impact the job recruitment market both for frustrated employees as well as eager candidates. People with the worst jobs are often having the most fun.
We believe in a direct relationship between happiness and productivity, and when an organization empowers employees to manage their own tactical needs, both satisfaction and output increase tremendously. If you are unhappy at work today, try one of Gretchen Rubin's nine tips. If you agree that there is a fundamental connection between morale and effectiveness, contact us to find ways to improve your organization.
All of the quotations come from brief interviews with frustrated employees:
“The one that really gets me is pre-plan—there is no such thing. Either you plan or you don’t.”Another reads:
“The new one which has got my goat is conversate, widely used to describe a conversation. I just wish people could learn to ‘think outside the box’ although when they put us in cubes what do they expect?”As well as:
“I once had a boss who said, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it, so you have to step up to the plate and face the music.’ It was in that moment I knew I had to resign before somebody got badly hurt by a pencil.”One more exceptional example is:
“The particular phrase I love to hate is drill down, which handily can be used either as an adverb/verb combo or as a compound noun, ie: ‘the next level drill down’, sometimes even in the same sentence—a nice bit of multi-tasking.”
These examples are amusing, but the use of such phrases can be destructive to workplace culture. Unlike jargon, which is the specialized terminology of a field, business speak has no value. It is helpful for doctors to use words with precise meaning, such as atherosclerosis or angioplasty. But the phrase “outside of the box thinking” merely means “creativity.” Long-winded substitutions of stock phrases for simple ideas only wastes time and frustrates the listener. Perhaps this style of language reinforces the points made in the last posting in The Methodology Blog, which questioned whether leadership roles are awarded for competence or just saying the most words.
For more information and examples, check out the excellent book Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide. Note, however, that word choice and tone at the office do more than inform or amuse, they may also inspire and frustrate. The resulting stakeholder satisfaction is a key predictor for workplace productivity. Productivity, in turn, is the hallmark of success.
A good measure of whether or not your business consultants are any good is if they use too many buzzwords. If they say it's time to "drill down" on "core competencies" to "address needs" "in this space," run the other way.
Pretty much everyone agrees that the safety of children must be the priority in the production of goods. This is particularly true with items such as toys, supplies, and utensils. In the last decade, lead paint recalls have impacted many retail toy companies. The effects from the new regulations, as seen in one article, weigh heavily when attempting to keep a business thriving:
Small batch toy makers, many of whom make old-fashioned wood and sustainable products, say the testing requirements—which can cost thousands of dollars—are unaffordable. At Etsy.com, a Website where entrepreneurs can sell their handmade items, many expect the new law to put them out of business. Also ensnared are companies that make products like bikes or children's books. Because they aren't toy companies, many were caught by surprise when it became clear the law would apply to them. The only lead that can be found on children’s bikes is on the tire, where it poses no risk to a child not in the daily habit of licking the wheels. And while children's books may contain no more noxious materials than paper and ink, under the new rules they would still need a test to prove it.Responding to the uproar, CPSC has issued a rule-making notice that would exempt natural materials from having to be certified as lead-free -- but it will need to go further to avoid an economic trainwreck in February. The real responsibility lies with Congress, which rushed through "kid-friendly" crowd-pleaser legislation without considering the consequences. Despite warnings from small businesses, Illinois Representative Bobby Rush and California's Henry Waxman pushed provisions that now require pulling products from the shelf. Mr. Waxman demanded lead standards without allowing compliance to phase in.
Now even their allies are skittering away from strict enforcement, fearing the looming fiasco could force Congress to amend the bill. Last week, consumer groups that once flogged the law, including Public Citizen, Kids in Danger, and the Naderite U.S. Public Interest Research Group, wrote a letter urging the CPSC to "take the initiative . . . by providing prompt, common-sense, and explicit interpretations regarding exemptions to CPSIA." Now they tell us.
This unfortunate situation is a clear example of the law of unintended consequences; whereas important regulations imposed to benefit one such area, unknowingly bring negative effects in another. In business, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with a proposal, dramatic change in one area is likely to have wide-reaching impacts. The fact is, change is not only hard because it requires work to start the process, but control to guide the outcome to the benefit of all stakeholders.
Sometimes it's difficult to see the whole picture. But despite the fact that it's difficult, it's of the utmost importance. If there are unintended consequences that aren't foreseen, the impact could be hugely negative, oftentimes outweighing the positive impacts that the original decision was made to achieve.
Before you begin to comply with new regulations or pursue a major initiative at your company, consider a smaller investment in business consulting from AccelaWork. We can help your organization make improvements to process and workflow that may help reduce the need for sweeping changes or even mitigate the effect of market and government forces. Efficient, satisfied workers have more time and energy to face larger challenges and think strategically. Don't hesitate to reach out to us today!
Mark Everson, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration, said in a news release that the numbers were erroneously included in a contract solicitation file posted on the department’s procurement Website. They were immediately removed after a department employee noticed them. By then, though, four entities had already accessed the information.
It's tempting to imagine two files on a state employee's computer desktop—one reading “public contract information”, the other reading “top secret employee SSN data”—being "dragged and dropped" in a momentary distraction. Though this is probably not what actually caused the mishap, it does seem odd that sensitive information could be so easily manipulated and posted.
Whether it is customer lists, protected health information (PHI), financial records or personnel files, virtually all organizations deal with sensitive data. Securing this data with appropriate software tools, strong passwords, steel deadbolts and surveillance cameras is essential, but how robust are the procedures and workflow that shuttle this data around an office?
If your company or organization has great security policies but is concerned about how well those policies are actually followed or implemented, contact business process design experts at AccelaWork. We diagnose workplace operations, and can not only help you to understand what you are doing today, but find ways to work smarter and more securely in the future.
In the article "The $300 Million Dollar Button," a online vendor increased their customer sales by 45% when they added a graphic to alert patrons that registering was optional:
... they put a Continue button with a simple message: You do not need to create an account to make purchases on our site. Simply click Continue to proceed to checkout. To make your future purchases even faster, you can create an account during checkout.
In essence, the company discovered that potential customers were turned off by the request to register; deterring them from following through with their purchase. To make matters worse, the button that was meant to benefit current customers was doing quite the opposite. Instead of streamlining the purchasing process, many were left frustrated because they couldn't remember their login or password. Ironically enough, the acts of logging in and registering were not required for purchasing on the website—an extreme misconception that hindered company revenue and customer patronage.
The moral of the story: no matter how "user-friendly" some system may appear to the designer, success cannot be fully achieved until after a full review of stakeholder productivity and satisfaction. This is not an easy process, but one that is essnetial.
An important component that helps to bring positive and rewarding change is software interface design is the concept of "usability." Defined as the endeavor to make an interface easier for customers to use, usability centers around how an interface design either enables---or hinders---an individual's use of a system. As seen in the example above, the website's usability was shortsighted in the eyes of the general public. The average person clearly did not have a full understanding of how the process was meant to work, but only of how it appeared to work.
When it comes to troubled business systems, AccelaWork's business consultants use an analogous approach. Whereas usability focuses directly on the user, our consultants focuses on the process. When paired together, these two techniques can foster tremendous positive change in productivity and stakeholder satisfaction.
By having conscientious concern in regards to how a process works and how it affects every individual involved, ideal outcomes, financial and stakeholder alike, will be achieved effectively and efficiently. Contact us today if processes in your company are hindering business, lacking proper instruction or creating frustration with your team or your customers.
For five years, this story has pained taxpayers in Marion county. The Indianapolis Star reported yesterday on the scale of the problem:
Early in the project, in 2004, large gaps and cracks were discovered as formwork was removed from the two-level garage’s concrete beams and columns. Library officials, themselves accused of lax oversight, halted construction in March 2004.The library claims that [engineering firm] Thornton Tomasetti and a managing principal, Joseph G. Burns, created deficient designs and then concealed the flaws. In particular, the library claims the firm misrepresented the reasons behind a substantial change order that resulted in more reinforcing steel being inserted into the garage's concrete, contributing to holes in the beams and columns.
A financial consultant to the library recently blamed Thornton Tomasetti for a $24.3 million share of the costs arising from the problems, an amount an attorney for the firm called absurd.
On the one hand, it seems incredulous that we cannot reliably plan and execute civic buildings like public libraries. Civilization has thousands of years of experience in construction, and engineers, architects and contractors have successfully built millions of buildings, many thousands of them as large as the new Central Library.
On the other hand, if you have been to the building, you can instantly recognize the unusual and progressive design features. Soaring columns arch into the lobby. Level after level of books rest on the northern end of the foundation. Although this edifice is similar to every other modern, large public building, it is also entirely unique. The existence of distinct challenges should be no surprise, even if the unexpected $50 million dollar surcharge is too much to bear.
Placing blame for the time and cost overruns is a complex matter. However, you do not need a team of experts with graduate degrees to understand that process failures can dramatically impact stakeholders. In fact, the article explains the main problem in just a few words: the assertion that the engineering firm "created deficient designs and then concealed the flaws." This was not just a mistake, claims the library, but a cover-up.
As The Methodology Blog has covered before, failure is not only a reality but is often better than constant success. In fact, keeping secrets is often not a great business strategy.
If you, your employees or your organization makes mistakes but has trouble admitting to problems to seek resolution and improvement, talk to the business improvement experts at AccelaWork. Challenges in embracing the value of failure as an opportunity to enact positive change often arise can be addressed. We'd love to help.
- There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
- Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
- There is no editing stage.
- Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
- Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
- The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
- Once you’re done you can throw it away.
- Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
- People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
- Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
- Destruction is a variant of done.
- If you have an idea and publish it on the Internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
- Done is the engine of more.
Brief statements of philosophy like The Cult of Done Manifesto are everywhere, and they seem to generate mostly reactions of inspiration or disgust. The comments on Pettis’ blog demonstrate this passion. Are these thirteen theses a mark of genius or an tragic oversimplification of real life?
The precise answer is unclear, but several of the points merit discussion. For example, Item #1 insists on only "three states of being—not knowing, action and completion." Obviously, projects can be stalled, held up by clients, placed on low-priority or rescheduled, but the notion of all status updates offering just one of the three states sounds blissfully appealing. Any project manager would probably agree that they don't want to hear about anything else.
Likewise, the suggestion of item #8 to "Laugh at perfection" makes sense. This is merely a brazen restatement of the old adage "perfect is the enemy of good." Even #10 offers sage advice, as mistakes and failure are part of success.
Points #5 and #9, however, may seem odd to many. Surely some ideas require more than week of gestation. Not all activity is productive or even positive. An obsession with getting things done may inspire you to give up on your dreams, and instead spend your time completing many tasks that are of little or no value. A manifesto cannot completely describe the best way for everyone to work.
Nevertheless, increased productivity leads to increased satisfaction. There is power in the emotional impact of reaching a finish line. The thirteen points of The Cult of Done Manifesto are just advice, but building enthusiasm about working smarter is the first step to change. If you or your organization is ready to become more productive and move beyond slogans into actual transformations, talk to the change management experts at AccelaWork. We help companies and non-profit organizations channel enthusiasm for renewed productivity into new business process models and system implementations through committed engagements.
In one Office debacle, Michael Scott comes up with a new way to enhance business revenue. As shown in the clip below, this supposedly "innovative" idea is embarrassingly unconventional:
https://youtu.be/UoQvWtluoS8
Though ingenious in Michael's eyes, his idea turns sour when Dunder Mifflin’s largest and most lucrative client receives all five of the golden tickets—rewarding them with a fifty percent discount on an order. Faced with potential of being fired, Michael attempts to abandon his leadership responsibility by coercing his most loyal employee to take the fall.
The character of Michael Scott, although an overwrought stereotype, is a great example of the destructive power of bad management. As we covered in our post on leadership competence one theory states that leaders are selected for their vocal skills more so than actual ability. Judging by Dunder Mifflin's standards, Michael Scott's position as branch manager did not stem from any actual management skills. Fortunately, this choice is a comical twist of fiction for the benefit of entertainment rather than office productivity. Tragically, the joke hits home because many viewer offices are eerily similar to The Office.
While you may not have a manager prancing around the office like Willy Wonka, there still may be some ideas that aren't quite fully fleshed out. Before putting an idea into practice, it's important to look at every possible outcome. Yes, they should've ensured that only one golden ticket was going out in each shipment, but if Michael had thought to add a disclaimer saying that offers could not be combined, the hit the company had to take wouldn't have been quite as big. Regardless, the promotion wasn't really doing much for the company, as someone who was already their biggest client didn't likely need a promotion like that to continue with their orders. It's more prudent for them to focus on solid customer service and competitive pricing.
In terms of Michael passing the buck onto one of his employees, that's something that may come off as pure parody, but isn't as uncommon as you might hope. Look around your organization and see how many people are unwilling to take the blame when they've done something wrong. Saying "I was wrong" is a simple thing, but it can go a long way toward earning trust and loyalty from those around you. There's no shame in admitting a mistake. There is shame in not learning from your mistakes so they don't happen again.
You may think these things don't apply to your business, but it's important to remember that Michael Scott likely thinks the same thing. He always thinks he's doing something for the betterment of the company and his employees. It's his blissful unawareness that leads to the majority of the problems he creates. Recognizing the situation is an important first step toward finding a way to fix the problems that may be plaguing your organization.
If you are concerned your company is becoming the Dunder Mifflin of real-life business, consider contacting the business consultants at AccelaWork. We help organizations focus on the actual process of work instead of the eccentricities of personality. Painful office interactions might be great television, but companies and individuals would prefer for the workplace to primarily be a realm where work gets done.
The full contents of the post are worth a quick read. Here's an excerpt:
I have always believed if you want to create customer evangelists, (customers who care passionately about your brand) you need to start with employee evangelists. Every day, your employees go into the community. What do they say when asked about where they work? Do they say they love it or say, it’s ok? Do they passionately endorse your products? Do you know?
The supposed value of "passionate employees" is a longtime business staple. Apple engineers on the original Macintosh computer made sweatshirts that read "90 Hours a Week and Loving it!" The founder and former leader of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, famously placed employees first, customers second and shareholders third. The SAS Institute built a landscaped campus with private schools so employees could feel engaged and supremely respected. Passion at Work is even the title of a 2005 bestselling book by Lawler Kang.
Not everyone, however, is sold on passion. Authors Kathy Sierra and Dan Russell warn against asking employees to be passionate.
People ask me, “How can I get our employees to be passionate about the company?" Wrong question. Passion for our employer, manager, current job? Irrelevant. Passion for our profession and the kind of work we do? Crucial. If I own company FOO, I don't need employees with a passion for FOO. I want those with a passion for the work they're doing. The company should behave just like a good user interface — support people in doing what they're trying to do ... the best company is one in which the employees are so engaged in their work that the company fades into the background.
They even provide a precise list for identifying the difference between people who have passion for their employer and people who have passion for their work:
Passionate about the company:
- The ultimate team player who goes along with the group rather than voice dissent
- Works late nights and weekends because “everyone needs to pitch in on this project”
- Defends the company to anyone, anywhere that criticizes or questions its products, policies, or practices
- Puts responsibility to employer above responsibility to customers, without question
- Questions, but does not challenge the status quo
- Is well-liked because they do whatever is asked, enthusiastically
- Accepts (and uses) phrases like, “this is what corporate needs us to do.”
- Cares a lot about his career path in the company; focused on getting management recognition.
Passionate about the work:
- Scores well on the 4-question test:
- keeps up with trade/professional journals
- knows who the key people in the industry are
- would spend his own money, if necessary, for better tools
- if they were NOT doing this as their job, they would still do something related to it as a hobby
- Works late nights when, “I'm just one-compile away from this awesome refactoring that's going to make this thing run 40% faster.” In other words, they work late when they're driven by something they know they can do better on.
- Defends the quality of his own work.
- Puts responsibility to his own ethics and values—especially related to quality of work—over responsibility to employer.
- May not be extremely well-liked, but is highly respected and tolerated because he's known as one who, “cares deeply about doing the best possible job, and is very good at what he does.”
- Does not accept, “this is what corporate needs us to do” when it conflicts with quality and ethics. Must be given a good reason why a corporate decision is worth the downsides.
- Does not care about upward mobility in the company. Cares about doing fabulous work and possibly the recognition of his peers in the industry. May strive for professional recognition.
Employees with professional passion, especially if that passion is driven toward using and improving the systems, procedures and quality of the work, will become more productive. However, hiring passionate employees is not enough. Companies must ensure that everyone is empowered to improve process. If you are frustrated at work and have trouble applying your passion, or if you are concerned that employees are working with inefficient systems that limit their desire to do great work, contact AccelaWork. We help to diagnose workflow challenges and help companies to work smarter.
Although it runs for ten minutes, the video conveys a clear message of the suppression of ideas. For further background on the premise, see the the NPR article Astronaut's Video Satirizes NASA Bureaucracy. Watch and enjoy:
Despite impassioned attempts at explaining her ideas, the NASA engineer hears surprising responses from upper management that discourage initiative and creativity. Here's some of the dialog:Young Engineer: So, I've been thinking about this better way to design the spacecraft, and here are some sketches of what I've been looking into...Another exchange includes the following:Supervisor: Wow. This is a pretty significant change from the way the project office is doing things.
Supervisor: We've never done anything like this before. I should also remind you that as a member of this organization we are really only supposed to be working on subsystems.Young Engineer: Yes, I know, and I've considered that, but I think this is really important.
Supervisor: I see. You know, you will be basically telling them that their current approach is flawed.
The video illustrates four fairly common errors organizations make when establishing and engaging processes:
As we covered in our post about productivity and job loss, change should occur from the bottom up. To quote ourselves: “no one is better positioned than the employee to lead and implement new ideas in their own workflow.” If your company finds this philosophy refreshing, contact us today. Our aim is to assist you and your employees to transform processes so you can be effective, inventive and successful in all your ventures.
According to a Wall Street Journal article, Tips for Getting Things Done, there are effectively two separate approaches for improving individual productivity:
One, called “life-hacking,” emphasizes technology and encourages the use of gadgets and software. The second, sometimes called GTD for “Getting Things Done,” emphasizes to-do lists and focusing on one task at a time.
While both paths certainly offer a hope of improving efficiency with everyday tasks (whether business or personal) each overall theory invites judgment. Critics of GTD say that the complicated structure, with its time-consuming review process and lack of an accurate system for setting priorities, is not conducive for general use in everyday life. Likewise, with the continual emergence of new technologies, the feeling of boundless advancement from "life hacking" lasts only a short while. Before long, many find that their innovative time-saving gizmos stop working or dwarf in comparison to the latest and greatest program or gadget released to the masses. Plus, the most important technologies (like the trusty HP Journada) should last for years and only make simple tasks even simpler.
Is there a foolproof solution for establishing a system for productivity? Taking into account the variation in individual people and intangible nature and tremendous variety of individual workflows, the answer is most definitely not. However, there are better, more balanced ways at improving productivity.
AccelaWork aims to assist companies in exploring ways to improve productivity, but not through one-size-fits-all, cut-and-dried systems like the examples above. Unlike other consultancies which promote and sell products that force companies to rearrange and adapt, we provide ongoing business consulting services through a well-rounded approach that not only improves efficiency, but maintains the advantage over time. In fact, we usually oppose creating more work by writing “to-do” lists or sending employees off to detailed, program-specific training. Instead, we aim at reducingwork.
Through detailed analysis and customized solutions, we help organizations to embrace and integrate changes that cut down on time-consuming processes and open up avenues for further stakeholder innovation. As discussed before on The Methodology Blog, allotting time for creativity brings incredible value to both business and employees. If your organization fumbles with unfamiliar technology and unused checklists rather than actually producing results, contact AccelaWork today.
In the article "The Bad Apple: Group Poison," Jeff Atwood discusses a study set up to test the theory of "bad apples." College students were divided into groups of four and asked to successfully complete a project. Unknown to the participants, conductors of the study planted actors in some of the teams to represent difficult personality types that inhibit productivity. They discovered:
Groups with bad apples performed 30 to 40 percent worse than other groups. On teams with the bad apple, people would argue and fight, they didn't share relevant information, they communicated less.
Furthermore:
Other team members began to take on the bad apple's characteristics. And they wouldn't act this way just in response to the bad apple. They'd act this way to each other, in sort of a spillover effect.
In the end, the blogger makes the following conclusion:
It doesn't matter how great the best member is, or what the average member of the group is like. It all comes down to what your worst team member is like. The teams with the worst person performed the poorest.
Besides the obvious fact that "bad apples" deteriorate group cohesiveness, they also carry negative traits that reduce the quality of task completion, stagnate motivation and diminish career development. Businesses that employ individuals who do not meet that standard of quality may find themselves at an impasse. The ultimate price of a rotten attitude at work is dissatisfaction and failure.
At AccelaWork, we focus on assisting companies in creating efficient workflow processes that improve productivity and help maintain avenues of achievement. Our aim is to also bring satisfaction to stakeholders as job contentment enables company success. As the article states, great leadership can be the salvation to poor employee contribution. If your company lacks proper leadership when it comes to fulfilling project objectives or needs to redesign a faulty process, reach out to our business improvement consultants today.
According to WBIR TV in Knoxville, Tennessee:
Bill Keith, owner of SunRise Solar Inc. in Indiana, has been receiving hundreds of confidential medical faxes from doctors' offices and other medical providers in Tennessee for three years.Keith was, on Monday, still receiving patient information meant for the Tennessee Department of Human Services in Nashville. Keith has tried to correct the problem with the state and doctors' offices but to no avail.
On Friday, state officials blamed doctors' offices, saying that the toll-free fax numbers for Keith's business and the state nearly match. But Monday, Mowery Johnson said the state was taking some responsibility for the problem, which stemmed from a typing error.
It's tough to know where to begin in discussing this story. Should we blame government incompetence, which has been unable to correct a typo for three years? Should SunRise Solar have simply disconnected their fax machine? Or is this really more evidence that we need to move to electronic medical records and leave the messy world of paper behind?
No matter what the solution, we should look back to the original problems: processes for double-checking fax numbers, processes for distributing these numbers to the public, processes for correcting errors after they occur, and processes for maintaining old systems during an upgrade. None of these procedures should require high-level administrative approval or strategic analysis. They are simply a matter of stakeholders having the authority and responsibility to make changes.
Facsimile machines may not be the right technology for today, but regardless of the platform in use, the process should be rigorous, well-documented and reliable. If your organization needs help in reducing errors, talk to the process improvement experts. We help companies analyze and transform their methodologies for everyday tasks.
Check out the below video to view the invention: (direct link)
Despite the doubt by some critics in the pizza-making capital of the world, Italians are expected to be quite receptive to the quick and affordable meal. Like many ideas#8212;technological, mechanical or procedural based—innovation that aims to save time, stress and/or frustration in our competitive, fast-paced world is surely in high demand. Anything that increases efficiency and productivity is worth consideration.
Like a pizza made-to-order, we customize solutions to fit the intricate needs of individual stakeholders and businesses alike. To learn more about how we can bring beneficial innovation to your office, reach out to our consultants today.
The first session, Managing Email Productivity, not only drew in the crowd and shared a new perspective on email, but earned some notoriety in the blogosphere. Attendee Jason Bean wrote a post about just one of the recommendations on email for EveryJoe.com (Reversing Your Email Composition). This got picked up by Kevin Purdy of the massively popular site LifeHacker.com. Dozens of people have commented on these two posts and carried the discussion forward.
Our second event, Power Modeling - Self Training was one of the more challenging sessions. Complex workplace systems, whether they consist of software tools, corporate protocols, official procedures or other systems for filing, maintenance or client service, are often a source of major frustration and a lack of productivity. Analytical tools are needed to identify these challenges and bring mental models about systems closer to the actual nature of how they work. Power Modeling is a set of techniques for enabling individuals to conduct this analysis process on their own and effectively train themselves to better use existing systems.
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Indianapolis Productivity Summit - March 30, 2009[/caption]
The most lively session of the day was Workplace Productivity Tools. Topics included an organizational scheme for documents, meetings, workplace coordination and social media. The group became especially engaged in a conversation about the appropriate role of announcements. This is a difficult area for productivity, because a routine announcement can be communicated in far less time via a medium like email, whereas an extraordinary announcement (such as employee commendation or unfortunate news) probably requires some dialogue. With meetings as a major source of workplace frustration, all organizations need tools for managing these events to maximize productivity.
A Continuous Improvement Primer ended the summit. Large-scale change models such as Six Sigma, Lean and TCO are not only a fashion but an essential component of modern business. This event provided a broad overview of some of the major trends, along with historical context, advantages, disadvantages and perspective.
Over the next few weeks, The Methodology Blog will review these sessions in detail both for those who could not make the summit and to further support the attendees. Thanks again to everyone for participating in the Indianapolis Productivity Summit!
Check out the slides (direct link) for more information:
If you are drowning in email and know you need to get ahead, consider talking with the email productivity experts at AccelaWork. Our seminars are available for private companies. We also offer comprehensive workplace diagnostics that help you find ways of resolving frustrations with systems (like email) and assists with increased productivity and satisfaction.
Behind the concept of Power Modeling is a single principle: the mismatch between our mental models for systems and the actual internal mechanisms. For example, many people misuse a common household thermostat by giving it a “stretch goal”—setting it well beyond the desired temperature in the hopes that the device will make the climate control system work harder. This technique might be effective for coaches and athletes, but is only wasteful on an HVAC installation.
Power Modeling encourages individuals to challenge their own assumptions about how systems work, and then begin to determine the actual model through analysis and experimentation. Rudimentary diagramming tools should be employed, such as mind maps and state charts, as these can help with the though process. Those working with power modeling are also encouraged to normalize data and procedures by breaking each down into the smallest, logically distinct parts and defining precise relationships. Aspects of tool usage that are repeated are often subject to iteration, which means that there may be ways to automate steps and make work more efficient. When employed together, all of these techniques can be used to facilitate analysis and help stakeholders teach themselves to use systems more effectively.
Albert Einstein once noted that “The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking which created them.” Power Modeling is an organized approach to higher level thinking about workplace systems. To learn more, or to schedule a training for your organization, contact the best Indianapolis business consultants today.
The local NBC news station covered the story:
The school’s communications office said an e-mail was sent Monday afternoon to all 46,377 students who applied for admission—including the 29,000 rejects—welcoming them to the campus.A half-hour later, school officials said, they realized their mistake. Almost two hours after the first note went out, a second e-mail was sent, apologizing to 28,889 freshmen applicants for the mistake.
Accidentally delivering the wrong message is nothing new. However, the power of technology compounded by high stress work environments enables us to make even bigger mistakes faster than ever before. The Methodology Blog reviewed a similar case recently where a state office accidentally published Social Security numbers. A few years back, we also noted that the the Australian Football League fouled up a mailing. Each example is a routine organizational task which seems to lack a workable process. If there were any checks and balances in these systems to prevent major problems, those measures failed completely.
Your company is probably not communicating with those who hoped to become the next Mighty Tritons of UCSD. However, effective, reliable and robust procedures are essential to averting mistakes and maximizing productivity. If this story sounds like it could happen to you, contact AccelaWork. We help stakeholders take control of methodologies through our comprehensive business consulting services offering.
The group also debated the value of meetings. With a focus on productivity, Slaughter Development advocates that all meetings should have one of two objectives: brainstorm ideas or make decisions. This approach better ensures that everyone involved is a true stakeholder with a genuine interest in the outcome. No routine meeting should be used for a routine announcement.
However, many participants pointed out that difficult information should be relayed personally. No one should be fired by email. Bad news is out of the ordinary, and anything which is unusual cannot be made more efficient. Furthermore, if information is difficult it probably requires discussion which will result in individual action. Therefore, using a meeting to announce layoffs is not actually a mere announcement. It is an opportunity to discuss the challenging situation and encourage stakeholders to submit ideas and make personal decisions. The two-sided logic for meeting agenda still stands.
The group also reviewed some specific tools to assist in communication, workflow and coordination. This included a quick demonstration of TitanPad, a collaborative, real-time text editor, as well as Basalmiq Mockups, a service for rapid prototyping of user interfaces. Both tools stress informality and rapid results. These concepts are far more important than the systems presented. The best results emerge when people can propose, debate and discard ideas as quickly as possible.
Many more topics were covered in this session on Workplace Productivity Tools. If your organization needs to focus on more effective ways to work or wants to identify the right systems for current and future tasks, reach out to AccelaWork.
With terms like Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and Total Cost of Ownership appearing everywhere, it is difficult to know which of these ideas is meaningful or appropriate for a business challenge. Management techniques are sometimes revolutionary and sometimes just temporary fads that have no lasting impact. A primer on these topics, which can be broadly titled Continuous Improvement (CI), is essential for anyone interested in working smarter.
To help organize the field, AccelaWork describes all CI approaches as falling into one of five categories:
There's plenty more to cover, of course, but this grouping help provides a simple overview of the main schools of thought. For more information, contact our business improvement experts today.
According to researchers quoted in a CNET news article, the phenomenon is caused by fatigue:
“People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration. Think back to when you were in class listening to a lecture—after about 20 minutes your concentration probably went right down, yet after a break your concentration was restored.”A short break, such as surfing the Internet, “enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a day's work, and as a result, increased productivity.”
But how much productivity is gained? If workers limit themselves to leisure web surfing for no more than 20% of their total time at work, they are 9% more effective than those who avoid personal web use altogether. These numbers may sound a little confusing, so the claim should be restated. People who merely occasionally browse the Internet actually get more done then colleagues who never go online.
Of course, taking frequent breaks while working is nothing new. For as long as people have been working, they have been stepping out for a meal, a cigarette, or just to stretch. Even a few minutes away from a complex or arduous task can help us feel refreshed. However, spending one-fifth of our working hours doodling around online might sound excessive to the typical manager. That is writing off an entire day out of every week. How could losing so much time actually save time overall?
The answer lies in the connection between satisfaction and productivity. When employers monitor Internet usage and dictate that their workers never go online for personal reasons, they are effectively telling employees they cannot be trusted. Telling anyone what they can and cannot do is a recipe for frustration.
As The Methodology Blog has reviewed before, people love the concept of being done with a project. Employees despise work environments where they are not valued. They will even adore a dirty job if the work is satisfying and productive.
Here's the secret: No organization should expect success by controlling employees, but rather, by embracing individual creativity to improve workflow and achieve great results for customers. If you are ready to think beyond monitoring your workers by empowering them to do more for your business, reach out to the business improvement experts at AccelaWork. We are ready to work with you and your stakeholders to get more done.
A press release reviewed the key findings:
Nearly two-thirds of those questioned agreed that technology solutions should be kept simple, but 40% lamented the complexity of the technology they were using. More than 70% were unsure of the ongoing cost of device failures. Yet, the high cost of mobile devices, along with their proneness to theft, loss and damage, were identified as major barriers to their effective use by more than half the respondents.
We all want our lives to be simple. Excessively complicated computerized systems at the hospital should give us pause. In fact, a 2005 study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that although prescription order-entry systems were designed to reduce deadly errors, they in fact introduce a whole new category of problems due to design issues. Perhaps the original eHealthServer press release described this issue most effectively in their lead:
Healthcare organizations are throwing mobile technology at problems without fully considering the underlying business processes or the working conditions of the end-user.
Although businesses, non-profits and government organizations must have advanced software tools and robust processes to perform daily functions, the people who make use of these tools remain the most important component of the overall system. At Slaughter Development, we prefer the term stakeholders to describe the human beings involved, whether they are clients, employees, managers or owners. This word clarifies the primary function of people in an organization: ownership. When we conceptualize workers as doing more than work, perhaps as the caretakers of particular responsibilities and authorities, we begin to see how much more important people are in comparison to process or technology.
Salt and pepper are unusual resources in the world of food preparation since, unlike most ingredients, they do not require refrigeration and do not spoil after a few days or weeks of sitting out. When compared with other spices, salt and pepper are not particularly valuable. Leaving them unprotected on a table does not present an attractive prize for petty thieves. They are often used together, so although the raw ingredients might come from distant corners of the earth, they are presented, side-by-side, to the hungry patron. With their handy assistance for last-minute customization of food, it's not surprising that salt and pepper shakers are everywhere.
In fact, this tradition makes it so that almost any change in this formula results in frustration. If the salt and pepper shakers are stored halfway across the table from each other, you are constantly asking your fellow diner to “pass the salt.” Though the addition of either substance can be done by the chef, it limits a patron's ability to control the last-minute customization of their food and increases the establishment’s liability. Furthermore, changing the delivery technology from shakers to say, open bowls filled with spices, will not only attract the concern of the health department but will probably lead to more messes for waitstaff to clean up.
Needless to say, the current salt and pepper system is highly effective, but not necessarily perfect. In recent years, some may have noticed several innovations to the classic shakers. With a desire for pepper to be freshly ground, an integrated crushing mechanism is often provided. Instead of having the shakers stand solemnly on the table, plastic or wire racks now neatly hold the entire range of powdered and liquid toppings. With the recent interest in nutritional awareness, many eateries have also taken note to the health concerns of patrons, and therefore now offer salt alternatives. The opportunity to improve workflow is everywhere.
If your business seems as well-solved as salt and pepper, we urge you to reconsider the circumstances. There are always opportunities to work smarter. The challenge is finding the most impactful choices and implementing changes that actually stick.
We are not in the advertising business, so we will refrain from reviewing the content of this exciting, Indianapolis-based debate. However, the process of creating a brochure is completely driven by the answer to this question. Companies that are producing full-color paper handouts need to be concerned with duplication systems, routing artwork to off-site printers, receiving proofs, seeking client approval and ordering individual runs. Electronic ads have different constraints and capabilities. They may require testing on different types of computers, email programs or mobile devices. These variations not only impact the creative and strategic issues of the world of marketing, but the tactical, everyday issues of defining a workflow system and moving information and resources through that structure.
Third-party software solutions like MarketingPilot, HighOrbit, BaseCamp and Workamajig are all designed to facilitate process at advertising agencies. One may be right for your firm. However, it is essential to understand the individual components of workflow and especially the ultimate output. These factors should inform the strategic choice. But what about the moment-to-moment use of existing tools and procedures? Do these interactions enhance or limit overall productivity? These questions are about tactics, not strategy.
At AccelaWork, we do not know if the brochure is dying or stronger than ever. But we do know that the minuscule steps involved in making brochures is increasingly important. Companies compete on cost, quality and time-to-market, and any positive change to workflow and stakeholder satisfaction will benefit the customer. If you are interested in learning more about methodology, whether you make brochures, sell products or provide services, reach out to our consultants. We love to discuss and help transform the smallest details of what you do.
To quote from the blog post:
There are certainly many examples of processes where reducing friction is a critical component of success. But I can’t think of any examples of efficient and effective processes where friction is absent altogether. Imagine trying to strike a match, steer an oil tanker, kiss your significant other, or even walk down the street, without the dynamics of a bit of friction at work.
Andersen’s comments might sound like mere semantics. He uses a literal, scientific definition of friction, as a force which enables motion. Clearly, the Inc. Magazine article that inspired this discussion considers friction to mean conflict and resistance to progress.
But this conversation is more than just being picky about word choice, it is about describing key interactions in business with useful and effective terms. As Mark Twain once wrote, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Choosing the best word, the best image, the best user interface controls and building the best overall brand experience is the focus of groups like Kristian Andersen + Associates. This dissent, therefore, should be seriously considered.
At AccelaWork, we find that the words used to describe business processes provide insight into the organizational workflow, productivity and culture. The methodologies utilized at a workplace should include enough friction to enable meaningful contact and conversation, but not bog everyone down in bureaucracy. If we are looking for anything to eliminate, it should not be friction but frustration. We'd love to help you find better, smarter, and smoother ways to work.
According to Paul Boutin at The Industry Standard, the answer is a resounding yes:
A patented methodology for deciding where to send jobs overseas to cut costs would be a valuable tool that IBM could sell to its corporate clients. But IBM has plenty of opportunity to eat its own dog food: The company continues to slash its own payroll, starting with 4,600 cuts earlier this year and continuing with a huge layoff within its 180,000-employee global business services group.
So often, business improvement is seen as employee reduction. Outsourcing is nothing new but is rarely popular among workers. Process analysis, too, is often seen as a way to eliminate jobs. We find that companies who see their workers as expenses, not assets, will always be trying to find a way to cut those costs. Organizations who feel their workers are invaluable resources of knowledge, creativity, innovation and customer relationships will want to invest rather than divest. Great consulting firms---and great companies---place stakeholders at the center. And who is a more crucial stakeholder than members of your team?
Business process analysis is at the forefront of organizations with just a few people to those that employ hundreds of thousands. If you are ready to talk about leveraging your greatest asset, contact AccelaWork today.
Camden offers this opinion in an article titled Consultants: It's not the theory, it's the execution:
Managers often fall victim to the notion that “if we adopt a specific methodology, we’ll fix everything”; this mindset can infect consultants and developers as well. We’re all tempted by the promise of not having to think about a certain subset of the actions we must perform; if we just follow the prescribed procedure, we’ll be all right.You don’t want to have to reinvent all of your processes on every project, so you should standardize procedures to help avoid missing things. But nobody has perfected a methodology for a nontrivial activity yet, so you always need to consider when to break the rules – or at least bend them a little.
Buried in the above paragraph is a gem: the notion that there are no perfect methodologies—especially for nontrivial activities. Although Camden's article is about software development, the larger field of change management is full of one-size-fits-all solutions. There are many Indianapolis consulting firms and probably as many approaches. Each have advantages and drawbacks. No approach and no expert can transform an organization without competent and dedicated leadership.
However, if there's no perfect way to do complicated things, there must be best practices for everyday tasks. Refining these are a matter of tactics, not strategy. We need to learn to think small as much as we need to think big.
An organization may need to focus on long-term success, which requires high-minded theory and experts to execute the plan. Likewise, a company also needs to constantly review and improve single actions taken every day by stakeholders. These processes and workflow enable individual productivity, satisfaction, and larger success. Learn more about what AccelaWork can do for your details.
In the 1994 book Almost Perfect, Peterson writes:
With everyone solving their problems by trial and error, we had all kinds of inefficiencies creeping into the organization. The orders department, for example, always seemed to keep a copier running full time. When I looked into the reasons, it turned out they were making a lot of extra copies of invoices so they could file them by invoice number, by customer, and by product. When asked why, they were not sure, except that it had always been done that way. To make a point, I threw one full set in the trash and told them to call me if they ever missed the extra copies.
There's more than one insight in this anecdote. Consider the culture of a department which feels it needs to create three copies of every document. A business process which enables multiple ways to access the same information assumes that every case is highly likely and that speed is essential. Somewhere, a stakeholder is more concerned with ease of looking up data than they are with the cost of paper, ink and labor.
The management response—to discard countless hours of work—is bold and decisive. Unfortunately, Peterson’s narrative does not discuss employee feedback to his actions. Most people would feel slighted if one-third of their contribution was chucked into the garbage and instantly deemed worthless. Their inability to explain why duplicate copies were maintained does not mean that no valid reason exists. Rather, this ignorance indicates how employees can enable themselves to complete a task without understanding the actual value of that work.
Finally, the quoted paragraph offers some standard advice about traditions. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper says it best: “The most dangerous phrase in the [English] language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” The author uses this notion as a justification for quick action. However, Peterson’s snap judgment is in itself, an knee-jerk response. He assumes that since no one can provide a reasonable rationale for the procedure, he can safely destroy the extra copies. In a sense, he falls victim to the very fallacy used to support his actions!
Great management requires more than swift decisions. Great employees must do more than be diligently obedient. In fact, all stakeholders should understand both how and why work is done. This degree of engagement generates true productivity and satisfaction, and builds a platform for resource optimization. Before you throw out reams of work or make another duplicate file without understanding why, reach out to the consultants at AccelaWork. We care about tactics, stakeholders and productivity.
A journal article describes the problem in its title: Gene name errors can be introduced inadvertently when using Excel in bioinformatics. The authors explain:
Use of one of the research community’s most valuable and extensively applied tools for manipulation of genomic data can introduce erroneous names. A default date conversion feature in Excel was altering gene names that it considered to look like dates. For example, the tumor suppressor DEC1 [Deleted in Esophageal Cancer 1] was being converted to ‘1-DEC.’
Usually, users appreciate the Microsoft Excel feature which automatically recognizes DEC1 as the first day of December. But in the case of genetic research where countless millions of cells are automatically processed without user intervention, this conversion introduces errors. Worse, as the paper reports, some of these problems are irreversible. In fact, the authors of the article found thousands of incorrect gene names in “carefully curated public databases.” The cost of these mistakes to other researchers is incalculable.
This is not a time to beat up on Microsoft or the team that produces Excel. Rather, it is a reminder that Excel is intended for financial calculations and projections. The program was never meant to serve as a massive database or automated computation workhorse. Much of the development cost for Excel is in making data input more natural for users, not machines. The paper describes problems which are not from bugs in Excel, but unintended uses of the software program.
Like everyone, researchers tend to use systems, procedures and tools that are the most accessible, even if they are not right for the job. Your workplace may also utilize Microsoft Excel for something other than budgeting and financial analysis. If you're using tools that weren't built for this purpose, you're running the risk of creating errors that you never expected. And perhaps more practically, you may not realize what is possible with the right tools because you're stuck using the wrong ones.
XYZ Industries resells systems and components as an exclusive channel partner to a major manufacturer. Virtually all of their incoming inventory arrives on a weekly basis in a couple of major shipments. A sales team accepts orders via telephone and fax, and enters them into a software tracking system. Employees working on the floor review each order and then retrieve each item from the inventory. The order is packaged and marked for shipment. All in all, the process seemed fluid, but when a few new workers were hired, transferring the institutional knowledge presented a challenge: learning the organizational pattern of the entire warehouse.
Unfortunately for the new hires, many of the storage locations were historical rather than logical so understanding and adopting the system was difficult. To complicate matters, the product codes did not have much meaning, so codes such as RX-542C and RX-542K were easily confused with one another. In the end, large orders were becoming more time consuming to fill. The new workers were making multiple trips around the warehouse because they had forgotten to retrieve some item, and shipments were sometimes confused or misdirected to the wrong location. All in all, it was taking longer than expected to complete tasks, which inevitably increased the error rate. It eventually climbed to at least one bad order every week.
In an attempt to mend this broken process, the warehouse manager, Cory, came up with a clever idea to train his new staff members. Instead of having them remember the order, Cory added a report to the sales tracking system that employees were to print and carry around the warehouse while filling an order. This piece of paper served as a checklist. It helped to increase work quality and decrease fulfillment time.
Printed documents that move around an office are commonplace in many corporate environments. In medical offices, the document contains patient data and is often called a superbill. In manufacturing facilities, the artifact keeps track of part data is referred to as a traveler. In government and academia, these documents establish authority for action and are sometimes called a change order or simply a form. As the paper moves, people mark it in predefined ways to record progress. Essentially, the artifact helps to improve productivity by showing that work has been completed.
Here's the report Cory designed for XYZ Industries:
The story of XYZ Industries is another case of metawork. Just contemplating the nature of work—even just for the purpose of making some training materials—can have tremendous impact on productivity and satisfaction. The warehouse team is able to expedite more orders faster and with fewer errors. Doing good work not only helps the organization succeed, but helps individuals feel good about the work they do!
Cory's form is a great start, but it's only the beginning of possible improvements. For example, the use of the "Remaining" column could be tracked to determine how frequently the warehouse needs to conduct a complete manual inventory. This could save many person-hours each month, and is more likely to be accurate since it's not as grueling as spending the entire day counting boxes. The design of the form could be improved as well. Since the "Packed" and "Shipped" columns are so close together, it's easy for someone in a hurry to confirm something incorrectly. Moving the fields apart (or shuffling the form randomly) will provide a stronger incentive to be detail-oriented. Items could be listed in the order they appear in the warehouse, not the order they were placed by the customer. Presently, the process ends by re-keying order information so as to produce a shipping label; however, XYZ owns a barcode reader. Therefore, why not include a barcode on the form to increase speed and accuracy when printing UPS and FedEx stickers?
There are many more opportunities for improvement beyond this piece of paper. First, the warehouse could be re-organized so similar products are stored farther apart, which will surely reduce the chances of confusing a BX-502C product code with a BX-502D+ one. Second, with some heavy duty masking tape or paint, XYZ Industries could mark off space reserved for particular storage or work activity. With well defined zones in place, the operation becomes more defined. Just think, if there's a mark on the floor where outgoing packages should be placed, it's hard for someone to put a box down halfway across a line. And finally, many limitations on productivity and satisfaction happen in the sales process. For example, when an XYZ customer needs a new shipment, they either place a phone call or send in their request to the company's fax line. XYZ sales representatives must answer these calls or pick up paper faxes, then re-enter 100% of all incoming orders into their computer system. Although XYZ Industries may eventually create an e-commerce website to allow for client self-service, in the meantime they can improve this process tremendously. Each member of the sales team could have their own private fax line at minimal cost. Optical character recognition (OCR) software that can read incoming orders is relatively commonplace. In summary: Order entry is not sales. Company representatives should spend their time talking to customers and closing deals, not typing information about the sale.
XYZ Industries took the first step toward improving productivity by creating an artifact. This was only meant as "training wheels" for some new employees, but the change had such a positive effect it became standard operating procedure. As simple as it sounds, improvement begins by thinking about work. Make your job more satisfying and more productive through contemplation, action and evaluation. Change for the better. Contact AccelaWork's small business consultants to learn more.
RSS started to bring me down. You know that sinking feeling you get when you open your e-mail and discover hundreds of messages you need to respond to—that realization that e-mail has become another merciless chore in your day? That’s how I began to feel about my reader. RSS readers encourage you to oversubscribe to news. Every time you encounter an interesting new blog post, you’ve got an incentive to sign up to all the posts from that blog—after all, you don’t want to miss anything. Eventually you find yourself subscribed to hundreds of blogs, many of which, you later notice, are completely useless. It's like having an inbox stuffed with e-mail from overactive listservs you no longer care to read.
Instead, Manjoo advocates setting up a handful of bookmarks that each open multiple tabs. Label each group based on activity. Since Manjoo is a journalist and needs to stay on top of breaking news, he names his collections based on time of day. The 8AM group is for first thing in the morning. His lunchtime collection includes sites best enjoyed over a sandwich. This system improves overall enjoyment and productivity.
Of course, there is no need to limit the selections to blocks of time. Tab groups could be labeled “vendors”, “competitors”, “partners” and “local news.” Employees might want to keep a “humor” selection on hand to help recover from loss of motivation at the office. This approach can also be used to self-monitor the time spent on Facebook and other social media sites.
One might assume that everyday activities like surfing the web are already fully optimized. But Manjoo’s method shows a smarter way to work. Like the story of Roger Kay’s aging laptop, this solution did not require new technology. Instead, this approach is using existing features more intelligently. Organizations should be ready to embrace change at every level, especially the tactical humdrum of day-to-day events. The tools we need may already be in our hands. Learn more. Talk to the business consulting experts today.
In that year, a cholera epidemic struck an area in the West End of London. The popular theory at the time insisted that the disease was caused by “bad air,” not contracted between hosts. Dr. John Snow was skeptical of this claim and began interviewing residents in the area. He eventually concluded that the cholera came from a community water pump. Once the handle was removed, the outbreak subsided. Snow’s most compelling evidence is also his legacy: a map of the Broad Street outbreak.
Even without extensive training in epidemiology or statistics, one can easily see that the black dots are clustered around a central point. The markings indicate cases of cholera, and the central point was the location of the Broad Street pump. A simple visualization offers profound insight. The map drawn by John Snow launched an entire field of medical research studying the behavior of disease among a population.
At AccelaWork, we also find that drawing a map of an operation can offer amazing revelations. Our business consultants work with stakeholders to learn the basics of UML (Unified Modeling Language) and BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) so that they can begin to draw maps of their own business procedures. Just like John Snow’s efforts, these diagrams allow us to move above the chaos of everyday firefighting to understand the underlying factors. Sometimes, solving systemic issues is as easy as removing a pump handle.
These words were not uttered by the Oscar-winning composer but written by Shane Fitzgerald, a final-year undergraduate student studying sociology and economics at University College Dublin.Mr Fitzgerald said he placed the quote on the website as an experiment when doing research on globalisation.
He wanted to show how journalists use the internet as a primary source and how people are connected especially through the internet, he said.
It is tempting to dismiss this incident as the act of a rogue hacker completing a highly sophisticated prank. But the student merely used a free online encyclopedia website with almost no technical knowledge.
Fitzgerald posted the quote on Wikipedia late at night after news of Jarre’s death broke. “I saw it on breaking news and thought if I was going to do something I should do it quickly. I knew journalists wouldn’t be looking at it until the morning,” he said....
Fitzgerald admits that he is not a sophisticated hacker or technology junkie. “I’m capable of using a computer but I’m not a whizz. Anyone can go in and edit [Wikipedia] anonymously,” he said.
What was the fake quotation? "Music is how I will be remembered. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear."
Few businesses seem more committed to factual accuracy than journalism. Yet, one opportunistic student conducting a social experiment was able to change the news. Every organization has procedures for confirming work meets quality standards, but apparently the fact checking systems at these major media outlets were unable to detect this hoax.
There's a parallel in your organization. What do you take at face value? What "business processes" are little more than individuals scrambling to get information out the door? How easily could you be defrauded or confused by bad information, because there is no pattern of double checking?
If you need help, talk to the business consultants at AccelaWork. We can help you redesign your workflow to improve quality and reduce the risk of errors.
A compelling method for analyzing the demise of one firm is to compare the loser with a winning competitor. Joel Spolsky, writing for Inc Magazine, considers the wildly successful technology store in Manhattan called B&H a front-runner:
The whole operation is a crazy Willy Wonka factory. If you want to check out a product that’s not on display, a salesperson orders it by computer terminal from a vast stockroom in the basement. Moments later, as if by magic, the product arrives at the retail counter, via an elaborate system of conveyor belts and dumbwaiters. You can try out the gear, see if you like it, and, if you do, the salesperson puts it in a green plastic box and places it on another conveyor belt, which runs, above your head, to the pickup counter. There, an employee bags your purchase. Meanwhile, your salesperson gives you a ticket, which you take to a payment counter. After you have paid, you get a different ticket that you take to the pickup counter to get your merchandise.
This description sounds unreal compared with the typical visit to a big box retailer. Usually, customers amble around with a shopping cart, engage (or evade) sales associates and carry desired purchases to the register themselves. Browsing for digital cameras inside a Rube Goldberg machine is surely distracting and unproductive. But Spolsky has an alternate explanation for the complexity:
At first, this all seemed like incredible overkill to me. But then, as I thought about it more, I developed a theory as to why B&H operates this way. With all the expensive electronics and cameras and lenses and laptops floating around the store, the system creates a series of checks and balances—typically, five employees are involved in every purchase—in order to reduce shoplifting and employee theft.
Better control over inventory actually reduces overall costs, which results in customer savings. Combined with an exceptionally helpful and intelligent staff, it’s no surprise that B&H is always packed and continues to prosper.
Overwhelming complexity is usually a sign that a business process ought to be simplified. However, in some cases, the many steps in a procedure were specifically crafted to achieve particular objectives. That's why the best consultants aren't just looking at complexity, but also at value. Companies like B&H should be praised for their commitment to self-improvement.
The world may never know why Circuit City failed while other electronic stores succeeded. It is clear that blame cannot rest with either excessive complexity nor unyielding simplicity. As The Methodology Blog covered in a piece on consulting practices, no methodological approach is a silver bullet. Rather, organizations must engage their tactical challenges with an open mind and total dedication. If you are ready to talk about ways to improve your operation, reach out to the business consultants at AccelaWork today.
He figured it’d be a simple change that could all be accomplished through the self-service account management website.After logging in, however, he ran into a bit of an issue. While he could change the address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and several other fields, the Firstname and Surname were disabled.
Not surprisingly, this is a standard approach among web developers. Since the create account and modify account forms are effectively identical, a quick shortcut is to simply tweak the latter so that certain fields are disabled. Although useful to the programmer, this design is a little frustrating to people like Douglas Mezzer.
The invoice came within a few weeks afterwards. It stated the additional expense, but was still addressed to his former roommate. Mezzer waited another month, and the next bill once again listed the old name! He called up iiNet to complain.
Mezzer began to wonder about the competence of his service provider since all that was standing between him and a successful name change was the fact that a few fields were marked as disabled. Perhaps if he could somehow change their value the system would dutifully replace his roommate's old name with his. Using a program called Firebug, Mezzer was able to make the switch himself! The next month, the bill was addressed correctly.
The process of transferring an account from one person to another may involve well more than Mezzer’s clever solution. There may be contractual, legal or accounting ramifications, not to mention any compliance issues. There may also be multiple databases to update. However, the overall customer service experience, combined with the visual appearance of the web form, inspired Mezzer's approach. From his perspective, all is resolved even though he did the work and he had to pay iiNet a hefty fee.
Organizations should analyze all aspects of a process. A procedure such as an account transfer not only requires actions from employees, but impacts customers. If it appears that a customer can implement a procedure themselves, they may attempt to do so—especially if your staff appears less than competent.
Since this article was posted, iiNet has corrected this issue and reached out to Douglas Mezzer. Yet, how many similar problems go unreported and unresolved? How many times is the customer the best consultant---and how often does the customer act as the consultant by fixing the problem themselves?
If your organization is struggling to manage business processes, talk to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork. We help companies, non-profits and government organizations assess and improve their everyday operations.
Highlights from the interview include:
TCW: I know you are a usability evangelist (among other things). Like me, I’m certain you have a list (written or in your head) of five things that just drive you nuts about the web. Share with our readers five usability challenges that should be easy to tackle, but for one reason or another, are making the web harder or more confusing to use than it should be.RS: Redesigns - The web development business (and the marketing VPs who employ them) is obsessed with cosmetic makeovers. The dramatic destruction of an old site with a new site that does exactly the same thing, only newer sounds like a great idea. However, doing so alienates countless users who are accustomed to an existing model. Instead, upgrades should be gradual, with new features introduced as optional instead of mandatory. When faced with a new design, users should be able to safely exit to the old familiar approach as they learn your new system. Stop pulling the rug out from under your users. Believe in their ability to change, but help make that change as painless as possible.
This is perhaps the most emblematic example of business process: stakeholders sometimes want to redesign everything from the ground up as a way to sweep away problems. Yet ironically, dramatic change is extremely difficult for many others who are involved. The best consulting firms will steer away from advocating wholesale change at all costs. Instead, they will look for small improvements that can have a tremendous impact.
An overnight switch, even if it has been in the works for months or years, will create incredible tension in and around an organization. Change requires time and emotional investment. Companies not only need to define what needs to be modified, but to provide support over the course of many months to make that change permanent.
The full interview from Scott Abel is at: http://www.thecontentwrangler.com/article/robby_slaughter_interview/
As reported in Science Daily:
Consumer decisions often involve trade-offs between means and end benefits, such as weighing quality versus price, rewards versus risks, or enjoyment versus effort. Process-oriented thinkers tend to focus on both ends and means, making decisions more difficult.
This result is consistent with common sense. For example: it would be great fun to vacation overseas, but doing so requires spending money for the trip, taking time off work and enduring a long, cramped plane ride. Do we think about the journey or the destination?
We often structure our organizations based on end results. These include personal objectives, job descriptions, company goals or sales targets. Such details may represent an exciting destination, but the essential aspect of work is how we move towards the ideal. This is illustrated by one of the experiments in the study:
Participants were asked to choose between a small apartment that required a short commute and one that was larger but required a longer commute. The researchers instructed participants to either think about how living in the apartment would affect their daily routine and habits (process-oriented thinking) or to think about what they would gain from living in the apartment (outcome-oriented thinking). “Process-oriented participants thought about both the size of the apartment and the length of the commute, were less likely to choose the larger apartment, and experienced more difficulty making the choice,” the authors write.
Although the quote characterizes process-oriented thinking as “more difficult,” the increase in consideration is actually beneficial. A major decision should inspire effort. If actively thinking about "how living in the apartment would affect their daily routine and habits" encourages stakeholders to be more conscientious, then process-oriented thinking is arguably superior. The experiment also leads to an outcome that considers the full impact of living closer to work: a more efficient use of time.
Here at AccelaWork, we believes that the most powerful method for improving productivity and satisfaction among stakeholders is to empower them with the knowledge, authority and responsibility to analyze and implement processes. Focusing on choices forces us to slow down and review details. But here's a business consulting secret: too many choices create problems as well. Empowered individuals have options, but not so many they are overwhelmed and cannot make a decision.
Ready to look beyond outcome-oriented thinking? Talk to the business process consultants at AccelaWork.
Over at GreenBiz.com, Gretchen Hancock explains the program:
By design, Energy Treasure Hunts start on a Sunday afternoon, when an operation is “sleeping.” We kick off by splitting participants—a cross-functional group of GE employees—into teams and training them to identify opportunities in the facility where energy and resources are needlessly in use: Lights that may be left on, equipment operating, pumps or motors running, and to quantify those opportunities for follow up during the rest of the event.
The thought of a roving group of workers spending their weekend finding ways to reduce costs would delight many executives. Not only are these groups working overtime, they are doing it to save the company money. According to Hancock, the story unfolds over the next several days:
By the time teams return to the central location in the early evening, you can sense the buzz: Employees have seen opportunities for improvement, and are realizing how this whole process makes sense for the organization as a whole.On Monday morning, teams interview facility employees about the opportunities identified for energy savings, a critical step to secure operator buy-in to the proposed change. Throughout the day, they continue to quantify their projects, getting cost and savings information from process experts, and ideas for operational change from the employees that run the operation. By Tuesday afternoon, each team has a list of at least 10 quantified ideas for energy savings— most notably, these projects on average have a simple payback of less than two years!
From these quotes alone, it might sound like GE is empowering stakeholders to transform the organization and granting them the power to make real change. However, selecting alternate passages from the article presents a different perspective:
GE employees solve problems. We improve Lean processes and quantify defects from our Six Sigma heritage, and we're accustomed to teamwork and matrix organizations....
Employees generally don't want to spend their Sunday afternoons at a facility, making measurements and taking detailed notes. Suffice it to say that most participants aren't very excited when we first start a hunt, yet we've learned that it's best to accept that and encourage them to “genchi genbutsu” (loosely translated as “go and see,” but what we refer to as “get your boots on”) and tackle wasted energy use.
This language makes GE sound like a top-down, command-and-control organization. A general-purpose job description cooked up in HR and marketing is applied to everyone at the company: “GE employees solve problems.” The copy cites Six Sigma and Lean, two change management practices which are often implemented using authority ("we're going Lean") and evaluation. The writer admits that most people approach Energy Treasure Hunts with trepidation, implying that organizers have to require participation. Are the employees actually leading this change or is this just another corporate directive cloaked in upbeat language?
Like many organizations, GE is likely struggling with blending traditional models of management with the incredible opportunity of stakeholder-driven change. Their internal assessment of energy usage is a form of bottom-up business process improvement, but limited to only analyzing resource waste. Efforts to design new programs, often envisioned by the teams themselves, match closely with how modern business consultants like AccelaWork help companies to change.
The most encouraging sentence from the article is buried near the end: “Through no central mandate, more than 250 GE locations globally have implemented the process and continue to do so because it makes economic and environmental sense.” This logic is applicable to organizations of any size. If your operation is ready to make changes that make sense, talk to our business improvement consultants today.
Here's the three-panel strip from March 19 (direct link):
Although The Methodology Blog has been known to advocate business consulting and case studies in general, we stand with Dilbert creator Scott Adams on this issue. Pouring through journals and books does not make you an expert in improving business efficiency, teaching better sales techniques or implementing customer service projects. Rather, it ensures you are knowledgeable about the tiny fraction of historical business scenarios that happen to be well-documented.
Any good consultant knows: details in case studies are not prescriptive. The purpose of reading about other scenarios—where someone else has faced challenges and written down choices and outcomes—is actually much more profound than simple advice. Instead of telling you what to do the help an organization, case studies reassure us that we are not alone. These records serve to inform, not to dictate.
We often laugh at workplace issues presented in popular media (like this business process nightmare from The Office or employee engagement failures in superbowl ads. But just as business school case studies should give us pause, so should these poignant works of entertainment. There's more to business consulting than just following the advice of others.
The team at AccelaWork wants you to acknowledge that your place of employment may need help. Read the case studies, but talk to consultants and outside experts. There's plenty to gain if you're open to learning.
Weak points in this argument appear in the original article:
Why cut [costs] blindly when there is a software application that will immediately improve process efficiency and employee productivity across the board? Business process management (BPM) software is designed to automate and improve people-intensive business processes—the processes that are often the most manual and therefore the slowest and most cost-intensive.
These two sentences are filled with dangerous assumptions and problematic claims. Consider the following points:
A great consulting firm does not sell one-size fits-all software solutions. Transforming the processes in your office will not magically occur if you buy an expensive, off-the-shelf product. Change requires commitment and passion, and the most effective agent for change are the employees themselves. Don’t be afraid of costly BPM solutions because you probably do not need them. Instead, contact the Indianapolis consultants at AccelaWork to focus on the everyday opportunities to work smarter.
According to a story in Nikkei IT Pro Magazine (English Translation), an executive has made radical changes to the work environment. President Hisashi Sakamaki makes the following claims:
At first glace, Canon Electronics sounds like a nightmare; a throwback to factories of the Industrial Revolution before the creation of labor laws and workplace safety regulations. But many of Sakamaki's objectives actually have some merit. We do waste lots of time in meetings, and standing up through them help to keep them short and focused. By taking a step back, we can recognize similar conditions in the United States as well. Many service employees such as restaurant servers and hospital workers maintain their energy through long shifts by standing on their feet. In these professions, where seconds can have a tremendous business impact, walking a brisk pace is advantageous.
So what is the real problem with this proposal? Why do we recoil at the story? Perhaps it's due to the company's president inflicting this vision on his employees. Dramatic changes at work usually frustrate employees if they come as an edict from upper management. Even if the idea is sound, no one enjoys being told exactly what to do, where to stand and how to walk. We sympathize with Canon's employees as if they were under the thumb of a cruel master. In actuality, the company president is only trying to help.
Managers and employees often experience tension because of similar models for implementing change. If you want to improve workflow in your organization, consider first how it will be perceived by those around you. When stakeholders are engaged in the change process and have true ownership over their own work, both satisfaction and productivity improve. Reach out to our Indianapolis consulting firm today.
In his article, Bowe states:
Most salespeople spend less than 30% of their time in active selling and less than 50% of their total time in any aspect of selling. The rest of the week is filled with travel, marketing, company meetings, training, client problem resolution, and paperwork. All of these are part of sales so we can’t get rid of them. What we can get rid of is unproductive networking time.Bowe goes on to to talk about how to optimize the use of networking groups. But note how he dismisses other activities such as "travel, marketing, company meetings, training, client problem resolution, and paperwork" as inescapable. According to Bowe's numbers, this miscellany makes up 50-70% of the total time worked!
However, it is precisely these boring, arduous tasks which are the most important to try and reduce or eliminate. Since this work is outside of the field of sales, the employee is likely to make errors and be less efficient. Since the work is largely considered as drudgery, quality and consistency will inevitably suffer. Imagine the impact of a sales person who could remove this component of their workday and focus exclusively on building relationships and closing deals. Using Bowe's figures, such a producer would either double or triple their sales.
In the landmark book The Trouble With Computers, Thomas Landauer shows that modern technology has actually lead to a decrease in specialization in some areas. The business professionals, university professors and bureaucrats of yesteryear were supported by specialized departments: secretarial pools, billing centers, and field service groups. But today, we all have cellphones in our pockets and computers on our desks, so we are expected to manage our own correspondence, process our own paperwork and handle practically all customer needs.
We are not likely to turn back the clock or hire an administrative assistant for everyone. However, we can design and maintain workplace systems to increase productivity in these crucial, non-core areas. Drive time can be optimized by combining trips. Training can be shuffled using audiobooks, recordings, or webinars. Client issues can be documented in a common space, such as an online support forum, to foster community and reduce costs. Improved meeting preparation and structure can save time and increase effectiveness. Paperwork can often be automated and in some areas, entirely eliminated.
Increasing efficiency at work and networking are both topics our Indianapolis speakers present on at seminars. To learn more, contact us today!
Quoting a story from the BBC:
The Humber Bridge Board said in a statement: "Unavoidably, the inquiry created extra costs of almost £50,000 for the board, which must be met from current toll fees."Let’s review the facts as presented in the article:It said the transport minister's decision was unlikely to be announced before the end of June.
Humber Bridge Board chairman David Gemmell said:"The delay is a concern for the bridge board and, no doubt, also for the objectors.
"Nonetheless, the inquiry, and its costs, is an acceptable price to pay to ensure that local people and businesses have their voices heard over such an important matter."
It is easy to shake our heads at yet another government blunder, but the situation is more complex than just simple incompetence. Note the stated philosophy of Mr. Gemmell: that this “is an acceptable price to pay to ensure that local people and business have their voices heard.” His belief in the supreme importance of stakeholder satisfaction is commendable. Unfortunately, the public is outraged because of increased costs—so spending more money to study the issue will only make the problem worse.
When management sees the need to make changes such as cutting costs or increasing prices, stakeholders must be engaged before taking action. Often, individuals may have creative suggestions that are only visible from their unique perspectives. Moreover, reaching out to employees, customers or constituents early in the process helps to build a shared sense of ownership. When it comes to unpleasant changes, practically everyone would prefer to advance knowledge over a having the change thrust upon them without warning.
Change is part of any organization. If you are looking to update some part of your operation, whether through new workflow, updated procedures, reduced costs or increased services, find ways to empower your people to be part of the transformation. Firms that offer speakers and consultants can help be part of the change. Contact us today!
A story by Patrick Barnard at TMCnet.com includes some interesting language:
Much the same way a contact center agent can route a call or other contact to any designated end-point throughout an organization, based on pre-defined rules, any worker (or automated system) in any department can use [Interaction Process Automation] to automatically route documents to any other end point on the network. What’s more, the same automated re-routing and failover mechanisms found in the contact center platform still apply: For example, if a worker is unavailable to handle a task, at any given time (as indicated through their presence), the system will automatically re-route that task onto the next available employee who is qualified to handle it.
If you are a senior vice president of operations or a COO, you might be salivating at this copy. But what about if you are a front-line employee in a company like those described in the article? Barnard's choice of words dismisses "workers" as equivalent to "automated systems." He describes the features of the software application in the language of infrastructure, using words like "automated re-routing", "failover mechanisms", "unavailable." Although the author is accurately describing the system, he is also writing about the lives of people and characterizing their livelihood.
Imagine how employees feel when their unique contribution is described as just a movement in a machine.
In addition, Barnard writes:
As such, the software gives managers the ability to create and implement customized, "communications-based" workflows based on specific business rules, as well as employee skill sets. Perhaps most importantly, the solution helps drive increased productivity, as workflows become more efficient and streamlined. Interactive Intelligence claims that with this new offering, organizations will be able to harness additional power out of their [Unified Communications] systems to drive new levels of efficiency and productivity.
The first snippet minimizes the importance of stakeholders while the remaining collection of sentences places the corporation on a pedestal. As managers design workflow "based on business rules" and "employee skill sets," the idea of productivity morphs into something which arises not from worker innovation, but from being "driven" out of the system. In other words, a design that effectively tells people how they should work, as though they are operating machinery or herding livestock. In the end, increased efficiency is apparently achieved through a more streamlined sequence of work, rather than any increase in actual training, understanding, or intellectual sophistication. Finally, the article claims that the organization benefits from the new system since they can "harness additional power" out of pre-existing systems; leaving factors such as individual creativity, satisfaction and personal growth as non-essential.
Interactive Intelligence's new product offering will undoubtedly help businesses improve benefits to customers as well as decrease costs. Yet, if implemented without regard to employee engagement, it will surely leave stakeholders at a loss. With each opportunity to improve workflow, decision makers should always engage with stakeholders to generate ideas. After all, describing a corporate initiative to employees by using words like "drive", "automated processes", "mechanism" and "failover" only reinforces feelings of being a "cog in the machine." Failure to embrace their humanity damages morale and stifles innovation in the largest, untapped internal resource for ideas: front-line employees.
As technology advances, some jobs will cease to exist. There used to be countless elevator operators and gas station attendants. But as The Methodology Blog has covered before, increased productivity doesn't always cost jobs..
Your employees are valuable because of instinct and brilliance, not routine mechanical tasks. Learn more about how to embrace change by embracing your stakeholders. Reach out to the Indianapolis speakers and consultants at AccelaWork today!
An article in New Scientist reports the finding:
These genetic differences predict grades in school, says Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a psychologist at Goldsmiths University in London, whose team found that 7- to 10-year-old children who achieved the best marks in school tended to rate their own abilities highly, even after accounting for differences due to intelligence and environment.
Put simply, the act of “believing in yourself” is connected to actual success. In school and at work there is a direct relationship between productivity and satisfaction. People who are confident in their abilities tend to be competent. Engendering a culture of empowerment can transform the success of a workplace.
However, organizations must be careful not to have total faith in confidence alone. As The Methodology Blog covered earlier this year, leadership roles are often awarded to people who appear to be business experts, not for actual expertise.
Businesses small and large should support their workers and encourage them to believe in their own abilities. Yet at the same time, the organization should help employees identify strengths and weaknesses to enable collaboration. Successful operations are confident and cognizant. Reach out to the business improvement experts at AccelaWork to learn more about working smarter through stakeholder engagement.
Logging into the office from elsewhere can be both a dream and a nightmare, a blessing and a curse. This flexibility can allow parents to stay home with sick children, but also allows work to creep into our private lives. Telecommuting can enable employees to concentrate in quiet spaces or be nearer to customers, but can also lead to feelings of isolation and challenges in communication. Remote work can have a tremendous impact on stakeholder productivity and satisfaction, but is not a guaranteed win.
Thanks for following us for Remote Work Week!
The word "telecommuting" isn't exactly new. In fact, the first modern analysis of working somewhere beside the office comes from 1985, not withstanding Jack Niles landmark 1976 book that coined the term telecommuting. It's hard to imagine being productive at home in the mid 80's—an age of primitive desktop computers and achingly slow access. But in those days, people who were working remotely physically brought work home with them.
Reagan Ramsower's 200-page volume Telecommuting: The Organizational and Behavioral Effects of Working At Home outlines systems of physically hauling materials back and forth on a recurring schedule, structuring work items to facilitate remote efforts, and coordinating with supervisors to measure progress. Much of this book is about the experience of working at home, and how it impacts the culture of organizations.
An article from the winter 1991 issue of the Journal of Business and Psychology offers An Investigation of Selected Variables Affecting Telecommuting Productivity and Satisfaction. Research conducted by Hartman, Stoner, and Arora demonstrated something puzzling:
The results indicated that as telecommuters spent a higher proportion of their total work time in telecommuting, their perceptions of overall at-home productivity declined. This finding is contrary to expectation.
In other words, the more you work from home, the less productive you feel. But why? According to the study:
At least two possible explanations of this finding may be advanced. First, workers who spend only one or two days a week in telecommuting (therefore three or four days a week at the office) may be more cognizant of the productivity improvements that occur while working at home. Their relative comparisons (between home and office) may be sharpened. Accordingly, they may evaluate telecommuting productivity more positively than those who do not have as sensitive of a comparison base. Second, some of the uniqueness of the telecommuting arrangement may be lost as workers expand their telecommuting time. What was viewed as special (by both workers and managers) when done on a limited basis, may become routine and more mundane when extended over time. Therefore, one may start to take on work that is less amenable to at-home performance as their telecommuting hours increase.
In summary: intense telecommuters feel less productive because their isolation limits their basis for comparison, or because the benefit of telecommuting leads to a sense of incompetence.
The most important finding by Hartman, Stoner and Arora appears in their conclusion:
[This] study revealed no significant relationships between gender, educational attainment, age, occupational classification, nature of the job, and preference for changing the amount of telecommuting work and telecommuting productivity and satisfaction. This does not imply that telecommuting is appropriate for all persons or all jobs. Yet, the findings do suggest that telecommuting decisions should not be confined by these categorizations.
Translating from academic-speak: overall productivity and satisfaction for telecommuting have nothing to do with age, gender, education, job title, job function or how much the employee prefers to work from home. Effectiveness for telecommuting is controlled by other factors beyond these simple criteria.
Finally, an article by Ralph Westfall in the August 2004 issue of Communications of the ACM turned the telecommuting conversation upside down. He subtitles his paper Does Telecommuting Really Increase Productivity? with the warning:
As many companies have learned in the last decade, the reality of telecommuting does not reflect the hype, the expected potential, or the existing literature.Wait a minute: isn't telecommuting supposed to be the greatest thing since baked goods were segmented into portable vertical chunks?
Westfall notes that virtually all of the supporting claims regarding telecommuting are anecdotal and that the numbers presented are untenable. Stories of increases of over a 100% in results often appear in the popular press. But, he concludes, if telecommuting were really so effective would we have not adopted it wholesale long ago?
The most telling part of Westfall's paper may be an aside about the accuracy of measurements:
Another possible explanation of the high[ly biased] subjective estimates is that some telecommuters may exaggerate productivity estimates to justify being away from the office during regular working hours. (The author of the popular “Dilbert” comic strip appears to view telecommuting from this perspective.)
Here is an author who clearly recognizes that some employees actually prefer to be somewhere else beside work. Decades of research have led us toward a profound conclusion: workers like telecommuting because it places them in control.
Thanks to the work of leading experts, we have a simple, almost comical principle. We know the office often prevents us from getting things done. Let's leave the summary of academic work on this topic to the most famous of scholars (direct link):
Enjoy this post? It’s part of Remote Work Week here on The Methodology Blog
To show the possibility of remote work, AccelaWork prinicpal Robby Slaughter gave a 15 minute presentation today. Check out enhanced versions of the slides (direct link here) for more information:
Back on Tuesday, The Methodology Blog reported on major findings in telecommuting research from decades of scholarly effort on working remotely. To quote ourselves:
Translating from academic-speak: overall productivity and satisfaction for telecommuting have nothing to do with age, gender, education, job title, job function or how much the employee prefers to work from home. Effectiveness for telecommuting is controlled by other factors beyond these simple criteria.
So, the best telecommuters are neither men nor women, PhD's or high school dropouts, accountants or graphic designers, managers or subordinates. The best telecommuters are not people who love to work remotely, or even people who love to work at the office. Who makes a great telecommuter? According to a recent article from BusinessWeek—people who crave the social component of work:
[The] chief researcher, a kindly and upbeat psychologist named Stuart Duff, was shocked at the findings. He assumed it would be the quants, the introverts and the shy types who would thrive in a virtual work situation. After all, they're the ones who keep their heads burrowed in cubicles at work. Turns out it's the extroverts among us who are better suited [to telecommuting.]
Furthermore:
[Researchers] found that it's the employees who chase socialization who thrive in the land of virtual work. The office gabbers. Those who are life of the break-room party. Left on their own, these types of workers are the ones who work closely with clients, chum around with colleagues, and talk it up with bosses. They stay connected no matter where they are. It comes naturally to them....
Shy, disorganized types are better kept in-house. Turns out the office environment is more forgiving of the disorganized. Its structure helps provide external reinforcement. There's also much to be said for social vibrations that naturally abound in an office. It doesn't require much work to keep up basic relationships when you're all in the same place.
This may sound like a final answer from well over a quarter century of analysis. Send your chatty extroverts home to work, where their aggressive, organized personalities will thrive without structure. Keep your quiet introverts at the office, where they can be nurtured and supported by routine and procedure. And as a bonus, those who need noise and activity and those who prefer peace and quiet won't annoy each other any longer.
Unfortunately, deciding when to work remotely is more complex than following this rule. The argument is against what people often expect, which will create friction. Employees who are outgoing tend to measure their success and satisfaction through developing great relationships; sending them home to work will deflate morale. Heads-down workers tend to measure their success by silently completing tasks. Telling them they must clock in regularly in a noisy, distracting work environment will communicate a lack of trust.
Instead, management should use the introvert/extrovert criteria as a leading indicator. When combined with employee ownership of the work environment and individual workflow, selecting the right venue for the worker is a true collaborative process. Some people do work better from home while some work better in a shared office, but everybody works better when they have genuine engagement, actual authority and a sense of responsibility.
Enjoy this post? It’s part of Remote Work Week on The Methodology Blog.
A TMCnet featured article entitled "Remote Workers Are Happier Workers" explains the findings:
Officials at the world's largest maker of computer networking gear – San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems Inc. – say allowing employees to work remotely can yield an uptick in work-life flexibility, individual satisfaction and productivity.
This claim mirrors those made in a Wall Street Journal article from 2007:
A recent survey finds that workers who telecommute from home or elsewhere, while still a very small portion of the work force, report the highest levels of satisfaction with their jobs and loyalty to their employers. In the poll of about 10,000 U.S. workers, 73% of remote and home-based workers said they were satisfied with their company as a place to work, compared with 64% of office workers.
But perhaps the most interesting commentary on working remotely comes from technology pundit Paul Graham. Note the following snippet from his 2005 essay What Business Can Learn From Open Source:
Another thing blogs and open source software have in common is that they're often made by people working at home. That may not seem surprising. But it should be. It's the architectural equivalent of a home-made aircraft shooting down an F-18. Companies spend millions to build office buildings for a single purpose: to be a place to work. And yet people working in their own homes, which aren't even designed to be workplaces, end up being more productive.This proves something a lot of us have suspected. The average office is a miserable place to get work done. And a lot of what makes offices bad are the very qualities we associate with professionalism. The sterility of offices is supposed to suggest efficiency. But suggesting efficiency is a different thing from actually being efficient.
The real reason why telecommuting makes people more productive and more satisfied is this: outside of the office, employees are automatically in control their environment and workflow. There is no better way to build satisfaction than to give people authority and responsibility, and no better way to destroy productivity than to require people to work in environments and structures which do not leverage their expertise.
The remote work revolution is not about working from home; it's about being in control of work. Corporate offices often suggest efficiency, whereas people working in their own spaces can actually build environments that truly support efficiency. Putting power into the hands of the stakeholders has exactly the effect you expect—people enjoy work more and get more done.
Enjoy this post? It's part of Remote Work Week here at AccelaWork.
Before we discuss how to pitch the idea to your boss or employees, let's review the highlights:
Happiness: On Monday, The Methodology Blog asked about the relationship between working remotely and overall satisfaction. Some research supports this connection, but there is more evidence that people enjoy telecommuting because it better demonstrates they are trusted, respected and have genuine ownership of work.
Research: We then outlined some of the major findings in academic studies of remote work over the last thirty years. Odd side effects steadily appeared: as people work more hours away from the central office, they begin to feel less productive. Also, researchers were surprised to discover that none of the standard criteria such as gender, job title, job function, level of education or type of work has any significant impact on worker productivity or satisfaction. Finally, recent analysis demonstrates that the reported benefits of telecommuting must be wildly inflated. In summary, the advantages of remote work are most strongly connected to positive, supportive and results-oriented workplace cultures.
Technology: When the word telecommuting first appeared in print in 1976, remote employees had only the most primitive electronic systems for conducting work from home. Today, practically all computer-based tasks can be completed remotely. AccelaWork principal Robby Slaughter demonstrated this technology live by leading a brief on-screen productivity training seminar as part of the Talking Tech Series. If you haven't investigated this recently, check out free tools such as Vyew and Yugma. Thanks to today's fast computers and high speed networks, a telecommuter is less dependent on geographic location and mobility than ever before.
Qualifications: On Thursday, we returned to the question of identifying people best suited for remote work. It turns out that the best indicator of telecommuting success is social attitude, but not in the direction you expect. The heads-down, quiet, introverted employees are the ones who perform best in an office. Boisterous, extrovert types do better when they can work from home. But again, assigning people to a work location based on a judgment is still issuing an edict. The best way to decide who should telecommute is to collaborate with stakeholders to identify relevant personality traits and individual perspectives on work.
With all that in mind, let's return to the question everybody asks: how do I talk to my supervisor about telecommuting? It's easy to find advice on the topic. Just last month, Web Worker Daily ran an article titled "How To Ask The Boss If You Can Work Remotely" and SitePoint served up "Telecommuting: How To Approach Your Boss." Both of these posts offer general suggestions about citing research, listing the benefits and offering to make some concessions.
Remote Work Week has told us that telecommuting is not about where you work. That, in reality, the home office phenomenon actually stems from three, more powerful concepts:
So, do not approach your boss (or your employees) about telecommuting! Focus instead on improving relationships toward work. Transform and take ownership of your workflow using an process-oriented mindset. Build satisfaction and productivity through direct engagement. Show that results, not presence, are what really matters.
Then, decide collaboratively about the best work environment for each employee. These are all tactical questions that can truly be pursued if you have an open workplace culture. And when you're ready, reach out to the telecommuting consultants at AccelaWork to figure out how to implement your own telework policy.
Indiana-based business consultant Joe Dager provides a classic restatement of this premise in one of his blog posts:
Identifying, gathering and leveraging the right mix of metrics adds value to a project. Metrics provide a more factual and quantitative basis for describing how you are doing and what you can do better. Without at least some basic metric information, all discussions on performance and improvement are based on subjective evidence, perceptions and guesses.This all sounds reasonable. After all, having a ruler which you how far you've come and how far you have yet to go provides perspective and incentive. Shouldn't we use hard figures as much as possible?
The answer is a qualified "yes." Numbers are important, but without an understanding of their context, they can be misleading. Say you're an NFL team in search of a "franchise" quarterback to guide you to the Super Bowl. If you looked solely at a productivity output figure like passing yards to guide your decision, you'd probably have wasted several high draft picks, spent a whole lot of money, and still be looking for that elusive Super Bowl. Of the top 30 all-time passing leaders in NCAA history, only two quarterbacks have actually started an NFL playoff game, much less a Super Bowl.
You could say, yeah, but I want guys who put the ball in the end zone. Well, Russell Wilson (number 16 on the NCAA all-time touchdown list) has been to two Super Bowls, winning one. But the rest of the list? Not so much.
Context matters. Who were those quarterbacks playing against? Who did they play with? Did they throw the ball 50 times a game or more around 30?
Or suppose you wanted to become a famous, fabulously rich movie star. Part of that success is choosing roles in top-grossing films. You might want to note the films of the biggest box office stars of all time, like Bruce Willis (ranked #11), Tom Cruise (#7) or Harrison Ford (#4). But you probably wouldn't be interested in emulating the movie-making career of the number one box office star of all time. That's because it's little-known actor Frank Welker, whose films have brought in nearly five billion dollars.
Welker is successful because he's a voice actor, and has done bit parts and vocal sound effects in countless motion pictures. These include jobs in films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Independence Day. If you want to do voices in Hollywood, he is the man to follow. Just like the quarterbacks listed above, Frank Welker's success demonstrates that there is more to winning than having the right measurement. Acting requires craft as well as sound decisions. The same is true in your business. Here at AccelaWork, we're always working not just on hitting our numbers, but on making sure those numbers actually matter.li
Whether you are trying to draft a quarterback, conquer the movies, survive marketing budget cuts, or just trying to finish routine tasks, measurement is important. However, that famous quote is usually interpreted incorrectly. We must not forget that the most fundamental aspects of our ability to work cannot be measured: passion, talent and creativity. Leverage these qualities in your stakeholders to conduct measurement, workflow redesign, and continuous improvement. Reach out to the Indianapolis speakers and consultants at AccelaWork to learn more.
The interview with Mike Owen is full of unlikely interchanges:
Vigeland: I'm sorry, I'm really going to try not to giggle too much. So were you yourself clothing-less?It's hard to even consider the suggestion of working naked seriously, but Owen does provide an interesting rationale. He responds to Ms. Vigeland with the following assessment of her tenure at NPR:Owen: You've just gone straight to the killer question, straightaway, haven't you? That is the most important question of all.
But yeah, I absolutely drove to work naked. Yeah.
Owen: OK. In your eight years, you'll be very close to some people, but not as close as we are to each other here. It really just speeds up the way we communicate with each other. It takes it to another level. There may be things that sometimes when you're talking to your colleagues or if they're talking to you, stuff gets in the way, you know? And we're much better now at clear thinking and clear communication.Going without clothing to the office is a suggestion that is well beyond radical. Owen even admits that he "couldn't concentrate" during the nude workday. But nevertheless, the objectives of the experience do warrant some investigation. David Taylor, author of The Naked Leader and creator of the program, offers this advice:
Do it! Take action – Your success comes down to what you actually do. What you, your people and your organisation do, every day. Everything else is just noise.
Bothering to put on clothing at work may seem essential, but the exercise is a valid (if extreme) demonstration of this premise. Results come from action, not from distractions. Companies should focus on actual progress instead of worrying about irrelevant details. This is a powerful and important lesson, and one that is difficult for many organizations to take to heart.
Programs rooted in developing group personality can be helpful for organizations. Sending everyone off to a retreat or a relaxing event can build community and encourage better interaction. These approaches may help ease social tensions and facilitate better communication, but they rarely impact the flow of work directly. No trust games will make your software less painful or make your desk less messy. These problems require systems, not psychology.
Here at AccelaWork, we don't offer team building exercises and certainly do not recommend a company-wide nudist day. Instead, our emphasis is on leveraging stakeholder expertise to redesign and implement business processes. We, looking at process, not people. We teach people how to create schematics that outline business process, but we do not teach everyday communication skills. Finally, we support system implementation. You must ultimately make the change if you want to have ownership and be assured that change is permanent.
If you need help in transforming your methodologies, contact our business consultants today. If you're planning a naked day at the office, don't call us—we'll call you.
Maybe.
Social media may represent a fundamental paradigm shift in the way we interact using technology, but it doesn't solve the most basic issue of work: effort requires time. No matter what you want to accomplish, you must design your schedule and your workflow to enable the possibility of achievement. Blogging may be great, but it's still work.
That's why here at AcellaWork, we are speaking about Productivity and Blogging through blogINDIANA conference. From the topic description:
The reason most people don't blog—and the reason most bloggers stop blogging—is because of the incredible amount of time required to produce content. Become a more productive and more effective blogger through this session!
Lack of time is our favorite excuse, but the investment of time is our preferred method to demonstrate value. Blogging seems to operate outside of this spectrum: we insist that blogs appear instantly and be written in a personal voice, yet we demand that they are accurate, thematically consistent, on-brand and on-message. A blog is both spontaneous and carefully executed. That's why people who want to blog need a process for blogging.
Learn more at blogINDIANA 2009. We'll see you there!
P.S. This blog post was written, edited, and scheduled for publication in 9 minutes, 22 seconds.
The opening of his article summarizes the theory:
I am constantly asked how to best structure a financial reward system in an effort to motivate people to contribute ideas and improvements. My answer: Just say no.The ramifications of this extreme proposal have far-reaching effects. The employee who provides exceptional work will often find the announcement demoralizing. The accountant handling the budget will likely be pleased by the reduction of unplanned expenses. Some managers will be frustrated by their inability to reward employees, while others will smugly insist all the best ideas come from themselves anyway. A policy opposing payment for ideas would fundamentally alter the core culture of many organizations.Combined research from the Employee Involvement Association and Japan Human Relations Association reveals that the average number of ideas submitted per employee annually is 100 times greater in Japanese companies than in U.S. companies. Why? For one thing, we reward the wrong thing in the wrong way. The average reward in Japanese companies is 100 times less than the average U.S. reward of nearly $500. We have it backwards!
In a nutshell: payment for ideas can defeat the purpose.
So why does Matthew May argue against bonuses for good suggestions? Because it attempts to measure what cannot be measured, and value what cannot be fairly evaluated. It establishes an environment of expectation, not one where people are constantly looking for ways to improve without external motivation. The desire to do more should be intrinsic—it should come from within. As May quips: "[We should] not attempt to light a fire under people, [but] light the fire within them."
Bonuses for innovation stem from an obsession with measurement, a topic The Methodology Blog covered. Studying figures and exercising control sometimes drives process beyond practical benefit. Since we are monitoring output, we assume that we need to compensate according to results. But this logic is flawed. Consider the story of an intern who came up with a million dollar idea. He was already being paid for his job, which is mostly to think up interesting ideas. Paying him twice makes it seem like the compensation is the most important part. According to Joel Spolsky, the intern's supervisor:
The very act of rewarding workers for a job well done tends to make them think they are doing it solely for the reward; if the reward stops, the good work stops. And if the reward is too low, workers might think, Gosh, this is not worth it. They will forget their innate, intrinsic desire to do good work.At AccelaWork, we do not provide management consulting. So why do we care about how organizations structure their compensation systems? Because it impacts individual motivation to conduct and improve the process of work. Methodology engineering is best conducted by the stakeholders themselves because they fundamentally believe in continuous improvement.
If you're an employee and you are offered something extra for a job well done, consider something radical: refuse to accept that bonus. Tell your manager that you want to be motivated not out of fear, greed or expectation, but out of a personal desire to contribute. Light a fire within yourself, not one beneath you or one to run toward. Get excited about working hard for the sake of hard work itself.
The problem with tips such as "check your email only once a day" or "always carry a notebook to jot down ideas" is that they seem unworkable and generic. You can see how they could be beneficial in ideal circumstances, but they just don't apply to you. Hildebrand's four points, however, resonate on a deeper level.
1. Stop telling yourself that you don't have enough time.Psychologists have known for decades that self-talk influences attitudes and attitudes influence productivity. Changing your perspective on your workload does not actually decrease the amount of work you have to do, just your perception on whether or not you can climb that mountain. The claim is not surprising, but it is relevant. Check out The Methodology Blog's coverage of the science of brute force positive thinking and the destructive power of rotten attitudes in the workplace.
2. Be very clear about what has to be done.The best way to decide what has to be done is to make a list, and the best way to decide how to conduct work is to draw a picture. Productivity and satisfaction arise from executing defined workflow. Is there anything better you can do at the office besides knowing how you're going to do something and then getting it done?
3. Remember: It's okay to ask others for assistance.Hildebrand's connotation is that we are hesitant to delegate. We fear a loss of control and a reduction of quality. Sometimes, it seems easier for the customer to do the work. Failing to ask for help results in more than just lost time: it is also a source of countercompetance, which is the ability to complete a task despite tremendous shortcomings in the efficiency and productivity inherent in the procedure, policies, or organization. The profound revelation is that often the most productive choice is to state "that's not my job."
4. Look for unexpected time during the day.This final comment might appear to be merely encouragement, but it may be the best advice in the entire column. We assume that all time is expected, that it is all filled with tasks and work, and there will never be enough time to complete the work before us. However, there are tremendous quantities of time in the seconds between actions. Think how often you're waiting on tools, software or other resources to catch up to your own thinking. Consider how often you reinvent workflow which you have done before, but never captured on paper. How many documents could be templates? How many procedures could be automated? We have found that we are too busy plugging away to think about how or why we are working.
AccelaWork provides comprehensive business improvement consulting services, which is a systematic analysis and redesign of organizational procedures, policies and business actions through technical solutions implemented by stakeholders. Yet, we try to avoid giving tips. Instead, we focus on offering advice and counsel to change perspectives and empower stakeholders to take ownership over workflow. We can help you identify business challenges and redesign business procedures, but ultimately you must make the change you want to see in your organization. If this sounds like it could be beneficial to you, contact us today!
The talk reminded us that a key advantage in business is speed. Anytime we can get a product to the customer faster, provide services more quickly, or deliver information sooner, we pull ahead of the competition.
If speed is the objective, the approach must balance the rate of progress against the level of excellence. Keeping quality and quantity at the forefront maximizes overall productivity. But then again, what good is it to complete tasks and please clients if we ourselves are frustrated, tired, and overworked? Working 24 hours straight could complete a task faster, but would that benefit really outweigh the cost? Accomplishment without a sense of personal satisfaction is hollow at best.
Success arises not just from work, but from a combination of reactive and proactive happiness. The choice to pursue success requires motivation. And in turn, why we choose to act may be driven by internal or external forces.
Not familiar with the difference between reactive and proactive happiness? The site bigsmiile.com breaks it down well.
Reactive Happiness is the reaction to ‘things’…food, comedy, people, movies, music, snuggles, tea and biscuits, a cosy fire, sunshine, beautiful scenery, a comfy pair of slippers etc.Finding a combination of the two is going to allow you to be happier in work, and in life, and thus more successful.Proactive Happiness is our belief systems, goals, values, freedom, knowing who you are, connection etc.
To elaborate on that further, an article from Serge Kahili King talks more about happiness.
Reactive happiness is the type of happiness that most people experience. It comes from how we have learned to react to specific conditions, situations, events, and behaviors. In this case our happiness is dependent on what happens in us, to us, or around us. Even our reaction to beauty has to be learned. When one of my sons was about two I was holding him and pointing out the sunset. At first he was indifferent, but when I explained that the way all the colors came together was a good thing, he began to respond. The next time we were outside at sunset he happily pointed out to me how beautiful it was. It's the same with everything that "makes us happy." We are happy because we have learned to be happy when a particular thing occurs.Of course you should take pleasure from completing tasks well and completing them on time, but if you aren't pursuing those things for the right reason, then you won't have lasting satisfaction in your work. You have to find a way to be intrinsically motivated and apply that to your work. It's when you reach that point that things feel less like an endless list of tasks and more like an endless list of opportunities.Unfortunately, if those things don't happen, most of us don't have any occasion to feel happy. All we can do is to wait around until the right thing happens to make us happy. But it doesn't have to be that way. The young Frenchman I mentioned before was trying to teach proactive happiness, the idea that we can purposely choose to be happy, no matter what the situation. To many it might sound like we would have to fake it, but he didn't mean that and neither do I.
For more information on how to find the proper balance of productivity and satisfaction in your work, contact our Indianapolis speakers and consultants today!
Although the scientific evidence might not be all that surprising, a published report explains this phenomenon:
"In four studies, we find that merely touching an object increases the feelings of ownership a person has for the object. This, in turn, results in a person being willing to pay more for most objects that they touch versus objects that they cannot touch," the authors write. "We also find that when touch is unavailable, such as shopping online, having people imagine owning a product increases their perception of ownership and how much they are willing to pay for a product."Retail businesses love any method for converting shoppers into buyers, but what does this research have to do with workflow, methodology, and productivity? It reminds us of the impact of perception of ownership on perceived value.If people have a positive or neutral response to touching an object, they are willing to pay more for it, the authors explain. However, if an object does not feel particularly pleasant to the touch, it decreases the amount consumers are willing to pay. "For most products, the touch experience is positive or neutral so merely touching a product usually increases how much a person is willing to pay for an object," the authors write.
The research may help explain the link between touch and impulse purchasing, the authors explain. "Encouraging touch in a retail store, as Apple does for products like the iPhone, may increase the feelings of perceived ownership and influence the amount a customer is willing to pay for a product." Likewise, offers of "free trials" for a certain time before the consumer is obligated to pay are likely to increase perceived ownership and product valuation.
If we hold a product in our hands, or even imagine what it's like to own that product, we start to feel like it is ours to keep. Likewise, if a business process is not just something we do (or we're told to do), but something we have found, held close, designed and redesigned—it becomes something we own.
But if workflow is simply borrowed, it may not be respected nor analyzed. It is only when stakeholders take on actual responsibility and authority for the process of work that they become far more engaged at the office. And the reasoning behind allowing employees to mold their own process isn't just so they feel engaged. It is more than likely that when you bring together the best ideas of everyone involved, the process that is formed will not only be one everyone feels ownership of, but it will be one that is more effective than anything an individual could've thought up on his or her own. In a situation like that, everything is coming together for everyone's betterment. It almost seems silly to not take steps to ensure that your organization is headed in that direction.
Just like shoppers visualizing that new product in their own home, employees should internalize a new or current process as part of their own work and their own career. If you need help engaging stakeholders in ownership of their own workflow, reach out to the business consultants at AccelaWork. We help disconnected employees to find new meaning, passion, and success at work. We can get you moving toward an organization where everyone becomes much more productive by owning their own process.
An article titled Building a Lean Organization in the Service Industry, now archived on www.isnare.com but originally posted on www.technology-toolkit.com, readily demonstrates the main failures in Lean/Six Sigma thinking. To quote from the article:
When most organizations consider Six Sigma and process improvement, it is usually done in the context of the manufacturing sector. In reality, the methodology is just as effective when deployed in organizations within the service industry. The main difference is that the variables under review are more focused upon people (as you would expect). Aside from that, the goals are virtually identical: eliminate process-related waste and variance.This is only the first paragraph, but it's filled with disturbing language and invalid perspectives. First, the author equates manufacturing and service businesses. Yet this is entirely wrong. Manufacturing is about assembling products which are exact duplicates of one another, whereas the service business is about building relationships, establishing trust, and using expertise in unique situations. The two sectors are totally dissimilar. The former aims to replace labor with labor-saving devices wherever possible, and the latter can never replace employees because it is the human employees who relate to the human customers.
The choice of words also highlights the way of thinking of writer Ryan J Bell. He characterizes people as "variables" and suggests the goal that we should "eliminate process-related waste and variance." No employee appreciates being called a variable whose individuality is in question and process-related waste is under scrutiny. People are not the machines assembling products on a line, however this language seems to describe stakeholders as coefficients in an equation.
Bell continues:
The number one contributor to waste in the service industry is not completing a given task correctly the first time. For example, consider a restaurant which serves water and a basket of bread to each party. Let’s suppose a customer is seated and a glass of water is provided by the server. If that server fails to provide the complimentary basket of bread with the glass of water, he must make an extra trip. That requires additional time.While the assumption of this paragraph sounds reasonable, it is incorrect. The number one contributor to waste in the service industry is not first-time task failure, but lack of stakeholder engagement. Of course every new waiter screws up their first day, but they improve quickly. A single failure the first time is insignificant compared to the thousands of glasses of water and complementary bread baskets the waiter will bring successfully and simultaneously in the course of their career. So what is the actual problem? Mr. Bell inadvertently explains the issue later in his piece:
In order to identify process-related waste, the Lean Six Sigma team must first review the organization’s goals and current performance levels. Each transaction which is performed by an employee represents an opportunity to improve efficiency. However, the project team must take care to establish the proper transactional baselines.Who is responsible for improving the organization? Not the waiter, but the Lean Six Sigma team—an outside group analyzing every move, timing delivery with a stopwatch and describing the convivial banter between waiter and customer as a "transaction." In fact, the server has no particular incentive to do anything which is not being measured. A great waiter will take the trouble to split a check, bring crayons for the kids, drop off additional butter for a hungry table, or spend a few extra minutes catching up with a regular patron. All of these activities ultimately strengthen relationships and drive business, but all of them threaten the "proper transactional baselines." Service is not manufacturing.
How do you improve a restaurant? The same way you improve a law firm, a marketing company, a sales team or a doctor's office, by not trying to improve it. You can't make these organizations better through external motivators and obsession with measurement. Instead, you must provide intrinsic motivation by giving stakeholders the authority and responsibility to define their own business processes. This requires training, but more importantly, a change in perspective. Organizations must recognize that their value is not in structures of authority but in individual innovation.
Top-down approaches like Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma (or their combination Lean Six Sigma) tend to encourage business to focus entirely on systems while forgetting about people. If you've been considering improving your organization, stop and think about language and stakeholders. Contact our corporate productivity consultants for help building a plan that puts your people in charge of their future.
A post at MindHacks reviews an article from New Scientist on the topic:
The psychology of crowds is challenging the idea that people become an 'unruly mob' in large numbers. In fact, recent research shows that people tend to cooperate and quickly achieve an altruistic and bonded group identity when in large numbers. This partly relies on the fact that our group identity is fluid, as demonstrated by an elegant experiment.How do you prove that large groups are influenced by psychological priming? Perhaps hire an actor to fake an injury outside a sports stadium and change his shirt from a neutral color to the jersey of either the home or rival team. What can be found is that the crowd tends to help people with whom they identify. Their sense of belonging and ultimate actions can be swayed by first reminding them whether they are supporters of a particular team or just fans of the sport in general.
Businesses can take advantage of this phenomenon by priming employees. Suggesting everyone wear the company t-shirt might be a little silly, but asking stakeholders to share ways to improve work will help establish a common sense of purpose. Putting control over methodology into employee hands will "prime the pump" to do good work. When an emergency arises, members of a committed, passionate team will work together to resolve the crisis and learn the key lessons from the incident. Groups at the office can be smarter, but only if we remind them of their cohesion before innovation is required.
The piece begins with a straightforward argument:
You may not think that job descriptions are important but as a manager or business owner you want people to know what your role in your company is. It is the same with your employees. The more descriptive you are with what your employees’ titles are the more you will get out of their performances.If only this were true! If employee performance were tied to job descriptions, managers could simply write "will close $100M in sales every day" and retire immediately.
Obviously, the author does not mean that a worker will conduct any defined task, but rather that the level of detail in a job description will predict the level of employee output. There is some logic in this claim—if you want an employee to return customer phone calls within an hour, you must tell them to do so. However, that's not a description of a job, it's a description of an expectation.
The choice of words might sound like mere semantics, but giving an employee a written job description places them in a sort of career prison. Such a document is separate from the human employee and is created without any analysis of the employee's unique strengths, talents and weaknesses. The next person to fill the job will get the same job description, and will live inside the same carefully defined box.
Instead of a job description, organizations should focus on the individual stakeholder and their personal ability to contribute. Consider this comparison:
Salary: $14.00/hour
Strengths: - Excellent customer service skills - Strong product knowledge - Good written and verbal communication
Current Focus: - Enhance overall attention to detail - Demonstrate increased autonomy
Organizational Obligations: office vacation calendar, daily billable hours spreadsheet, 10% availability for miscellaneous tasks
By presenting a career plan, the employee is freed from "job description prison." Notice how the name of the person—not the name of the role—is most prominent. Although a job title is mentioned, it's referenced as the current title, reminding the employee that they can change and grow in the organization. Instead of listing duties, the career plan outlines employee strengths. Each is listed with a qualifier, so the individual knows where they excel and where they can improve. Areas of current focus are also identified. This document is mostly focused on the person doing the work, not the job.
Finally, the career plan does include some "organizational obligations" as a footnote. These are important, but they do not constitute the real value of Ms. Sally Smith. She's a great employee because of her strengths, not because she updates her daily billing reports flawlessly. Even the dreaded "other duties as assigned" is characterized with a helpful limiter. Sally knows that she should never expect to allocate more than 1/10 of her time to work outside her main career path.
Despite these concerns, C&S Consulting does offer one sound piece of advice in the blog post:
Giving responsibilities unique to a position will make the employee feel important...While this is true, empowering stakeholders with responsibility and authority will do more than help people feel important. Giving people control over their own work actually makes them important. It demonstrates they were not hired to complete the items listed in a job description but instead due to their innovation, creativity and ability to forge relationships. It shows the organization values not just the work that gets done, but the people who do the work.
Quoting Ladd, who is quoting Malcolm Gladwell on Work:
When work is truly satisfying it meets 3 key criteria:Although Gladwell and Ladd both talk about work that is "truly satisfying," they also hallmark work as truly productive. Let's examine each of the three points in turn:
- Work must be Autonomous: You must be responsible for your own decisions and direction.
- Work must be Complex: It must engage your mind and your imagination.
- Work must display an intrinsic Connection between Effort and Reward: The more you put into the work, the more you get out of the work.
Furthermore, the wisdom offered by Parke Ladd and Malcolm Gladwell reinforces our post about business improvement consulting to avoid job description prison. Listing employee expectations may define work, but does not necessarily lead to a truly satisfying or truly productive work experience. Instead, we should list employee strengths and areas of current focus. We should grant them the autonomy to complete tasks, try to assign work that is fascinating and relevant, and promote a culture where great work is its own reward.
Make your workplace better by pursuing work that's truly satisfying and truly productive!
As covered in the Star Press, this is a major change. You may also view a screenshot of the article here.
A low-cost upgrade of computer equipment at fire stations will eliminate the costly expense of firefighters using fire trucks to deliver paperwork to the chief's office.Journalist Rick Yencer went on to explain that this change required some new equipment. Thankfully, this mayor seems to have taken steps towards decreasing costs, but one has to wonder why things took this long. From AccelaWork's point of view, it's almost always faster and cheaper to collect, deliver, and review information using electronic mediums. From the outside, this change seems painfully obvious, but the article hints that the issues are more complex and that the workflow required significant investigation."If we are literally delivering every document from a fire station by fire truck, that is not an efficient operation," said Mayor Sharon McShurley.
The city administration estimated a $1,500 cost to taxpayers every time fire trucks make a run, based on the 6,066 runs made one year at a $9 million budget expense.
(Mayor) McShurley told Fire Chief Sean Burcham recently to order equipment that would allow firefighters to transmit maintenance, training and other reports electronically to the chief's office, now at City Hall, instead of having on-duty firefighters deliver paperwork by fire truck.
Obviously, this is a major case of an organization dragging far behind the technological curve. However, the changes that were necessary at the Muncie Fire Department were more cultural than technological. The paper also reported that firefighters historically used company trucks to make supply runs to local grocery stores! To address problems with workflow, we must begin by understanding the motivations and beliefs of the stakeholders themselves. Furthermore, it is those individuals who should suggest new courses of action and who must implement new ideas.
There's a chance that those within the organization weren't even aware of how costly their actions were. If that's the case, then this is likely an area where the stakeholders weren't feeling empowered in the organization. Perhaps there was no motivation to try to save money since the firefighters wouldn't directly benefit by cutting costs for the department. Or perhaps they really were completely oblivious to the cost per trip. Either way, that's a major problem.
Sometimes within a government organization change can be hard, as there are many more approvals that are needed, but assuming your company is privately owned, then there's absolutely no reason to not re-evaluate your processes and see where improvement can be found. Maybe there's nothing going on that would cost you more than $1,000 every time, but even little costs can add up to a big waste when they're unnecessary and avoidable.
There's a pretty good chance if similar problems are in place in your organization that you don't even realize it. After all, if you realized where the problems were, steps would hopefully have been taken to fix them. Sometimes it requires an outside point of view. Sometimes the solution is as easy as talking to your stakeholders and getting honest feedback on where things could be improved.
At AccelaWork, our focus is on helping organizations to improve productivity and satisfaction from the bottom up. Like the Muncie Fire Department, your company may be doing the equivalent of hauling reports across town at $1,500 a pop without realizing there could be a better way. Contact our business improvement consultants to discuss your workflow and ways we can work together to make positive improvements.
Any guesses about the industry? Is it financial services around tax season or retailers preparing for Christmas? Nope. As reported in Develop magazine, these are figures derived from a study of the multi-billion dollar video game industry:
Ninety-eight per cent of game developers across the world do not receive paid overtime, despite being frequently asked to work an extra ten to fifteen hours per week.The survey was launched in part as a result of the controversy surrounding the International Game Developers Association and, in particular, Epic CEO Dr. Michael Capps, who suggested that Epic’s staff would be expected to work 60 hour weeks as part of the corporate culture.
The resulting argument split the IGDA membership between those that felt the organisation should be making a stand against such practices, and those who thought otherwise.
The video game business is unique among all organizations and even within the software development community for many reasons. Since every release must be cutting edge and meet precise timing requirements, teams tend to work more and more hours as they approach the launch date. Since every product is effectively a brand new invention, it's hard to develop consistent process and workflow because so much will be used just once. This makes tasks such as planning, budgeting and work expectations nearly insurmountable.
Legendary game designer Peter Molyneux has worked to address this problem in his own studio, Lionhead, through massive changes in its corporate culture. In his own words, the gaming industry must “stop ruining people’s lives.” This follows the ea_spouse incident in which the wife of an Electronic Arts developer helped usher in a class action lawsuit relating to unpaid overtime. Such issues are a troubling reality for any business. Employees and employers must work together to set reasonable expectations that promote both productivity and satisfaction.
At AccelaWork, we try to help organizations address the challenges of workflow long before they are elevated to such levels. We do this by helping stakeholders understand what makes them most effective at work. When individuals have passion for their field and productive systems which they own and maintain, everyone benefits. Unfair overtime policies arise when we don't communicate about productivity and satisfaction. For more information, contact our business consultants today!
Her fourteen points are not as grandiose as those of President Woodrow Wilson, but Rubin does make a strong argument:
Nothing can drain the happiness from you faster than a long, unproductive meeting. You’re bored; you’re not getting anything done; emails are piling up while you sit, trapped.These comments support AccelaWork's primary thesis: that productivity and satisfaction are connected. When a meeting drags on, attendees become frustrated and feel like they are achieving nothing. When a meeting is filled with rapid fire ideas and decisions, it's an exciting place to be and you leave feeling energized and renewed. Let's review Rubin's suggestions:On the other hand, a productive meeting is exhilarating. A long time ago, when I was working in Washington, D.C., I remember a friend who worked at the Department of Justice saying, “Jamie Gorelick runs a meeting so well, it brings tears to my eyes.”
- Start on time, and end on time.
- Spend a little time in chit-chat.
- If some people hesitate to jump in, find a way to draw them out.
- If you’re willing to take the blame, people will give you the responsibility.
- Share the credit.
- Making people feel stupid isn’t productive, and it isn’t kind.
- Have an agenda and stick to it.
- Never go to a meeting if you don’t know why you’re supposed to be there!
- Standing meetings should be kept as short as possible and very structured.
- Don't say things that will undermine or antagonize other people.
- Be very specific about what the “action items” are.
- For long meetings, schedule breaks when people can check their email and phones.
- Meetings should stay tightly focused.
- Consider a radical solution: no chairs.
Items #1, #7, #8, #9, #11, #13 and #14 are all suggestions for maximizing effectiveness. Tips #2, #3, #5, #10 and #12 all help people feel more comfortable. While all of these proposals are good ideas, none of them really tackle the fundamental question of why we meet. Understanding the best techniques for conducting meetings should derive from the purpose of the meetings themselves.
At AccelaWork, we advise that if a meeting is routine, it has one of two possible objectives: to make decisions or to brainstorm ideas. Whichever it is, less is definitely more. A short meeting in which the group comes to one consensus about one important choice will be more powerful than one in which a dozen minor nuances are debated and resolved. Likewise, generating ideas is more effective when the focus is on one topic. If meetings are a challenge for your organization, contact our Indianapolis consultants today!
Lean tools tackle the customer experience as an efficiency problem and some times it is and some times it isn't. Think about it . . . does every service organization want their customers flying in and out of their business as fast as possible? I don't think so.Although some feel that this is an unfair characterization of Lean Manufacturing, it's certainly the practical result that we at AccelaWork see all the time. As we covered last week in Taking on Lean Six Sigma and Corporate Productivity, trying to treat a product company the same way you treat a retail shop is a recipe for disaster. We'll say it again: service is not manufacturing.
Generally speaking, though, Tripp Babbitt is correct on this point. Coffee shop employees might waste lots of time moving around the store, but eliminating waste will eventually lead to a completely robotic customer experience. Instead, Starbucks wants to create an environment where customers feel valued, and though respecting customer's time and filling orders promptly is essential to their business, it isn't the only perk. By establishing a welcoming and relaxed space where employees offer friendly greetings and helpful tips for ordering the perfect drink, while also avoiding the sensation of a fast food rush, the customer is provided a sense of calm. With the addition of warm, cushiony sofas and convenient work spaces, a distinct creation of the inviting "home away from home" feel certainly entices consumers and in turn, benefits business.
The most important question about any business improvement philosophy is this: what is the agent of results? In Lean Manufacturing, it is the identification and elimination of waste which receives the credit. Six Sigma advocates claim that the statistical analysis of variation provides a method for ensuring conformity, which in turn reduces variations and decreases costs. The approach of consultants like Tripp Babbit emphasizes thinking about business systems from the outside-in rather than trying to change behavior through top-down demands. His philosophy ensures that improvements are more individualized to the client, and help to eliminate problems that occur when someone blindly applies time-waste reduction to the lingering experience of good coffee.
At AccelaWork, we ultimately believe that improvement comes when the people who do the work make the change. Technically speaking, a pillar of Lean Manufacturing is "respect for people". Yet, ask anyone at a hospital or a restaurant chain if they feel more respected after going through a Lean overhaul. Contact our consultants to learn more.
Here's what Booher had to say on the topic of company policies:
In this model [from Netflix], Process is to be tolerated, and whenever possible, replaced by great performers who know what they are doing and can figure out how to get things done, without arbitrary rules getting in the way (I do not personally know any Netflix employees, so others will need to comment on whether this view of Process is accurate across their organization).This phenomenon, unfortunately, is not exclusive to the information technology department. Usually, almost every area of work is governed by a dizzying number of official and unofficial policies, which ultimately stifle innovation and limit progress. At AccelaWork, we have run across companies where it takes weeks for a new employee to be issued a computer and months to receive business cards. Purchases often require multiple signatures no matter how small the amount. These regulations may not be written down anywhere, but if employees feel as though they're out of control than they effectively have no authority. Process can overwhelm a company until it reaches stagnation.Contrast this model with that found in most IT organizations of any size. Process is not only accepted, it is celebrated. There is a complex process for everything, from the method for getting approval to build a piece of software, to requisitioning a new server, to the detailed accounting for every activity performed during the work day. One might even go further with the observation that in many organizations, processes are stacked over time, one on top of another, with few processes ever being retired.
Although Booher's comments were fascinating, the source material may have been more relevant to most employees. Check out the Netflix Reference Guide on Freedom & Responsibility Culture (direct link):
To many employees at many companies, this document sounds unreal. It suggests, for example, that Netflix aims to increase employee freedom as it grows. Who ever heard of a boss that wants you to spend more of your time doing whatever you want? That sounds like a fantasy, not the reality of work.
AccelaWork will not promise to change your culture into one similar to Netflix. We prefer not to work with the executives who make such slide decks, but rather with the individuals doing the work. We prefer to help you establish a personal culture of productivity and satisfaction so that you can get more done by owning and improving the workflow in your immediate area. That kind of change can helps to transform the larger organization. Thumb through the presentation to get inspired. Call on our consultants to begin the process of making work better.
Phrases like "Bosses Beware" and "on the companies dime" set off all kinds of warning bells at AccelaWork as we read a press release that had accused employees of goofing off at work and offering suggestions for bosses to clamp down on workers. Instead, the document offered new data on how people watch web videos. Turns out that internet viewing hours are spread throughout the traditional work day and not clustered around the same period as prime-time television.
It was tempting to chide the authors of the press release for selecting a misleading title. However, it was much more important to consciously acknowledge what this phrasing told us about our common perspective on work. The words "bosses beware" implied that supervisors are expected to be fearful and distrustful of their employees. The old expression "on the company dime" characterizes all employee time and activity at work as the property of their employer. This is not language that will inspire employees to feel valued at work.
We have previously spoken out about employee productivity and surfing the web while on the job. Efforts to try and control what people do at their desk are not only ineffective, they belittle workers and actually reduce overall productivity. Instead, we should study companies like Netflix who actually aims to give employees more freedom thanks to employee satisfaction as the organization grows.
Bosses should not be afraid if and when their employees check YouTube at work. In turn, employees should not be afraid to enjoy the company's resources from time to time. Work is about opportunity, not control. Contact our business consultants to learn more.
McCutchen told a familiar tale of life in a successful firm:
Public accounting — a place where chargeable hours were king and working on Saturdays was a badge of honor. Why in the world would we want to complete our tasks faster and then have to explain why we missed our charge hour goal for the month? A young staff that answers that question with, “I guess I am more efficient with my time than my colleagues,” does not find much traction in the world of a tax and accounting firm.The author goes on to explain that the overarching problem in his field is the obsession with billable hours. When professional services companies chargeby the hour, they effectively encourage employees to work more hours. After all, the more hours you can bill, the more money you can make.
McCutchen's answer was to charge for services instead of time; however as we here at AccelaWork noted when we first covered this topic while researching business improvement solutions, the real issue is the old problem of confusing activity with progress. Employees might receive a salary for working, but customers prefer to pay only for results.
It's not always possible to bill your clients based solely on actual work product, and although companies like Best Buy have bravely pursued a results-oriented work environment, it's not always practical to compensate employees for their output alone. Therefore, every organization that struggles with work/life balance should evaluate the impact of their business services model on the work patterns of employees. Companies can design their pricing and their promises in a way that respects their workers. To learn more about how good workflow can improve work/life balance, our business process consultants us today.
It's easy to put together a checklist for this kind of event with tips such as "bring plenty of business cards," "carry a pen and paper at all times," and "make sure your cellphone and laptop battery are fully charged." However, there's much more to a successful conference experience than just feeling like you have the right equipment. A productive experience requires the right perspective. Here are some powerful ideas for approaching your next big event.
Identify your objectives. Note that "networking" and "learning new things" are not specific enough to be useful goals. Review the announced speakers in advance to determine who you want to meet in person. Study the schedule so you can plan which events you want to attend. Prepare questions in advance—you may have the chance to ask a presenter or a fellow attendee, but regardless, you can definitely see how much you learned after the conference ends.
Review your personal style. Attending a conference like blogINDIANA is probably completely unlike your typical workday. It's not even that similar to a networking event or social mixer. With so many distractions to conversation—from the snack table, the vendor floor and the scheduled programs—it's difficult to have a meaningful conversation with anyone. Practice some lines that make sense for you, such as "I've got to run to catch someone, can we schedule a phone call to talk more next week?" or "Do you mind if I follow up with you by email?"
Arrange for an at-home advocate. Someone else back at the office or in your personal life is not attending this conference. They are grounded in reality, probably sitting at a desk in front a computer, and have the power to be productive and responsive. Stay in touch with your advocate through quick emails or short phone calls. Keep them posted on conference developments, networking contacts and new ideas. With the at-home advocate as your sounding board, you are able to stay on-task more effectively and remain connected to the real world outside the conference.
Define your post-conference workflow. The best time to decide what you're going to do after the conference is beforeyou go to the conference! Most of us have established patterns for daily or weekly tasks, but unless you are a conference junkie, you probably don't have a well-defined workflow for what to do when you get back to your desk. Take a few minutes to document what you plan to do when you return, possibly using a visual schematic approach.
A great conference experience is partially the responsibility of the organizers, but mostly up to the attendees. Taking authority and responsibility over your workflow will enable you to prepare effectively, attend with confidence, and be productive in your follow-up after the event. Don't let process challenges impede you from benefiting from a conference! For more information, contact our Indianapolis speakers today.
Why is this difficult? Because he's your boss! If you're trying to get someone to do something, it doesn't help if he is usually the one telling you what to do! The boss-employee relationship is characterized by assigning tasks and getting them done, thank you very much.
Remember, blogging is writing. Writing is a creative process. No great artist finished every project ahead of schedule and within budget. So trying to get your boss to finish a blog post on time is doubly challenging.
The solution is to clear some space. Everyone works more productively with fewer distractions. If you can take his phone calls, answer his e-mails, respond to client issues or handle other routine tasks, your boss has no more reasons—or excuses—but not writing his blog. The bonus is that he'll like you better.
At AccelaWork, we blog productively in part by avoiding the traditional difficulties of the boss-employee relationship in blog writing. We share responsibilities and focus on results, not hierarchy. For more information on how we help you improve your company's blog production, contact our consultants today!
This blog was written during Productivity and Blogging, a session in the blogINDIANA 2009 conference. Special thanks to Michael Starks of Starks Communications for editing this blog live in front of the audience.
The presentation began with a series of Five Lessons about blogging
The session concluded with a brave demo. After soliciting an idea from the audience and recruiting a volunteer to edit, we produced a worker productivity post in 575 seconds. This is undeniable proof that you can blog quickly if you have a system.
For more information on designing a blogging process for you or your company, contact our business consultants at AccelaWork today!
Although we'd like to say that our own session on Workplace Productivity and Blogging was the most influential, it was actually an offhand comment made by local entrepreneur Chris Baggott. As he pointed out in a blog post last year, people don't trust blog posts attributed to top-level executives. In his presentation at blogINDIANA 2009, Baggott refined this information with data from the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer. His words:
According to the largest PR firm in the world, people trust CEO bloggers less than ever before: down from 36% to 29%. It's more important than ever that your employees be blogging to build trust with your customers.
This is great news if you're trying to sell corporate blogging software, but the Edelman report is not just about blogging, it's about the degree to which the public trusts large organizations. One graph in particular is staggering:
The Edelman reports admits, "our survey did not ask why they had lost trust in companies," but that is the essential question. Why are stakeholders becoming more suspicious of companies and CEO's than ever before?
At AccelaWork, we believe the essential problem to loss of trust is caused by the failure to spread authority and responsibility throughout the organization. Employees have more training, more expertise, and more potential to innovate than ever before. Likewise, customers have more choices and know more about how products and services actually work. When met with the traditional, top-down, secrecy-based infrastructure of organizations, it's no surprise that trust is in decline. Why trust a corporation or your boss when you have the feeling you could do it yourself?
Edelman's website takes a step further in clarifying why this information is so important:
Building trust is essential to successfully bringing new products and services to market, and building trust in new business innovations requires that companies demonstrate clear personal and societal benefits, behave with integrity and engage with customers and stakeholders throughout the process.If your employees have expertise in a certain area, it'd be foolish not to utilize that. No CEO should think that they're the expert on every single facet of a business operation. There's simply too many components in a large organization for that to be possible. It's important to let those who specialize in various aspects of your workflow take the lead. Not only will those workers feel more valued, but they'll also be able to push the company in the right direction. If a CEO does find him or herself in a position where they know the most about even the most minute portions of a process, then that may not be a sign that the CEO is an expert, but rather that training hasn't been spread through an organization and employees aren't put in a position to innovate. Either way, there's a problem in place. Instead of not trusting employees, it's time to fix that problem.
Don't get trapped in a spiral of distrust. Open up to stakeholders. Show employees and customers that you trust them so that they have a reason to trust you. For more details on improving relationships through productivity and satisfaction, contact our Indianapolis consultants. We love to help organizations achieve more with less!
As reported by local tech blogger Douglas Karr, as well as on the Social Times, the ZDNet blog, and 25+ other blogs around the web, this is a story of a single email. It was an unsolicited, commercial message sent to a few hundred people, which makes the message "spam." Brody PR sent the advertisement to some highly-influential members of the online community. Unfortunately, they included all the email addresses on the CC line in the message.
That's an error of only 26 pixels which managed to anger hundreds of important people. Douglas Karr writes on his blog:
It wasn’t bad enough that it was SPAM, it also openly provided the list of recipients with everyone else’s name and email address. Ever heard of BCC?In the immediate aftermath of the mistake, the firm got slammed by plenty involved, including one writer from the Social Times:I don’t know Beth and I don’t know Brody PR, but I’m going to let them know, as well as all their prospects and clients, that they deserve the huge backlash that they are currently getting.
If you’ve never heard of Brody PR before, it’s not surprising. Check out the company’s website which includes a collection of animated GIFs that are reminiscent of the year 1995. Typically I don’t hang a PR firm out to dry when they slip up as everyone makes errors but this one was bad. Honestly, the majority of the people on the email list could have just ignored the emails rather than continuing to reply to the list, knowing that everyone would see it.Although Brody PR has tried to issue a few individual apologies, it's clear that serious damage has been done. The social media community was actively discussing the outcome of this case, but at AccelaWork we are more interested in the process which lead to this issue in the first place. How could a 20-year old PR firm have made such a rookie mistake?I was personally laughing throughout the whole experience but at a certain point it became annoying. Beth Brody could have stepped in to resolve the problem but as of now she is still missing in action and her company has just been put on the spam lists of a large number of industry influencers. Lesson learned: don’t create an open email list where anyone can reply when sending out press releases. Other lesson learned: don’t hire Brody PR.
Although we don't have access to the internal workings of Brody PR, it's easy enough to guess at the likely culprit: Brody PR probably has no established process for distributing information by email. This problem is not unique to the PR world. Earlier this year, we reported that 29,000 college applicants were accidentally sent acceptance letters via email. This is better than the Muncie Fire Department, who realized that email was the best business process transformation to avoid continuing to deliver reports by driving them across town via fire truck. Workflow issues are a challenge for every organization. The story of Brody PR is likely another case where a lack of defined process lead to disastrous results.
Once you define a process, then you're able to see holes that may arise. Without a process in place, there's really no way to properly foresee problems that your organization may face. But not being able to easily predict these problems is no excuse for not having a plan in place. And that's where we can help!
AccelaWork helps organizations before they have a crisis by helping to establish great workflow. We teach individuals and teams how to design business processes to ensure that procedures are robust and reliable. Don't let a 26-pixel error destroy your reputation. Contact our our business consulting firm today!
A fantastic summary about the role of science in medicine recently appeared from writer Harriet Hall. The article states:
How can you know whether a medical treatment really works? If everybody says it works, and it worked for your Aunt Sally, and you try it and your symptoms go away, you can pretty well assume it really works. Right?The story of the development of medicine is the story of testing. Researchers have learned that results are not as important as the actual underlying scientific phenomena. Just because some action appears to lead to a positive outcome does not mean there is any actual connection between the two.No, you can’t make that assumption, because sometimes we get it wrong. For many centuries doctors used leeches and lancets to relieve patients of their blood. They KNEW bloodletting worked. Everybody said it did. When you had a fever and the doctor bled you, you got better. Everyone knew of a friend or relative who had been at death’s door until bloodletting cured him. Doctors could recount thousands of successful cases.
All those people got it wrong. When George Washington got a bad throat infection, his doctors removed so much of his blood that his weakened body couldn’t recover, and he died. We finally got around to testing bloodletting and found out it did much more harm than good. Patients who got well had been getting well IN SPITE of bloodletting, not because of it. And some patients had died unnecessarily, like George Washington.
Businesses can learn a great deal from medicine. Are workflow patterns actually effective, or are they just traditions we've always done? Do software systems collect useful data, or do they just make people busy with data collection and useless analysis? A critical issue in any organization is determining what work actually matters and what is merely distraction.
When AccelaWork conducts its own form of medicine, like diagnosing your workplace for potential improvements, we try to help organizations recognize that every element of work should be open for discussion. A great employee, like a great doctor, is not just one who follows the procedure, but one who is willing to try and understand what makes the procedure work. It's not wise for anyone to improve on business process without understanding true business value. For more information on how to work smarter, contact our business consultants at AccelaWork today.
In an article (PDF) published on projectsmart.co.uk, Haughey writes:
Project management by form filling is not an effective way of managing projects. These days many organisations and individuals whole project management strategy revolves around becoming slaves to a methodology.This quotation concurs with previous reports from The Methodology Blog. These include commentary on productivity growth at Starbucks and the issues in general with treating corporate productivity with service like manufacturing. As we have said before with a post on business process improvement, it's not about the theory, but the quality of execution.
Complete with British slang, Haughey also notes:
My worst experiences have been with organisations that stick blindly to the methodology regardless of whether it adds value. 'It says you fill in this form at this stage and we're jolly well going to fill it in.' Then the form invariably gets filed away and never looked at again.This leads to many methodologies being perceived as needlessly bureaucratic, which, when used appropriately they're not.
What's actually happening in this scenario is the transfer of responsibility. If a team member insists on completing a form or a procedure, they are insisting that success or failure lies entirely with the methodology. Actually deciding what needs to be done might require creativity, innovation, or questioning the process. In the end, stakeholders conclude that because other people blindly followed the methodology when it wasn't necessary, the methodology itself must be bloated. In reality, it's the stakeholders who refused (or were denied) responsibility that created the waste and frustration.
The warning that Haughey repeats is a familiar saying: there are no silver bullets. This expression reminds us not to put too much stock in comprehensive methodologies. However, the bullets are not without value. Peter Drucker says it best: Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable. The benefit of a methodology is not in adhering to the practice, but in being methodical. If you need help developing processes for your business (or freeing yourself from an unhealthy obsession with methodology), contact our consultants today.
This is a basic and critical business process. It seems totally unbelievable that a national company would have such a complicated procedure for handling an everyday action. Reviewing the visible steps, however, provides some insight:
Likewise, the rise of charge cards as payment methods created Step #8, which requires punching in the balance by hand. A lack of trust of systems probably inspired Steps #6 and #10. Although a computer can handle simple arithmetic and long-term storage, intermittent reliability problems may have created these unnecessary precautions.
Changing this business process would tremendously impact productivity and satisfaction, but doing so would not be easy. Stakeholders must find enthusiasm for making improvement and have both the authority and responsibility to manage this workflow. Changes must be implemented over time, not only so they become habit but so they can be carefully designed and judiciously reviewed. Each adjustment will eventually lead to what might be an ideal customer service procedure:
Dropping from ten steps down to four not only increases productivity, it improves satisfaction. All stakeholders—from employee to manager to customer—have more time to pursue other endeavors and engage in innovation. The story of the auto shop is true and commonplace. If your procedures are cumbersome, or if you feel that there must be a better way, reach out to the business consultants at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you (or your repair shop) improve your business processes.
On the KA+A blog, Kristian Andersen writes:
Recently we were informed by a client, with whom we had been working for several months, that they were moving their account to a design shop, located in a very large city on the east coast. It wasn't ugly or contentious, there were no angry words, or overt slights – it was all quite civilized. But that didn't temper the sting of rejection. This particular relationship was, by our standards, extremely short-lived.A business relationship begins at the moment of a signature and a handshake. Yet, as the old adage of the advertising and marketing business concludes, retaining clients is a losing battle. No one knows when the partnership will end. All the firm can do is work hard and try to keep the customer happy.[To quote] the AMC drama Mad Men: "The day you sign a client is the day you start losing them."
The reason many consulting companies attempt to keep clients forever is that there's no expectation that the company will ever be in a position to succeed without outside expertise. Indeed, Andersen's story is not about a company that decided they no longer needed brand experience design. Rather, the customer decided to switch to a different design shop. Luckily for service consultancies and reputable user experience gurus in general, assistance with marketing, visual design, brand management, advertising, copy-writing, media buys or any of the other services of the PR/marketing/design industry will always be needed until companies go out of business or start their own department. Outsourced services usually do not rub off on internal people.
This concept of infinite consulting involvement is the essential difference between service consultancies (like KA+A) and instructional consultancies (like AccelaWork.) Our goal is to help you improve workflow and productivity through comprehensive training and re-engagement. We don't expect to be involved with you for more than 12-18 months. Believe it or not, we are in the business of getting rid of clients.
Every business has non-core functions that are best addressed by service consultancies. If you need help with accounting, legal services, marketing, public relations, catering, event planning or cleaning your facilities, it makes sense to consider hiring outside experts. Of course, businesses also have core functions with productivity and workflow challenges, which are areas that can benefit tremendously from productivity experts; however, such engagements should be limited.
As we see it, there are times when you need to buy fish at a supermarket and times when you need help learning how to fish. If workflow issues stifle your success, contact our consultants at AccelaWork. We're in the business of helping you and your business move forward.
With Summertown Interiors being well-known in eco-friendly designs, it is only natural that their new corporate headquarters in Jebel Ali is built to conserve energy and water.The company's premise was designed to reduce water and lighting consumption by 50 per cent. In order to do this Summertown Interiors installed water efficient fixtures to reduce use by 32 per cent.
In addition, movement detection systems in restrooms were also installed so that lights only turn on when someone is inside.
Marcos Bish, managing director of Summertown Interiors, said: "We incorporated all the best elements of green design into the new headquarters and showroom to demonstrate ... how to create an eco-friendly work environment that is also cost-effective and productive."
The colour scheme comprising warm shades of grays and whites in the office, along with the clean desk policy implemented by the company influence the work output of employees.
A Summertown Interiors blog post by Heidi Demuynck provided more insight. Unfortunately, that full post has since been removed from their site, but we held onto the following quote from it, which helps to further explain the results of the Summertown change:
Most importantly, I feel like the office environment that we now work in is much more positive...the lighting that we use now is less harsh with an abundance of natural light and open space which I have no doubt, has increased our productivity levels.It's not unusual to expect a leading interior design firm to operate out of a space that is both attractive and usable. However, note that both the news article and the blog talk about work output increasing as a result of these changes. Can a positive environment actually improve productivity?
Absolutely! As we have covered before, we should be conscious about what our business consultants wear to work, how we manage our clutter to improve workplace productivity, what our business consultants hang on the walls, and even our business improvement consulting services! We even discussed the concept of a "mess bias" back in the 2009 Indianapolis Productivity Summit—the condition where your desk influences what you and others believe about yourself, due in part to a phenomenon called priming for employee productivity.
Even though this isn't a new topic for us, it's an important one to reiterate. While altering a workspace may seem like a daunting task, the benefits can far outweigh the effort required. Some changes can directly impact a company's bottom line, such as the resource-saving techniques implemented by Summertown. The fact that those same changes can also be environmentally responsible only further proves the benefit of adapting a workplace's design for the better. And when those changes can be accomplished in a way that also makes a space feel less like a stuffy, stereotypically harsh office and more like a comfortable place to be productive in, then there's no reason to hesitate when it comes to maximizing the positive aspects of a work environment.
The design of your workplace and your workflow are intimately connected. Improve your productivity and satisfaction by taking responsibility and authority over your role and your space. Work in a positive environment and have that environment work for you. Follow the example set by Summertown Interiors and prove that efficiency and positivity can go hand in hand. If the process of making these changes seems daunting, then contact our consultants at AccelaWork for more information on how to best achieve these goals at your business.
Professional, high-end event planning software like Cannonball often seems like magic. Most employees involved in a large event spend hours writing individual emails, tracking down lost registrations, processing checks and entering in data from paper surveys. Pulling off a successful conference requires incredible amounts of legwork, so clicking and dragging across a warm green background feels like a dream.
Software tools can make the event planning process easier. Watch the video carefully, however, and you can see how the true value of Cannonball is the rigorous structure of information and workflow. You can do this without fancy software. Note the following:
According to an article in Newspapers and Technology, the upgrade was a success:
The Washington Post is among the latest papers to deploy ink-savings software, in its case capping off a two-year project to study the technology.Although reducing the total ink required to print a paper is primarily a cost saving measure, the Post understands the potential impact on productivity. "We had some established workflows," one staffer remarked, "and we didn't want to change those." How does an organization conduct a major operational improvement without affecting daily routines?The Post rolled out GMG Americas' inkOptimizer app, following an evaluation that included putting four different vendors through their paces, according to Kevin Conner, quality assurance manager.
The team at the Washington Post made a bold choice: implement the upgrade so seamlessly that it requires no changes to workflow. From the coverage:
Deciding the best practical test was to wait for reaction, Conner didn't tell staff or advertisers about the new app ahead of its deployment.This story demonstrates an exceptional commitment to stakeholder satisfaction: upper management is pleased because of a reduction in costs; staff has an improved product without any change in routine; customers are positive about the increased printing quality of their advertisements. As it sounds, it would benefit other organizations to study this event as a best practice for enhancing in-house technology."Two to three weeks after we implemented it, I received a comment from our photo department about how much better the photos were printing," he said. "This has been a win-win."
Advertisers also took notice, according to Bugg.
"Of course, the potential reaction from advertisers was really important to us," he said. "And we've actually seen improvements and had a lot of positive feedback."
At AccelaWork, we remind organizations that sometimes the best way to make a change is to ensure it doesn't require change from others. Process improvement and workflow management is about embracing routines, not disrupting established patterns. If you are considering adopting a new software package, even for only a few people, contact our productivity consultants.
According to an article that had been printed in The New Zealand Herald:
An Auckland accountant was sacked for sending "confrontational" emails with words in red, in bold and in capital letters.Vicki Walker, who was a financial controller with ProCare Health, has been awarded $17,000 for unfair dismissal, and plans to lodge an appeal for further compensation.
Walker said they talked about a number of emails she had sent, yet used only one in evidence. The email, which advises her team how to fill out staff claim forms, specifies a time and date highlighted in bold red, and a sentence written in capitals and highlighted in bold blue. It reads: "To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist."
It's not possible to know the entire story from one news article, but the premise is still fascinating. Does the use of uppercase letters, bold text and bright colors have a significant influence in stakeholder satisfaction?
It would seem that ProCare Health feels the answer is yes. We at AccelaWork would have to agree—not with the decision to sack Ms. Walker, of course, but with the notion that the way we produce messages influences the productivity and satisfaction of the recipient. According to the article, Ms. Walker "had contributed to disharmony in the workplace," so the real question here is not why Ms. Walker chose to utilize such highlighted text, but instead, why its emphasis offended her colleagues and employer to such a serious extent? We have covered and issue similar to this before about employee productivity in the digital era. The ordeal Ms. Walker and ProCare Health dealt with was an example of emotional contagion.
Usually, the true intentions behind written or spoken words are intended to be helpful and effective. However, actual meanings can be skewed through alternate interpretations. The way an individual perceives particular communication is often entirely different than what was meant originally—especially when it comes to email. We have noted before that cryptic messages and worker productivity have a polarizing effect, often resulting in an uneasy and potentially counterproductive environment. Don't allow miscommunication to negatively influence harmony between stakeholders. Contact our Indianapolis consultants today to learn more about how we can help.
A press release posted on a broadcast industry news site reports:
Igor Orlo, First Deputy Head of the Department of Production and Technology at VGTRK, said: “Unlike low-end media servers that rely on PC-based platforms, the Omneon MediaDeck media server is engineered to provide mission critical reliability and performance tailored to the specific demands of broadcast operations. In our transition from tape-based operations to a file-based workflow, the Omneon systems allowed our stations to accelerate and optimise content production, from ingest to media preparation to playout.”Between the industry jargon and the product names, it’s a little challenging to follow the quote above; however, the essential fact is that the company made a “transition from tape-based operations to a file-based workflow.” In the fast-paced world of television, moving from tapes to files can save serious time, frustration and money.
Even if you've never worked at a television station, it’s easy to see how workflow, based on videotape, creates challenges. Footage recorded on the scene must be physically transported back to an editing station; it cannot be sent via the Internet like a file. Only one person can work on a tape at one time, unlike a file which can be copied with virtually no expense or overhead. Tapes wear out with repeated use, but a qualified systems administrator can keep safe backups. And of course, the editing process itself is much easier without videotape. There’s no need to wait to “rewind” a file!
If your office or operation contains videotape, you should consider moving to a file-based workflow. But whatever your information—whether it is stored on paper invoices, printed intake forms, telephone conversations or whiteboards—the most effective way to improve productivity and satisfaction is to improve the sequence and manner of handling work. Every organization, from TV stations to doctor’s offices to non-profits, deserves the chance to make positive changes to workflow. For more information, contact our workflow consultants at AccelaWork.
The article in FreelanceSwitch.com offered these gems:
Each of the author's points come from a reflection on a personal story. For example, he noted that:
- Boundaries and Deadlines Can Be Motivating
- I Can Stay Focused Longer by Pacing Myself
- I Must Be Ruthless Handling Interruptions
- I Can Effectively Utilize Spare Moments
Early in the second week [of the school year], I randomly woke at 6:00 am. I decided to get up and start work. By the time I took the kids to school I had done two hours of solid work, which made a big dent into my work for that day. I finished the bulk of my day’s work before I picked them up from school. Psychologically, that made a big difference. I could enjoy my evening without having to worry about undone work.These workflow revelations all come from one central idea: thinking about work. AccelaWork calls this process metawork, which is the process of studying the nature, purpose, function and outcome of individual actions at the workplace. The suggestions that Adrian Try offered might seem obvious, and yet, how many of us are as actively managing our time and interruptions? By analyzing his own workflow and writing the essay, the author was able to describe real changes that had a tremendous positive impact on productivity and satisfaction.
At AccelaWork, we help companies and non-profit organizations change the structure of work so that metawork is part of the routine. We provide training and tools to help employees discover the challenges in their own workflow and identify ways to make improvements. If you are ready to find your own list of revelations, don't hesitate: contact our business consultants today!
The following quote comes from the Adventures in IT column in Infoworld:
Here's the kicker: Because analysts and admins were now employees of different vendors, we were forbidden by our respective management to speak to each other directly. All communication was to be done via the tracking database in the tickets that were created by the out-of-state help desk. Since most of us were physically located in the same complex, it was an extremely frustrating situation. There were several times when an issue would come across our desk and we could see the guy at the other end of the cubicle farm who could resolve it, but we were forbidden to take it to him directly.On the one hand, there's a certain beauty to a business operation that is so efficient and cleanly segmented that it can be completely outsourced. But as we documented in our post on employee productivity during Remote Work Week, shifting tasks so they occur in different locations is more complicated than writing a memo. Management might reduce costs, but how much will savings increase frustration and negatively impact employee success?
The story from Infoworld refers to an IT department; however changes in productivity and stakeholder satisfaction due to cost cutting occur in virtually every department. If your organization is thinking about reducing expenses, consider reaching out to our business consultants at AccelaWork. We help companies make sure that cutting costs does not lead to an unexpected decline in productivity and satisfaction.
People have been talking about the "paperless office" for years. For this to become a reality, an organization must not only convert all existing files to a digital format, but all incoming paper needs to be scanned as well. According to an article from IDG:
Before starting this transition in 2003, the City had a very manual and paper-based approach that, according to Mike Palmer, the City of Langford IT manager, "used to be walk to file room and retrieve a paper file and take it back to your desk."Improving workflow requires more than just using advanced technology. In addition, stakeholders must have both authority and responsibility over the changing environment. Another quote from this story hints at this challenge:Scanning all incoming documents resolved the physical space issue but using network scanners to do the job was proving too much a burden on the devices, recalls Palmer.
"Because we were growing so quickly as a city, we had so much paper coming in and that was overwhelming our input capabilities," he said.
But the initiative wasn't just about scanning and storing paper documents. The goal was to ensure City employees could easily and quickly retrieve the files. Instead of using a third party file storage vendor, the City used Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server and workflow engine AutoStore, developed by HP partner Rockville, MD.-based Notable Solutions Inc., so that all scanned content could be indexed.The document management workflow at the City of Langford is scalable such that the new version of the software, to which the City plans to upgrade, will support new PDF standards. And, new devices can be easily added to the network, said Palmer.
These quotes make it seem like the improvements are centered around technology, not people and process. A stated goal is to ensure that the software infrastructure can be readily upgraded. But what about making positive changes to the actual procedures, not just replacing paper files with electronic versions?
As we covered before in our blog about worker productivity, there is more to good management than making swift decisions. A paper-free office is probably more efficient, but it is much more important to work with stakeholders to discover what impacts their productivity and satisfaction. Having the most efficient operation in the world without understanding the nature of the work is like taking a high-speed train—in the wrong direction.
At AccelaWork, we help companies and non-profit organizations improve workflow. We believe that becoming more effective and more efficient does not require new technology as much as it requires the empowering and engaging of individuals. If the people in your office feel satisfied, productive and connected through their work, then the whole operation will thrive. For more information on ways to improve workflow without expensive technical solutions, contact our Indianapolis consultants. We look forward to helping you improve your business.
Amanda Hite posted a comment on Twitter, along with this grainy photograph:
This evidence might be connected to any number of explanations. Perhaps a BMV worker was on a break and taking a few minutes to relax, or the screen was left on from a previous shift. However, Ms. Hite probably took the photograph out of frustration. Most people already perceive government offices as fairly inefficient. Many would argue that the image shows our tax dollars are wasted on video games. Does one fuzzy photograph really prove incompetence and laziness at the BMV?
We all know that one quick picture from a cellphone camera is not enough to make sweeping generalizations. Maybe one employee did goof off for a few minutes and just happened to be caught. But this story should remind everyone who works in business, government or non-profits that customers are stakeholders too. The BMV may not have much competition for renewing drivers licenses, but what if Amanda Hite had snapped the same picture while in a long line at the bank? If someone appears to be unproductive, others will assume they are not actually getting anything done. It may be a bad idea to try and look busy, but looking bored is often even worse.
At AccelaWork, we help organizations improve stakeholder satisfaction and productivity by looking beyond employees to include customers. We investigate beyond appearances to discover which processes work effectively and efficiently. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should ban computer solitaire. Instead, organizations must carefully assess how stakeholders perceive the actions of others. For more information, contact our business consultants. We help operations increase both the perception and reality of productivity.
From Learn how to say 'no' at work:
For most Hoosiers, work is the process of accepting responsibility. Ambitious employees actually pursue more duties, perhaps because they believe putting in long hours is the fastest route to promotion and career advancement.Whether we do so out of fear, greed or a sense of duty, relentlessly volunteering for more work is one of the worst choices we can make at the office. Instead, we must bring back a term we’ve intentionally forgotten: the word “no.”
Slaughter explains that "saying no" is actually a way to be more productive at work:
[Saying yes] ignores perhaps the most fundamental aspect of modern work: specialization. The human resources specialist is not an information technology expert; the graphic designer is not an account manager; the receptionist is not a sales representative; and the vice president of finance is not a copy editor.Yet when you ask a cube-mate to look at something wonky on your computer, to e-mail the client with an update, to call a prospect with a new promotion, or to edit your memo to the board, you are unconsciously denying their years of effort in becoming a highly focused expert. You are requesting they do something they really don’t know how to do.
Try it yourself. Become more productive by saying no more often. As writer Josh Billings once quipped: "Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough."
Reach out to AccelaWork for more business consulting advice.
Most of us would rather never visit the principal's office. But according to one of Carroll's blog posts, this is the place where he spends most of his productive time:
I have been doing quite a bit of thinking recently about managing workflow. All school leaders have an infinite amount of work to do. There is always the tension between the important and the urgent.
He then lists a dozen techniques that help him to stay focused. Many of these are based around technology, but a few ideas are much more fundamental.
For example, Principal Carroll has his email configured to "only check once an hour to reduce distractions." He also reports, "I TRY to keep my desk as clear as possible." And although he lists software gadgets and fancy, hi-tech toys, Greg Carroll has a notebook: "A good old spiral bound analogue notebook. And I use this to keep all the business cards, notes, scribbles, etc that I need to keep track of. Lots of stuff glued in."
Although many of his suggestions are full of technical jargon, the most powerful ideas for improving workflow require consciously thinking about work. The Methodology Blog has covered this before, but from a employee productivity revelations for freelance software developer instead of an elementary school principal. We have shown how a clean workspace can actually increase productivity.
We have reviewed how clear diagrams written on old-fashioned paper can improve organizational productivity and make complex ideas into a business map. To become more effective and more satisfied at the office, we should emulate this elementary school administrator: evaluate, document and improve the tools and procedures by which we conduct our work.
AccelaWork helps organizations overcome tactical challenges. And while we respect the work of our friends down under, most of our efforts are focused here in the Midwest. If you are buried in email, mired in bureaucracy, constantly "reinventing the wheel" or just generally feeling overwhelmed, reach out to our Indianapolis consultants today. We can assess the challenges in your workplace and help you develop and execute a plan to transform your business.
In a news article printed this week, Chiscolm is suing Bank of America due to problems with depositing some of his checks. In retribution to the damages he's suffered, he's requesting not only a huge amount of money, but also that it be paid in twenty-four hours time. Perhaps to the defendant, this request is reasonable; however, to break it down logically, $1.78 septillion equates to "30 billion times the world's total GDP of $60 trillion."
If Bank of America agreed to pay what its customer is asking, it would wipe out the bank's $196 billion in common equity 9.1 trillion times over.According to Reuters, Chiscolm was unhappy because Bank of America would not deposit some of his checks due to problems with their routing numbers. And his efforts to solve the problem with the help of a "Spanish womn" were unsatisfactory. Chiscolm's lawsuit requests damages for his suffering, specifically, he asks that "1,784 billion, trillion dollars" be deposited into his ATM account the next day. He also demanded an additional $200,164,000."
This is not his first lawsuit. In Janaury 2009, Chiscolm sued his landlord for $892 million billion dollars -- or $892 quadrillion. In his January complaint, Chiscolm alleged that "Manerment nor mainterntmen had no atcuse's to go in my apartment what so ever I had to keep a lock no the kichen cabernit." The court dismissed his complaint.
This story, as far-fetched as it is, has a valuable lesson: too much ambition creates impossible goals and can tarnish a reputation. In Chiscolm's case, regardless of the backlash or inconvenience he suffered at the hands of Back of America, his story and request have become a target of sarcasm in national news rather than treated as a serious claim.
Confidence and ambition are important. There are a couple of quotes about basketball that illustrate this well.
“Confidence is everything in this game, if you don’t think you can, you won’t” –Jerry West
“Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles you to succeed” – Pat Summitt
As Pat Summitt's quote shows, you have to plan and work before you can succeed. Confidence, while important, isn't enough on its own. Every NBA player needs to go out on the court thinking they can hit every shot they take, or else there's no way for them to be effective. But that doesn't mean players should be throwing up half court shots when a defender is right next to them, especially when that isn't something they practiced and prepared to do. The same ideology should go toward your business. You want to be confident and ambitious, but you also need to know your boundaries. Find a goal that works for your business, without having ridiculous expectations, not only for where your entire organization is headed, but for those you're working with. If you set up a process that paints the picture of you not knowing what you're doing, no one is going to respect the goals you've set.
As The Methodology Blog has covered before, drastic process improvement measures involve making a decision without first recognizing potential outcomes inevitably decreases the chance for success. By examining all angles of a decision first, and keeping a level head in regards to reasonable options will help you discover an appropriate pathway that leads to opportunity and eventual success. If the methods used in reaching your current business goals seem over your head, talk to the consultants at AccelaWork today. We'll help bring those goals within reach by building processes that make sense.
Belsky's article explained his premise:
Without realizing it, most of us have entered the new era of what I have come to call “reactionary workflow.” Rather than being proactive with our energy, we are acting in response to what is incoming. We have relinquished control of our focus. It has become harder and harder to embark on our work with intention.There's no question that we all face a barrage of interruptions which prevent us from effectively planning and creating our time. To address this Belsky offers what has become the standard advice:
How to avoid a life of reactionary workflow? It all starts with some discipline (and imposing some blockades around your focus). I have interviewed a number of people who literally quit (or minimize) their email program at certain times during the day. Piers Fawkes, founder and editor of PSFK, actually reserves his morning – from 7-10am every day – to do research and digest the day’s trends/news prior to going through his email. Impose some discipline on yourself to ensure that adequate time is spent on proactively creating stuff (rather than just responding!).We have commented before on the problem with worker productivity tips and employee productivity shortcuts. Turning off your email program is good advice, but it's not nearly as powerful as changing your perspective on email. Individuals who want to be more productive need to take authority and responsibility over their own workflow. Such a step inevitably impacts others and assists in developing reasonable expectations together.
If you work in an organization where people expect you to respond to emails within the hour, then turning off your email program will negatively impact your career. Instead, work with your colleagues to develop a reasonable policy that enables you to become more productive. At AccelaWork, we work with stakeholders to develop these systems. Contact our Indianapolis consultants today to learn how to combat reactionary workflow.
The following screenshot reveals a conversation between some Facebook friends. Names have been hidden and photos changed to protect the identify of those involved:
It's always difficult to know what is actually happening based on limited information, but any number of factors could be at play. Perhaps the schedule has already been defined, but there has been a delay in publication. Perhaps a sudden change in personnel or availability has caused the posted schedule to be revoked. The sarcastic tone of the final comment, however, implies this is a recurring problem. The employee is neither surprised nor sympathetic. He's simply frustrated that he can't make plans for Friday night a week in advance.
Plenty of organizations institute social media policies saying what their employees are allowed to post when it comes to work. That is not the point of this blog post. Rather, we believe that if people are posting their complaints on social media, then things are far beyond a level where policies can be effective. In the situation the employee above has a valid point. He should know his schedule to know if he can make plans in a week. However, that hasn't happened. Now it's very likely that the employee hasn't gone to his employer to express his frustration with this on-going situation. There's a chance this could be because the employee is unwilling to communicate. But it's much more likely that the employer hasn't fostered a work environment where employees feel comfortable in voicing their opinions.
If you don't feel like your opinion will be valued, or worse, will cause you to face negative repercussions, then of course you aren't going to go to your boss with a complaint. But that doesn't mean the complaint is going to go away. Rather, it's just going to simmer under the surface until work performance declines or the employee heads off to greener pastures. If you're in charge of your organization, you need to make sure that you're going to create a situation where any complaints are brought to you before they're taken to a Facebook comment thread. Not from the sense of keeping the complaints quiet, but rather from the sense of working to empower your stakeholders, from top to bottom.
Organizations need to hear these kinds of comments from stakeholders. Individuals should be empowered to discuss opportunities to improve satisfaction and productivity, and to actually implement positive changes to their work environment. For more information, contact our business improvement consultants here at AccelaWork. We love to help companies improve employee communication and overall effectiveness.
According to an article on AOL finance, the $249 annual program allows subscribers to carry on two bags per flight with no additional costs. For frequent travelers who regularly dish out additional money in baggage fees this scenario might be a good bargain. You simply calculate the amount of extra baggage fees you'd pay in a year and see if it's more or less than $249. Yet, as the article pointed out, perhaps the package is bogus to begin with:
United promotes Premier Baggage as "a great gift for any frequent flyer," but it's more likely that most of the airline's customers won't get past the bald-faced effrontery of this move. Historically, checking two pieces of baggage had been free. That changed back in June 2008, when United began charging for the first piece of baggage, with the justification was that doing so would help it offset the rising price of fuel. However, like so many of these fees, the charge for the first piece of checked baggage not only outlasted the fuel price spike but managed to actually increase. Now, by offering a yearly subscription rate, the carrier is telling consumers that luggage charges aren't only here to stay but that United is planning to exploit them as much as possibleOne of the most irritating aspects of the new program is that it exposes the airlines' fee strategy as a very pricey con game. While the new service won't cover charges associated with overweight or oversize bags, it encourages United's customers to get their money's worth by packing at least two bags on every flight. Admittedly, the airline is probably counting on customers to sign up for the program but not actually use it. Even so, United is sending the message that the link between baggage weight and fuel consumption -- the very reason cited for baggage fees, overweight fees and other charges -- is effectively meaningless. In so doing, it casts a great deal of doubt on its own pricing structure.
As many have seen and experienced through the current recession, generating business is difficult. Yet, just as important to the success of a business—and just as difficult—is maintaining existing relationships. As we have covered before, situations with business consultants where fees and pricing structures are debatable often frustrate stakeholders.
We'd like to say this situation was the only weird pricing technique airlines have tried, but the truth is far from that. Various airlines tout themselves as having the best pricing, but with all the hidden fees and random charges, it's really hard to tell who is ever the best value. No one is ever happy when they think they're going to be paying one price and the actual charge ends up being far higher than that. But even worse can be when the reasoning given for a certain price turns out to be untrue. While airlines may really have a justification for charging more in fuel with more bags, programs like this cast a serious level of doubt onto those claims.
At AccelaWork, we believe that one of the greatest threats to any new business venture is goals which have lasting, negative effects on current clientele. Of course, maintaining a bottom-line and turning a profit are key to the success of business, but these should not be at the expense of those stakeholders who fund the business as clients. If you're looking to simultaneously improve business and customer relations, contact our business improvement consultants today.
The topic was covered in post called True Collaboration Via the Cloud:
One of the reasons that collaboration is so difficult is that in order to bring everything together in a manageable way, IT organizations have to spend an inordinate amount of time first integrating about a dozen technologies with about a half-dozen applications. Then they have to support all the custom integration on an ongoing basis.
Although this statement helped to advertise a new product that addressed the issue, it demonstrated one of the key problems of most software applications. Instead of enabling workflow among different stakeholders that exchange and produce different kinds of information, programs usually offer self-contained features. A simple example is copy and paste. How many of us use this crude feature to manually complete work tasks because programs cannot talk to each other?
Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Solow once wrote that "You can see the computer age everywhere except in the productivity statistics." This claim seems as true today as when he first stated it back in 1987. The path to improving productivity with computers is not in training or in new software, but in understanding the business process models and adapting to the capabilities and limitations of the machines. This is what we do for clients at AccelaWork every day. Contact our business consultants to learn more.
In this first video, a seemingly normal trash can is transformed through some gadgetry (direct link):
Here's a clip of people discovering something unusual about stairs at a subway entrance: (direct link):
Both of these experiments are part of a program by Volkswagon called The fun theory. The car company offers a simple explanation:
We believe that the easiest way to change people's behavior for the better is by making it fun to do.The two videos use custom technology to positively influence the way people behave, but the premise does not necessarily require anything so complex. Any environment—even the workplace—can be improved by making routine tasks more enjoyable through something cheerful and unexpected. More importantly, doesn't real productivity at the office seem intimately connected with the satisfaction of a job well done? A little joy is always welcome, whether it comes from completing a task or from an outside factor.
At AccelaWork, we believe that there is no greater power than stakeholder satisfaction. If you care about your work and derive happiness from starting, doing and completing each project, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Sometimes, all that is needed to improve outcomes is a desire to make the process more pleasant. Contact our consultants today!
Our post on business improvement solutions introduced "the fun theory" as a way to change behavior by making everyday activities more pleasant through unexpected changes. A post on Trizle discussed How to Make Work Fun:
Imagine 5-year-old Cinderella. Cinderella hates basketball, but you have to make her better or you die. What in the whole wide world do you do?The suggestion from Trizle is to add measurement: make it a game using points and suddenly there's a reason to work. They claim that competition will inspire Cinderella to shoot hoops:OH NO!
You start thinking about some management concepts you read in some business book you read.
But, Cinderella doesn't budge; she still finds basketball boring.
- So, you try motivating her: "Hey Cinderella! You can do it!"
- You try bribing her with gifts: "I'll give you cookies if you practice!"
- You try putting fear into her: "I'm going to tell on YOU!"
You're about to die. What do you do?
Make it a game, then keep score.But yesterday's article from the Work Happy Now! blog, How to Find Meaning in Tedious Work, offers a strikingly different perspective:A more motivated Cinderella starts trying to beat her high scores every time. Quickly:
- "Cinderella, I'm going to time you for 1-minute to see how many shots you can make."
- When that's done, "Cinderella, I'm going to time you for another minute to see how many shots you can make."
- Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.
Games addict peeps because peeps try to beat their high scores every time they play.
- You get her more engaged.
- You increase her confidence.
- You make her internally motivated to amplify her skills.
Great work makes me feel like I have a purpose.Each of these sources propose a different fundamental approach to making work fun:This emotional connection to fulfilling work makes me happy, and these feelings then go beyond me.
On the opposite spectrum, if I’m doing work that I can’t connect with then I’m extending my frustrated feelings beyond myself.
Several years ago, I was the caretaker of large property. I essentially mowed grass for a living. It paid the rent, but I viewed the work as pointless because the grass was only going to grow back. I remember thinking to myself, I’ll just have to do it all over again in two weeks. By thinking these thoughts, I attached my feelings of meaninglessness to my effort. I only upset myself more by extending my negative feelings, and I was unable to see the greater good of my actions.
If I could have found a connection to how cutting someone’s grass mattered beyond my own feelings, I could have felt happy about my work. I could have viewed my grass cutting work as a way to help people feel proud of their home. I know I would have enjoyed the thought of helping people appreciate their home, and this would have helped me appreciate my own actions. Instead of focusing on the fact that the grass would just grow back in two weeks, I could have focused on the positive reactions of the property owners when they pulled into their driveway and saw the perfectly cut grass.
All three ideas have merit, but each tells you more about the stakeholder than anything else. People who subscribe to the fun theory thrive on the idea of unexpected happiness. Individuals who find the score theory appealing enjoy games, contests and the thrill of winning. Those who prefer the attitude theory are most interested in the power of positive thinking. All these techniques should be considered for ways to improve the process of work, as all have the same basic premise: stakeholders should have permission to enjoy what they do.
Redesigning workflow to increase satisfaction is not always an easy task. Leverage the fun theory, but be careful your worker productivity isn't called into question. Try adding a scoreboard to a boring task to improve the business improvement process. Think happy thoughts, but understand the capabilities and limitations of positive thinking for employee satisfaction. If you're ready to learn more about the connection between joy and productivity at work, speak to the experts. Contact our business consultants at AccelaWork today!
From the official Dilbert website (direct link):
One would hope that typical workplace brainstorming sessions tackle issues more constructively! Comparing office tasks to chickens working for pellets may seem analogous to utilizing the newest program or process to complete more work. The outcome of the upgrade is appealing, particularly to upper management whose main objective is to increase the overall success of a company. After all, more work completed in a less time means more business, more money and greater clout. Right?
To those responsible for the conducting the process—and whose jobs depend on it—the thought of improvements can be terrifying, especially if it means eliminating the job altogether. In the end, employees in such compromising positions may spend more time dwelling on the stress that comes with the delivery of a pink slip rather than the quality and creativity of their work. So the inevitable question becomes, how can an increase in productivity through streamlined processes benefit all parties involved?
AccelaWork believes that the key is to value all aspects of a process, employee and management alike. As we talked about before regarding worker productivity, "You are more than the sum of your tasks and responsibilities—you are a force for creativity, a source of commitment and limitless potential. A machine might enable you to finish rote tasks faster but it cannot replace brilliance and instinct." During process reengineering, all stakeholders must remember that individual contribution should be valued not just because of the time spent completing a process, but also for the time spent creating and nurturing the process.
AccelaWork delivers more than just tangible solutions: we provide in-depth investigation and focused attention. We view stakeholder satisfaction as essential to the creation and retention of productivity. Therefore, to us, who better to focus on then those employees who are key to positively evolving productive workflow. If your company wants to expand time for employee innovation and decrease hours spent on monotonous tasks, ask for help. Contact our Indianapolis consultants today.
Here are a couple of great quotes from his recent post:
Good managers are brave, and generous with trust in their people. The want them to mature in their judgment and grow in their skills, preferring to err on the side of trusting too much than trusting too little. They take pleasure in letting go and giving power away to their staff, accepting that when someone who works for them shines, they shine too.But if you do not enjoy these things, and struggle to trust your staff, or can’t bear to see a decision made or reward earned without your name all over it, you should stop managing people.
...
Even if you are 30% better at a task than someone who works for you, the time it takes for you to check on them every few hours, and demand approvals over trivial decisions, costs more in lost morale, passion for work, and destruction of self-respect among your staff than the 30% you think you’re adding. No one works well if they feel they are being treated like an idiot child. Having two people involved in work that should only require one wastes everyone’s time.
...
An easy test of micromanagement is to let your team know you are confident in their ability to do their job and offer, if they wish, that you will be less involved in their day to day work to give them more room to perform. Tell them you are available if they need you, but otherwise you will put some of your attention elsewhere. See what happens. Hold your tongue. Don’t demand to review that email. Don’t insist on regulating who can meet with who. Take one small step backward and see what happens.
Odds are extremely good the world will not end.
There are so many wonderful aspects to Berkun's essay, but let's just focus on key concept. Ultimately, he clearly recognizes that great management is not about controlling work but about enabling work to be done.
Unfortunately, most of us have more experience being micromanaged than we do in self-assessment of our own management style. Although we might like to anonymously send our boss a letter like this, what advice is there for us? Here are some thoughts for workers under the corporate microscope:
Dear Micromanaged Employee,I know work is tough. It seems like every task you do your boss has to double check, whether there are errors or not. Not a half an hour goes by without a manager or team member dropping by your cubicle to discuss the status of a current project. The phone rings constantly, and if you don't answer, people wonder where you are. You feel micromanaged.
It might seem like the only options are to quit or to endure. But you can take actions that will help to improve your situation.
Most importantly, try to understand the motivations of those who seem to dominate your time and belittle your work. Are they fearful? Distrustful? Obsessive? Respond by finding ways to allay their concerns. Structure your work and your communication about your work to help demonstrate that these feelings are not needed.
Second, measure your own work to show your improvement. Each time someone checks on your progress, make a note of the time, duration, project and conversation. If you're speaking with your boss an average of 7 times a day at an average 6 minutes for each conversation, share this information with your boss and suggest that you actively schedule a brief meeting every hour on the hour. Explain how you want to improve the quality of your work, and so hopefully you will be able to reduce the frequency of these meetings over the coming weeks.
Finally, remember that all people love to feel important. If people are constantly checking on your work, recognize their expertise by repeatedly seeking their approval and input. With genuine respect, schedule time with them before they can interrupt you. These requests for their expertise may start out fruitful, but eventually you will no longer need to meet so frequently. Thank them for teaching you how to improve. Praise them for their guidance and support. And then, get back to work.
Warmest regards,
A Formerly Micromanaged Employee
Over at the Type M for Murder blog, John Corrigan asked about the methodology of editing:
I've heard many different methodologies regarding manuscript editing: Some authors insist on writing a complete draft before going back, adding details, and flushing out scenes and characters. Other writers edit as they go, making each scene as polished as they can before working on the next so that when they have finished, the book is ready for submission or publication. I've also heard the longhand-versus-computer debate whereby some novelists compose and edit on a computer, while others write longhand, filling tablet after tablet. And there are scribes who combine these two methods: Richard Russo writes longhand on legal pads in the morning, then types his day’s work in the evenings, "editing" as he does so. Perhaps the most unusual method I've heard of is the prose writer who suggested that writers should draft work in single-spaced text but revise after double-spacing the manuscript.Obviously, each writer does what works best for them.
It seems there are as many stories about the techniques which writers use as they are writers themselves. Novelist John Grisham, for example, wrote The Firm in between the washer and the dryer in his laundry room. Vladimir Nabokov supposedly preferred to write standing up with all of his writing done on index cards. Corrigan's blog post claims that science fiction author Michael Crichton "ate the same food for 90 consecutive days when working on a novel." But the article also asks the most important question: "Is this superstition or methodology?"
Whether we are mystery writers, account executives, marketing specialists, engineers or sales reps, we can benefit from an organized process for our work. This is what AccelaWork calls the practice of methodology engineering, which is the systematic analysis and redesign of organizational procedures, policies and business actions through technical solutions implemented by stakeholders. Yet, as we have covered before, we must determine whether our rituals are just traditions or are part of the business improvement process. Likewise, while we should review what others are doing, consultants should be aware that case studies are not prescriptive, but descriptive. Improving our methodologies requires both learning from others and testing practices on our own.
Writing a novel is an extremely focused form of work, but most businesses routinely produce output which is as rich and complex as a best-selling book. The sum of your efforts is not often a neatly bound volume, but a collection of positive customer experiences. If you want to improve your processes, take the first step. Contact our business consultants to learn more about methodology engineering.
As reported by the Australian news site news.com.au, staff have been told to time their toilet breaks:
Managers ordered all staff to fill out the length of toilet breaks in a "compliance diary", threatening staff who failed to spend 92 per cent of their time on the phone with counselling and disciplinary action.The call centre staff, who said they felt "bullied and harassed" by the policy, outlined shocking examples of management invading their privacy.
They included team leaders regularly "popping in" while staff were going to the toilet because they were deemed to have taken too long, staff being lectured for failing to enter into a diary a one-minute toilet trip and management suggesting staff only use the bathroom at certain times.
These kinds of stories seem incredulous, but we all know about employers well on their way to measuring time spent in the bathroom. Already many companies require their workers punch a clock in order to pay them down to the minute. Many automatically dock thirty minutes for a lunch break and some employee handbooks outline the number of allowed breaks per work period. Where is the line between filling out a time card and having to count minutes spent in the bathroom?
In some respects, this is another story about worker productivity and micromanagement. The tale of this government office sounds like the Canon Electronics company where employee satisfaction is low thanks to alarms sounding if you walk too slowly. But really, this is an extreme example of our fundamental perspective on work: It's much easier to measure time than to measure results. Everybody can agree on the meaning of an hour, but it's tremendously difficult to agree on the meaning of a job well done.
That doesn't mean that all companies can or should stop paying people by the hour or by the year. Rather, it's a reminder that measuring time is just a poor approximation for understanding work. If you are worried that your organization is struggling with metrics, contact our business consulting firm. We help companies and non-profits find ways to improve processes that respect stakeholders and produce meaningful results.
Advertised on howlifeworks.com, FRS ("Free Radical Scavenger") is a trend in "drinkable energy." The advertisement boasts that the product "seemingly ends the quest for an energy boosting solution that's both healthy and effective and, amazingly, seems to also improve people's ability to concentrate and perform better at work."
The purported secret? The antioxidant Quercetin, which is in FRS and supposedly as a viable source of productivity in a recent study:
FRS and a non-Quercetin placebo were consumed daily by two groups of workers at a university over a 3-week period. At the end of the study, the group that received the FRS with Quercetin reported a significant improvement in their level of work performance and their ability to concentrate. They also reported reduced fatigue and reduced feelings of frustration compared to the placebo group.More information about these free radical scavengers was posted on Wise Geek.
The free radical scavenger is often referred to as an antioxidant. They are generally found in certain foods, primarily dark colored fruits and vegetables like blueberries. These scavengers work by preventing the oxidation process that is required in order for electrons to be passed from one cell to another...Most of that information makes sense, or certainly more sense than a magic productivity cure, though people always seem willing to shell out a little extra money if it means fixing something they view as a gap in their life.The role of the free radical scavenger is also being tested in the medical field. Various types of antioxidant treatments are being researched which may offer cures for diseases like cancer. The premise is to insert scavengers directly into the affected area, such as a tumor where millions of unstable cells have accumulated, in the hopes that high concentrations of these powerful substances will be able to target diseased cells directly. This would be more efficient at curing disease than more conventional chemical methods because healthy cells would be left intact.
Other ways in which free radical scavengers are useful within the body is in maintaining a youthful appearance and keeping skin vital. Eating antioxidant-rich foods and using lotions with added enzymes or antioxidants may help skin replenish itself more quickly. This helps to prevent wrinkles and sun damage.
Throughout history, there have been many enticing ploys that promise to make life easier. Everything from diet trends to get rich quick schemes to elixirs that improve mental and physical ability have been advertised as a shortcut to success. Regardless of the product however, an empty guarantee is usually the hidden tagline.
That's why being cautious of "too good to be true" deals is a valuable tool in the quest for success. Rather than falling victim to what the scheme is offering, take the opportunity to reflect on what the scheme is promoting. If you are intrigued by a drink that claims to make you more productive, evaluate why you feel unproductive in the first place. By identifying faulty areas, you can easily recognize the disconnect in the process and restore it accordingly. Improving productivity can be as simple as rearranging your schedule or creating a new way to work. Bottom line: good results come from working hard, working smart, and utilizing reliable, trustworthy resources.
So is this drink just another gimmick or can improved work performance really be consumed through a can? Whether or not its worth a test trial, AccelaWork simply believes, you get what you pay for. Contact our consultants today!
Enjoy the clip below:
Here's a transcript of the video:Dismissed from drama school with a note that read, "Wasting her time. She's too shy to put her best foot forward." (Lucille Ball)Turned down by the Decca Recording Co. who said,? "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." (The Beatles)
A failed soldier, farmer, and real estate agent, at 38 years old he went to work for his father as a handyman. (Ulysses S. Grant)
Cut from the high school basketball team, he went home, locked himself in his room and cried. (Michael Jordan)
A teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything and he should go into a field where he might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality. (Thomas Edison)
Fired from a newspaper because he "lacked imagination" and had "no original ideas." (Walt Disney)
His fiancee died, he failed in business twice, he had a nervous breakdown, and he was defeated in eight elections. (Abraham Lincoln)
If you've never failed, you've never lived.
life = risk
All of these individuals were famous for their productivity in their chosen profession. As we have covered before success in worker productivity requires failure. Be prepared to make mistakes as they will lead you to victories. Some people shy away from failure. They won't pursue something because it seems too hard or the risk seems to great. But if any of the people mentioned in the video above had felt that same way, then the world would've been deprived of seeing their great skill and the gifts they left us.
The people in the video aren't the only successful ones to have failed at first. Business Insider has a list of others who could've been included for inspiration. Check out a few more below.
Oprah Winfrey was publicly fired from her first television job as an anchor in Baltimore for getting "too emotionally invested in her stories."The same can be applied to your business. While sure successes may appear to be the right route, very rarely is something great achieved on the first try. Looking into untapped markets, finding innovative ways to work, or sticking your neck out for a cause you believe in is much harder than simply playing it safe. But without those risks, there can't be any real reward.Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts multiple times.
Soichiro Honda's unique vision got him ostracized by the Japanese business community.
After having trouble adjusting to the culture and his classes, Dick Cheney dropped out of Yale — and then returned, only to drop out for good.
Sir Isaac Newton's mother pulled him out of school as a boy so that he could run the family farm. He failed miserably.
When Sidney Poitier first auditioned for the American Negro Theatre, he flubbed his lines and spoke in a heavy Caribbean accent, which made the director angrily tell him to stop wasting his time and go get a job as a dishwasher.
In one of Fred Astaire's first screen tests, an executive wrote: "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little."
There's no reason to fear failure. You should embrace it, and even seek it out. Failure is where you learn the lessons needed to succeed later on. And when you view your pursuits through that lens, then it's actually impossible to fail. Rather you're just hitting minor roadblocks and learning points along the route to success.
For more information on this, reach out to our consultants at AccelaWork. We can help your organization tap into its true potential.
Seasoned web designer Greg Hoy offered this gem in Getting to No:
Determining which prospects you want to work with is often considered a luxury. Don’t think of it that way. Even if the economy is in the tank and you absolutely need the gig, you should be very critical of the prospects you’re considering working with. These are the people who will become part of your immediate and potentially long-term future, and you want to make sure you don’t spend that time drinking schnapps to get through the day or grinding your teeth at night.The title of Hoy's article was a spin on a popular business book from the early nineties. In Getting to Yes, the authors explained how to negotiate so that all parties benefit as you work toward an agreement. But in Getting to No, haggling over details is a sign that you might want to walk away:Remember: the prospect you’re considering is the client you’ll have.
If you ?nd yourself unable to come to terms after negotiating ten versions of your contract with your prospect, or if they keep asking for updated project plans before you’ve even signed an agreement, beware. They may show similar tendencies during the actual project, especially if the people you’re negotiating with are the same people on the project team.In rare cases, such scrutiny garners better results, but it more frequently results in watered-down, design-by-committee mediocrity.
Even if you're not looking to hire contracts, declining work is an important skill. Our blog has covered consultants saying no to work. Productive work environments arise when we are eager to accept responsibilities we know we can tackle and willing to pass on those better left for others. If you need help knowing when to say yes and when to say no, reach out to our business consultants at AccelaWork. We'll help you learn that two letter word.
The story of Professor T. Steuart Watson is recounted in a newspaper article:
Each day, Watson and his minions meticulously counted how many marks were on each wall.New graffiti popped up every day, in every one of the restrooms.
But "after treatment was implemented", Watson reveals, "no marking occurred on any of the walls, and they remained free of graffiti at a three-month follow-up". No marking at all. None. Not a jot. Cleanliness uninterrupted. This was complete, utter success.
The treatment was simple: "Taping a sign on the wall that read, 'A local licensed doctor has agreed to donate a set amount of money to the local chapter of the United Way for each day this wall remains free of any writing, drawing, or other markings'."
The success of this project is truly remarkable. These were restrooms where new graffiti appeared every day and where the walls were frequently repainted. The amount of the donation was not included on the sign, so Watson set the amount at a measly five cents per bathroom per day. How could a single piece of paper have such a tremendous influence on behavior?
That same question is posed in the article:
Why was the treatment so very – nay, completely – effective? Watson speculates that "prior to posting the signs, bare walls appeared to function as discriminative stimuli for graffiti, perhaps because it was not apparent that anyone cared. Posting the signs was evidence that a prominent citizen (a doctor) was prepared to pay for results.""An alternative explanation," he says, "is that the presence of the observers prompted restroom users to refrain from writing on walls."
Both of Watson's theories suggest that the sign influences motivation. If bathroom visitors feel inspired by the donation, they choose not to leave graffiti because it feels good to support the philanthropic cause. If bathroom visitors feel scrutinized by the notion that someone is checking the wall each day, they are acting out of fear and guilt.
We haven't been asked to review the markings in any bathrooms here in Indianapolis. Consultants aren't usually called into to look at that kind of problem. But perhaps we should look not just at the outcome of a situation but the context. Going to the bathroom, after all, is a routine task. This is a "job" that requires a few minutes of our time and is not particularly exciting. Reading the sign encourages bathroom visitors to contemplate the impacts of graffiti, and allows them to take some credit for helping a worthy cause. Going to the bathroom may be a tedious job, but this distraction helps it be a little less boring.
The objective of this study was to cut down on unwanted graffiti. In reality though, the program may have first reduced general malaise or enhanced individual guilt, thus leading to the desired result. At work, we should be conscious of the effects as well as the causes. After all, the office is a place where we actually want employees to be creative. No organization can succeed if the walls always remain bare.
According to one article, thousands of prisoners would be vaccinated against the swine flu before the general public.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons and state health officials say more than 45,000 convicts are being considered for the vaccine. They've been targeted by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distribution policy to receive the vaccine.To some law-abiding citizens of this nation, losing the potential to receive the shot for their kids or themselves to a prisoner, is unfair. Yet, The Centers For Disease Control disagreed wholeheartedly:Texas is the second state to announce it would vaccinate prisoners before vaccinating the general public. Earlier this month, Massachusetts announced it would do the same.
Officials plan to inoculate more than 40,000 correctional officers and medical personnel who work with those prisoners and are also considered to be at high-risk for developing the flu.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to states listing categories of people who are highest priority for receiving vaccinations against the virulent influenza strain known as swine flu. Christopher Cox, spokesman for the CDC, said the high priority guidance applies to higher-risk people whether they are in a prison, a homeless shelter, a school, or a nursing home.Spokesman Cox defended the overall decision stating, "What we're looking at is vulnerability to getting sick and dying of H1N1. That's what we're trying to prevent."
As controversial as this subject was, the truth of the matter is, there's no right answer. For those individuals desperate for flu shots for their kids or themselves, their argument cannot be disputed. Yet, to deny certain citizens the right to protect themselves from the flu simply because of their past behavior, also seems unjust. Bottom line, with every situation that involves satisfying the expectations of two opposing positions, an impasse usually forms. And although workplace controversies are rarely a matter of life or death, its important to remember that all sides have ownership in their stance.
The essential path to keep in mind when dealing with seemingly unresolvable rifts between stakeholders, is that arguments are heard and acknowledged. A compromise may not be easily discovered, but airing frustrations in a constructive manner may help stakeholders recognize each others point of view.
The important thing in situations like this is communication. If someone simply says they're going to vaccinate prisoners first, then the rest of the population could very likely have a problem with it. However, if it's explained why those prisoners are at a higher risk, and the plan for when the vaccine will get to the general population, then it's more than likely that most rational people won't have nearly as big of a problem with the situation as they did before they had a full slate of information. By explaining the logic behind the decision, a civil conversation can take place, and a solution that benefits the majority of stakeholders can be found.
As we have covered in the past, employee satisfaction and friction between stakeholders is not detrimental so long as it sparks useful conversation that leads to growth rather than stagnation. Sometimes a respectful conflict can be the optimal way to reach an ideal solution. If your company is wedged between opposing points of view and wishes to bring satisfaction to all parties involved, contact our business consultants today.
The presentation outlines the main challenges of social media and productivity. The interactive talk began with a discussion of some relevant background about social media, including the famous small world experiments, the 90-9-1 Principle and the popular notion that social media is a waste of time. These factors help set the stage for a discussion on social media and productivity because they provide empirical evidence for our connectedness, our tendency to not contribute and the widespread, yet false perception that social media is not productive.
The group then studied definitions of basic terms. First: a reminder that social media is not technology. Although we tend to get caught up in the latest buzzwords and gadgetry, social media is actually the alarming propensity of connection between human beings. This phenomenon is about leveraging the ways we know each other and, in this sense, is not fundamentally new.
Second: a reminder that productivity is beyond action. With any new tool, it's easy to become distracted with activity without making progress. Productivity is the ability to define objectives and meet objectives. To make social media productive, we must move beyond the allure and mystery of the technology as well as beyond the simplicity of being busy. Instead, we need to set goals and then set out to meet them.
Attendees completed a series of worksheets and small group activities designed to help establish objectives. The group then reviewed a few quick case studies of how social media was used to produce a desired result. Participants left the event with take-home materials and ideas for their respective organizations. Hopefully, everyone assembled will be using social media more productively in the weeks and months to come!
AccelaWork offers a shortened version of this and many other presentations. For more information and other course offerings, contact our Indianapolis consultants.
Special thanks to Rainmaker University and Spinweb for facilitating and hosting this event!
In her article, also posted on Entrepreneur, Schenck listed out tips for accomplishing a good business reputation for price, quality and speed:
Be good at everything and great at something Customers expect your business to offer quality at good prices with prompt service, but they don’t expect you to be the market leader on all three fronts.Reading through, it's not hard to see that these tips can be very useful in gaining business as well as retaining current customers. After all, it comes as no surprise that consumers desire and expect the best. This is particularly true considering that the economy is forcing many businesses to lower prices, increase speed and maintain quality in order to offer a competitive edge.Strengthen your strongest suit Customers decide where to go for services, products, meals, or whatever else they’re ready to buy based on how well they believe businesses will address their wants and needs. If they aren’t sure what your business does well, they’ll opt for a competitor they trust to give them what they want.
Face and overcome your weaknesses To grow your business, you have to attract customers who may currently think you don’t offer what they want and value.
Take action today If the big guys can adjust their mammoth organizations to meet the market’s want-it-all demands, your nimble small business can certainly do it as well. Go for it!
Yet, as simple as it is to invest much of your time, money and effort into what your company is best at—as the first two tips suggest—perhaps it might be more beneficial to focus on the weaker aspects of your company.
True, these underdeveloped areas don't seem to have much value. They certainly don't help make your business cheaper, better or faster. If they have any role at all, besides subjecting the company to slower productivity, potential failure and vulnerability, it is that old routines are familiar. But as we have covered in the past, business process implementation due to tradition alone is usually not a good reason to keep doing something the same way. If you only focus on where you are already strong, your efforts overshadow the areas where you have the greatest potential for improvement.
As the third and fourth tips suggest, DO face and overcome weaknesses; DO take action today! AccelaWork believes whole-heartedly that winning by failing still improves workplace productivity, no matter how large or small it may be, it is an incredibly proactive way to bring about success. Contact our consultants to learn more.
The article is titled Pass The Bricks. I Need To Make Our Wall Stronger. Here's a great quote from the intro:
Have you ever worked in a company where every functional group had their own “kingdom”? I have. It was frustrating. I've also had the pleasure of consulting for companies where the objective seems to be “How can we screw the other groups?” and communication seems to be discouraged.Most of us can appreciate the notion that large organizations are divided into smaller groups. These factions often tend to be more political than practical. Sometimes it seems like different managers are vying for control of funds, resources or attention. Sometimes it seems like their goal is to make life more difficult for internal adversaries.
The advice for this situation is so frequently repeated that it has almost lost all meaning: Communication is crucial. The reason we tend to build kingdoms and walls instead of building teams and productive patterns is that we do not effectively discuss what we want and need.
Let us know if you're interested in communicating more effectively. Contact our business consultants at AccelaWork today!
Graban quoted the original Wired article:
When: 1960sLean Blog contributor Mark Graban responded directly:What: Midway through the Cold War, American leaders began to worry that a rogue US officer might launch a small, unauthorized strike, prompting massive retaliation. So in 1962, Robert McNamara ordered every nuclear weapon locked with numerical codes.
Effect: None. Irritated by the restriction, Strategic Air Command set all the codes to strings of zeros. The Defense Department didn't learn of the subterfuge until 1977.
Isn't it amazing to see how clever people can be in working around a top-down management mandate? Would Secretary McNamara been more successful if he had involved all of the stakeholders and gotten buy in instead of issuing an order? How did DoD not know about the "subterfuge"? Because they weren't going to the "gemba"??There's considerable wisdom in Graban's commentary. He noted, for example, that the decision makers were probably not going to the gemba, a Japanese word roughly meaning "scene of the crime." Graban also wondered if McNamara should have worked with stakeholders instead of sending down another mandate.
However, there's even more going on here than just the usual issue of top-down management, command and control thinking, and a failure to engage stakeholders on their own turf. The greater question is why did leaders feel that officers might be untrustworthy? After all, the original motivation for the change was due to the concern that a rogue US officer might order a small nuclear strike without proper authority. (It's not clear if this fear came from the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, in which actor Sterling Hayden plays this very character.)
To improve process at organizations, we must recognize that workarounds often represent frustration, lack of communication and mistrust. Yet, they are also a fundamental source for improvement: a workaround usually illustrates what stakeholders truly desire. If you need help identifying challenges in your organization, contact our consultants at AccelaWork. We help companies realize that passwords set to "all zeros" illustrate that perhaps there is a better way to design access and control.
Robby Slaughter opened the discussion with a reminder that time management is really about everyday work, balancing focus and interruptions, and finding a system that works for you:
Routine tasks really occupy a well-defined period of our time. They occupy that time we use to focus on our work during the course of our day. They occupy what we think about as our jobs, or the things we do every day.(A full breakdown of the workshop session is archived at the IWST website and includes some great thoughts by the other speakers. )And although we call it time management...it's not really the time we are trying to manage. Time is not something we can really store up or trade, like money. So instead of trying to manage time, perhaps we should try to manage our focus, and how our focus is taken away from us: as distractions or interrupts.
It's great to study the literature [on time management and find a system], but ultimately everybody's time is their own time, everybody's focus is their own focus. The work that you do in your job—no matter what you do—is mostly what happens when no one is looking. So ultimately whatever system you are going to use, you have to invent and define and expand for yourself.
While individual time management is crucial, we should ask whether or not the culture and workflow of organization impacts our ability to manage time. The answer is clear: time management is productivity, so company success is limited to the amount of work made possible by the working environment.
Consider the following examples:
An article posted on switched.com reported on an American Airlines web designer, anonymously named "Mr. X", who was fired after responding to a dissatisfied customer's complaint. According to the airline, his e-mail to the disgruntled individual "violated a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that he had signed with the airline and that prohibited him from revealing 'sensitive information.'" Yet to Dustin Curtis, the frustrated customer, Mr. X's response was the only positive outcome he received from the company:
AA fired Mr. X because he cared. They fired him because he cared enough to reach out to a dissatisfied customer and help clear the company's name in the best way he could.
Though this story has several points of view and varying issues that can be argued, there is one common factor: disconnect. By reading Mr. Curtis' original letter and Mr. X's email response, you may gather there is an obvious disconnect not only between American Airlines and its customers, but between the airline and its employees as well. As we have covered before, employee retention depends on leadership and bad management can lead to low worker productivity which creates low employee satisfaction. And where there are dissatisfied employees, there are dissatisfied customers.
As cliché as it sounds, if problems persist in a top-down fashion through a company, a sweeping domino effect can occur; leaving all stakeholders at a loss. For Mr. Curtis, his conclusions on how American Airlines operates are reason enough for him to steer clear of becoming a re-occuring customer:
The reason large companies with bad design are the way they are is because they are run poorly from the top, with philosophies that force the entire company to behave like its lowest common denominator. The company ends up making bad products. It ends up treating its customers badly. And if the company is being run by people who don't have taste, it gets stuck. Eventually, the company's brand suffers.If your company is suffering from issues of competence, which results in a loss of clientele, problems within management or a lack in successful and productive work, contact our business consultants today. We help organizations leverage innovation from the bottom up.
The secret to making improvements is planning and enacting change. Here are seven tips for seven weeks to get you started:
When you're facing a desk swamped in papers, or a closet bursting with clothes, or counter-tops littered with piles of random objects, don't say to yourself, "I need to get organized." Your first instinct should be to get rid of stuff. If you don't keep it, you don't have to organize it.This is fantastic advice, not just for your home but your business as well. Start your productivity project by getting rid of something, and try to do this at least once a week through the end of the year. You can toss a piece of paper, throw out unused junk, or decide that you're just not going to pursue that project any more. There aren't many feelings more powerful than having less on your plate. Throw something away so you can focus on everything else!
When home-made diagrams are at eye level, they become part of the landscape of our business. We want to make adjustments and modifications. We want to see ideas become reality. We have a visual reference for the way we want our business to operate staring back at us at eye level. And the best way to interact with documents on the wall is to stand up, become active and engaged, and talk about the ideas presented with the rest of the team. A picture may be a worth a thousand words, so a diagram of how your company works hanging on your company's wall beats a million pages of written documentation hiding on a shelf or in a drawer. The difference: this work will actually be read and maintained.
There are a million ways to find momentary happiness. Eat some chocolate. Get a massage. Take a vacation. Read a gossip magazine. The pleasure derived from a moment of relaxation can rejuvenate us so that we can get back to work. But an even better way to find satisfaction is to do something for someone else. Provide some positive affirmation for a co-worker or friend. Give a small, unexpected gift. Offer to help out with a project that helps someone feel less overwhelmed. Satisfaction moves among groups of people in a viral fashion through a scientific phenomenon called emotional contagion. Be happy, make others happy, and leverage that happiness to get more work done.
Now is the best time to put things on your calendar that seem tremendously important but not particularly urgent. Go reserve a half day six months from now to create the outline for that book you want to write. Block off time to call your referral partners every month, or reserve time for a regular meeting with colleagues. Even if you don't know when others are available, marking down time helps to create something rigorous in your schedule. It's easy to fill an open day with unspecified work. It's hard to ignore an appointment you set ages ago because you made a commitment.
The purpose of looking back is not to identify where you went wrong, but to see what parts of your life in the last twelve months were most powerful. Don't just repeat the parts that were positive and avoid those that were negative. We need to fail in order to learn how to succeed. Reflect on who you have become over the course of this year. Prepare yourself to grow in the year to come.
However, it's essential that this plan not become a monument to your failure. DeMarco and Lister write that "If the date is missed, the schedule was wrong. It doesn't matter why the date was missed. The purpose of the schedule was planning, not goal-setting." No one knows what the future will bring, so be open to changing the plan! Be prepared to move items or drop them off the list. As President Dwight Eisenhower once noted, "Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable." Get ready for the future, but don't cling to the past.
A version of this post was also published as a guest blog for Roundpeg, an Indianapolis-based marketing agency.
Nicki Laycoax of Squish Designs made the following comment on the microblogging site Twitter:
Obviously, it's impossible to know the full circumstances from such a limited amount of information. We don't know if Laycoax merely received an application or if the candidate was already interviewed in person, but it is clear that the words "I'm so productive at work" were interpreted as sarcasm. Laycoax clearly assumes that this individual is wasting time at their current employer and bragging about it, and she is using that information to disqualify the candidate.
We can readily jump to the defense of the accused. Perhaps his current job involved writing movie reviews, so watching the classic 1980 film Caddyshack is a required workplace task. Or maybe the company was rewarding his past efforts and had encouraged him to take some leisure time at the office. There might be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he was enjoying a Bill Murray comedy while joking about productivity.
However, most people likely sided with Laycoax. On Twitter, she went on to explain that "We have enough on our plates... Def[initely] don't need to stay on top of someone to make sure they aren't slacking." Laycoax also noted that "Small biz & entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. We work too hard & can't carry someone that doesn't display that work ethic."
Laycoax explains her technique and rationale: "I Googled his name...Same thing I do with anyone that inquires. Like to make sure people will mesh well & be dedicated." Laycoax was not unusual in this regard. Checking out applicants online is commonplace, as has been reported by the Seattle Post-Intellegencer and the Chicago Tribune.
Certainly the practice is ethical. Messages on Twitter, Facebook and other websites are generally public knowledge, so employers can use them to screen candidates. The question is whether or not it is advisable.
While we don't know all the details, we can surmise from Laycoax's comments, and our own practical experience, that employees who appear to boast about wasting time at work are probably prone to do so. However, the opposite is not necessarily better: individuals who do not advertise that they are goofing off may in fact just be better at concealing their laziness. They may also be fearful of being misinterpreted and thus are consciously maintaining two lives: one that is work-safe and another that reflects their true personality.
None of these possible scenarios are really that advantageous. Candidates who talk about being unproductive are certainly unproductive at times, but they are also honest. Candidates who don't admit to being unproductive might be tremendously efficient, but they also might be sneaky or paranoid. Are any of these hypothetical character traits really that superior?
Most powerful of all is the evidence that goofing off at work actually improves worker productivity. Of course, watching movies all day long is certainly an exception to these findings. Boasting that your employer is paying you to do nothing could be a sign that you lack motivation. However, taking short breaks does increase productivity. Employees who feel they have authority, responsibility and autonomy are more generally more effective because they are not worried about being micromanaged which affects employee productivity. There's far more power in rewarding results than in marking time which lowers employee satisfaction.
Did Nicki Laycoax and Squish Designs make the right decision by disqualifying this candidate? Probably. They live in a fast-paced work environment focused on the Internet, web development and social media, so individuals that could be construed as lazy might be bad for their image. But it's also poignant to note that although Laycoax attempted to obfuscate the applicant's name with a black box, a quick visit to Twitter's search engine reveals his identity. If the offhand comments of the candidate reveal that he is lazy, does Laycoax's own short message—which only partially masks the identity of the accused—reveal a sliver of carelessness or a lack of technical knowledge in the same area where she issued her judgment?
It is difficult to say, but we can fairly assert that significant business decisions tell us as much about the target as they do about the decision-maker. Laycoax was clearly uninterested in candidates who boast about wasting time at work and she provided good rationale for her actions. She was also devoted to sharing her thought process with the world by broadcasting it online. She was prepared to make some effort to conceal the name of the rejected individual, but is unwilling, unable or perhaps not conscientious enough to fully protect him.
Should employers disqualify candidates after reviewing their digital footprints? If doing so reflects the culture of the organization and their interaction with customers, absolutely. Should they share this policy with potential candidates? Possibly: it's common knowledge that employers will Google you, but it never hurts to emphasize how applicants will be evaluated. Should firms publicly announce when and why a candidate is rejected? Only if they are certain that the individual cannot be identified.
At AccelaWork, we help organizations work through these challenges. To increase employee productivity, we must also increase employee satisfaction. This may require better filtering techniques during the hiring process, but also changes to culture, language and workflow. If this story sound familiar or inspires questions, contact our consultants at AccelaWork. We're here to assist you in working smarter.
For those of you who missed or have forgotten that specific game, the Colts spent the better half of four quarters battling a seemingly unstoppable offensive and defensive Patriot line. In fact, with less than ten minutes remaining on the clock and the Colts seventeen points behind, many ticket holders streamed out of Lucas Oil Stadium in apparent surrender. However, turns out their judgment on the loss was a tad premature. As Phil Richards summarized in the Indianapolis Star, the turning point in the game came when one play went catastrophically wrong:
New England coach Bill Belichick opted to go for a first down on fourth-and-2 from the Patriots 28-yard line with 2:08 to play. Three plays after Colts safety Melvin Bullitt hammered running back Kevin Faulk down after a 1-yard gain, Peyton Manning's 1-yard pass to Wayne made the Colts 35-34 winners.The victory echoed throughout the entire stadium as the remaining fans celebrated in the stands. Unfortunately for those who left early, the victory was bittersweet. Though the win was a fantastic display of talent and excitement, the self-inflicted absence of many patrons brought feelings of sadness. According to Daniel Stokes, who attended the game but celebrated the Colts victory in his car while driving on I465, "I should have never underestimated Peyton Manning. No matter what the circumstances, he always recovers and brings a win. I'm so mad at myself for leaving when I did!"
Having doubt is a natural feeling and one that provokes a reactive state of mind rather than a thoughtful, reflective one. So in the end, taking immediate action, whether rational or not, seems to become the thing to do in unstable or unpredictable situations. In any industry there are ups and downs, wins and losses, yet no matter what, its important never to abandon a venture simply because it appears susceptible to failure. By doing so, you may miss out on limited-time opportunities or worse yet, invaluable experiences.
If your company abandons projects often or operates re-actively versus proactively during times of uncertainty, contact our professional business consultants today.
According to Mark Gunther, the framing makes all the difference:
When a meat-based entrée is being served, and people are offered a vegetarian alternative, about 5 to 10 percent will request it.Whether you love hamburgers or eat nothing but vegetables, it's easy to see the difference between these two outcomes. But for organizers, one type of meal could be preferable to another. What if vegetarian meals were less expensive, or the topic of the conference was to highlight new cooking techniques for poultry? In these scenarios there's more at stake than just the menu. Subtly nudging one choice over another can have a significant impact on final results.But what if the choices were reversed? Organizers... tried an experiment: They made a vegetarian lunch the default option, and gave meat eaters the choice of opting out.
Some 80 percent went for the veggies, not because there were lots of vegetarians in the crowd of about 700 people but because the choice was framed differently. We know that because, at a prior conference, when meat was the default option, attendees chose the meat by an 83 percent to 17 percent margin.
This may seem like the psychology of manipulation to you, but you don't necessarily have to take it in such a sinister way. Understanding the way people think and the way that framing can impact outcome can be hugely advantageous when managing people or putting business processes in place. Gunther discusses these benefits in his original post.
Might there be broad-based ways to promote a vegetarian diet, while giving people the freedom to choose what they want? How can smart-grid technology be designed to encourage people to conserve energy? Which “green” marketing messages work, and which don’t? Can the insights of behavioral economics help fight climate change?At AccelaWork, we love to analyze the interplay of incentive and outcome. We first covered this topic back in 2006 with a discussion of corporate productivity and car mileage. We analyzed a proposed ban on employee productivity while texting and driving. We highlighted the efforts of a car company to make boring tasks business improvement solutions. And just last month, we discussed employee satisfaction and public restroom graffiti. All of these things are just further examples to highlight how useful it can be to focus on the process of recognizing the most effective ways to change behavior.Those are the questions that engaged the policy makers, academics, and business executives at this BECC (Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference) event, which differs from most conversations about climate change. Typically, when politicians, environmentalists or corporate executives discuss the issue, they focus on technology (solar, wind, electric cars) or regulation (cap-and-trade, the UN climate talks). The BECC crowd focuses on another powerful lever, albeit one that doesn’t get as much attention: human behavior, and in particular the irrational, emotional, self-defeating, short-term, inconsiderate, and plain old silly human behavior that most of us engage in every day.
So much of what we do in business and government is to change behavior. We must recognize, however, that the least effective way to change behavior is through edict and enforcement. Instead of telling stakeholders how we want them to act, adjust the incentives. If you want change at your organization, don't try to force it. Draw on the ideas and passions of stakeholders and the power of human behavior. Reach out to our business improvement consultants to learn more.
The full clip is less than five minutes. Here is the direct link.
Glaser may not be well known outside artistic and design circles, but he is famous for the "I 'heart' New York" logo and several renown posters, logos and other creations. But it's his commentary in this brief lecture that is most profound:For me drawing has always been the most fundamental way of engaging the world. I'm convinced that it is only through drawing that I actually look at things carefully. The act of drawing makes me conscious of what I am looking at. If I wasn't drawing, I get the sense that I wouldn't be seeing.This is good advice for anyone interested in art, but also for someone pursuing business process improvement. The single biggest factor in changing workflow and productivity is to favor diagrams over documentation. Writing down a sequence of steps or a plan of action is helpful. But unlike written documentation, pictures tend to communicate action and fluidity rather than rules and rigidity.
A study from Washington University further expanded on the benefits of diagrams.
The study, by Mark A. McDaniel, a professor of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, and graduate student Dung C. Bui, found that college students who had visual aids given to them before a science lecture were better able to understand and remember the lecture, but illustrative diagrams helped more than outlines.There are countless other studies online that highlight the ways that diagrams can improve comprehension. If topics are more complex, then maybe a longer, written form could be useful, but it's always good to start with breaking down things to their most basic level in a visual way. Between the increased understanding, and the more casual tone, there's really no reason not to bring this ideology into your daily workflow."Participants given illustrative diagrams likely engaged in deeper levels of processing while listening to the lecture," the authors conclude.
Previous research has highlighted the benefits of note-taking for students, finding that students better retain information when writing it down. (And there have been subsequent studies about writing vs. typing notes.) But not all note-taking is made equal, leading researchers to question what cognitive processes involved in notetaking lead to better performance.
The McDaniel-Bui study, released online earlier this spring, included 144 undergraduate students.Participants listened to a 12-minute lecture about car brakes and pumps. Except for those in the control group, students got either outlines or illustrative diagrams. They were then tested to see what information they recalled and whether they understood it.
While the students who had any form of visual aid always did better than students in the control group, students with diagrams, on average, outperformed students with only outlines.
Whether you are trying to prepare for a new year, plotting organizational productivity, or understand the spread of disease and its effectiveness on worker productivity, pictures have power. According to Milton Glaser, perhaps the reason people are afraid of making sketches is based on an unfounded fear:
Curiously, people think that the difficulty of drawing is making things look accurate. But, accuracy is the least significant part of drawing.Don't be afraid to draw pictures because they won't be flawless. Perfect is the enemy of good. An informal picture can be changed, improved, and understood by anyone. If you're ready to learn how to diagram what you do, contact our consultants at AccelaWork. We help organizations put pen to paper and draw the future of their business.
Made up words like "tweetsgiving" deserve some explanation. This is a combination of the term "Tweet", meaning to send a message via service Twitter, and the word "thanksgiving."
A non-profit group called Epic Change organized this fundraiser using Twitter with the word "tweetsgiving." In only 48 hours, they collected $10,000 almost entirely from small donors. Members of the Indianapolis blogging community are took part in a larger effort which included an event at at Scotty's Brewhouse downtown.
The process for participating in this event was simple.
1. TWEET THANKS: Share something you’re thankful for with all your twitter followers. Your tweets can be touching or silly, poignant or fun. Just tweet from the heart and be sure to include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to:http://tinyurl.com/4thanks.Thanksgiving is such a meaningful holiday because everyone understands gratitude. The comforts and assurances of life may range to include great personal success, home-cooked meals or simply the kind words of friends and family. Likewise, in our business we have something special to be thankful for: the opportunity to help people improve.2. GIVE: Make a donation in honor of whatever – or whomever – you’re grateful for.
* Every $10 buys a brick to build a classroom in Tanzania. (1,000 bricks = new classroom!) Email your TweetsGiving tweet to tweetsgiving@gmail.com, and it will be painted on your brick!
* For $100 or more, you’ll be named one of our “Top Turkeys” and we’ll list your gift on our site.
* Or, with the holiday season approaching, you may buy unique gifts at:http://shop.EpicChange.org. With each purchase, you’ll add one or more bricks to a new classroom at the school.
3. SPREAD THE GRATITUDE: Follow @TweetsGiving to fill your twitter stream with gratitude, then blog, retweet, or even change your avatar to the TweetsGiving Turkey.”
This is a rarer gift than it may seem. Not all potential clients are ready to make changes to workflow or are willing to acknowledge the possibility of working more productively. Even those who recognize the need for change do not always want to speak to outside consultants. We understand that sometimes just opening the doors is the greatest challenge of all. It not only requires trust, but also the ability to admit that there could be a need for change. We are truly grateful that we continue to find organizations that are willing to talk about positive change from within.
The business of business improvement has no secrets. If we can help you find a way to work smarter from one 15 minute presentation, we are grateful for the opportunity to do so. Of course, our business runs on revenue from paying clients. Yet, in all truthfulness, the chance to help is all the reason we need to be here. Proceeds from this event went to help Epic Change.
Epic Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses the power of stories to create social change. Their current project is to rebuild and expand Shepherds Junior, a primary school in Arusha, Tanzania. Mama Lucy Kamptoni, a savvy and passionate local woman, started the school near her home in 2003 with the money she raised from selling chickens. She believes that education is the key to transforming a country gripped by poverty. By participating in TweetsGiving, you’re investing in the education and future of students like Gideon, Pius, Glory, and many more who have the potential to change the world. All the funds raised will go to build a new classroom at the school.Thanks again for the opportunity to help you improve. We are truly thankful.
Other participants that were involved in Tweetsgiving Indianapolis:
Orbitz revealed the Top Ten Airports To Avoid On Thanksgiving. Here were the top ten "Orbitz Insider" busiest airports for Thanksgiving 2015.
“With travel expected to be up six percent, those heading to airports this Thanksgiving will need to build in extra time to account for bigger crowds and longer lines,” said Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor of Orbitz.com. “As expected, Wednesday, Nov. 25and Sunday, Nov. 29 will be the busiest of the weekend. Travelers looking to avoid the crowds should consider flying out on Thanksgiving day and coming back on Monday, Nov. 30, both the least busy of the holiday weekend.”They also released a list of the least busy airports, but as you'll see, the majority of them aren't convenient to too many major cities.
1 Los Angeles International Los Angeles, Calif. LAX 2 Chicago O’Hare International Chicago, Ill. ORD 3 San Francisco International San Francisco, Calif. SFO 4 Denver International Denver, Colo. DEN 5 Boston Logan International Boston, Mass. BOS 6 John F. Kennedy International New York, N.Y. JFK 7 Orlando International Orlando, Fla. MCO 8 Newark Liberty International Newark, N.J. EWR 9 Dallas-Fort Worth International Dallas, Texas DFW 10 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Atlanta, Ga. ATL
As useful as this information may have been, the fact still remained: for many, traveling is unavoidable. Many businesses are still open. Many schools are still in session. At that point in time, reasonable travel alternatives are scarce. Yet, regardless of these simple facts, Orbitz still said "if you have already booked a flight in or out one of these airports, well, then it sucks to be you." Translation: for those of you committed to traveling that day, congratulations! You're doomed for a really miserable time.
1 Eppley Airfield Omaha, Neb. OMA 2 Kahului Airport Maui, Hawaii OGG 3 Mineta San Jose International San Jose, Calif. SJC 4 Jacksonville International Jacksonville, Fla. JAX 5 Palm Beach International West Palm Beach, Fla. PBI 6 Nashville International Nashville, Tenn. BNA 7 General Mitchell International Milwaukee, Wis. MKE 8 John Wayne Airport Orange County, Calif. SNA 9 Port Columbus International Columbus, Ohio CMH 10 Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Cincinnati, Ohio CVG
It's no secret that airport foul-ups calls their their organizational productivity into question and are incredibly frustrating, particularly during the holidays when time is of the essence. Still, the majority of the time, there's not much you as an individual can do about it. Likewise, bad processes in the workplace—no matter how expected or unexpected they may be—are sometimes hard to avoid. However, this shouldn't be the reason to fret over elements that are out of your control. It shouldn't be a viable reason for giving up on the venture either. In fact, such a resolution seems counterproductive.
Instead, rise to the challenge. Stop focusing on how terrible the consequences may be, and narrow your focus on making the outcomes better. For those of you traveling today: pack light to avoid checking bags, pre-print your boarding pass at home, familiarize yourself with current TSA rules, bring that book you've been wanting to read, splurge on the latest tunes for your iPod. Regardless of the situation, vow to head out knowing what's in store and prepared to handle the worst. You may just end up finding out it wasn't so terrible. AccelaWork assists in seeking positive, productive solutions to problems. Contact our business process improvement consultants today to learn more.
The principle behind these sale events is a technique called a loss leader. A store will lower prices on a handful of items, sometimes to a point even below their own cost. The store advertises heavily in hopes of leading people into the store. Although some products will be sold at a loss, store managers hope that patrons will buy other items out of convenience.
The deep discounts offered on Black Friday are an extreme example of this concept. Retailers may only have a handful of the advertised items in stock but will also advertise other low prices. Often, stores will pull back their opening hours to create additional buzz for the event. For shoppers, beating this system is simple: only buy what you came in the store to purchase.
If you use this technique, you are likely to return home with some incredible holiday deals. But if all shoppers remained diligent and never bought anything that wasn't advertised in the newspaper circular, the practice of Black Friday would come to an end. Retailers can only afford to sell some inventory at a loss if their customers buy other items where they make a profit.
Not only do retailers hope that merely getting customers into their stores will increase profits, but they sometimes take the extra step of marking up other products in the hopes of maximizing total profit. A Yahoo! Finance article detailed some of those techniques:
Many of the worst deals being offered on Black Friday feature out-of-season products. Prices for home improvement tools and supplies tend to be best around Father’s Day, closer to when many consumers are looking for spring cleaning sales. Both Lowe’s and The Home Depot offer “Spring Black Friday” sales. According to FatWallet’s Brent Shelton, gas grills are a better deal in the fall, when retailers are looking to clear out unsold inventory from the summer months.Black Friday also coincides with the peak demand for some popular gifts. Among these are toys, winter clothing, and holiday decorations. Shoppers buying toys for their kids may want to wait until December, since prices for toys tend to drop as Christmas approaches. Winter clothing and holiday decorations also tend to be especially expensive around Black Friday.
Customers should also be on the lookout for products that tend to be marked up on Black Friday. Electronics often are loss leaders, meaning companies sell them at a loss to get customers into their stores. However, the accessories that come with many electronics are frequently marked up.
Marketing expert Seth Godin said it best: "Cheap is the last refuge of a marketer who is out of ideas." Reducing prices to below cost as a hope of enticing people into your store assumes they won't just buy the marked-down items and leave. The loss leader strategy creates a conflict between two essential groups of stakeholders. Management wants more people to come into the store, but customers want the cheapest prices. This tension may drive revenues, but it also creates frustration. A third group of stakeholders is most negatively impacted: store employees.
At AccelaWork, we help people analyze and understand the methodologies they use to make decisions and conduct work. Loss leaders, sales, and price adjustments are just another category of stakeholder analysis. If you want to learn to think and act more clearly at work, contact our Indianapolis consultants. We can help improve the processes you use to serve customers and build success every day.
In one of our blog posts, our business consulting expert discussed SOP, and we outlined the story of a company that transformed workflow with a simple new document:
The team at XYZ Industries ran a fairly efficient warehouse floor, often processing as many as 60 orders per day. When new people were hired for a seasonal rush, the floor manager put together a simple paper artifact to facilitate training. That temporary fix became a major boon to productivity and was adopted as SOP—Standard Operating Procedure.
Still, as even Dilbert can attest to the link between business consultants and case studies, they do not replace direct assessment of real-world environments. These documents may provide guidance or comfort, but they can never stand in for conscious, active analysis done by stakeholders and consultants. "Case" is the key word in the phrase case study. While something may have worked in one specific situation, that doesn't make it a one-size-fits all solution.
Simple Psychology published an article discussing some of the limitations of case studies.
The case study is not itself a research method, but researchers select methods of data collection and analysis that will generate material suitable for case studies. Amongst the sources of data the psychologist is likely to turn to when carrying out a case study are observations of a person’s daily routine, unstructured interviews with the participant herself (and with people who know her), diaries, personal notes (e.g. letters, photographs, notes) or official document (e.g. case notes, clinical notes, appraisal reports). Most of this information is likely to be qualitative (i.e. verbal description rather than measurement) but the psychologist might collect numerical data as well.While that specific information is clearly tied to psychology, the same can be true for case studies in a business environment. While the temporary fix in our case study was good enough to become standard operating procedure, a similar method may not be effective in your organization.Because a case study deals with only one person/event/group we can never be sure whether the conclusions drawn from this particular case apply elsewhere. The results of the study are not generalizable because we can never know whether the case we have investigated is representative of the wider body of "similar" instances
Because they are based on the analysis of qualitative (i.e. descriptive) data a lot depends on the interpretation the psychologist places on the information she has acquired. This means that there is a lot of scope for observer bias and it could be that the subjective opinions of the psychologist intrude in the assessment of what the data means.
For example, Freud has been criticized for producing case studies in which the information was sometimes distorted to fit the particular theories about behavior (e.g. Little Hans). This is also true of Money’s interpretation of the Bruce/Brenda case study when he ignored evidence that went against his theory.
We know it might be difficult to start a process of active analysis within your organization. The problems may be right in front of you, but hard to see due to the fact you're over-familiar with the subject matter. If you feel that may be the case, we'd love to help! The team at AccelaWork will guide you in the right direction.
If you'd like to learn more about AccelaWork or if you want to be the topic of a forthcoming featured article, contact our business process consultants today. We love to help companies improve and capture the essence of change in written form.
An article in Pacific Standard delved into this medical records problem:
A RAND Corporation study estimated the savings from electronic medical records would be about $77 billion a year. The Center for American Progress added the federal government would save $196 billion over the next decade. The Obama administration has made the argument — probably because of its consensus appeal — a focal point of its health care pitch going back to the 2008 campaign. The whole idea just seems, well, common sense.It seems shocking to suggest that four decades of technology advancement have had no impact on electronic medical records. Computer systems are supposed to make our lives easier, but they often have the opposite effect.Not to spoil a good holiday week (and a rare hiatus in the health care wrangling in Washington), but a new Harvard study suggests all of these claims are simply wrong. Health "information technology," the research concluded, has yielded neither substantial efficiencies nor any real savings at the U.S. hospitals that today use various forms of it.
... "In my everyday work with a computer system at my hospital, which is one of the widely distributed ones, I go through probably a couple hundred unnecessary mouse clicks a day that are there purely for billing purposes," said David Himmelstein, a Harvard professor and one of the authors of the study, alongside Adam Wright and Steffie Woolhandler.
Whenever he sees a patient, for example, he must answer these questions: Did he have to use an interpreter? If so, was the interpretation done face-to-face or over the phone?
"That's purely because the hospital can be reimbursed by some insurers a bit more if I have an interpreter," he said.
In one sense, this software actually does the opposite of what many of us assume. Rather than help anyone save money, it helps maximize the hospital's ability to collect money from patients and insurers.
When asked why so many of us assume this to be true when it's not, Himmelstein deferred to a YouTube clip of a cheery 1961 promotional video touting the endless promise of electronic medical records:
"We've been convinced," Himmelstein said, "by a 40-year marketing campaign and our own wishful thinking. We wish that there were a quick, easy solution that didn't actually involve any difficult political decisions for how we're going to save money for health care and improve the quality of care," he said. "That's part of what would be lovely about computers - gee, we don't have to do anything but install this machine and solve all these problems."
There are many reasons why this occurs. In the case of patient data, the stakeholders who design the system don't necessarily have the same goals as those who use the system. Hospitals want to maximize billing so medical record tools ask lots of "just-in-case" questions, such as whether or not an interpreter was used during the consultation. But doctors and patients want the system to be efficient, not highly profitable. This conflict creates friction, and is part of the reason why these technologies still have a long way to go.
If computer systems seem to be working against you at your place of business, don't be afraid to question whether computers are even the right tool. Take a step back, look at the larger issues of stakeholder needs and try to engage people directly. And if you're ready to ask for help, reach out to the consulting team at AccelaWork. We help organizations become more productive and more satisfied.
Tareq and Michaele Salahi were admitted into the White House State dinner by the U.S. Secret Service despite their absence from the guest list and their inability to show an invitation. Yet, according to the Salahi's, they were invited:
By their own admission in the e-mails, they showed up at the White House gates at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 24 without an invitation — "to just check in, in case it got approved since we didn't know, and our name was indeed on the list!"Since the majority of communication in regard to the invite was discussed via email, their permitted attendance is up for interpretation and still being investigated by authorities. Regardless, this incident has provided heightened awareness for future White House events:But the Secret Service has said they weren't on that list and that it erred by letting them in anyway.
In an e-mail sent just hours after last week's dinner to Pentagon official Michele Jones, the Salahis claimed a dead cell phone battery prevented them from hearing Jones' voice mail earlier that day advising them they did not make the guest list.
The administration will make at least one change to its practices for invitation-only events: The White House social office will go back to making sure that one of its staff members will be present at the gates to help the Secret Service if questions come up, the first lady's communication director, Camille Johnston, said.There were many mistakes throughout this entire situation. However, the most significant was not the lack of an invitation, but the lack of significance in both the invitation and door security. What was the purpose of an invitation-only event if those in attendance do not have to provide evidence of their invitation to enter? Or worse, what if anyone can bypass door security at the White House with ease?Johnston maintained that this has been an existing policy, but the White House and Secret Service have said no such person was present last week as guests arrived for the dinner. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said the plan for the dinner did not call for a social office employee to be at the gate but agents didn't call the office to ask for assistance or clarification.
The system of invitations, the difficult work of the social secretary and the fearlessness of the Secret Service are all supposed to make the event run more smoothly for everyone involved. But in fact, they had the opposite effect: they unintentionally conspired to let the Salahi's crash the party. The apparent lack of security demonstrated what can result when important elements of a process are underestimated or disregarded altogether.
Luckily there wasn't any tragic result of someone getting into the White House uninvited, but the situation surely opened the eyes of many involved. Likewise, small mistakes in your organization can be just what's needed to alert you to a bigger problem. While you aren't likely running a high-security event, it's still important to ensure that the only things that happen for your company are what you intend to happen.
When an activity requires strict guidelines to ensure optimal outcomes, attention to detail is of utmost importance. Without it, all the effort and hard work done may not matter in the end. Don't allow pertinent projects fall by the wayside due to weak or faulty checks and balances. Instead, contact our business process consultants to learn more about how proper processes can positively influence workflow, project organization and stakeholder satisfaction. We'll help you keep crashers out of your party.
Lorraine Ball interviewed Michael Reynolds on the notion that results are more important than time. In the audio clip, Reynolds explained the biggest challenge in moving away from the standard modus operandi of a small business:
The most difficult thing...was getting out of the mindset of 'filling a chair' from 8 to 5. In this workplace culture, we value filling a chair for a certain number of hours [as if] that equals productivity. But in reality, it doesn't. Productivity is what gets accomplished, what gets done.At first glance, this observation doesn't sound like rocket science. We all know that's it's not the hours of work that matter but work we do within those hours. But if we take this thought to it's logical conclusion, we end up with thoughts like those Reynolds offers next:
ROWE is not just a matter of shifting your schedule around. You can literally work as much or as little as you want. Sometimes our employees will work 20 hours a week and they still get paid full time. That's because they have accomplished the right amount of work.Interviewer and fellow small business owner Lorraine Ball doesn't miss a beat with her response:
You know that's going to strike fear in the hearts of many small business owners.Both Reynolds and Ball are absolutely correct. If you can finish all your work in half the time, you still deserve full credit and full compensation. But almost any small business owner will look at time saved as money saved. Employees who work less get paid less. Or do they?
When we covered this topic regarding employee satisfaction and the ROWE concept, we noted that a traditional time-oriented work environment not only punishes employees who are more efficient, but may actually encourage them to put in more hours. After all, you'll either get overtime pay or at least notoriety by coming in on the weekends. Employees may find themselves without any incentive to work smarter if working longer hours earns them more respect and a bigger paycheck.
Later in the podcast conversation, Lorraine Ball asked about setting appropriate objectives and workload which are fair to both employer and employee. Michael Reynolds admitted that he doesn't have a great answer, but that it comes "with practice" and starts by "working backwards from objectives."
The reason that Reynolds had a hard time articulating this process is because it is best achieved through an even more revolutionary idea than replacing work-as-time with work-for-results. If you truly seek to put a dollar value to a particular end product, you have to either give the employee information about your revenue model or trust the employee to quote you a fair price. Neither of these are comfortable for many business owners. We often think of employees as people who work for us at our pleasure, not as competent experts who are more effective the more they know about how everything works. But as we've covered time and time again on this blog, the more trust you put in your employees and the more you value them, the better results you'll see.
At AccelaWork, we make every effort to compensate our employees for quality results instead of the passing of time. We prefer to bill clients for each success rather than each hour. If you're ready to rethink the way you work, contact our business improvement consultants. We can help you improve your work environment from the bottom up.
According to a report by writer Hilary Farrell:
Central Michigan University’s water conservation efforts caused Mount Pleasant to lose an estimated $50,000 in revenue.You can't fault Central Michigan University either for saving water or reducing costs. Reducing consumption and lowering expenses are both laudable objectives. And it's hard to blame the city of Mount Pleasant, who has charged by the gallon for eons and needs water revenue to pay their bills. A proposed fee increase of 2% would help cover these losses, but effectively punish everyone else for CMU's efforts.The City Commission is working on several incentives to reduce costs and bring in revenue for 2010 and beyond, said Finance Director and Assistant City Manager Nancy Ridley.
Mount Pleasant’s enterprise funds in the 2010 budget are hit by several factors, including CMU’s conservation efforts in residence halls and other buildings. CMU is estimated to have used 20 million fewer gallons of water this year.
Mount Pleasant sold 834 million gallons of water in 2000 and 740 million gallons in 2008, [City Finance Director] Ridley said. The estimate for 2009 for the city is 670 million.
“This is a fairly significant decline in revenues.”
Water conservation efforts, such as low flow fixtures and last summer’s cold and wet weather, contributed to decline in water sold by the city, she said. The same factors have affected cities statewide.
The closing of the Mount Pleasant Center also will affect water sales next year, Ridley said. The city will sell an estimated 23 million fewer gallons next year with the closure, she said.
The situation hardly seemed fair to anyone involved. Yet, instead of focusing on the outcome we should think through the process. There's more to the relationship between the city and the university than buying water. If Mount Pleasant had known about CMU's conservation plans years in advance, they might have been able to conduct better budget projections. If Central Michigan University was consciously aware of their contribution to city water revenue, they might have been able to develop a more constructive plan.
It's fairly safe to assume that Central Michigan University wasn't totally oblivious to how large of a percentage of water they were buying. In any college town, it's clear that the college has a lot to do with just about any industry, and any major changes are going to have large ripple effects. The issue is whether they cared to inform anyone of their plans. In this situation, clearly not.
But that illustrates a big point. As a business owner, you can't assume that anyone is going to care about your needs as much as you do. You're going to be the number one person looking out for your own interests. Which is why it's important to always take the time to fully analyze a situation and make plans for the future. What if your biggest client moves on? Is that going to completely destroy your company? Hopefully not. But if you've looked at things and realize that may be the case, then it's probably time to re-focus and protect against that sort of worst-case scenario. Preparation is key.
We have covered consultants using process-oriented thinking before as well as what happens when your business process solutions are too good. Helping people think through stakeholder conflicts and workflow challenges is our business. If you're looking to balance incentives, contact our business consulting team. We'll help you think and work smarter.
Upon his first day at the Biggest Loser Ranch, Danny weighed an astounding 431 pounds. Desperate to turn his life around, he applied to the show on three separate occasions; "My family means the world to me and they are the reason I started this journey. They’re the reason I filled out the application for season 6 and 7 and 8.” So when the scale read 191 lbs. last night and host Alison Sweeney announced his 55.58% weight-loss, his accomplishment was clear. Yet, his remarkable transformation was not limited to just his size. From alternate eating habits to an exercise regimen to a new outlook on life, it has proven to have changed his entire lifestyle:
Among Cahill’s friends and family in the audience were his wife, Darci, 39, his son David, 10, and his daughter Mary Claire, 8. When Cahill got on the scale, “I was taking it all in and I couldn’t focus on where my family was,” he said. “When I finally saw them, I mouthed, ‘I love you’ to them and my daughter mouthed it back and I wanted to cry. I wanted to run off the scale and hug them! My family means the world to me and they are the reason I started this journey. They’re the reason I filled out the application for season 6 and 7 and 8.”Like Danny's success, improving one aspect of a problem through measurable means is a fantastic beginning, but not a full solution. Yes, his 239 pound weight-loss was an incredible victory, but it's the positive, immeasurable changes he accomplished that have made all the difference in his life. Losing all that weight means nothing if he can't keep it off, and it means nothing if he doesn't do it in the right, healthy way. But with the changes he made for his life, it looks like neither of those things should be a problem.Cahill’s wife Darci told PEOPLE, “I knew he had it in him. He’s every bit of the man have seen on the show. He has been so diligent at home and the hard work has paid off.”
The whole family’s hard work is evident — [wife] Darci has lost 60 lbs. herself, and daughter Mary Claire has lost 10 lbs. “We have done it with mega support from our friends, family and community,” Darci said.
Danny and Darci say their relationship had only grown through the experience. “When somebody gets to be that obese,” Darci said, “he turned into somebody I didn't know, so part of this journey is getting to know each other again. It’s awesome. It’s like a new beginning.” Danny confirmed the couple will renew their wedding vows next September.
As we have covered in the past, consultants obsession over metrics could be harmful to the overall goal of a venture. Instead, focusing on personal drive, creativity, and ingenuity will bring continual improvement which increases the opportunity for a positive, rewarding and most importantly, lasting outcome. Not only will those help you surpass any metrics that may have been in place, but your business will succeed in many other ways, both measurable and unmeasurable.
At AccelaWork, we set out to assist in improving company workflow, productivity, and stakeholder satisfaction—three areas in an office that are never fully measured by a numerical scale yet are crucial to a company's success. Contact us for our business improvement services today if problems are weighing you down. We can help establish beneficial changes that are worth more than numbers.
As covered on the blog Evidence Soup, a firm called Burson-Marsteller was emphasizing evidence:
This year, the firm has rolled out a methodology for developing and measuring programs. “The media and communications landscape is changing and so have the needs of our clients,” said Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn. “In a world of citizen journalism, social media, and instant information about events happening around the globe, we are investing in a more diligent and scientific approach to developing and delivering key messages.”Inspiring the imagery of scientific inquiry to support your new product line is obviously good PR. But there was a big risk that Burson-Marsteller was taking: What happens if the science proves that their PR isn't all that effective? Somehow, it seems like having a hypothesis that turns out to be false is a much bigger problem for a public relations firm than for the typical research laboratory. After all, a research laboratory is expected to have many failed hypotheses. The same can't be said for a PR firm.It's great to see marketing and media moving in this direction. Here's how the firm describes the benefits (there is, um, a bit of spin applied). "Evidence-based communications ends the guess work. All strategies are based on evidence, not speculation." (Okay. But trying something creative and new involves unknowns. Don't let evidence crowd out big ideas and experimentation.) "It is cost-effective... ensuring that each client’s communications dollars are spent on tactics and messages that will deliver results. It is measurable. By... benchmarking at the beginning of a program and measuring effectiveness at the end, clients will be able to demonstrate a positive communications return-on-investment."
They continue, saying theirs is a holistic approach: "While it is common to use some basic research to drive a communications message or to assess the reach of a program at the end, the Evidence-Based approach is a complete methodology. The approach ensures a thorough use of data and tools designed specifically to insert science into the process where appropriate. It provides proof of PR value to the organization’s C-Suite. By using an Evidence-Based approach, communications professionals can demonstrate the value that PR brings to their organization at large."
At AccelaWork, we recognize and enjoy the certainty of hard facts. There are plenty of great things you can take away from analytics, both standard and some that are more advanced. As we have covered covered before, workplace productivity requires more than good measurement. We must also find ways to embrace individual creativity and reward innovation, which is shown by failure as much as by success. After all, for all the things that hard data can show you, experience, learning opportunities, and failures that serve as stepping stones are much harder to quantify. That said, plenty of businesses have shown what works and doesn't work in all those instances. Studying what has been done in the past is a great way to predict what may be the best way to move forward in the future.
In science, you can tweak and tinker until you find the right experiment conditions for the result you desire. In business, that flexibility isn't always an option. No business should become a test tube. If you feel like your company's processes are not rigorous, reach out to a productivity consulting firm like AccelaWork. We use science and reason to encourage creativity, increase productivity, and foster satisfaction among all stakeholders. Contact our business process consultants to learn more!
The Associated Press provided the following report:
The two private groups — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive — said Monday they were settling the lawsuits they filed against the Executive Office of the President in 2007.There's a great deal of productivity and workflow issues to discuss from this story. We have already discussed the impacts of disorganization and corporate productivity. We've covered extreme email management techniques and provided email productivity advice. We've highlighted government productivity failure and business consulting failure. For AccelaWork, lost emails and broken processes are old news.It will be years before the public sees any of the recovered e-mails because they will now go through the National Archives' process for releasing presidential and agency records. Presidential records of the Bush administration won't be available until 2014 at the earliest.
The tally of missing e-mails, the additional searches and the settlement are the latest development in a controversy surrounding the failure by the Bush White House to install a properly working electronic record keeping system.
The two private organizations say there is not yet a final count on the extent of missing White House e-mail and there may never be a complete tally.
Instead, let's look at the raw numbers. The AP reported a recovery of an additional 22 million emails spread over 94 days. It's tough to get an accurate count of "White House staff", but the Washington Post pegs the 2007 headcount at 442. Let's put those numbers together:
22,000,000 emails / 94 days / 442 staffers ˜ 530 emails per day
At a conservative estimate of a 9 hour work day, that's approximately 58 emails per person per hour, or nearly one every minute. This is untenable. How do you steer the fate of a country when you have to process or produce a message every minute?
The figures above are based on limited research and are not highly accurate. But even if they are off by 25% or 50%, it's amazing the White House can accomplish anything at all. The constant stream of emails surely limit individual productivity. If the most important office in the country is constantly battling email, it's likely that you too struggle against the inbox.
AccelaWork does not believe that email is the key problem of the modern organization. Rather, it is a symptom of the real problem: lack of stakeholder authority and responsibility. Change the way your office operates. Contact our Indiana consultants today.
Like any other payday, Foster's paycheck was directly deposited into his bank account. However, his girlfriend discovered that in fact a $2.3 million stipend was appearing on his statement. After taxes, his take home equaled $1.3 million.
Without hesitation, Foster immediately contacted his company and explained the mistake. Within hours the money was back in corporate hands, and Foster got a second bonus for his honesty - a case of beer and a bottle of champagne. Not exactly an equal exchange, but the five-year employee gets high marks in the honor department.There is no doubt that Foster's honesty is commendable. With the enormous amount of additional cash this paycheck provided, its understandable why he felt compelled to turn it back over to his company. Yet, what would have happened if this mistake went unrecognized by Foster? Imagine for a moment that the additional amount was either not large enough for him to truly recognize or large enough to see, but small enough to believe it a surprise bonus or repayment of some kind.While the idea of keeping such a big unexpected bonus sounds like the perfect holiday treat - most employers are entitled to take back such a windfall if it's indeed an error. Check those direct deposit agreements you signed - they usually state that employers reserve the right to correct any deposit errors without even telling you.
Banks have their own rules too - giving direct depositors five days to correct errors. That means Foster probably did the right thing by informing his employer about the error. An amount that big wouldn't have gone unnoticed on the books - and that would have been one heck of an overdraft penalty had he withdrawn the cash.
Though the question above is hypothetical, the fact remains that if an employee receives extra in pay and withdraws it from their account, they may be in for another surprise: overdraft fees. As the article notes above, "most employers are entitled to take back such a windfall if it's indeed an error." So, essentially, the employee is not only responsible for paying back his/her employer for the mistake, but also for any bank penalties that accompany it. Of course, this scenario seems simple enough. If you choose to spend money that isn't technically yours, the responsibility for returning it is also yours to claim. Yet, why should a company's failure go unrecognized while it's employee suffers the consequences?
We have previously covered these types of workplace productivity failures and government productivity failures that threaten all types of business consulting partnerships. These mistakes may be innocent enough, but in the end, someone inevitably pays for them. Regardless of whether they're complete mistakes or malicious behavior, the results can be the same: Major problems for everyone involved. Assuming malicious behavior isn't the case, it's important to find ways to seek out and prevent errors such as the major one we've noted here. Even if the mistake isn't in the millions, thousands of dollars is certainly something you don't want misplaced either.
If you or your company needs assistance in avoiding simple errors that can wreak havoc on differing bankbooks, contact our business process improvement consultants today. We would love to find a way to help you out. It's always better to know rather than speculate on whether or not your workflow and procedures are sparing your valued stakeholders any frustration or problems.
Here's some of the text from IBM's official press release:
ARMONK, NY - 16 Dec 2009: IBM today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lombardi, a privately held software company based in Austin, Texas. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lombardi, a leading provider of Business Process Management (BPM) software and services, helps organizations automate and integrate business processes to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.Congratulations are in order to Lombardi, who not only managed to court Big Blue, but also offers excellent software products. Beyond the great news of the sale, the press release also offers more insight into the field of business process improvement:
Organizations are struggling to find ways to simplify their business operations to better reach partners and clients, improve decision-making and increase their return on investment. The management of processes supporting business functions such as product planning, supply chain execution, insurance application and claims management, human resources, IT services and procurement is vital to the success of every business. Helping companies automate these processes to make them more consistent, predictable and cost-efficient is a major requirement for businesses today.The first part of this paragraph is strikingly accurate. At AccelaWork, we run across companies and non-profit organizations on a daily basis who are "struggling to find ways to simplify their business operations." The problem is painfully evident, and it's clear to anyone that some kind of process improvement is necessary. But what sort of improvement is what's still up in the air.
However, the press releases went on to advocate automation of processes. The specific objectives are to make processes "more consistent, predicable and cost-efficient." These are goals which will appeal to management and company owners. In other words, if companies are to build software systems that complete processes without human interaction, such detailed modeling is essential.
We have already covered over-investing in business process transformation software. The challenge is not that we don't have good software applications for conducting detail business process modeling work, but rather that most employees do not have a process-oriented mindset. Instead, stakeholders at all levels tend to be outcome-oriented. As we've also discussed, studies prove that employee satisfaction is high when they focus on the experience rather than the results. We've talked over and over again about how focusing on the process can even lead to better results, but somehow this is still lost on so many major companies.
Before companies can truly benefit from software tools like those offered by Lombardi, there must be a comprehensive stakeholder engagement around the potential for positive collaborative change. Then, there should be sufficient education among employees to understand the basic principles of a modeling language like BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation).
All of this work should be done in the most familiar of environments: in offices and conference rooms and on whiteboards and pen and paper. Only once everyone has internalized the nature, structure, and experience of process improvement should software tools be employed. This is the point when large-scale automation should take place. In effect, such implementation should be championed by the stakeholders themselves who were doing the work in the first place.
Congratulations to Lombardi. Celebrate their success by planning to utilize their excellent software packages in your organization down the road. But first, reach out to consultants who specialize in productivity and workflow consulting like those at AccelaWork. Before we recommend any tools, we listen, learn, and help you to empower change from within.
Each time the Ball drops in Times Square, people everywhere begin committing to New Year's resolutions. Turns out, you may not be the only person striving to lose weight, get fit, quit smoking, get out of debt, and/or get organized. In fact, according to squidoo.com, these very goals are among the Top Ten list of New Year's Resolutions every year in recent history:
1. Stop SmokingYet according to one study, though 52 percent of resolution-setters believe they have the will-power to succeed, only 12 percent actually achieve what they set out to do. So what's the problem? Could it be that once the holiday excitement passes, people just simply loose interest? Or perhaps resolutions lose their luster once its discovered that reaching them requires hard work? To the team at AccelaWork, this yearly phenomenon is not a coincidence, but instead a failure of direction.2. Get Fit
3. Lose Weight
4. Enjoy Life More
5. Quit Drinking
6. Get Organised
7. Learn Something New
8. Get Out of Debt
9. Spend More Time With Family
10. Help Others
The truth is, when a goal is set but its parameters are nonexistent or defined incorrectly, the possibility of following through and achieving success are diminished. For many, this lack of a logical strategy is reason enough to forego a resolution since most believe it easier to simply abandon a venture rather than fail at it—a common misconception in our view. For the handful still wholly committed however, we cannot deny that their goals may still be reached. The problem is, the process of accomplishing them may be less seamless and take longer to achieve. This is a form of incompetence. We don't know what we don't know, and we get into trouble.
Yes, its tough to truly know why resolutions fizzle. But by enlightening yourself with proper ways of creating reasonable and attainable goals, you may just avoid abandoning them this year. So, we urge you to take that step toward starting the year off right. Be conscientious of goal-setting by learning proper techniques for it. If you are having a hard time recognizing where to start, think about attending some presentations by our Indianapolis speakers. We'd love to see you there!
The story ad appeared on BBC News, which quoted the announcement:
"Close to 12.5% of productivity of human resource in corporate sector is misappropriated each day since a vast majority of them while away their time accessing social networking sites during the office hours," according to the findings of Assocham's Social Development Foundation survey.The math in this claim seems a little obvious. One hour a day is probably measured against the normal eight hour work day, so the writers seem to assume that this time equates to a productivity loss of 1/8th (or 12.5%). But as we have already noted, taking breaks at work increases employee productivity. More importantly, we should recognize that work cannot be effectively measured by the passage of time. The Assocham study seems to assume otherwise.
A more revealing comment appears next:
"As a matter of fact, [the] growing use of browsing sites can be dangerous for overall productivity and IT companies have already installed software to restrict its use," Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said.Programs that restrict browsing habits are another example of treating employees like children. How can we expect employees to innovate and develop new ideas for the organization if our entire perspective is that bosses distrust workers which causes low employee satisfaction? If every minute spent on Facebook inescapably decreases overall productivity, than managers should consider using a stopwatch to time bathroom breaks. Actually, some already do this to measure workplace productivity.
The greatest irony of this study is that it attacks workers for using social networking sites. This isn't a crackdown on long lunches or excessive smoking breaks, but rather a method employees use to fill emotional needs. As we covered earlier, these tools may provide more employee retention as stakeholders can find out about what employees actually want and need.
At AccelaWork, our commitment to productivity is not based on counting hours but instead on engaging and empowering individuals. If you want to increase effectiveness at your organization, contact us today!
Notification devices which allow restaurant patrons to immediately summon their waiter/waitress were installed in several Florida Applebee's restaurants for testing. According to a blog post by Jennifer Lawinski:
The system is activated when a host seats a table and swipes a watch against the small black box. A server is notified by vibrating watch and has 60 seconds to arrive at the table or a manager is alerted. Managers are also informed when customers press the button several times.As further reported by the Orlando Sentinel (which unfortunately has been removed from the site since this blog post was originally written), the system allows for immediate feedback from diners, promotes constant communication between the restaurant staff and essentially strives to keep patrons in control of their dining experience. From this perspective, it appears that the introduction of this technology may be just what people are looking for when it comes to receiving a speedy and efficient meal. But, what if gaining this new technology—and all its anticipated benefits— negatively affects both the service and atmosphere of the restaurant?
According to blogger and waitress Hannah Raskin, the system is a threat:
"I'm not thrilled by the prospect of being put on an electronic tether. Like anyone who's had to confront the possibility of being replaced by a machine, I believe my job requires a sophistication computers can't yet mimic."Likewise, Rick van Warner, president of an Orlando-based restaurant and retail-consulting firm, questioned how the system will affect customer service:
"Will it make servers become less attentive and just become reliant on the buzzer? Will customers have less patience if a buzzer doesn't get answered promptly?"
Its goal is to improve the restaurant's response time to diners, but perhaps all it will actually do is decrease dining satisfaction. After all, if the system does as it suggests, it will undoubtedly force servers and staff to rush through their usual processes. As well all know, rushing through anything increases stress, sloppiness, and the possibility for unnecessary error—all of which cause frustration and annoyance. So in the end, though a patron's cheeseburger is served at racing speed, satisfaction with the meal may still be lost if it's missing the additional bacon requested, served by someone completely frazzled or simply not cooked to the diner's liking.
When attempting to streamline processes it's easy to become distracted by all the positive outcomes a solution may bring. But the truth is, new implementations are not immune to negative or counterproductive side-effects. Therefore, it's important to consider all outcomes of a solution, both positive and negative, prior to enacting it. Otherwise, you may end up discovering that, though a process has changed, it may not have actually improved.
While some may no doubt be thrilled with a quicker restaurant experience, many others don't mind the wait, the time for conversation, and the knowledge that quality servers will get to their table before too long. Faster doesn't always equal better. If any restaurants are thinking of putting such a process in place, it's important to know whether they're really going to improve the dining experience, and most importantly, the odds of a customer returning for multiple visits.
If your company is in need of pin-pointing inefficiencies and rebuilding broken procedures, contact our business process consultants today! We'll assist your team in developing solutions that deliver successful results WITHOUT restrictive time limits.
The intensity of the holiday season is caused by a fixation on December 25th. Every decoration must be completed by this date, every gift must be acquired, every Christmas card stamped and delivered. We privately measure success and failure by what we accomplish before this day. Christmas isn't just a holiday, it's also a stressor.
Here are a few choice quotes on the topic of deadlines:
A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it’s better than no inspiration at all. - Rita Mae BrownA perfect method for adding drama to life is to wait until the deadline looms large. - Anonymous
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. -Douglas Adams
Some people will insist that they appreciate the pressure of an absolute date, as it provides an easy way to measure progress. Others will claim that without a deadline they would have a hard time being motivated. But ultimately, deadlines are extrinsic factors. They are external, not internal. We may try to join our families before Christmas Eve, but that time would still be meaningful if we arrived an hour or day later. After all, the real goal is not meeting the deadline but spending time with loved ones.
When you're wrapping up your own holiday seasons, remember that deadlines are not as important as results. If a flight is delayed, you will still arrive. If cards are not addressed on time, they will still eventually be delivered. The most productive way to spend the holidays is not obsessing over the time remaining but enjoying the time together. That's the source of the joy of the season. Anything else that takes away from that joy causes unnecessary stress and can turn the holidays into a time that you dread, instead of the most wonderful time of the year.
If you can find a way to focus on the result instead of on the absolute date, then not only will stress be decreased, but it will be much easier to successfully achieve your goal. You shouldn't stress to send gifts on time so they arrive when they're supposed to, you should look forward to giving friends and family something that they'll enjoy. You shouldn't stress about being somewhere for the holidays even when unforeseen factors stand in your way, you should be excited about seeing loved ones and bringing them joy during the holiday season. When you focus on the correct goals, you're able to use your abilities to best achieve excellent results.
This holds true in the workplace as well. Over-emphasizing deadlines can lead to substandard results. If the main focus is on a due date instead of the thing that is due by that date, work can become rushed. If the focus is on the result, and if you're truly excited about achieving that result, the work should not only get done at the right time, but should be even better thanks to decreasing stress and putting your focus in the right place.
Unfortunately, most of us have been shopping on Christmas Eve. We've seen the stress as people try to fight through crowds in order to snag those last minute gifts. Likely we've been stressed as well. No matter what you may say about the motivation the absolute date of December 25th provides, last minute shopping on the night of the 24th is an experience you'd be wise to avoid in the future.
If you're interested in transitioning your business from having a focus on absolute dates to focusing on the real goals that matter, contact the business consultants here at Accelawork!
The website TMCNet features a Q&A with the major players:
At organizations of all sizes, there has been a renewed focus on building a customer-focused culture. However, doing so requires changing the way the company does business at all levels, from the front-line to upper management. And to be effective, there has to be employee buy-in, otherwise, it’s just empty platitudes.Above all, these opening paragraphs provide a single powerful statement: that all stakeholders must be involved and have real ownership for change to be effective. Inclusive language may be more common today but it is no less important. We cannot expect an organization to significantly improve unless the people who are doing the work believe that change is possible and that they have the authority and responsibility to make enhancements.Ulysses helped Harris’ Lending business make the transition from its previous transactional and tactical approach to a more effective market and customer-focused approach. To ensure this initiative was a success, our team worked with Harris to foster a culture where every employee, at every level, had a stake and ownership in the outcome.
The end result of this level of thinking is characterized by Hilde Betts, a Senior VP at Harris Bank. The "lessons learned" are as follows:
These revelations are crucial to any business that wants to make improvements to patterns of work. We assist organizations in learning how to work smarter from the bottom up. Contact our consultants today!
- You can make significant workflow and process changes without focusing on technology.
- To make change happen, you need to get everyone at the organization, all levels engaged. And it’s especially crucial to engage the front-line employees.
- If you can’t articulate the value – both from an organization-wide perspective as well as an individual perspective – the initiative doesn’t have “teeth.”
Here's an excerpt from the full essay:
Deadlines might seem like a necessary aspect of all human endeavors. But the word itself doesn’t come from highly organized corporations. The first recorded appearance of “deadline” in English dates from the Civil War. This usage indicates a point beyond which soldiers are authorized to shoot escaping prisoners. Stay within the zone, this term seems to promise, and you might not end up dead.Anyone working on deadline can sympathize with these convicts. We, too, are trapped by an invisible line we must not cross, and each step toward the point of no return fills us with impending dread. It’s true that completed work must be handed off from one person to the next, but perhaps we can find a better working model than one originally coined for violent reprisal. Perhaps we should focus not on what happens when we fail, but how and where we can work together.
Deadlines are everyday aspect of business workflow. But they really only make sense when you're working independently, not collaboratively. Slaughter continues:
A change away from deadlines toward collaboration zones cannot be done instantly or without coordination. If I send my editor an incremental update to this essay every day, it will result in annoyance rather than increased productivity. Instead, we need a way for us both to be able to view and edit these words at the same time without the hassle of managing file versions, sending documents via e-mail, receiving and opening attachments, then replying with feedback.
This doesn't require advanced technology. You can encourage a smarter business process by putting people and resources in the same place. A whiteboard is a much better indicator of status than a series of phone calls. A posted draft is a much cleaner system for showing overall progress than having countless outdated versions in everyone's email inbox.
Deadlines probably shouldn't be used so much in your organization. For more information about how to improve productivity in your business, talk to the productivity experts at AccelaWork today.
The Sydney Morning Herald has an initial report on the computer glitch:
Retail businesses across the country have lost thousands of dollars over the long weekend because a computer glitch left shoppers unable to use the Bank of Queensland’s Eftpos terminals.We may never know exactly what caused this problem, but certainly countless small retailers are angry about the loss of sales and having to turn away customers. But even without understanding the technical details, we can identify two process problems:BOQ’s Eftpos machines skipped ahead when the clock ticked over to January 1 and started date stamping January 2016.
BOQ staff have not been able find what caused the problem, but a temporary solution has been put in place to ease retailers’ frustrations.
The glitch cost businesses untold amounts as the Eftpos terminals read customers’ cards as having expired and refused their transactions.
First, it seemed the Bank of Queensland had not flagged the 2010 rollover as a condition which required intentional testing. This doesn't take a computer genius to identify. After all, moving from 12/31/2009 to 1/1/2010 clearly required more attention than say, moving from 12/15/2009 to 12/16/2009. This was a new month, a new year, and a new decade. After the world spent billions of dollars to fix the Y2K problem, one would think a major world bank would have thought to test their systems by setting the date forward.
To understand the second process error, take a look at the comments of one frustrated business owner:
Barry Jones, owner of Sharky’s T-shirt and souvenir store in Cairns, said his business was without an Eftpos machine for two days.Apparently, the Bank of Queensland failed to communicate with stakeholders regarding process issues. It's okay for companies to make mistakes, but talking to customers, explaining the problem, and letting them know when it is resolved reduces the impact of the problem and builds confidence.He spent close to an hour on the BOQ’s helpline on Friday to no avail and did not receive as much as a courtesy call from the BOQ to explain the problem or tell him it had been fixed.
Just this week, the picture of President Obama and Vice President Biden was posted on the White House Flickr page along with a couple dozen comments attempting to both "read" the body language and succumb to a logical solution as to why President Obama looks the way he does. Below are just a few examples of the comments posted:
Heike 1964 says:In one published article, further comments appear:He looks like as he sleep [sic].
roger.wilco says:
Wow, he looks like an egotistical scornful guy. I think I'd appreciate my POTUS having a little more humility
Happy Heart2010 says:
President Obama is leaning back, listening and mentally going over the details as Vice President Biden gives updates on 'topics'.
"He's tired and he's floating above it all," observed Ann Althouse, who then made the leap to predict this was a sign that Obama will not run for a second term.As can be seen, there are many different perspectives. However, no one but the two men—and perhaps a select few Secret Service staff members—can actually attest to the true contents, emotions and words exchanged during their discussion. Regardless of differing views however, this picture neither disproves or confirms varying arguments. In fact, it does nothing more than provide a sneak peek into the background of our nation's leaders. So why then is it making an enormous splash in headlines?Hot Air's Ed Morrissey looked at Obama's face and got the distinct impression that the boss wasn't pleased, claiming "the stern body language of the President towards his VP isn't a fluke."
But another conservative, while acknowledging the negative comments about the picture, doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. "I haven't yet seen any real explanation of how the photo is actually unflattering," said National Review Online's Mike Potemra -- who added, as others also noted, that the tux and pose give Obama a bit of a James Bond look.
Although we at AccelaWork are not here to make political statements, one observation is clear: we all experience judgment. Whether in a classroom, on a first date or at a job interview, at one point in time some variable has lead others to reside in their own conclusions about you, your work or even what you represent. Yes, perhaps these conclusions are inaccurate, a stretch of the truth or even completely false, but despite your efforts at rectifying them, the damage has already been done. First impressions, positive or negative in nature, weigh heavily in the recipe for success. For entrepreneurs, small business owners or even sales professionals, its these impressions that can make or break a deal.
Part of our mission is to assist businesses in repairing, redistributing or even redeveloping processes so that first impressions seen are of an organized, efficient and viable business rather than a sloppy, slow and unprofessional one. As consultants, we aim to offer a non-evasive and unbiased way to get true assessment as to the interworkings of both the company as a whole and the stakeholders who nuture that business. We seek out misdirections in assigned procedures as well as process inefficiencies that not only lag productiveness, but inhibit evolution and creation.
As the saying goes, "make a good first impression" because it is this initial encounter that which holds strong in the minds of those you meet and interact with. Granted, you cannot control mental cues, but you can work towards relaying the best, most profound, side to yourself and/or your business. Reach out to our process improvement experts today to learn more about how we can help.
We've published the article in full below:
One of the hottest buzzwords in the news today is “social media.” Cable news networks are using Twitter to capture public opinion. Everyone from teenagers to retirees are joining Facebook. The professional pick up line is no longer “may I have your business card” but “I’d like to ask you to join my professional network on LinkedIn.” These social media services are incredibly popular, but can they actually be used to benefit you and your business?The challenge in embracing any new phenomenon is more than just figuring out how to use the tools and speak the lingo. It requires that we truly understand what is going on and why it is relevant in our lives. To use social media productively, we must get past the hype and focus on the underlying concepts. Once we see how this trend actually operates, we can determine how it applies to our lives. To begin to understand “social media” we should start with the opposite term: “mass media.” This newspaper, your favorite radio station and a monthly glossy magazine are all examples of mass media. This is information and programming distributed to the masses which is generally representative of the masses. Most television programs, for example, are designed to appeal to millions of people. A sitcom written in an obscure foreign language about a niche topic would never make it to prime time.
Social media, then, is the notion that information and programming can be distributed to small groups of people without concern for mass appeal. Before the age of the Internet, this was infeasible. You simply couldn’t write columns on extremely unusual topics and publish them for anyone to see. A mass media outlet would not sponsor such endeavors. But the Internet allows anyone to be a publisher and anyone to find and consume obscure content. Social media enables all of us to have our own tiny mass media empires focused on our own topics and designed for populations with a common interest.
For each social media tool, then, it’s helpful to find a corresponding analogue in the world of mass media. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), for example, is a website that enables business professionals to track the careers of themselves and their business contacts, and to use those resources to network and build business. That makes LinkedIn a social media form of a mass media tool called the telephone book. Instead of publishing the same phone book for everyone in a geographic area, LinkedIn provides a detailed phone book focused just on the people in your personal network and their contacts. That means that an easy way to use LinkedIn productively is to consider how to use the phone book productively: namely, to find people you know, look up people you meet, and reach out your contacts to help you make new connections.
The social media tool Facebook is designed to let individuals publish information about themselves, their interests and their personal affiliations, and share that information with their “friends.” That means Facebook is somewhat analogous to the society pages in an classy newspaper. Those columns are mostly announcements about important people. Facebook is effectively your own society page for all of your friends and fans. You can use it to let others know what you are doing, as well as keep up with the antics of those who are important to you. With a little contemplation, you can usually find a corresponding mass media example of any social media tool. The photo-sharing site Flickr is very much like your own personal coffee table book publishing house. Blogging services like WordPress and Blogger correspond to your own personal newspaper column. Twitter is just soundbites captured in written form. YouTube is your own personal television station. That website even offers a poignant tagline: “Broadcast Yourself.”
In this sense, social media and mass media really aren’t that different. Social media is just mass media with you at the center and targeted on a precise subset of the masses. The same strategies are appropriate, they just need to be tuned for what you can personally accomplish and what is most effective among your target population. And ultimately, there’s still no higher honor than making the jump between social media and mass media. Great bloggers occasionally write books. Great authors maintain a blog between novels. There’s plenty of room for both social and mass media.
Working productively with social media tools requires understanding the social media phenomenon. Through the incredible power of the Internet, media production is now accessible to everyone and media targeting can be far more precise. Become more effective in your use of social media by mapping new tools to older examples. Remember what YouTube recommends: “Broadcast Yourself.”
There are two key questions around the idea of social media and productivity. First: can we use these services to productive ends where they help us to grow our businesses and improve our lives? And second: can we efficiently and effectively use social media networks?
The answer to both is a resounding yes. For more information, contact our business consultants for more information on how to use social media wisely to increase productivity growth.
The podcast is available at at Roundpeg's site. Here was Robby's summary of the Five Box System:
The Five Box System says that you have a pile of stuff, papers, junk, whatever... that has been overwhelming you, generating frustration and dissatisfaction. Just take that pile of stuff and divide it into five even pieces and divide it into five sealed boxes, one for each day of the week.And then every day of the week, schedule fifteen minutes to fight that box.
This is a really important productivity tip that many would be wise to try out. After all, think about how often a giant stack of documents in your "In" box can seem like a daunting and insurmountable task. You know that stack is more than you can handle in one sitting, so you push it off and push it off until it becomes larger and larger and more overwhelming.
Henry Ford summed this exact idea up pretty well:
Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.This is an idea that elite distance runners often embrace. When starting to fade in a race, it isn't uncommon for someone to think about maintaining that speed just until the next light post, and then when they reach that light post, to try to maintain the same speed until the next tree. Or on the track, the thought process may be "Just another 10 meters" over and over again for as long as possible. When thinking that way, it isn't uncommon to be able to prolong the amount of time until you're able to fall off the pace. However, if instead of thinking "I just have to stick with this competitor for another 10 meters" the same athlete thought "I have to stick with this competitor for another two miles" the task becomes a much more overwhelming one.
While your work may not involve anything nearly as tough as running four-minute miles over the course of a 10k race, it still can be very important to break things into smaller tasks. Doing a little bit every day is going to be much easier than trying to do things in one giant batch, especially when the task is an unpleasant one. It's much easier to schedule 15 minutes a day than it is to schedule an hour and 15 minutes on a Friday.
Another tip to make this process an effective one is to set a strict time limit for yourself and stick to it. Back to the example of organizing papers, if that's your task, set an alarm for 15 minutes from now and don't check your phone, email, or speak to anyone until the alarm goes off. In exchange for that, stop the unpleasant task as soon as the alarm goes off. Whatever you didn't get to can be tackled tomorrow. If you've been putting it off anyway, having a strict time limit will help you to get it done without skipping days (or weeks) of your task. And by having that limited amount of time, it's going to be much easier to really buckle down and work without distractions, as opposed to thinking, "I'll get this done sometime this afternoon."
For more information on how you can up your organization skills, contact our business process implementation consultants today! We love to help organizations like yours become more productive and more organized!
Here are a few lines from a message that was anonymously forwarded to AccelaWork:
Please look at the attached list and make sure you know what day and time you are scheduled for the [REDACTED] Training. This training will be two hours so please plan the rest of your day accordingly.Please remember, this is a MANDATORY training. As was stated in a previous email re: [REDACTED] Training, "staff members are going to be held accountable for not attending meetings, or arriving late. This will include corrective action plans, written reprimands and if not corrected could result in termination."
When reading this email, one thing is clear: its phrasing is definitely a threatening and caustic choice of words. Though both paragraphs start with the word "please," the expectations of gentility and politeness turn sour in the brutal, underlying tone. In fact, much of the language is the textbook definition of passive-aggressive. For example, the remark: "this training will be two hours so please plan the rest of your day accordingly," clearly implies that the author assumes those who receive the email are unable to manage their own time without explicit reminders.
Furthermore, the use of all capital letters (which is typically not considered effective for email productivity) in a way belittles employees as it projects a sense of reprimand and shouting. Additionally, the author has told the employees (twice) that if they do not meet expectations, they will be punished. When proving a point, quoting yourself can be helpful; however, in this instance, restating an open threat merely relays doubt in both employee listening and understanding. All that can serve to do is discourage employees who were already doing a quality job at these things.
There may be some issues that were in place prior to cause the sender of this message to take on such a tone, but that's still no excuse for treating employees in this manner. If you continue to treat people like they're incompetent, they may just start to believe it. Regardless, there are ways to address problems in the workplace, and it's almost never through a threatening email. There should be a level of trust in place where a simple message informing employees of a training session is enough. The fact that the session is mandatory shouldn't have to be repeated. If the training is worthwhile, then employees should want to attend. The fact that work is still required in the other hours of the day shouldn't be a big deal. Employees should be trusted to find ways to align their day on their own. If that level of trust is in place, employees will not only be happier, but work will be better for everyone.
The way in which you talk to employees not only influences their satisfaction at work, but also impacts their overall productivity. Words matter. Check our follow-up post where we rewrite the above note using positive, empowering language. If you're reading the email above and thinking it sounds like a standard message and that there isn't really a problem, well then you may need to re-evaluate the way you communicate throughout your organization.
If you want more information on how to properly communicate throughout your organization, contact the business consulting team at AccelaWork today! We can help you avoid issues like the email above and find ways for everyone involved in your business to thrive.
The post on productivity growth through threats included the following snippet forwarded to AccelaWork anonymously:
Please look at the attached list and make sure you know what day and time you are scheduled for the [REDACTED] Training. This training will be two hours so please plan the rest of your day accordingly.In order to change the tone of this notice, we must do more than just swap out a few words. Instead, we have to change our perspective on the purpose of this message.Please remember, this is a MANDATORY training. As was stated in a previous email re: [REDACTED] Training, “staff members are going to be held accountable for not attending meetings, or arriving late. This will include corrective action plans, written reprimands and if not corrected could result in termination.”
At its core, the email is really just providing information. But that data comes in two varieties: facts and expectations. The first is simply the training schedule and notice that the training lasts two hours. The latter, however, indicates what the author believes about the people who are reading the message. If we simply strip the expectations, the email becomes much cleaner:
Please look at the attached list to see the day and time you are scheduled for the [REDACTED] Training. Please note that the training will be two hours in length. Thank you!Of course, we cannot remove expectations entirely. The structure of all work is based upon expectations, which consist of both responsibility and authority. The use (and capitalization) of the word MANDATORY implies that all of the authority in this case lies with management. Language such as "held accountable", "written reprimands", and "could result in termination" show that the employees have responsibility for their fate.
Instead, consider a more balanced approach to the second paragraph:
We believe you will find this training to be tremendously beneficial. If you are not able to make your scheduled time due to other commitments, reply to this message so we can take a look at your workload.Changing the phrasing as shown above uses empowering, supportive language. It reminds employees that training sessions are intended as a benefit, not a burden. Still, it clearly states that employees are expected to attend the training, but also gives them another option: talking to their manager.
If you still feel the need to write emails in threats rather than requests, then there's probably a problem with your organization. Either you have the wrong people working for you, or you've set up a system where workers don't feel valued and empowered. Either way, it's time for a change. Take the time to emphasize the reasoning behind your actions. If you're going to have a training session, take the time to show how it can be beneficial. If you're having difficulties articulating those benefits, then it's more than likely true that the training is a waste of time and should be scrapped. If it's something that's important for your employees, it shouldn't be difficult to explain at all. If someone still doesn't understand why you're requesting something of them, then it may be time to discuss things outside of email.
At AccelaWork, we constantly work with our clients to help them improve productivity, workflow, and stakeholder satisfaction. Making improvements to the words we use at the office can tremendously impact success. Learn more about how to write and speak more effectively. Contact our business process improvement consultants today!
In their characteristic style, they "report" on the status of one Floridian:
JACKSONVILLE, FL—Briefly overcoming a near-continuous streak of disorganization, area man Terry Oberlin, 37, got his life together for exactly 36 minutes, sources confirmed Monday.We're big fans of The Onion having covered a piece on workplace productivity early last year. But this article is really more about the obsession with being "done." Our lives—whether at work or at home—seem to be characterized with tasks we have not yet finished.According to family reports, Oberlin's bills for the month were paid, the living room was vacuumed, the dishes from dinner were all washed and put away, and the father of two was sitting in his favorite chair in the living room without a single thing in his life out of place.
"It was nice to get some chores out of the way," Oberlin told reporters later, acknowledging that for more than half an hour he experienced no regrets, despair, or frustration of any kind. "Felt really good."
The connection between worker productivity and satisfaction is clear. We feel good about ourselves when we get things done. But that doesn't mean the opposite is necessarily the case. We don't need to harbor a sense of guilt and self-defeat because something happens to remain on our to-do list. Our remaining work is only a burden if we're not sure what we're supposed to do.
At AccelaWork, we strive to create well-defined objectives for each year, month, week and even day. Specifying a handful of goals in the morning can help provide direction for the day and accomplishment when it's time to head home. Improved productivity requires change. Reach out to our Indianapolis consultants to learn more.
Unfortunately, that site is no longer online, but we were able to save an expert from his post "Real Productivity in Real Estate":
In order for real estate professionals to improve their productivity with regard to incoming calls, start by recognizing the difference between your relationship with the phone and the person who is dialing. Unlike you, it's likely that they don't take part in dozens of calls each day. While you have every right to be busy, that potential customer does not automatically realize that their call is not the only one you receive today. This disparity is crucial and it gives you a reason to change your tactics.Now you may be thinking that you aren't in real estate. Sure enough, many of our readers aren't. But that doesn't mean that this can't apply to your organization as well. It's almost a guarantee that you've been faced with a seemingly never-ending series of disruptive phone calls.Instead of answering the phone ready to help the client, consider answering the phone ready to schedule time to help the client. That appointment might be only five minutes in the future or the following day, but doing so immediately changes the character of the relationship. You are now working together rather than just answering a call. You now have a time-frame for mutual work and the beginnings of commitment.
Think about how often a single phone call pulls you out of the momentum of your working day. By always being ready to drop everything you're doing in order to help someone on an incoming call, you're prioritizing the caller's time over your own. And sure, the call could potentially be done with in five minutes, but oftentimes what may seem like a five minute call drags on into a twenty minute ordeal. That can be extremely disruptive when you have more important work that has to be done. Even if calls are the most important thing you have to deal with, by picking the phone up with no idea what you'll be discussing, you'll be unprepared and likely unable to be as helpful as you ideally would be.
Actual phone calls aren't the only culprit. Texts can be just as disruptive, if not more so. Simply having your phone sitting on your desk means the constant buzzing is going to leech your attention. It's pretty hard to stay 100% focused while seeing the blinking notification light, even if you're the most dedicated worker. Instead of leaping at every little notification, put your phone on silent and put it out of sight. Unless you're expecting an important call, it's likely that the texts you get about lunch plans or the afternoon Cubs game can probably wait.
If you're actually good about managing your phone, then you can batch together appointments. By turning an incoming call into a scheduled appointment to properly focus on the call, you can enable yourself to manage your schedule much better. If you have three of these calls, you can try to sort them into the same hour. That shouldn't be a problem if the problems really only should take five minutes to talk through, and then you have the built-in excuse of getting on another call if one of your conversations begins to uselessly drag on.
For more information on how you can create and maintain client relationships while improving productivity, contact our business process implementation consultants today! We love to help organizations like yours become more productive and more organized!
The SarcMark, as it was formally introduced, is a punctuation mark that represents sarcasm. Below is the minute-long advertisement (direct link):
The SarcMark's website has more information about the reasoning behind its invention:The SarcMark addresses a real problem in this world of constant written communication, and the early reactions to it show this. One article in the Guardian was especially complimentary of the new irony punctuation.Like most inventions, the SarcMark™ came to be out of necessity. Its creator, Douglas Sak, was writing an e-mail to a friend and was attempting to be sarcastic. It occurred to him that the English Language, and perhaps other languages, lacked a punctuation mark to denote sarcasm.
Sarcasm, Inc. was formed in 2006 to pursue this idea, and with a great deal of effort and undying support from family and friends, the punctuation mark for sarcasm came to life.
Despite treading on the unchartered territory of inventing a punctuation mark, the shareholders of Sarcasm, Inc. have been pleasantly surprised by the rate at which it has spread and the demand for the SarcMark™ to be available on additional platforms. Sarcasm, Inc. intends to relentlessly pursue development on new platforms and spread what is a simple idea, but absolutely necessary in the sarcastic world we live in today.
Its product, perhaps the most innovative and original of the century so far, is a punctuation mark for sarcasm. Although strangers to the mark might mistake it for a squiggle with a dot inside, the "SarcMark" will soon be turning up in our inboxes every day. The question that will baffle future generations is how we managed to live without it for so long.While the SarcMark hasn't quite caught on yet, the fact so many writers loved it initially, and the fact that it was invented at all, highlights a larger problem in today's society: What is the best way to communicate online in the same way that you can in person?It's surprising, given the brilliance of the idea, that it has never been suggested before. Admittedly, French poet Alcanter de Brahm proposed using a backward-facing question mark to denote irony in the late 19th century. But that's in no way similar to the scribbled brilliance of the SarcMark. And the fact that US writer andsatirist Josh Greenman proposed the upside-down exclamation mark as a "sarcasm point" in an article for Slate magazine in 2004 is equally immaterial.
We have recently covered, words matter in regard to employee satisfaction. Likewise, we must also emphasize that context of words are just as important. It's always best to communicate in person and remove the uncertainty, but that simply isn't always possible. Besides certain abbreviations such as LOL and j/k, we have only known the email that lacks the ability to show emotion. And even then confusion can still occur. The results: a varying amount of misinterpretations that may offend, discourage, challenge, or simply create reverse or unintentional reactions. And though the SarcMark aims to prevent this, it does not guarantee it. So, users beware!
The truth is, regardless of abbreviations or symbols, being cognizant of both language and altering points of view in an email is important when seeking proper, positive communication, particularly in the workplace. Contact our business consultants today to learn more about empowering stakeholders through effective and efficient communication that doesn't depend on nonverbal cues for translation.
The folks at SciGuru.com posted a news article reporting that self-control is contagious:
A new University of Georgia study has revealed that self-control—or the lack thereof—is contagious. In a just-published series of studies involving hundreds of volunteers, researchers have found that watching or even thinking about someone with good self-control makes others more likely exert self-control. The researchers found that the opposite holds, too, so that people with bad self-control influence others negatively. The effect is so powerful, in fact, that seeing the name of someone with good or bad self-control flashing on a screen for just 10 milliseconds changed the behavior of volunteers."The take home message of this study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self-control," said lead author Michelle vanDellen, a visiting assistant professor in the UGA department of psychology. "And by exhibiting self-control, you're helping others around you do the same."
People tend to mimic the behavior of those around them, and characteristics such as smoking, drug use and obesity tend to spread through social networks. But vanDellen’s study is thought to be the first to show that self-control is contagious across behaviors. That means that thinking about someone who exercises self-control by regularly exercising, for example, can make your more likely to stick with your financial goals, career goals or anything else that takes self-control on your part.
VanDellen's findings, which are published in the early online edition of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, are the result of five separate studies conducted over two years with study co-author Rick Hoyle at Duke University.
While it can be hard to accept the idea that emotions are so powerful that they can be spread from person to person and dramatically influence productive behaviors. If you are feeling overwhelmed by distractions at work and need more self-control, reserve time to merely think about someone with better self-control. After all, the habits of many successful people are inspiring. Some feel that by just adopting the same morning routine as an exceptional athlete, writer, or business person will be enough to direct them along the same path to success.
An article on Business Insider shared some thoughts on this and the routines of some successful people. We've included some of the more interesting bits.
Scott Adams, the creator of 'Dilbert,' designed his morning routine to maximize his creativity.If you need help increasing productivity beyond just mental focus, reach out to our consultants at AccelaWork. We are experts in helping organizations improve processes and procedures by empowering stakeholders to make positive change.The first 20 minutes of Adams' day are exactly the same, every day. Putting his physical body on autopilot "frees his brain for creativity."
Concentrating his creative hours in the morning makes sense for Adams. "My value is based on my best ideas in any given day, not the number of hours I work," he says.
Billionaire John Paul DeJoria starts his day the same way, no matter where he is.
DeJoria, the cofounder of Patrón tequila and Paul Mitchell hair products, starts every morning with five minutes of quiet reflection.
"Doesn’t matter where I’m at, which home I’m in, or what hotel room I’m visiting," he says. "The very second I wake up, I stay in bed for about five minutes and just be."
Andrew Yang, CEO of Venture for America, keeps his a.m. routine simple.
The first Yang does when he wakes up? Push the dog off him.
Next he'll check on his wife and son. If his son is awake, he'll spend time with him before heading to the office. If not, he hits the gym.
If he needs an a.m. pick-me-up, he'll open a memo file on his phone and record three things he is thankful for. "The things I've typed on other days are still there," he says. "It's a long list. Always helps."
To protect all those involved, the names have been changed. But here's the gist of the phone conversation between Jack, the external accountant for the group, and Francine, the programs director:
Jack: I'd like to come by next week and go over the annual budget. What's a good time for us to get together?An old saying reminds us that productivity isn't just doing things the right way, it also requires doing the right things. Sure, a professional caterer comes at a price. But it's hard to imagine that it's really cheaper to pay Francine's salary for two whole weeks plus the cost of materials. It's just easier to characterize her time as a fixed cost and characterize the event fees as a variable cost. We've got to keep Francine busy anyway, so why shouldn't it be in the kitchen if it seems to save money?Francine: No can do. I'm out for the next two weeks.
Jack: Taking a vacation? Any place that would make me jealous?
Francine: No, I will be in town, working. I'll just be at home cooking for the spring fundraiser.
Jack: Cooking?
Francine: Yes. We looked at catering the event, but it's just too expensive. So I'll be making and freezing cookies and soup at home.
It should be apparent, however, that this tactic doesn't result in savings. Not only is the organization likely paying more in total wages and benefits, they are sacrificing overall efficiency for someone who is probably, at best, a competent amateur. Catering companies prepare meals for hundreds in a few hours. Francine is taking a full two weeks away from the job she's been hired to do in order to stay at home and make food. Something there just doesn't align. Unless she's a severely underpaid employee, the costs just don't add up.
The greatest price, however, is the opportunity cost. Francine is not an expert in making soup and cookies. She is an expert in designing and managing exceptional programs. If she can find two weeks to cook, she can find two weeks to dream big and put together something amazing. That's what she's been hired to do, so if you're not letting her do it, then who knows what the company is missing out on. As great as her cookies may be, the benefits her actual, employable skills would bring about are likely much greater.
We understand that the smaller your organization is, the more likely it is that employees have to wear multiple hats. There may be instances when someone is feeling stuck in their current work and wants to take on another task in order to refresh and clear their mind. But still, we believe that having people outside their area of expertise is a major waste of resources and talent. The times when a process like this would work out for the better are certainly the exceptions, not the rule. While you may think of money, supplies, and other tangible things as your company's manageable resources, they usually aren't nearly as valuable as time is. Finding efficient ways to manage your time and talent will ultimately lead to greater productivity and to achieved goals.
At AccelaWork, we help both companies and non-profits find ways to increase their focus on their core business. If you find yourself busy "cooking to save money" (and you don't work for a restaurant or catering company), contact our business improvement consultants. Improved productivity begins by making contact.
In one story, a British native named Paul Chambers was arrested for a tweet he posted on January 7th in regards to Northern England's Robin Hood Airport:
You've got a week and a bit to get your s*** together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!Turns out, Chambers' "threat" was his way of airing the frustrations he held about the airport being closed due to snow. Even if Chambers used the SarcMark, which our consultants reviewed, it's highly doubtful the situation would have been prevented. For, according to him, the police simply did not understand it was his attempt at sarcasm:
You may say, and I certainly realise now, it was ill-advised. But it was clearly frustration, caused by heavy snowfall grounding flights and potentially scuppering my own flight a week later. Like having a bad day at work and stating that you could murder your boss, I didn't even think about whether it would be taken seriously.Call me naive or ignorant, but the heightened state of panic over terror issues was not something I considered as relating to me in any way – until I was arrested, shoved into a police car in front of colleagues, hauled off to Doncaster police station, and interviewed for the rest of the day. My iPhone, laptop and desktop hard drive were confiscated during a search of my house. It was terrifying and humiliating.
I never expected to be charged, but a month later I was: not under the offence of making a bomb threat, for which I was originally arrested, but under the communications act for the offence of sending a menacing message. This first appeared to be an absolute offence, much the same as speeding: conviction does not depend on mens rea. For a stupid mistake, I was faced with the prospect of a career-ruining criminal conviction. After fresh legal advice it turned out I could argue I had no intention and awareness to commit the crime, and I could plead not guilty. Even after all the preceding absurdity and near-breakdown-inducing stress, I was confident common sense would prevail in my day in court.
This story poses a valuable lesson: social media outlets, though seemingly casual, may be perceived as mediums of precise communication and can affect employee satisfaction. Whatever is posted can be viewed by virtually anyone. Therefore, it's dangerous to assume that every reader understands the thoughts and intentions of what is written, regardless of whether the message is clearly absurd or not.
Especially in today's era of better safe than sorry when it comes to threats, it's not worth making any joke on social media that could be taken the wrong way. Even if you have your profiles set to private, there's nothing to stop anyone from screen-shotting your posts and reposting them all over the internet. Chambers writes in his article that he believed he's no longer able to speak his mind, but in reality, he likely knows a whole lot of trouble could've been avoided if he had reconsidered before pressing that ever-dangerous "send" button.
Social media can be a great source of productivity and improvement in both our personal and professional lives. It's simply a matter of how to use it properly. Productivity and social media can go hand in hand. Not sure how to properly use social media within your organization? Learn more by contacting our business process improvement consultants today!
Barb Dybwad's article 18 Online Productivity Tools for Your Business had a few buzzwords but some great ideas:
Choosing primarily online tools for your productivity workflow is a great way to address the issue of source agnostic accessibility. It’s also a convenient method to ensure you have a backup of your important day-to-day items and files in case a particular computer or device fails. One other not insignificant factor in selecting cloud-based tools to keep you and your business on track is cost: the online equivalents of once desktop-bound applications are often much cheaper in both raw cost and maintenance cost, as tool upgrades usually happen behind the scenes and don’t require an in-house IT staff to keep up and running.The high-powered minds at Mashable sometimes need a little translation. Here are a few definitions:
Technology can be a little overwhelming at times, and the target audience for Mashable is probably not your typical office professional. But after a little practice and patience, it will become clear that the most essential aspect of these new services is how they impact your personal workflow. There will always be a need to make lists, take notes, and gather information. Tools and processes can only make these tasks more efficient and more effective.
At AccelaWork, we help companies to improve productivity by first working to understand their current environment. It might be the case that none of the eighteen tools listed in this article are right for your business, and trying to force a new system is always the wrong idea. If you're ready to talk about improving productivity with someone ready to listen, contact our Indiana consultants. We're here to understand before we advise.
According to Sarah Weinman, publishing industry reporter of DailyFinance:
Just days after reporting dismal holiday earnings, Borders (BGP) can't quite shake off the negative news vibe. According to Debtwire, the company has been "playing a risky game of favorites" by paying only some of the publishers it does business with -- and the ones losing out are in the process of taking legal action. Borders' long-documented money-losing, credit-extending and cash flow problems means that the company is trying to hold on to as much money as it can, and one way it appears it has done so is to make sure its biggest clients are paid first while smaller publishers must wait their turn.As many businesses continue to bear the weak economy, it comes as no surprise that such large companies are facing financial difficulties. As the article explains, Borders had been facing such problems for over a year. Unfortunately, they were unable to bounce back from this, and an array of other problems, and the company eventually went out of business in 2011.With increased delays, and inquiries into whether Borders would come up with a restructuring plan to speed up outstanding payments rebuffed, a group of these smaller publishers have retained the bankruptcy firm Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel. It's the same firm that prepared a financial analysis of Borders last December which pinpointed the bulk of the company's problems -- declining revenue and profit margins, a short-term liquidity crunch, a highly leveraged capital structure, and a challenging operating environment. With $674.2 million of short-term obligations, the report noted, "Borders is likely to face a short-term liquidity crunch if it is not able to refinance its debt or generate sufficient cash from operations."
It's another example of the clock ticking on Borders, which must come up with something drastic and unexpected to keep the company afloat a little while longer.
There was a big amount of debt in the picture, but ultimately Borders wasn't transparent or honest, and that led to its demise. The business section of TIME detailed that problem:
When the recession hit in 2008-09, Borders was already carrying a huge debt load. It had restructured twice since 2008 in an attempt to pay down some $350 million owed. But Borders could never get out of the hole that its inefficient business practices had put itself in.But for what weren't focused on here, the major problem wasn't necessarily that Borders was unable to pay their clients. After all, there is no doubt that normal operating procedures can no longer be normal when struggling to keep up with finances. In times such as these, downsizing, price-reductions, pay cuts, and even filing for bankruptcy are commonplace. The problem is, instead of being up front and honest with their financial delays, Borders apparently chose to give the run-around to their smaller publishers.
As the team at AccelaWork sees it, failure can actually help help worker productivity. But, when it begins to cloud judgement and negatively impact client relations—especially among those who help keep your business afloat—failure no longer beneficial. Instead, it leads to a loss of cooperation, clientele and worst of all, credibility. If your company is facing any or all of these issues, don't wait! Contact our our business consultants today. We'll help you identify and benefit from positive failures while showing you how to avoid futile ones.
According to Satya Chakravorty, this phenomenon should be no surprise:
What do weight-loss plans and process-improvement programs such as Six Sigma and "lean manufacturing" have in common?Chakravorty correctly identified one of the two broad reasons why most process improvement programs fail: change is hard. To implement new systems and maintain new patterns requires incredible diligence, and we are more likely than not to return to our previous ways.They typically start off well, generating excitement and great progress, but all too often fail to have a lasting impact as participants gradually lose motivation and fall back into old habits.
However, there is a second, more fundamental reason why Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and many other approaches are unsuccessful: forcing others to change is nearly impossible. Note the tone of some other parts of the article:
Team members collected data on their current working environment and, with the help of the Six Sigma expert, identified the changes they most needed to make to achieve their stated goal... the expert developed a "to do" list that included action items, responsibilities and deadlines and made sure needed resources were available....
With the departure of the Six Sigma expert, the teams...lost their objective voice...Without the expert to rein them in, some team members began pushing agendas that benefited themselves and their departments, making it harder for the team to agree on new goals.
Read those words carefully. The expert creates the "to do" list, not the stakeholders. The expert is the person who has to "rein in" the team, because only the expert is capable of being "objective." This is a process improvement model based on telling people what to do, not helping them to develop new practices on their own or trusting them to be responsible.
We combat these challenges with methodology engineering by listening first, empowering stakeholders through training, and staying engaged with our clients for at least twelve months to help ensure that new habits become permanent. Improve your organization. Contact our consultants today!
Though the average cost of a one-way flight from Nanchang to Beijing is 2,000 yuan (approximately $323 USD), three hundred lucky customers purchased it for the ultimate bargain price of 20 yuan ($2.90 USD)! According to the airline, the tickets will indeed be honored since the mistake was a direct result of their system.
The company acknowledged the computer error and said it would honour the tickets, even though some of them were sold for travel during the peak-demand Lunar New Year holidays in February, when fares normally jump.Of course we can only speculate as to how such a malfunction could have even occurred, but one thing is quite clear: this detrimental mistake is what happens when success depends solely on one system. As can be seen, one malfunction, minor or not, can cost thousands of dollars in business revenue.
In a nutshell, no matter how much time is spent creating and updating a program, it can never be totally error-proof. No matter how long a system has been in place, its course of action is always evolving. No matter how familiar a person is with the inter-workings of a operation, there is always something new to learn and adapt to. Business is a living and thriving thing. Its components should never remain stagnant, not been updated or left untested —a lesson China Eastern Airlines has surely learned.
On a positive note however, we'd like to point out that though the airline is suffering a major failure, it has succeeded in keeping their customers happy. Their immediate response and fair assertion will boost their customer satisfaction and perhaps even increase their flight sales due to the honorable reputation.
Failure and success are the cycle of business. Processes must be built, studied and improved. For more information on how AccelaWork can assist your companies in avoiding both large and small process errors, contact our business process transformation consultants today!
The full podcast is available online, or directly at Roundpeg's site. Here are a few of Robby's thoughts on networking:
It's important to have an objective when you network. You don't network for the sake of networking itself, you network to promote your business, you network because you want to find new contacts, because you want to learn more about the space that you are in.I think the most important tool you can bring to a networking event is a pen and a piece of paper. I'm amazed how many people go to a networking event and never write anything down. How am I going to help you, how am I going to connect you to specific resources if all I have is your business card?
One thing that can be very helpful when going into a networking event is trying to get an advance list of the attendees. If you know who's going to be there, then you can scout out people you may want to meet, and you can gameplan for your interaction with them. In any situation it's better to be more prepared than less prepared, and that goes doubly for networking, especially if it's something you're uncomfortable with. You can minimize your level of discomfort by being extra prepared for any conversation you may have.
In addition to that tip, an Entreprenuer article provided some helpful ideas for networking. We've included some of those below.
Resist the urge to arrive lateBeing fashionably late isn't a thing when it comes to networking. Get there early so you can meet others who arrive alone. Once everyone is grouped up, it's much harder to break into a conversation.
Ask easy questionsSometimes it can be as simple as thinking about a question you wish someone would ask you and going up and asking them that very thing. If nothing like that jumps to mind, you can never go wrong with a simple, "May I join you."
Share your passionThere are a million companies out there, with a team of entrepreneurs behind each one. Don't be afraid to share what you think makes your company special. People respond to passion.Win people over with your enthusiasm for your product or service. Leave a lasting impression by telling a story about why you were inspired to create your company. Talking about what you enjoy is often contagious, too. When you get other people to share their passion, it creates a memorable two-way conversation.
Don't hijack the conversationThis is a great tip for dating as well as networking. Let the other person talk. Be an engaged listener. But don't feel the need to redirect every topic back to yourself. No one likes it when they feel as if the other person is merely biding their time until they can talk again instead of actually listening. Think about terrible conversations you've had with people. Don't do what they did. It can be as simple as that.Some people who dislike networking may overcompensate by commandeering the discussion. Don't forget: The most successful networkers (think of those you've met) are good at making other people feel special. Look people in the eye, repeat their name, listen to what they have to say, and suggest topics that are easy to discuss. Be a conversationalist, not a talker.
Contact our productivity consultants at AccelaWork to learn more about our services.
Here's a typical interaction between someone on our team and a potential client:
Manager: So you're in the productivity business? That's good, I really want to make my employees more productive. How can you make them get more done?The words we use are crucial. If you tell a co-worker that "you're doing it wrong" then you are also doing it wrong! Openly criticizing the way someone works doesn't lead to any kind of meaningful or sustainable change. It only creates frustration and dissatisfaction.SD: Actually, we can't make them do anything. It might sound like splitting hairs, but there's a world of difference between wanting your employees to be more productive and wanting to make your employees more productive.
Manager: Huh? What's the difference?
SD: Productivity comes from improvements to workflow and tools, but also from individual empowerment. Trying to force someone to change only degrades their morale.
Manager: This is more complicated than I thought.
There are few better to talk about the power of words than Mohammed Qahtani, a speaker at the Toastmasters 2015 World Championship of Public Speaking.
Do you know that the amount of people dying from diabetes are three times as many people dying from smoking. Yet, if I put a snicker bar, nobody would say anything.Consultants can't be brought in to threaten your employees, nor should they. They aren't going to make your workers work harder. Rather, they should be giving employees the tools for them to become successful. But when phrased in a different way, the entire situation can be a confusing one. Using the right words not only makes sure that your audience clearly knows what you mean to say, but it also means that your point will be received as a meaningful and important one, assuming that it is indeed something meaningful.Do you know that the leading cause of lung cancer? Is not actually a cigarette, it’s your DNA. You could smoke for years and nothing will ever happen to you. This whole war against smoking is just to restrict the farming of tobacco.
Mr. Contest Chair, fellow Toastmasters and guest, I use these arguments even though I just made them up...
A simple choice of ‘word’ can make a difference between someone accepting or denying your message. You can have a very beautiful thing to say, but say it the wrong words and it’s gone.
I have a son who is four, and he had this bad habit of writing on the walls with crayons. And one evening I walked into his room and he’s going at it, just writing and drawing and so on. And I said, hey, hey, hey!
Are you stupid? Don’t you ever do that again? And guess what happened. He did it again.
Nobody likes to be threatened. Nobody likes to be intimidated. His pride will not allow it. He did it again just to spite me. A week later, I walked into his room and again, he’s going at it and this time, he was even looking at me.
It's good to want employees to be more productive. Yet it's also essential to acknowledge that we cannot achieve increased performance through mandate. Instead, we should give employees more authority and responsibility and empower them through additional education. That's the only consistent way to help companies become more productive.
Are you forcing or empowering? business process improvement consultants to learn more.
In the article (which has since been removed from the site), Alex admits this is weird:
Productivity is actually your ability to produce something. It even makes quite a contradiction to the term as well. Today, I want to talk to you about doing nothing. My favorite thing for getting into a working mood. The Less you do, the More you want to do. Later.There is some wisdom in this advice, although it's not that you shouldn't work at all. Rather, the article helps to remind us that when we are doing fewer tasks, we tend to accomplish more. Clearing your mind of all the extra, unrelated work enables you to focus. There's only so much your brain can do and so many things you can process at one time. As strange as it may seem to our culture of busy workers, in this case, less is more.
An article on TIME's website echoed this same sentiment. The full article is a fascinating read, and we've included some excerpts from it below.
Time and the way we spend it was Schulte’s focus, and she argued that we spend too much time working, logging more hours at the office than employees in any other developed country save Japan and South Korea. As a result, “we have a lot of unproductive, sick, unhappy, burned out, and disengaged workers,” Schulte noted. Ironically, we are less productive, creative, and innovative than we would be if we had more time off.At AccelaWork, we constantly try to improve our productivity by doing less. Employees try and find ways to reduce the number of projects they have at the same time. And although we don't want to spend time doing nothing, brainstorming and innovating is always worthwhile. The great ideas of the future begin as daydreams. Why not plan to do less so one day, we can do more? For more information on bringing these principals to your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!Our continual state of busyness, she explained, prevents us from entering the loose, associative mental state in which unexpected connections and aha! insights are achieved...
Beeman and his collaborators have found that although we may appear idle while daydreaming or mind wandering, the brain is actually working especially hard in these moments, tapping a greater array of mental resources than are used during more methodical thinking. This unfocused “default mode,” Schulte has written, “is like a series of airport hubs in different and typically unconnected parts of the brain.” When activated, it “puts together stray thoughts, makes seemingly random connections and enables us to see an old problem in an entirely new light.”
If we don’t allow our minds to have this kind of downtime—because we’re always under stress and on deadline, always making calls and checking email—such connections and insights won’t materialize. “At work and at school, we expect people to pay attention, to focus,” Beeman observed. “To focus on one thing, you have to suppress a lot of other things. Sometimes that’s good. But sometimes a solution to a problem can only come from allowing in apparently unrelated information, from giving time to the quieter ideas in the background."...
“As we move ever further into a knowledge economy, in which ideas are our products, we have to think about where ideas come from,” Schulte concluded. Where they come from, she argued persuasively, is not only from conventional work, but from productive leisure.
It's easy to characterize this environment as one of tragedy and even oppression. Just look at this quote from an article in The Village Voice, which is ominously titled Row Harder, Slaves! Productivity, Unemployment Claims Up, Costs Down:
Good news for whip-crackers: In the fourth quarter of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals, U.S. productivity rose at a 6.2 percent annualized rate -- output up 7.2 percent, hours worked up one percent.Millions of Americans would probably agree with the final sentiment from this piece. Yet there's more involved in productivity than simply putting in more hours or moving faster. Rather, the economic downturn is also an opportunity to work smarter....
Put simply: The declining number of us who are still working are working harder and getting more done, and being not being compensated accordingly. But you probably knew that.
An article on INC. talked about five ways to work smarter, not harder. The full article is a good read, but we've included some of the main points below.
Take more breaks.If you've been putting off learning a new skill, upgrading your equipment, or organizing your files, now is a great time to make this change. If there is any time that you will need the extra time afforded by a more productive work environment, it's during a recession. If you're a supervisor, be sure to recognize that your employees feel the strain as much as you do. Asking them to work harder will almost always be demoralizing. But supporting innovation, self-improvement and additional training during the "worst economic crisis since the Great Depression" will remind your team just how important they are to the organization.On average, your brain is able to remain focused for only 90 minutes, and then you need at least 15 minutes of rest. (The phenomenon is based on ultradian rhythms.) By taking breaks roughly every 90 minutes, you allow your mind and body to renew--and be ready to fire off another 90-minute period of high activity.
For some people, 15- to 20-minute breaks might be tough to pull off, but taking short breaks throughout the day can still help you to refresh your mind and reset your attention span.
Take naps.
Not only are naps beneficial for consolidating memories and helping you remember new information (handy if your job includes a lot of research during the day!), they're also useful in helping you avoid burnout, since research shows burnout is a signal that you can't take in more information in this part of your brain until you've had a chance to sleep.
Spend time in nature.
One experiment he mentions tested how relaxed people were when taking a walk down a city street versus in a quiet park. The study found that the level of attention needed to navigate a busy city street is high enough that the walk doesn't let the brain relax enough to reset your focus level.
Move and work in blocks.
Of course, you can sort out your task list however suits you best, but the important part to note is having a clear finishing point based on your task list rather than thetime you will move to a new location. And when you move, cycling or walking is a good way to go, according to Runyon:
Use this time to practice your Zen, take a break from your screen, and get some movement into your day. Keep your phone in your pocket, and move. Take a break away from work for at least 30 minutes.
Think beyond working harder. Work smarter. Contact our consultants today to learn more.
Indianapolis-based human resource consulting firm FlashPoint posted the following message on Twitter:
More than a third of companies now allow at least some employees to do their jobs from home. As telecommuting becomes more mainstream, a handful of states provide tax credits to encourage it, and the Obama administration is advocating it as a way to reduce traffic and promote work-family balance.But back to the Tweet. To answer the question FlashPoint posed, we do have a a telecommuting policy at AccelaWork. The policy is:...
Working from home is growing more popular at all kinds of employers. A 2008 survey by a consortium called World at Work found that some 17 million Americans telecommuted at least part time. Consultant Maryann Perrin, who helps employers adopt flexible work arrangements, says telecommuting has become common in companies large and small.
"As they look at their business growing, this bricks and mortar that's going to have to grow along with it is extremely costly," Perrin says. "And they've realized if they can take more advantage of telework, that they can have a significant impact on the bottom line."
Perrin says, though, that a successful telecommuting strategy involves more than just packing up an employee's stuff and sending him home. New teleworkers may need to go through training on technical things — like how to use remote software — and on lifestyle issues, like balancing work and family. Supervisors also might need training to manage people they can't see.
...
Spain says Fuentek has had few problems with its workforce of home-based professionals. But he concedes that telecommuting isn't for everybody.
Some workers, he says, tend to thrive on the camaraderie, meetings and structured hierarchy of a traditional office job — things that can't be replicated at home.
Please conduct your work wherever and whenever you feel you can be most productive, most efficient, most effective and most satisfied.That might sound a little bold. After all, shouldn't employees come into the office most days? Shouldn't they have set working hours? Shouldn't we define what kind of work can and cannot be done from home?
The answer to all of those questions is a firm "maybe." If there are reasons to be in the office, to work specific hours, or to specify where work should be done, it's likely that employees will have the best perspective to generate these reasons and make sound decisions. We trust our employees to do what they believe is best for the company. Ultimately, any corporate policy is either a reminder of what everyone knows or a restriction on how people should behave.
We're no strangers to working remotely and how it affects worker productivity. We conducted Remote Work Week, a five-day series on telecommuting happiness, telecommuting research, and telecommuting technology. We also covered telecommuting and personalities as well as how to approach your boss about working remotely. We shouldn't need "policies" about getting work done. Except, perhaps a policy to trust that employees want to do good work.
Great organizations have high employee satisfaction. If we want employees to be innovative, we don't need to tell them where to get their work done. Instead, we need to focus on making sure they are fully empowered to work. Brilliance comes from being unencumbered. Avoid policies in favor of freedoms. Think beyond mere control.
For more information on how to transform your workflow and your perspective, contact our business process consultants today!
Some business owners and employees have found that the inclusion of water guns, games, and role reversals are just what the doctor ordered. But Ann Latham, president and founder of Uncommon Clarity, cautions against this prescription:
Making them 'fun' does not make them productive or do anything about the work being neglected or accumulating during the meeting. If you want to make people hate meetings less, make the meetings productive. If you only add 'fun,' people will likely just view it as more wasted time.Yes it's true: making meetings productive will surely make them easier to attend. But that's besides the point. This declaration seems just as easy a remedy as consuming the supposed worker productivity shortcut of a "magic drink." Yet, actually figuring out how to accomplish it is far from simple. After all, if attaining productivity in a meeting was so easy, wouldn't everyone feel satisfied and on track at the end of the time spent together? In AccelaWork's view, half the problem with long, drawn-out business meetings is a company's inability to define their own, unique standards of productivity.
A Fast Company article tackled this same theme.
Time is money. Track the cost of your meetings and use computer- enabled simultaneity to make them more productive.As DeKoven tackles at the end, there isn't necessarily a big cost of meetings, but rather a big waste of money that happens at bad meetings.Almost every guru invokes the same rule: meetings should last no longer than 90 minutes. When's the last time your company held to that rule?
One reason meetings drag on is that people don't appreciate how expensive they are. James B. Rieley, director of the Center for Continuous Quality Improvement at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, recently decided to change all that. He did a survey of the college's 130-person management council to find out how much time its members spent in meetings. When he multiplied their time by their salaries, he determined that the college was spending $3 million per year on management-council meetings alone. Money talks: after Rieley's study came out, the college trained 40 people as facilitators to keep meetings on track. Bernard DeKoven, founder of the Institute for Better Meetings in Palo Alto, California, has gone Rieley one step better. He's developed software called the Meeting Meter that allows any team or department to calculate, on a running basis, how much their meetings cost. After someone inputs the names and salaries of meeting participants, the program starts ticking. Think of it as a national debt clock for meetings.
DeKoven emphasizes that he created the Meeting Meter as a conversation piece rather than as a serious management tool. It's a visible way to put meeting productivity on the agenda. "When I use the meter, I don't just talk about the cost of meetings," he says, "I talk about the cost of bad meetings. Because bad meetings lead to even more meetings, and over time the costs become awe-inspiring."
Before solutions can be integrated, companies need to answer three questions. First, what does productivity even mean to them? Second, what elements need to be met in order to achieve productivity? Third, what awaits the company once productivity is reached? Without answering these three questions, reducing the amount of time stakeholders spend on "wasting time" will continue.
There is no doubt, discovering the right path in workflow is an intricate process. So, empower employees to contemplate how to work smarter. Encourage them to contribute their ideas by answering the questions above. By involving everyone, the mission for productivity not only becomes a group endeavor, but creates a realistic and tangible vision for success.
If your company wants to increase productivity but needs help defining its standards, contact our Indianapolis consultants today! We will assist in sharpening and developing your ideas on everyday work.
AccelaWork toured the offices of the Easter Seals Crossroads and in particular the grant-supported Assistive Technology lab. This organization provides equipment, training, services, and more for disabled individuals. Their mission statement explains more about what they do. First for Easterseals as a whole:
Easterseals provides exceptional services, education, outreach, and advocacy so that people living with autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work and play in our communities. Easterseals has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for more than 90 years. From child development centers to physical rehabilitation and job training for people with disabilities, Easterseals offers a variety of services to help people with disabilities address life's challenges and achieve personal goals.
And for the Assistive Technology lab:
Easter Seals Crossroads has been providing assistive technology solutions in Indiana since 1979. In 2007, Easter Seals Crossroads partnered with the State of Indiana, Bureau of Rehabilitative Services to establish the Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project. The INDATA Project is one of 56 similar, federally-funded projects designed to increase access and awareness of assistive technology.The gadgets in their facility are obscure and impressive. There are digital magnifiers, text-to-speech devices and oversized keyboards. Thanks to the generous funding sources that support Easter Seals, anyone in need can typically borrow some of this technology for a 30-day trial period.INDATA core services include: Information and referral, funding assistance,public awareness and education, device demonstration, device loan, reutilized computers, and equipment reutilization.
“The term ‘assistive technology device’ means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.” – Assistive Technology Act of 1998
It's tempting just to nod appreciatively at groups like Easter Seals and thank them for their service to a small portion of the population. But this kind of sentiment is a disservice—not only to those who are disabled as well as the assistive technology community, but also to our broader relationship with work. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. Consider the following:
There are numerous other examples of things like this that we could bring up. But the point remains the same throughout. If there's any way you can make your own life easier or more productive, shouldn't you take it?
Whoever invented the term "assistive technology" should be applauded. We all use technology and can all benefit from some kind of assistance. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Learn more by contacting our business consultants today!
In a YouTube video, the astonishing view of the hit and run accident in the parking lot of an Xtreme Fitness in Ontario was captured on surveillance camera. Here is the direct link.
As we have covered on many occasions, whether preventable or not, mistakes happen. The key to overcoming the aftermath—and walking away with positive improvement—is to embrace the failure and use it as an advantage. Unfortunately for the female driver of the BMW X5, who panicked and fled the scene, her failure turned sour. (She was ultimately identified and charged with fleeing the scene of an accident.) For Hyundai on the other hand, the accident presented a unique and golden opportunity for a sensational marketing campaign.
The car was one that Todd had just finished paying paying off the month before. An article written by The Star details what Hyundai ultimately decided to do.
Todd Jamison planned to take the day off to shop for a used vehicle a week after a driver trashed his 2004 Hyundai Elantra, which he had just finished paying off. But when colleagues called him into the office on a pretense, he found a shiny 2010 Hyundai Elantra in the lot along with a smiling Hyundai representative. "She gives me the car," Jamison said in a phone interview. "I am just in shock. I say, 'Thank you.' "While it was certainly an act of kindness, it wasn't as pure and selfless of a move as Pitblado may want you to believe. Hyundai knew that with the original video getting so many views, plenty of people would be interested in the follow-up where Hyundai helped out. In an industry currently weighed down with recalls, bankruptcies, and slower sales, the car company's tagline at the end of the video, "Because at Hyundai, we like a story with a happy ending," conveys three clear messages. First, Hyundai is a company that consumers can depend on. Second, they value their customers. Third, regardless of fault, they can be trusted to right the wrong....
"We wanted to help the guy," said Hyundai Canada representative Barb Pitblado. "This was our random act of kindness."
While what happened isn't Hyundai's fault, they knew that the simple act of giving a man a new car would be viewed as a huge act of kindness in the media. And they're right! While the $20,000 or so it took to get Todd a new car may not be a big deal to Hyundai, it's likely a very big deal to Todd. He went from a horrible situation to a great one, all thanks to someone stepping in to fix a failure.
While this wasn't a failure on the part of Hyundai, their actions can be inspiring when it comes to your own errors. If you or someone in your organization does something wrong, don't think that that all is lost. Instead, look at the situation from the perspective of someone analyzing an opportunity. Within every set of failures, some silver lining can be found, and with the right attitude, good can always come from the situation.
The moral to this story? Seize opportunities when they come your way. Don't deny failure or pretend it never happens. Instead, accept errors for what they are. They may just lead you down a more creative, lucrative path. For more information on ways to make the most of failure, contact our business process improvement consultants today!
It's incredibly easy to find a paper form that requires tiny, perfect handwriting. Here's a closeup of just one example: a small section of State Form 52802 (R2 / 1-09) / CW 2182. (Try saying that three times fast!)
The temptation is to complain about the form or begrudgingly accept these paper systems as the way things are. Yet, even without diving inside the state department that produces these, it's easy to recognize what is likely happening:
Regardless of the challenges implementing large or small changes presents, the results of a bad workflow can be even worse. Sticking with the example of tiny government forms, if the box is too small, then either all of the information won't fit, or the person filling out the form will have to write so small that their response becomes nearly illegible. And if the response is illegible, then the form is failing to serve its purpose. If the box was slightly larger, then not only would the person writing have an easier time, but the employee tasked with deciphering that data would also have a much easier time. Everybody wins!
Identifying a problem such as this one serves to highlight the potential workflow issues laid out in the bulleted list above. Not only can fixing those issues solve this specific problem, but it can keep similar problems from popping up in the future. No matter how seemingly insignificant of a problem you encounter, it's worth looking at the bigger picture to see if there is a broken workflow at your business. Sorting out the problem early could save everyone involved a ton of time and headache in the future.
If you see these problems in your organization, no matter where you are, ask for help. Contact our business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
Professor Phil Jones is a key contributor to the theory on global warming. Yet, in a recent article, his professional integrity and organizational skills are being questioned after much refusal to provide scientific documentation.
According to Mr Harrabin [reporter for BBC], colleagues of Professor Jones said ‘his office is piled high with paper, fragments from over the years, tens of thousands of pieces of paper, and they suspect what happened was he took in the raw data to a central database and then let the pieces of paper go because he never realized that 20 years later he would be held to account over them’.This sought-after data contains analysis of climate records from hundreds of weather stations around the world, and is the scientific source that the United Nations utilizes when urging countries to cut carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, with looming questions of the report's existence and accuracy, skepticism over the entire movement is increasing.
[When] Asked by Mr Harrabin about these issues, Professor Jones admitted the lack of organisation in the system had contributed to his reluctance to share data with critics, which he regretted....
Asked about whether he lost track of data, Professor Jones said: ‘There is some truth in that. We do have a trail of where the weather stations have come from but it’s probably not as good as it should be.
‘There’s a continual updating of the dataset. Keeping track of everything is difficult. Some countries will do lots of checking on their data then issue improved data, so it can be very difficult. We have improved but we have to improve more.’
Many would agree, Dr. Jones is a highly dedicated and revered scholar. Unfortunately, when it came to keeping his office clean—a nagging problem that, mind you, many suffer from—his shortcoming was clear. But is this really the problem? After all, many can attest that being organized in disorganization is possible. So, why should Dr. Jones' dislike for filing cabinets inhibit his ability to keep record of research? It's certainly not because he didn't know how to document properly. Instead, its because he disregarded the value in it.
Two highly-valued, heavily-weighted standards of professionalism, in academia and business alike, are accountability and credibility. Its hard to achieve and retain one without the other. As can be seen in Dr. Jones' case, his lack of accountability in his work is now threatening his credibility as well. Even his colleagues talked about his disorganization, which must mean it really is a problem. Even if Dr. Jones didn't take the steps required to actually put in place an efficient system (something he probably should have done), he certainly should've taken the steps necessary to ensure his desk was clean enough that he could get work done.
No matter how insignificant a task within a project may seem, it is not reason enough to neglect it, ignore it, or worse, assume it has no bearing on future success. Take the initiative to first contemplate the purpose of the task, the benefits of the activity both today and in the future. Thoughtfully evaluating rather than underestimating work leaves less opportunity for problems in the future.
Contact our Indiana consultants today to learn more and how we can help you not only to be more productive, but to appear more productive in the eyes of your critics.
I considered titling this post Call Reports and Other Ways to Demoralize a Salesperson, but while the point may be punchy, I’m afraid the problem goes far deeper than a poor method of reporting.For many business owners, no expense weighs more heavily on one’s mind than the payroll overhead of non-production staff. It’s simple economics to hire talent which produces profit, but the salary of the accountant, the attorney, and even the maintenance and cleaning crew—while undeniably vital—can still gnaw at the mind of any sole proprietor. But few people realize, until it’s too late, that sales staff are the double edged sword—they can be the greatest producers, yet strike the greatest fear of lost productivity.
Root fears, unfortunately, are difficult to detect. Instead, it’s the symptoms which we see so clearly. Call reports, demands for ad-hoc forecasts, and the frequent “what’s closing this week” questions are all the tells of a worried manager. The irony, however, is that the symptoms of such worry—the call reports and other administrative tasks placed on a salesperson—actually serve to decrease productivity, increase non-production salary, and propagate greater fear.
So how can you break this vicious cycle? Consider a solution which would not only calm your fears, but actually improve productivity.
Since call reports are such a prevalent practice, I’ll use that as an example. In most scenarios, the required weekly call report creates an extra administrative task for the salesperson producing it. That means, the more time spent writing out a list of calls, the less time spent dialing. And, while this should be obvious, I’ll state the bottom line: sales people get paid to sell, not report. I could argue that a commissioned salesperson is equally as troubled over non-productive time as the owner is with the corresponding payroll impact. Moreover, as many salespeople could attest, the end result is an environment of mistrust and “big brother” mentality which ultimately diminishes productivity.
But reporting doesn't have to be counter-productive. What if reporting actually improved a salesperson’s productivity? What if the act of reporting were coupled within an organizational tool which expedited follow-up and made quick work of a salesperson’s most tedious responsibilities?
Productivity-enhancing software known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems does just that. A well-designed CRM will allow salespeople to interact with their customers in an intuitive way. And, in the process, data is stored surrounding these interactions which provide management the reporting required to calm their fears.
Whether it is CRM or some other form of technology, the principal is simple. Look for a win-win with your sales staff. Realize that a commissioned salesperson is probably as interested in his or her productivity as you are. Partner with your team. Empower them to succeed. Your peace of mind should be the pleasant byproduct of any solution that moves your company forward.
Nick Carter is the founder and CEO of AddressTwo, a CRM solution for small business. Visit them online at www.addresstwo.com.
We think the points Nick brings up are very important. While the productivity cost with an inefficient process can directly hurt the bottom line, the impact it can have over time is just as important. If employees are engaged, they should be as worried about unproductive time as you are. If things are implemented that take away from productivity, they can become disengaged, discouraged, and ultimately, demoralized. For more information on how to implement these positive changes in your workplace, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
That was the topic of an article from Slate, called How to Make America More Innovative. Writer Ray Fisman reviewed a study of two different approaches for funding medical research:
To assess the importance of incentives in stimulating innovation, MIT economists Pierre Azoulay and Gustavo Manso, together with UC-San Diego professor Joshua Graff Zivin, analyzed the research output of life scientists chosen as "Medical Investigators" during 1993-95 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which provides long-term and flexible funding to award recipients. They measure HHMI investigators' output against that of researchers who receive Pew, Searle, Beckman, Packard, and Rita Allen Scholarships—also prestigious early-career awards whose winners are probably of a caliber comparable to HHMI recipients. However, because these programs provide less funding than HHMI, award winners rely for the most part on National Institutes of Health support to pay for their research.Put simply, there are broadly two approaches to getting innovation out of creative people. Either use the NIH model of measuring closely and keeping researchers on a short leash, or try the HHMI system of choosing smart people and sending them off to work with minimal supervision.The [Howard Hughes Medical Institute] and [National Institutes of Health] funding incentives are a study in contrasts. HHMI gives five years' worth of research funding, renewable at least once as long as reviewers see effort, not necessarily results. NIH funding typically expires after a few years. HHMI picks "people not projects" while the NIH does the opposite, tethering funding to particular experiments or analyses.
...
Despite comparable pre-award performance, the two groups diverge in the years that follow. HHMI winners are almost twice as likely to produce studies that are highly cited by other researchers. They are also more likely to produce research that introduces new words and phrases into their fields of research, as measured by the list of "keywords" they attach to their studies to describe their work. The downside is that they also produce more stinkers—studies that never get cited by anyone. But, again, that's part of the exploration process.
Incentives matter for innovation, and it's a critical lesson for the government bureaucrats set to disburse hundreds of billions of dollars through Obama's nationalInnovation Strategy, which is supposed to return America to innovative pre-eminence. The way we spend those dollars will be at least as important as how much we spend, and if we want the next generation of ideas to be Made in America, Obama's team had better get its incentives right.
Not surprisingly, the latter technique is more effective. Giving people plenty of room simply produces more results. Admittedly, some of those ideas might be terrible. But with lots of options, you are more likely to have better success overall.
You can use the Howard Hughes Medical Institute model at your company by picking people, not projects. You can imbue them with responsibility and authority to be innovative. Encourage them to come up with lots of ideas, even if some might end up being worthless. Trust leads to empowerment, and empowerment to productivity and satisfaction. Show your employees that you believe in their power to innovate without excessive oversight.
To learn more about innovation, especially with regard to workflow and productivity, don't hesitate to contact our small business consultants today. We believe the best ideas for improving your organization are the ones your employees will generate when motivated, empowered, and heralded for their work.
There's no need to prove the second part of that statement—everyone knows that unemployment is high and finding a position is tough. But a recent survey shows that in one industry, people despise their current job more than ever:
[The] survey found that the willingness of IT employees to "exert high levels of discretionary effort" -- put in extra hours to solve a problem, make suggestions for improving processes, and generally seek to play a key role in an organization -- has plummeted to its lowest levels since the survey was launched 10 years ago.In 2007, about 12% of the IT employees fit in category of "highly engaged" workers, but that has since fallen to 4%.
These are literally the most critical employees," said Jaime Capella, a managing director in [survey company] CEB's information technology practice. Moreover, such critical workers are 2.5 times more likely than the average employee to be looking for new opportunities.
Similarly, the Conference Board Inc., a non-profit research group, said Tuesday that occupants of 45% of 5,000 U.S. households it surveyed last year were satisfied with their jobs, down from 61% in 1987, the first year the survey was conducted. The Conference Board said that the job issues found in its survey, which cover all occupations, could cause multiple workplace ills, including declines in employee engagement, productivity and retention.
"When the economy starts to head in the right direction, the employees are going to vote with their feet," said Mike Hagan, a vice president of infrastructure at a health insurance firm he asked not to be identified...
To keep employees, Capella said they are advising managers to take performance reviews very seriously, work on motivating teams and communicating more consistently and openly, as well as give employees more of a say in the jobs they want. If employees don't believe that companies are being honest, they are more likely to become disaffected, he said.
Although the data from this study is fairly dire, the language used in the story is equally concerning. That first paragraph seems to imply that employees ought to be willing to "put in extra hours." Yet, shouldn't we characterize these unusual situations not as a sign of engagement but a failure of management? With proper management, the number of hours that should be allotted for a problem should be adequate, and not require extra hours.
Likewise, the drop of "highly engaged" workers from 12% to 4% ought to upset any business owner. Does that mean almost all of the people we hire are not "highly engaged" to begin with, or does their level of engagement start to drop after the interview? Either way, it's not good.
It might seem bold, but don't we want to strive to have all our employees "highly engaged" while expecting none of them to work overtime? And in a tight economy, can't we afford to let people go who aren't committed to the organization?
These are hard questions and can't be answered in a single blog post. But in general, we cannot just focus on job satisfaction. We have to instead study the connection between satisfaction and productivity. Because if employees really don't feel engaged and valued, there's truth that "the employees are going to vote with their feet."
If you're struggling to engage employees, consider contacting our consultants at AccelaWork. We'll help you figure out how to empower employees to be productive so they enjoy work and achieve more without the fear of being swallowed by the troubled economy.
The full article is worth a read, but these four paragraphs were particularly noteworthy:
But a yearning for supremacy can create its own set of problems. Heart attacks, ulcers and other stress-related ills are more common among high achievers — and that includes nonhuman achievers. The blood of alpha wolves routinely shows elevated levels of cortisol, the same stress hormone that is found in anxious humans. Alpha chimps even suffer ulcers and occasional heart attacks.For these reasons, people and animals who have an appetite for becoming an alpha often settle contentedly into life as a beta. "The desire to be in a high position is universal," says de Waal. "But that trait has co-evolved with another skill--the skill to make the best of lower positions."
Humans not only make peace with their beta roles but they also make money from them. Among corporations, an increasingly well-rewarded portion of the workforce is made up of B players, managers and professionals somewhere below the top tier. They don't do the power lunching and ribbon cutting but instead perform the highly skilled, everyday work of making the company run. As skeptical shareholders look ever more askance at overpaid corporate A-listers, the B players are becoming more highly valued. It's an adaptation that serves the needs of both the corporation and the culture around it. "Everyone has ambition," says Lowe. "Societies have to provide alternative ways for people to achieve."
Ultimately, it's that very flexibility — that multiplicity of possible rewards — that makes dreaming big dreams and pursuing big goals worth all the bother. Ambition is an expensive impulse, one that requires an enormous investment of emotional capital. Like any investment, it can pay off in countless different kinds of coin. The trick, as any good speculator will tell you, is recognizing the riches when they come your way.
It's possible to be productive and satisfied without being at the top. Every team needs a quarterback, certainly, but they also need specialized players in all of the positions. All jobs are important. The question is whether or not the people in those jobs are empowered to do the work that job deserves.
In some organizations, employees are simply told what to do and expected to go do it. There aren't any questions asked, and there isn't any real input outside of that initial instruction. In other, more successful organizations, employees are allowed to, and even encouraged to, go about their work, review the processes in place, and present suggestions that will be heard and seriously considered. That's how so many of the best companies in the world today reached their current status: someone at the top empowered the employees beneath them and was able to set their ego aside in realizing that they may not have all the very best ideas.
At AccelaWork, we don't really want to meet owners of companies to talk about productivity and workflow. That might sound counterintuitive, because the usual thought is that organizations become more effective from the top down. In reality, it is the everyday, mid-level and front-line employees which have the most impact on efficiency and effectiveness. The people doing the work are the people we want to meet.
If you recognize the opportunity to make improvements at your company or non-profit, consider reaching out to AccelaWork. We'd love to support your ambition by speaking to your team on a topic of your choice. Contact our Indianapolis consulting firm today!
Here’s an excerpt from the full essay, which unfortunately has since been removed from the IBJ site:
The satisfaction derived from work is more than just momentary bliss. Satisfaction is an essential component of productivity. Many studies have shown that people who are most effective at work enjoy much of what they do. Happiness might not sound like a practical employee objective, but it’s an outcome that has tremendous power.
Slaughter continues:
Scientists have studied what connects work and satisfaction. In the opening to the landmark book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,” researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi notes that “we have all experienced times when, instead of being buffeted by anonymous forces, we do feel in control of our actions, masters of our own fate. On the rare occasions that it happens, we feel a sense of exhilaration, a deep sense of enjoyment that is long cherished and that becomes a landmark in memory for what life should be like.”Slaughter isn't the only one to talk about this issue. Another recent study by The University of Warwick echoed the sentiment that happier workers are more productive ones.Note how Csikszentmihalyi refers to the difference between unsatisfying and satisfying work. The former is like being knocked around randomly, but the later is about authority, responsibility and self-awareness. This recognition provides an essential clue in how to improve employee productivity. We must remove the arbitrary and anonymous elements of work and replace them with meaningful tasks that demonstrate trust, ability and opportunity for growth.
Happiness makes people more productive at work, according to the latest research from the University of Warwick.The article continues by elaborating on the study and the implications it may have:Economists carried out a number of experiments to test the idea that happy employees work harder. In the laboratory, they found happiness made people around 12% more productive.
This is the first causal evidence using randomized trials and piece-rate working. The study, to be published in the Journal of Labor Economics, included four different experiments with more than 700 participants.This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's incredible how many people underestimate the impact something as simple as happiness can have. Curious about how to create a emotionally healthy workplace and continue to make those around you happy? We can help! For more information about how stakeholder happiness can impact your business, contact our consulting firm today.During the experiments a number of the participants were either shown a comedy movie clip or treated to free chocolate, drinks and fruit. Others were questioned about recent family tragedies, such as bereavements, to assess whether lower levels of happiness were later associated with lower levels of productivity.
Professor Oswald said: “Companies like Google have invested more in employee support and employee satisfaction has risen as a result. For Google, it rose by 37%, they know what they are talking about. Under scientifically controlled conditions, making workers happier really pays off.”
Dr Sgroi added: “The driving force seems to be that happier workers use the time they have more effectively, increasing the pace at which they can work without sacrificing quality.”
Dr Proto said the research had implications for employers and promotion policies.
He said: “We have shown that happier subjects are more productive, the same pattern appears in four different experiments. This research will provide some guidance for management in all kinds of organizations, they should strive to make their workplaces emotionally healthy for their workforce.”
Every time AccelaWork analyst Ashley Lee walks into the gym with her two children, two processes occur. First, the receptionist at the front desk scans her card. Second, she is handed a long, red tag entitled "Kids Zone." Having never been told what to do with the tag, Ashley simply accepts it, heads to the children's daycare and leaves it on the counter top.
Curious as to why the daycare attendants never ask for the red tag, Ashley questioned its existence this week.
Ashley: Excuse me, may I ask what this red tag is for?Daycare Attendant: You know, I actually have no idea.
Ashley: Really? It doesn't serve a purpose?
Daycare Attendant: Well, I figure its to show us that you have a family membership at the gym. Really though, none of us were told what its actually for.
Since little was known about it, Ashley proceeded to the front desk to ask the receptionist. Upon her arrival, she found the manager there instead.
Ashley: May I ask why I'm given a red tag every time I enter the gym?All in all, Ashley ended her investigation with one conclusion: The process of the red tag had zero significance.Manager: The red tag symbolizes that you have a family membership.
Ashley: So bringing the tag to the daycare proves to the attendants that we're paying for the service?
Manager: Well, sort of. Really, its not up to the daycare attendants to determine that. The front desk attendant is supposed to check your profile on the computer after scanning your card. They give you the red tag to confirm that you are paying for the membership.
Ashley: But, if the receptionist knows I'm paying for the membership and the daycare attendants aren't responsible for knowing, why the red tag? Isn't it kind of useless?
Manager: Pretty much.
If you think this situation sounds like a ridiculous one on the part of the gym, wait a minute before you start to judge. Take the time to look at your own organization. Many businesses have similar wasteful processes that are only still in place since no one has taken the time to ask one simple question: What's the point?
Perhaps it's a sales report that really doesn't provide any useful information. Maybe it's requiring employees to be in the office even though telecommuting would be just as (if not more) efficient. It could be a chain of command that requires someone to get the go-ahead before moving forward with processes that should be entrusted to them by default. Or maybe it is something as literal as a red tag that does nothing but rack up cost and take up time without benefiting anyone.
Even if you don't have one of these situations in your workplace, there's a chance a well-intended process isn't being as beneficial as it should be due to a communication error. It's worth taking the time to ensure everyone in your organization is aware of the purpose behind the process.
Be wary of any process that leaves a false impression of purpose. If it's left unquestioned or goes unexplained, all that's created—besides confusion—is a sense of incompetence among stakeholders. Submitting to a transparent, misdirected process is more than just wasteful. Its frustrating. After all, doesn't that useless process increase costs to the customer?
To learn how AccelaWork can help companies overcome processes that leave stakeholders running in circles, contact our business consultants today. We'll do more than just provide a fluid solution. We'll assist in creating a purposeful and productive pathway for process success.
A video on the website Hackaday.com shows the contraption at work (video direct link):
Why are we showing off an old rotary telephone used for text entry? It's not because this is a brilliant idea that you should try at your own office. Rather, the hack is a good example of lateral thinking. Instead of creating something to increase productivity, this little invention actually decreases productivity. Figuring out how to do the opposite of what you want sometimes helps to put the problem in clearer perspective.Perspective can be everything when it comes to problem solving. There's an old story of three blind men who are asked to describe an elephant. One of them talks about the elephant being long and skinny like a snake. Another says that an elephant is solid and strong like a tree. The third gives a very different description of the creature, saying that an elephant is round and soft. It's easy for us who have seen elephants to know that each man is talking about a different part of the same animal (trunk, leg, ear), but without the proper perspective, there's no way to have that knowledge. The same thing can be true when it comes to solving your problems.
An article in Smashing Magazine breaks down the process of changing perspective to solve problems a bit better.
To answer the question of how a different perspective leads to a creative solution, we need to understand a little neuropsychology and what happens in the brain when you are solving a problem. According to Jonah Leherer in his book Imagine, the “A-ha” moment is essentially an abstract connection that the right brain makes between two disparate ideas. History has countless stories of people having amazingly innovative ideas from seemingly insignificant events. One of my favorites is the story of how Robert Sherman came up with the song “A Spoonful of Sugar” when his son came home from school one day after having his blood taken (they had given him a cube of sugar). Another story is Newton theorizing about gravity after an apple dropped on his head, or Archimedes and the bathtub, and on and on. Some event triggers an idea and the brain makes a connection to creatively solve the problem.At AccelaWork, we work to encourage clients to think in all directions. If you're struggling to come up with ways to become more productive, try thinking of ways to become less productive. That change in perspective can make all the difference. Great business processes arise when we are open to every possibility. Contact our business consultants today to learn more!How does this process work? When you are faced with a puzzle, be it visual or functional, you solve it by first running through all of your usual solutions that are obvious — such as the e-commerce layout that you have used a million times, design patterns that you know, the button style that you love, the font that always works, etc. You first engage your left brain by recalling the obvious tried and true solutions. Sometimes these ideas work, sometimes they don’t. As soon as your left brain has exhausted all ideas that don’t work, you get frustrated and you hit the wall. The wall is the inability of your left brain to create new connections from your old ideas. You are unable to connect the old ideas with fresh ones, to find different solutions with the same methods. The only way to get unstuck is to try to see the problem in a new way.
In basketball, the fans are often considered the Sixth Man. In your business, Marketing is the “sixth man”. Would you hire an employee without a specific idea of what you wanted the employee to do? Of course not. As a business owner, when you hire someone you want them to be productive. Likewise, in order to put them on the right track you outline things such as goals, objectives, and performance so you and your employee know what is expected and how success will be measured.
For many firms, the investment in marketing exceeds the salary you pay a single employee. If you are going to make that type of an investment, I think you need to have some clarity regarding performance objectives and success measures.
Just as business owners will disagree on what qualities make up the perfect employee, they will disagree on what marketing is most effective. Set your own criteria and measurements and you will enjoy a winning season!
Lorraine Ball is President of Roundpeg, a full service marketing firm in Indianapolis' small business community. Visit them online at www.roundpeg.biz.
In the NBA, they ought to rename the Sixth Man Award the Jamal Crawford Award, as he's been one of the most valuable players off the bench for the majority of his career. He's a dynamic scorer, who is constantly able to come into the game and immediately provide a spark. If you've watched any of the teams he's played for over the years, it's clear how he transforms his squad when he's in the game. Marketing really can have a similar sparkplug effect.
It isn't only important to have a solid marketing squad when things go stale. No NBA team could be successful if they didn't start out with a solid bench. Even the most dominant players don't play for at least 20% of each game. But, when things are going stale, that's when it's extra important to have a spark like a good marketing team.
Take the time to analyze your marketing activities. This isn't something you should rush into, throwing money around hoping that something sticks. Be sure to really understand what you need to accomplish in the best case scenario and which clients you're going to be tracking down. Then, set your team up so they can be successful at getting you to that best case scenario. Once you've properly planned, then you can move towards a system of success.
At AccelaWork, we can help you make the most of your marketing activities. If you’re ready to rethink the way you work, contact our business improvement consultants. We can help you improve your work lineup from the all-stars to the 13th men on the bench.
Also seen on Dilbert's official website, below is Scott Adams' creation:
As ironic as it sounds, discovering failure should not be embarrassing. On the contrary, acknowledging its existence is commendable. Admitting to mistakes prior to implementation not only presents the opportunity to highlight ethical traits such as diligence, humility, and forthrightness, but its simply the logical thing to do. After all, isn't it better for everyone involved if the problem is rectified before it turns into an even bigger mess? If nothing less, it would certainly prevent the hot water that the employee is standing in from boiling over.
So many people are afraid to admit they're wrong that the simple act of doing so can carry a lot of weight when it comes to earning the respect of those around you. A blog post from Amy Anderson tells the story of an instance when this was the case.
I don’t know exactly why so many in the world carry that false belief that admitting their mistakes makes them weak, but I can tell you how I learned to recognize that the opposite was true. I was somewhere in my 20’s visiting the home of a family in California when I witnessed a heated disagreement between the father of the home and his defiant pre-teen daughter. There was no question that the lesson the father was trying to teach the daughter was a correct one, but the manner in which he handled it was not. He didn’t strike his daughter or become abusive, but his tone was hurtful and degrading.Allowing problems to spiral out of control in the office is more than just irresponsible. Don't be afraid to admit something is wrong. According to productivity consultants, it can be an expensive mistake. It can also go against employee satisfaction or even affect government productivity. Don't allow fear of failure to create problems in your office. Instead, contact our consulting firm to learn more.After the incident ended, and knowing the man well, I thought to myself, “He has to know that wasn’t right because I know him to be a good man. But there is no way he would admit it because he doesn’t want to lose face as the leader of the family.” I wouldn’t say that one incident made me lose all respect for the man because I knew his character better than that and I knew of his incredible qualities, but I clearly recognized that he was in the wrong. About an hour later, I walked down the hall to hear the man talking to his daughter saying these exact words to her: “I was wrong, and I am sorry.”
I was honestly shocked. I had never before heard someone in authority admit they were wrong and apologize like that. There was no excuse made for his behavior. There was no justification of “well, I only acted like that because you did this.” Nothing, nada, zip. He simply admitted he was wrong and he apologized. Observing his behavior, my respect for this man grew tremendously. I saw him as a great leader and a person of fortitude that I wanted to be like. Seeing his behavior that day changed my life, because I was able to recognize that the reason I now saw him as a leader of great fortitude was his willingness to honestly and humbly admit his mistake, especially to someone subordinate to him.
Daniel Chalef, writing for Knowledge Tree blog, reviewed a report from the Association for Information and Image Management:
[What stood out to me is] that people are predominantly scanning documents to get rid of paper file cabinets and archives – they’re scanning documents that are already “dead.”Chalef is correct in that the advantages of digitizing paper is far greater with documents you are actually using. After all, if you're scanning documents just to place them in an archive, you probably hope to never have to retrieve that data.Unfortunately, the real value from document scanning comes from those documents that are very much “alive” and that require action. About 57% of respondents identified “improve process throughput (productivity)” as an important business driver for document capture.
Yet, in reality only 37% of survey respondents are scanning over half of their inbound documents. Of those scanned documents, 57% are passed to archive rather than a business process.
However, taking an active business process paperless can be incredibly difficult. That's because you're asking stakeholders to make as many as three changes:
Fortunately, when it comes to paperless offices, many workplaces have moved in that direction. You can choose paperless billing statements for almost every regular payment you have. More and more employers are accepting online applications. The act of physically posting memos is basically a thing of the past. But that doesn't mean this issue can't be used to illustrate the large challenges facing change.
Perhaps you think it would be more efficient for errors to be fixed by the person who made them instead of by management who runs the quality control check. Before putting that change in place, you need to evaluate all potential outcomes. Are people going to resist the change just for the sake of resisting change? Then they probably aren't the sort who you want around. But, have you given them reason to believe at the the new system will work better than the current one? Are you giving them time to learn the new process? Without going through the proper steps, then a successful transition is going to be much harder to come by.
But back to a paperless system. Why is it that archival documents are usually the first to go? Odds are, it has something to do with the fact that no one is going to miss them. Changing up the way you manage documents that no one looks at is one thing. Changing someone's day to day process is a whole other ballgame. Know that with major change, there are going to be some difficulties. But if the gained efficiency is great enough, then the difficulties are going to be well worth it.
These concepts don't just apply to scanning systems. The reason business improvement is hard is because we often start with technology instead of with people. We should begin by empowering stakeholders, not forcing them to change. To learn more, contact us today to learn more about our business improvement services.
An old management adage suggests that we should "hire slowly and fire quickly." This advice assumes that the cost of keeping an employee is far greater than the cost of losing them. More often than not, the opposite is true. We need to find ways to retain and value the workers we have by empowering them to succeed.
Take a moment to think about your own employer, or a place you have recently worked. There is probably at least one person who seems to know all of the arcane details about the business. This "subject matter expert" is the one who remembers the unusual clause in long-forgotten agreements, the structure of old filing systems, and the workarounds needed to navigate key systems. If you lost this individual, your company would be in serious trouble. Firing should be the last possible resort.
Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that the march of progress creates a natural tension among some workers. After all, isn't almost every change about doing more with less to increase worker productivity? We covered workplace productivity improvements. To quote ourselves:
The words used in these old jobs seem antiquated: telephone operator, gas station attendant and book keeper. It might seem like our value as employees is dependent on the arrival of the next gizmo or software application to do our work for us. This belief creates fear, and that fear provides power for a resistance to change.Continually improving yourself and business operations is the best possible job security. If your innovations make your job require less time, your boss should hand you more responsibilities, not a pink slip. If your reward for finding ways to work smarter is that you lose your job, take that as proof that you would be valued more elsewhere.At AccelaWork, we invite stakeholders to take a different view of themselves, their work and their organization. We believe that companies, non-profits and government agencies make hiring decisions because they believe in the capacity of individuals. You are more than the sum of your tasks and responsibilities—you are a force for creativity, a source of commitment and limitless potential. A machine might enable you to finish rote tasks faster but it cannot replace brilliance and instinct.
So what does that mean for readers of our blog? Please don't introduce us to managers and directors of companies and non-profits. Instead, help us to meet the front-line people who personally experience productivity challenges every day, so that we can help them to work smarter. AccelaWork believes in the power of stakeholders to transform business from within. Contact our corporate productivity consultants to learn more.
In a story titled Facebook, Twitter Updates Spell Trouble in Small Workplace, Sarah Needleman writes:
These days, bad employee behavior is no longer confined to cubicle walls. Some workers are now sharing disparaging opinions and even proprietary information about their employers on social media – Web forums that in many cases can accessed by anyone, including a company's clients, investors and competitors. Business experts say that kind of exposure could be particularly troublesome for small enterprises, though there are ways owners can cope and even turn the tables to their advantage.Needleman's article mostly covers the negative aspects of social media use. One particular quote in the piece identifies the reason that many small businesses experience so much trouble with this new technology:"It's much easier for a large company to distance themselves from the actions of one employee than it is for a small firm," says Robby Slaughter, owner of Slaughter Development LLC, an Indianapolis consulting firm that specializes in workplace productivity.
And just one person can make a big impact on an organization.
Business owners may be able to protect themselves from similar employee snafus by instituting a written policy outlining what kind of content is and isn't acceptable to post on social media, says Christina Stovall, a director for Odyssey OneSource, a human-resources outsourcing firm in Euless, Texas.Let's be clear: A written policy is the among the worst decisions a company can make about social media. Such regulations have a tendency to backfire. Attempting to censor employees is more likely to sow discord and contempt than it is to successfully protect the company.Ms. Stovall recommends discussing the policy with employees in person, and having them sign an acknowledgement form. That way, "You're laying the groundwork for expectations," she says.
To nab violators, some business owners frequently conduct Web searches of their companies' names. Others make a habit of checking employees' social-media profiles if they're open to the public or they've been granted access. They say such strategies can be helpful for quickly doing damage control, as well as for digging up digital dirt on employees and prospective recruits.
Obviously, no organization wants their employees to freely reveal trade secrets or make embarrassing details public. But what do these actions have to do with social media? People have always griped about their boss to their friends, complained about inane workplace procedures to their spouse, or casually mentioned top secret ideas to people in confidence. The problem is not that employees exercise this freedom. Nor is it an issue that modern technology helps these idle comments spread a little faster. Rather, social media merely illustrates the sad state of honest communication in the workplace.
Strongly-worded policies usually limit productivity and satisfaction. We're opposed to most of them, from social media usage requirements to worker productivity on snow days. We love Netflix's idea to improve employee satisfaction, which suggests that growth should create more employee freedom. This is a challenging philosophy, but one that appears in successful companies everywhere. James F. Nordstrom, late co-chairman of the famous Nordstrom department store chain, eloquently explained the real problem:
The minute you come up with a rule, you give an employee a reason to say no to a customer. That's the reason we hate rules.Improve your company by questioning the value of policy and refocusing on the value of people. Employees get the most work done when they have freedom and a free flow of communication. To learn more, contact our small business consulting firm today!
There's a long history of dramatic changes that are done in relative secrecy. Perhaps the most famous are the "skunksworks" projects from Lockheed Martin. One article told the story:
During early 1943, as a result of prescient jet engine design work by chief engineer Hall Hibbard and conducted by Lockheed's Nate Price and the then little-known Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, the Army Air Force's H. H. "Hap" Arnold drafted Lockheed to design and build a jet fighter to counter the rapid technology advances then taking place in Nazi Germany. On 17 June 1943, the Air Force formally approved what was to become Lockheed's first jet aircraft-the US Air Force's XP-80. That day is considered the birth date of the Skunk Works.In all of the technical language about aircraft designs, there are three important facts:The security surrounding the project and the expeditious manner in which the aircraft was to be designed and built meant that most of the bureaucratic norms for new aircraft design and manufacture could be circumvented. Hibbard, Johnson, Willis Hawkins, Art Viereck, Donald Palmer, and a team that eventually totaled 128 went to work immediately constructing a jet fighter. The schedule was severe. The jet-powered aircraft was to make its first flight within 180 days after the project started.
The deadline was met. On 8 January 1944, Lockheed's Milo Burcham piloted the XP-80 (nicknamed Lulu Belle) into the air for the first time at Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards AFB) about seventy miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Sometimes, the most interesting process improvements are the ones made without any official approval or by conforming to the rules. That doesn't mean you should always flaunt authority. Rather, the reality is that positive change is often most effective when we do it on a small scale. The most revolutionary ideas, after all, often come from the bottom.
At AccelaWork, we love helping companies and non-profits to become more productive, more efficient, more effective and more satisfied. We encourage everyone to recognize that management buy-in is often a myth. After all, why should you need to convince someone to allow you to make choices to improve the quality of your own work?
Sound interesting? Find out more. Contact our consultants today!
At first glance, the young boy's actions are difficult to detect. Is he falling? Is he jumping on a trampoline? Is he practicing his tightrope skills? How did he get there and more importantly, where is he landing? [direct link here]
In actuality, the young boy from Mumbai, India is jumping into the ocean for a cool down on a hot day. But, since we can't see the ocean below, all we're able to do is speculate.
Perspective is extraordinary. Though one individual may see a picture, an object, a person or even a process one way, the existence of a completely different view by another is guaranteed. In business, sharing perspectives is a great tool for innovation and efficiency. It not only empowers stakeholders, but leads to less worker productivity suffering from micromanagement.
We've talked about finding the proper perspective before on this blog, and the points made then hold just as true now. If you're not able to see the whole picture due to looking at an issue from only one point of view, you're not likely to find the best solution.
An article in Smashing Magazine brings up some tips for the best ways to change your perspective. While that site is mostly geared toward visual designers, it has themes that people in any industry can benefit from thinking about. We've included a bit of that article below.
ASK DIFFERENT QUESTIONSWe encourage our clients to embrace alternate points of view, especially when calling upon us to assist in overcoming problems, streamlining processes or even seeking stakeholder satisfaction. Contact our business process improvement methodology consultants today if you are interested in gaining a new viewpoint on the benefits to open perspective.If you are stuck, it is probably because you need an answer. Trouble is, you might not be asking the right question. If you ask the same question over and over, you will most likely get the same answer. So, how do you rephrase the question or ask a new question to gain new insight?
Sometimes the problem is visual. Something in the layout is distracting or causing it not to work, so you need to address a different part of the layout. The root of the problem might be not the element you are working on but the surrounding elements. Here are a few things to try:
Delete or remove other items on the art board and see what happens. This could reveal a solution to the problem.
ZOOM OUT TO THE NEXT LARGEST CONTEXT
- Try an illustration instead of a photo.
- Change colors.
- Break the grid.
- Emphasize different parts of the page.
- Try a whole new approach to the navigation, not just a new menu bar.
Looking at the big picture can also lead to a new way of seeing the problem. When a problem is very specific, look at how it fits into the next largest context. In product or Web design, this could mean storyboarding how the app or website is to be used, including the location and psychographics of the user and what they are trying to accomplish. Better understanding how the business works might also help. Understanding design in the context of how the app fits into the big picture of the business can help you refine the strategy and eliminate options to arrive at a solution more quickly.
Zooming out sometimes helps me realize that I am asking the wrong question. If you are asking how your problem (say, one about a feature set or product requirements) fits into the big picture, you might find that the big picture is not big enough and has to be expanded (such as by revising the strategy or the user flow). Perhaps the feature set or product requirements don’t make sense because you haven’t zoomed out wide enough and don’t understand the product in context. Once you look at it in the big picture, your entire team might realize that its approach is wrong — or perhaps right!
In Evansville, approximately 1,500 people gathered to protest the planned closing of a Whirlpool factory. The Oakland Press reported on some of the notable comments from those assembled:
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers of America President Jim Clark joined about 40 other protesters in delivering a petition to the factory’s front door asking that the plant not be closed.The numbers in these headlines are staggering. They represent tremendous hardship for so many people. Yet at its core, this is a struggle between stakeholders and shareholders. This brings us back to the original question at the top of the post. A shareholder is an individual who has made a financial investment in an organization in the form of capital. A stakeholder, however, is someone who has made an emotional investment of time, labor, and relationships.“Eleven million jobs have gone with the great recession. Nothing, nothing, is more important here at this moment,” Trumka told a packed room at the Local 808 chapter of the IUE-CWA, which represents many of the workers at Whirlpool’s Evansville plant.
The key difference made evident by the situation in Evansville is that shareholders can move their investment with little more than a phone call. Stakeholders, however, don't usually desire such changes. They have emotional ties to their community and usually want the environment to stay the same.
Indeed, when these jobs were first created decades ago, there was an implicit assumption that they would remain. Factories require an enormous investment in equipment, construction, maintenance, and training, so it seems reasonable to expect companies to stay in one community. In those days there were pension plans and other incentive programs designed to retain employees for their full working life. Local governments encouraged this relationship through tax abatements. People could become stakeholders and be relatively confident that they could be employed at the same company for their entire career.
As millions have learned, however, no job is guaranteed. Shareholders and stakeholders both need to see their investments provide a meaningful return. If someone else is willing to do the same job at a cheaper rate, the market will eventually drive shareholders to enable that to occur. Likewise, if stakeholders are able to demonstrate increased value to their employers, they can help their business grow in a way which benefits their own needs.
Protests and industrial action are one way to highlight that value. These techniques do illustrate the role businesses play in communities and show that the relationship between a factory and a town is more than merely financial.
There is another way to show value at work. Through individual innovation, employees can demonstrate that cheaper labor is not necessarily better. Workers who think intelligently about their own tasks, who come up with new ways to conduct workflow and thus help contribute to increased productivity offer a profound voice to complement those on the picket line. This will certainly help shareholders and stakeholders speak the same language and connect their mutual investments.
These are challenging times. Millions are enduring the risk of job loss or unemployment. The way forward is to return to work, but as always we must learn to work smarter. No matter the job, the human being doing it should be empowered to take responsibility and authority to do that job better. Smart shareholders always favor smart companies, and smart companies foster individual innovation. Make an investment in your stakeholders by asking them to help you improve work.
Thanks to Indiana resident Cara Dafforn for bringing the Evansville protest to our attention.
According to an article written by Katie Lorenz, editor of CareerBuilder.com, there are 15 "no-nos" when it comes to work attire. And though much of her advice seems relatively obvious for particular occupations, it's not to say that her guidelines apply to every person in every profession.
To better explain this idea, let's discuss some examples:
2. Workout gear. Save your muscle shirts and spandex for the gym.This attire may not be suitable for a business professional, but it may be a key factor in professions such as personal training, athletics and coaching. After all, just as lawyers are expected to appear in court neatly dressed, athletes are expected to wear clothing that accommodates their rigorous work out and enhances performance.
4. Shorts. Whether of the Bermuda or Daisy Duke variety, wearing shorts to work is just plain wrong.Though it may be obvious that this "no-no" applies to anyone in a business setting, it certainly should not encapsulate all businesses. According to Matt Lee, a senior transportation representative and carrier supervisor for a Fortune 500 company, shorts are the dominant office attire in the summer; "we spend all day speaking to clients on the phone, so there's no need to wear formal, uncomfortable clothes. If, on the off chance, a client visits our office, we simply dress for the occasion."
5. Tattoos. Celebrities like Angelina Jolie have made tattoos seem almost mainstream, but many people are still put off by them. Best to keep yours under wraps or disguised with a heavy spray-on makeup made expressly to conceal tattoos.Just as a barber sports a clean haircut to better market his work to clients, so must alternative stylists and tattoo artists. There's a heavy metal-themed burger bar in Chicago that wouldn't be the same if the majority of waiters didn't have huge beards. In the simplest terms, showcasing your talents through the best means possible is important for your target audience.6. Extreme hair color. Natural looking highlights are fine, but never dye your hair blue, magenta or other colors not found in nature.
9. Grungy beards. In general, most companies prefer clean-shaven men to, say, ZZ Top. If you just can’t part with your facial hair, at least keep it neatly trimmed. (And for gosh-sakes check in the mirror after eating that powder-sugared doughnut!)
13. Body piercings. Studies show that most people view body jewelry as unprofessional and that people with multiple piercings are less likely to be hired or promoted.
15. Low-rise pants. “Plumber’s crack” is not acceptable anywhere. Period. Finally, as a rule of thumb: If you have any doubt whether something you have on is appropriate — go back and change.We may be able to come up with exceptions for most of the list, but she hit the nail on the head right here. There's no defending this one. Even as a plumber, it's not a bad idea to wear a belt!
As seen above, it stands to reason that formulating strict guidelines that every professional should follow is not just difficult, but unreasonable. In today's society we recognize that actions taken to improve worker productivity, tasks performed, and even appearances are strategic in nature. Whether it be dress codes, computer programs, or processes, don't allow societal norms to totally dictate your business. Instead, do what works best for you and your company's success.
For more information on focusing on results instead of policies, contact our productivity consultants today!
For Pittsburgh native Angela Iannelli, owning a home for twenty years and remaining punctual with mortgage payments did nothing to prevent the stress of foreclosure. Good Morning America covered her story on the accidental foreclosure which left her shaken and her house damaged.
I cannot walk in my house by myself. I tried it one time by myself. I went over, walked in and the whole time and I was jumping like somebody was behind me and just started shaking.The damage done to her home by Bank of America took six weeks of repair. According to Iannelli's lawsuit, the lock-down resulted in many problems:
Iannelli, 46, is suing the bank, noting in court papers the serious destruction done to her house, including cutting various water lines and electrical wiring, damaging Plaintiff's furnishings and carpet.Though this story does not go into the events leading up to Iannelli's wrongful lockout, its hard to imagine that a faulty process was not involved. After all, how can a mix-up of this magnitude occur if not for receiving the wrong address or mistaking one house for another? According to the report, these types of mistakes are happening more frequently due to the increase in overall foreclosures and the passing of names and addresses from one department to the next.
Mistakes happen. There is no doubt about it. And when such errors play out, it provides an outline for what not to do in the future. The key is not avoiding failure, it is learning how to not make the same mistake again. Unfortunately, Ms. Iannelli's situation is not the only one of its kind—forcing banks to revisit procedures, re-train staff, and work overtime to not only compensate innocent victims but reassure their other mortgage holders that the same won't happen to them.
Thankfully, the company has taken steps to make sure these things don't happen in the future.
Bank of America apologized, saying: "We will move quickly to review the allegations … and consider any hardship that resulted."Bank of America claims to have learned from their mistake, but in such a large corporation with so many moving parts, these things are hard to avoid.Dan Frahm, a spokesman for Bank of America, said the company has "zero tolerance" for these kinds of incidents.
...
James Hagerty, a reporter who covers housing and mortgages for The Wall Street Journal, said, "I think this kind of embarrassing situation does help galvanize the banks to try harder. ... Gradually, the banks are going to get better at handling these cases."
Meanwhile, homeowners can do little to protect themselves against accidental foreclosures. But Bank of America said it is working on the problem and has mandated a strong system of procedures for contractors, including additional training and establishing a 24-hour hotline for homeowners.
As the number of foreclosures increases across the country, experts say, so do mistakes, such as mixing up names and addresses as they are passed from department to department.Don't allow outdated or improper procedures wreak havoc on your company's credibility or financial bottom line. Instead, contact our business consultants to learn more about creating effective processes to reform errors that maximize your business capabilities.The owners of a St. Petersburg, Fla., home claimed their belongings were cleaned out, despite paying for their home with cash, the St. Petersburg Times reported.
In Galveston, Texas, the power was shut off at a vacation home, resulting in 75 pounds of spoiled salmon and halibut for the owner, according to the Galveston County Daily News.
Announced at the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show, the the sofa boat was quite an attraction. Besides its retractable sun canopy and comfortable sofa seat, the boat has joystick steering and runs on electricity. A second version, called the "B2B", also contains a refrigerator and laptop docking stations. Some claim this design is "perfect for those extremely confidential business meetings out at sea."
The article goes on to describe the boat further:
The electric boat, who was enjoying its maiden voyage at ADYS, is a 3.5m 'floating fun platform' - designed, developed and built in the UAE with a folding sun canopy covering the seating area, joystick steering, and a soft-foam bumper to allow easy maneuverability among other craft in crowded marinas.While all the things above are nice, you truly have to see it to believe it. Here's a snapshot:'I wanted to offer boats that were enjoyable to women and families - low noise, easy-to-handle craft that are perfect for quiet sundowners or a more glamorous arrival at a private yacht than in a tender,' says Dr Martin Mai, Managing Director, Abra Marine, the boat's designer and manufacturer.
'The boat is completely powered by electricity and has 0% carbon-dioxide emissions. It can be charged via an electric socket and has batteries that give it 12 hours of continuous power. We also have a solar-powered version in development.'
The solar-powered version will run by the power generated by seven square metre solar panels that generate 1,000W peak electric energy, with the ability to run for up to 10-hours.
We have covered corporate productivity during long meetings and how people go to all lengths to jump-start a meeting with positive, exciting energy. This tactical approach can prove to be a great way to inspire employees. Yet, no matter how upbeat the atmosphere, there's more to a productive meeting than comfortable seating and an enthusiastic presenter.
Worthwhile meetings require forethought. Meetings must have a solid purpose to justify taking time away from their work. Routine workplace gatherings should be about one of two objectives: brainstorming or decision-making. Announcements should not be made aloud, but transmitted through passive modes of communication such as email or memos. Inevitably, it's the content in the agenda that makes all the difference between successful meetings and wasteful ones. Far too many meetings are a waste of time when there isn't a real reason behind calling for it. It's nice to get people together, but be sure that you have a clear purpose set in place beforehand. And that goes double if you're going to take the time and resources to conduct a meeting at sea!
To learn more about conducting useful, productive meetings that actually leave stakeholders optimistic and lead to progress, contact our business process improvement consultants today. We may not be able to provide ocean views, but we can certainly assist in refreshing your typical meetings.
Here's a teaser from the post:
I’m not worried about the editing, the formatting, or the pictures. Someone else will take care of that work. After all, what’s easier: writing a blog, or, coming up with an idea AND writing the post AND editing it AND inserting appropriate media AND testing it AND promoting it? Letting go of all of the responsibilities is essential to efficient blogging.There’s even more you can release besides the tasks which are ancillary to writing itself. Key among these are the *structure* of a blog post. I decided on the car ride over to this coffee shop that I would write a post consisting of six paragraphs. The first would introduce the concept of blogging in ten minutes, the second would provide justification for the topic, the third would illustrate my main thesis (let go) and the fourth would expand on that thesis by showing you can plan the structure in advance.
Just sketching out the blog post in my head was tremendously helpful for this process of sitting down to write. But you don’t have to have a six paragraph plan. Instead, you can have predefined styles for a blog post. For example, you could quote a news story and react with your own personal flair, or tell a personal anecdote that ends in a business lesson. With these template structures in hand, you just need to follow the format. Blogging isn’t about writing impeccable pieces of literature that will last the test of time—it’s about writing work that gets your point across quickly and easily.
Robby then goes on to describe how you don't need to worry about having perfectly beautiful language. No one expects that F. Scott Fitzgerald is behind your company's blog, but the thought of not comparing with the most polished writers often scares people away from even sitting down to write. No one at AccelaWork has written any pieces of literature that are taught as classics in English 101, but we like to think we're doing a decent job nevertheless. You can do the same, regardless of where you perceive your skills to be.
Robby highlights other suggestions for potential post formulas, including the following:
For example, you could quote a news story and react with your own personal flair, or tell a personal anecdote that ends in a business lesson. With these template structures in hand, you just need to follow the format.Just having an idea of how you're going to proceed can make the task of writing a post far less daunting. And if you aren't intimidated by the process, then the only thing that can hold you back is laziness! And if you're taking the time to read this post, then it's probably safe to assume that you aren't lazy when it comes to improving your organization.
Blogging should be an easy task that doesn't interfere with other work. Yet, it's not uncommon for people to either avoid or abandon writing posts because they take up too much time or require too much thought. Don't fall victim to these fears. As Robby stresses in his guest post, it is feasible to write meaningful blogs in only 10 minutes. It just requires a well-defined formula, a consistent process, and the simple act of letting go.
If you're interested in learning more about AccelaWork's system for blogging and streamlining weekly processes, contact our business improvement consultants today! We'd love to help you get on the right track toward ultimate blogging efficiency.
I had to call the Indianapolis Indians to make sure that was really the case. In speaking with a representative, the posting is accurate. Here is the relevant text as posted on the Hoosier PRSA Job Bank with some highlighting:
| Full Time Communications Internship | |
| Job Type | Internship |
| Job ID | 499 |
| Date Posted | 03/17/2010 |
| Company Information | Indianapolis Indians |
| Job Description | 2010 Indianapolis Indians Internship ProgramBACKGROUND: The Indianapolis Indians are a professional Triple-A baseball club affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indians play their home games at Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis, a 14,500-seat ballpark that has received numerous local and national accolades. Since its opening in July of 1996, the ballpark has hosted over 8 million fans for Indians games, an average of over 8,200 fans per game. Victory Field features 28 luxury suites, five suite-level party areas, and two large picnic areas.POSITIONS: Communications (1)
SKILLS: Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to multi-task in a fast-pace and stressful environment. Comfortable providing excellent customer service skills. Proficient with Microsoft Office and Adobe Create Suite software. Ability to work up to 14 hours per day and up to 100 hours per week. TIME FRAME: Resumes are accepted through March 26, 2010. Interviews will be scheduled no later then March 31, 2010. DATES: April 1, 2010 – September 15, 2010 HOURS: Full Time Internship; 40+ hours per week in addition to all home games SALARY: $700/month plus housing |
The notion of "up to 100 hour per week" may also seem unbelievable. That would be twenty hours a day in a five day week. Throw in Saturday, and you're working an average of sixteen hours and 40 minutes. As the next portion explains, this time includes "all home games." In April of 2010, the Indianapolis Indians will host nine games in a row, from Friday the 16th to Saturday the 24th. All but two of these games run until 10:00PM at night.
Finally, the job posting lists the salary: $700 a month plus housing. Although prices vary, one reliable source puts a generous apartment allowance in downtown Indianapolis at $1,000. The effective rate, therefore, is $1,700 a month. At 40 hours a week, that works out to a salary of $10.63 an hour. At 100 hours a week, it's closer to $4.25/hour. The federally-mandated minimum wage, by the way, is $7.25/hour.
That doesn't mean the Indianapolis Indians are planning to violate the law. In fact, there is no legal limit on the number of hours an employee can be asked to work. However, it's not clear if overtime is due is in this case. The Department of Labor explains on their website (emphasis added):
Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $455 per week. Job titles do not determine exempt status. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the Department’s regulations.My estimation of $1,700 a month would work out to $425 a week, so I would say that the internship is not exempt from overtime pay laws. Therefore, according to the Department of Labor:
For covered, nonexempt employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek.So how is it possible that a company can offer a job for a measly $1,700 a month and expect employees to work 14-hour days and 100-hour weeks? That would be inconceivable almost anywhere for the past hundred years. There is one reason why the Indianapolis Indians can post these details without a second thought: It's baseball! What could be more exciting for a fresh young intern? Everybody knows that sports fans know no limits when it comes to sleep, obsession or team loyalty. Why should employees of sports franchises be any different? Aren't they living the dream of spending all their time with the team and getting paid at the same time?
The sobering reality is that although baseball may be exciting, it is still a business. Employees are human beings that need balance, personal lives, and sleep. Worker productivity will suffer from 14-hour days, whether they are logged in a bank, a non-profit or a stadium. No matter how tremendous or valuable the experience, we should never expect people to work 100 hours a week.
One blog post is not going to inspire the Indianapolis Indians or the entire sports world to reassess their attitude toward internships. The essential message for the rest of us, however, is to recognize the distinction between passion for an employer and passion for doing good work. We might be able to legally ask people to spend all their waking hours at the office, but that won't produce results or satisfaction. The only reliable way to increase productivity is to increase trust and freedom, not working hours.
This is an old topic for us at AccelaWork. In fact, we covered the topic of employee satisfaction and loyalty over a year ago here on our blog. We'd love to chat about it more. Reach out to us. Contact our business improvement consulting firm. Talk to us about how you characterize work.
Whereas the bi-monthly phone requests previously came around 5 o'clock in the evening, for whatever reason, this one occurred around 8 o'clock on a Monday. As many can imagine, this is not an ideal time. Besides the post-dinner clean-up and organization, having two small children with bedtimes inevitably leaves my evenings jam packed. So, though I wished to help out, I kindly declined the request with the assurance that if called earlier in the day—say 5 o'clock—I would certainly participate.
Like clockwork however, as I was putting my kids to bed on Tuesday evening, the phone rang. "Surely," I thought to myself, "this is someone other than the surveyor." Yet, to my surprise, it in fact was. Again, I kindly declined with the same assurance as the night before. "Call around 5 o'clock please."
By Wednesday, the sound of my ringing phone at 8p.m. no longer caused me to snicker in amusement, but instead scoff out of annoyance. When Thursday rolled around, the charade HAD to stop. Calmly I told the caller about my repeated requests for earlier contact. Accordingly, he double-checked his "system" to see if my requests were in fact documented.
"Yes," he says to me. "We have your request documented right here. 5 o'clock p.m."What? How can that be? If my request was actually written down somewhere, why then is my household being summoned at 8p.m.? Turns out, after some follow-up questions, I found out the reason: I live in Indianapolis. The survey group, located in California, operates business three hours earlier! Well, now cleared up, I reiterated my request.
By Friday, there was no doubt in my mind I would receive the call at 5p.m. Not surprisingly, my phone rang at 8p.m.
The problem here is not one of employee competence. It arose due to a poor system and lack of communication. If the automatic call system was set up properly, it should be able to log time zones AND if the callers were properly educated on the system, they would know to either check the area code or ask the caller what time zone they are in PRIOR to setting a preferred call time.
Broken processes inhibit the opportunity for success. They also diminish credibility, customer satisfaction and even participation. If your company suffers from poor systems that lag business, contact our business process improvement methodology consultants. We'll assist in getting you back on track so you can focus better on furthering business rather than losing it.
In The Power of ALT and TAB, Robby points out:
Take some time to learn ALT+TAB. You’ll be faster with the machine and able to get more work done. But more importantly, recognize that keys like ALT are really about changing the mode of the systems around us. ALT is like the difference between working at your desk and talking on the phone. It’s about switching to a different state.Context-switching is the biggest cost in productivity. Every interruption presents the opportunity to forget what you were doing. Figure out what you do that requires you to change your focus, even if it’s from the keyboard to the mouse. You’ll find your workflow runs smoother and you’ll get more done.
Its hard to imagine that making small changes in workflow will create large enough results to actually matter. However, tweaking a process, even if only shaving off seconds of additional work, can and will certainly affect overall productivity. As the old adage says, "Every little bit counts." Nothing could be more true; particularly when it comes to achieving efficiency.
Contact our consultants to learn more about our business improvement services.
Here are a few of her own words on the visit:
As I pulled into the drive-up, I was slouching in my seat with a facial expression that screamed, “I’m tired!”West goes on to explain how the personal presence of this employee had a dramatic effect on her own mood. That's a great lesson for those in customer service. However, there's something more profound about the interaction. It highlights the power of a topic we've covered many times before: employee satisfaction.When I rolled down my window, I was immediately greeted by an energetic and enthusiastic voice that said, “HEY THERE! Welcome to Jimmy Johns! How are you doing?”
Somewhat taken aback, I immediately sat up. I was prepared to answer the normal, “May I take your order?” not “How are you doing?” so I collected my thoughts and then replied, “I’m a doing very well. How are you?” The young man said, “Hey, I’m GRRRREAT! Thank you for asking. What can I get for you today?”
I literally felt this man’s smile and energy oozing through the speaker.
Productivity at work isn't just about our output; it's also determined by how we feel about our accomplishments. Those emotions are spread among the people around us through various methods. Just like Starla West was infected by the positive attitude of the Jimmy John's staffer, your own attitude about what you doing at work will impact your clients, colleagues and even those in your personal life.
It is important to choose to present a good attitude. But it's even more important to assess your own feelings about work. Productivity and satisfaction are innately connected. The best work environments are those where we are proud of the progress we make.
I dined in an Applebee's restaurant with a very large group of people. Our group was cordial and relatively calm, but given the mass of bodies at our table, we were needless to say our waiter's "challenge" for the evening. Besides the usual drink refills, appetizer orders, split meals and divided checks, we also brought the challenge of whining children, crying babies, food allergies, side substitutions and yes, even diet restrictions. As if that wasn't enough, our presence came at one of the busiest times of the week: happy hour. Suffice it to say, the hour was probably far from delightful for our server.
Yet, despite the many trips back and forth to our table, our waitress went above and beyond in service. She brought the discontent children toys and snacks. She brought complimentary sides of fries to those who initially substituted them with salads but regretted the decision later. She was speedy, efficient, friendly and most importantly, accommodating.
Granted, I realize that part of the job description when working in the restaurant industry is to be exactly that: accommodating. But I have experienced poor (if not borderline rotten) service in the past. So, when I come across service at its best, I can easily recognize how truly great it is to see and even more so experience. And that is why I took the following actions post-dinner.
Full and happy, I felt compelled to praise our waitress for her phenomenal service. She thanked us all for our recognition and immediately began cleaning up our table. However I was not satisfied with leaving without further praise, so I thought perhaps her manager would appreciate the feedback.
"How can I help you today?" the manager kindly inquired.I smiled and began to walk away, but was quickly stopped by the clearly grateful manager."I just wanted to let you know how fantastic our server Mindy was during our dinner tonight," I replied.
"That's wonderful to hear," she responded.
"Yes. Mindy was extremely accommodating and really went above and beyond to make sure we had a great dining experience. Thank you for having such a friendly and nicely trained staff."
Thank you so much for seeking me out. You have no idea how rare it is for any diner to take the time to relay compliments. Believe it or not, feedback like yours helps our staff out the most and makes them better.
The best compensation to a job well done is not always monetary in value. There is something to be said about passing along deserving and sincere praise. Trusting and believing in your employees, your colleagues and/or your stakeholders is incredibly important. Yet, if you don't take the time to express such appreciation they may never know the value they hold. Lacking a sense of value may deter individuals from striving for high performance, efficiency, or even success.
Personal drive and motivation are key components to success in any job. So, take the time to show your appreciation to those who excel or even show improvement. You may just find that by doing so, you'll benefit just as much as they do!
This topic appeared on ProfHacker.com, where Julie Meloni wrote:
I know some people see asking questions as a sign of weakness or insecurity (and believe others will view them that way), and that asking questions can produce answers we don’t want to hear. Both of those possible results pale in comparison to the potential good that just sitting down and asking questions can produce.The best way to increase productivity is to better understand what you are doing. Therefore, asking questions is never a weakness, but instead demonstrates a commitment to improvement. If we reach out to those who might be able to help, we show them that we are more interested in doing good work than looking like we have all the answers....
And sometimes you just have to get over it and flat out ask someone else for help. I did that, and it was one of the greatest productivity tools I've ever encountered.
On the other hand, productivity requires the judicious application of time. When we ask others for help, we are asking them to sacrifice their personal productivity. How many times have you been in the middle of a project at home, work or school, when someone interrupts you with a request? No matter how gracious you are, we all know that stopping to help someone else causes us to lose our train of thought and ultimately delays overall progress.
The best way to ask for help to improve your own productivity is to be as respectful as possible of the person you are soliciting. Avoid going to their desk or picking up the phone; instead send them an email. Avoid making a general statement of frustration; tell what you've already tried so that they can help you efficiently.
We all appreciate the chance to help someone, and we all appreciate it when our friends and colleagues show us that they respect our time. Ask for help to improve your productivity, but be conscious about the impact it has on the other person's productivity. Your thoughtfulness will be rewarded.
In an article on Slashfood.com, author Hanna Raskin said that stacking used dishes while dining out makes an employee's job more difficult:
For servers who innately understand the art and physics of plate stacking, it's terribly frustrating to be handed a wobbly tower of dishes and silver that has to either be set down and reassembled or carried gingerly to the dish room before the server can return to the table to do in two trips what might have been accomplished in one.Interruptions in routine can cause delays, prevent active productivity and even disrupt crucial thought processes—all of which create set-backs and errors. Yet, being helpful should not be frowned upon in any situation. After all, denying the graciousness and willingness of another can also be counterproductive.
Instead, when compelled to offer assistance, perhaps exercise a few of the suggestions below:
1. Prior to taking something over, ask first. By doing this, you give the individual the choice to a. decide whether they are willing to accept the help; b. decide what they need assistance with; c. decide how the task can properly be completed without disrupting his/her normal routine.
2. Inquire strategically. As kind as it is to offer help by asking first, its also important not to interrupt. Try not to utilize the phone. Avoid unexpected trips to the person's desk, cubicle and/or office. In all cases, its best not to break the person's concentration as it diverts attention to the matter at hand. Instead, send an email. Request a short, informal meeting. Ask at a more opportune time such as the person's lunch break.
3. Never assume small actions are obsolete. Like Ms. Raskin mentions above, simple actions that appear harmless (like stacking dirty dishes) can certainly throw off an entire process. And though you may think you fully understand the process and all its parts, it never guarantees you hold the correct notion of the workflow. Every person works differently. Therefore, its always better to ask rather than assume an action taken is helpful.
If you find that interruptions in your work environment are inhibiting productivity, contact our small buisness consultants at AccelaWork today.
For your convenience, below is the full article. You can also download a pdf version.
Feel free to explore the rest of our consulting website. If you are interested in learning more about AccelaWork and our business improvement solutions, reach out to use today!Why you should kill the operations manual
If you look around your place of business, you’ll probably find a dusty shelf somewhere that contains an ancient archaeological relic. It might have been left over from the person who worked there before you. Or, you might have received the artifact in new employee training. No matter how you received it, you've probably forgotten entirely about your company operations manual.Instructions about the manner and practice of work are as old as written language. If we did not believe operations manuals were valuable, we would not invest millions of hours into producing them. So why do these manuals always seem laughably outdated?
The most troubling aspect of written documentation, however, is not the waste of resources used to produce them or the fact that actual procedures don’t match the printed word. When we do pull out the operations manual, it’s often a defensive maneuver. We might have better ideas about work or be prepared to have a meaningful discussion, but nothing silences dissent or innovation faster than a ream of official paper.
To understand how to fix the operations manual, we have to first understand what is broken. In businesses and non-profits alike, the desire to create narrative documentation is almost innate. Describing work patterns using prose gives us a sense of importance and immortality. When we post signs, write out company policies or create authorized checklists, it feels like we are building the structure of the corporation.
Our intentions are healthy and appropriate. Organizations of any size benefit from some degree of order. The problem is that the form of a written narrative does not match the experience of the flow of work. Printed volumes are great for novels and non-fiction books, where the plot should slowly unfold and skipping to the end is rarely advisable. Furthermore, these tomes are intended to be definitive. They represent a series of ideas frozen in time with the sole purpose of presenting some artistic or technical message.
Workflow, however, is always changing. The way you answer the phone may be different from today to tomorrow; indeed even where we answer the phone is uncertain. The practices we use to assist customers, process requests, manage data and conduct analysis are constantly renewed. Whereas a novelist has absolute power over the reader to dictate the story, the relationship between employees and work is much more personal. Work, after all, is what actually happens when no one is watching. The manual might urge a particular sequence of tasks, but it is what employees personally decide to do that leads to results.
How do we resolve apparent clash between written instructions and individual innovation? The answer is in two parts. First, instead of trying to capture workflow in words, we should use images. Engineers describe circuits using diagrams, chemists develop formulas via pictures, and architects envision their creations through blueprints. We should describe work in the way we think: as visual schematics.
Second, we need to recognize that all of us have jobs not just because we can follow instructions, but because we have the intelligence to know when instructions need to be improved. Workflow diagrams represent the opportunity to empower stakeholders. If we merely put diagrams up on the walls rather than hiding written instructions in drawers, employees may still silently ignore them. However, if these documents are hand-drawn rather than neatly printed and managed by workers themselves, they have the potential to become part of the culture of work.
There’s no need to pull down your operations manual and throw it in the trash. Instead, start a conversation at your office about documenting workflow visually. Encourage your coworkers to share their ideas for improvement and explain them as diagrams. Support continuous improvement at your organization by moving away from narrative authority and embracing innovation from the bottom up.
Slaughter is a Principal with AccelaWork, an Indianapolis business process and workflow consulting company.
Let's face it, crabgrass is my arch nemesis. And despite my enthusiastic attempts at victory, it has beaten me every single year since the day I became a homeowner. Every year it's the same song and dance. I fertilize. I water. I cut. I seed. Yet, every year two things happen. First, my grass humbly gives in and cooperates for the months of April, May, and June. Leaving me proud and satisfied with my job well done.
How nice! I think to myself. The yard is actually responding to all my hard work!Then, as though secretly laughing at me from underneath its crisp, shiny, deep green plushness, it turns on me. Ill-fated and ugly, crabgrass strikes again!Thank you! Thank you! Thank you my dear, kind, humble yard!
I must admit, perusing my neighborhood on leisurely walks is a difficult task. After all, the scenery that surrounds me invites emotional envy. I actively view plot after plot of beautifully manicured grass and, like salt to a wound, admit to myself that every neighbor has better, more cooperative grass than I. How do they do it?
With my pride sadly pummeled, my efforts lessened to nothing more than an impossibly difficult grass stain, I asked my neighbor for advice. Interestingly enough, I found that my only blunder, besides over-indulged frustration and minimal amounts of patience, is consistency. Turns out, it actually is important to explicitly follow-through with an exact regime. My problems consisted of the following:
FERTILIZING: Though I have actively utilized all the spring and summer applications consistently for three years, I have never followed-through with the final step that should occur each year before the first snowfall. Not diligently sticking to the recommended applications have left my efforts in vain.I was going through the motions, all the while incorrectly administering them. It was then that I realized, besides diligence and consistency, efficiency within any process–not just yard work—not only makes it better, but makes it stronger and more reliable.WATERING: My *attempts* at watering my yard, which consist of rainfall, emptying my kids' inflatable pool, and the occasional once-around with my garden hose, are (surprise, surprise) subpar. Watering grass periodically everyday for a substantial amount of time is not just good, it's vital.
MANICURING: In a perfect world, my grass is freshly mowed twice a week. Yet, at times I'm lucky if I manage to mow once a week. Being inconsistent with a mulching mower can kill grass as the length leaves behind a lot of clippings that cover and shade the grass.
Think for a moment about an important project timeline. Now imagine what would happen if a vital step was left out, accidentally missed or purposefully skipped. At the very least, the project would be vulnerable. Perhaps it simply wouldn't reach it's full potential. Or worse, perhaps it would fail altogether. The end result may be a gamble, but one thing is for sure: without conscientious evaluation and proper follow-through, attaining project success will not be easy.
Persistent thoroughness may sound exhausting, but it certainly pays off. If unconvinced, look around your neighborhood and compare plots of grass. You may find as I have that hard work isn't always as effective as smart work. Contact our Indianapolis consultants today to learn more about how we can transform processes from "crabgrass eyesores" into "landscaped masterpieces." Happy mowing!
Arriving at Harv's Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," says Harv's owner, Aaron Zeff.The story gets crazier as it's further explained. This situation happened in 2010. The money that was unpaid had been due since 2006. The penalties and taxes the accrued on that four cent debt were a whopping $202.31! That seems rather excessive for such a minuscule fine, especially one that built up over just four years! The reason this fine went unpaid? Because Zeff wasn't aware of this fine. He was never told of any late payments or taxes due. If he had been, it's safe to say he could've scrambled together the extra four cents needed. Not only would he have been spared from such a whopping fine, but the IRS would've have had to send two agents, a car, and the paperwork needed to collect this money. After all, don't most copies cost about five cents?The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff's on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was ... 4 cents.
The ridiculousness of the situation was certainly not lost on Zeff.
"It's hilarious," he says, "that two people hopped in a car and came down here for just 4 cents. I think (the IRS) may have a problem with priorities."
There might be a reasonable explanation for this story, but it's hard to imagine one. There's some indication that Zeff might have been several years behind on settling up, which could have triggered the personal visit. But why would the agents go on site to collect a couple of pennies? If what Zeff is saying is true, there was simply no reason for this visit. Either his errors should have been properly communicated to him beforehand, or if this was really only a four cent problem, then there's no chance it was worth even a fraction of the gas money to send the agents over in person.
The most important lesson is that IRS employees are not empowered with sufficient authority and responsibility. They should feel comfortable looking at the letter and making the decision not to waste hours of their day serving a notice for a nickel in fees. If perhaps IRS agents are not allowed to look at these letters, than why do they need to be hand delivered? Clearly, someone is not thinking conscientiously about work.
This IRS problem is one that impacts everyone since it's our tax dollars being wasted in situations like these, but it's very possible that similar situations are going on in your organization. It's important to ensure your employees feel comfortable enough to take initiative when they come across a situation that might need to be resolved in a different way than policy dictates. Because no matter how smart you are, it's impossible to be aware of the best policy for every situation every time.
Based on such anecdotes it's easy to make fun of bureaucracies from the outside, but we all know that there are problems throughout every organization. That's why AccelaWork works with companies and non-profits to help redesign business processes based on stakeholder engagement. Contact our business consultants today for more information! We can help you avoid goofing up like the IRS, and help you keep your resources flowing in an intelligent and efficient manner.
In Productivity Secrets: Technology Isn't Always Technical, Robby displays his theory on adapting to technology through the Technology Cognition Chart:
The full post is certainly worth checking out, but for your convenience we've included some of his explanation below:
Blissfully Unaware In the beginning, none of us have any idea what it going to appear next. And then one day, BAM, you hear that Google, the Food Network and the International Olympic Committee are joining forces to create an online social network for competitive arugula farming.Skepticism Not surprisingly, we don’t buy into things right away. Really? What I am going to do with a device that doesn’t have a keyboard? We ask ourselves, why do I need a machine that uses body language to send text messages on my behalf?
These questions, however, require a bit of technical understanding. We have to at least visualize ourselves using the new technology, and have some sense for how it might work in our own lives.
Discovery or Fear As a technology becomes more prevalent, we come across a fork in the road. Either we can get it in a flash of discovery (Oh! I can keep up with old friends on Facebook. Cool!) or it never really clicks in our minds. The technology starts to pass us by, and we become afraid that we’re “just not smart enough” for the world around us.
(Not pictured: tech we get but don’t care about. For example, iPhone applications that make embarrassing bodily noises.)
Adopter to Expert Sometimes we become fluent in the technical details of a new technology, and we want to take it apart and show off our prowess. As I write this post for The Marketing Tech Blog, I get to do so in raw HTML and add my own markup tags. The technical fluency isfun, because I’m sufficiently expert in doing so.
Towards Competence Sometimes we become sufficiently competent in a technology, understanding just enough to know how to get by. You may not really understand how a touch screen works, but with a little practice and comfort you can get along using it just fine.
Towards Defeat Sometimes technology seems hopelessly complex and passes us by. This is the most troubling of all positions, because it’s hard to help someone recognize that if only they understood just a little bit of the technical details (such as the difference between the search box and the address bar), they would be much better.
Ideally, you're a tech expert, using the latest innovations in the most productive way, but in reality, that may not be the case. Plenty of people find themselves behind the curve, or worse, slipping right off the track when they try to implement new productivity technologies. If you feel like that's the case for you, then fear not! By being aware of the chart above and asking for help, you could see positive changes in no time. For more information, contact our business improvement consulting firm today.
In an interview for Mixwest 2010, Robby Slaughter had an opportunity to highlight some of his recent success. During the discussion, Nat Finn touched upon Slaughter's new book, Failure: The Secret To Success, and his Mixwest 2010 session, "Producing Content Without Agony." A snippet of the interview is below.
1 – Mixwest 2010 might be dubbed, “The Year of the Writer.” Congratulations on publishing your book, “Failure: The Secret to Success.” Besides the implied reasons found in the title, what specifically inspired you to write the book?Turns out, Slaughter had managed to create a detailed, comprehensive blog only in four minutes and ten seconds. And though he certainly broke his blogging record, he admits doing so wasn't his main goal. Instead, it was to simply inspire others to adopt similar strategies when it comes to content development and workflow improvement. Hopefully, after witnessing the feat, all the session participants can freely attest to his intentions and, ultimately, his results!Thanks! Fear of failure is the most gripping and serious problem we face at work and in life. Making mistakes is essential to learning, yet we seem to be afraid of doing anything wrong. I wrote the book to establish a conversation around what enables us to succeed in our professional and personal world. I hope that it helps others feel inspired to embrace the role of failure.
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5 – During a session of Mixwest 2009 you claimed you wrote a post in 8 minutes [correct me if that's wrong]. Have you since broken that record?
It was nine minutes and forty seconds. I think I’ve done it much less time, but I don’t usually take out a stopwatch while blogging. The promise for Saturday afternoon is to write one in under five minutes. Come and see if it can be done!
That said, Slaughter didn't show up off the street and write a post in under five minutes. He has been blogging for years and has found the best strategies for efficiency in his posting. He has improved his writing speed and quality through many hours of practice. Perhaps you're just starting out and don't have the practice or experience to have your own workflow figured out. That shouldn't matter at all! Slaughter's achievement from Mixwest should be an inspiration for anyone at any stage of their business. If your strategies are sound and you're serious about achieving your goals, you can reach a similar level in no time at all.
Your goal may not be to write a blog post in under five minutes or even in under ten. It could simply be to realize that content development is not always a daunting task. If Slaughter can write a post in four minutes and ten seconds, then surely even less experienced writers do not need days or even weeks of preparation to come up with a quality post. And his achievement is a great example of what proper planning and practice can lead to. Regardless of what your business goals are, if you approach them in a smart, strategic manner, it should be much easier (and take much less time) to reach those achievements.
Still unsure of how this can apply to your business? We can help! To learn more about efficiency in the workplace and how to use proper strategies and a quality workflow to improve your business, don't hesitate in contacting the consulting team at AccelaWork today!
In the article Jury Duty Economics: The High Cost of Justice, journalist Barry Watson divulged his experience—and perspective—on jury duty and its economic strain it has on those summoned. He reported that juror concerns boil down to two things: missing valuable work time and losing crucial income.
It isn't hard to figure out why people try to avoid empanelment: Apart from the lost work time, there's often a major pay cut. In New York, jury members make $40 per day. Granted, this is significantly more than most states pay—California, for example, only kicks in $15 per day, along with 37 cents per mile for commuters—but $40 per day doesn't even cover the cost of rent in New York City.One further aspect of jury duty concerned Watson:
By the time we got to the jury room to decide the case, it seemed like most of us had an eye on the meter . . .Within a few hours, we came to a decision. It's hard to determine if the economy affected our final verdict, but I wonder what the rejected jurors might have contributed to the discussion . . . The question is, ultimately, whether the ability to serve on a jury and render judgment against one's fellow man is becoming a luxury, reserved for those who can afford it.
As a juror, the duty of deciding one's fate is of extreme importance, not just to the defendant, but to the government as well. However, as Watson pointed out, such a process comes at a cost to those involuntarily losing time and income. Despite this underlying message, the truth is that stakeholders matter. In any process, vital contribution for its success is created, performed and seen by the people conducting the work. The results suffer when these people do not receive the respect they deserve.
At times, it seems that allowing a bottom line to dictate compensation is the only choice of action. This is not always the case. At AccelaWork, we assist companies in expediting processes so that valuable time and money can be utilized elsewhere. If your company is interested in learning more about how we can help, contact our business process improvement consultants. We'll help your process seem less like jury duty and more like swift justice.
Here's their overview of this approach:
Ignite HR Consulting is the premier Strengths-based HR, coaching and training company in Indianapolis, IN. Our unique approach breaks all the rules of conventional wisdom. Rather than finding gaps and fixing weaknesses, Ignite focuses on what is RIGHT, building on Strengths and minimizing weaknesses. Explore a few of our training and coaching options below, and find out more how we help create strong employees, strong managers, and strong organizations.
The event took place on Thursday, May 6 at 4PM and featured a 45-minute training session entitled “Doing What You Do Best” presented by Carla Feagans. This session was followed by an hour and a half of networking, with unlimited food and cocktails. The evening concludes with a symphony concert from the Time for Three string ensemble.
Tickets were normally $25, but Ignite HR offered our readers a discount. Contact our business process consultants to learn about how we can assist your company.
MSN Health & Fitness featured a two-minute video, Boosting Your Brain, which discusses how multi-tasking weighs heavy our ability to think. According to Dr. Sandra von Chapman, chief director at The Center for Brain Health, this mental function decline occurs "because people go to automatic levels of processing of just information in, information out." In addition to the video here are some tips from the article to avoid "brain overload:"
DAILY RECOMMENDATIONS:List out top three tasks each day.
Work on each task for 30 Minutes without distraction.
Turn off email at certain points during the day.
Make bullet points for meetings to decrease rambling.
It's no secret. AccelaWork not only encourages these types of recommendations to our clients, but we utilize such tactics in our office everyday. We view productivity as more than just streamlining a filing system or getting a task checked off a list. It's about creating a viable routine that significantly reduces the amount of work and stress a faulty process brings.
By reducing the amount of time spent inefficiently multi-tasking, an individual gains something extremely valuable: uninterrupted work time. We have covered the link between employee satisfaction and workflow, getting "into the zone" of solid work brings a worker a deep sense of satisfaction. For many, this sense of accomplishment doesn't just create happiness. The ability to freely focus on work is truly motivating.
For further information on how we can help rejuvenate your brain at work, contact our corporate productivity consultants today!
The data came from an annual survey conducted by MetLife. According to a UK-based website:
The research found that 77 per cent of employees think their productivity would improve if they were offered money advice and guidance programmes at work, as just 37 per cent admit they are confident about their ability to make sound financial decisions.Let's review that text carefully: the analysis does not prove that employees who receive financial planning services are more effective. Rather, it states that employees believe they would be more productive if they were offered some kind of money counseling at work.In addition, 65 per cent of employers believe workers are less productive if they are worried about their personal finances, while 52 per cent think absenteeism rises when staff have to deal with money problems.
In a broad sense, this information should not be surprising. After all, any benefit for employees—especially one that might be particularly valuable—will undoubtedly be well received. Of course stakeholders think they will be more productive if there are more visible signs of appreciation!
More importantly, however, this study highlights the importance of our own self-perception of productivity. Three-fourths of people believe they could get more done at work if they just received some financial consulting. How much more could they achieve if all their wishes were respected and evaluated?
At AccelaWork, we help organizations to increase productivity and improve workflow by engaging stakeholders. When people believe they can get more done they tend to actually get more done! Empower your team to work smarter and collaborate more effectively. Contact our productivity growth consultants today!
Sue Compton of Delanco, NJ, entered the annual Pillsbury Bake-off with her Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups recipe. Her creation, however, is based on sticking ready-to-bake cookie dough into paper muffin cups.
Delightful and delectable, these tiny desserts wowed the judges, leaving her $1 million dollars richer. Yet in a story on slashfood.com, other contestants and observers felt her recipe was not deserving of the honor:
We are often quick to judge value based on complexity. A luscious dessert which requires many steps, unusual ingredients and delicate execution is easy to revere. But shouldn't we be more impressed by a tasty treat which is is also easy to make?This is a very clever use of ingredients and tasty, but the million dollar winner? I am sorry, but I remember when contestants had to actually come up with a real recipe that they then had to make from scratch...This almost seems like cheating to me...I am sorry to see a recipe awarded such a prize for doing nothing. What has happened to cooking? A small child could create this terrible thing.
To fairly evaluate any procedure, we should not consider the level of difficulty as a key variable. Instead, what matters most is the overall quality of the process and the product. For Ms. Compton, her simple, yet creative recipe embraced both criteria. Not only is her confection delicious, it's also a cinch for even the novice chef and quick enough to whip up in less than an hour. Who can complain about that?
To actually complete work in an effective and efficient way while avoiding over-complication is as much of an art form as baking. It takes time, patience, trial and error to reach an ideal level of expectation. So, creating and partaking in a simplistic process hardly makes a person an amateur. On the contrary, when utilized correctly, the approach can signify a high level of expertise; a position that comes only from experience.
As our consultants have covered before, working hard does not necessarily mean you're working smart. If over-complicated processes at work are baking your brain, contact our business process consultants at AccelaWork today. We can help simplify your processes while still achieving a successful outcome. Most importantly however, we'll help you to pursue an even greater goal: process improvement. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?
First, a quick refresher on passive voice from the UNC writing center.
A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. That is, whoever or whatever is performing the action is not the grammatical subject of the sentence. Take a look at this passive rephrasing of a familiar joke:Consider the following statement, which is common in offices across the world:Why was the road crossed by the chicken?Who is doing the action in this sentence? The chicken is the one doing the action in this sentence, but the chicken is not in the spot where you would expect the grammatical subject to be. Instead, the road is the grammatical subject. The more familiar phrasing (why did the chicken cross the road?) puts the actor in the subject position, the position of doing something—the chicken (the actor/doer) crosses the road (the object). We use active verbs to represent that “doing,” whether it be crossing roads, proposing ideas, making arguments, or invading houses (more on that shortly).
Please edit this report as soon as possible.Although the sentence begins with the word "please," it is obviously a command. If you're the one saying it, you expect the work to be done immediately. If you're the person hearing this request, it's hard not to feel like you're being given an order.
It might sound a little odd to question the value of direct requests at work. After all, shouldn't we expect our jobs to contain specific responsibilities and assignments? Consider then rephrasing the same concept using language with the passive voice:
This report needs to be edited.Using the grammatical approach your teacher recommended against should result in a weaker, less effective sentence. Yet, if you heard such a request from your boss it wouldn't just seem passive. Instead, the comment would sound passive aggressive.
The manner by which we provide instructions affects how people feel about those instructions. What if we take the passive language and combine it with something informative and empowering? Consider this version of the same idea:
The client is really in a bind and I think we can win some big points if we edit this report today. Is this a task that interests you, and if so are you available to help out?
Unlike the first two statements, the handful of extra words provides some context. There is now a rationale for the emergency as well as a benefit. The person asking demonstrates respect—both for the other person's competencies and responsibilities. A "yes" answer is more meaningful and a response of "no" is perfectly acceptable. The extra words don't just take up a few more seconds, they help to transform the culture of work.
It's not always possible to turn a command into a request, whether you employ the passive voice or another technique. Sometimes work just has to be done. But even so, you can empower your team members by showing them you recognize their value:
I'm sorry to interrupt your workflow, but I need you to stop what you're doing and edit this report right away. Can you let me know what other project will slip as a result so we can plan accordingly?If you have the right sort of people on your team, then they're going to respond positively to a request like this. And if they legitimately don't have the time to properly accomplish what you're asking them to, then you're probably better off finding someone else to take on the task.
Connect with your team. Improve productivity and satisfaction by changing the way you talk. Learn more by contacting our small business productivity consultants today!
According to one story in the Associated Press, a Maryland resident is pending charges after he called 911 and made a false statement about being robbed.
The Charles County sheriff’s office said a man called 911 and made up a story about being robbed so that he could get a ride home. Authorities said they were called to Hawthorne Road near Manor Drive in Ripley for a reported armed robbery on Thursday. The man told officers that he had been walking on Route 225 when a car stopped and a someone put a gun to his head and demanded money. The man claimed to have complied and the suspects fled.Taking into account his desperation, the man accused of falsely filing a police report was probably in distress—a factor that potentially clouded his judgment. Nonetheless, there is no denying that he made a major mistake. However, his error didn't begin when he called 911 with a false story. It started much earlier.But as officers searched the area and noticed inconsistencies in his account, the man admitted fabricating the robbery story because he wanted a ride home.
He said his cell phone was out of minutes and 911 was the only number he could still call.
Despite his first mistake of not rationing his cell phone minutes he made an even bigger blunder: he underestimated his own value. He convinced himself that being stranded on the highway was not a viable enough reason to ask for help. If the man would have simply called 911 and told the truth, his day would have probably ended quite differently. Perhaps the dispatcher would have put him in contact with a cab service or sent a nearby police car to pick him up. Who knows what would have transpired. But one thing is clear: by doubting the severity of his own predicament, he created an even larger problem.
There's also the very obvious problem here of lying to a 911 operator. Under no circumstance is that acceptable. But it's almost as taboo to lie to your clients or employees. Even if you do find yourself in a desperate situation, the truth is always going to be the best option. All lying has the potential to do is get you into some real trouble. For this man, it's some sort of legal trouble, but for your business it could be a loss of a client, a hurt reputation, and a lack of trust from your employees.
Effective problem-solving takes time and serious contemplation. We need to come up with strategies that are fluid and well-equipped to remedy a situation. Yet, when problems arise unexpectedly, our instinct is to react first and reflect later; opening the door to further mistakes, misdirection and even loss of value. We need to learn to think before we act. If we plan properly, then when problems do arise, we won't likely be in quite as desperate of a situation, and therefore won't be forced to jump into a decision that has a very negative outcome.
If you want to learn more about how we can assist in creating logical solutions for workflow challenges, don't hesitate to contact our business process transformation firm today. Rest assured, we don't come with pre-paid stipulations that can leave you stranded—we'll stick around until you no longer need us. And you certainly won't have to lie to 911.
In the following message, two employees at different companies are coordinating their mutual involvement in a non-profit committee:
Thanks. I'm not supposed to log-in to gmail at work, so I'll need to take a look at our group and calendar soon to get a handle on it, then promote it to everyone via e-mail.In one sentence, the anonymous person sending this email illustrates the startlingly backwards culture of the typical employer. She expresses two core ideas:
If we read the email carefully, however, possible rationales start to emerge. The key phrase is "I'm not supposed to log-in to gmail." Maybe Google's Gmail product has been deemed a security risk. Or perhaps management feels that people who are using the service are more likely to be wasting time. In any case, the author of the message seems to think she might get caught on Gmail. Perhaps the IT department has monitoring software, or maybe another employee could happen to walk by her cube.
None of these possible explanations are very reasonable. If Gmail is dangerous or problematic, why not have the technical staff install Internet filters? Any time people feel they are "supposed" to act in a certain way, they probably harbor at least a small amount of resentment. Why can't we be trusted to be responsible?
There's a lesson for management in this story. If you want to provide exceptional customer service, emulate companies like Nordstrom and try to keep policies simple which will have a positive effect on worker productivity. If you're an employee who writes emails that say things like "I'm not supposed to do this at work," consider a policy change of your own: don't give out your work email to personal contacts. Or, think about finding an employer which is more interested in productivity growth than monitoring behavior.
We've all been in offices where micromanagement runs rampant. Perhaps in certain situations it's called for, but on the whole, it's usually a negative management style. After all, if employees don't feel empowered, are they really going to be comfortable coming forward with novel ideas? And it's rather hard to feel empowered when your phone calls are being monitored, or you fear checking in on your personal emails since someone is watching your internet history. Yes, all employees should remain focused during the day, but it's very unlikely that during a five minute break to check in on emails, an entire day of work is going to be ruined. And if your organization is really one where those sorts of policies are needed, the employees shouldn't fear retribution, rather they should understand why the policies are in place and thus have a motivation to stick to it.
Ultimately, the words we use to describe our limitations at the office are often the most important part of our workflow. Make smarter processes that empower your team to have the freedom to accomplish more. Consider contacting our small business consulting firm to learn more about this. We love to help!
Over at Lexican, Steven Levy offered some refreshing words. First:
I get heartburn when people assume or suggest that process improvement and Six Sigma are synonymous.It should be obvious that Six Sigma is just one tool that can be used to attempt to make businesses more efficient, but the marketing budget and the groundswell for the "cottage industry" is tough to ignore. More insight from Levy:
Three Sigma represents about 7 defects per 100 “things” — widgets manufactured, processes run, documents reviewed. As a manufacturing standard, it’s pretty minimal, but it’s a reasonable human standard.As a manager, say, did I get 93% of my interactions with my team “right”? I don’t know, but I think that would be pretty reasonable, especially if I were quick to fix the other 7% if pointed out to me. (I had only two managers in all my years in business who came in around this level; I worked for each of them for a long time because they were skilled managers.)
The things that are hardest to measure are also those that matter most. The Six Sigma methodology is designed for things that are easy to measure, that are “cookie cutter” (or stamped out with a mechanical jig). Misapply it, and you can do as much harm as good. You can’t write off the nuances, the gray areas, the conditions encountered for the first time.
The best hitter in baseball hits at a One Sigma level. The best putter in golf putts at a Two Sigma level. Three Sigma’s not as easy as it sounds.
Failure is crucial to human learning. A methodology where we are aiming for near-zero defects is probably going to be demoralizing at best. However, the essential component of improvement is the analysis of the improvement. This is where Levy misses the mark:
Ultimately, my methodology is pragmatism and practicality. Use what works. Borrow liberally. Focus on the destination more than the path.A Wall Street Journal article tackled a similar topic, bringing up why so many Six Sigma projects fail.
They typically start off well, generating excitement and great progress, but all too often fail to have a lasting impact as participants gradually lose motivation and fall back into old habits.We should be realistic, emulate successful patterns, and borrow from experts. However, there is tremendous danger in focusing on outcomes. Although it may sound counterintuitive, we need to put business process transformation ahead of results. Individuals are most empowered to make smart choices when they focus on their own work, not someone else's goals. Process-oriented thinking helps ensures that failure leads to learning rather than losing....
Many teams reported their achievements incorrectly, giving a false sense of success. Because the director continued to communicate only about projects that were showing excellent results, it took several months for the division vice president to become aware of the widespread failures and reluctantly inform the company's top executives.
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Executives need to directly participate in improvement projects, not just "support" them. Because it was in his best interests, the director in charge of the improvement projects at the aerospace company created the illusion that everything was great by communicating only about projects that were yielding excellent results. By observing the successes and failures of improvement programs firsthand, rather than relying on someone else's interpretation, executives can make more accurate assessments as to which ones are worth continuing.
Make changes to your workflow. Learn more about Methodology Engineering. Reach out to our consulting firm today!
An event in Indianapolis in 2010 attempted to address these problems which are all too common in the workplace. The event was appropriately titled Five Simple Ways to Get Your Employees to "Play Nice". The event's speaker was professional communication coach Starla West, who discussed five simple ways to create and maintain a FUN and professional work environment where employees "play nice" each and every day! Below were the event details:
DATE: Thursday, May 27, 2010TIME: 3:30pm to 5:00pm (with open networking from 3 to 3:30pm)
LOCATION: The beautiful Skyline Club in downtown Indianapolis (One American Square - Indianapolis, IN 46282).
INVESTMENT: Only $35 per attendee.
REFRESHMENTS: Yes, of course!
One of the ultimate goals for any organization is to get its employees to view one another as "internal customers" and interact with each other - productively and harmoniously - in an atmosphere of mutual respect. If respect is missing, then employees may not feel safe or comfortable in the workplace. When that happens, work may be inefficient and lacking in quality, which can lead to external customers being just as unhappy as the "internal customers" are.
We previously discussed how a well-designed workplace can be an efficient one, but simply having soft lighting and properly painted walls isn't enough to have your teams work in harmony. You have to take steps to ensure that all of your employees find a way to feel comfortable while at work. It may not possible to completely please everyone, but it's certainly possible to put methods in place to ensure function reigns supreme over dysfunction.
A blog post from Influence & Co. tackled a similar topic and brings up some quality points. While that post is directed specifically at sales and marketing teams, the suggestions it presents can apply to any division of employees. We've included two of those specific suggestions below.
Those two suggestions can easily be combined into one: Keep lines of communication open. We've discussed the problems with time-wasting meetings before, but the purpose of a meeting to compare proposals is to ensure that there's communication between various departments. That makes sure everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals. This can be achieved any number of ways, whether it's as straightforward as a meeting or something more outside the box. And to continue thinking of the workplace as a family, the occasional dinner together can do big things for turning a dysfunctional family into a functional one where everyone feels comfortable and valued, regardless of whether they're the head of the household or the youngest of many siblings.1. Make an objections spreadsheet.
Have your sales team regularly update a spreadsheet with objections from leads. The marketing team can create content that speaks to those objections.If your marketing team is aware of your prospects’ concerns, then they’ll be able to create effective — and conversion-focused — content.
5. Use meetings to compare proposals.
Schedule periodic meetings to revise proposals based on feedback from leads.Marketing may think the sales collateral is great, but if it’s not answering questions leads are asking, it’s really not worth much.
Likewise, sales might think a proposal is informative, but if marketing notices it’s visually unappealing or difficult to understand, your prospects probably will, too.
At AccelaWork, our goal is to deliver workplace productivity and stakeholder satisfaction. If you are interested in learning more about what we can offer your business, contact our business process improvement consultants today!
This clip comes from a post on the Daily Markets Blog. Take a look:
As the video progresses, you probably find yourself wondering over and over again if the man is going to try to carry one more brick. Yet as his burden increases, he only seems more confident. What lessons can we learn from this worker?Regardless of the technology you have in place, productivity can still be achieved. We want to find ways to maximize our technology, but not completely rely on it for our jobs to work. An NPR article touched on the productivity pros and cons businesses are faced with today. Technology can allow us to better monitor our work days, but that isn't always the best situation. Rather, it's important to look at the big picture.
The advance of tablets and Web-based computing makes it possible for more people to work remotely, but that also makes interoffice coordination a greater challenge.Motivation, as we've covered many times on this blog, usually is the strongest when it's coming from within. There are a million ways to try to motivate someone, and we certainly don't want to do anything that can hurt motivation, but when someone's motivation is completely self-starting, then they're going to be the most successful. People aren't motivated by the next technological way to document productivity. Rather they're motivated by striving towards a goal through an effective workflow. That's where satisfaction, and ultimately productivity, come from.Tim Bajarin is a technology analyst who says companies — from IBM and HP to smaller startups — are grappling with how to make the workplace more effective.
"The tools to make them successful in their productivity is the No. 1 IT project in any company," Bajarin says.
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But Teresa Amabile, a Harvard Business School professor, says this kind of punitive approach — constantly pointing out what you're doing wrong — is counterproductive. Her research shows that documenting progress on work, no matter how minor, is by far the most effective tool.
"That absolutely dwarfed every other positive thing that happened to people," she says.
Amabile likes a service offered by a startup called iDonethis. It prompts users to write down what they accomplished at the end of the day. She says this helps users stay focused on their biggest, most important goals.
"And that good inner work life fuels their energy, their motivation and their emotions to make progress the next day," Amabile says.
Just staying motivated, she says, is still the best way to get work done.
Great workflow is impressive, regardless of the economic conditions or the type of work. To help your organization run with similar efficiency and satisfaction, give our buisness improvement consultants a call today.
Here's some information from a piece in the Washington Post:
The good news for the legions of Washington area applicants seeking federal work is that the government wants to fill tens of thousands of jobs here. The bad news is that they have to first slog through the federal government's labyrinth hiring system to get one.In a process that can involve 100 steps and take a year or more, applicants must deal with an online site many find cumbersome, sometimes vastly different procedures and requirements for the various agencies, and a culture loaded with mind-numbing jargon, codes and acronyms.
It's easy to make fun of the government, but it should be clear that this bureaucracy creates a significant barrier to productivity and satisfaction. After all, how many steps should there be to hiring someone for a job? It seems pretty clear:
The article explains the scope of this challenge:
Over the next five years...the government will need to replace at least 550,000 workers who are slated to retire. Thousands more will be needed for new federal initiatives, including health-care and financial regulatory overhauls. Officials at the Partnership for Public Service say that about 25,000 of those jobs annually will be needed in the Washington area.The government needs to bring on a half million people, yet currently has a hiring cycle of more than five months? It's no wonder government jobs have a bad reputation: they are only offered to people who are willing to wait for ages to actually start work!...
Last week, the administration announced a plan aimed at reducing the period of hiring to 80 days, about half the present time. The new process would eliminate KSAs -- knowledge, skills and ability tests -- and base hiring more on applicants' professional background.
All organizations need processes to manage important, repetitive operations. Yet sometimes, these procedures can become laughably complex. If your company wants to simplify procedures, contact our productivity consultants today. We work with stakeholders to help simplify everyday tasks.
For many of us, staying healthy is a numbers game. We should exercise more and eat less. We should gain muscle but shed pounds. We should raise our heart rate so that it can be lower on average. For better or for worse, we watch the scale, count calories and constantly measure our progress.
Physical wellness requires being conscientious. However, there are health factors far more significant than making it to one more spin class or deciding to enjoy one more strip of bacon. Among the most serious is stress. For most of us that stress arises from our job.
The American Psychological Association highlights how stress can be a serious problem:
Untreated chronic stress can result in serious health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. Research shows that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity.Stress at work leads to long hours, which keeps us from sleep. Work stress threatens our personal relationships. Many people use alcohol or food to escape from their troubles at their office, which can only damage their overall well-being. Workplace stress is a major threat to our health.
Much of the mental anguish we endure at our jobs is out of our control. We are stressed by everything from demanding customers and personality conflicts with co-workers. There are no easy treatments for many of these frustrations. However, there is one universal source of annoyance that we can readily tackle. Almost everyone can relate to the incredible stress caused by email.
The main reason that we are overwhelmed by email is because we so rarely deal with email on our own time. Most of us leave our email program running constantly. Messages pop up throughout the day. They interrupt our current workflow and demand our attention. How many times have you stopped to deal with an incoming message and forgotten the task you just left? Because email is interruption-driven, we tend to treat every message as urgent—thus building up our stress over time.
Furthermore, we tend to use email as a catch-all storage system. The hundreds or perhaps thousands of messages in our inbox represent work we have not yet completed. It’s as if our mail is a gigantic, growing to-do list that we will never complete. It is no wonder that email contributes to stress.
Both of these problems require a change in perspective. First, we must recognize that email is never urgent. If someone needs our attention right away, they should call us on the telephone. That means we can turn off our email program and check messages on our own time. We don’t need to respond in minutes to requests that can be processed the following day.
Second, we should acknowledge that the destiny of any email is to be deleted. Inbound messages should be processed, not saved. If someone sends you a document, put it in the right folder. If they request an appointment, place it on your calendar. If they offer contact information, store the details in your address book. The ultimate fate of any email message is deletion. A shrinking inbox reduces stress.
Improve your health by improving the health of your email inbox. Reduce stress by controlling email. Choose wellness in your environment as well as within your body. Healthy inboxes make for healthy people!
If you want to learn more about ways of reducing stress at work, contact our Indianapolis consultants today.
Stephen Hughes, a physics lecturer at the University of Technology, recently discovered that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) had the wrong definition of siphon:
Dr Stephen Hughes, from the University of Technology in Brisbane, noticed that the error in the dictionary during research for an article for science teachers.The article goes on to say that Hughes couldn't believe the dictionary had the definition wrong. Perhaps even more shocking than the fact that the definition is wrong, it's been that way since 1911. Once Hughes wrote to point out the error to the dictionary, they ensured it would be rectified in the next edition. That's a good way to handle the problem, but how did it happen in the first place?The OED definition of the word erroneously states that atmospheric pressure makes siphons work, when in fact it is the force of gravity.
Siphons draw fluid from a higher location to a lower one and are often used to remove liquid from containers, such as petrol tanks, that are hard to empty otherwise.
The dictionary's response was simply, "the definition was written 'by editors who were not scientists.'" That definitely makes sense, but a dictionary is supposed to be an expert on these things. People who don't know what a siphon is will turn to the dictionary for clarification. And that's why an error like this is such a problem. People rely on scholarly sources like this to be correct. If the source is incorrect, then everyone who learns from the source is also going to be wrong.
Indeed, editors are experts in language and written communication... not science. Yet, as any passionate specialist would agree, it's not unreasonable to expect that accurate research and verification be valued and more so present throughout the work. So the next question is, how has this error been missed for nearly 100 years?
The answer is simple: human error.
There are roughly 616,500 words in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), making the English vocabulary one of the largest in size in the world. So its fair to say that one incorrect definition (out of hundreds of thousands) is actually quite astounding; a rate of only .000162%. All the same, an error is an error. Siphon has been corrected, but what other words are wrong? While it'd be nice to think this was the case, I doubt finding this one mistake led to a fact-checking for the entire scope of the English language. And even if it did, who's to say the publisher has the proper experts in place to ensure an error like this couldn't happen again?
You also have to wonder if Hughes was the very first person to ever see this problem? That seems unlikely. It's very possible that another expert noticed it, but didn't take the time to communicate the error to someone with the power to fix it. That person would've assumed it wasn't their problem since they didn't write the dictionary. Thankfully, Hughes didn't feel the same way, and future generations of dictionary-readers will be smarter because of it.
Escaping all types of error is something we may never overcome, but it is something we should certainly pursue. Without it, there would be little reason for change. Without change, there is little room for innovation. When there is a lack of innovation knowledge, discovery, and even creativity can dwindle or halt altogether.
For more information on ways to prevent or fix errors in your organization, don't hesitate to contact the business development consultants at Accelawork today!
Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins' star shortstop, was taken out of a game when he caused an error and failed to properly rectify it. According to Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, Ramirez simply chose not to hustle:
Hanley left the game because we felt—he got smoked in the ankle—but we felt whether he was hurt or not hurt or whatever it was, we felt that the effort wasn’t there that we wanted.Ramirez was replaced by fellow teammate Brian Barden—who, despite a sprained ankle, completed the final eight innings. All the while displaying the "killer" effort that the Marlins know and expect.
Like baseball, business is competitive. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to expect the best out of your employees; particularly when their performance directly impacts the success of the company. In fact, supplying full confidence not only empowers your players, it also motivates them to go that extra mile. Yet, no matter how talented or flawless their work may be, achieving constant perfection is impossible. Everyone, even all-star athletes, have bad days.
If bad days happen more often than not however, there may be a larger issue at hand. As we have covered before, positive thinking greatly influences worker productivity and we can't just focus on outcomes. Instead, we need to embrace process-oriented thinking.What makes a for a great team player isn't just putting points on the scoreboard, it's also how they play the game.
At AccelaWork, we believe that the most powerful method for improving productivity and satisfaction among stakeholders is to empower them with the knowledge, authority and responsibility to analyze and implement business processes. Contact our business improvement solutions firm today to learn more about how we can help you not only meet job requirements, but exceed beyond expectations.
AccelaWork's Robby Slaughter was invited to write a guest post on www.kylelacy.com. The subject matter? Why Social Media ISN'T a Waste of Time. Here is an excerpt from the blog:
As a productivity consultant, I’m often called upon to make pronouncements about what is and is not an efficient use of time. So let me make this claim: social media is not a waste of time, because it’s a mechanism by which we engage in social behavior.. . .
Although these are services made possible through cool technology, they are powered by our fundamental propensity to connect. We need to work together. Social media merely makes doing so easier and faster than ever before.
We have reported on some of the problems with disorganization and it's effect on workplace productivity. The source article included a striking quote:
Some 43 per cent of middle managers and 48 per cent of junior managers have had to phone a colleague, customer or supplier to ask them to send a copy of a document or email because they could not find it on their system.The most significant factor in misplaced documents is also the easiest to fix: using intelligent file names. Here are three key points to keep in mind when deciding what to type in that dialog box:
final report.doc means, but what about someone else who runs across this document?Original file name: my resume.doc
Comments: Whose resume? This will only confuse recruiters—who will have many resumes with this exact filename!
Improved Version: Resume for John Doe.doc
Comments: Much better! This way your resume can be easily found.
Even Better Version: Resume for John Doe - June 2010.doc
Comments: This is fantastic, because it reinforces the temporary nature of a resume. The recruiter may ask for a new one by December!
* * *
Original file name: order_17.xls
Comments: Although we know this is an "order," the number seventeen has no meaning.
Improved Version: ABC Enterprises-Jan 5, 2010.xls
Comments: This at least indicates the name of the client and the date. But if there are multiple orders, we cannot sort by date easily.
Even Better Version: ORDER 2010-01-05 N-0017 [ABC Enterprises].xls
Comments: Multiple similar file names can be sorted by name, which also sorts them by date. The contents of the file are also completely clear.
* * *
Original file name: updated report FRI EDITS!!.doc
Comments: This file name is just sloppy. It's impossible to tell the intended audience for the document, or where it fits in the revision cycle.
Improved Version: competitor-research (updated at may 7 meeting).doc
Comments: Now the purpose of the file is clear, and it's evident when it was last modified.
Even Better Version: [INTERNAL] Competitor Research [DRAFT 7-MAY-2010].doc
Comments: The use of capitalized words in brackets highlight important text, such as indicating that this file should be kept internal to the organization and that it is not a "final" version.
A good filename makes all the difference!
One article at inexpensively.com featured an article written by Robby Slaughter in regards to productively saving money when shopping. In "Productivity and Shopping," Slaughter pointed out several different ways to save time and cut down on impulse buying:
1. Make a list, but make no exceptions: A key tip is to avoid tossing your list at the end of the trip. Instead, write it on an index card and laminate it. Then use a dry erase marker to cross off items you don’t need before you leave home, and cross the rest off as you pick them up. That way you’re always buying the same items.2. Know your enemy: the environment: Skip the wheeled cart so you have to lug any impulse shopping. Bring headphones so you can listen to your own tunes . . . try wearing sunglasses inside the store. It’s harder to read signs about irrelevant specials if you’re looking through dark shades just at the products that matter.
3. Shopping is a job, not a social event: If you need to go shopping with an expert, first make a plan to utilize their time effectively. That way you don’t end up needlessly browsing for hours, impulse buying random items and snacking your way though the food court to catch up.
If you would like to learn more about ways of effectively reducing both time and money wasted on processes in your office, contact our small business consultants today!
The fast food chain announced a major recall on 12 million Shrek Forever glasses that were being sold at their restaurants. Turned out, cadmium, a carcinogen that can lead to bone softening and kidney damage, was discovered in the paint. Therefore, in an effort to keep customers safe, the fast-food giant immediately responded by pulling the promotional item.
It's not rocket science: when a product is recalled, sale is no longer an option. Yet, six days after pulling the Shrek glass, a commercial was aired on NBC promoting the item. So, was this a scheduling mistake made by the network or did McDonald's approve showing the ad despite the recent problems?
According to Tom Forte, analyst for Tesley Advisory Group, "the challenge for McDonald’s will not be the lost revenue from the promotion, but the perception concerns regarding the recall.” If this is the case, the restaurant empire may have ad an even bigger problem. After all, the surprise airing did nothing more than reopen doors of caution to consumers and rekindle negative bouts of attention: two sure-fire reasons why McDonald's issued the recall in the first place.
One thing is sure: when failure occurs, reacting to it promptly is a great start, but its not the only solution. Acknowledgement of a problem should be accompanied by a lucid plan of action that is not only detailed and accurate, but communicated sufficiently. Otherwise, something vital—like discontinuing an advertisement—may get missed.
Failure isn't always bad. In fact, AccelaWork sees it as a beneficial stepping stone in the journey toward success.
Featured in Health Minute Magazine's June edition, Robby Slaughter's article "The Benefits of Standing Up" describes the ways in which a person can dually achieve a productive workflow as well as a healthful life at work. You can read the entire article below.
The Benefits of Standing UpWhen friends or family visit us at our home, we encourage them to find a chair. “Relax!” we order. “Take a load off. Have a seat.”
That tradition came from generations ago, when virtually every job required long days of physical labor. It used to be that most of us worked with our bodies while standing up. Nowadays, more of us than ever are working with our minds while sitting down.
Although the transformation from standing to sitting might sound like civilization at work, there are some tremendous benefits to staying on your feet. If we spend hours crouched over a desk or a computer screen, we may develop cramps, trap stress in our joints or reduce circulation. We should get out of our chairs at least once every hour. Better yet, we should consider working while standing up.
The primary benefit to working on two feet is ironically, the exact reason why it sounds like it would be unproductive. We can’t remain standing in one position very long because we become restless. Yet this creates a natural rhythm and urgency to our workflow. We are more likely to take a break to visit the bathroom or get a glass of water when we’re already standing. We set shorter intervals to complete tasks and have a greater sense of accomplishment when doing so. When we are upright, we feel like we’re about to do something purposeful. We are “standing up” for the work we’re doing.
The most troubling use of chairs at work, however, is not at our own desks. The seats around a conference table may be the most unproductive devices in the entire office. Each cozy, high-backed plush leather piece doesn’t provide anything except a rationale for drawn out meetings with sleepy participants.
Instead, the best approach for the health of your business and the health of your employees is to hold your meetings while standing up. This keeps them brief and on-topic, and helps ensure participant focus. Any follow-up conversations will receive a similar benefit. And if anyone who works in your organization can’t last for ten minutes without looking for a chair, it’s a sign that they may need help.
We are often called to stand up for our principles no matter where we are. Spending too much time “sitting down” can be a sign of emotional complacency. Yet just as our spirits benefit from the confidence and possibility of a firm stance, our workflow will also improve when we take to our feet. This advantage is multiplied when communicating with the rest of our team. Standing meetings truly should be “standing” meetings.
If you’re now seated, take a minute to rise to your feet and read this article again. Reflect on the natural arc of anticipation and relief which forms over the course of those few minutes. You’ll probably find that your altitude affects your attitude and see this piece in a different light.
Consider spending more time on your feet. Stand up for your work and your health.
Robby Slaughter is a Principal with AccelaWork, an Indianapolis-based business process and workflow consulting company. Visit them online at www.accelawork.com
BusinessWeek provided five ways to successfully achieve mediocrity in the office.
1. If you desire a mediocre workforce, make sure your employees know you don't trust them.Just because you're not lingering around their cubicle all the time or asking for hourly updates on their work, doesn't mean you're placing full trust in your employees. Take notice of workplace productivity in other areas. If you insist on viewing data, reports, or invoices on a regular basis, are hesitant to allow full ownership over a project, or expect to be carbon copied on every email, ask yourself whether or not your requests are inhibiting employee growth and accountability.When employees know they're not trusted, they become experts at "presentee-ism"—the physical appearance of working, without anything getting done. Congratulations! Your inability to trust the very people you've selected to join your team has cost you their energy, goodwill, and great ideas.
2. If you want to drive talented people away, don't tell them when they shine.Praise does more than just satisfy a momentary need of approval. It boosts your employees' confidence and overall performance. Don't be afraid to say "job well done" every so often as this will surely improve employee satisfaction. You may just find that such a simple phrase pays off in future projects.Fear of a high-self-esteem employee is prevalent among average-grade corporate leadership teams. Look how hard it is for so many managers to say, "Hey Bob, you did a great job today." Maybe it's a fear that the bit of praise will be met with a request for a pay raise. Maybe it's the fear that acknowledging performance will somehow make the manager look weak.
3. If you prefer a team of C-list players, keep employees in the dark.Failure to communicate the relevance, impact, and importance of a task to an employee does more than make their job difficult. It reduces the overall effectiveness of the team. However, be cognizant of the information given. Provide only the details vital for understanding. This allows for project ownership and innovation.Leaders who can't stand to shine a light on their firms' goals, strategies, and systems are all but guaranteed to spend a lot of money running ads on Monster.com. Marketable top performers want a seat at the table and won't stand for being left in the dark without the information they need to do their jobs well.
4. If you value docility over ingenuity, shout it from the rooftops.Encouraging employees to innovate and speak their minds just might rejuvenate a project or process. Basing job duties off of decade-old procedures because they worked well then, doesn't mean they work well now.The most desirable value creators won't stick around to be treated like children. They'll hop a bus to the first employer who tells them, "We're hiring you for your talent—now go do something brilliant."
5. If you fear an empowered workforce more than you fear the competition, squash any sign of individualism.Anyone who has read our blog before knows that empowering employees is crucial to both the efficiency and effectiveness of work. The team at Accelawork promotes this value every day not just with our clients, but in our office as well.Leaders who want the most docile, sheep-like employees more than the smartest and ablest ones create systems to keep the C players on board and drive the A team out the door. They do it by instituting reams of pointless rules, upbraiding people for minuscule infractions ("What? Twenty minutes late? Sure you worked here until midnight last night, but starting time is starting time.") and generally replacing trust with fear throughout their organizations. Companies that operate in fear mode will never deliver great products and services to the marketplace. Their efforts will be hamstrung by their talent-repelling management practices.
Contact our consulting firm to learn more about avoiding mediocrity, improving stakeholder satisfaction, and achieving successful workflow through methodology engineering.
Bramblitt lost his vision due to epilepsy. Yet, despite the difficulties accompanying his impairment, his passion for creative expression has gone unscathed. In a featured documentary, Bramblitt demonstrates how he uses his sense of touch to paint his masterpieces.
If you have a few minutes, check out the video and watch him in action. [direct link here]
The "About" section on his website also provides some interesting insight.That section of his website also talks about how he learned to distinguish between different colored paints by feeling textures. The raised lines on the canvas helped him to visualize the image. He was able to embrace a traditionally visual medium through touch, and his work is all the more special for that.While art was always a major part of John’s life it was not until he lost his sight in 2001 that he began to paint, and it was then that he says, “Art reshaped my life.” John’s paintings are intensely personal, and are mostly taken from real people and events in his life. John’s workshops are unique in the art world in that they not only span the gap between beginning and professional artists, but also include adaptive techniques for people with disabilities. According to John, “Everyone has an artist somewhere in them; sometimes they just need a little help letting it out.”
Bramblitt's unique process proves that reaching success in unconventional ways is far from impossible. No matter the size of the obstacle or how vulnerable we may feel, there are always new ways to work. We can discover creative ways to achieve our dreams, even if we cannot see a way through.
When it comes to your business, this story should serve as inspiration that no obstacle is insurmountable. After all, if there's one thing that should stand in the way of a visual artist, it's the inability to see. You may find a problem with your organization that is very difficult, yes. But something that you can't move past? Never.
Perhaps a new technology has rendered your good or service obsolete. Learn from the changes that Nokia made. Nokia started off as a pulp and paper company, then adapted into electronics, and ultimately became one of the leaders in cellular technology. That wouldn't have happened if someone saw a decrease in the market position for paper and decided that would simply be the end of the company. The same can be said for DuPont. You know DuPont now as a chemicals powerhouse, but they were once such a powerful gunpowder company that they provided a majority of the gunpowder needed during the American Civil War. And there are countless other instances of companies finding ways to overcome barriers and adapt into something better.
Who knows if Bramblitt would've ever become an artist if he hadn't lost his sight? What we do know is that he wouldn't be as notable or as inspirational of an artist. So despite the tragic lifestyle change he went through, good came out of the situation, not only for Bramblitt, but for anyone who can learn from his resilience.
If difficulties at work are leaving you in doubt, or some obstacles seem insurmountable, don't hesitate to contact our workplace productivity consultants today. We'll help you work through tough projects and bring you more than just results—we'll help you develop a vision.
During the Scripps National Spelling Bee, four protesters passed along their message: "Enuf is enuf. Enough is too much."
The group, representing The American Literacy Council (ALC) and the London Spelling Society, confidently stand by their claims. They insist that the English language has too many unreasonable ways of spelling words—more than 425 as it turns out—thus causing thriving illiteracy. An Associated Press article explains:
According to literature distributed by the group, it makes more sense for "fruit" to be spelled as "froot," "slow" should be "slo," and "heifer" — a word spelled correctly during the first oral round of the bee Thursday by Texas competitor Ramesh Ghanta — should be "hefer."There's no denying an apparent sensibility to this argument. There are many words that make little sense when it comes to spelling. Simple examples such as dumb, gnat, cough, knit and aisle can baffle those just learning the language. This is one of the many difficulties in mastering English.
Although purposely altering words in a language might seem like an reasonable suggestion, one might as well advocate building a time machine. Good intentions aside it's not reasonable to demand that billions of people set aside a lifetime of tradition.
It's often easy to diagnose problems and identify remedies. The difficult part is finding a realistic approach that is not only affordable but genuinely attainable. As we have covered before, forcing others to change through business process transformation is nearly impossible. Instead, we must find ways to inspire stakeholders to improve.
At AccelaWork, we focus not on forcing change but empowering employees. We don't change the language at your business. Instead, we help provide ways for you to flourish in the one you already know! Reach out to our business process improvement consultants today to learn more about how we can help.
The full video is below (direct link here)
For more information on how to bring these principles into your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today.
The Indy Star posted a story about unclaimed property in Indiana. According to state records, Attorney General Greg Zoeller's office has more than $350 million in unclaimed assets.
"Almost all of this is cash, and there's a lot of it," [Zoeller] said. "The largest amounts are in stocks and securities, but there's a lot of insurance companies that owe people money, too."To bring public awareness, Zoeller traveled statewide encouraging Indiana residents to not only look up their own names, but the names of further family, friends, and neighbors. Claims range in value, but for one family at least, $18,000 in retirement benefits is simply waiting to be retrieved. Who needs the lottery when you've got money with your name on it?
Before we go much further, it's valuable to define what all constitutes unclaimed property.
Any financial asset with no activity by its owner for an extended period of time is considered unclaimed property. This includes unclaimed wages or commissions; savings and checking accounts; stock dividends; insurance proceeds; underlying shares; customer deposits or overpayments; certificates of deposit; credit balances; refunds; money orders; and safe deposit box contents.
That certainly sounds like a list of things you would want to know about! Ironically, as excited as Hoosiers may have been with this discovery, our lack of awareness represented a serious disservice. After all, who knows how long the money had been sitting around? Given the economic hardships that have fallen upon many individuals, this cash may have come in handy weeks, months, or even years ago. The more important question, though, is why does the state need citizens to request their unclaimed funds?
This isn't something that's unique to Indiana. There are entire websites with lists of unclaimed property laws. The laws vary from state to state, but most of them allow you to search by either your name or social security number and it can be handled online. A few states require written requests, but those are in the minority.
The current system may appear sufficient—just type in your name and see what you are owed. But why does the Attorney General need to ask Hoosiers to visit a website when the state is practically in constant contact with citizens? Every time you receive a tax bill, update your drivers license, register to vote, pay a traffic ticket, submit a change of address form, or receive any official correspondence the government has to look up your name. Why can't these systems automatically include a notice about unclaimed funds?
Although such a fix might be easy to describe, business consultants know change is tough to embrace. We cannot improve the experience by simply describing a better outcome but instead by understanding the process. There's a reason that people have to search for themselves, and when the reasoning behind that initial decision is understood, then we can move forward with how to solve the problem. After all, until you put a problem in perspective, it's almost impossible to come up with the best solution.
Your business operation might not be as big as the Indiana unclaimed property division, but you likely have business processes that don't leverage what you already do. AccelaWork helps organizations improve business process by empowering your stakeholders. We may not be the lottery, but we'll help you hit the jackpot. Contact our our Indianapolis consultants today to learn more about how we can help you cash in on productivity in your office.
Not sure if you have unclaimed assets in Indiana? Visit www.indianaunclaimed.com or call the Unclaimed Property Division toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 462-5246 (IN-CLAIM).
According to Robby Slaughter, when it comes to dealing with complicated projects, the "Fast-Cheap-Good" rule is always a valuable yardstick when seeking results. Below is some of his post:
The purpose of this rule is to remind us that all complicated endeavors require tradeoffs. Whenever we have a gain in one area there will undoubtedly be a loss somewhere else...No matter what project you’re trying to accomplish, whether it’s mowing the lawn or traveling to the moon, we all want it done as soon as possible. Of course, sometimes speed isn’t everything. Some of the best vacations are those where we linger. Some of the most successful products are those where the designers didn’t worry about getting to market first but doing better work. And often, rushing is wasteful of resources...
And sure, it’s great to save money. You can call upon an army of volunteers and interns to try to produce something, and often receive surprising results. Yet by reducing costs we also risk sacrificing quality. Searching for all of those places to save takes time. Ultimately, the way to have the best possible result is to ensure that time and money are no object. The highest quality work is always available when we have infinite resources at our disposal.
This rule of thumb sometimes seems a little obvious. We all know there are tradeoffs in any project. Yet . . . project estimation is painful. That’s because clients will constantly put us in the trap of trying to deliver something which is fast, cheap and good all at the same time.
This is impossible. It’s the reason that deadlines slip, projects go over budget and quality suffers. You have to make tradeoffs.
No matter the size of the project, the fast-cheap-rule is valuable. If you’re a graphic designer working in Photoshop, you can save time by not keeping your layers separate and organized. If you’re trying to cut costs on your email marketing, you can sacrifice quality by trying to do it in house (or sacrifice urgency by using a outsourced email marketing provider.) If you don’t mind a few typos in your article, you will benefit by producing it more quickly and inexpensively. The tradeoffs are easy to see.
Despite the fickle and sometimes negative connotation the word tradeoff may have, to Slaughter, its use in the "Fast-Cheap-Good" rule is quite a valuable tool in the office:
In your own office, you can use the fast-cheap-good rule for more than just making decisions. You can also use it for communicating between stakeholders. When people ask for work to be done immediately, you can ask them if they would prefer to sacrifice quality or pay for increased costs. If someone wants to know about less expensive options, ask them if they would rather see options that connect savings to fewer features or to a longer development cycle.It all boils down to the fact you can never have it all. Almost always, two out of three in the Fast-Cheap-Good rule is going to lead to an excellent result. When you try to jam all three into your project, that's where major frustrations are going to arise. Managing expectations is as important as any other aspect of managing a project.
To learn more about AccelaWork's perspective on increasing productivity and smoothing workflow in your organization, contact our productivity growth consultants today! We can help you learn where to focus your energy and how to best utilize the resources at your disposal.
In 1955 The Staple Singers released the instant classic "Stand By Me." The song was such a sensation that it has been re-recorded by many artists including The Drifters, Otis Redding, John Lennon and Seal—to name only a few.
There's no denying that this hit song, with its heartfelt lyrics and moving melody, has stood the test of time. So, how could it get any better? In the short video below, see how an international collaboration on the song does just that.
Achieving success as an individual is incredibly rewarding. It not only brings pride and inspiration, but a great sense of accomplishment and individuality—without a doubt, results that spark motivation and creativity. And while there are enormous benefits to satisfying individual goals and attaining individual success, there is something to be said about the unique results that come from integrating further collaboration.
AccelaWork works towards this exact goal: improving company workflow through collaboration. We help bring increased productivity so that your company, your team and/or your stakeholders have the time to create the next great idea and innovate new processes that further overall success. Contact our business consultants today to learn more about how we can help you. We'll be here to stand by you and help open the doors to the next great inspiration in your business.
AccelaWork's Robby Slaughter offered advice on how to get help from an overworked employee. According to Slaughter, clear communication about your exact situation is key:
When you approach the person, you might have to let him know about your heavy workload, because others often don’t know.Sharing the workload isn't just about fairness either. It's about success. If the organization has built a healthy culture, each team member will recognize that the occasional shifts in workload are necessary for the company to achieve its goals. The individual team member will take little comfort in not being overworked if the project fails because another team member had too much on his/her plate.. . .
If they're not overworked they want you not to be either so that everyone is contributing fairly.
Unfortunately, many organizations, knowingly or not, create cultures where team members feel like the Lone Ranger and "help" really is a four-letter word. In these cultures, workers inevitably experience high degrees of frustration and burnout. This leads to a high rate of turnover for the company, and eventually, failure.
Here are three simple rules of thumb about asking for help at work. Knowing and practicing these can save careers and organizations:
The original story mostly consists of the image, which we've repeated below. Take a look, and scroll down for our commentary and a treat:
The amount of guesswork necessary in these estimates make it difficult to accurately gauge the cost of productivity lost due sporting events. Most of these estimates are hype and fuzzy math or ignore the built-in costs of everyday interruptions.There's also a great article on Slate which attacks attacks productivity losses during last year's NCAA Men's Basketball tournament.
So after seeing how bogus those stats were and the ridiculous arguments that were pulled from it, we decided to make a diagram of our own. We think this one is a lot more accurate of a depiction on how the World Cup really affects the workplace when it rolls around every few years.
Here is our take on that same diagram:
Picture this scenario. You've got an employee who is a huge soccer fan. They don't have enough vacation days to take off for the entire World Cup, so instead they go to work, where you won't let them check on scores. So instead of taking a quick second to go online and see if England beat Columbia, they have to find another way to get the results, out of fear of being reprimanded. So they sneak away for a multitude of bathroom breaks in order to check the results on their phone from the safety of a bathroom stall. Then you realize that they're sneaking away, so you have them leave the phone when they go to the bathroom. So instead of quickly checking the scores and then going about a productive day, this employee is distracted, feeling unvalued, and likely ready to get out of that office as soon as the clock strikes five. Is that really better than just allowing employees to have the game going in a separate window while they do their usual work?
That may seem like a bit extreme of an example to you, and if that's the case, you're lucky to not have been faced with a situation like that before. Unfortunately, for many readers, that exact situation is going to seem all too real. It's something that far too many people have had to deal with at work. We all know a good employee shouldn't be checking their phone every five minutes or watching a sports game instead of focusing on a project, that's just not a productive way to get work done, but the motivation to focus on work should come from the desire to do quality work, not from an employer's fears that are promoted by a heap of completely unfounded or misleading statistics.
Contact Accelawork's productivity consultants to learn more about how we can help your business today!
Miller, a recent transplant to Indianapolis, felt that the only way to get a perfect home was to build it to order:
My wife and I had a laundry list of things we wanted in a house and really didn't want to compromise. So, we figured instead of spending hours searching for something that didn't totally fit our needs, we'd build a home that could satisfy everything.So, with contractors in place and blueprints made, the extensive project began. Yet, little by little, Miller discovered it wasn't so easy.
There were millions of tiny decisions we had to make—hardware, light fixtures, flooring, paint. You name it, we picked it. We were so detailed that we even decided where we wanted all the electrical outlets to go in every room. The only problem was that with every change we made to the original floor plan, the more it cost us.Turns out, before breaking ground the Millers were already $10,000 above their initial quote. They soon found themselves at a crossroads: relinquish their deposit or continue building despite their original budget.
To help make up their minds, they requested a tour of a completed home that was similar in cost and style. If the finished product was nice, they would stick to their plan.
We didn't make a single decision in the show home and yet we loved it more than the one we were building. In fact, when the contractor told us it was a bigger, more expensive version of the one we selected, it didn't matter. We decided right away that we wanted it.Despite being financially over-extended, Miller and his wife decided to move forward building the more expensive home—utilizing the exact floor plan and interior concept. In the end, their decision-making came down to one thing: accepting someone else's design.
When it comes to defining a project, knowing what you want can be a great advantage. Clarity assists in making smart choices and helps battle indecision. However, at times even the most decisive person needs assistance on some level. Whether its making small choices that influence the larger outcomes or by providing suggestions that broaden the point of view, having a collective team you can trust is invaluable.
When aspiring to create a project in a team environment, take into account all points of view. Success begins and ends with logical, thoughtful and collective decisions. As we have covered before, AccelaWork believes consultants having perspective is necessary when it comes to innovation and efficiency. Contact our Indiana consultants today to learn more about how we can help you design, build or even reconstruct a project to make it the best it can be.
With retirement only two years away, my father-in-law is certainly ready for the soothing life that comes after a long, successful career. Here's what he had to say:
I have so many projects around my house that I've wanted to do for years. Its just so hard to believe that I'm finally going to have the time to do them. I honestly can't wait.So, when his company approached him and asked him to gather information on his social security history, he was anything but disappointed:
I was happy to embark on the researching process since after all, it meant that I'd be organized and worry-free come retirement.Instead, all he found was headache after headache.
Turns out, his social security benefits package changed in 2010. This created an unexpected problem. Since he had not yet retired, the social security office claims they can not and will not provide him the financial history he needs to decipher whether it has affected what he's already accrued. As he recalled:
The representative said that until I retire history and paperwork cannot be processed. I told them that my company needed the paperwork so they could prepare my retirement package, but that didn't seem to matter.Despite the difficulty he was encountering with the social security office, he had faith that his company would be able to proceed without the information. Again, he was wrong.
My company told me that without the history, they would have to make a decision on my social security without proper reference and I would therefore have to accept whatever was quoted—whether or not it was accurate.Needless to say, after months of wasted time, effort, and sanity, my father-in-law is still in social security limbo. He is currently filing a petition with his company to have their policies changed so that other aspiring retirees don't find themselves in the same difficult position he is currently in.
I won't let this go. I've worked too hard for too long to make retirement a painstaking task.
As we have covered before, productivity consultants realize this type of work frustration results when we don't make time to recognize and address broken processes. Stakeholders, particularly those who have dedicated many loyal years to their company, deserve to feel valued and in control of their career. Yet, as we learn from this story, allowing broken processes to remain undetected and unchanged only results in frustration.
Hopefully this situation will lead to a change at the company level. Perhaps this is the first time they've encountered such a problem. If they take the steps to fix this process, then while this hasn't been ideal, at least it has been a learning experience. However, if they let the situation continue on until others have the same issue, then that's where major, company-wide changes are likely needed. Admitting you were wrong and taking steps to ensure it won't happen again is the first part of turning an average organization into an excellent one.
Don't deny your employees what they deserve. If inefficiencies in your office are limiting stakeholder satisfaction, it's time to re-evaluate and improve the areas that are creating the problem. Take the initiative to support them by contacting our consultants today. We'll help you regain efficient, logical systems in your office by redirecting processes that improve stakeholders' present and future. Everyone involved will thank you.
My presentation last time was simply called "Workplace Productivity and Blogging." I also did something rather audacious back in 2009, which was to write a blog post live in only ten minutes. The audience generated the idea, a volunteer names Michael Sparks helped edit the productivity growth post, and we put together a complete article in under six hundred seconds.
Writing a blog post in ten minutes is so much fun, I did it again for Roundpeg. But I had to top my previous performance. A blog post in under ten minutes was impressive, but one has to ask if we can do it even faster. So how about a post in a mere five minutes? Do you think it's possible?
Let's be clear: this is an insane proposition. Not only am I suggesting that I can write a blog post in about the amount of time it takes to listen to a Lady Gaga song, but I'm betting I can increase my efficiency by 50%. At that rate, I would be writing a blog post in two-and-half minutes in 2011, in 1:15 in 2012 and in only 37.5 seconds by 2013. So yes, this is a crazy idea.
Writer Meryl K. Evans studied the question "How can I make a difference with my performance reviews?" By compiling various recommendations, Evans narrowed down the advice to four steps. Unfortunately, that article has since been removed from the website, but we were able to save Evans' four main steps:
Instead of performance reviews, employees and managers ought to mutually define forward-looking performance objectives that include fixed targets tied to future compensation — and honor them.
This viewpoint should be no surprise to our longtime readers. We covered Dr. Samuel Culbert's performance reviews and its link to employee satisfaction. You cannot change the past, only the future. Isn't the best way to increase performance to start by defining what we want?
A Bloomberg article by Jeffrey Pfeffer further explores the problems with performance reviews.
Some years ago a human resources manager at a Silicon Valley computer company offered managers free tickets to San Francisco Giants games if they completed their subordinates' performance reviews on time. When David Russo headed up human resources for software maker SAS Institute, he earned employee cheers for a bonfire celebration that burned appraisal forms and ended annual reviews.That point he brings up is just one of the many that are problems with these reviews. But what it boils down to is anything that doesn't better your organization is simply a waste of time, energy, and resources. And all those inefficiencies should be removed in favor of processes that are more effective and more enjoyable for everyone involved. It's not too late to turn things around.These two examples reflect a broader reality: Managers don't like giving appraisals, and employees don't like getting them. Perhaps they're not liked because both parties suspect what the evidence has proved for decades: Traditional performance appraisals don't work. But as my colleague and fellow Stanford professor Bob Sutton and I pointed out in our book, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management, belief and conventional wisdom often trump the facts. And when it comes to performance evaluations, companies ranging from HR consulting firms to providers of software that automate the process have a big stake in their continued use.
The most basic problem is that performance appraisals often don't accurately assess performance. More than two decades ago research done by professor David Schoorman showed that whether or not the supervisor had hired or inherited her employees was a better predictor of evaluation results than actual job performance. Employees hired by people doing the reviews got higher scores because of the greater psychological commitment managers have to the people they put themselves on the line to hire. That there is rater bias in performance reviews is consistent with the evidence showing gender and race effects on reviews. Similarity is an important basis of interpersonal attraction, and so people who are "different" get lower ratings, other things being equal.
Transform your organization. To learn more about improving business through productive, efficient systems, contact our consulting firm today!
Granted, there are those adventuresome types who thrive on death-defying acts like cliff diving and sword swallowing as a profession, but generally speaking, being scared in the workplace is never a good thing.
So how can you tell if fear is a problem in your office? In a Bloomberg Businessweek article, columnist Liz Ryan listed 10 telling signs that fear is not only present in a company, but wreaking havoc on its stakeholders. Unfortunately, that article has since been removed from their website, but below is a summary of the list:
There is fear in your workplace if . . .
- Concern for reputation outweighs quality of work.
- There is a preoccupation with employee status.
- Distrust halts the sharing of ideas.
- Value of employees are based solely on numbers.
- Rules rather than ingenuity dictate work.
- Title and salary outweigh the ability to freely share ideas.
- The need for understanding is power rather than knowledge driven.
- Wrong people are promoted for the wrong reasons.
- There is an inability for creativity, passion and collaboration.
- Leadership morphs into dictatorship.
An article published on Inc. touches on a similar subject matter. We've included some of the most enlightening parts below, though the entire article is certainly worth a read.
Whether employees fear retaliation, punishment, humiliation, or being fired, the study revealed that this emotion quickly leads to dissatisfaction and lowers productivity levels. Once this happens, you're not far from creating a domino effect that can torpedo creativity and lead to disengagement throughout the company. Fear is also the primary cause of much of the bad behavior you see in companies, from office politics to poor communication. While a culture of fear may temporarily make people work harder to try to avoid undesired consequences, leading through fear will always backfire on you--particularly when it comes to retention. In other words, fear kills the company's productivity engine.Take a moment to reflect and question: Are you or your employees being micromanaged to the extent that it impacts worker productivity? Controlled due to a distrust of employee productivity?...
Limit the rulebook. Too many rules reflect too little trust. When you really trust your team, you don't need as many rules. Reaching the point where that level of trust permeates the culture is important, because trust is a fear-buster that will result in employees feeling better about the company and its leadership team.
...
Measure systems, not people. W. Edwards Deming proposed a theory to measure the performance of systems, not people, to help drive fear out of organizations. As one of Deming's 14 Points on Total Quality Management, he advised eliminating numerical quotas for the workforce, as well as numerical goals for management. We've taken this philosophy to heart with our sales team by eliminating sales commissions--and the short-term, "if-then," extrinsically motivated mentality behind them that grounds innovation. You can't have a culture of continual improvement if people are afraid of suffering serious financial consequences as a result of their individual performance.
Instead, our goal is to get everyone to realize that we're all in this together, working as a team and measuring the output of the overall system. This intrinsically motivated mentality encourages individual innovation on the sales team. It leads to better behavior, better performance, and improvements that can become breakthroughs for the company over time. We've taken another page from Deming's playbook by eliminating annual performance reviews companywide. In their place, we encourage frequent informal conversations between leadership and their teams with a focus on continual improvement, not just performance.
In AccelaWork's view, the greatest way to improve productivity and generate overall success is to empower employees, building employee satisfaction, rather than inhibiting them. As the list above shows, encouraging subordination and allowing fear to dictate work does little more than create a volatile work environment that breeds intimidation, resentment and low employee retention.
Don't allow stakeholder passion and creativity to fall by the wayside. Contact our business process improvement methodology consultants today. We guarantee your stakeholders will find a renewed sense of value through encouragement and trust. And though we may not dissipate fear with popcorn and funnel cakes like theaters and amusement parks, we guarantee our solutions are just as successful and satisfying.
When we hear the word "zoning", most of us think of civic planning. City officials define specific regions of land and specify their fate. By carefully placing commercial, residential, and industrial zones, planners can encourage growth and commerce. They can look at current zones and see why certain areas are thriving and others are dying. They can use that information to make a city much better.
The city of Chicago is a great example of this. Up until the mid-19th Century, the growth of the city was unchecked and there wasn't much planning involved. After the great fire of 1871, the city was able to be re-zoned and laid out in a way that prepared it for growth and made public transportation much easier. Entire neighborhoods, such as Lincoln Park, were meticulously zoned after the fire, and those neighborhoods are now some of the most desirable urban areas in the entire country.
A landmark designation report from the city of Chicago breaks down the ways that zoning in the aftermath of the fire helped eliminate wasted space in the city. One excerpt from that study is below.
As the City rebuilt and land values increased in the aftermath of the Fire, real estate investors subdivided ever-larger sections of land into residential lots usually 20 to 25 feet in width. In order to maximize the use of ever-more expensive land, architects began to alter their designs from the free-standing dwellings of the pre-Fire era to more compact, though often equally elaborate, row houses. In fashionable and densely-developed lakefront neighborhoods such as the Near North Side, Lincoln Park, and Hyde Park, row houses were a common building type built in the 1880s through the early 1900s.While the fire was certainly a disaster at the time, it allowed Chicago to become the thriving city that it is today. That was achieved all through the simple process of zoning.
There is tremendous power in using "zones" in other parts of work. Think about the zones that appear on a paper form, usually as blank lines or boxes. They tell you where to write and what answers are needed.
Here on our blog, we've talked about the business process transformation with regard to forms that are too small. Zoning, however, gives us an even smarter technique for describing spaces. Compare this:
Email Address: ________________________________________________________To an alternate method:
Email Address: [ _____________________ ] @ [ ________________ ] . [ ____________ ]This simple change will help ensure that people can use the form more easily. It also forces the designer of the artifact to truly see how much space is available. Then, any changes that may be needed will be apparent.
The same concept can be used in physical spaces as well as with paper. You already create "zones" as file folders in your cabinets. You can make these zones more effective by setting up divisions and using clear labels. A simple change like that can greatly increase efficiency and decrease headaches for everyone in your office. But unfortunately, far too many people neglect to make a change like that, even though it's a very easy and quick one. You don't have to wait for a giant fire to destroy the potentially inefficient zones you've created in your workspace. Take the time to review your process and see if it's truly the most efficient and wisest use of space. If not, a little bit of planning could lead to major improvements in your work life.
Zoning is a straightforward technique with a powerful result. Try it out! Learn more about this approach by contacting our business consultants today.
In a commentary in Forbes, McAfee refered to new software applications like Chatter. These are tools designed to encourage to take advantage of the "social" nature of modern computing. As McAfee wrote:
Both of them are big steps toward the goal of using technology to more effectively support how knowledge workers actually work, and work together.This feature certainly sounds intriguing. Wouldn't it be great if you could "friend" important information and receive "Status Updates" just like you do from long lost pals on Facebook?The first of these innovations is clever bridging between the realms of structured and unstructured data. A review of Chatter in Infoworld states that "Chatter offers a Twitter-style 'following' mode, but with a twist: Instead of just following people, you can also follow data sets like price lists and client lists. When a data set you are following gets updated, you are immediately notified of the change. If, for example, you're about to make a presentation to a client and your company's pricing data has been changed, you'll be in the loop instead of unintentionally giving the client outdated information."
I like this idea a lot. Instead of requiring people to access or look up a bit of structured data, it instead puts the information where they’re looking anyway: in the middle of their steady stream of updates. Facebook, Twitter and their relatives have conditioned a lot of us to keep checking that stream throughout the day, so it makes a ton of sense to include machine- and event-generated updates along with the human-generated ones we’re already used to.
Streamwork and Wave do something similar by allowing users to drop enterprise IT widgets into the middle of human conversations. For example, a widget could be a live look into the ERP system at the status and estimated ship date of an important customer order that’s going to be late because of a problem. While a team is using Streamwork or Wave to work on the problem, the widget will let them know if what they’re doing is working–it will automatically update the estimated ship date every time it changes. Such live windows into structured systems and their data can be tremendously valuable. They put relevant information directly in the flow of work, and in the environment where the work is taking place, letting everyone involved be better informed and more productive.
However, it should also be obvious to even the casual user of social media technologies that such a workflow could become overwhelming. If you have even a few dozen active friends on Facebook, you can't begin to keep up with all of their activity. That's acceptable for social connections, where we are expected to occasionally drop out of the loop. At the office, however, too much information is already a problem. Will lightweight, social workflows make the situation worse?
There are no easy answers. It certainly is convenient to be able to "follow" a book at your local library and receive an automated email when your it's your turn to borrow a copy. On the other hand, we've all deleted marketing messages from companies that we do care about because of timing or lack of interest. A lightweight, unintentional, structureless workflow is like being surrounded by feathers. The soft texture may be comforting, but there's nothing to really grab onto. In the end, you can still get buried.
At AccelaWork, we're constantly reviewing the latest approaches to workflow to help our clients. New technologies can increase productivity and satisfaction, but only if they match the culture and personality of the organization and its stakeholders. Learn more by contacting our corporate productivity consultants!
In a recent Indianapolis Business Journal article, Robby Slaughter addresses the idea of achieving work productivity without ringing interruptions. According to Slaughter, the best technique for attaining telephone productivity is simple:
Don’t always answer a ringing phone. Instead, check the caller ID. Balance the benefit of a conversation against losing your current train of thought. Let your voice mail system take a message and pick up the receiver if necessary. Failure to answer an incoming call is also succeeding in concentrating on the task at hand.On the same token however, telephone productivity is a two-way street; consideration of others is just as crucial. Slaughter encourages courtesy across the board:
Likewise, be judicious about making outgoing calls. If your objective is to relay crucial information, consider sending an e-mail. Spoken words might make it to the brain more quickly, but written words will be perfectly preserved and can be more easily duplicated and forwarded.It's not always possible to avoid the telephone at work. Not even AccelaWork can deny that there are times when phone conversations are crucial. However, if every situation at work seems to deem a phone conversation necessary, you may want to consider reevaluating processes and communication scenarios at work.
If you or your company could benefit from telephone productivity, reach out to our small business productivity consultants today. We'll help alleviate the ring in your ears!
The clip was sponsored by the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts and has been making the rounds for some time. We know this may seem long by modern YouTube standards, but the 11 minutes will be well worth your time. Here's the absorbing video (direct link here):
For regular readers of our blog, this is old news. We've talked before about employee productivity and motivation and even gave an entire presentation around workplace productivity. AccelaWork believes strongly that we should motivate workers by empowering them to work.The site The Balance, has an article about this topic of employee empowerment. One of the best tips they give are to share your goals and direction with your employees.
When possible, involve employees in goal setting and planning. They add value, knowledge, ideas, insight and experience that you won't find on your senior team. At the very least, involve them in goal setting on the department level and share the most important goals and direction for your group. With the help of your employees, make progress on goals measurable and observable, or ascertain that you have shared your picture of a positive outcome with the people responsible for accomplishing the results.Again, if you're a regular reader of this blog, this concept shouldn't seem revolutionary. If you involve all your stakeholders in these decisions, then not only are you going to get valuable input from an array of perspectives, but you're going to allow your employees to feel more empowered and thus do better work. It's a win-win situation. Unfortunately, too few employers are willing to adopt this mindset.If you share a picture and share meaning, you have agreed upon what constitutes a successful and acceptable deliverable. Empowered employees can then chart their course without close supervision.
Another interesting suggestion they have is to delegate impact opportunities, not just more work.
Don't just delegate the drudge work; delegate some of the fun stuff, too. You know, delegate the important meetings, the committee memberships that influence product development and decision making, and the projects that people and customers notice. The employee will grow and develop new skills. Your plate will be less full so you can concentrate on contribution. Your reporting staff will gratefully shine - and so will you.This is a great idea. Too often companies only delegate more work, leaving all the "important" things to management. But that's foolish. If you have an employee in a position to give an impactful presentation or run an important meeting, let them do that. Allowing opportunities such as those are going to be far better for your organization than simply rewarding or punishing employees could ever be.
If you're a manager, stop worrying about what you pay your employees and start focusing on valuing your employees which in turn increases employee satisfaction. If you're an employee, stop worrying about what you are "allowed" to do and instead focus on defining your responsibility and authority. When both parties are actively working at those things, an organization will have the healthiest balance that leads to productive and empowered people, all the way from the entry-level employees to the founders and CEOs who are supposedly running the show.
Intrigued? Learn more about our values. Contact our business process improvement consultants today! We'd love to help you get on the right track when it comes to employee empowerment and overall business productivity.
How could this be? Surely the second word in the title of this official body tells us what they do. But that's not the case. One story explains:
In 2005, when its last shred of authority over railroads was transferred to another agency, the Texas Railroad Commission's name became a misnomer....
At its creation in 1891, the Texas Railroad Commission was tasked with regulating railroads and protecting farmers who had quickly found themselves depending on the new mode of transportation to move their product to market.
Oil and gas didn't enter the agency's purview until 1917, when the Legislature tasked it with regulating pipelines. Over the next 20 years, the commission oversaw much of the state's oil boom.
Most state-level railroad regulation now comes from the Texas Department of Transportation. From receptionist to commissioner, agency employees regularly have to explain to people that they have nothing to do with trains or train schedules.
"They need to have a name that's clear to understand," said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas. "It's horrible in terms of the public having any clue of where to go with concerns and complaints."
So what's the big deal? Why not just change the name?
There's certainly a price tag associated with this change. The Commission reports that updating signs, forms, and publications would cost $100,000 alone. Furthermore, updating the title of the agency would break nearly a hundred years of Texas tradition.
Of course, the state is already paying a tremendous cost by using the outdated name. Those employees waste time every day when they have to explain that the Texas Railroad Commission is not actually in charge of the railroads. Politicians waste time every few years debating---and then discarding---various proposals to rechristen the organization.
The fundamental problem with this issue, however, is that the stakeholders are not sufficiently empowered to act. Citizens, public officials, and companies that deal with the everyday business of the Commission have neither the authority nor even the voice to make such an obvious change.
When we can't change what we want to change, we become frustrated. And it's those kinds of emotions that inhibit productivity, personal satisfaction, and employee engagement. The right answer is that someone needs to have the ability to make the decision. Since no one has that power, no one does, and the problem continues.
At AccelaWork, we believe that productive, effective workplaces are run by stakeholders. When the people involved in a process have ownership in the process, the organization thrives. That is easier said than done. You need decision-making systems. You need to have some kind of structure, whether it is a hierarchical or self-organizing. You need a way for people to fairly discuss and debate. And you need a way to communicate change to everyone. It's work. Are you dealing with the challenges of today but still using names or techniques that are no longer accurate? Reach out to our consultants to learn more about what we do. We want to help your organization do what it was built to do. And if you're carrying the baggage of an old name that doesn't apply any more, it's time to cast off that misnomer and be proud of who you are today.
What could be going wrong? Is Joe breaking the law or company policy? Is he making promises that the organization can't keep?
Nope. Like many of his colleagues, Joe is in "inside sales," which means he spends his days "dialing and smiling" to reach out to potential customers. The number one metric in his office is call volume: the total number of outbound calls and the total duration of those calls that each sales rep makes in a given day.
However, Joe has made an incredible discovery about the experience of direct sales. When he places an unsolicited phone call to a potential customer, he is intentionally interrupting their workflow. Even if that prospect is interested in Joe's product, they have to stop whatever they are doing to take the call. Sure, that may lead to him waiting on hold for a bit, but he thinks he's wasting that time.
As a result, Joe has started to change his tactics. Instead of going for the sale immediately, he asks for an appointment to make another call later in the next week. "Do you have time Thursday at 3PM to discuss this opportunity? Put it on your calendar and I'll ring you then."
The problem strikes on Thursday morning. If Joe's overall call volume is low, he knows he will get in trouble with management. It doesn't matter that he has an appointment with a hot lead. So he has to decide: risk a low call volume and keep the appointment, or call the prospect to reschedule and increase his chances of making the daily target?
No stakeholder should ever need to make such a decision. Yet people like Joe do so every day. Organizations need to empower their workers to be able to speak up about systems that don't make sense. Employees ought to be able to share their discoveries and ideas freely. They shouldn't fear punishment for finding a more efficient way to accomplish their assigned workload.
The problem that we've posed with Joe is a classic case of micromanagement. He has found a better way to spend his time, and yet, his bosses would be more worried about him deviating from the process instead of producing great results. I'd like to say this situation should sound ridiculous, but odds are, most people have had to deal with a situation like this in their workplace. We've even heard of less dedicated employees calling automated loop numbers in order to increase their duration. That is way less productive than someone who can seal a deal in less than two minutes, but by this one metric that far too many companies rely on, the less dedicated employee would be regarded as the more productive one.
It can be hard to measure an employee's productivity, especially if the position is something similar to a call center. But unless the job description specifies that the employee is tasked with running up phone bills, then there has to be a better way. It's the job of management to figure out what that way is and to start ignoring process-related metrics that may or may not lead to the desired results.
You may feel like you are in Joe's position in your company. Or, you may wonder if your policies and procedures are limiting your success. Find out more through calling AccelaWork's business consultants. We can help find your paradoxes and help you to make lasting, permanent, meaningful change.
As silly as it may sound, the sight of toilets flushing automatically, soap and water dispensing on its own, and the touch of hot air drying my hands without so much as a cranking handle or a silver knob is heavenly. But let's face it: not all bathrooms have every piece of automatic equipment. In fact, I've experienced all sorts of appliance combinations in bathrooms. A few samples are below:
The "Almost There" Bathroom: sporting automatic toilets, sinks, and soap dispensers but old-fashioned hand dryers.Despite the obvious differences in each of these bathrooms, all of them have one thing in common: counterproductive systems. Regardless of all the latest bells and whistles, or lack thereof, the goal for hygiene is lost the moment a patron heads for the exit. After all, I've seen people depart the bathroom without washing their hands. What I've never seen is an automatic bathroom door. Why is that?The "Ran-Out-Of-Money" Bathroom: containing automatic paper towel machines and nothing more.
The "Fancy Pants" Bathroom: a system sparing no expense in technology—including automatic toilet seat covers, lights, and air freshners.
The "Old Charmer" Bathroom: where the existence of manual toilets and sinks are overshadowed by the legendary linen towel crank and pulley system.
The "Survival-Of-The-Fittest" Bathroom: providing little more than what is absolutely necessary. In the end, clean hands, let alone running water, are virtually never an option.
I could sit and brainstorm for hours as to why such doors don't exist. Perhaps they're too expensive. Perhaps they pose a fire hazard. Maybe it is viewed as some sort of privacy issue Maybe the idea has simply never been pondered. Whatever the reason, the point is: results are only as good as the systems that generate them.
What makes a system successful are the steps within it. They need to be strategic in thought, fluid in action. Like puzzle pieces, they should coordinate perfectly, fitting together easily to develop and increase value. Yet, when even one step is awkward or missing, the process goal is lost. The result: an unfinished, unsuccessful product.
Like a misshaped puzzle piece, the lack of automatic doors in bathrooms diminishes the overall goal of appliance automation, which is to reduce the existence and spreading of harmful bacteria. You can have all the technology you want inside, but it can all go out the door as soon as you have to leave the bathroom. Needless to say, like many others, when faced with the grimy public door, I opt for a shoulder nudge rather than a hand push. Who knows, perhaps one day I won't have to contemplate such an action.
Are there systems in your office that start out in one direction, but end up with opposite results? If so, there's a good chance that the process steps don't fit together correctly. They may appear logical and reasonable, but inevitably, they're nothing more than counterproductive.
If your company is having difficulty with processes, think about reaching out to our business process methodology firm. With our help, we guarantee your systems will not only fit together like a puzzle, but fit into your office like a successful, clean handshake, regardless of how your bathrooms look.
When it comes to lasting impressions, it's not surprising that piles of disorganized papers can deter people from wanting to work with you. However, who would have guessed that a picture on your desk, a dying plant on your file cabinet, or even a bobble head next to your phone could raise questions about the way you work?
But these types of subtleties are exactly the things that can mislead stakeholders into believing you are bored, unproductive, not serious, introverted, overly demanding or even untrustworthy. According to Lisa Marie Luccioni, professor of communication at the University of Cincinnati, "everything in your office sends a message, whether you want it to or not."
A Forbes article echoed these sentiments:
According to a new survey of over 1000 workers by staffing firm Adecco, a majority of Americans (57%) admit they judge coworkers by how clean or dirty they keep their workspaces. Meanwhile, nearly half say they have been “appalled” by how messy a colleagues’ office is and most chalk it up to pure laziness.That article goes on to say that 75% of workers surveyed believe themselves to be more productive when their workspace is clean. Regardless of whether there's any scientific fact to back that up, the mind is a powerful thing, and if people believe it to be true, then it might as well be.“With so many open office plans today, more people can see into your workspace, and they do judge,” says Jennie Dede, vice president of recruiting for Adecco. “It’s often personal. They think that you must be a slob in your real life.”
This comes after a report last year by OfficeMax that found that office clutter undermines productivity and motivation. “Your performance coincides with your workspace,” says Dede. “When it’s organized and precise you have the mindset and motivation to work.”
If you’ve let your clutter get out of hand, it might be time for some spring cleaning. Whether you’re in a cube or a c-suite, organization experts offer timeless tips to streamline the mess and keep your office tidy year-round.
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Like a clean desktop, a clear floor will instantly lighten up the feel of the office space. Gym bags, purses, outerwear and changes of shoes quickly overwhelm the space and look chaotic. Jane Brown, founder of organization and design firm Jane Brown Interiors, suggests hanging hooks in your office or from your cubicle walls to gets coats, umbrellas and bags off the floor. Designate a drawer or shelf for large bags or extra shoes. But be careful not to overload the walls. Dede notes that cluttered corkboards and crooked pictures will undo the effort of clearing your floor and desk.
The observation AccelaWork is compelled to make however, doesn't just involve the state of an individual's workspace. Instead, we choose to examine the overall state of an individual's work environment. After all, a messy desk may just be the first sign of a bigger problem with workplace productivity. If an employee is forced to work with an inefficient process that allows no room for improvement or creativity, side effects like disorganization, boredom, or indulged distraction can take over. In the end, even day-dreaming could be product of a powerless employee.
By empowering employees to create new systems and encouraging them to take pride in their own productivity, a proper, manageable workspace will easily result. Open the doors to your stakeholders and give them the freedom to create a better, more conducive workflow. Contact our business process improvement consultants today to learn more about how we can help rearrange the way work is judged.
Featured in one edition of Health Minute Magazine, Robby Slaughter’s article “The Efficient Vacation” discusses why abandoning work while on vacation is far from irresponsible. In fact, he believes its not only a sign of great efficiency, but a healthy way to remain motivated and productive in your job.
Whether or not you're actually aspiring to relax on vacation this summer, it can't hurt to take a moment and read the article below. In the long run, it may just do you some good! Read the article in its entirety below.
The Efficient VacationRegardless of our field of expertise, all of us strive to be more productive. We want to get more done in less time and produce higher quality results while reducing overall effort. You can see our attempts to be more efficient as we make phone calls while walking to the car or listen to audiobooks while exercising at the gym. It seems as if every minute must be put to optimum use.
As a productivity expert, people sometimes jokingly ask if I try to maximize my time while on vacation. The answer is not what you might expect. The truth is that the greatest breaks from work are highly efficient.
In order to understand what that means, we need to look into the definition of the word “efficiency.” Many people incorrectly think this term is another word for speed. An efficient worker, after all, completes their tasks more quickly.
Yet “efficiency” has a precise and powerful scientific definition. It refers to the relationship between effort and results. In formal engineering terms: efficiency = work output / work input.
That might sound like more arithmetic than you've considered in a few years, but this is a formula you’ll want to remember. Efficiency is not just a measure of how much work you accomplish: instead, it measures what you got out versus what you put in.
Highly efficient people are not those who spend long hours at the office. Instead, they are those who generate amazing results despite a comfortable, relaxed work schedule. Inefficient people, however, aren't necessarily those who merely seem to complete work slowly. Rather, it’s those workers whose results are unimpressive given the quantity of effort they applied in the first place.
This brings us back to our discussion of time away from the office. If you’re spending some time on the beach not doing any work, you’re actually very efficient. That’s because your work output and work input match up perfectly! It’s the people who try to check their email from the hotel pool who are tremendously inefficient. They are wasting considerable energy and focus for a meager result.
Every other aspect of your health at work echoes with this same equation. It’s not just a matter of consuming calories, but rather the efficiency by which your body can turn that energy input into energy output. Likewise, your trips to the gym should neither be effortless nor exhausting—instead you want to work just hard enough that you’re invigorated and inspired to return in a day or two. If you take prescription drugs or supplements, you should work with a qualified provider to determine a dosage that has precisely the coverage you need without being wasteful or falling short. These choices are the hallmarks of efficiency in your health.
If there’s a secret to becoming more productive and satisfied at work, it starts with understanding the relationship between effort and results. We need to look beyond simple cause and effect. Instead, we must acknowledge that our essential leverage at work is the ratio of what we put in against what we get out. As any engineer can attest, operational efficiency is the greatest sign of a healthy system. Help your company, your body, your mind and soul to become more healthy by being more efficient.
Robby Slaughter is a Principal with AccelaWork, an Indianapolis-based business process and workflow consulting company. Visit them online at www.accelawork.com
If you've got a knack for digging through academic language, the complete post is worth a read. Here's a few words from some key paragraphs, with emphasis added:
One of the biggest growth areas in economics over the last few years has been “happiness economics”. A plethora of intriguing results, starting with Easterlin’s famous paradox breaking the link between well-being and income through to recent counterintuitive findings showing that “happier countries” produce more suicide cases, all show that we still do not have a clear mental grip on how mood links to economic variables such as income or economic growth.Working with my colleagues Andrew Oswald and Eugenio Proto, I am seeking to better understand the micro-level links between happiness and economic behaviour. Crucially we turn the traditional causal relationship between production and happiness on its head – rather than investigate how economic variables, like income or growth affect happiness, we have instead studied how happiness affects economic variables. Thinking about which economic variable to examine first, we had only to consider Paul Krugman’s words, “Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything.”
With this in mind, my colleagues and I address the question: does happiness make people more productive in a paid task? Using an experimental methodology, we find that it does. ... Effort increases. Precision remains unaltered. In our first experiment, we induce short-run shocks to happiness and find a pronounced positive effect on productivity. In our second, we turn to the longer run when we ask whether subjects who have experienced recent “life shocks” perform significantly differently, and again, we find that they do.
How did they do it? In Experiment #1, subjects were paid to perform some math problems. Some of the participants were asked to watch a short video clip of a stand-up comedian before starting work. They were on average, 10% more productive than those who did not view the program. (Why economists call enjoying some comedy a "happiness shock" is in itself, rather comedic.) Here's the actual data of participants who have been "treated" with some entertainment:
Does that mean you should start you day with a session on YouTube? Probably. Here, enjoy this and you'll probably read the rest of this blog post even faster:
So what was Experiment #2? Instead of the "shock" of a comedy video, participants were asked to assess their own happiness. After finishing the tasks, those taking part in the study were provided with a questionnaire about recent negative life events. The survey included topics such as loss of a family member, parental divorce, or health factors.Once again, people who were happier in general were more productive. Happiness leads to productivity. For more information about how you can work smarter and be more satisfied, contact our consultants at AccelaWork today!
Here's what we continue to do, even though it's a terrible idea: we often build initial client relationships with high-level executives and owners.
This probably sounds counter intuitive. If AccelaWork is a speaking and business process consulting company, shouldn't we want to meet the people who are in charge of all of the business processes?
After many years of experience, the answer is definitely not. If there are workflow and productivity challenges in an organization, we need to meet with the people on the front lines who personally experience these frustrations. We should get to know them to find out if they believe change is possible. We should connect with those who will be putting new processes into action so they have confidence in our ability to help.
However, there's an even more critical reason why business process consultancies should avoid starting at the top. Companies that are experiencing some dysfunction will only be further aggravated if the boss brings in an outside expert. Think about it: how do you feel when someone shows up and tries to tell you what to do? Probably a lot like this strip from Dilbert:
Usually, business process consultants that start out by working with management end up being less effective overall, because doing so breeds distrust among stakeholders. After all, if company leaders want to increase productivity, why don't they try talking to the people doing the work rather than some outside firm? In our business, reaching out to executives to begin a relationship is a bad move.
So why do we keep making this mistake? Because building connections with managers is devilishly attractive. They are used to interacting with outside vendors and know how to give tours and describe the company business model on a whiteboard. They have the authority to take you to lunch on an expense account or head out of the office for an afternoon training session. You know they can make the decision to hire your firm on the spot, and that power is intriguing. In short: it's easy to sell to executives because they are accustomed to salespeople.
Furthermore, this is the advice of every sales training program everywhere. Virtually all sales coaches will tell you not to waste time with people who don't have the authority to make use of whatever you are offering, and instead ask to be introduced to the people in charge. That makes sense when you are selling a product that doesn't require total buy-in from stakeholders. Because our approach to process improvement is stakeholder-centric and bottom-up, our sales approach should also be stakeholder-centric and bottom up. We need to reach out to the people who we want to help first, not the folks who will decide whether or not to sign the contract. That comes later, if and only if there is a match.
So, I'm resolved to do my best not to make this mistake. If you're an executive, don't be offended that I'd rather talk to the people who work for you. If you're on the front lines, I really do want to get to know you. If we end up working together to help your company become more productive, you're the best place to start.
Who would have thought that walking on hot coals would be a way to empower individuals and build team unity? Yet, according to motivational speaker Alessandro Di Priamo—who has led thousands of people through firewalking the last 12 years—challenging employees to take such risks will help create confidence and motivation.
Firewalking helps people overcome their fears, seek new challenges and understand that most of what they see as their limits are self-inflicted.Unfortunately for nine unsuspecting employees, their blinding walk did anything but flourish team unity. Instead, it placed them in the hospital with minor burns and scars. Turns out, despite Di Priamo's own walk on the hot coals, his failure to double-check the standard of materials left him in the hot seat. It wasn't until after the injuries ensued that he discovered artificial coal and incorrect wood were utilized for the fire pit. Ouch!
"I have done this job for 12 years with thousands of people and never had a problem. I myself walked first on that bed of burning coals and didn't feel anything -- in fact that same evening I went for a 16 km run," he said.Sometimes when a problem isn't apparent, it's hard to be aware that one exists. But that difficulty didn't make this situation any less unpleasant for those employees who were struggling to walk for some time after trying to do something as simple as build team unity. This is definitely a situation that should have been avoided through proper planning and a little more caution.
Without a doubt, Di Priamo's negligence was quite concerning. Yet, just as worrisome is the fact that his participants were simply expected to place full trust in his unfamiliar leadership. And if that wasn't enough, even more unfortunate was the fact that each employee was forced into one of two difficult positions:
If your goal is to create a better working, more unified team, empower your stakeholders! Provide employees with proactive tasks and meaningful responsibilities. Encourage them to take on more ownership in their position and challenge them to improve their own systems of operation. This will lead to feelings of confidence and respect rather than submission and lack of importance. AccelaWork believes strongly in promoting accountability, creativity and cooperation among stakeholders. Reach out to our our consultants today today to learn how to use empowerment positively to improve workflow and build better teams.
Eric Marasco, creator and host of the video blog Espresso To Go, discussed the basic "do's and don'ts" of networking with AccelaWork founder Robby Slaughter. Check out the five-minute video below:
Slaughter pointed out in the video that its important to be memorable when networking. Relay information that not only stands out, but intrigues those you are speaking with. This is a great way to set yourself apart from others and create an easily identifiable connection that will assist in follow-up techniques.As we have covered on here before, consultants using networking is a great tool for gaining and maintaining business relationships. If you are interested in learning more about being efficient and productive in your networking, contact our organizational productivity firm today.
Originally social networks appeared to be a threat for businesses, whether it was their employees spending too much time on them or employees making inappropriate posts. Yet, it has very quickly become a a common trend for people ages 13 (legally) to 104. When Facebook started, it was geared to keep college students in touch when they graduated. Now it's simply unheard of not to use it. Twitter is very quickly following a similar path. Businesses embraced social media and yours should too.
Social Media will open up a whole new world to your customers and let them contact you and read about you on a more personal level. You might not talk about your kids in front of a customer at your office, but by letting them see a photo or two of your children on Facebook or Twitter, it can open up a whole new conversation the next time you see them.
It is also beneficial when something negative happens. Inevitably, it enables you to control your brand name. Just by getting on social media you are able to start making a good name for yourself in the event that things go wrong. People have a tendency to turn social media into a bad situation. Yet, you will have a heads up on addressing the problem before all of the negativity is exposed.
It is also nice to see that not everyone is perfect. Simply stating your opinion can expose a side of you that the general public might not know about. That’s not a bad thing. After all, you never know who might share the same opinion. By encouraging your employees and your CEO to use social media you are letting others see you are human.
While it is important to keep rules and expectations with employees on social media, at the same time encourage them to use this new platform. Social Media offers a chance for you to get more of your business out on the web and let others get an inside look. If you’re a Fortune 500 company or a mom and pop shop, social media is a tool that you should at least dabble around in. So get out there, enjoy the exposure. What are you afraid of?
Kristin Page is a project manager for Golden Technologies with a special interest in social media and internet marketing. She blogs often on the Golden Tech Blog and can be found on Twitter @kristypage.
The "About" section of the Golden Technologies website further elaborates on their business:
In late 1999, the foursome decided that it was time to leave the safety net of the steel mill and work full-time for Golden Tech, beginning their journey as entrepreneurs. Since that time, the business has grown steadily. Starting out with just the “Core 4″ engineer partners, Golden Tech now employs more than 60 individuals at four offices, offering IT Management Services in the Northwest Indiana, Michiana, Chicagoland and South West Florida regions.
With plans for expansion, the Golden Tech continues to explore opportunities in other markets.
The key to Golden Tech’s success, however, remains in its relentless drive to provide exceptional customer service, the highest level of expertise, and innovative solutions delivered by friendly and tireless support engineers.
Our Mission
“The pursuit of excellence in making technology work for people.”Our Vision
“We embrace innovation and teamwork in our quest to be the best IT Solutions provider in the markets we serve. We strive for excellence through tireless support, timeless craftsmanship, and adherence to our Values.”
The Indianapolis Star printed the following Dear Annie letter:
Dear Annie: In my office, we all have different, unconnected job functions. I am usually busy, and when my work is finished, I take a break. I do not disturb anyone else while I go online, take a walk, or do some organizing and other things to pass the time until my next assignment. One of my co-workers makes sarcastic comments about my work ethic. It's not like I can use my free time to help her, because our jobs are unrelated. The boss knows he can count on me when there is work to be done, but he isn't going to invent assignments. How do I handle my nosy co-worker, who seems to be watching my every move?This predicament is a hard one to tackle. After all, what type of advice can you give an anonymous reader that will help maintain a well-working relationship without creating rifts in the workplace? According to Annie, the best advice is to adapt amicably. Below is her response:- Looking Busy Enough
Dear Reader: Your co-worker is envious that you have finished your work and have time to yourself and she doesn't. As long as your boss is satisfied, you are under no obligation to please anyone else. You could try "making nice" by offering to bring her a cup of coffee or something along those lines, but otherwise, ignore her barbs. It's sour grapes and not worthy of a response.We have covered employee satisfaction and the inability to maintain a cohesive work environment can have lasting negative effects on productivity. So, although Annie's advice to ignore and "make nice" is a calm, non-confrontational plan, its overall effectiveness is questionable since it does little more than prolong frustration.
Instead, why not encourage "Looking Busy Enough" to utilize her strengths in a more effective way?
If AccelaWork were to respond, we would advise the following:
Dear Reader: From the sounds of it, your workflow is not only successful, but meeting—if not exceeding—expectations. Well done! And while your well-deserved free time is yours to spend however you'd like, perhaps it's time to take your talent for productivity to the next level. After all, your job isn't just to complete projects, it's also to be innovative and creative on behalf of the company.Improving worker productivity has a slew of advantages: it streamlines projects, frees up time for innovation, helps the functioning of our brains and strengthens collaboration in the workplace. To learn more about how we can help your company, reach out to our productivity growth consultants today!Though your co-worker's job functions are different, remember that both of you have the same overall goal: to work effectively and generate success. What better reason is there than to take your free time and develop new ways of integrating your work systems into the office? By doing so, you are satisfying three solid things:
Seize the moment and use your productivity to your advantage! I guarantee you and your co-workers will be thankful you did.
- You will have the chance to assist all your co-workers in their own productivity. Not only will this help boost your office's overall success, but it will perhaps reduce the rift between you and your co-worker.
- You'll have the opportunity to showcase your unique skills and work ethic to your boss; highlighting your creativity and leadership.
- You will empower yourself and feel more accomplished, confident and respected.
If you're curious about the back story, I gave a talk at Blog Indiana's conference on Workplace Productivity and Blogging. In that workshop, I reviewed some of the common challenges that prevent us from blogging successfully. I showed off these techniques in an audacious demonstration: an entire blog post written in only ten minutes.
I decided to throw down the gauntlet. My 2010 presentation was just on one part of productivity and blogging: the agony of producing content. I ended the talk consulting on how to write a blog post in only 5 minutes.
The folks at Blog Indiana recorded all the sessions. For now, the best way to retrace this presentation is to enjoy the amazing sketch notes by attendee John Uhri. Here's what he captured from my talk (direct link here):
Steal: When it comes to producing blog posts, most ideas have already been taken. It's very unlikely you'll be able to think up something that is 100% novel. But that's okay. Don't waste time looking for a new idea. Instead, take ideas from other blogs. This applies to the way the blog looks too. If you like the layout of something, then there's a good chance others do too. Try to replicate the way the page is laid out, and the way posts are laid out, for your own blog. If you like posts with a video at the start and then text explaining the topics in the video in further detail, then write a post just like that! Take the things you enjoy and try to copy them.
Cheat: Stressing about blogging is one of the things that stands in most people's way. The best way to avoid that? Try to write as many with as little effort as possible. A slight tweak to a topic you're writing about could lead to a whole other post. But you may be able to write that new post based on research you're already doing. That's going to save you a ton of time. Even better, while researching a topic, a quote or a statistic could inspire an entirely new post. Don't file that away for another day. Write it then and there! You're going to save yourself a ton of time if you aren't switching back and forth between tasks.
Be Lazy: It's almost never good to be lazy, but if that laziness leads you to be more efficient, then by all means, go for it! Look up ways to publish posts in the future. Find tools to lessen your workflow. Whatever it takes to save you work, your'e going to be coming out ahead.
These are just a few tips for how to be a better blogger, and at their core they're nothing revolutionary. But still, far too many people won't utilize tips such as these, and instead will spend days, weeks, or even months stressing about how to get started. The best time to get started is yesterday. But if you didn't do that, just dive in and start right now.
And if you need more help getting kicked off, or want to get advice from our excellent business productivity consultants, don't hesitate to contact the team at AccelaWork today. We'd love to help get you pointed in the right direction and get you well on your way past stressing and procrastinating and toward bettering your brand.
To say I am an inexperienced blogger would be an exaggeration, but I admit my history in this type of social media is relatively new. I began writing for this business process transformation blog in 2008 and chugged along, attempting to create content that was not only timely, but compelling to AccelaWork's readers. Needless to say, it has taken me nearly two years to find a niche in this new found world and yet, I can humbly admit: there are still so many ways I can improve.
Knowing there was still so much to learn, I decided that attending BIN2010 would be a good idea. Not surprisingly, it was extremely beneficial. Below is just a snippet of what I learned.
Some of the presentations can be viewed online at the Blog Indiana website. Below is the list of presentations I attended.
MSNBC.com released an article revealing the conditions in 2010 on Beijing's highways.
Below is an excerpt detailing the astonishing 60-mile traffic jam.
Cars and trucks have been slowed to a crawl since August 14 on the National Expressway 110, which is also known as the G110, the major route from Beijing to Zhangjiakou, Xinhua News reported.Officials expect the congestion to continue until workers complete construction projects on September 13, the report said.
State media reported that Chinese drivers have become accustomed to the severe delays, noting a similar jam in July that slowed traffic for close to a month.
According to the article, this phenomenon is due to ongoing construction and an increase in trucks on the roads. And as horrific as it sounds, for those stuck in the middle, it's beyond imaginable. Not only are they moving less than a mile per day and paying the high dollar for food and drinks from temporary road vendors, the estimated wait time is upwards of a month. Yet, the worst aspect of all is the lack of control bestowed upon the highway patrons. Due to circumstances beyond their reach, drivers are forced to buy expensive food and drinks, to miss work, and to spend time away from their families. Sadly, all anyone can do is sit in their immobile cars and wait for someone else to fix the problem.
Although this story is disheartening, it's certainly one we all can learn from. After all, the best way to create solutions is to examine past challenges, reflect on the core issues and improve upon them. So when it comes to failure, take time to ask the imperative questions:
If broken processes in your office are preventing productivity and creating an environment full of gridlocks, contact our consultants today. We will help identify problems in your workflow and assist in breaking your team free of office jams.
Before I explain to you why Priority Inbox is the worst idea since Google Wave, allow me to reference one of the countless sources that covered the story. Here's the overview from an article in Mashable:
Priority Inbox is Google’s attempt to solve the e-mail woes of Gmail power users. At its core, the feature is an algorithm; Priority Inbox uses information such as keywords, the people you e-mail the most and your e-mail habits to select the most pressing e-mails in your inbox. Those e-mails are brought to the top of your Gmail and marked as important so you deal with them first.At first, this might sound helpful. After all, so many of us overwhelmed by email. A quick glance at a screenshot makes this seem like a friendly and practical new offering from Google:
Plus, Google has a cutesy video explaining the service, complete with a jazzy soundtrack and cartoon emails (direct link):
To explain why I despise this new service, we only need to look at the description from The Official Gmail Blog:
Gmail has always been pretty good at filtering junk mail into the “spam” folder. But today, in addition to spam, people get a lot of mail that isn't outright junk but isn't very important—bologna, or “bacn.” So we've evolved Gmail's filter to address this problem and extended it to not only classify outright spam, but also to help users separate this "bologna" from the important stuff. In a way, Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules.In essence, Priority Inbox is conflict-avoidance for email. Google recognizes that people "get a lot of email that...isn't very important." But instead of encouraging people to actually deal with the real problem (unimportant emails) they just try to hide these messages.
Tragically, reviewers across the web continue to swoon for the darling/juggernaut that is Google. Over at Slate, Farhad Majoo writes:
We also get all kinds of annoying messages that aren't technically spam. In your inbox right now, you're likely to find friend requests from people on LinkedIn or Facebook, CNN alerts about breaking news, and a message from someone in your office letting you know there's cake in the kitchen, followed by several responses letting you know that the cake is gone.Yes, we do. Hey Farhad, unsubscribe from those email updates already! You're going to visit Facebook anyway and see new requests, so why get them in your email? And if people are using email to communicate about office cake status, isn't it time to have a conversation about the role of email?
Being productive with email doesn't require fancy tricks or advanced filtering software. Instead, we can become more efficient with email by changing our perspective. We should not need Gmail to decide which messages are important. Instead, we ought to use our own judgment about what newsletters and notifications we request and how we communicate with others.
All of this may sound bad, but it gets worse. Email marketers are already talking about how to ensure they get into the Priority Inbox. This is a terrible feature that will only further our codependent relationship with email. Want to know what I think Google really should have done instead of creating Priority Inbox? Check out this follow up post.
Contact our email overload specialists if you're ready to move beyond silly hacks like this and take control of your email.
According to sports columnist Cameron Smith, the footage displays one of the biggest football bloopers ever. Due to The YouTube account associated with this video having been terminated because of multiple third-party notifications of copyright infringement, we're unable to share the clip. But we will do our best to describe it to you.
This video almost seems unreal—as if it belongs in a sitcom rather than real life. And as difficult as the horrific play was for the team, it is a great demonstration of what can happen when mistakes occur faster than they can be processed.
In the clip, a frantic pass leads to panic. Suddenly the running back is forced to react out of instinct rather than strategy and soon finds himself creating one error after another. We have all been in similar situations on the playing field of our life at work, scrambling to keep moving even though we may be going in the wrong direction!
Just like the unfortunate player, our last screw-up is often the worst. When the situation appeared inescapable, he made one final, desperate attempt at redemption: he tossed the problem to someone else and hoped for the best. But his last ditch effort landed in the wrong hands with devastating results.
There is no foolproof way to ensure a project will be perfect. Some failure will always occur. The best medicine is good planning before the game, and good coaching after the play to understand how to improve. Take the time to truly evaluate how your team manages problems. You may just discover better ways of scoring touchdowns. Contact our worker productivity consultants today to learn more about how we can help.
In one issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine, Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, suggests that viewing every job as a part-time job will help maintain a healthy life and career. As Slaughter says: "employment is a way to use our skills and knowledge part-time to enable the lifestyle we want and need full-time."
The full article is reprinted below:
Every Job is a Part-time Job
Usually, the only connection between work and our individual well being is stated in legalese. Employers may provide health insurance, short term disability, contribute to workers compensation or help us save for retirement. There’s something else that can help us to stay healthy while continuing to advance our career, but it’s not a complicated financial instrument or a miracle drug. Instead, it’s just a simple phrase: “Every job is a part-time job.”That mantra serves many functions. First, it should remind us that we cannot and should not live all our lives at work. The body needs sleep to recharge and the mind needs rest to focus. Our emotional well-being is also influenced by those who love us unconditionally, not just those who need the client report finished by the deadline. To work effectively, we have to also spend time not working.
Second, if every job is a part-time job, your colleagues are also part-time workers. They have lives too. Their friends and family, their health and their personal needs may be supported by their salary, but will and should always take precedence over their duties at the workplace. You can ask people to turn off their cellphones while serving customers, but you cannot ask them to turn off their mind and forget their own lives. You may punch a clock or arrive at work, but you do not stop being a parent, sibling or friend.
The words “part-time” also imply transience, as if at any moment someone might decide to leave the firm and focus entirely on their own needs. Of course, this is the case with everyone. Any of us might, for any number of reasons, choose to discontinue our relationship with our current employer. “Part-time” should remind us that we will eventually lose a valued team member. If we are not prepared to transition their duties, the departure will always happen at the worst possible time.
Finally, the part-time nature of all work should put the act of work itself into perspective. We might spend more time at our jobs than we do with our families, but that’s not a sign that we love our jobs more. Rather, employment is a way to use our skills and knowledge part-time to enable the lifestyle we want and need full-time. To quote Fight Club: “You are not your job.” Your job merely enables you to be who you are.
Acknowledging the reality that all jobs are part-time presents the opportunity to design workflow more intelligently. If we assume that an employee will routinely be out of the office during regular business hours, we can make job descriptions, instructional diagrams and operating procedures more robust. If we recognize that life is unpredictable and work hours often need to be flexible, we can rebuild our expectations about effort around results rather than face time. Individually, we can create checklists and project plans with the expectation that someone else might need to finish the task without us.
Work can be a source of tremendous stress. Our physical, emotional and mental well-being is often dominated by the demands of our jobs. Remember, however, that no matter how many weekends you work and how infrequent your vacations, your job is still a part-time job. Design your work flow and set your expectations accordingly, so that you can enjoy your full-time life.
The reason that I can't stand Priority Inbox—which automatically reorders your messages based on what Google thinks is most pressing—is because this is conflict-avoidance for email. You already get too much email, and instead of tackling the problem Google is simply keeping most of the problem out of view.
This is not terrible if you practice efficient email management techniques. But if you're the equivalent of an email hoarder and have hundreds or thousands of messages, Google is the enabling friend who shuffles boxes around in your overstuffed home. Priority Inbox makes the issue worse, not better.
It's not as if this is a new philosophy for Google. As explained in their about section (emphasis added):
Use Google search within Gmail to find the exact message you want, no matter when it was sent or received. You don't have to spend time sorting your email, just search for a message when you need it and we'll find it for you.Again, this is enabling behavior. You can't really learn to deal with email directly if systems like Gmail allow you to avoid actually processing email messages and deleting them or organizing them yourself. Would you really want a storage unit that automatically expanded as you kept adding items? Or would you rather try to figure out how to simplify your life so that you didn't need the storage unit in the first place?With Gmail, each message you send is grouped with all the responses you receive. This conversation view continues to grow as new replies arrive, so you can always see your messages in context.
We're always working to increase the amount of free storage we offer in Gmail, and if you want even more, you can always purchase additional space. With all that space, you can archive instead of deleting messages, so they won't clutter your inbox but will remain searchable in case you ever need them again.
If you click that, you will get something like the following:
Delivered-To: your-email@gmail.com
Received: by 10.216.49.11 with SMTP id w11cs15001web;
Wed, 8 Sep 2010 03:47:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bob Smith <their-email@domain.com>
To: Joan Thomas <joan.thomas@companyx.com>, Fran Harmony <fh423@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2010 06:45:56 -0400
Subject: Re: New T-Shirt Orders
Thread-Topic: New T-Shirt Orders
Thread-Index: ActPAcOJHK4W9ltpR4Gn2ckaZlFbIQ3Psw5w
Message-ID: <AD732AB08D3DF97D41ABF74FAA09BD670A4DE28275@MAILR001.mail.lan>
References: <AANLkTimZ5Fv_Sj5C3AmT9JH8UgvRgfA99zyPXPojj8=1@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTgfA9AmT9JH8imZ5Fv_Sj5C3gvRU9zyPXPojj8=1@mail.gmail.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
From what I can tell, there are about 200 million active Gmail users in the world. That's enough clout that Google can suggest new email headers and others are likely to follow suit. Consider for example these ideas:
Automated-Newsletter: - Used to voluntarily mark an email as part of an ongoing newsletter. That way, companies that send these messages ("email service providers") could receive a special mark in inboxes.These kinds of extensions, if implemented judiciously, could help change email for the better. Google needs to rethink Priority Inbox. Instead of helping people use email irresponsibly, they should change the design of email by encouraging better behavior.Replaces-Unread-Message-X: - This header could be used to indicate that an email should completely replace a previous message. That way, if you need to send out an update and someone hasn't read the previous message, they don't need to see both.
Expires-After: - Indicate a date after which the message is definitely not relevant if it has never been read. Old messages could be pushed into an archive or deleted entirely.
During the annual Blackhawk fan convention in Chicago, Millhouser was astonished to find that the Washington Capitals were listed on The Prince of Wales Trophy as the 2009-2010 NHL Eastern Conference champions. The only problem? The true champions are actually the Philadelphia Flyers.
Out of instinct, Millhouser immediately took a picture of the trophy with his cell phone and tweeted his discovery. Below is his tweet:
Despite his pictures and reports to local media, his claims were not taken seriously. After all, given the advancement and ease of today's technology, his accusations could have very well been a hoax. Even The Hockey Hall of Fame denied the error; claiming Millhouser's pictures were Photoshopped.
Long story short, the trophy was in fact wrongly engraved. The mix-up was confirmed after determining that the original trophy, which travels for showcasing in different cities, was momentarily incorrect. The secondary trophy that remains on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto was correctly engraved. So, thanks in part to Millhouser's keen observation and Twitter's capabilities, the error was acknowledged and finally rectified.
Though this story highlights social media's unforgiving existence when it comes to errors, it certainly proves just how powerful a tool it can be. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn provide a profound opportunity for growing businesses. Whether the objective is to create new business, maintain client communication, manage ongoing marketing campaigns or even satisfy crisis management, being a part of the social media world—where information can be released immediately and spread far-wide—can have an enormous impact.
If your company is looking to maximize the benefits that social media brings, AccelaWork will relay incredible tips on how to effectively manage and remain productive in your social media endeavors. Contact our business process transformation firm today to learn more about how we can help!
If you are not currently a subscriber, the newsletter is archived online. Here is a passage from the article on the topic of instant messaging:
In most high-tech offices IMing is a highly effective internal communication tool. But just because the chat window pops up for the person on the other end doesn't mean they are always available. Starting out with a simple “Hi Jon! Do you have a moment to chat” can go a long way. And just because they don’t respond, doesn't mean they are ignoring you; they are probably busy.
An article from South University further explores the topic of technology etiquette. We've included some interesting bits below.
Jodi R. R. Smith, president and owner of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting, says anything that requires a little bit of subjective conversation, such as choosing a restaurant, requires a phone call.
She says it’s okay to send a text message that you can write very easily. For example, it’s acceptable to text a friend you’re meeting for coffee that you’ll be there in 10 minutes.
“Texting is a brief transmission of facts,” Smith says. “There’s nuance in your voice that people don’t get when you’re texting.”
The tone of voice conveys the meaning of the message, she says.
“When you lose the tone of voice you lose the context and meaning of the message,” Smith says. “If there’s even the slightest chance of being misinterpreted use the phone instead.”
Ron Moody, program director of Information Technology at South University, Montgomery, agrees that it’s much easier to misinterpret someone when reading a text-based message, rather than during a phone conversation.
“The tone of the voice can change a simple statement from light hearted to more intense,” Moody says. “In contrast, a written statement, especially using chat shortcuts, may leave the reader guessing the intent behind the message.”
The nuance Smith notes is one of the keys to focus on here. Words can be taken any number of ways. You don't want someone to possibly assume a negative tone when that isn't what you intended at all. Conversely, you don't want someone to miss a level of criticism or concern that you meant to voice. While it's true that texting can be more convenient, if it takes you multiple messages to clarify your meaning, then you're wasting time in the long run.
There's a key connection between good behavior and productive behavior. Etiquette is based on mutual respect. If we take time to be conscientious of others at work, we make it easier for them to be more efficient and more effective at their jobs. Likewise, that effort will reflect well on us. Colleagues will go out of their way to ensure that we can concentrate on our own tasks.With changing technology there's always going to be a period of time when gauging etiquette is difficult. Fortunately, we're far enough into the age of instant messaging and coworkers being ever-available through their smart phones that there's been plenty of time to figure out what communication works best through which medium. But the most important thing to remember is that when you're in doubt at all, think about how you would prefer to be communicated with and take steps to ensure that clarity reigns supreme.
Good advice about workplace productivity can come from a variety of places. If you're ready to learn more about what you can do to improve your workflow, reach out to our business process consulting firm today!
When it comes to speed, timing, features and control, Robby Slaughter, principal of AccelaWork, argues that desktop email is better equipped and more efficient than web-based email.
Below is a shortened version of his entire guest post:
These days, it seems like everybody is using a web-based email clients. The numbers behind this trend are staggering. Back when Microsoft looked into buying Hotmail it already had 8.5 million subscribers—and that was in 1997. Today, the various Microsoft email services are up to 250 million users, with Gmail clocking in at 150 million users. Web-based email continues to be one of the most popular trends and one of the biggest uses of web technology.While most people use email to get away from operating like traditional mail, the ability to not have to worry about an internet connection is a huge time saver. We've all had times when we wanted to prepare some messages but couldn't due to a network error. Instead of having to save your message in a word processor, a proper desktop email client will be able to send your message away without you having to think twice. And you still don't need to buy a stamp!The only problem is that web-based email is terribly inefficient. If you want to be more productive than the half billion people who use web-based email, simply switch to a desktop email client. Here’s why:
Speed
Many of us now have to process hundreds of messages in the course of a day. Every time you deal with a message on a web-based email program, you have to wait for some distant remote web server to handle your request. It might seem like Hotmail is pretty snappy at deleting messages, but it’s not nearly as fast as doing so in Outlook or Thunderbird or Mail.App. A an extra half-second-per-click might not seem like much, but if you’re dealing with thousands of clicks you’re wasting dozens of minutes. Furthermore, the overall speed of your web-based email client doesn’t depend on your computer but your Internet connection. Head for a crowded wifi hotspot and even Gmail slows to a crawl.Timing
The primary difference between web-based email and desktop-based email is the sequence of access steps. If you attach a file to a message in Yahoo! Mail, you have to wait until the upload process is complete before you actually can send the message. This is simply the nature of web-based email. The application runs on the web, so you can’t do anything with a draft until all of your content is actually transferred over the Internet.Attach a file to a message in your desktop email program, however, and the process is instant. It doesn’t matter if this file is 1k or 10MB. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a snappy connection or one that is painfully slow. In fact, you don’t even have to be online to write emails, add attachments, and queue them for sending! Your desktop email works exactly like traditional postal mail. You can process messages whenever you like and wherever you like, no matter your proximity to the mail carrier.
Backups are always a good thing to have. Manually backing up your messages is a decent option, but why go to all that trouble when you can have it done automatically by your desktop email? As Slaughter's post highlights, desktop email is all about finding efficient ways to take care of your day-to-day communication.Features
. . . The Google Blog recently announced that if you’re using the Google Chrome browser you can now drag-and-drop attachments to your desktop!Wait: drag and drop attachments? Let’s see, that’s been available on desktop email clients since at least 1997. And speaking of Google, they appear to be the only web-based email client that has officially offered “offline use” for nearly a full year. That’s a feature which has been part of every desktop-based mail client since approximately 1979.
Control
Call me paranoid, but I just don’t like the idea of trusting all my email to live in the cloud through some free provider. Once in a while disaster can strike. With a desktop-email client, you automatically get to have at least two copies of all of your messages.
Are you looking to become more efficient with email? Contact the professional email management consultants at AccelaWork today!
An article from The Detroit Free Press offered some advice for language in weight loss:
Avoid "should" and "have to" statements. Saying "I shouldn't eat fries" or "I have to eat some chocolate" will make you feel deprived or out of control. If you're "choosing" not to eat the food, you have more power and less guilt.Don't say you're "on a diet." Look at good eating as a permanent lifestyle switch: "I've changed my diet."
Don't trash yourself. You wouldn't tell a friend she's weak, ugly or a bad person because she is struggling with her weight. Offer yourself the same positive encouragement.
We've written dozens of articles about the role of language. If you want to change your ways, one of the most critical aspects of improvement is to use words that are affirming and supportive. These ideas not only boost your own self-confidence but those around you too.
There's an even more subtle and more powerful factor at work than just the positive influence of upbeat words. When we talk about work using empowering language, we actually help other stakeholders to better understand our needs and create the foundation for increased mutual respect. Consider these statements that you might overhear at the typical office:
Wow, I'm so far behind on this project. I've already blown one deadline and I think I'm going to miss another.If those were phrases about dieting instead of work, it would be easy to see why they limit success. Consider these alternate versions:I shouldn't go to lunch with you. I've got a lot of work to catch up on.
I understand that you've got a lot on your plate. Never mind, I can take care of this task for you.
I'm making progress on this project. We've had to adjust to some unexpected circumstances, but I'm pleased to report that we have adapted and are continuing to press forward.I would love the chance to join you for lunch. However, I have some scheduled work I'm doing right now. Want to set up an appointment to go out later this week?
I appreciate what you do for the organization. Is there something that I can take off your plate that will help all of us be more productive?
There is a striking parallel between improving our physical health and improving workplace productivity. In both cases, we don't just need new behaviors, we may also need to use smarter language. Change the way you speak to help change the way you work. To learn more, contact our business process improvement consultants today!
Before we go any further, I have to share the official church documentation which explains the program. You don't have to read it all, just scan through it and try not to let your jaw drop too much:
Wow. Let's just take a moment to reflect on that massive document. If you do have some coffee, now is the time to take a sip and think!After Mass Refreshments (Coffee and Donuts)
The Coffee and Donuts Ministry provides an opportunity for parishioners to gather after Mass to socialize over hot coffee and donuts. Coffee and Donuts are served after the 8:00 & 9:30 a.m. Masses on the 1st and 3rd Sundays each month. Ministry members purchase supplies, set-up, serve and clean-up for the gatherings.Coffee and Doughnut Ministry Instructions
The Day Before
- Call the the Doughnut Shoppe at 555-3836 on Saturday to remind them about donuts for our church. Be sure to mention the name of our parish! (They know that they are supposed to deliver doughnuts on both the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month, but sometimes they forget.)
- Purchase 2 gallons of orange juice, 2 gallons of chocolate milk, one gallon of white milk, and one container of half and half. (Take your receipts and put them in an envelope marked “coffee and doughnuts,” and turn them over to Linda Smith (church secretary). You can place the receipts in the box on Linda’s door. She will cut a check for you in approximately two weeks.
Sunday Morning - Setup
- Doughnuts will be served after the 8:00am and 9:30am Masses.
- If it is your first time volunteering for this ministry, I would arrive around 7:50am.
- People from the 8:00 am Mass start arriving around 8:40am.
- The basement is left unlocked and doughnuts are either delivered to the basement or the front steps of the church by 7:30am.
- Set up two tables right next to the kitchen and move the tables out so that people can go around them from both sides.
- Get coffee ready. (See instructions below.)
- Get the following from the supply closet that is located on your way to the women’s restroom; napkins, plates, and cups.
- Get sugars and stir sticks from church cabinet.
- Pour some juice and milk in cups. For the first Mass I do about 6 orange juices and 6 milks. You don’t get a lot of people for the first Mass and you don’t usually get many kids, so I don’t do chocolate milk.
- For the second Mass, I do about 10 juices, 6 white milks, and 6 chocolate milks. In other words, you get a lot more people in general and you always get more kids.
- Set up table. Here is how I usually do it. I place napkins, plates, doughnuts, cups with juice and cups with milk, coffee, half/half, and finally, sugar and stir sticks.
After First Mass
- After first Mass, you can empty out coffee containers and start new pots of coffee.
- Finally, you want to place the fish bowl at the beginning of the table. Throwing a dollar in the bowl helps to get things started.
- You can put the leftover juices and milks in the refrigerator and the fishbowl in the cabinet before the next Mass, but everything else can stay out.
- I usually attend the second Mass and come back downstairs after communion. I set out the coffee and pour more juices and milks.
- Don’t forget to put the fishbowl out again.
Clean Up
- Give leftover doughnuts to Father Bob. He gives them away.
- Empty out coffee containers and dispose of coffee filters.
- Put sugars and stir sticks back.
- Put any plates, napkins, and cups back in the closet.
- Wipe off tables.
- Juice and milk can stay in the refrigerator. Someone will probably use what is leftover.
- Count money and place in envelope. Put the following on the envelope: - Your name - Coffee and doughnut ministry - Date - Donation total
- Note: The cafeteria helpers have noticed that sometimes volunteers do not clean up properly. Make sure that everything is clean before you leave!
Coffee Instructions
Note: We do have containers of both regular and decaffeinated coffee in the church cabinet. They should both say “Coffee and Doughnuts Ministry.” If you can’t find these particular containers, use what is available.
- You should find regular and decaffeinated coffee in the cabinet under the counter in the kitchen.
- For the first Mass, make one regular and one decaf pot.
- For the second Mass, you might want to make two regular and one decaf.
- One container should have a decaf sticker on it.
- Find the filters in the cabinet under the table in the kitchen.
- Place one half cup of coffee in each filter.
- Place pot in their place and start coffee.
- It is not necessary to fill the pot because the coffee maker fills up with water when you start it.
I think I have included everything! Should you need anything, you can call me at 317-555-6800.
You might think that volunteering to provide coffee and donuts might not come with any instructions. But if when you look through all of the text above, it should be clear that this is a record of experience. Somebody realized that it would be easier (and probably less expensive) to arrange with a local baker to buy donuts and deliver on a regular basis. But somebody also discovered that the Doughnut Shoppe isn't all that reliable, so they need a reminder call! Somebody figured out that not many families with children come to the early service at 8:00AM, so there is no reason to set out chocolate milk. Somebody also discovered that another volunteer crew that manages the kitchen has been unimpressed with the cleaning skills of this group of volunteers.
There are two important lessons to learn from the document above. First, tasks are often more complicated than they seem. One might assume that providing coffee and donuts requires, you know, buying some coffee and donuts and then cleaning up afterwards. But there are countless tiny details people have learned over the years which inform this process.
The second lesson is that documents and procedures are really workplace artifacts. Just like a pottery shard or a renaissance painting tells you something about the culture and lifestyle of generations past, the text in an instruction sheet provides insight into the society of the organization that produced it.
Pay attention to the artifacts in your organization. Look for places where there are patterns, but nothing to communicate that wisdom to the next generation. Reach out to our business process transformation consultants at AccelaWork if you want to learn more.
A story on Yahoo News explained the trend:
With Americans averaging fewer than seven hours of sleep per night—and around 20 percent suffering from sleepiness during the day, according to a recent Stanford University study—many companies have turned to the humble nap in an attempt to stave off billions in lost productivity each year. Following the rise of workplace perks like lactation rooms, gyms, and child-care facilities, Nike workers now have access to nap-friendly "quiet rooms" that can also be used for meditation. Google, a forerunner in employee perks, has a number of futuristic napping pods scattered throughout its Mountain View (Calif.) campus.It's no secret that most of us need more sleep. With employers competing to offer the best perks, this might seem like a positive trend. Plus, research supports the incredible value of naps. From the same article:Jawa, a small mobile technology company in Scottsdale, Ariz., has two resting rooms—one with a similar pod, the other with an old-fashioned couch—that are popular among programmers working long hours. Many airlines, including Continental and British Airways, allow pilots to sleep during long international flights while colleagues take over the controls. (The practice is prohibited for domestic flights by the Federal Aviation Administration.) Other companies, such as Ben & Jerry's, have no official policy but provide unofficial space for the practice and don't bat an eye when someone spends an extra half hour snoozing in the massage room. "If you have employees working 16-hour days, you want to give them an opportunity to take a power nap," says Melissa Gierginger, a spokeswoman for Jawa.
Sleep scientist David Dinges helped found the modern science of napping in the early '80s at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, short periods of sleep have been shown to improve alertness, memory, motor skills, decision-making, and mood. All while cutting down on stress, carelessness, and even heart disease. ... "Tiny naps are much more refreshing than people tend to realize," said Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University in England. "A short nap in the afternoon will get rid of sleepiness without interfering with nighttime sleep."
Some companies offer "sleep rooms" filled with specially-designed chairs for taking a quick forty winks. But is this just an underhanded strategy to try to encourage workers to put in 16-hour days? Or is it the beginning of a new era in which we tell employees that we trust them to do their work and manage their own time?
We have talked about telecommuting and how it affects employee satisfaction. The same philosophy applies to our view on sleeping at work:
Please conduct your work wherever and whenever you feel you can be most productive, most efficient, most effective, and most satisfied.If an employee has an unorthodox way that he or she can be crazy effective at work, then by all means, go for it! The days of automatic 9-5 are dying (if they aren't already dead) and that's a great thing for the workplace. If a mid-morning jog helps you focus in, then lace up those running shoes. If listening to opera while you brainstorm helps, bust out the headphones. And if a nap helps, well then go ahead and fluff up that pillow.
We don't need sleeping pods and cube farms. Instead, we need to respect our employees enough to not worry about when and where they are working. Change your perspective. Contact our consultants at AccelaWork today!
According to an article on Glamour, one way to beat boredom in meetings is to try doodling on some paper:
If you're yawning and having trouble concentrating on a conference call, consider pulling out a pad of paper and a pen and letting yourself doodle a bit--that's right, hearts, unicorns, rainbows ... whatever goofy thing comes to mind. I recently interviewed an expert for a magazine article who told me that doodling can help the brain focus. So surprising, right? And when you're focused on what you're doing, you're less likely to be zoning out and thinking about a nap.
AccelaWork fully supports the idea that promoting creativity and happiness in the workplace will help improve productivity and stakeholder satisfaction. However, when it comes to overcoming boredom, doodling seems far from productive. After all, what message does that send to your colleagues? Instead, perhaps the best approach is to re-evaluate the purpose of meetings and the roles that employees play in them.
Besides the usual complaints that meetings are just too long and waste too much time, there are other factors that affect a meeting’s environment such as forced collaboration, lack of agenda or direction, power struggles, absence of a plan or outcome, and stress derived from loss of productiveness. Experiencing one or a combination of these issues in a meeting is the reason why it fails. Identifying types of meetings and the ways in which they fail can assist in determining not only their value, but can help highlight tools for making them worthwhile.In addition to re-evaluating the purpose of meetings, it can sometimes be useful to quickly see if one of your colleagues thinks the meeting is necessary. Perhaps your purpose is to explain an announcement that was sent out to the IT department, but after a quick chat with the IT manager, it's clear that no one in the department needs further explanation. The message spoke for itself. While you're taking a little time out of one person's day, it's much more efficient than putting together a whole meeting, and you're saving 100% of the time of everyone else involved.A good rule of thumb when calling a meeting should be to ask yourself the question, “what is the purpose?” If it is something other than brainstorming ideas or making decisions, then its time to rethink the meeting altogether. After all, time wasted equates to more than just wasted money. It can result in loss of direction, creativity or even motivation; three areas that empower stakeholders and assist in achieving productivity and innovation.
There are countless ways to determine the value of a planned meeting. Unproductive meetings are one of the biggest problems facing a traditional workforce, and because of that, this is a topic we've tackled multiple times on this blog. A post titled Do You Really Need To Hold That Meeting breaks things down very well:
If you take those tips into consideration, doodling shouldn't be necessary. Meetings can contribute greatly to workplace success so long as they complement rather than compromise workflow. To learn more about ways of improving productivity and stakeholder satisfaction in your office, contact our business process improvement consultants today.Run the Numbers
Time is so valuable, so figure out how much the meeting is going to cost. Take a year’s salary for 1 person & divide it by the number of hours worked to determine the hourly wage. Do that for everyone involved–you may be amazed. Then shorten the length allowed for your meeting.By the way: you don’t have to make every meeting last an hour. You can have 30 minute meetings or fifteen minute meetings. And it’s okay to end early if you finish early!
If you still think you need to schedule a meeting, create a detailed agenda
The time to write the agenda is well before you announce the meeting and request time on people’s calendars. This should include the meeting’s objective, attendees, length of time, topics, decisions that need to be made, and prep work for attendees to complete prior to their arrival.Don’t forget to include in your plan what happens after the meeting is over! Too many meetings have no follow-up steps, which means they weren’t that useful in the first place.
The full post at Amber Naslund's website explains:
How many times have you set a goal…and just missed it?This is a powerful suggestion. Running the first 25 miles of a 26.2 mile marathon is still very impressive. Many of us can't motivate ourselves to start training for a long distance run, much less cover this incredible distance. While a mile may seem like a long way to go when your legs are near the breaking point, thinking about the fact that you've already successfully covered 25, could be the confidence boost someone needs to carry on through the finish line. And even if it doesn't, the fact you ran 25 miles still has some value. It's not a complete waste of your time and energy despite not ultimately meeting your goal.For a lot of us, “just missing it” is tantamount to failure. For recovering perfectionists like myself, it’s all too easy to see success in terms of black and white, and the goals that get us there as pass/fail tests.
How do we change that?
...
It’s often more helpful to measure the distance we've traveled than the distance we’ve yet to go. The first is real accomplishment; the second still unknown.
That “miles traveled” measure can be enormously helpful when we've lost sight of a big goal, or feel overwhelmed by the time or distance it’ll take to get there. But it can be even more helpful when we build it in from the get-go.
Furthermore, it reinforces an idea that we're constantly exploring at AccelaWork: that perspective is more important than problems. We often need to take a moment and think big before attacking an issue. If we don't, we may be furiously digging ourselves into a hole rather than calmly climbing our way out.
For another example: You may find yourself in a situation where increasing revenue seems like a nearly impossible task. Your goal for the year was to increase by $80,000, and it's already November but you've only increased by $65,000. You've already maxed out what you thought was your market, and yet you still aren't to the goals you've set. Instead of getting stuck in a rut of feeling dismayed about how far you still have to go, you can look at the fact you've already created a business that has gotten you to the point you are today. If you were able to crack a market in order to reach your current level of productivity, then it's not inconceivable that you can keep that trend going and find a way to reach new heights. Sometimes looking at what you've accomplished so far can be all the motivation you need to keep going on. And if all else fails, the fact you've already created some stream of profits to the tune of $65,000 more. Is that really failing? Not in our book.
If you need help setting and achieving goals in your professional life, you may want to ask for help. Consider reaching out to our business process consultants. We'd love to help you set and meet goals, but also help you adopt a healthier viewpoint on the true meaning of objectives and progress. But in the meantime, just remembering that everything is relative can be far more important than comparing yourself to impossible standards.
Thanks to Mandy Cooley of Mandy Cooley of Deliberate Direction for sending us this story! Any other readers who come across stories like this should feel free to send them our way!
Pete the Planner's show covers a variety of topics related to financial and personal management. The complete show is available on iTunes as well as below. (Slaughter's segment begins around 12:00.)
[audio:http://www.petetheplanner.com/radioshows/Episode_261_Are_You_Productive.mp3]
Some notable comments include:
Peter Dunn: What's the number one thing people do wrong in the workplace to lose productivity?Thanks so much to Peter Dunn for the opportunity.Robby Slaughter: They believe that interruptions are the secret to more productivity.
Peter Dunn: Okay. This is brilliant. Hold on, I just got a text. (laughter)
...
Chip: There's this paradox between wanting to address issues as they arise at the expense of whatever it was you were supposed to be tackling...
Peter Dunn: ... I feel the same way. I like to tackle something right when it happens. What do you suggest?
Robby Slaughter: It's great to want to tackle things right away. But, we also have to recognize what's the impact of doing that. So, if you're the kind of person who gets an email and you respond within sixty seconds.
Peter Dunn: That's me.
Robby Slaughter: And you're proud of that.
Peter Dunn: I am.
Robby Slaughter: What you're doing is you're training the people who email you to believe that you're going to respond to every request in sixty seconds.
...
Peter Dunn: So, is [empowerment] about asking for forgiveness instead of permission? Because if I hire someone to do a job and they do something else and fail at it, it just depends what it was as to whether I'm angry they did it or glad they tried.
Robby Slaughter: It's not about permission and forgiveness, it's about authority and responsibility. If you're an employee or you're working for somebody, it's good to ask 'do I have the responsibility and authority to do this in the way that I think is most helpful, or do you want me to do it in the way that you're prescribed because you've been down this path before?'
Peter Dunn: Excellent.
...
Peter Dunn: I feel like I am very unproductive based on that I've got several, several, several tasks in the midst of one day that I am trying to accomplish, and I like to jump around... So that's terrible, eh?
Robby Slaughter: Well, that task switching, that going back and forth between two different tasks, especially if some of them are high-skill and some of them are high-challenge, and vice versa—that can be refreshing, because you're doing a hard thing for a while and then you switch tasks.
Peter Dunn: Right.
Robby Slaughter: But it's also difficult, because you lose your concentration because you have to break into this new area. What you can do to be more productive is to reward yourself. You can say, 'Alright, I'm going to finish this PowerPoint presentation or these ten slides... and then I'm going to reward myself by doing something that's low-challenge.
The moral of the story is finding the right balance between work and workplace communication is essential to being productive. If you let yourself be constantly distracted by interruptions, you're not really going to get anything done well. Be sure to set aside time for necessary communication, but your time for focusing on work requires just that: focus. A process may vary from person to person. Some prefer to tackle large projects in one chunk. Others may like to reward themselves by rotating tough work with low-challenge work. It's important to find what's most effective for you.
For more information on how to bring these thoughts into your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
In one survey conducted at twelve medical facilities around the country, 58% of the 537 medical residents questioned said they had worked at least once while feeling sick. According to Dr. Thomas Nasca, the accreditation council's CEO, "residents are trained to put patients' needs above their own but also should recognize that if they're sick, their patients' would be better served by having another doctor take care of them."
Despite Dr. Nasca's explanation, 31% of the medical residents admitted to working sick more than once in 2009. Of course there's no major explanation as to why doctors choose to work sick, but the article offers some clues as to why it occurs as often as it does:
Interestingly enough, out of the half of dozen fears listed, not one of them deals with contaminating patients or neglecting themselves. And though there is no clear answer as to why that is, AccelaWork believes that the persisting problem isn't necessarily a total reflection on the doctors. Granted, they do have the freedom and ability to make their own decisions, but perhaps the environment and standards with which they've been exposed to during their residency make it difficult in deciphering a clear choice. After all, for any new individual learning the ropes, its easy to make decisions based on actions that have been continually seen and considered normal.
Whether it be healthcare, business, not-for-profit, government, or enterprise, stakeholder satisfaction is a necessary component for workplace excellence. A happy, satisfied team is a successful one, so take the initiative to evaluate the workflow of those around you and lead by example. Don't let fear stand in the way of people doing a good job, regardless of what the root of that fear is.
If it appears that a process in your office is "under the weather" it just might be a sign that its time to medicate with a new approach that not only changes, but improves the way you work. Give our our organizational productivity consultants a call today to learn more about how we can help improve productivity in your organization. We'd love to find a way to help!
In a world where information is updated and released every second, there's no denying that the obligation for constant electronic vigilance can be overwhelming and time consuming. Perhaps this is what inspired Harrisburgh University of Science and Technology to conduct an experiment where students and staff were unable to access social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter for an entire week. This unique venture made controversial headlines, pronouncing it "a terrible thing and an infringement upon people's rights", but Provost Eric Darr said it wasn't geared to affect the University negatively:
The exercise that began Monday is not a punishment for the school's 800 students, nor a precursor to a ban, but a way for people to think critically about the prevalence of social media.The blackout comes on the heels of a report that Web users in the U.S. spend more time socializing on Facebook than searching with Google, according to data released last week from researchers at comScore Inc.
Still, Darr said he can't believe the controversy generated in the Twitterverse, blogosphere and academia, with some accusing the school of inflicting "a terrible thing and an infringement upon people's rights."
"By and large, the students are supportive of the whole exercise and don't get so worked up over it," Darr said.
On campus, attempts to log in to MySpace or LinkedIn return the message: "This domain is blocked." E-mail, texting and other Web surfing is still allowed, but not instant-messaging.
Student Ashley Harris, 22, said the blackout has freed her to concentrate on her classwork instead of toggling on her laptop between social networks and the lesson at hand.
"I feel obligated to check my Facebook. I feel obligated to check my Twitter. Now I don't," Harris said. "I can just solely focus."
We have discussed the social media's ability to provide users with efficient, organized, well-informed outlets of communication is profound. Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, also believes investing time in social media is quite beneficial. Below is an excerpt from one of his blog posts:
. . . so many of our critical roles in our business and personal lives rely upon social dynamics. Sales and marketing comes from building rapport; research and development arises from teams that foster creativity and embrace both failure and success. Routine tasks are done with more enthusiasm when we have someone to share them with. Friendships and families are built not on procedures but on socialization. We need each other not just to grow, but to survive.Building and maintaining relationships is a task we strive to achieve every day. Offline, we partake in meetings, phone conversations, and social gatherings to nurture communication and reach individuals on a personal level. Online, we utilize email and social media to bridge the gap. When these interactions are combined together they will maximize results and satisfy an individual's efforts. In the end, it's simply important to recognize that communication, in any form, is most effective when balanced correctly.The belief that social media is a waste of time is based on a misconception of social media. Although these are services made possible through cool technology, they are powered by our fundamental propensity to connect. We need to work together. Social media merely makes doing so easier and faster than ever before.
Looking to enhance your offline interactions by becoming more productive in social media? Consider contacting our business process transformation firm to learn more about our services.
During an interview with Eric Marasco on The Espresso To Go Show, Slaughter provided tips on how to utilize business cards. Below is the short, three-and-a-half minute video:
Don't allow business cards to go to waste, reach out to our business process consulting firm today to learn more about Networking Efficiently, one of the many services that AccelaWork offers.My husband and I became first time home buyers three years ago. And despite the usual stress that accompanies the purchase of real estate, it was an exciting time for us. Yet, never did we stop to think about the little things—or big things for that matter—that pop up, unexpectedly in home care that result in high expenses and placing trust in contractors. Needless to say, it took only one misstep for us to learn our lesson.
A gentleman selling security systems visited our house a month after we moved in. He had a great deal: purchase his company's security equipment and receive the installation for free. How could we pass that up right? But before signing a contract we had one question: were we able to cancel our service at any time? His reply was simple; "keep the service for one year. After that, you can cancel anytime." Lest to say, after some consideration, we accepted the man's offer.
The first year of service kept us relatively satisfied, though we discovered a pattern of false alarms. Each one occurred while we were out of town, so the monitoring system had to contact the police and have them secure the house. During those times, we were grateful for the security system. That is until we began receiving notices a few months ago saying that any future false alarms would cost us an additional $200. Naturally, we were not pleased. After all, we had no control over such situations. So, we decided to suspend our service.
Unfortunately, we soon discovered our contract was binding for 60 months! Having had the system for two years already, that meant we were stuck paying bills and false alarm fees for another three years. To add insult to injury, not only could we not cancel, but if we sold our home while still under contract, the new homeowners would be subject to the system fees. If they refused to pay, my husband and I would be forced to take out the system and re-install it wherever we moved; a rendering of services costing nearly $1,500.
Distraught, I told the company about the salesman who guaranteed us a one-year cancellation policy. I had his name and employee number, but it didn't matter. He had left the company. Turns out, my husband and I placed full trust in a man who simply represented a well-known company. We equated his integrity to that of the brand he sold, but received far less than the quality we expected. We had made our own bed; bound to a contract with no remedy and no possible escape.
AccelaWork understands how difficult it can be to implement change. But, as can be learned from this story, that's what it takes to improve a company and its products. After all, our security system's brand is being tainted by negatively skewed processes and misinformed employees. If they are to regain a good reputation and maintain a successful business, they need to begin making significant changes. Otherwise, they may soon discover, like us, finding a remedy is far from possible.
AccelaWork encourages its clients to embrace change fully. Not only does it reinforce stakeholder satisfaction, but it improves a company's ability for progress. Contact our business process improvement consultants today to learn more.
We all know how this is supposed to work. When you're out on vacation or away at a conference, you set your email program to automatically reply to any incoming messages to explain your absence. At first, this sounds like an idea out of The Jetsons. Instead of having your messages pile up unanswered, a robot can cheerfully respond on your behalf!
However, the experience isn't quite so pleasant for those who are trying to reach you. After all, they find out that you are "out of the office" after they have sent their email. You know that feeling you get when you complete a message with precise instructions and hit the "send" button? Getting back an out-of-office seconds later is an instant downer. Especially since your first reaction is probably that someone is replying!
All that time-sensitive, mission-critical information that you went to all of the effort to provide will fall on deaf ears. Worse, you feel bad because you're just cluttering up their inbox and helping to worsen the day after their vacation. Now they have to deal with an email from you that you would never have sent had you known they were "out of the office."
Let's be clear: I don't mind the idea of telling people you are unavailable. Changing your outgoing voicemail message is a wonderful practice. A colleague who is trying to reach you will discover that you are away from work before they try to give you information. This is exactly the time you want to tell people that you are out of office. Perhaps instead of an out-of-office robot-reply feature, email networks could automatically update our address books with who is and is not available.
Now to the heart of the problem. The real reason we are obsessed with out-of-office is because we incorrectly treat email like instant messaging. People start to wonder if you don't respond to an email within a few hours, much less than the same business day. That's ridiculous! Pick up the phone if you need help urgently.
As much as I would like out-of-office to be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, we can't ban it entirely. You still have to deal with people who treat email like a tennis match. So instead of bouncing messages back with a canned reply while you are away, have them automatically forwarded to a colleague. They can reply and process requests accordingly, and explain to select senders that you are in fact out of the office.
If you still have people who insist on using out of office messages, perhaps you could direct them to this Scientific American article on the dangers those messages can present. Sure, many things listed in that article may seem extreme for your company (such as fearing social engineering attacks), but if you think about them, most have some real value to consider. Plus, if it scares someone into avoiding this productivity buster, then that's all the better!
Let's end the awful reign of out of office. It's a band-aid technology that only frustrates people and reinforces the foolish use of email for instant communication. Or, actually use instant messaging. At least there you can ensure no one can send you a message by setting your status to "Out of the Office."
Need more help implementing these ideas within your organization? Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We'd love to find a way to help you get on the right track.
Some may view business compliance as a task that ruins productivity. But in his post Compliance Doesn't Have To Mean Drudgery, Slaughter provided some tips on ways in which adhering to the process can become easier and less time consuming. Below are some of his suggestions:
Marks, Language, and Reference Cards
An everyday requirement of business is that we use defined terms correctly.
- The easiest solution is to produce a reference card which outlines the typical uses of common marks in your organization. That way everyone has a place to confirm that it’s Baker & Daniels, not “Baker and Daniels.”
- Tools like ShortKeys, AutoHotKey, and Texter let you create key sequences that are automatically replaced with longer strings of text.
Selective Medium, Selective Memory
Another challenge we face has to do with how we correspond at work.
- You don’t have to use email for everything.
- Leverage your IT department. If it’s a corporate responsibility to save old messages, than ask your information technology department to consider investing in dedicated email archiving solutions.
- There really isn’t a great reason to use email for internal communications . . . within your own company, you’re much better off to leverage more optimized systems for communicating.
One great instance of the first category being instituted is the world of journalism. AP Style is journalism 101, and everyone who took even a basic class is familiar with inverted pyramid style. The Purdue English site breaks down some of the reasoning behind AP Style's implementation.
The content of newspapers and other mass media is typically the result of many different writers and editors working together. AP style provides consistent guidelines for such publications in terms of grammar, spelling, punctuation and language usage. Some guiding principles behind AP style are:It may seem overly comprehensive, but when it comes to clarity in writing, that's almost impossible. Check out one of the overview sections for example:AP style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language.
- Consistency
- Clarity
- Accuracy
- Brevity
dates, months, years, days of the weekThe second category Slaughter presents are dealt with much better on a business to business basis. Some larger companies may do well to have a comprehensive, searchable code of conduct, but for some smaller organizations, that could be overkill. It's about finding what is right and efficient for your organization.For dates and years, use figures. Do not use st, nd, rd, or th with dates, and use Arabic figures. Always capitalize months. Spell out the month unless it is used with a date. When used with a date, abbreviate only the following months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
Commas are not necessary if only a year and month are given, but commas should be used to set off a year if the date, month and year are given. Use the letter s but not an apostrophe after the figures when expressing decades or centuries. Do, however, use an apostrophe before figures expressing a decade if numerals are left out. Examples: Classes begin Aug. 25. Purdue University was founded May 6, 1869. The semester begins in January. The 1800s. The ’90s.
If you refer to an event that occurred the day prior to when the article will appear, do not use the word yesterday. Instead, use the day of the week. Capitalize days of the week, but do not abbreviate. If an event occurs more than seven days before or after the current date, use the month and a figure.
Whether you are part of a small business, work for a non-profit or government agency, or work within a major corporation, AccelaWork wants to learn more about your operation and how we can help you improve your processes. Our model begins with conversation. Contact our business improvement solutions firm to start the discussion.
In one soccer match, Glentoran striker Matty Burrows utilized his fancy footwork to score a goal that quickly became a sports phenomenon. Below is the short clip of the sensational play (direct link):
Burrows' unique ability to achieve success in such an unexpected way did more than just win the game, it brought positive attention to his league. When asked about the million hits the video received on YouTube, he admitted:
It’s not often that Irish League football gets a mention on such a scale so I am happy that I have been able to give Glentoran, and our league a bit of a lift.AccelaWork believes in the vitality of best practices, but we also encourage individuals and companies to keep an eye out for new ways of working. For no matter how seamless a process may appear, there is always room for improvement and innovation. There is no doubt, unconventional thinking can lead to worker productivity and create opportunities.
Like Burrows, take a shot at thinking outside the box. You may just find that by doing so, processes will not only be successfully achieved, but superbly enhanced. Reach out to our business improvement consulting firm today to learn more about how we can help.
Ten tips from Black's book, Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and In Life), were highlighted on Cosmpolitan.com's blog. Below are three of these points that deal directly with failure and risk:
Playing It Safe Can Backfire: Most people see taking risks as opening themselves up to unnecessary, maybe even dangerous chances. But the truth is, avoiding risks won’t keep you safe, nor will it guarantee a smooth ride at work or in life.Trusting yourself enough to take risks and experience failure is a great method for achieving success. Thinking outside the box, and realizing that when you mess up it isn't the end of the world is the only way to ensure you reach the heights you hope to. In the book Failure: The Secret To Success, AccelaWork's founder Robby Slaughter discusses just how beneficial such thinking can be. Below are short excerpts from chapters one and nine of his book:Failing = Success: The consequences of failure — just like the potential consequences of taking risks — are almost never as terrible as they seem.
Have a No-Surprises Policy: Never surprise your boss. If you have bad news, tell it. If you have good news, share it. For one thing, no one likes to feel out of the loop. And for another, hiding a crisis from someone who needs to know virtually guarantees the problem will be compounded.
Be A Little Naughty: Rule breaking is an underappreciated and underutilized skill. . . . trust [your] ideas and [yourself] enough to know which rules to break. If you look at any list of highly successful people, it's invariably populated with rule breakers — from college dropouts like Bill Gates to female trailblazers like eBay's Meg Whitman to Internet wunderkinds like Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
Chapter 1: Failure IS An OptionThere is an easy way to avoid failure: attempt nothing. This is the route many of us pursue when we encounter a challenging project or a difficult decision. Failure seems like such a black mark on our record that we often try to escape the pangs of error by not taking risks. We sometimes avoid the possibility of screwing up by refusing to venture outside our safety zone.
This strategy does work. But there is a tragic side effect to insulating ourselves from the possibility of failure. If we refuse to take chances that could lead to major errors we also miss the opportunity for significant wins. You cannot have great success without great failure."
Chapter 9: Winning By Failing
To do what is right, great or brilliant, we often have to first go down the wrong path, build a broken version or suffer from the embarrassment of our mistakes. Doing wrong leads to doing right. Winning starts with failing.
It's never easy to step outside the comfort zone; even when we know it can lead to great things. That's why we must first permit ourselves to fail. Stop following the norm—make a mess, avoid recommended tools, operate out of order. Taking steps such as these can inevitably change perspective and help bring to light processes that may have been overlooked or underestimated.
To read further text and/or order a copy of Failure: The Secret To Success, visit the book's website. To learn more about how AccelaWork can assist your organization in transforming processes, contact our business improvement experts today. We'll get you and your organization headed in the right direction.
In an article in Inc. Magazine, the author explained:
This entails a level of micromanagement that I was taught is a bad thing. Isn't today's modern leader supposed to hire brilliant people, give them a little direction, and just let them go to work? Doesn't micromanagement turn smart people into robots?Yes, maybe. But here's my new theory: At the top of every company, there's at least one person who really cares and really wants the product and the customer experience to be great. ... Below that person, there are layers of people, many of whom are equally dedicated and equally talented.
But at some point as you work your way through an organization, you find pockets of people who don't care that much. For them, it's a job. They just want to get through the day and don't find it upsetting that the video switching is slow and the Wi-Fi went down.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'd rather never have uncaring people squatting anywhere in my org chart. But realistically I know that sometimes these people are going to find their way into my life. I won't hire them at my company, but as we expand into conferences and events, between the theaters and caterers and Internet providers we'll be using, some of the key personnel will be beyond my control.
On the one hand, we can all appreciate the reality that there are varying levels of competence. No amount of yelling, cajoling, or empowering will convince your average cashier to solve an unusual customer service problem. At best you will get the line: "You'll have to speak to my manager."
On the other hand, however, this attitude seems disheartening. The author seems to claim that it's just a matter of supply and demand: every company has "pockets of people who don't care." Could it really be the case that all organizations are doomed to some level of mediocrity?
AccelaWork takes an alternate view. We're opposed to micromanagement but we also recognize that not every aspect of work can be 100% engaging and self-directed. There are unpleasant or uninteresting tasks that simply have to be done. These cases don't require micromanagement, but they do need clear procedures and documentation. After all, if a particular part of our work is boring, we are more likely to gloss over the details if we don't have clear instructions to follow.
It's pretty easy to be zoned in and totally motivated if you're giving a presentation to a board of 100 high-investing shareholders. If an employee can't find a way to be engaged by a task like that, then they probably aren't the sort of employee you want to be keeping around. However, tasks like setting up an automatic email response for vacation, transferring data from one spreadsheet to another, or doing QA tests on a product that is usually spot on aren't going to be nearly as exciting. While it isn't ideal, it's understandable that focus can waver in such a situation. That's where the clear procedures and documentation come into play.
We love helping organizations and individuals define everyday workflow. There are few things more empowering at work than taking authority and responsibility over a task. We don't need more micromanagement, but we do need smart, efficient, and accountable self-management. For more information, reach out to our organizational productivity team at AccelaWork. We love to talk productivity and help you reach the lofty goals you have for your company!
Gap debuted its logo on gap.com to familiarize its shoppers with the new campaign. According to Marka Hansen, president of Gap, North America, the venture originally set out to introduce the retailer's movement into modern fashion:
I've been president at Gap brand for the past three years, and I've been living and breathing the changes we've been making on our journey to make Gap more relevant to our customers.Despite Gap's motivation for the change, shoppers still voiced their opinion in support of the original logo. It appeared that the retailer was at an impasse.. . .
The natural step for us on this journey is to see how our logo - one that we've had for more than 20 years - should evolve. Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.
The dilemma brought about two choices for Gap; both of which contained serious downsides:
So which way did they go?
Initially, Gap invited consumers to create and post new designs online. But eventually, they scrapped the design and reverted back to the original. In the end, Hansen admitted the project was not handled correctly.
There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we'll handle it in a different way . . . the project was not the right one to offer up to "crowd sourcing."Hansen may have been correct in stating that the rebranding endeavor was a bust, but AccelaWork views the process as quite successful. Here's why:
In the article Don't fall victim to 'Impostor Syndrome', Slaughter identified the effects that self-doubt can have on an individual's performance. Below is a brief excerpt from his article:
Most of us occasionally experience the sudden, gripping fear that we secretly have no idea what we are doing. This self-doubt might be baseless, but it can be crippling. We sometimes find ourselves unable to do any work for fear it might be wrong. We ruminate on what will happen if we are “discovered.” We work ourselves into a frenzy, then develop self-loathing when it becomes clear we had nothing to worry about.Yet, no matter how educated a person may be on the symptoms of "Impostor Syndrome" it's no guarantee that suffering from it can be easily avoided. On the contrary, it's an unfortunate phenomenon that occurs more often than not. So, what can be done about it? According to Slaughter, there are several solutions:
We all question ourselves. It can be comforting to recognize that most people also secretly harbor feelings of uncertainty . . . Feeling like a fraud in difficult situations is normal and healthy, and acknowledging that this is natural can help us work through these emotions.
We need to prove to ourselves that we are capable. We need others to speak about our accomplishments as much as they do about our potential.
Organizations should openly discuss the psychology of work. Companies and not-for-profits should be as focused on the mentality of their employees as they are on the status of their tasks.
Recognize those moments when you suddenly feel tremendously unqualified as opportunities to reflect on your ability, your potential to grow and your connection with others.
If you or your team is suffering from Impostor Syndrome, consider reaching out to our Indiana consultants today. We specialize in business process and workflow solutions and help clients regain productivity and satisfaction in the office.
First, a quick technical refresher. A text message is an extremely short note (usually less than 160 characters) sent between mobile phones. Text messages often arrive within seconds and can be used to provide brief, urgent bits of information.
Like all technology, however, there's much more to text messaging than just that simple definition. Take note of these simple observations about this communication medium:
Here are some examples of text messages you should never send:
Thanks so much for meeting me for coffee last week to talk about your business!
Wouldn't this be more effective in a handwritten card? That way it doesn't interrupt and it can be cherished for longer than it takes to hit "delete."
Hey, did you get he new specification document so I can update that estimate? Please forward it.
Since there's no way the recipient can respond in a text message, why not send an email?
Here are some examples of great text messages:Flight delayed 1 hr; will take a cab and meet you at the restaurant.
Urgent, brief yet complete. Perfect!
Just got four free tix to the symphony tonight. Doors open in 2 hours. Reply if you want them.
Again, the missive is concise and asks for the simplest possible response.
When adopting any new technology, take time to contemplate how using the tool will impact the productivity of yourself and those around you. Thinking about work helps all of us better understand the processes, systems, and services in our lives. Learn more about how to improve your productivity. Contact our corporate productivity specialists today!Here is the document in question:
Apparently the insert has been used for some time without anyone (voters and staff) noticing . . . I guess it's funny in some way, but my initial reaction was more disbelief that no one had noticed.There's no denying, the two flags have a close resemblance. As you can see below, both utilize the same colors, patterns and shapes.
Texas Flag:
To AccelaWork, this story is nothing new. As we have discussed before, mistakes happen. Failure is simply human nature; escaping it is something we may never overcome. Yet, it's important to realize that without it, there would be little reason for change and little room for innovation. The key to accepting and benefiting from failure is to learn how to not make the same mistakes again.
When it comes to the ballot insert misprint, thanks to Knudson's keen eye, the obvious problem was rectified—the flag and all other unnecessary items were removed from the page. It was a simple fix that made strides in updating Atascosa County's communication. With all hopes, officials in Atacosa County have learned to pay closer attention to government correspondence prior to releasing it to its voters.
Yet, we would be remiss to ignore a second mistake that may be more subtle, but nevertheless just as important. Despite the amount of time she had to discover and fix the insert discrepancy, Janice Ruple publicly blamed her predecessor for the error. Interestingly enough, for half a decade part of her job was to create and maintain a certain level of quality. So regardless of who initially created the insert, it was ultimately her responsibility to keep it updated and correct. By denying her involvement in the ongoing mistake, she highlighted an obvious lack of accountability. Whether or not her claims were reasonable, she failed to demonstrate to her peers, colleagues, and employees that a job means more than just completing particular tasks—it's about tackling problems and taking responsibility for them.
We've talked before about how admitting mistakes can do wonders for how people view you. It wouldn't have been hard for Ruple to say something along the lines of, "Clearly this is a problem that I should've addressed when I took this job. I missed it on my initial scans, but will be sure that it gets fixed moving forward." That's an honest statement, that manages to not throw anyone under the bus. Even though the initial mistake wasn't her fault, she would've been taking responsibility. That would show both her colleagues and the general public that she's willing to take action and take responsibility to fix a mistake, regardless of where the mistake initiated.
Want to learn how to make the most of failure? Looking to empower your employees? Reach out to our business process consulting firm today to learn more. We'd love to help you fly the right flag for your company.
Having completed his challenge of publishing his first book, Slaughter was happy to talk about his motivations behind the project. Below is the two-and-a-half minute video where Slaughter discusses the process:
If you aren't somewhere where you can properly watch and listen to a video, some excerpts of what Slaughter had to say are below.The book is Failure: The Secret to Success. It’s available now at failurethebook.com… It’s really about this whole phenomenon of the relationship between failure and success. We’re so often afraid that we’re going to screw it up or do it wrong, and that really paralyzes us from trying anything. But the reality is that if you look at almost anybody who’s been successful, whether in politics, or business, or sports, anywhere, they’ve succeeded by failing over and over again. By finding out what they wanted to do.The key is not to fear failure. Just because something is challenging, and success isn't a guarantee, that doesn't give you a reason to avoid it altogether. Reach beyond what you may think are your limits and you might be pleasantly surprised with what you achieve. And even if you do fail, you're going to learn something in the process that can help lead to many future successes.I used the whole model of failure and success to help motivate me to write the book. I think that when you write a book, what’s really happening is you sort of reveal that you may have wanted it write it for a long time… By talking about what you want to do, by sharing it with people who are important to you, then you help make that idea real, because then you become accountable to them...
The first thing to do when you’re writing a book is to dive in. That sounds kind of counter-intuitive. You may want to step back, research the marketplace, and what not, but really the hardest part about writing a book is putting pen to paper. At least it is for me. So I just started making time, almost every night, I would jump online, onto Google Docs, and start typing out my manuscript. And it just built over time.
The book's website details this thought process further:
Failure: The Secret to Success is a book about something everybody knows but not many people like to talk about. We’ve all met that guy at a party who goes on and on about life as if it was a country song. However, our desire to keep our failures under wraps is in itself a huge mistake. Everybody who achieves unbelievable victories also knows saddening defeats.If you are interested in learning more about Failure: The Secret To Success, visit the book's website. You can also contact our business improvement consulting consultants today!“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing” – John Powell
We All Screw Up? Big Deal. Very big. Getting cut from the high school basketball team might mean you are not cut out for sports. Or it might the catalyst that begins your career, as it did with Michael Jordan. Losing practically every job you ever start might not sound like a great career path, but it was for President Ulysses S. Grant. Failure is essential and even inspiring. We need to make a few stupendously bad decisions and experience horrific luck.
More Than Fast Recovery The old adage is if you fall down, you need to get up again. There’s more to the relationship between failure and success than perseverance. We must consider the science of failure, the lessons of history and even the advantages of failing on purpose.
Published by the Fox Small Business Center, the piece explains:
Millions of companies simply cannot afford to give their employees raises or bonuses at this time, regardless of how much they may deserve one. But, that doesn't mean you can’t show those employees that you care and appreciate their services.All of this sounds perfectly reasonable. However, take a look at the proposed "rewards" (emphasis added):“Not giving out raises can have a real negative impact on employee morale and motivation. You may even lose some talented individuals,” explains Dr. K. Habib Khan, Chief Academic Officer and acting Dean of the School of Business at Stratford University. “But if you still take the time to show that you appreciate them during this rough economic time, they will be more likely to hang in there and remain dedicated and loyal employees.”
- Provide additional paid time off. Even if it is just one or two days out of the year, it will be appreciated.
- Give them the ability to have a flexible schedule. Many people would appreciate being able to work four 10-hour days per week, or working one day per week at home.
- Allow a casual dress code, even if it is just one day per week (like casual Friday).
- Provide a catered lunch or pizza party once a month.
- Celebrate each employee’s birthday with a cake and gift card.
- Once a month have everyone’s car washed on-site by a mobile wash company.
- Periodically, bring in a massage therapist to provide everyone with a complimentary chair massage.
- Keep stashes of things to occasionally give away to those going above and beyond the call of duty. This could be gift cards, concert or event tickets, or health club memberships.
- Set up a relaxation or recreation roomwhere employees can de-stress and/or have some fun. You may want to include a TV, pool table, or an air hockey game.
- Offer them a title change, even if you can’t afford to pay them more they appreciate being able to have a new title, which will provide them additional benefits for years to come.
Imagine for a moment that you are an overworked, underpaid employee in a difficult economy at a job that is often frustrating. (This may not be hard to imagine.) Don't most of these ideas sound patronizing at best? Take a look at the breakdown of items below:
Suggestions #3 ("casual dress"), #4 ("pizza party") and #9 ("rec room") sound as if they came out of a kindergarten classroom. Items #1 ("more paid time-off") and #2 ("flexible schedules"), merely remind employees that we don't trust them enough to manage their own time.
A birthday (#5) is not a workplace accomplishment, so celebrating with a gift seems inconsistent with giveaways for "going above and beyond" (#8). In either case, science has confirmed that rewards are the worst technique for increasing workplace productivity.
Idea #6 ("car wash") and #7 ("massage") seem more reasonable. These are probably routine maintenance tasks that employees would pursue anyway, so having the company provide the service is a perk. However, there's still an implied debt. It's almost as if employers are saying Since we washed your car and took away some of your stress, you can work a few a more hours.
Unquestionably, however, the most troubling suggestion is #10 ("give new titles.") Printing up new business cards when business is struggling is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Individuals won't see this new title as a reward, but an insult.
Perhaps most surprising is that practically all ten ideas may actually reduce productivity. After all, suggesting that employees stop their work for a birthday party, a pizza lunch, a massage or additional time off will reduce the amount of time they can spend actually working. So these ideas quietly imply that employees will put in unpaid overtime to make up the difference, or that they are usually slacking and can pick up the pace.
Don't worry about rewarding employees. Instead, focus on respecting employees. The best way to increase productivity and loyalty is to ensure people know how much you trust in their competence and creativity. Don't belittle their efforts. Let them work. For more ideas on how to empower employees and develop more stakeholder satisfaction, contact our worker productivity consultants today.
An article written by Robby Slaughter was featured in an issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine. "How Not To Forget" details simple techniques that can be utilized before, during, and after a workshop that will assist in keeping an individual organized, focused, and actively productive.
For your convenience, the entire article is below:
How Not To ForgetIt has happened to all of us. We've attended a workshop or training seminar, taken copious notes and then later realized that we never implemented any of the great ideas from that program. How can we begin to actually use what we learn from a short course?
To tackle this problem, we must understand the forces at play. Conference presenters are under more pressure than ever to pack tons of content into less time, making retention far more difficult. Conference attendees are expected to catch up on all the work they missed as soon as they return to the office. The most valuable part of many sessions—interactive Q&A—is relegated to the last few minutes and often cut short. It seems like all the circumstances conspire against our desire to learn.
Nevertheless, there are steps you can take to increase the overall value of a seminar. It may be most powerful to start with area where it feels like you have no control: session content. Reach out to the organizers in advance to ask if presentation materials can be made available. Contact the person leading the session to ask for electronic copies of their slides and handouts. Consider making a personal audio recording of the session or even taking pictures of key visuals with your cellphone camera. This will give you more than just your handwritten notes for reference.
Furthermore, take a look at your own pre-event behavior patterns. If you find yourself scrambling to get work done before leaving, try to delegate or reschedule so that you can focus on preparing for the event. Change your email and voicemail to report that you are “Out Of Office” well before you actually leave to give yourself more space. Write down questions you hope to have answered in the session and bring them along. Come ready to learn and to keep the office out of your mind.
Arrive early and network. The other people in this room are about to engage in a shared experience. You can contact them later to exchange ideas and compare notes, so take this opportunity to collect business cards. Once you've met as many people as you can, sit near the front. The closer you are to the action, the more you are likely to retain.
Once the session begins, put your entire focus on being attentive. Turn off your phone, shut your laptop and don’t chat with your neighbor. Ensure that your notes match the natural rhythm of the presenter. If their talk is divided into three parts, separate and title each part on the page. If they show a few video clips, note these breaks. Later, these touch points will help jog your memory of the overall narrative. After the program ends, your sole mission is to acquire the presenter’s contact information. Every trainer appreciates praise and most will happily communicate with you in the weeks and months ahead. Seek their business card so you can reach out to them in the future.
When you get back from a great session, the first thing you should do is reserve time on your calendar to process. Part of this block should be immediate while the material is fresh. The rest depends on how much time you think you need to begin exploring and implementing ideas in the session. Make appointments with yourself and your notes. Be prepared to spend at least as much time reviewing as you did in attendance. If you want the information to stick, you must be ready to relive the time you were in the audience.
Make that next offsite training more meaningful. Change the way you attend seminars by being more intentional, before, during and after the session. You will find that additional effort reaps tremendous returns. Instead of begrudging how much you’ve forgotten, you’ll be proud of how much you remember and the new plans you put into action.
Gary Banks took on a challenge that many would never dare nor dream to do—he made the decision to complete an Iron Man Triathalon by the age of thirty. In making this decision, he knew two things: the training would be hard and the feat would be huge. For months, despite his excess weight and self-proclaimed clumsiness, Gary diligently followed a training schedule. He was determined in his mission.
Almost immediately he began noticing some serious changes. The forty pounds around his belly had miraculously melted away. He lowered his cholesterol and was able to stop taking medication. He was losing weight and gaining muscle while simultaneously becoming more proud of his body and abilities. He developed a newfound confidence that nurtured an outlook radiating in perseverance and optimism. By the time the race was upon him, he was happier, more passionate, and more satisfied in his life.
That is until he entered the last stretch of his race. After swimming 1,500 meters, biking 100 miles and running 22 miles, Gary lost all his steam. He collapsed mid-stride with only four miles to go in completing the challenge of his life. Barely able to breath, as the paramedics surrounded him Gary knew that crossing the finish line was impossible. He was, in all sense of the word, utterly defeated.
"So many people told me I should be proud of what I accomplished, and though I appreciated their efforts, the sympathetic praise only made me feel worse. In the end, I knew the months of hard work and dedication amounted to nothing more than a fizzled dream. That thought, more than anything, was the hardest realization I had to overcome."There's no doubt that Gary's race performance was valiant. In fact, for those of us who have never participated in an Iron Man, his efforts appear flat out impressive. Yet, no one can deny him of his frustration. Falling short of a goal, especially one as physically and mentally challenging as this, can be emotionally excruciating.
This story raises an interesting point when it comes to creating goals. We often are told that raising the bar too high will inevitably bring failure. Though failure isn't necessarily bad, this thought process is certainly reasonable to consider. After all, weight loss coaches, personal trainers, and dietitians would all agree that striving to lose a hundred pounds in a month is far from feasible. But we shouldn't deny that setting large goals can have profound significance. In Gary's case, aiming to complete an Iron Man did more than just boost his ego. It cultivated his motivation. Not only did he get the chance to challenge himself physically, but in the process he lost weight, adopted a healthier lifestyle, became more confident and gained more satisfaction in his life. The problem wasn't that he set his sights too high. It was that he underestimated the value in the accomplishments he made along the way. Excellence comes not from a single result, but from a day to day process that leads to success.
No matter what the end result may be, there are always positive milestones in a project. All that's needed is the right outlook. To learn more consider contacting our productivity consultants. We help individuals become more productive, more effective, more efficient and most importantly, more satisfied.
At first, it might seem like it's a great idea to call two taxicabs from two different companies to schedule a pick up. Although each driver is probably highly reliable, there could be delays due to weather, traffic, or mechanical issues. Placing two individual requests just seems like clever thinking.
However, if two cab drivers from different companies realize that they've been called out to retrieve the same passenger, they will often exchange a wave and drive off. That's because each cab driver knows he has a 50-50 chance of the trip being a waste of time and total loss of the fare. They don't want this to happen, so they punish the passenger by leaving them stranded.
This is the two-taxi problem. Calling one taxi might not work out, but calling two isn't less risky—it's disastrous. The reason that this strategy does not work is because it is inadvertently disrespectful. The passenger is telling both cab drivers he's tremendously concerned about their reliability but still only willing to pay the standard rate.
The two-taxi problem pops up all of the time in business and personal life. Consider an email sent to multiple recipients via CC, asking if "anyone knows" the answer to a particular question. In effect, the message says: "One of you probably has the answer and I'm willing to waste everyone's time to find out." There's not much incentive to reply to this message, since somebody else probably will.
Examples of the two-taxi problem can be easily identified when we give the same work to multiple people but ensure only one can receive the reward. If a company runs a monthly sales contest with only a prize for first place, why bother to work hard once it's clear you are no longer the front runner? Why would a vendor go through a long request-for-proposal (RFP) process and generate dozens of pages of documentation if they know that the customer is simply required to get extra bids and has already selected the vendor they will go with?
Moreover, the two-taxi problem shows that when we try to increase productivity, we end up ignoring the impact it has on stakeholders. It certainly seems more efficient to send a second reminder note about completing the survey to everyone, even if some of them have already completed the survey. But really, you are just wasting their time to save a few minutes of your own. And worse, you may make them second guess if they actually did the work or wonder if their results have been lost.
Calling two taxis is an idea that seems like a clever way to increase productivity but actually has the opposite effect. If you give the same task or the same information to multiple people, it's entirely possible that the time you save will be far outweighed by the time you've wasted. Putting your trust in those around you is immensely important. And if you're in a situation where you can't trust the people you work with, it may be time to either re-evaluate your workflow or find new, trustworthy people to work with. All sending extra reminders does is make stakeholders feel like they can't be trusted to do a task they've been asked to do.
Learn more about ways to be more efficient, more effective and more satisfied at work without driving people away. Contact our business process transformation specialists for more information today!
Robby Slaughter, principal of AccelaWork, was featured in an edition of Health Minute Magazine with an article he wrote highlighting the misconceptions, effects, and ongoing stereotypes that accompany breast cancer. In Health, Gender, and Productivity, Slaughter recognizes the difficulty that comes with tackling the debilitating disease, but reaffirms the importance for healthful, productive choices:
The stress impacts family, friends, and colleagues. Lives are interrupted. When a serious condition strikes, productivity drops throughout the patient’s network of contacts.. . .
take [a] minute to recognize that the process of tackling this terrifying condition is roughly the same as every other approach to improving health, well-being and productivity. Make healthy choices at work and conduct regular checkups."
The full article is below:
Health, Gender and ProductivityAs always, you can learn more about making healthy, productive choices by contacting the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! Don't wait to get your life and business headed in the right direction.October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. The efforts of countless health industry professionals, advocates and survivors around the country should not go unnoticed. It might seem like breast health has nothing to do with productivity, in the same way that most of us would assume that breast cancer only affects women. Both of these claims are untrue.
First, the American Cancer Society estimates that 1,720 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. That might number might be dwarfed by cases among women, but it’s flat out wrong to suggest that men cannot be afflicted by this tragic disease.
Second, we should be reminded that although cancer may not be a communicable disease, its effects are far-reaching. The stress impacts family, friends and colleagues. Lives are interrupted. When a serious condition strikes, productivity drops throughout the patient’s network of contacts. We are all called to be even more supportive and the same time less focused on our everyday responsibilities.
There’s more to the conversation about health, gender and productivity than just these misconceptions. In our culture, we draw many unfair separations between men and women, between work and play, and between healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Many women are effective at work because they detail-oriented; many men because they have vision and see the big picture. That doesn’t mean the opposite gender can’t provide great insights in areas that might be unexpected. Rather, it means that we need to pay closer attention to our unwitting use of stereotypes, like the tacit assumption that men don’t get breast cancer.
Furthermore, the story of breast cancer mirrors the same path of many other serious conditions and challenges in our lives. We know that making healthy choices—such as staying physically active and reducing fats and alcohol in our diets—can reduce the risk of breast cancer. We know that regular screenings can detect problems early—and increase our chances for survival. What else is positively affected by making smart, healthy choices? The obvious answer: practically everything worth doing!
Take a minute in October to support the cause of breast cancer awareness. But take another minute to recognize that the process of tackling this terrifying condition is roughly the same as every other approach to improving health, well-being, and productivity. Make healthy choices at work and conduct regular checkups. Keep yourself on track for an effective, enjoyable satisfying life everywhere you go!
In the eyes of the former franchise manager, the additional sixty-five pounds were beyond his control. According to the report from the Associated Press, the reasoning behind his lawsuit was clear cut:
The 32-year-old man said he felt forced to sample the food each day to ensure quality standards remained high, because McDonald's hired "mystery clients" to randomly visit restaurants and report on the food, service, and cleanliness.Interestingly enough, though the man's explanation may be true, its components are somewhat self-contradictory. In AccelaWork's opinion in fact, the entire story is a fantastic example of counterproductive behavior. According to the man, he felt forced to sample food in order to ensure quality. Yet, the purpose of "mystery clients" is to do just that: ensure quality.
Perhaps the former manager felt threatened by mystery clients or that he was simply not confident in the every day service of his franchise. But, it seems more likely that he simply misunderstood the actual role of mystery shoppers and the significance they bring to the service industry. Contrary to his assumptions, mystery shopping is not aimed at seeking out and punishing bad franchises. Rather, it seeks to help a company ultimately improve upon its service. In one study on the matter, the mystery shopper program is summarized as such:
The use of mystery clients is primarily for the monitoring of site improvements, rather than as an evaluation tool. Information from the mystery client is fed back to the clinic [e.g. business] so that the clinic can improve its service provision.Regardless of who is to blame for his weight gain, one thing is for certain: knowledge enhances workplace success. As our consultants have once concluded:. . .
Mystery clients might be used in an effort to avoid the bias in the service delivery process that often results from having service transactions observed. They can also serve to gather a sufficient number of observations of service transactions when the actual volume of service visits is low... Because mystery clients are used to assess and improve the quality of services, they serve the interests of both clients and the program by highlighting the ways that the facility can serve its target audience.
Operating a business through process-oriented work is what defines a successful company. And, despite the dozens of adjectives that go into describing any given process, the purpose should be well-defined and known to all stakeholders involved.Upon implementation, it would have benefited McDonald's to have supplied all franchises with a detailed synopsis of the mystery shopping program so that situations such as the one in Brazil could have been prevented. With all hopes, the fast food giant has learned a valuable lesson. More than likely, the sum awarded to this man isn't enough for anyone too high up in McDonald's to even be informed about this, but just because the problem is relatively minor, doesn't mean it isn't a symptom of a much larger issue. If employees are kept in the dark, mistakes are bound to happen and growth is going to be limited. Make sure that you're not preventing progress through the simple act of omission.
Take the necessary steps toward achieving clear communication. Doing so not only sharpens comprehension, but assists in stakeholder satisfaction. Don't hesitate to contact our organizational productivity consultants today. We can help eliminate the weight that failing processes can have on your company and your stakeholders.
In 2009, preschoolers Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn were racing their bikes down a sidewalk in New York when they accidentally slammed into 87-year old Claire Menagh. The collision fractured the woman's hip. Despite surgery, she passed away three months later. The official cause of death was not made clear in the article, but Ms. Menagh's estate proceeded to sue the children and their parents for negligence. In response, James P. Tyrie, Juliet Breitman's attorney, fought back stating it was unlawful. He argued:
. . . the girl was not 'engaged in an adult activity' at the time of the accident — 'She was riding her bicycle with training wheels under the supervision of her mother' — and was too young to be held liable for negligence.. . 'Courts have held that an infant under the age of 4 is conclusively presumed to be incapable of negligence.'Justice Paul Wooten of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, who was overseeing the case, upheld the proceedings despite Tyrie's argument that the children were too young to be sued. Turns out, children under the age of four are considered incapable of negligence, but since Breitman and Kohn were over the age limit at the time of the accident the lawsuit is viable.
The article then goes on to lay out limits for any "reasonably prudent child." Basically, the judge said that children at that age should know better than to dash out into traffic. That running across a street can be dangerous, and that should be known by the child. Basically, a child of that age should be responsible. This of course assumes an average level of intelligence for the child, but it also relies on a reasonable standard of parenting. If a parent never instructed the kid on those dangers, then they would have no other way of knowing at that age. Even worse, if a parent was to shield a kid by keeping him or her indoors for years, then the first time outside would be a complete mystery. While that doesn't seem to have been the case here, it's important to view the standards set up by the judge.
There's no denying that at some point a person must be able to accept responsibility for their actions. The question is whether or not a definitive line can be drawn based on age? Some would say yes. Others would disagree. Regardless, unlike children who lack full authority, setting limits based on time rather than skill level can be dangerous in the workplace.
Just as the judge was able to assume the kids could know the danger that was possible through parenting, it's important to set standards for responsibility from the start. Lay out what you expect from employees, but then trust that they understand and will move forward in an appropriate manner. After you've made your dangers clear, it's the employee's responsibility to beware of going beyond the limits that are in place.
After all, withholding employee responsibility for too long does more than diminish motivation—it weakens confidence.
That is why we encourage our readers to empower their stakeholders through knowledge, authority, and responsibility. After all, providing employees with the freedom to analyze and implement business processes achieves the most powerful method for improving productivity and satisfaction in the office. Consider reaching out to business process consultants like those at AccelaWork to learn more. We guarantee we can help you create an environment with limitless possibilities.
Here is the original posting:
So I'm in line at the customer service desk of my local grocery store. Four people ahead of me in line, and one person working the desk. And it seems that this woman has to answer 6 phone calls for every customer in person that she serves in person. After 8 phone calls...the guy in front of me pulls out his cell phone and starts fiddling with it.Then he makes a call and the customer service desk phone rings (again). She stops what she's doing and picks up the phone:
Her: Metro, Customer service.
Him: From a customer service point of view, doesn't it make sense to serve the people who have actually made the damned effort to come into the !@#$ store?
Then he waves at her and hangs up.
She ignores the phone ringing after that.
I have to admit that I love this story, even though the behavior of the "hero" is rather rude. That's because it provides an essential lesson about productivity: we can collaborate most effectively when we do so at a time and place that is mutually convenient. People in the store have been waiting in line. They will obviously become annoyed if someone else receives assistance first.
This is the same reason why I'm always talking about the telephone. By picking up the phone without having previously scheduled the call, you are almost certainly inconveniencing someone else. Even if you have arranged to have the conversation in advance, we all know that talking into a plastic box leaves a lot to be desired. If you really need to work through an important issue it's best to do so in person.
Don't you hate when you're in the middle of a project and suddenly your phone starts to buzz? Despite all the momentum you have going, the interruption of even a single ring is enough to screech you to a halt. Well, if you feel that way, then do you really expect that the people you're calling feel any differently?
There's also the obvious problem in this story of the customer service representative clearly not feeling empowered enough to ignore the phone. It may seem obvious that the people who are there in person should be attended to first, but if the customer service representative was told that she was supposed to answer all the phone calls, then it isn't really her fault that she kept getting distracted from the people who were in line. It's the fault of the manager who didn't provide her with the authority to decide which customer's needs are the most pressing. There also probably should have been another employee if this many calls were pouring in, but that's a whole other can of worms.
Certainly it's smart to be available to customers by telephone. However, consider placing another desk in the back office that can take overflow calls. Simple, straightforward tactical changes can have a tremendous impact on productivity and stakeholder satisfaction. Or maybe it isn't phone calls that get in the way of your productivity. Perhaps this is an issue you addressed long ago. There still might be something that you haven't properly prioritized within your organization. Regardless, it's time to get aware and find the fix before you become nothing more than an anecdote in a Reddit thread.
Learn more about how we can help your company improve day-to-day tasks. Contact our organizational productivity firm today!
Sometimes a phrase is so unexpected it makes heads spin uncontrollably out of confusion and disbelief. “That’s not my job,” a seemingly simple four words, is all but uncomplicated. This declaration is shocking. It’s a sign of career suicide. Many would interpret the statement as a precursor to a just termination. Saying no at work is something you never do.
We shudder at the idea of denying responsibility for an assigned task because of our worldwide obsession with teamwork. Businesses utilize group effort as an essential tool in building company success and enabling growth. Very few organizations don't make use of the word ‘team’ or a synonym thereof as part of job descriptions, mission statements, core objectives, and company goals. After all, was it not our forefathers whom passionately coined and generously passed on the saying, “there is no ‘I’ in team?” This motto not only scolds individualism, but includes an underlying insinuation that teamwork and strength in numbers are the keys to success.
What becomes of the employee, given an ill-assigned project, who thinks to himself, “That’s not in my job description?” Is this reaction improper in a world based on principles of cohesion and collective contribution for the success of a company? Do his feelings arise from resentment, laziness, or defense of his own self-worth? Perhaps we believe that membership in a team means the willingness to tackle any project, without complaint.
The business buzzword “teamwork” runs alongside the phrase “paying your dues.” The argument explains that we all have to start somewhere, even if it’s at the bottom. We commend and appreciate this value when starting a successful venture, and look back wistfully at “working our way up.” The employee should show appreciation for his roots by happily and willingly accepting any assignment without argument. By doing so, he is “leading by example” and humbly “pitching in” for the “greater good.” As the American dream fuels so many, pursuing undesirable projects shows determination and commitment. No matter what the level of a given professional, no project can be below his standard. Accepting any task—whether part of the job description or not—demonstrates flexibility, enthusiasm, and diligence to one’s job.
These four words—“That’s not my job”—violate the deeply-held assertions listed above. This is an audacious affront to teamwork, to the paying of dues, to pitching in wherever needed. Such a statement seems charged with disrespect, as if the lowly employee aims to undermine the person making the request and the most fundamental ideals of the modern enterprise. The words threaten the boss: denying their power, questioning the efficacy of their management style, and compromising their authority. The task must be passed along next available person, creating further resentment. The consequences of these four words in the office far exceed avoidance, impatience, frustration and unwillingness to interact with whoever spoke them aloud. Termination looms. The person who dared to say no becomes the outcast; the ass among stallions. So, based on these factors, one would gather that an employee would be smart to always accept a project so as to keep up the pretense of a stable, socially unified working environment.
Although a company might need some work accomplished, not all employees are equally capable of completing a task effectively. Consider the oldest act of corporate production: agriculture. Can you just imagine Old MacDonald grooming pigs for their wool, raising chickens for their milk, and plumping up his goat for Thanksgiving dinner? It no more makes sense to ask the accountant to update the company website or have the receptionist file a corporate tax return. Perhaps with tremendous research, late nights at the office, and unwavering dedication, one of your sales people could negotiate a new employee health insurance plan. Success in these scenarios is evidence of countercompetence. Completing work outside our spheres of expertise and beyond the schedule of our workday may look like dedication, but It’s actually a recipe for overworked employees and substandard results.
The employee who responds with “that’s not my job” is not trying to evade responsibility. These words are not an act of defiance, but a gift. The employee is bravely standing up to inform colleagues that they do not currently have the time or skills to effectively complete the task. It’s easy to say yes in an environment where yes is always a good answer. Any other response requires the courage to be honest about what you know you cannot do.
Perhaps the four words require a long-winded restatement, with qualifiers and explanations. “I agree that this project is important, and of course I am happy to help in any way that I can. However, I am concerned both that my schedule is already full and that this is not my area of expertise. If you are sure you want me to do this work directly, which of my current responsibilities do you want me to postpone, and how much additional time do we need to allocate so that I can learn the necessary skills and tools to do meet our high standards of quality?”
Questioning an assignment provides a basis for understanding each person’s function in the organization. Doing so may even assist in the creation of another job for someone else to own and succeed in – a suitable and rewarding result for simply taking a chance on speaking up. Instead of looking at the negative words as code for insubordination, consider “that’snot my job” as an opening for improvement. The best operations have everyone working in roles where they are supremely competent and passionate, and where new work is accepted based not on fear of reprisal, but genuine interest and expertise.
Three United States soldiers can attest to the fact that the popular NBC game show is more difficult than it appears. As can be seen from the short video, pronouncing words correctly is half the battle to winning the ultimate prize. You can watch the short video below.
Did you hear those attempts?Regis Philvrin & Kelly Ripa
Regis Philvin & Kelly Ripa
Regis Philvin & Kelly REEpa
Regis Philmin & Kelly Ripa
And even after all the letters were on the board:
Regis Philbin and Kelly Raipa
Now wasn't that painful to watch? While your mistakes in the workplace may not be as public and humiliating as this one, they could still have the impact of keeping you from achieving your goals. Though each of the above contestants are surely well-versed and knowledgeable, their televised blunder left one very clear message: no matter how simple a task may appear, never underestimate the challenge it may bring.
Like the soldiers who had no other choice but to guess the puzzle's answer, we too have all experienced times where completing a task seems painfully inefficient. A time where, despite knowledge and expertise, we know there's an easier, faster way to complete it. Yet, somehow the solution is either momentarily invisible or too time-consuming to enact. When this occurs we tend to make do with what we know.
Before the show started, these contestants had no way to know that they were going to have to correctly pronounce daytime talk show hosts' names, but if they had, it's safe to assume they would have taken the time to properly research and make sure that they were well informed on that topic. If that had happened, the solution would have come much easier, and the first contestant would've been the one walking away with the money. Instead, all three were left visibly frustrated by their inability to complete this simple task. Fortunately for you, problems in the workplace aren't usually displayed on live TV. They don't have a timer. They especially don't have a wheel that could land on "bankrupt." You have the time to ensure you're properly informed on any subject you may have to tackle. You can step back, look at the problem as a whole, and find a way to do things efficiently by putting your knowledge to use.
This isn't the first time we've written about efficient processes, and it won't likely be the last. Whether you're battling crab grass, planning out conference calls, or finding a good workflow for writing, an effective, efficient process can be your best friend. Those processes aren't always an easy thing to find, but they're always an important thing to find. We all want our work to be quality and quick. For that, guesswork is never the best answer. Use your resources to ensure that you aren't blindly feeling around in the dark for a solution. Sometimes you may have to buy a vowel to bring the answer to the forefront. Sometimes you may have to buy three. But taking the time that those steps require is always better than uninformed guessing.
Avoid spinning your wheels in unproductive efforts that leave no other choice but discovering solutions through guesswork. Invest the time now to find processes that are not only effective, but create a better, more productive result. We work to help improve employee satisfaction. Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today to learn more.
In an article for Health Minute Magazine, Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discussed ways that individuals can simultaneously satisfy their appetites and productivity during a working lunch.
For your convenience, the entire article is reprinted below:
Any professional will concede the allure of the business lunch. A group of colleagues will often consider a meal out as a chance to step away from the office and socialize before returning to work. A sales professional will offer to buy lunch as a chance to get the attention of an elusive prospect, since “everyone has to eat.” Often, executives will head to a restaurant to discuss a deal, using the venue and the expense as part of a negotiating tactic. We all love to leave the office and eat out.However, it’s clear that whether we go for fast food or fine dining, we are making a trade. It’s convenient to have someone else prepare our lunchtime meal and certainly pleasant to let someone else do the work for an hour. The meal we consume might be tasty but it is not necessarily healthy. The rush to get back to our desk or to stay within a prescribed break period might encourage us to devour too quickly. The lunchtime conversation might distract us from conscious eating. The meal also often costs more than one brought from home in a paper sack. Is it possible for a business lunch to be efficient, productive, cost-effective, and healthy all at the same time?
In order to answer that question with a “yes” we must be conscientious about how we eat and work at the same time. Just as we know that it’s not truly possible to divide our attention between two critical tasks at the same time, we cannot simultaneously have an important business conversation while eating a heavy, rich meal. If the deal is more important than the lunch, eat in advance and order something light. If you are dining out to try a new menu item, suggest to your dining partners a few minutes of silence to taste, chew, and swallow. Or, take turns putting down your fork and telling a story while the others listen and eat.
Remember too, that the chance to eat not only replenishes the body but gives the mind a break. The Chartered Institute of Physiotherapy reported that 36% of employees never stop to eat. Although working straight through lunch time might sound like the most productive choice, it’s actually the worst option available. Good health and good business requires balance. We all must work, play, and eat.
As Slaughter's article shows, while lunch may only be one hour of the day (or less), it's still important to think about your approach to it for productivity's sake. Too heavy of a lunch and you may find yourself struggling to get anything done. Not eating enough could lead to a lack of energy and, you guessed it, struggling to get anything done. Some people may just think of lunch as an hour in the middle of the day, but that hour, just like anything else, matters for your organization. Being conscious of how you handle those important decisions is the first step.
Want to do better with all of your hours, not just the lunch hour? Contact our Indianapolis productivity consultants firm today to learn more about our views on achieving productivity and satisfaction.
I made a doctors appointment to see a highly recommended physician. A week prior to my visit, I decided to confirm that the office received all my medical history. I called the office and left a voicemail. Since I didn't speak to anyone directly, I went ahead and followed up with an email:
From: Ashley Lee (sent 1:35 PM) To: Ann Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmationI received her response shortly after:Hello Ann,
Per my voicemail message this afternoon, I would like to verify that you did in fact receive my medical history from Dr. ABC's office that was faxed over two weeks ago. I have an appointment with Dr. XXX on 12/03/2010. Please confirm by replying to this email. Thank you,
Ashley Lee
From: Ann (sent 2:02 PM) To: Ashley Lee Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmationI can't deny, I was a bit surprised at her informality. After all, she didn't even bother to address the email with a salutation such as "Dear Ashley". Regardless, I was satisfied. That is until I received the following email shortly after:Yes.
Ann
From: Ann (sent 2:05 PM) To: Ashley Lee Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmation
I listened to your message, I have only received a few pages from Dr. Naranun?
Ann
I was immediately confused. My email contained the exact same message as my voicemail, so why she waited until after she replied to my email to check the record information is beyond me. Not to mention, her vague language and misuse of the question mark caused me to wonder if there was a problem with the paperwork. I picked up the phone and called her to no avail. I sent her another email:
From: Ashley Lee (sent 2:45 PM) To: Ann Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmationHer response? A vague, non-committal answer:Ann,
Does it appear that pages are missing? Please let me know in detail what you need so that I can expedite the paperwork.
Thx,
Ashley
From: Ann (sent 4:16 PM) To: Ashley Lee Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmationThough phone calls tend to interrupt workflow, I picked up the receiver once again, left another message and sent yet another email:I really don’t know. It is 5 pages, I didn’t know what to expect.
Ann
From: Ashley Lee (sent 4:27 PM) To: Ann Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmationAnd finally, her reply:Ann,
Would you say the information you currently have is insufficient for my consultation? If so, would you please give me a detailed description of what Dr. XXX needs to see in order to give me a good second opinion. I can have my doctor's office refax my entire paperwork if need be, but if I can give them some specific items that they need to include that would be helpful. The important thing is that Dr. XXX has everything he needs to give me good feedback, so thank you in advance for helping me achieve this.
Kindly,
Ashley
From: Ann (sent 6:04 PM) To: Ashley Lee Subject: RE: Medical Record confirmationUtilizing clear and concise communication is a great way to enhance efficiency and workflow. The key to its success however is properly distinguishing between vital and non-essential information. If not done correctly, it can create a massive gap in communication that stalls productivity.I received your message. From the looks of it, the information I currently have for you appears sufficient.
Ann
Don't underestimate the power of productive messaging. Contact our business process transformation consultants today to learn more about developing more efficient approaches for workplace communication.
If you've ever participated in a market research study, you know that the first step is to find out if you are in the demographic. For example, a company might be interested in the viewpoints of people who are of a certain gender and age. They also might want to know what other products you regularly use:
More importantly, every participant knows that this is a paid market research study. That means there is a "right answer" that will get you into the study and a "wrong answer" that will leave you without the stipend. Yet by giving the participant the chance to "check all that apply" the survey designer makes this fairly obvious. What kind of market research would be interested in people who don't use other competing products? Shouldn't you check something?
Considering that 80% of the choices are beverages, it's pretty likely that this project is for some kind of drink. Furthermore, it's probably something social and tasty, rather than a health-conscious item. If you are just filling out surveys so that you might be selected, you can stretch the truth to increase your chances. One article even recommends this approach:
One of the questions you will be asked is if you have participated in a focus group in the past 6 months. You'll answer no if you know what's good for you. If you know the market research subject (it's ok to ask), tailor your answers to it. Don't lie as this can get you in trouble but you will get into more research studies if you answer the right way.
Developing an effective process requires understanding stakeholder motivation. If the people who are taking part in a study receive some compensation, they will have an incentive to try and figure out the answers needed to get them in the door. Learn more about how to create workflow that takes motivation into account. It's no easy task, for sure, but if you aren't going to get accurate and honest answers, then there really isn't any reason to do a market research study in the first place. Taking the extra steps required to ensure that you get productive, honest answers will be well worth it.
There are many ways to get more accurate answers, some simple and some are more complex. Science Buddies broke down some suggestions for designing a survey. One of their nice, simple tips is to ensure consistency for the answer choices.
Consistency is very important in writing the list of responses. All of the responses should be similar so that no single response stands out to the individual except the answer that is true for them. Consistency simply helps to ensure that you are not leading respondents to a particular answer by making that answer different from the others. It also makes it much easier for respondents to find the answer that is relevant to them.No one technique is going to be enough to get 100% honest answers, but even a small step in the right direction can be a big improvement. For more insight on how to better approach market research, contact our business improvement specialists today!
According to an article on Yahoo Education, if you are introverted there are seven careers that will help keep personal interaction to a minimum. They are listed below:
Each occupation above was revealed as a great option for those who, according to the source, "hate to socialize". And though certain individuals may believe it's logical enough to follow such advice, it's hard to dismiss one thing. Regardless of job or environment, communication is difficult to avoid. After all, we use it to assist in remedying roadblocks, satisfying changes, developing new avenues of innovation, creating process improvements, and establishing clarification. Needless to say, without communication, achieving goals and reaching success would indeed be difficult.
This is not to say that perfect communication exists in every work environment. In fact, chances are most of us have been victim at one point or another to chaotic offices where interruptions and distractions undeniably comprise our daily routine and productivity. Yet, as our business improvement solutions consultants have covered before, one remedy to this problem is to take initiative and lead by example. In Spectator on Biz Etiquette, AccelaWork suggests the following:
There’s a key connection between good behavior and productive behavior. Etiquette is based on mutual respect. If we take time to be conscientious of others at work, we make it easier for them to be more efficient and more effective at their jobs. Likewise, that effort will reflect well on us. Colleagues will go out of their way to ensure that we can concentrate on our own tasks.The Yahoo! article goes on to talk about finding your strengths.
While many people think that being a wallflower is a career hindrance, some of the best jobs in the country are well-suited for introverted personalities.It's important to remember that the strengths some people you'll deal with in the business world may be vastly different from your own. That doesn't necessarily mean they're less valuable, just that your interaction may have to be adjusted based on finding a way to get the best out of all parties. Maybe you aren't great at giving presentations in front of a crowd, but you'd be excellent at doing the extra research needed for that presentation. Pair that skill with an outgoing coworker who sometimes fails to focus on the details and you have a super team that can knock out that task. And the ways which different skills can be beneficial go far beyond just introverts and extroverts. But communicating with others is key to finding your way regardless.And we're not talking about working with cadavers in a morgue or translating ancient documents in a cobweb-infested basement either...
"Introverts excel at building individual relationships, critical thinking, creative problem solving, and working independently." Howard also notes that they have a natural eye for details and often enjoy working behind the scenes.
The existence of communication may be out of our control, but the way in which we utilize it at work can be. So rather than entering a job based on speculation, choose one that satisfies your interests and talents. Respect your co-workers with efficient interaction and you'll set the tone for reciprocation. Reach out to our business improvement consulting team today to learn more about how we can help.
In one issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine, Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discussed the difficulties that can accompany real estate flexibility.
In his article "Workplaces and Workspaces", Slaughter not only provides helpful hints as to how to deal with these integrated spaces, but also cautions:
The choices we make in real estate—whether as small as work areas or as large as whole buildings—affect our perspective and our ability to concentrate. Take advantage of amazing new developments, but keep your own objectives in mind.For the entire article, see below.
Workplaces and WorkspacesReal estate is big business. The Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors tracks nearly 5,000 single family homes in Hamilton County, with a median value of $180,000. That’s something close to a billion dollars in assets, and we haven’t even covered multi-family apartments, public buildings, offices, warehouses, retail and other properties. Every one of these structures is different, but most have one striking trait in common: they were built to serve a single purpose. Much of the real estate in our lives has only one major function: either civic, commercial, residential, retail or industrial. Most buildings, in essence, we use solely to live, work, shop or play.
Today, however, we’re starting to see the lines blur from only a generation ago. Commercial buildings now contain shops, restaurants and day care centers. Residential floorplans now commonly include a home office. You don’t even need to make use of many of these multi-function buildings. Thanks to the Internet, we can do everything from run a business to order groceries from the comfort of our living rooms.
All of this flexibility in real estate does create more flexibility in our daily lives. However, there’s an irony that comes from having more choices. The ability to instantly select between multiple activities can actually be paralyzing. A few years ago, it was difficult to relax at work or to get work done from home. The latest in real estate developments provide more opportunities, but they do impact our ability to focus.
In his book The Paradox of Choice, author Barry Schwartz notes that “The fact that some choice is good doesn't necessarily mean that more choice is better.” He continues, “There is a cost to having an overload of choice.” That’s why a home office can be a blessing and a curse: it provides the temptation to fold laundry or catch some daytime television. Likewise, a coffee stand in the lobby of your office offers an attractive distraction from your computer screen. New development is good, but with more opportunities we can find it difficult to stay focused on the task at hand.
The best medicine for the overwhelming choices in our life is a renewed emphasis on discipline. If you have a home office, close the door when you are “at work.” If there’s a favorite coffee shop that you often frequent on the first floor of your building, try putting your visits on your calendar rather than going whenever you feel the call of caffeine.
Likewise, the design of your workspace can also impact your productivity and satisfaction. If you have a window near your desk, you might want to think carefully about which way you face when you work. If your office overlooks a peaceful scene, looking up could be inspiring. If your window opens onto a busy street, consider turning your desk around to reduce distractions. Take advantage of the natural light and the natural scenery, but watch out for bustle and activity.
The choices we make in real estate—whether as small as work areas or as large as whole buildings—affect our perspective and our ability to concentrate. Take advantage of amazing new developments, but keep your own objectives in mind. Sometimes, we need specialized, single-purpose areas to get things done. We are most effective and most satisfied in spaces that meet our needs without distracting our focus.
In an issue of Health Minute Magazine, Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discusses different forms of generosity in the workplace that extends past actual presents.
According to Slaughter:
Just as our personal lives can be enriched through generosity, we can make our workplaces more productive and more satisfying through the power of thoughtful giving. But instead of small tokens of appreciation in the form of inexpensive items, giving at the office is best expressed through work itself.For your convenience, a reprint of the article is below.
The Power of Thoughtful GivingSure, it may be nice to get an actual present, but the gifts that go beyond material items are oftentimes the most rewarding, and that's certainly true in the workplace. But that isn't always an easy thing to do. For more information on how to apply these thoughts to your organization, contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today!Experts predict that Americans will spend $447 billion during the holiday season. That’s an increase of 2.3% over last year and a sign that the economy is heading toward recovery. Yet at the same time, many of us may wonder if the stresses of shopping and the financial challenges are worth the cost. What do we really gain from giving?
The answer comes from an unexpected place. Scientists in the emerging field of generosity research—whose backgrounds come from psychology, sociology, neurobiology and economics—have found that giving is both complex and fundamental. For example, you may have noticed a popular technique in charity events where a large sponsor offers a “matching gift.” This approach works because smaller donors feel a sense of collaboration, even though they don’t actually communicate directly.
We all know that giving is central to our well-being. Elizabeth Dunn, a professor at the University of British Columbia, organized a study which showed that making a gift as small as $5 made participants happier. Spending the money on themselves had no impact on their emotional state. In other words, science has proven it is better to give than to receive.
Just as our personal lives can be enriched through generosity, we can make our workplaces more productive and more satisfying through the power of thoughtful giving. But instead of small tokens of appreciation in the form of inexpensive items, giving at the office is best expressed through work itself. Helping a beleaguered co-worker with a difficult project not only relieves their stress and ensures the job is completed quickly; it also gives the person stepping up a sense of purpose.
Likewise, giving works in both directions. We usually assume that others will be disinclined to do favors for us, but studies prove the opposite. Frank Flynn, a researcher at the Stanford Graduate School of business explains that asking for help is surprisingly effective. “[Research shows] people are more willing to help than you think,” he says. “That can be important to know when you’re trying to get the resources you need.”
We get the most done when people are empowered to act, when they feel able to give, and when they have the courage to ask for help. Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted that “the only true gift is a portion of thyself.” Throughout this holiday season and beyond, at home and at work, give freely of yourself and ask openly for support. You’ll improve your own mood and lighten the spirits of everyone. Happy holidays!
Jonathon Reinhart, an electrical and computer engineering major at the University of Dayton, decided to create a holiday light show aimed to entertain his fellow students in 2009. Turned out, his creation captured the attention of tens of thousands on YouTube, creating a sensation that is in high demand on campus. Below is his inaugural light show from that year:
The video below shows that his project had vastly expanded. His design covered two houses, utilized 13,500 lights, and had 96 channels of computer control deming. Watch the video below of his display:
While we don't necessarily expect you to turn your office into a spectacular light show, there are still valuable lessons that can be taken from Reinhart's innovation.
As any year comes to a close, you may have begun to notice some projects in your office that could use some rejuvenation. If so, make the decision now to bring about new innovation. This innovation doesn't have to be new technology. That's a trap that plenty of people fall into. Simply tweaking processes can sometimes be enough to bring about new life on an otherwise dying system.
Business News Daily wrote an article on ways to innovate in the workplace. A few things they note have major value to this topic.
With any long-term business goal, it's easy to get bogged down by day-to-day tasks and lose sight of the bigger picture. In the case of innovation, it's even more important that leaders learn to stay focused on this continuing goal and encourage their team to do the same.What Welch brings up is hugely important. His company has found a way to innovate that doesn't involve bringing new technology into the picture. Rather it's as simple as taking the time to encourage innovation and provide employees with the space to think in that manner. This may seem like an overly simple solution, but it can be an extremely effective one."Leaders need to break the routine," said Jim Welch, chief product officer of workforce management solutions provider Kronos. "At Kronos, we hold quarterly innovation days, where employees get together and think about new ideas and solutions for our customers. These days serve as a reminder that innovation should be happening every day, and it gives employees a refreshed perspective of their work."
Welch reminded leaders that when they achieve a goal, it's not the time to slow down or slack off. Continue to focus on customer-driven needs and solutions to ensure that the innovative process doesn't wane, he said.
"Companies may become complacent once they meet strategic and financial goals," Welch said. "Never underestimate your competitors, big or small, and always be thinking about how to leverage the latest technologies for your solutions."
He also talks about getting complacent. That's easy to do, whether it's in hanging your Christmas lights or meeting sales goals. Thinking that you've done the work you need to do after achieving a certain standard is a common way to settle, but it's the start of a dying workforce. Don't create a culture that promotes settling. Create a culture where employees are always trying to reach another level.
If you don't know where to begin, consider reaching out to our business process improvement consultants. Take the time now to think outside the box and discover ways to spark energy into a lagging process. You may just find that combining bright ideas together can turn the light at the end of the tunnel into a spectacular show.
The original blog post is fairly dense, but here are a few representative sections:
What may seem unambiguous is actually interpreted by different people in different ways. A survey of people in 5 international cities found no agreement on what a 30% chance of rain means. Some thought it means rain on 30% of the the day’s minutes, others thought rain in 30% of the land area, and so on. A further problem with the statement is that it gives no information about what it means to rain. Does one drop of rain count as rain? Does a heavy mist? Does one minute of rain count?There might be a clearer way to state this. Technically, percentage of precipitation refers to the likelihood that there will be some rainfall at any particular spot, throughout the course of time covered by the forecast. But wow, that's a mouthful!
Compare this with another example, cribbed from the Decision Science News site. This is a style of question given in medical schools to help doctors explain tests to their patients:
The probability of esophageal cancer in a certain population is 1%. If a person has esophageal cancer, the probability that the haemoccult test is positive is 7%. If a person does not have esophageal cancer, the probability that he still tests positive is about 86%. What is the probability that a person from the population who tests positive actually has esophageal cancer?If your head is swimming in numbers, you are not alone. Here's a simpler version:
Some more examples from the text show just how confusing it can be to those who aren't experts in the subject area.
In addition, when risks are described as probabilities, people tend to overweight small probabilities and underweight large probabilities. This observation shows up in the “probability weighting function” of Tversky & Kahneman’s Prospect Theory, the dominant behavioral model of gamble evaluations. A representation that leads to misperceptions of underlying probabilities is undesirable.The important thing to take away from this is how much simpler the above diagram makes the data. When you talk in percentages things can get very confusing, especially when the actual content being covered is confusing. A clear, concise diagram can do wonders for clarity....
Out of every 10,000 people, 30 have colorectal cancer. Of these 30, 15 will have a positive haemoccult test. Out of the remaining 9,970 people without colorectal cancer, 300 will still test positive. How many of those who test positive actually have colorectal cancer?
...
In the case studied, among women receiving mammographies 3 in 1000 died of cancer, while among women not receiving mammographies 4 in 1000 died of this cause. The absolute risk reduction pops out of this formulation, and we see it to be 1 in 1000.
When things are difficult to comprehend, it's always worth your time to see if a diagram could clear things up. Even if something is relatively simple, a diagram can ensure that everyone is on the same page about the information being presented. Confusion is one of the biggest inhibitors of success in many organizations. Clear communication isn't always easy, but it is always beneficial and necessary. Any tool you can use to increase understanding is one you should constantly utilize.
We've written about the power of diagrams many times before. Complex ideas can often be explained simply and quickly using pictures. Contact our business process improvement methodology specialists today to learn more!
Robby Slaughter, principal and founder of AccelaWork, was given an opportunity to write a guest post for the Maverick Public Relations' blog. The subject matter? The top five factors in selecting a partnership. To Slaughter, business and partnerships go hand in hand:
No matter the size of your business nor the scope of your industry, you can’t do it all by yourself. We all need help to find success. We all benefit from the advice, support and feedback of others. That’s why partnerships are essential to any business.
When it comes to working in a team environment, there are many things to consider. After all, entering into a partnership is an important commitment. Therefore, Slaughter suggests partaking in five separate actions that will assist in making a conscientious and clear-minded decision. They are below. (For full descriptions, visit the original post).
The answer: Discover a feasible way to actually print the $100 bill designed by the United States.
The federal government shut down production of the enhanced $100 bill due to a printing error. According to one article, the problem has caused some major setbacks:
More than 1 billion unusable bills have been printed. Some of the bills creased during production, creating a blank space on the paper, one official told CNBC. Because correctly printed bills are mixed in with the flawed ones, even the ones printed to the correct design specs can't be used until they 're sorted. It would take an estimated 20 to 30 years to weed out the defective bills by hand . . .
Turned out, the unique additions added to the money—created specifically to prevent counterfeiting—inevitably made printing a disaster. More than ten percent of our nation's currency had been quarantined indefinitely. Not to mention that the $120 million it cost to print the enormous batch will now be lost since the flawed bills must be burned.
As if this all wasn't disturbing enough, what was most surprising to AccelaWork was the lack of attention that wasn't given to the largest flaw in this entire scenario. From what could be gathered, though this project was ten years in the making, not once was the new design contemplated nor tested in regards to the printing stage. In other words, for an entire decade, experts, designers, government officials and surely dozens of additional professionals worked diligently on a product that would never properly coordinate with the most necessary stage in its creation. Sadly, despite the hard work, new and innovative techniques, and countless discussions and meetings involved in this process, it did not change the fact that efforts to anticipate failure went neglected.
Now you may be thinking, why focus on anticipating failure when preventing it seems to be the better option? After all, it sounds more logical to NOT want to make mistakes. But, there's no denying that failure can be tricky. The moment you stop predicting error is the moment when a detail is overlooked. In the end, it's easier and more productive to prepare for problems in a project rather than prevent all of them from occurring. So when it comes to contemplating failure, take time to ask the imperative questions:
In one issue of "Health Minute Magazine", Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, wrote an article about how diabetics deal with their affliction as well as the lessons that others can learn about managing time and energy.
Slaughter's article resides on page 20 of the magazine, but for your convenience it is below in its entirety:
Managing Your EnergyFor more information on how to apply these principles to your organization, contact AccelaWork today!Approximately three percent of the world’s population has diabetes. That means that you probably know dozens of people afflicted by this disease, although it might be difficult to name these individuals. That’s because diabetics have developed tremendously effective patterns for staying on top of their condition. Most of us simply don’t notice what countless others consciously manage every day.
Ask any diabetic how they deal with the complexities of this incurable disease, and you’re likely to get minor variations on the same answer. Living with diabetes happens one day at a time. Individuals consciously establish routines under the guidance of medical professionals. They use technology but also their own judgment. They pay attention to their bodies and try to make smart choices. Managing diabetes doesn’t require genius-level intellect, but instead a steadfast commitment. You just have to make yourself do it, without fail.
All of us can learn something from this level of commitment. Diabetics are successful because they have rigorous procedures. They check their glucose levels, administer insulin and watch their food intake using well-defined protocols. Each action may only take a few seconds, but patients manage their own care with precision and nonchalance. Most diabetics are so skilled they make the process look easy.
Of course, this condition is anything but simple. Yet just as those afflicted by this disease have a daily workflow, all of us can learn to become more productive, more efficient and less stressed by creating patterns in our own life. Managing our workload may not be nearly as critical as managing a chronic disease, but there are strong parallels. In both cases the best approach is to try and remain calm and tackle each task in small, repeatable steps. We can’t stop the challenges that invade our lives, but if we deal with them in a consistent fashion they cease to define us.
Rebuild your own workflow to address the never-ending issues at work or at home. Shift tasks to specific dates or times, so that you always do laundry on Tuesdays or always check email on the hour. Make a habit of measuring your own stress level before picking up the phone to talk to a client or colleague. Give yourself a shot of energy by taking a brisk walk or by listening to your favorite song. Listen to your own body so you know when you are headed for a crash and can choose to steer clear.
There is no cure for diabetes. Millions of people battle this disease every day. Most of them, however, refuse to submit. They are determined to lead healthy, normal, exciting lives—not by ignoring the problem, but through establishing productive routines. Get inspired by their choices. Make your own procedures for the mundane to give you room to dream and discover the unknown.
Featured in an issue of Hamilton County Business Magazine, "Accounting for Time" is an article written by AccelaWork founder Robby Slaughter.
The piece is reprinted below:
Accounting for TimeBusinesses of every size and shape devote an incredible amount of their energy to managing financial resources. We work with accountants and controllers, tax experts and budget committees, loan officers and bookkeepers. We continuously monitor cash flow, stock prices and interest rates. Money is the lifeblood of business.
This obsession is not unreasonable. Businesses need capital. The exchange of money for goods and services, and the distribution of funds to owners, employees and vendors is the rhythm of corporate success. It makes sense to save, borrow and spend appropriately.
However, hard cash is not the most precious commodity of any organization. As management guru Peter Drucker once quipped, “Time is the scarcest resource—if it is not managed, nothing else can be managed.” We should watch our ledgers and receipts, but pay even more attention to calendars and clocks. Nothing can more profoundly accelerate or stall progress than the way we choose to use each moment.
Although financial management is an entire field teeming with professionals, certifications and academic programs, time management is barely more than a cottage industry. We all know that we should avoid wasting time. We all attempt to save time. Yet beyond these simple admonitions, the resemblance crumbles. We lack a complex infrastructure of experts and strategies for managing hours and minutes like we do dollars and cents. Shouldn’t we be attacking this problem with equal precision?
Part of the reason that we struggle to manage time is because time is an esoteric resource. Unlike money, time cannot be stored up for later use. There are no banks that can loan time, regardless of the interest rate we are willing to pay. Although time may be wasted, no one can offer a refund. Worst of all, we don’t get to decide when we are going to spend our time. Each second is automatically dispensed whether we are ready or not.
Nevertheless, there are lessons from the world of financial management that we should apply to the study of time. For example, accountants organize funds into a chart of accounts, which allow transactions to be grouped together. A record of cash in a “revenue” account indicates income; a note in an “expense” account specifies some cost. We can achieve the same effect with our calendars by cordoning off parts of our day for particular tasks, such as scheduling an hour each day to process email or blocking out production time for client work.
Likewise, fiscal experts are always seeking ways to cut costs without impacting quality. When we become more efficient—through better systems, faster computers, or increased concentration—we get more done in less time. The savings translate immediately into more growth and opportunity.
Finally, accountants leverage the natural ebb and flow of cash in an organization to make smart choices. They may hold off on purchases until more checks have arrived, or arrange to make installment payments on major expenses. The analogous concept in time management involves taking breaks, setting boundaries and taking time off work. Just as a CFO can maximize financial efficiency by paying attention to the business organism, you can maximize personal time efficiency by staying conscious of your own health and need for a balanced life.
Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister note that “There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back.” Every instant at work is invaluable, yet passes immediately. Account for your own time by planning ahead. Choose diligence and discipline. Consciously manage your time.
That was the premise of an opinion piece on CNN.com, Why the office is the worst place to work. The full article, by entrepreneur and speaker Jason Fried, includes gems such as the following:
When you're in the office you're lucky to have 30 minutes to yourself. Usually you get in, there's a meeting, then there's a call, then someone calls you over to their desk, or your manager comes over to see what you're doing. These interruptions chunk your day into smaller and smaller bits. Fifteen minutes here, 30 minutes there, another 15 minutes before lunch, then an afternoon meeting, etc. When are you supposed to get work done if you don't have any time to work?In fact, Fried had summarized his entire thesis in two simple, profound sentences:...
When's the last time you had three or four hours to yourself to get work done? It probably wasn't at the office. A phone call, a co-worker tapping on your shoulder or knocking on your door, a required meeting -- all the things prevent you from having long uninterrupted stretches of time to get things done. Good work requires thinking, and thinking requires time.
The modern office has become an interruption factory. You can't get work done at work anymore.
There are all kinds of suggestions in the article for making the workplace somewhere you can actually be productive. Fried promotes everything from skipping meetings to having days where no one is allowed to talk to each other. These might sound like radical ideas, but the problem is so profound that crazy might just be needed. Work is, in fact, a place where you can't get much work accomplished!
The idea about skipping meetings is an especially interesting one. There's a certain power to having something canceled and suddenly having time you hadn't planned on. We've talked before about decreasing the amount of scheduled meetings in your organization, but try removing one last minute. It's never too late to decide that a meeting is redundant or could just be handled through email. Obviously you don't want anyone to prepare a presentation for the meeting and then pull the rug out, but if a meeting is canceled the day before, the feeling of having an hour you weren't expecting can be awesome, for both you and the others who were supposed to attend.
The author also talks about using passive communication tools like email or texts. Yes, it's true that using those instead of a phone call is almost always a better option when the issue isn't an urgent one. Just be careful that no important meaning is lost due to communicating in a less direct manner. But when it's something that doesn't need instant attention, deliver the message in a way that doesn't demand instant attention, from the person you're communicating with and yourself.
We have covered the irony of workspaces, their effects on the business improvement process, overall corporate productivity, and even workplace productivity. If you want more productivity, give employees more freedom over the manner, place and time they conduct their work. Some will abuse the privilege, but most will take to the skies.
Learn more about how workspaces impact efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Don't hesitate to contact our business process transformation consultants today! We can help you find a productive workspace.
Thanks to reader Eric Marasco of Proforma Distinctive Marketing for the idea for this post.
In a two-part series on partnerships, Robby Slaughter contributed a second post to Maverick Public Relations' blog. This time, he discussed why partnerships fail and how they can be redeemed. Though joining forces often times make sense, it does not guarantee a well-working relationship.
According to Slaughter, there are several reasons why these arrangements fail:
Shifting, Not Sharing—We sometimes think of a partnership as “divvying up” the duties . . . but a partnership isn’t about shifting responsibility, it’s about sharing responsibility. Accept that there will be challenges and that agreeing to work together means acknowledging that you will tackle problems as a team.There are plenty of other reasons a partnership can fail as well. Think about it as a standard relationship. Although things may seem great at the start, as more information is brought to light, things may not seem so ideal. You may find out the guy you're dating likes the Mets when you're a Yankees fan. Or worse, you may find out that the business you partnered with has different goals for the future route that should be taken. That's why it's so important to do all your research ahead of time.. . .
Communicate and collaborate – Just because the partnership documents make it possible for you to work together doesn’t mean you are actually speaking openly about your business plans. Talk through all possible scenarios. Identify what could go wrong. Show trust by volunteering ideas that benefit you and offering to close loopholes. Work together by talking things through.
Another major reason that partnerships struggle and collapse is because values change. For decades, school systems and soda bottlers had a profitable symbiotic relationship. Vendors would be able to sell their products to students unobtrusively while the public institution could raise funds for important projects. Yet in recent years, these contracts have come under fire and manufacturers have had to pledge to remove sugary drinks from schools. Therefore, a major source of discretionary funds is starting to disappear.
Strategy and Stakeholders– Just because a partnership makes sense today doesn’t mean it’s going to be perfect forever. Not only do the organizations need to plan for the future, but they must involve those people in their community affected by the partnership. That might include customers, suppliers or other officials. Get connected with the stakeholders that power your partnership, and make sure you have a road map to ensure their future in your agreement.
Entering into a partnership without all the information needed nearly guarantees that things will eventually go wrong. As Slaughter noted in his article, there are plenty of other ways for things to fail, but you're only hurting the odds of a successful working relationship if you don't do your due diligence. That's where properly communicating is key. All teams need to be on the same page. Express the goals you have in order to ensure that your potential partner has the same ones. Then discuss a potential route to get there. If your plans are drastically different, then that may be an initial sign to look somewhere else for collaboration. But if you're on the same page, or can explain why you should be, then a fruitful partnership could be well on its way. As with any aspect of business, communication is always key.
Don't allow a partnership to turn sour. Reach out to our our organizational productivity experts today to learn more about ways you can improve workflow, increase productivity, and foster proper communication.
They share tips on how to make more time on their site, providing four simple recommendations:
The best way to get your day off started on the right foot is to get your team together for 15 minutes at the beginning of each day, making sure everyone knows and understands their priorities for the day, and has no obstacles in getting them done.
Not only is it important to start the day right, but it's also critical to structure the day conscientiously. Again from the article:
The most unproductive time is spent doing bits and pieces of projects throughout the day. This is most obvious with email and phone calls. Pick 2-3 times per day where you check and respond to your emails. Do the same with phone calls. You will find that batching these tasks will give you enormous amounts of time back into your day.The thought of setting aside time to check emails is one that we've talked about multiple times on this blog. After all, how often do you find yourself taking "just a minute" to glance at your inbox only to have a new slew of distracting messages and tasks that capture your attention. And we're not the only ones who believe in limiting the number of times you check out your messages. It's been written about many places, and the following paragraphs illustrate the ideas well:
Eliminating all distractions for a set time while you work is one of the most effective ways to get things done. So, lock your door, put a sign up, turn off your phone, close your email application, disconnect your internet connection, etc. You can’t remain in hiding forever, but you can be twice as productive while you are. Do whatever it takes to create a quiet, distraction free environment where you can focus on your work.The key sentence there is the final one: Be militant about sticking to this practice. It's all fine and dandy to say you want to limit time on your email, but it's much harder to stick to. That article says to stick to your policy unless an emergency arises, but really, if something is an emergency, you're likely getting a phone call or at least a text. Email is meant to be a form of communication where instant responses aren't required. There shouldn't ever be real emergencies sitting in your inbox, so there's no reason to worry that anything terrible urgent is going stale as you find time to actually get productive work done between sessions of checking your messages.Reply to emails, voicemails, and texts at a set times. – This directly ties into the ideas of single-tasking and distraction-avoidance. Set specific time slots 2-3 times a day to deal with incoming communication (e.g. once at 8AM, once at 11AM, once at 3PM), and set a reasonable max duration for each time slot. Unless an emergency arises, be militant about sticking to this practice.
Although these changes can have a tremendous impact on your productivity, there's more to making improvements than just following a few quick pieces of advice. Consider reaching out to a productivity consulting firm like AccelaWork to learn more. We'd love to help, so don't hesitate to contact our business process consulting firm today.
Prior to the this, Andre Hall was optimistic about refurbishing a foreclosed property in the East Liberty suburb of Pittsburgh. After purchasing the estate, he had a total of six months to repair the house and bring it back up to code. And though renovations were moving along smoothly, they were brought to a sudden and massive halt.
Despite the ongoing contract, newly replaced windows, and stacks of drywall visible inside the home, Hall returned from the holidays to discover his house was bulldozed to the ground. Sadly, the demolition was a terrible mistake.
The error, according to the story, was due to a break in communication:
John Jennings, who heads up Pittsburgh's Bureau of Building Inspection, claims that his department called off the demolition of the house on November 3 pending its sale . . . Nevertheless "a couple of things went awry," Jennings explained, with the contractor the city hired to do the job. The workers on the crew tore down Hall's house "in error" when they were only supposed to demolish the house next door to his -- a structure that the city had also condemned last year.The Bureau's explanation is certainly obscure. We can only speculate as to how such a mistake could have occurred. At the very least, one would hope that their demolition records include more than just an address to avoid this very problem! Yet, no matter how simple or complicated it may be, it's reasonable to see that one hiccup in a system can lead to larger issues that not only affect business, but—as our business improvement consultants have previously discussed—damage credibility, financial status and leave lasting effects on stakeholders....
Hall, for his part, reports that after he'd tirelessly worked to fix the house up, he was preparing to move into the 1631-square-foot house within three weeks -- together with his girlfriend and her five children. For now, they will continue to live in Hall's one-bedroom apartment in the Pittsburgh suburb of East Liberty. The city solicitor's office is reportedly investigating what happened.
The sad thing is, this isn't a totally isolated incident. From the article:
Experiences like Hall's are distressingly common. There's the homeowner in Carrollton, Georgia, who saw the house built by his father flattened by careless city contractors who'd been following a faulty GPS locator. There was the woman in Denton, Texas, who was working in her garden as a demolition crew, mistaking her lot for a condemned property across the street, gouged an enormous hole into her front yard, which promptly claimed her porch, and rendered the remainder of the house structurally unstable. And there's the Jackson, Miss., woman whose home was flattened after pranksters took a sign erected to condemn an adjacent vacant lot and placed it in front of her home.
The fact this is a common occurrence shows that far too many organizations have broken workflow and process problems. A mistake of this magnitude should never happen, and it wouldn't if there was a better system in place for deciding which houses can be left standing and which are going to actually be bulldozed. There are an array of ways to fix these specific problems, not the least of which would be adding an extra lock on the bulldozer doors!
If there are systems in your office that could use improvement consider reaching out to AccelaWork. Take the opportunity now to improve workflow and increase productivity. Reach out to our business process improvement consultants today.Underearners Anonymous is a 12-step recovery program established to help people who undervalue their own worth, particularly when it comes to career choice and salary. According to one article, people suffering from the problem begin "frittering away time, undercharging for services and neglecting to follow through on new opportunities." To combat these tendencies, the program tackles even the simplest of challenges that underearners face. Below is an excerpt that details some of their rehabilitation activities:
Beginners are encouraged to keep time sheets and record how they use, or misuse, their hours. Members also schedule "action meetings" where they get together with peer volunteers to set realistic goals and plan concrete steps such as rewriting a resume or calling a potential client. Many engage in a formal soul-searching process that, they believe, helps them formulate a divinely inspired vision: a career that provides fulfillment, service to others and, yes, plenty of money.Does UA work? That's hard to say. For one thing, many UA members are reluctant to discuss their earnings. Adam declined to reveal how much he made until I told him I'd die if he didn't tell me (it's in the very low six figures, he says, roughly double what he earned at the start). The answer also depends on how you define success. The minimum goal in UA, for many, is to command a wage that covers their expenses: "If I take a job for less than $44 an hour, I'm underearning," is the way one member defines it.
AccelaWork commends those who are actively participating in their own self-empowerment and improvement. After all, embarking on such a path is not necessarily easy. Not only does it require time, it needs constant diligence and unbiased judgment. And while we agree that the rehabilitation activities highlighted above are proactive steps leading in the right direction, they could lead to counterproductive behavior if not cautiously utilized.
Recording hours on a grid is a fine way to initially discover how time is being spent. Undeniably, compiling a spreadsheet from a day or a week's worth of activity can certainly help any person figure out how best to manage their time. But our consultants have discussed how work isn't always easy to measure. Spending an exuberant amount of time attempting to document activity that is hard to define by minutes or hours does more than diminish productivity. It squanders creative energy. Therefore, be cognizant of the fact that, while documenting hours can be beneficial, it's usefulness isn't guaranteed. Likewise, it's also important to determine the value of meetings and how they affect employee productivity. For underearners, "action meetings" may follow exact guidelines that have little room for wasteful distractions. But as many of us know, meetings have a tendency to lose purpose; creating a misguided environment that can diminish motivation and inhibit innovation. To reap maximum results, maintain a strict focus and avoid straying from the agenda. Each situation is an individual one, just as each worker has individual processes that will work best. It's important to keep that in mind when finding the best ways to stay engaged.
Strategic empowerment is invaluable. Shedding the weight of mediocrity and relinquishing the fear of failure through productive means will create an exhilarating sense of success and satisfaction. To learn more about how AccelaWork can help, contact corporate productivity experts experts today.
Some of the tips featured in the article may seem like common sense, but some are definitely worth expanding on.
- DON'T send mixed messages to your employees so that they never know where you stand.
- DON'T act more concerned about your own welfare than anything else.
- DON'T avoid taking responsibility for your actions.
- DO what you say you are going to do when you are going to do it.
- DO be responsive (return phone calls, emails).
- DO admit your mistakes.
- DO smile and laugh.
When it comes to not being concerned about your own welfare more than anything else, there's nothing that can turn off a worker quicker than a boss who simply views them as a cog in a machine. Think about the best bosses you've ever had. A safe assumption would be that they cared not only about your professional success, but your personal success as well. Perhaps when you left the company, they wished you well in your endeavors and were able to write genuine reference letters. That's the kind of manager you should seek to be. And, if your workers feel empowered and trusted, they're going to perform better. That means you get much more benefit than a boss who makes it clear that he or she cares about their own welfare.
You've had the frustration of sending someone an email and never hearing a response. That often leads to a trip to their office or an additional phone call until your answer is secured. As infuriating as that experience can be, you should strive to avoid causing others the same strife. Especially as a manager, it's important to set the example that things can be replied to in a timely manner. If you do that for your employees, they're way more likely to do the same for you.
Admitting your mistakes is one of the quickest ways to earn trust, regardless of whether you're a manger or someone being managed. The default response to mistakes seems to be denial. Very few people want to take full responsibility for something they've done wrong. That's why it's so refreshing when someone owns up to a mistake and seeks to find a way to remedy the problem. As we've covered on this blog many times before, failure is usually just a step on the way to success. Don't deny your mistakes, but embrace them and show those who you manage that you're willing to admit when you've been wrong.
We're used to seeing tremendously bad advice from many sources about workplace productivity and motivation. In fact, we hear stories about people trying to force employee productivity more often than doing so through direct empowerment!
This article from Entrepreneur, however, demonstrates real understanding of what actually increases employee satisfaction. Ultimately, the worst kind of incentive is something external (like removing bonuses as a form of business improvement solutions) and the best is something internal (like increased incentives to improve improve employee retention).
Take the advice of this great article. But watch out for shortcuts to motivation in the form of bribes or threats. Rather, engage your colleagues as human beings and demonstrate your confidence in their ability to explore, discover, and succeed. And if you need more information or tips on this subject, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
Want an example? On Friday, January 7, I did the following:
This might seem like quite a bit of work. For example, the three blog posts I wrote totaled over 1,500 words of text and my client projects always require very detail-oriented attention. Not to mention that most of this work occurred outside of the two and a half hours I spent doing various outside activities such as my lunch meeting, my shopping, and my telephone meeting. So, how did I get all of this done in the course of a single day?
The most essential component of a productive day is a realistic, well-defined plan. I started the morning by checking my to-do list. I compared this against my scheduled appointments and immediately decided what I would not try to accomplish before heading home. By moving tasks off of my agenda, I made sure it was possible to actually get everything done. Most of this work occurred outside of the hour I spent at lunch, the hour I spent shopping, and the half-hour telephone meeting.
Second, much of the work I completed during they day falls into specific categories. For example; I edited a blog post that Ashley had completed a few days earlier. With my sole responsibility as editor, I didn't need to worry about assembling words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. Instead, I simply read her post aloud, looked for any grammatical issues, and made a few small suggestions.
Likewise, when I wrote four different blog posts, I didn't have to worry about editing or polishing them to perfection. Nor did I have to select the topic for each post; this work had been completed earlier. It's a ton of work to generate an idea for an article, draft some text, edit that text, and finally prepare it for publication. Instead, I just completed one of these tasks so that I did not have to mentally switch gears between various categories of effort.
Third, I journaled about my day. I keep a running document which lists all of my accomplishments and reflections. I simply add an item when I complete a task, and summarize my thoughts about various meetings, projects or interactions. It might not seem like keeping a diary would increase productivity, but it actually motivates me to accomplish more. I want to make sure that I have something substantial to put in each entry. Plus, since I know everyone else in my company will read these notes, I want them to see what I am doing so that they can stay up to speed on my progress.
Radical productivity has an incredible impact on your output. Getting more done also improves morale. At the end of a day I typically feel good about my accomplishments. To accomplish this as I have, consider these three tips: (1) establish a realistic, well-defined plan, (2) create specific task categories and (3) keep a daily journal of accomplishments. You'll soon find yourself working more efficiently, more effectively and with greater satisfaction than ever.
In the an issue of The Indianapolis Business Journal, Slaughter's article, "Give Employees Chance To Break Your Trust," discussed how trusting employees—rather than monitoring their every move—can create a more innovative and empowering workplace. Below is an excerpt from the article: (direct link here)
If you want the best team with the strongest commitment to ethical behavior, you must ensure they have every opportunity to lie, steal, and cheat.This strategy sounds radical and counterintuitive. Shouldn’t we closely monitor employee activity? Shouldn’t we keep interior doors locked, ration valuable resources, bolt down furniture and equipment, and install security cameras? These are certainly prudent actions to reduce the threat of abuse and criminal activity. However, most people—and furthermore, most employees—are honest, law-abiding citizens. Why do we build work environments that practically boast about how little we trust our workers?
. . .
Due to practical and legal restrictions, workplaces must have some policies and some monitoring. Yet at the same time, we can all acknowledge that responsible people thrive in an environment of freedom. Fewer restrictions and less bureaucracy create greater potential for innovation. Brilliance often requires knowing the rules and knowingly setting them aside. Most important, responsible people will work because they are driven by the satisfaction of progress and discovery.
Likewise, irresponsible people quickly stand out in a culture that emphasizes freedom. They will exploit any cookie jar left unguarded. They will be lazy and complacent. If they are rarely monitored, their work will barely advance. Autonomy is a kind of disinfectant that almost instantly highlights those who would violate your trust.
Slaughter talks about how clockwatching can be counterproductive. How blocking online banking or private email can only go to show employees that they aren't valued and can't be trusted. After all, does it really matter if someone spends three minutes reading an email from their grandma? As long as work is getting done at a high level, who cares what's done on a minute to minute basis? No one has ever talked positively about a workplace because of all the micromanagement that was going on.
The best policy is to trust employees until they give you a reason not to. Unfortunately, too many workplaces operate in a way that means employees have to earn trust. If you don't feel you can trust someone from the start, then maybe there was someone better you could've hired. Give people a long leash and odds are they're going to surprise you in a positive way. Keep people tied short and all they're going to do is strain to get away from those restrictions.
Establishing trust in the workplace not only boosts employee morale, it creates confidence and mutual respect among stakeholders. As Slaughter concluded in his article, "The best teams succeed despite all the restrictions and paranoia that limit their activities . . . those worth keeping will take root and flourish in the open sun." Mutual respect is what all successful teams are built on. Show your employees that you trust them to manage their time and to complete tasks when they're supposed to, and they'll likely reward you with the respect of trusting your judgement and leadership. It's the sort of situation where everyone benefits from just a little bit of trust.
To learn more about AccelaWork's philosophies on workplace success and productivity, reach out to our business process improvement consultants today! We can help you find the best way to tone back micromanagement in your organization.
In fact, it may be instructive to talk about all of the ways you cannot learn to ride a bike. For example:
You can't learn to ride a bike in 10 minutes. You probably spent weeks as a child before you were able to pedal down the street, and months before you felt confident on any kind of terrain. Real learning of difficult skills takes time and devotion!
You can’t do it using a written instruction manual. All of us learned to ride a bike under the tutelage of other expert riders. Learning requires adapting to different learning styles and the freedom to make mistakes. It's nearly impossible to grasp what it's like to keep your balance on two wheels by reading about it in a book.
You can’t do it if someone is yelling at you! Real learning requires concentration or empowerment, not intimidation or bribery. A good teacher encourages their students, but does not offer undue pressure or special dispensation.
You probably can’t do it without training wheels. The best learning involves approximations, models, and safe environments. We learn about almost everything by starting out with situations that would never come up in real life. Math textbooks always begin with problems that come out to nice round numbers. Children's books always use simple words with straightforward spelling. We practice using practice tools so that one day we can be ready for the actual system.
You shouldn't do it without a helmet. Just as training wheels help you simulate the real thing, a helmet protects you when unexpected things come your way. Throw someone to the wolves and they won't know how to adapt when something doesn't go according to plan. It's always best to protect people when they're new to a complex process.
You can’t do it on an adult bike - You didn't start on a 10-speed or a mountain bike. The first machines you use have been especially built for the learner, not the master.
You won't begin by competing. We never learn how to ride a bike while starting a race! In fact, we rarely learn in groups, but instead as individuals at our own pace. At the start it isn't about results, but rather about mastering the process.
With all of these lessons in mind, it should be no surprise that it takes time to become productive with complex systems at work. We should expect mastery to come only through practice and support. You're not going to suddenly become an expert in some new workplace task. You have to strap on your training wheels, make a few mistakes, and slowly find your way into expertise. And unfortunately complex systems are often unlike bikes in that you do forget how to master them. Just because someone once was very good at one aspect of business, without practice, they're going to become rusty. That could mean starting the process all over again. But with a little patience, that's no big deal at all.
Help your employees become more effective at work by giving them the chance to learn rather than the expectation that they will instantly succeed. Contact our corporate productivity experts at AccelaWork today. We can help you find the proper way to master complex business processes and lead others in your organization to do the same.
Here's the question in its simplest form: Should you give a prize away when you're running a survey? The answer is a firm "maybe."
To understand the relationship between surveys and incentives, we have to once again delve in to the science of motivation. This topic comes up all the time in business productivity and process design, because the reason why people conduct work impacts how they do the work.
In this case, the incentive for completing the evaluation is at least, in part, the value provided through the prizes. Consider a contest in which people receive free event tickets or a gift card. These are called extrinsic motivators, because they come from the outside world.
There's also the sense of intrinsic motivation of helping to improve a program by giving feedback. Hopefully some people are inspired to help others, or at least to help themselves by getting concerns off their chest! But as many have noted, the people that are most likely to offer you their thoughts are the ones that typically have a bad experience.
In an ideal world, you want everyone to be intrinsically motivated. We know that extrinsic rewards are the worst way to improve employee satisfaction. And indeed, if you look at the data from most surveys, almost no one leaves any comments. Most people check a few boxes, perhaps hoping to score a prize. In fact, there's every incentive to race through the survey, since the quality of your responses don't impact your chances of winning.
While it's true that adding a prize does impact the quality of the result. However, doing so is also likely to increase the number of participants. The size of the incentive is the major factor at work here. So what if you get a high response rate? Is that always good?
When it comes to business surveys: Is more, in fact, better? And are these kinds of surveys really advertising in disguise?
Ultimately, the fundamental issue here is the degree to which this effort constitutes marketing. Like all small businesses, we want potential customers to know who we are and have a chance to find out more about our services. At the same time, we want to be careful about how we motivate those individuals. Clients should be people who believe in our value and want to pay for our expertise, not people who have been motivated mostly through gifts, prizes and discounts. The best customers, like the best employees, are those that are driven by a sense of purpose. Prizes should be used sparingly. Motivation is what gives work meaning.
In a story printed in the Indianapolis Star (the story has since been removed from the site), a Web-based process known as the Indiana Death Registration System had taken electronic certificates to a whole new level. In effect as of Jan. 1, 2011, death certificates were electronic—signatures and all. Whereas funeral directors were once required to track down doctors for signatures, now all they need to do is login to the system with their four-digit PIN number and retrieve the signature electronically. Simple.
Yet, the system had one major, non-negotiable requirement: participation. When doctors failed to register in the system their signature is not available. Without the proper signature, death certificates could not be issued. And seeing as though only 5,000 out of the 25,000 physicians in the state are registered, one question comes to mind: What happens if a signature is not available?
Faith Martinez discovered the ill-effects of this exact scenario. Her husband, Robert Martinez, passed away on December 30, 2011. And though he died two days shy of the official implementation date, the Indiana Death Registration System was already in full swing. When it came time to retrieve his death certificate however, his family was turned down. They soon discovered his doctor had not registered in the system and was being tracked down to have him register. Sadly, eight days after Robert's death the Martinez family was still waiting for the certificate. They had not yet been able to bury him and bid their farewell. Ultimately, the process took a full two weeks before Robert was able to be cremated. As anyone who has lost a loved one knows, that's the last thing you want to be waiting on when it comes to such an already rough time in your life.
AccelaWork agrees that this system, which was integrated to speed up issuing of death certificates, will save on paper and improve the overall efficiency of the burial process, is certainly a worthwhile project. But, with only twenty percent of the required information gathered, we have to wonder why steps were not put into place to prevent issues such as the one above. Not only was the delay traumatic for the family, but it actually slowed the productivity of the funeral home and the issuing office. If nothing else, a grace period could have been established during the transition so as to accept both hard copy as well as electronic certificates.
When it comes to big ideas and implementing change, we must recognize that innovation and success take time. So until a new process works as it should, take the measures needed to ensure that quality and satisfaction remains. Clearly someone involved with this process didn't foresee the problems that arose from the transition. If they had, then they certainly would've come up with something to make sure that such problems wouldn't occur. By not stepping back and looking at the whole picture, at least one family had a problem that they shouldn't have had to deal with. This one made the news, but who knows how many other similar situations inconvenienced families who had nothing to do with either the government process or the medical offices involved?
If you or your team are fast-forwarding through a process that perhaps needs more time to flourish, reach out to our consultants today. We can help integrate procedures that will properly assist and support an even larger initiative.
EXPERTS ARE WORTH THE PRICEIf you're a frequent reader of our blog, you know the value we put into hiring experts. The saying "time is money" may be cliche, but it there's a reason it's been repeated so many times. If you're hired to focus on a specific task, you most likely have a level of expertise when it comes to that field. You can work better and more efficiently than someone who has no experience would. The same is true for when you're working outside your realm. Sure, you could spend the entire morning preparing a big lunch for an event, or you could focus on getting your own work done and hire a caterer to do what they do best.Being a new business owner definitely has some challenges and one of the first ones you encounter will be a “logo” for your business. While I had an idea of what I wanted to convey, it wasn’t until I spoke with a Graphic Designer that I understood all of the different elements to consider.
I had spent numerous hours trying to draft a logo which contained my three “c” words (Connect, Communicate, Collaborate) which drove the naming of my business to c3-Indy. All together, I estimate that I utilized at least 8 full hours playing around with the words, design, colors, etc. When I finally achieved a couple of samples, I promptly asked several of my entrepreneurial peers to review them and provide feedback. One of those providing feedback was Robby Slaughter from AccelaWork. While Robby was considerate to my novice graphic samples, he advised me to speak with a Graphic Designer regarding the logo. Having already invested several hours into these drafts, I was torn between investing even more time or taking his advice. I quickly decided I didn't want to spend another minute on the work, which was outside of my realm of expertise by a long-shot!
I promptly called Sam Bean from Bean Graphics and forwarded my thoughts and color dislikes to him. Within a few hours, Sam provided me with several logo options that were eons ahead of where I had taken them or could have ever hoped to have taken them. We tweaked one of them to perfection and I gladly paid for the expertise. Robby’s advice saved me much more production time and, thus, money; however, the best thing it resolved was the fact that I now had a professional logo that aided my company’s branding. I never would have achieved that milestone without the help of an expert in his field and I thank Robby for steering me in that direction.
So, if you are struggling with doing parts of your business yourself, please consider your per-hour rate should you have focused that time on client work instead. Your value will more than pay for the expertise needed for your project. I guarantee you’ll be glad that you let them handle it!
Denise Speer is owner of c3-Indy a company specializing in innovative marketing techniques for consumer-based businesses. She is a 1995 graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington.
Still not so sure on when to hand over the reigns and when it's best to focus on doing the work yourself? The business improvement consultants at AccelaWork are here to help! Feel free to contact us today!
An issue of BizVoice Magazine featured Robby Slaughter's article, "Business Artifacts: How to Use Them in the Workplace". For your convenience, the full article reprint is below:
A visit to an office, grocery store or other establishment might seem routine. When we step inside a place of business, however, we are in a sense venturing into an active archaeological site. Our workspaces are filled with artifacts of every imaginable shape and variety. Papers covering our desks, posters hanging from walls, filing cabinets, computers, office supplies and other equipment play a major role in our business activities every day.Interested in learning how to apply this to your own organization? Contact the experts at AccelaWork today!It’s obvious that we need physical tools to do our work, but we don’t usually spend much time thinking about the design and placement of these items. Resources we have at work impact our ability to complete projects. It really is true, for instance, that a salesman who places a telephone in the center of his desk will call more prospects. Similarly, if you ask clients to complete a lengthy, complicated order form, they are more likely to return it with illegible scrawls and incomplete responses.
Put on your archaeologist hat for a moment and think about the items in your workspace. Just as a pottery shard or a Renaissance painting tells you something about the culture and lifestyle of generations past, a change request form provides insight into the society of the organization that produced it. The questions indicate what data was deemed necessary when the form was created. The carbon copies reveal that different stakeholders might not entirely trust one another. Every aspect of this artifact has some meaning, and a few moments of examination prompt countless questions about its design.
Practical usage Perhaps the most significant realization is that every workplace artifact has a creator and a consumer. If you’ve ever had to squeeze your e-mail address onto a line that was less than one-inch wide, you know that the person who created the form probably never tried to use it. Likewise, the individual who wrote an operations manual may have produced a masterpiece, but what are the chances that the document has done more than collect dust? This is the first and most essential aspect of making better workplace artifacts: bring consumers and creators together and have them actually attempt the task. There is no better path for finding and fixing errors than experiencing them firsthand.
Furthermore, artifacts tell us something about our values. Ancient sculptures reveal perspectives on beauty and fashion. Modern informational signs explain workplace policy and procedure. Consider a phrase you’ve likely seen posted many times: “Employees must wash hands before returning to work.” Certainly, the text explains the cultural value of sanitation. Clean hands improve safety and increase customer satisfaction, so the message aligns with management needs.
Yet, there is incredible weight in the subtext of this message. If you’re a customer reading these words, you might wonder if this is merely a policy or in fact a reminder. Are staff members at this location known to commonly forget to wash their hands? Is the management secretly aware of toxins in the establishment that would affect everyone and trying to quietly protect its own employees? Shouldn’t everyone be washing their hands?
Hidden meanings Finally, the message, “Employees must wash hands before returning to work” creates a clear separation in time. It offers a subtle reminder to staff that visiting the washroom is classified as not working. In a sense, the statement is actually derogatory and self contradictory. One could argue that the underlying message is, “We’re not paying you to wash up, but you better clean your hands thoroughly while being quick about it.” The instruction actually requires behavior (using the word “must”) at a time when employees are not technically on the clock!
To understand how to improve the artifact, we need to return to the roles of creator and consumer. The person who posted the sign is almost certainly concerned about legal protection. By stating that employees are required to wash their hands, the company is insulated from potential liability. Yet the two groups of consumers – employees and patrons – read the message with suspicion. Everyone knows that people should be washing their hands. What’s the advantage of telling only some individuals that they have to do so, and that they must do it on their own time?
Instead, consider verbiage that satisfies the needs of the creator and the consumer such as, “Thank you for washing your hands!” This serves as a gentle reminder without patronizing, dividing or judging. If archaeologists found this sign among ruins, they might surmise that it came from a culture rooted in mutual respect and focused on productivity. These are words designed to support organizational values while advancing individual responsibility. Consider the design of artifacts in your workplace. Collaborate with creators and consumers to help make work more effective, efficient and satisfying.
This post came from a user who keeps their identity private:
Today's discovery: "other duties as assigned" translates to "take your crappy compact car out in the terrible weather to pick up pizza for a meeting"It seems like just about every job description includes the phrase "other duties as assigned." This is a catch-all used to ensure that employees can be expected to do practically anything that's needed.
On the one hand, we do want team members to have a sense of ownership and be ready to dive into any task in front of them. But doesn't including "and anything else we might dream up later" just sound like poor planning?
Our business consultants know how job descriptions are the cause of serious problems. But this idle tweet shows that this poor employee is being valued not for their contributions, creativity, and insight, but mostly for their ability to complete arbitrary laborious tasks. If "other duties as assigned" included the text "for example, picking up pizza for the office in awful weather", would this candidate have accepted the job in the first place?
Language is perhaps the most powerful indicator of workplace culture. If we want productive, efficient employees, we must learn to listen to both the content of their messages and the tone with which they speak. Whether we hear workplace productivity frustration on Facebook or just muttered at the water cooler, they present opportunity to make a positive change to the environment. Listening is the foundation to a satisfying and effective workplace.
There's a pretty good chance the employer in this situation didn't realize that the employee would have been upset by this request. Perhaps whoever requested the anonymous complainer to get pizza thought it would serve as a pleasant change of pace for that employee to get out of the office. There's no way to know for sure. What we do know is the employee was not at all delighted by this task.
Ideally, each organization should create an environment where feedback is not only accepted, but encouraged. If the employee in this situation felt comfortable voicing his or her concerns, then there would be no need to take to social media to post a disgruntled message. He or she could have simply informed the boss that driving in this weather was not an ideal task for the morning. Then the employer could've ordered delivery and had someone bring the pizza whose job description actually included such a task.
While getting pizza may seem like something small, it's the underlying message that's important here. Letting people do the specialized work they were hired to do is something that no organization could take for granted. This employee should have had valuable work to take on making food delivery a huge waste of time. If the employee didn't have more important work to handle, then maybe the organization isn't running nearly as smoothly as it should be.
If you think this situation seems out of left field, then good for you! Maybe your company has things figured out. But odds are, there's something going on that you don't even realize is viewed as a problem by others. Take a step back to look at all facets of workflow within your organization. Ensure that employees feel comfortable coming to you with comments or concerns about the way things are run. And most of all, make sure that you put people in a position to do the valuable work they were hired to do.
It might seem like the answer to this question would be a complex mix of productivity techniques, time management tactics, and business jargon. But really, there's a simple, two-part test to figure out if you are going to have a productive day:
The challenge to setting goals and meeting goals is in the details. Sometimes we establish a priority without really knowing how long it will take. Furthermore, our time is not our own. Interruptions will undoubtedly occur. You must answer the phone, you must check email, and it's hard to ignore the colleague standing at your cubicle talking about last night's big game. That said, with clearly defined goals, you can find ways to make sure every step you take is going to lead you toward completing what you set out to.
Are you supposed to have a meeting that really doesn't apply to you? See if you can turn that meeting into an e-mail discussion instead. Are phone calls disrupting your workflow? Maybe put your phone on silent for a few hours.
Of course, focusing on goals doesn't mean a thing if you don't set realistic and productive goals. Depending on your organization, saying your goal is to make an extra million dollars of revenue today probably isn't very realistic. But saying that you want to clean out your email inbox and schedule three sales meetings for the next month could definitely be done. You may have heard of S.M.A.R.T. goals before, but it never hurts to review that process! You want to be sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive. The part that seems most important here is the attainable section. Here's some thoughts on that from mindtools.com:
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.The more you practice this method of planning your days, the better you're going to get at finding out what goals are actually attainable and what goals are too easy. That sweet spot is where you're going to have excellent days and feel like you've accomplished something worthwhile.However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy. Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work hard for can be anticlimactic at best, and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they bring the greatest personal satisfaction.
In order to have more days where you feel productive, try to build these habits into your process. Write down your goals. Confirm they are reasonable. Check them off as they are completed. You'll feel better and be more productive! For more information on bringing this to your life, don't hesitate to contact the business improvement consultants here at AccelaWork!
Michael decided to sell his home. After consulting a Realtor, he had a routine inspection to make sure everything in the house was in working condition. Unfortunately, it was discovered that the home's septic tank system was not draining properly. It was severely backed up and posed serious health code violations.
Concerned, Michael had his entire system replaced. It was an expensive fix, but nonetheless necessary. As the repairs concluded, he sought approval from the Health Department. After a detailed inspection, the health inspector deemed the property in great condition. So, Michael moved forward with the sale of his home.
Almost immediately he received an offer. It was accepted and contracts were in the making. All that was left to do was perform one last home inspection for the buyers' benefit. Confident in the recent work done on his septic tank, Michael had no cause for concern. That is until he received word that the home inspector found a serious issue: the septic system was not installed properly. In less than two minutes, the inspector was able to discover that the tank was draining directly into the creek behind the home. Upon hearing the news, Michael was no doubt upset. He took action.
Immediately he contacted the Health Department with one question: How could the work have passed inspection? No doubt, his question was quite valid and his disturbance understandable. Yet, the report was given little consideration since the only response given was a follow-up letter one week later:
Dear Michael,There's no doubt that it can be frustrating to find ourselves in a dilemma such as Michael's—where solving a problem and conjuring a fair and proper remedy is ultimately out of our hands. But in a sense, it's all the more reason to be proactive in our efforts for quality.It has been brought to our attention that your house contains health code violations that pose a threat to the health and well-being of both you and your neighbors. We urge you to rectify this problem within thirty days of this letter. Otherwise, you will be fined two-thousand dollars.
Sincerely,
The Health Department
Surely, someone in this situation wasn't doing their job. The obvious candidate is the original inspector, since he gave the property a passing grade without ensuring that everything was ship shape. But, there was also the problem of the original installer not installing the property correctly. Unfortunately, it seems like one of the few people in this situation who did basically everything right (Michael) is the one who has to pay the price.
Tell us: What should the health department do to avoid this situation in the future?
To see the answer we came up with, head on over to part two of this post.
While you may not be inspecting septic systems for a living, there's a chance your organization has similar problems that could prove to be just as messy to clean up. Do you have people in a position that they aren't really capable of handling? Does your workflow align in a way that ensures there won't be any errors due to a lack of attention to detail? Do you have an environment of trust that allows each employee to feel comfortable enough to be accountable for their actions? If you feel like you could use help in any of these areas, please contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today.
Robby Slaughter, principal of AccelaWork, discussed the topic of legitimate email marketing in a blog post. Below is his his guest entry on Delivra's blog, Emailchatr:
When people hear that I’m a productivity consultant and run a consulting company specializing in helping people be more efficient, they often assume that I can’t stand email marketing. But, in truth, the opposite is true. I love email marketing, because it’s a great way to be more efficient and effective in our daily lives.What Slaughter writes in that blog post resonates for an array of reasons. One of the first things that jumps out is showing your subscribers you are human. Whether you choose to do that with an apology email or some other technique, it's of the utmost importance. Think about the emails currently sitting in your inbox ignored. I bet the majority of them are from some online store and they seem like a random blast that you received. The feel is totally automated. But if you get emails from people who write interesting, engaging things, then I bet those are far more likely to get read, regardless of whether they're going to an email list of 10 or 10,000 subscribers.Too many people falsely associate legitimate email marketing with spam. But thanks to the efforts of email service providers like Delivra and laws like CAN-SPAM, email continues to be a thriving mechanism of communication. And although it seems like the simplicity and widespread availability of email marketing would overrun us with messages, in reality this technology is used more judiciously and selectively than ever.
For example, Chris Broshears points out that you should scrub your list of non-engaged subscribers. Doing so, increases efficiency because you are sending fewer messages. Doing so also increases effectiveness because a larger percentage of your subscribers are actually reading marketing messages.
Likewise, you can increase productivity through segmentation. If people don’t want to receive marketing messages about all of your products and services, they can just select the kinds of communications that interest them. And you can help your customers and partners to be more satisfied by showing them that you are human — with an apology email. After all, there is may be no better way to keep people engaged than to admit to your mistakes and make things right.
Don't be afraid to ask your subscribers what they want. Not only will this allow you to avoid sending unsolicited messages, but it may give you insight into future business endeavors. If you find that most people subscribing to your list are searching for a more efficient way to manage remote employees, then that's certainly a market that you should find a way to tap. And even if you don't get new ideas from the responses you get, by moving away from messages your subscribers aren't interested in, you can minimize the chances of them deleting the email without any engagement.
There's no one-size fits all approach to email marketing, but there are some valuable steps you can take to make sure that you're making the most of your time and respecting your subscribers. Once you've thought about your list in those terms, you're well on your way to maximizing your returns! With a little trial and error, you can ensure that your email list is doing all the things it should be doing for your organization.
If you need more advice on how to implement this strategy within your organization, don't hesitate to contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
According to an announcement posted on Physorg.com, mental exercises can actually impact brain structure in as little as two months. As one researcher explained:
This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.The scientists asked their experimental group to spend an average of 27 minutes a day on a practice called "mindful meditation." This term might sound strange for a university program led by qualified medical doctors, but in reality "mindful mediation" is merely taking time to "[focus] on nonjudgmental awareness of sensations, feelings and state of mind." After eight weeks, brain scans showed "increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory" as well as "decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress."
To gauge the study, the scientists took images of the brain structure before and after they took part in this Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. Those were compared against a group of non-mediators over the same time interval.
"It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life." says Britta Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany. "Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change."
To suggest that the connection between mindfulness and brain structure could hint at a link between concentration and productivity is not a big leap. Science is starting to prove that if you focus openly and intently, you will think more clearly and experience less stress. If you were able to eliminate stress just by focusing in the proper way, would that not be something that you'd want to do?
"These results shed light on the mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training. They demonstrate that the first-person experience of stress can not only be reduced with an 8-week mindfulness training program but that this experiential change corresponds with structural changes in the amydala, a finding that opens doors to many possibilities for further research on MBSR's potential to protect against stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder."If this sort of thing is powerful enough to help with PTSD, then it can certainly make great strides in whatever it is you're dealing with at work. Ideally you'd be able to set up the perfect workspace for your particular working style, but unfortunately, that's not always possible. Where relocating and redecorating falls short, perhaps properly focusing can fill in the gaps.
At AccelaWork, we've been talking for years about the challenges of distractions at the workplace. When you can't concentrate or take time for yourself, it's no surprise that you get less done and become frustrated. Take time to be mindful, and give others space to devote to their work. That's a situation where everyone wins. You'll soon discover yourself becoming more productive, more satisfied, and less stressed overall!
For more information on how to bring these principles into your day-to-day work, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We can help you take that extra step into a zen-like level of focus.
Here's the clip which features our own Robby Slaughter at the whiteboard (direct link):
Let us know what you think!
Recently, Slaughter provided a guest post for the Say It For You blog in regard to the poor repairs done at an auto shop. As the story goes, soon after he discovered his driver's side window was broken he immediately brought his car to a dealership—confident that the problem would be taken care of properly. Turned out, shortly after the car was released from the shop, he noticed some strange things. Unfortunately, that post is no longer online, but we were able to save the following excerpt for you:
When I picked up my vehicle, I was pleased to be able to once again raise the window pane with the flip of a switch. But later that day, I discovered a couple of curious pieces of metal in my back seat. I also found out that the automatic trunk release button—which is built into the same door panel—no longer functioned! I went straight back to the dealership and demanded they address these problems at their own expense.
Far from a self-proclaimed know-it-all in vehicle repair, Slaughter placed his trust in those that are (or at least claim to be) experts in the field. Yet, as he mentioned in his post, he "[is] not a complete automotive neophyte." Which is to say that although he may not be able to rebuild engines or fix a carburetor, he's knowledgeable enough to recognize a sloppy job when he sees one. And though Slaughter's situation was disheartening, it at least provided a valuable business comparison:
I hire a mechanic to work on my car for the same reasons your clients come to you: we all value competence and expertise. Yet when there are extra parts clanking about in the backseat or new, obvious problems introduced as a result of a repair, we all wonder if the supposed professional has any idea what they are doing. The same judgment arises when we spot minor grammatical or spelling mistakes on your business website. If you can’t even manage something relatively easy, why should customers believe you are capable of doing anything difficult?In any aspect of a business quality matters, but it certainly matters the most when it comes to the things that the world can see. It's the 21st century. There's no excuse for not having a functional website with quality content on it. The cost is minimal, the work is easy, but the rewards are big enough that you can't afford to pass them up. Put your best foot forward when it comes to your online presence and you won't regret taking the time to improve your image. Not only will you be more respected, but respect leads to more, better business.If you want to grow your business, you must treat your online content as a first-class citizen. Engage professional writers, copy-editors, and designers. Treat your business blog with same care as you do your actual customers, so that potential clients see your commitment to detail and quality. Don’t allow trivial mistakes to become a reason for visitors to leave. You may not be able to show the world the amazing work you do in an instant, but don’t provide an excuse to be dismissed as incompetent. Quality matters!
We're not content writers, but are productivity experts. To learn more about how AccelaWork can help improve the quality of workflow in your office, contact our our productivity consultants today!
It might sound like the last thing on any manager's mind is the document that employees use to get their next job. While it's true that I'm not going to help you fiddle with formatting, I do want you to have a clear understanding of your role in the organization. That message is exactly what will go into your résumé!
Our consultants find plenty of problems with job descriptions. But if these documents are well-written and accurate, the highlights in your job description eventually become the bullet points used to later summarize that job. If a résumé highlights your past achievements, shouldn't your current manager be able to state your forthcoming accomplishments?
Let me put it in terms of a statement of philosophy:
Productive management is collaboratively designing workflow so that individuals are empowered to be efficient, effective, successful and satisfied.
I don't want you to leave the company! I want you to stay because you know you are adding value. If you decide to leave for any reason, it should be easy to update your résumé. You should merely list the workflow and achievements we previously worked on together to create.
One such episode tells about a consulting firm that rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. They were famous for helping mid-sized companies dramatically improve efficiency by introducing computers into the workplace. In those days, technology was both expensive and enormous. Before making the investment, the consulting firm argued, companies needed to "prepare for computerization."
Consultants would descend and work with everyone from executives to administrative staff. They would help them organize their work, structure documents and forms into neat, orderly systems. They had them practice sharing information and giving instructions using precise, coded sentences. Schedules, budgets, and weekly plans were specified. The offices began to buzz with excitement about the arrival of the computer.
Within a few months, the client was operating like a well-oiled machine. Profits were up, people were arriving and leaving on time, and productivity was at a record high. It was then that the consulting company would suddenly reveal that there was a crisis at another client's office, refund some of their advance fees, and quickly slip out the side door. They would never be heard from again, but the improvements would stay.
The consulting firm never intended to conduct "computerization." Instead, they used the promise as a way to inspire positive change in the organization. The excitement about the forthcoming upgrade was all they needed to support process improvement.
Aircraft Carrier Documentation
Another story begins with a conversation between a Navy Admiral and corporate executive in a major government supply company. The two were reviewing the manifest for a aircraft carrier being laid down at the shipyards. They did some some quick calculations, and came to the conclusion that 20% of the operating weight of the vessel was actually on-board documentation! All of that paper added up to a tremendous weight. Surely, overall performance would increase and costs decrease if they could make a dent in these hundreds of thousands of pages.
The admiral created a commission to study the issue. After many months, they determined that the smallest typeface that all Navy seamen could be guaranteed to read would be 30% smaller than the one currently in use. Since it would be years before the next carrier was completed, the commission decided to have all of the documentation reprinted for one of the ships currently in use. That way, they could precisely measure the impact of their brilliant idea.
While the carrier was in port and most of the crew on shore leave, another team came on board and switched out thousands of manuals. A week later, however, the performance of the carrier started to decline. Orders took longer to execute and morale dropped sharply. The entire ship and crew seemed to be sluggish despite the decrease in overall weight. Something had gone terribly wrong!
Only after an inquest did the commission discover what had actually happened. It turns out that crewmen throughout the vessel had a habit of memorizing page numbers. They even jotted them down in journals, wrote them onto hidden parts of control panels, and even incorporated them into training programs! It took months for the crew to catch up, and by then the improvement project had been scrapped.
Stay tuned for more campfire stories in future blogs! And to learn more about ways to bring a burst of productivity into your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We know how to ensure that you take the lessons from these stories and use them to better your organization.
As reported on AOL's finance section, the five ideas are as follows:
- OBLITERATE the Internet
- DEDICATE a space
- DELEGATE your tasks
- MOTIVATE yourself
- MASTICATE the frog
These tips are worth breaking down in a little more detail:
John Olson, CEO of Graystone Industries, one of the 10 largest pond, waterfall and fountain distributors in the U.S., tries to free himself up to do the work only he can do. "My wife reminds me that when I work in our business I make $200-$300 an hour," he says. "When I work around the house I save the $10-$15 an hour that I have to pay the local handyman."Olson's wife makes an excellent point. Look at all the time you have as billable hours, and you'll soon find where you can best allocate your most precious resource: time.
Certified coach Marsha Egan suggests placing a $ sign next to every activity on your To Do list that will impact your business's bottom line. "This is a quick way to make sure you are working on the tasks that will enhance your business," she says.If you have items on your To Do list that won't impact the bottom line, maybe it's time to re-evaluate whether those things are tasks you should really do or whether you need to re-vist tip #3.
These five tips are holding up well!
Need help implementing these principles in your organization? Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
The name of this user is @meghanefreeman. On January 24, she published these words onto theInternet:
This may come as a shock but if you READ the highlighted part of the email I sent you, you wouldn't need to ask those questions. Oh MondayOh, Meghan, our consultants feel your pain! Although your anger wasn't enough to get you arrested on suspicion of twitter terrorism, you are clearly frustrated. And though your comments are negative, they probably won't damage your workplace productivity. In fact, you remind us most of another comment our productivity consultants reviewed on Twitter. Yes, you have every right to be upset.
We know what happened. You sent an email, and you even highlighted the important text. Perhaps you bolded a certain section. Then, someone else (probably a manager, otherwise you would not have shared with Twitter) asked you a question that you already answered! Result: Frustration.
Thanks for sending this to Twitter, Meghan, so we could blog about it. But if we may: this is an opportunity to improve productivity and satisfaction.
If someone asks you a question that you've already answered, don't get upset. Try not to assume that they are lazy and pulling a two taxi on you, even though this is the most likely scenario.
Instead, consider the possibility that something else went wrong. Maybe the server ate your email, which would be pretty serious indeed. Maybe the other person is frazzled and needs some moral support. Maybe they are asking a question which comes from their boss and needs to get a direct answer straight from the expert. Perhaps you didn't write the email quite as clearly as you originally thought. Give it another read just to make sure it isn't a problem on your end. None of these are likely, but they are all less judgmental. Bring them up in a new medium by calling or visiting the person:
You: Mr. Jones, I am sorry to interrupt you, but I'm really concerned about the email you just sent me. I think we might have a serious technical issue on our hands and I just want to confirm it with you.There you are, Meghan. And for the rest of you, send us your frustrated workplace tweets! Or, your frustrated Facebook exchanges about employee satisfaction. We are not picky. We love to hear about office productivity challenges and love to help make a positive difference. And if you find your problems to be recurring ones that get in the way of productivity, consider reaching out to our business improvement consultants. We'd love to find a way to help!Mr. Jones: Go ahead, what is it?
You: I printed out a copy of the email from my end to show you. Now keep in mind this is my end, I am concerned it might look different on your end. You can see here at the bottom where I highlighted part of the text. Then, above this is your reply where you ask the exact question answered in the text. My concern is that maybe on your computer, my highlighted text didn't appear.
Mr. Jones: Yes, I didn't see that.
You: Well, if our computer systems are randomly deleting parts of emails, that could be a serious problem. That's why I wanted to bring it to your attention. Do you want me to follow up with IT or will you do it?
Mr. Jones: I, uh, will take care of it. Thank you.
Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, shared his expertise on calendars while as a guest on the marketing podcast More Than A Few Words. During the short interview, Slaughter highlights several of his own personal strategies when it comes to creating a manageable and productive schedule at work. Below are some of his tips:
For your convenience, the embedded four minute podcast is below:
We've talked about many of the things Slaughter touched on before on this blog, but one part that especially stands out is the benefit of looking at your calendar at the end of a day. Many people merely use a calendar to schedule, but you can also learn a lot from looking at what you did and noting how you feel about how things went. A good comparison is to a running log. Most competitive runners keep a detailed log, not only with what they plan on doing in the future, but with notes to reflect on how each day went. From those notes, they can then adjust for the future.
Bennett Cohen, a running coach, published an article on the benefits of keeping a running log. For your convenience, we've pulled a few sections that can also apply to the workplace.
4. Improves Your Personal Training ProgramLook at the way Bennett uses his calendar to help him learn the best ways to be as productive with his training in the future. The same can apply to your time in the workplace! Find the times you're most motivated, avoid productivity disaster, and analyze other trends. All with the simple help of your daily planner.After completing a race, analyzing your log to evaluate your training will yield clues about how your body reacted to the different elements of your training program. This will give you useful information that you can implement to train smarter for your next event. I trained seriously for a half-marathon two years ago. When I reviewed my running log post-race, I noticed that my hamstrings and hips were very sore for days following long or fast runs on routes with significant downhill portions. I concluded that I needed to increase my leg and glute strength in order to better withstand downhill running, train more effectively and race faster.
5. Prevents Illness and Burnout
Like the canary in the mineshaft, a running log can provide an early warning sign of impending danger -- illness, staleness or burnout - before the physical symptoms manifest themselves. For me, three consecutive runs that I assign a rating in my log of 4 (out of 10) or less is a surefire signal that I'm fighting an infection or suffering excessive fatigue. By taking 3-4 days off from running, I give myself a chance to recuperate, thus warding off a more serious malady that would entail a long layoff.
6. Prevents Injuries
Careful review of your log after an injury often yields important clues as to what precipitated the injury. Was it a sudden increase in training? A change to a different type of terrain? Too many miles on your shoes to the point where they stopped providing adequate stability or shock absorption? Determining the tipping point will guide you to train more wisely.
7. Facilitates Trend Analysis -- Seeing the Forest From the Trees
Reviewing your logs over a period of several months will provide valuable information about you and your running that would not be otherwise evident. For example, during a six month training period several years ago, I noticed that I took time off from running on five separate occasions because I felt I was catching a cold. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the "icky" feeling always occurred on a Tuesday that followed a long hard run. By making sure that I got adequate sleep on Sundays and Mondays, paying special attention to post-run nutrition and bolstering my immune system through Vitamin C and Echinacea supplementation, I was able to reduce my time off in future training.
The full clip is below. It's a little over thirteen minutes long but brilliantly executed:
There's no question that IBM is an innovative company. They built a computer that defeated the best human players of the game show Jeopardy!. Their systems are in every country on the planet. The video put one aspect of IBM's philosophy front-and-center, a quote from founder Thomas J. Watson:All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think.IBM's world-changing innovation isn't something that's just come along lately. It's at the core of who they are. A look at the company's history reveals IBM has lived on the edge when it comes to their thinking about technology and business solutions. It's what made them into who they are today.
Even before they were IBM, the company was at the forefront of finding a solution to complex data issues facing companies in the still pioneering days of the Industrial Revolution. The dial recorder helped industrial companies with large payrolls keep track of employee records, inventory, factory efficiency and other important data.
The 1950s and 1960s saw IBM start thinking beyond corporate needs and into the consumer market. The Selectric typewriter revolutionized typing efficiency and became the prototype in form for what would be the personal computer. At one point, IBM owned a whopping 75 per cent of the market share for electric typewriters used in US businesses.
At the same time, IBM was delivering its landmark System/360 family of mainframe computers. These descendants of the dial recorder provided solutions to both commercial and scientific customers and revolutionized businesses from Wall Street to NASA. IBM not only developed machines with great computing power, they developed networks that allowed these machines to communicate with each other, setting the stage for what would eventually be the "world wide web" of computers we know today.
The 1980's saw IBM take the mainframe PC...making computing power personal and portable. By applying their now proven technologies to smaller work stations that could be housed at individual desks or even in the home or school, IBM exponentially expanded the computing market. Now even small businesses could afford (and more importantly, had the space to house) the immense power of a computer.
When the personal computing market started to get crowded in the 1990s and 2000s, IBM once again thought outside the box. They weren't content to stay where they'd already been, competing with other companies to see who could manufacture something smaller and faster. Their innovations in artificial intelligence with Deep Blue and Watson kept IBM at the forefront of technological advancement and have them poised for another century of innovative breakthroughs.
Who knows what advancements IBM will advance in the future. We do know that their commitment to innovative thinking will allow them to continue to develop the products that not only keep their business successful, but change the world.
At AccelaWork, our role is to help you be innovative with workflow. Our job is to help you think about the patterns, sequences, and structures of front-office work so that you can be more productive, more efficient, more effective and more satisfied. We haven't been around a hundred years (yet!) but we believe we are doing what we can to support Thomas J. Watson's vision. We are finding solutions to the problems of work by being willing to think.
Since 2004, the journey from Indianapolis to Chicago was one I would take at least twice a year. With each trip, I learned new ways to battle traffic and expedite my place in toll lines so that by 2005 I could make it to my destination in less than three hours. I was so proud of this accomplishment that I used to brag about my traveling tricks to those who cared. I would always give them the same advice:
I once thought I was an expert at toll road driving, but then I discovered I wasn't. And though the new changes will probably be old news in a few more years, it won't stop me from trying to master the current system. Why? Because tackling challenges head on enhances workflow and eventually increases productivity. That is why we continue to persevere even when change is difficult and hard to accept.
Don't be afraid to take on change. Instead, embrace the idea that extending your efforts and capabilities into unknown territory will bring opportunity, meaningful satisfaction, and feelings of accomplishment. Reach out to our productivity growth experts today to learn more about how we can help smooth the pathway of transformation in your office.
Difficult as it is to shell out a hundred dollars here, a hundred dollars there for maintenance, it is an essential part to the prevention of larger problems. As discussed in a recent article, upkeep is especially important for homeowners:
In this economy, you may be tempted to delay or even skip minor home maintenance repairs, cleaning jobs and inspections in your home. But don't be penny-wise and dollar-foolish. That $200 or $300 you save today could result in expenditures of $3,000 or even tens of thousands next month or next year if hidden problems in your home go unnoticed and become worse. Consider coughing up a little dough to take care of these small jobs before they morph into gigantic, expensive jobs later.
This article brought up a very important, yet very underrated notion about active precaution. For many of us, the idea is quite simple and relatively easy—be proactive in care and reap the benefits. Yet, our our productivity consultants know that sometimes it's easier said than done. After all, continual upkeep doesn't just cost us money. It costs us time. And for many of us, it is the latter that becomes the deterrent to our success.
With your home, failing to maintain your HVAC system could lead to a very hot few days in the summer. Or, depending on where you live, the need to move to a hotel for a few days while your house is being fixed. But when it comes to your business, you could be set behind years.
For example: a company we know of had a system where all contacts where tracked by phone number, email, and address. Unfortunately, when the system was first put in place, it was extremely disorganized. The goal for employees involved getting as many companies into the system, so they tended to rush the process. Multiple contacts from the same company were listed separately. Emails were left off. Phone numbers didn't always have the area code included.
Instead of fixing these problems little by little, they compounded over months of time. The entries stayed sloppy, and organization failed. It ultimately reached the point where the system was nearly unusable. It was then that the company had to hire temps to fix the system, not only creating an extended period of time where those contacts couldn't be accessed, but sinking thousands of dollars in additional wages into a problem that could've been fixed little by little. If each person who saw an error took the minute to correct it, the problem would've been prevented from getting out of hand.
That's one small example of the countless others that could be brought up to illustrate this very important point. Unfortunately, stalling on or neglecting processes can lead to extreme disorganization, loss of productivity, decreased value, or even loss of motivation. These problems are all expensive, time consuming and/or difficult to mend. So is there an easy and convenient way to recuperate the broken process of upkeep in your home or office? Absolutely!
We help offices and business professionals across Indianapolis identify problematic processes that wreck productivity and interrupt workflow. So if you are looking to take that first step toward renewing your day to day work, consider contacting business consulting experts like the team at AccelaWork. We'll help you transform tasks into productive, well-maintained actions that will help your upkeep keep up with you.
The ultimate purpose of work is results. It's not meetings, internal emails, or water-cooler conversations (although we may need to do this tasks along the way.) Instead, the reason we make companies is because we want to build products and deliver services to actual customers. There are many components to a good working environment, but we can all agree that to keep the lights on and the paychecks coming we need to generate something valuable. Companies that no longer provide value, no longer have a useful place in the market. You can see it through many industries that failed. As home video streaming became possible, Blockbuster ultimately failed. As e-readers became mainstream, Borders Books was forced to shut their doors. Was the problem a lack of effort in any of those organizations? Not likely. Most people there, from upper management to floor workers, were likely putting in effort. But they weren't able to adapt and compete when it came to the productivity of their new competitors.
Every manager, business owner and even some employees are tempted to believe that the relationship between effort and outcome is simple. Put in more time and energy, get more in return. If you spend four hours instead of two digging a ditch, shouldn't you get about twice as far?
Instead, achieving more requires a higher level of thinking. We can't just measure the amount of time spent at the office. People who become obsessed with each working minute sometimes end up doing crazy things like measuring bathroom breaks, which won't improve employee productivity, or setting up motion sensors keyed to go off when employees walk too slowly, which definitely won't improve employee retention.
You have to be going about things the right way. Instead of saying practice makes perfect, many like to say perfect practice makes perfect. And that's true. You can work as hard as you want, but if you aren't working smart, then in the long run you really aren't going to get anywhere. And the only thing that's worse than not achieving big results is not achieving big results when you've put in hours and hours of hard work.
We also know that employee satisfaction isn't tied to money so much as as they are driven by a sense of engagement. We care about work when we find it meaningful. Once employees start to feel empowered, they have incredible drive and enthusiasm. If they don't feel empowered, then satisfaction, and ultimately quality of life, is going to suffer.
The formula for results depends on two factors. First: a measure for progress based on value, not just time. We call that productivity. Second, a measure of personal connection to work which represents pride of ownership. That's not just excitement, it is satisfaction. This gives us a new formula:
Okay, so the jig is up. It's not actually "Avoid Your Email Day". In fact, it's actually "April Fool's Day"—the one day a year open and embraced for trickery beyond imagination to anyone who's foolish enough to be captivated by it. So, did we trick you? Hopefully not.
There shouldn't be a reason as silly as a universal day of jokes and white lies to get you to adopt a new perspective on email. The truth is, many of us are trapped in the dominating world of electronic communication where messages are immediate and responses expected to be the same. We find ourselves on the endless spiral of CLICK, REPLY, SEND. And though it may feel as if we're making progress, we soon discover the time email correspondence takes and the concentration it breaks is more than inhibiting the rest of our workflow. Instead, what we need is to implement time in our day where we can sit quietly at our desks, work on projects that take concentration and eliminate interruptions.
Haven't we all had the feeling of a segmented work day. You sit down at your desk and check your email. There are three new messages. It takes time to look at them and determine two are spam. The third one is good to read, containing somewhat important information, but does it warrant a reply? After analyzing that for a bit, you decide that yes, you probably should reply. So you craft your paragraph response and proofread it. Then you send off the message. Then you realize you didn't "Reply All" so you go back and send it again. By the time this process is over, you have three more emails in your inbox. That cycle will never end!
Instead, set aside a time for email. It doesn't matter if it's early in the morning, after your coffee break, or toward the end of the day. Find what works best for you. But by carving out some time, you know that your mind will be focused on what you're reading and it won't distract from the rest of your work day. Find a process that is productive and then do the most important part: Stick to it!
Now, before your roll your eyes and say to yourself, "Yeah, in a perfect world that will happen", consider the fact that you (and you alone) have the power to improve your productivity growth. Sure, you may have a team of coworkers that have to be integrated into the equation, but the best way to empower others to change is to personally demonstrate good behavior. By taking the time to manage your calendar appropriately and improve your organizational productivity, you'll have plenty of time to not only focus in on particular meetings, but more importantly, you'll be able to reserve blocks of time to work on outstanding projects and follow-up to emails that need responses.
Don't wait for the bottom to fall out before you consider how to improve the time spent at work. Empower yourself to become more productive through solutions that are guaranteed to have beneficial and lasting effects on your workflow. In the end, your leadership will hopefully inspire others and increase worker productivity, because they will have the hopes of achieving the same results. So go on! Take initiative. You may just spark a new, refreshing philosophy that runs wild in your office!
Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 had visited Bankers Life Fieldhouse. My four year-old is crazy about all the movies and all the characters, particularly Buzz Lightyear, so I immediately began researching tickets on Google. I discovered dozens of websites selling tickets; however, I was drawn to the number one search result, bankerslifefieldhouse.org.
Naturally, I figured this was the homepage for Bankers Life Fieldhouse, so I proceeded to the site and began looking at all the tickets available. Unfortunately, I didn't have much to choose from. I discovered the event quite late, so much of the prime seating was sold out. But just in case, I checked a half dozen other sites to no avail. Having exhausted my efforts, I went back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse's website and resolved to buying the less desirable tickets.
I began the check-out process, but was miffed by one tiny detail: the section assignment. When I first clicked on the category of available tickets, it simply stated: Section 201 - 230, which was odd given the diagram of the stadium. It basically meant any section, row and seat number on the entire 200 level.
Box Office: The only sections we have reserved for this show are 212 - 224. If you sat anywhere else on the 200 level, you wouldn't see anything.Me: So, why then are you selling them on your website?
Box Office: We aren't selling tickets on our website. All tickets sales are through Ticketmaster.
Me: Yes, but I'm on your website right now looking at the link to purchase tickets.
Box Office: What's the address?
Me: bankerslifefieldhouse.org.
Box Office: Our website is www.bankerslifefieldhouse.com. You're looking at a ticket broker website. Go to Ticketmaster's website and purchase them there. They are the valid ones.
I wasn't about to argue with the Box Office about the potential damage the other site was reeking on the venue's reputation, so I simply said thank you and followed the nice lady's directions. Which inevitably led me to problem number two.
Looking at Ticketmaster's website, I began to notice that the tickets were well over the asking price of the Box Office. Whereas I could have purchased 3 tickets for under $80, I was now being asked to shell out $150 to $250 for the same, bad seating. Frustrated, I decided to call Ticketmaster to find out why.
Customer Service: I'm not sure why they are more expensive, but there's nothing I can do about it.I was tired. Rather than continue the fiasco, I decided that paying an extra $20 for better seats was worth it. I went ahead and bought the four seats in section 101.Me: But the Bankers Life Fieldhouse box office told me tickets were priced from $12 - $24. How can the price difference be so different? I must not be searching correctly. Could you please look it up on your computer to verify this is the case?
As requested, she took a moment to look up the information.
Customer Service: If you'd like to purchase four seats in section 101, I can do it over the phone for you. The total will be $92.
Me: Well, I only need three, so could you remove one of the tickets?
She refined her search in the system to only place three ticket orders.
Customer Service: If you purchase three, it moves you up to section 224. The total will be $72; however, the seats are much worse.
Me: Why can't we have the three seats in section 101?
Customer Service: I don't know, but the system won't allow it. Sorry.
Bottom line, if not for my son's obsession with Toy Story—and my intolerance for defeat—I would have abandoned my mission within fifteen minutes. Chances are, dozens of others probably did throw in the towel after they realized it was an uphill battle with no end in sight. I don't consider myself an expert when it comes to ticket sales, but I can say with confidence that this process could drastically improve.
Interestingly enough, I noticed later in the day that the seating option "section 201-230" had been removed from all websites, including bankerslifefieldhouse.org. I'm not sure whether my report on the issue sparked the change, but I sincerely hope the Box Office was responsible for the removal. After all, it was their reputation, and not the broker's, that was in the hotseat. Way to go Bankers Life Fieldhouse!
I'm sure I wasn't the only one to face problems like this, but I may have been one of the only ones to call. Others may have given up on getting their tickets entirely, which would be a big problem for the vendor. If you need help scouting out the potential for similar problems in your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
editors note---bankerslifefieldhouse.org has been taken down since the publication of this article.
The article Why Starting Over is Productive, written by Robby Slaughter, was published in an edition of Health Minute Magazine. For your convenience, the entire feature is below:
Why Starting Over is ProductiveThere's nothing magical about the fact that you went on a run for 365 days in a row. Sure, you'll have the mental strength in knowing that you accomplished what you set out to do. But 365 days doesn't do anything for you body that 364 out of 365 wouldn't. And that 364 certainly does more than giving up on running all together if you happen to miss January 17th for some reason. It's okay to start over. Just bring the good habits into your daily life and you'll see the positive change!Another year means millions of people are setting new goals and starting fresh. We are signing up for gym memberships, buying diet books and resolving to be smarter, healthier, more spiritual, more caring and more effective in our daily lives. Yet at the same time, we know that not all of these lofty ideals will become a permanent reality. In fact, The Miami Herald reported on a study that found 97% of all New Year’s resolutions are left unfulfilled. If we are so terrible at meeting our goals, why do we make them in the first place?
There is a reason that we take a new year as an opportunity to make bold plans about our health, lifestyle and career. We find comfort in using a date on the calendar to mark a turning point. A new year is a watershed moment that lets us discard the past and embrace the possibility of the future. Resolutions aren't just about making plans: they also require that we let go.
Psychologists have extensively researched not only the way we make decisions, but the way we perceive decisions in others. Through a phenomenon called “spontaneous trait transference,” science explains that we have a strong tendency to associate qualities with the people making statements, not the object of the statements themselves. If you talk about the achievements, intentions or failures of others, those listening will tend to connect their emotions to you.
When we go to make changes in our lifestyle, the same principle applies. We work to put old, bad behaviors out of mind and bring new, positive activities to the forefront. We therefore associate ourselves with success and possibility. That’s why it feels good to resolve to change.
Unfortunately, most of us wait for the excuse of an annual tradition to set goals. Instead of using an arbitrary calendar date for defining our objectives, we should make improvement a part of our everyday lives. And furthermore, few of us work with others to build accountability. Remember, “spontaneous trait transference” works best when you are sharing stories and ideas with other people.
This year, make a resolution to start fresh and improve your health and well-being. Don’t worry if you've missed the a deadline—any day is a good day to make a change for the better. But do take time to reach out to friends, family and colleagues to seek their help in improving. The best way to lead a healthier, more productive and more satisfying life is with the company and confidence of others.
Robby Slaughter is a Principal with AccelaWork, an Indianapolis-based business process and workflow consulting company. His book, Failure: The Secret to Success is available at its website: www.failurethebook.com.
Before we go any further, let's take a moment to review the scope your official, legal standing at work is with regard to communication conducted via corporate email systems. Here is a list of all of your privacy rights:
Back to the story about my colleague. At his employer, not only can management read his email, they routinely prove it to him through idle conversation! They use this power to praise ("Great job on that message to the prospect!"). They use it to coach ("Be careful about promising options without checking with the fulfillment team"). They use it to discipline ("Why haven't you responded yet to that email from the client from 7AM this morning?"). In short, their corporate email system is the all-seeing eye.
You might think I'm going to talk about trust. After all, doesn't a desire to quietly read every last employee email show a complete lack of trust in their ability to work independently? Isn't the behavior a sign that managers have no commitment to their workers and no expectation of loyalty in return? Is perhaps the primary reason to spy on your team to gather evidence "just in case?"
Trust is certainly a critical aspect of any relationship, even one at the office. However, a group of people can be surprisingly effective at achieving their collective goals with a healthy distrust of each other. I think there's actually an aspect of organizational dynamics which is even more fundamental than a shared sense of responsibility (but that's another blog post.) What matters most in companies is not trust, but process and results.
What about employee email? I certainly can monitor what employees are typing and reading, but I have absolutely no intention of ever doing so! Sure, I trust my employees to use email wisely. I also trust them to make mistakes with email—because we're all human and failures are the best way to learn. The reason I don't dig around in other people's accounts has very little to do with "trust."
Instead, I choose not to quietly skim everyone's email because it would be horrendously unproductive. If there's a message that pertains to me, I'll see it eventually through normal means such as a forward or a carbon copy. Can you imagine the inefficiency at my friend's organization? It's as if the company president is spending hours in the mail room steaming and resealing envelopes. The whole purpose of email is so you can quickly communicate without interrupting other people. Squatting on the server is a tremendous waste of time.
This is a new version of an old saying: "Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD." Email is a communication tool, not an apparatus for babysitting. Any company that is more interested in micromanaging than they are in productivity is one that is in serious trouble. Luckily for my colleague, the purpose of our meeting was to discuss a new direction for his career.
Robby Slaughter, founder of AccelaWork, provided a list of dos and don'ts on the Maverick PR Maven blog in regards to utilizing social media PR in a strategic and productive way. Below are the summarized tips he shared:
All of those topics above are valuable to know, but a few are worth further elaborating on.
If you are losing valuable hours in your workday due to social media websites, consider reaching out to our corporate productivity specialists. Don't continue to delay improvement in your online image as well as your offline workflow.
The Indianapolis Business Journal highlighted the topic of bullying bosses. The article "When Bosses Behave Like Bullies", points out more than just what occurs in an office when employees feel berated or pressured from their managers. The author is AccelaWork's very own Robby Slaughter.
It discusses how we can move forward in our own productivity despite the negativity that impedes our own confidence and/or motivation. Below is an excerpt from the article:
Instead of preparing a list of grievances or trying to complain through official channels, there is a more effective way to deal with bully bosses. It’s the same strategy to use with anyone who is negatively affecting your workplace experience: Focus on the fundamental purpose of work. The reason you have a job is to produce. No matter whether the behavior others exhibit is uncooperative, distracting or demeaning, they will hurt your productivity. Your ultimate ally against any workplace frustration is your ability to make progress.If your boss tries to bully you into doing more work, ask him to help you prioritize your task list. If your boss berates the quality of your efforts, ask for specific feedback so you can improve. If your boss makes snide comments, take them literally, ask for clarification or include them in the meeting minutes word for word. If your boss tells you to put a project on hold, send a confirmation e-mail in case you need to remind him of the decision later. Your productivity is absolutely inviolable. No boss can bully you while you are focused on getting work done.
To learn more about positively managing your workflow despite negative shortcomings in your office, contact our business process transformation experts today! We may not be able to get the bully fired from their job, but we can certainly help transform your working environment into one that is motivating and refreshing.
You may have heard the term “CRM” tossed around and may even know that it pertains to customers, but do you understand the value, efficiency and increased sales that it could bring to your business?
CRM is an acronym for “Customer Relationship Management” and it is a database tool designed to help you keep track of information, conversations, and relevant communication with your customers and contacts. If the customer/contact data is accurate, the customer and product/service segmentation set wisely, and the activities recorded accurately in a timely manner, a CRM package can increase efficiency to the sales process while being indispensable in delivering high-quality customer service, new business, repeat business and referrals.
You might be wondering: “Why do I need a CRM to keep track of my customers?” You might as well be asking “why do I need a typewriter to create letters?” The answer is that strictly speaking, you don’t need a CRM. However, just like a typewriter, a CRM can dramatically improve your productivity and help your business become cleaner and more organized.
Not only does the recorded information become your “memory”, but the segmented data can be analyzed and leveraged to determine where future marketing dollars should be focused. The data can be divided into categories essential to your business such as geography, product/service type, and source of business. This segmentation allows for targeted communication to those it is the most applicable, making staying in touch easy for you and more applicable to them along with increasing productivity of your entire team.
A CRM usually contains the ability to send personalized, mass, and/or targeted emails, labels and communications by using the database options. Accessing the database enables quick response time versus manually selecting recipients, manually creating mailing labels, and requiring repetitive tasks in other environments. Overall, a CRM should save you time while making your company more money.
Denise Speer is owner of c3-Indy a company specializing in innovative marketing techniques for consumer-based businesses. She is a 1995 graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington. www.c3-indy.com
The explanation for the Super Bowl ticket discrepancy is quite straightforward. According to the article, the leading culprit in the disaster was the freakish weather that Dallas had received just days before the big game:
The Associated Press reported that the temporary seats had been installed in six temporary sections, but they went up so late that the fire marshal didn't have time to inspect them, according to a police officer standing near an affected area who wouldn't give his name. The officer said the winter storms that struck Dallas earlier had set back work on the temporary seats.
Not surprisingly, the ticket holders were far from pleased. After all, not only did they spend big bucks on the seats, but many had to buy flights and pay for hotels. For the entire fiasco, they received the following retribution:
This one sentence makes the process-oriented nature of the problem abundantly clear. Tickets for regular seats are different than tickets for temporary seats. The NFL made the mistake of treating them the same, and got burned to the tune of nearly a million dollars. If these "extra seats" were considered as truly separate, they would be been distributed and sold through different channels and with appropriate refund policies.
Undoubtedly, thinking outside the box can increase worker productivity and fuel innovation. Yet, companies and organizations must be conscientious of the fact that each choice made not only affects business itself, but those who partake in it as well. If not all the components of process are considered, somewhere down the line it will inhibit progress and create lowered employee satisfaction.
So in the end, prior to moving forward in a project, it's best to first investigate all factors that accompanies it's creation. It may make the process more difficult to navigate, but it will certainly protect those most important to a business: it's stakeholders. The NFL has every right to try to serve more customers by innovating, but they must treat the new idea as a distinct process. Without doing so, something as innocuous as bad weather can ruin the day.
Today I commend the phenomenal appointment confirmation system of Dr. Jennifer Kugar, DDS. And here's why.
While scheduling a dental appointment for my four year-old son I was given several options. First, I was asked if I'd like to receive a confirmation prior to the appointment. With all the chaos that fills my day, a reminder is always beneficial, so I said yes. Which led to her next question, would I like to receive a phone call, email or both? For me, email is always the most convenient, so I gave her my address and further declined a phone call. Lastly, she asked if she could include a link to their webpage which contained the forms that I needed to fill out and hand in during my son's appointment. As someone who prefers to have ample time to fill out forms, I accepted her offer for the link.
Within twenty minutes, I received an email similar to the one below:
Subject: Thank you for your appointmentAccordingly, I received the following email two days before my son's appointment:Dear Ashley,
On behalf of Dr. Kugar, we would like to thank you for scheduling your recent appointment. As mentioned, you will need to fill out several forms prior to your medical care. We've included a direct link to the paperwork which you can print and complete ahead of time.
Click here for the registration forms.
Per your request, you will receive a second email notification two days prior to your appointment. Thank you again for choosing Northeast Pediatric Dentistry. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Subject: Appointment ConfirmationEach link prompted a different webpage that thanks the patient for their confirmation, provides the registration forms, or fulfills the request to reschedule. Needless to say, I've never seen any medical confirmation system as thorough as this one. In fact, this was the first time I received an appointment reminder through email. Most often, I'm lucky if I even receive correct information on proper documentation for the appointment let alone get a reminder.Dear Ashley,
This is a reminder that your son, Matthew Lee, is scheduled to see Dr. Kugar on Wednesday, February 30, 2011 at 10:00AM. If this date and time still works for you, please select the option below:
I have received notification and will be at the appointment.
If you have a conflict or are no longer available for the appointment, please select from one of the options below:
I am unable to make my appointment and would like to reschedule.
I am unable to make my appointment and will reschedule at a later date.
You will be required to submit several health forms upon arrival, so if you have not yet filled them out and would like to do so prior to your appointment, you can retrieve them below:
Click here for registration forms.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!
Naturally, I complimented the dentist office on their outstanding electronic system. The receptionist was grateful of the feedback and said that the process doesn't just benefit patients, but the practice as well. Like many other dentist offices, appointments are often times abandoned by patients. By utilizing this confirmation system, they have significantly reduced the amount of "no-shows", which inevitably creates a more efficient and productive office.
One of our goals at AccelaWork is to help businesses reach a level of productivity that is both effective and satisfying for all stakeholders involved. By focusing our efforts on updating processes so they run smoothly, we assist in establishing an ease of workflow that in turn allows time for further innovation.
But no matter what kind of office you work in, it's likely you and your customers both would appreciate increased productivity. We'd love to chat. Contact our business consultants today!
The Indianapolis Star featured a story in regard to doctors who are embracing social media as an ideal tool for marketing and sharing health information. According to Keith Humes, CEO of Rosemont Media, sites such as Facebook are expanding opportunities for referrals:
Facebook is "the new word-of-mouth referral." [It] allows us to take a half-step into the practice and get a feeling for what it is like.Internist Dr. Kevin Pho agrees:
Gone are the days when people are going to look for doctors in the Yellow Pages. It's really to a physician's advantage to have a digital footprint. . . . I try to convince other doctors (that) you need to get online sooner rather than later.The American Medical Association took a step forward in the movement toward online medical communication by publishing guidelines that assist in maintaining patient privacy laws and preserving the patient-physician relationship. Since then, practices and physicians have gradually begun to create an online presence.
The article elaborates further on the benefits:
Hospital systems also are beginning to recognize the appeal, taking the medium beyond the question of whether doctors should email patients.Nothing can replace a face-to-face visit, but there's still ample place for health-care providers online, said Dan Rench, vice president of e-business for Community Health Network.
"It used to be that it was just a way for people to share information that they would typically have in a brochure,'' Rench said. "Now it's become the way that people do business.''
Community has an online chat option, where anyone older than 18 can pose health questions to a registered nurse for a ?real-time,'' or immediate, answer. Questions range from whether an emergency room visit is necessary after being hit on the head with a soccer ball to inquiries about sexually transmitted diseases.
...
Some, such as Dr. Zeshan Rajput, a medical informatics fellow at the Regenstrief Institute, use Twitter to stay current with the latest medical literature.
"Any given fact in medicine, half of them are useless in 10 years,'' said Rajput, also an internist at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "There's a lot of medical news putting their headlines and links on Twitter. So it's a really fast way for me to keep in touch with all that information.''
Given the popularity and usability of social media in our society today, it almost seems foreign for medical practices not to have websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts. Not only does the technology help market the practice itself, but it provides patients with easily accessible information and can create more organizational productivity for referrals, appointments, and follow-ups.
On the flip side, it may seem perfectly rational that doctors maintain an offline status. After all, nourishing webpages and social media sites is a lot of upkeep. And, if there is one thing we do know, adding in time for Facebook and Twitter updates could be next to impossible for doctors who already work long hours as it is. The question that many practices and physicians are forced to examine is whether online medical communication is beneficial enough to increase office efficiency as well as patient care?
AccelaWork examines process efficiency as well as productivity of social media. If you are a physician, medical assistant, or work in a medical office, consider contacting our business process implementation experts. We can help you find the best way to utilize social media within your organization.
Contributing to the Jessica Journey Blog, Robby Slaughter's guest post, "What To Do With Unproductive Colleagues", first acknowledges actions that shouldn't be taken into consideration when tackling this problem at work. According to Slaughter, the following actions are far from viable solutions:
Instead of judging, slowly build a culture of celebrating progress. Change the dominant paradigm from one of skepticism and muffled frustration to one where daily victories are measured and cherished.Start with your own work. Organize your space so it’s abundantly clear that you are passionate about focusing on one task at a time and advancing each of your projects conscientiously. Build a zone around you that shows all of your active responsibilities . . . Fill your weekly calendar with appointments . . . Start a daily journal of your work activities and publish this to the company intranet. Share your personal culture of celebrating progress at social moments. End every water-cooler conversation with a positive, reinforcing phrase . . .
The result? According to Slaughter, your efforts will not only be recognized by others, but will be a source of inspiration to all your surrounding colleagues. As for the office anchor—"the fuzziness of their roles will be brought into sharp focus." Meaningful change will surely appear on the horizon.
To learn more about ways of tackling challenges at work and creating a more positive, productive work environment, reach out to our workplace productivity experts today!
An article posted on BNET explains we spend too much of our days forming mental images of catastrophes:
Serious people know we are supposed to imagine what could go wrong with our projects. That way we can plan for complications. We can fix weak spots before they result in horribly overvalued deals, delayed product launches, military campaigns gone awry, etc.But sometimes we go too far in that direction. We spend so much time thinking through what can go wrong that we fail to spend an equal number of our 168 hours imagining what can go right. This pessimism makes us unable to see the chance opportunities that psychologists find are key to making our own luck.
In other words, we would benefit from sitting around dreaming up scenarios that would be unbelievably fantastic. Writer Laura Vanderkam offers a handful of suggestions:
It's true, Vanderkam points out, that these scenarios are unlikely to actually occur. Yet considering them is a productive use of time, because they help you to think strategically and tactically. Plus, it's rather unlikely that any military campaigns are going to go awry this week as well. Even if you aren't about to be the next Hollywood or publishing darling, almost every job requires effective story telling to sell ideas. Even if you're not on the short list of non-profit experts, considering creative ways to leverage a defined budget is likely a valuable skill. And even if you're scared to fly, shouldn't you be working on the elevator pitch for the perfect customer anyway?
- An editor says she’d like to meet to discuss book ideas; a TV producer wants to discuss pilots. What would you pitch?
- If the CEO of your company called you into her office tomorrow and said she was so impressed with your work that she wanted to put you in charge of your dream project, what you would ask for?
- If you got an unexpected $10,000 tax refund check, what would you do with it?
- A non-profit you admire asks your advice on how best to use a $100,000 grant. What would you suggest?
- Your dream client sits next to you on a cross-country flight. What would you say?
There's value in being prepared for all situations. Prepare for the worst and the best things that could happen. Odds are what happens is actually going to be somewhere in that gray area, but if you're ready for any situation, then it's far more likely that you're going to react in the optimal way. Any while daydreaming may not seem like the most prudent use of your time, if a conversation you went over in a daydream can lead to landing a huge new client, then wouldn't a few minutes of staring off into space be worth it? Don't let your daydreams be just idle hours, instead use them to prepare for situations that you may one day hope to encounter. Who knows, you may just find yourself in the very situation you've spent time imagining!
Here at AccelaWork, we're big fans of daydreaming. Productivity isn't just about the work you do, it's about your perspective on the value of work. Still unclear about how you can best utilize this practice? Don't hesitate to contact us today in order to learn more. Just take a few minutes to reach out to our business process consultants. We'd love to help you achieve your dreams.
Over at eChannelLine.com, a story by Mark Cox explained their new offering. Unfortunately, that article has since been removed, but we did snag some excerpts from it:
BPM Express is a midmarket version of its Business Process Manager solution...[and] has a limit of 200 users and 4 CPUs.That's a pretty exciting claim to process experts and mid-sized businesses. But perhaps the most astounding message came from a quote by Ron Kline, director of marketing for IBM's mid market business:...
BPM automates routine business process, such as billing, shipping and expense reports. IBM says BPM Express can reduce process cycle time from 30 days to seven days, leading to a reduction of up to 80% of manual work.
"Almost 70% of companies are looking at something around BPM in the next year and a half," Kline said. "BPM Express has the robust capabilities of our full blown tool but is geared and priced for the midmarket, and is very competitively priced."
The claim that more than two-thirds of businesses were looking at business process modeling in the next eighteen months seems astounding. In fact, some studies indicated that many people aren't even aware of process as a discipline.The IBM website further details the advantages of the product.
IBM Business Process Manager Express provides:
- Full process visibility improves productivity and supports process improvement through analytics.
- Real-time collaboration between business and IT for facilitating task management and communications, helping to ensure project accuracy and timely completion.
- Lifecycle governance using the Process Center, a scalable and centralized, common design environment and asset repository.
- Mobile enablement allows process design, optimization and execution virtually anywhere and at any time, using smartphones or tablets.
- Includes case management capabilities that support structured, goal-based and hybrid process patterns.
Our business consultants discussed IBM's purchase of Lombardi, and the creation of BPM components that aid workplace productivity for SalesForce. These are great software packages, and if your organization already understands the value of business process we encourage you to consider them. But if you're still struggling to identify everyday workflow while staying on top of details, software is not the answer. Instead, your organization must become process-centric.
The visibility that BPM Express provides can certainly help you become process-centric, but it's not the only step needed. Yes, a software that streamlines a process is a good thing, but that doesn't matter if those in your organization don't know why it's valuable to streamline those processes. If your organization doesn't have any tangible goals, then what will it matter if you have real-time analytics to analyze your process?
In today's era of obsession with the newest tools and apps, too many people jump into whatever they find may help with productivity, efficiency, process, etc... But if you aren't thinking about why all those things are important and mapping out clear goals for where you hope to get with this new software, then there really isn't any point. Tracking your calories doesn't matter without a goal for the calories you want to hit each day. Tracking your miles walked doesn't matter unless you know why you want to walk a certain amount of miles. And buying software that could optimize the workflow within your company doesn't mean a thing unless you know what direction you want that software to take you.
Still searching for where to begin? Doesn't hesitate to learn more by reaching out to our business process transformation team at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you get ready to adopt BPM.
I, for one, am not that enthused about the exuberant process of dusting, scrubbing, wiping, washing, and reorganizing that is involved. Not only is the cleaning strenuous and dirty, it's time consuming and boring. And no matter how many news segments I see and articles I read, I hold strong in the fact that seasonal cleaning--in all its annual annoyance--will never be an activity that is fun. So since I'm adamantly strung in my dislike, I'm forced to adopt a different perspective. One that will not only help motivate me in the beginning, but urge me to continue until the end.
So my solution is thus: go back to the basics.
I figure that if I have to involve myself with seasonal cleaning, I might as well learn something along the way. Whereas before I'd spend several days loading up a bucket full of expensive cleaners and run rampant around my house with no set schedule or agenda, this year I'm going a much simpler, smarter, cheaper route. Like my parents did in the "olden days", I'm preparing cleaning concoctions out of vinegar, water, baking soda, lemon juice, and perhaps a little soda water. I'm going to use old rags, toothbrushes, maybe even a few old useless socks that have holes. I'll create scrub brushes out of tinfoil, scrapers out of old credit cards, box filler out of newspaper. I'll have a plan of attack with a checklist to ensure total efficiency. No matter the job, I'll have a prepared solution. And regardless of how difficult or painful it has to be, I'm cleaning out my house, not my bankbook.
My goal is to of course save money. But the true motivator in this process will be the art of reinvention. I plan on doing everything in my power to expedite the basics with recycled solutions that end with a job well done. Personally, I don't think that's too much to ask for and expect.
Rarely does a day go by where we're not faced with overwhelming tasks or projects that leave us feeling intimidated, disorganized or even unmotivated. And let's be honest, such feelings can escalate a project's status from simply irksome to flat-out unmanageable. So perhaps it's better to go back to the basics first to evaluate the best action for a project. Once that is established, be creative and add in some new, efficient twists that will make the job faster and perhaps easier. In the end, you may end up with a couple extra bucks in your pocket and a smile on your face. But best of all, you'll have a completed project sparkling for all to see and a boosted ego from taking a chance on creating something fantastic out of something purely basic.
Maybe you can't recycle socks to get a task done in the workplace, but you can find a way to mix things up and see why you once found the job more pleasant than you do now. You can find new ways to challenge yourself. Basically, whatever you can do to turn a task you would otherwise loathe into something that you're looking forward to is a good thing, regardless of how unconventional it may seem. Focusing on the basics of something can often lead to increased productivity and increased enjoyment.
If you're having trouble applying these principles to your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork! We'd be happy to help you along the way.
Zappos, DreamWorks Animation, and Teach for America (TFA) were all on the 100 Best Companies to Work For list. All three organizations varied greatly in mission, expertise and product, but they all shared something in common. They provided freedoms that specifically aim to empower their employees. Below is an overview of some unusual processes and best practices that each company utilizes day to day:
Job interviews still take place in rooms with zany themes, including Cher's Dressing Room and an Oprah-style talk show set where candidates sit on a couch next to their HR host. Standard interview questions include "On a scale of 1 to 10, how weird would you say you are?"
Furthermore, regardless of the job description or title, all new hires are required to work in the customer service call center for one month in order to familiarize themselves not only with their customers, but those who deal with them on a daily basis.
Employees of DreamWorks Animation are offered drawing, sculpture and improv classes. And no matter the working role, everyone gets a shot at pitching ideas and learning presentation skills through frequent workshops. Interestingly enough, the company supports employees whether or not they choose to seek other pursuits.
Most Hollywood studios act as clearinghouses for freelance creative talent, bringing teams together to make movies and then cutting them loose when the production wraps. By contrast, DreamWorks keeps all talent on staff. Animators who leave the studio to pursue other projects are often welcomed back: 15% of new hires are rehires.
Understanding just how massive a mission the not-for-profit group is striving to achieve, Teach for America offers something that is somewhat rare in corporate America. They provide their employees with the opportunity to work from anywhere and at anytime. In fact, this benefit is so valued that it's listed as one of the organization's best practices.
Companies are only as strong as the stakeholders they employ. So why not create an environment that fosters a strong passion for commitment and creativity? For no matter what the circumstance—be it a struggling economy or roadblock of another kind—it is the freedom for leadership and innovation that will motivate employees to push forward in support of a company that values them as much as they value it.
AccelaWork believes that fundamental organizational change should occur from the bottom up. To learn more about how we assist companies in overcoming the challenges that accompany broken processes and negative work environments, contact our productivity consultants today.
Here's what Lavon has to say on the topic:
Increase Email Marketing ProductivityFact: Productivity is increased when a plan is established first. Creating a documented plan before working with an email marketing service provider to start an email marketing campaign is essential to making sure your efforts are productive and effective.
Below are some initial questions to work through and answer to create an email program plan before taking further steps in creating an email campaign.
Once you know the answers to these and have formulated an email program plan around them, you’ll be ready to start creating, sending, and evaluating an email marketing campaign. By creating a plan, you can continue in the email marketing process without losing focus on your main goals and objectives which will increase productivity going forward.
- What goals do you want to accomplish?
- Who is your target audience?
- Where will you find your audience?
- What types of information do you want to convey?
- How often will you send each email type?
- How will you integrate your email marketing program into your other marketing efforts?
We at AccelaWork couldn't agree more. Not only are these six steps valuable in email marketing, they form a basic framework for any marketing project and in fact any repeatable and important business endeavor. By defining and following a process, you are much more likely to not only make better use of resources, but also generate more powerful results.
You wouldn't go into business without any plan of what you're trying to accomplish, so why would you go into a new endeavor of your business without similar planning? Reading it that way, it probably should seem like common sense, but far too many business owners don't properly gameplan before embarking on their email marketing journey. You may think that simply sending out emails is enough to get your organization more notice, but that isn't true! Unless you're sending the right content out to the right people at the right time then you're just wasting your time and the time of any email subscribers you might have. And there's nothing that gets someone to ignore emails or click that dreaded "unsubscribe" button faster than emails that aren't relevant to a subscriber.
Point 6 is especially important to touch on. "How will you integrate your email marketing program into your other marketing efforts?" Email shouldn't be the only way you market, and it shouldn't just reflect the other ways you market. Just as you wouldn't post the same message on Twitter and LinkedIn, you shouldn't send the same message through email as you would through direct mail. You shouldn't just reiterate points you made in a business lunch and learn in your email. Find ways to best utilize the medium in order to see the greatest return on investment. Treat your email marketing as an important facet of your approach and you'll soon see just how beneficial detailed, intelligent planning can be.
Thanks Lavon for the guest post! Learn more about email marketing at Delivra's website.
Lavon Temple is the Marketing Coordinator at Delivra where she is responsible for assisting with the day-to-day marketing activities. Lavon earned a bachelor’s degree in International Management from Butler University, Indianapolis, IN.
For more information on how to bring better email marketing to your organization, feel free to contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you optimize your process and see the best results! What are you waiting for?
A great example of this comes from Sean Black's blog. In "How Productive Are You?" he writes:
I started instituting quarterly time-logs where everyone individually tracked everything they did for a week in 15 minute increments using an always-open spreadsheet. I prefaced this exercise to the team by explaining that we were trying to make sure we were using their time effectively as well as find opportunities to automate, delegate or eliminate redundant tasks so they weren't mired in minutia.
Another comes from an article on Productivity501 called simply "How to do a time audit." Mark Shead provided the following advice:
Get some type of timer that can be set for a specific interval of time. You want to use 60, 30 or 15 minutes. Normally an hour is what you want to use. Set the timer to go off, but make sure you start at some odd time, like 8:11.... Each time the alarm goes off, write down what you are doing at that moment, reset the alarm, and go back to work. The process should take about 20 seconds. It will interrupt you, but the data should be well worth the inconvenience.
In essence, the suggestion is to obsessively record what you are doing so that you can review it later and make behavioral changes. In my view, however, this is a form of micromanagement, where you are the both the worst possible critic and the most abused employee.
Writing down how you spend every minute of every day will certainly help prove where you waste time. It's also likely to drive you crazy. Your life is not a crime scene where forensic experts are called in to piece together an exact timeline. Instead, it's actually valuable to do nothing to increase worker productivity. It's pretty hard to let your mind wander and come up with innovative, outside-the-box ideas when you have to check a box every seventeen minutes.
Instead of time auditing, I prefer keeping a daily journal to increase productivity growth. As I progress through the day, I type up some reflections on my progress. Sometimes these are notes on client interactions, or just a log of what I did. However, since it is written in retrospect, it's not a series of interruptions. Instead, it's a powerful way to close my day and get a sense of where I'm spending my time without obsessing over every minute.
Furthermore, the daily journal has a fantastic value for my team. It's available to everyone else at anytime, so they can comment on my progress and get a sense for what I'm doing. This isn't an audit, but rather a way of communicating and empowering others. It's a tool for ensuring success without having to prove that it actually happened.
As part of the Refresh Leadership blog, the piece warned about three problem areas:
By Fostering an Environment of Anonymity Companies that stick to all work and no play could be fostering an environment where anonymity – when an employee feels that no one sees or cares about them at work – thrives. And that can make for miserable employees.These might sound like no-brainers, but it's actually pretty easy to create a workplace where people have no sense of individual identity, no clear understanding of their job purpose, and feel that they lack independence.People want – and need – to be treated like people, all the time. That means employees need to genuinely know they’re heard, understood, and accepted at work. According to Patrick Lencioni, author of The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, solving the problem of anonymity is key to fostering fulfilled, valuable, passionate, and engaged employees. “People who see themselves as invisible, generic, or anonymous cannot love their jobs, no matter what they are doing,” Lencioni says.
By Failing to Convey Job Purpose Studies show that money can’t buy happiness. Having a sense of purpose on the other hand, can have an impact on how happy we feel. Employees who understand their purpose at work and why it’s meaningful are often more engaged, motivated, and happy.
By Missing Autonomy at Work A report by the Society for Human Resource Management found that autonomy – or the freedom to make choices in the workplace – had significant correlations with work satisfaction, commitment, retention, and low burnout. Other studies have found that those who feel they have the ability to make decisions and be accountable for them at work are happier and more productive.
The blog post does provide some good pointers for how to address these issues. However, we at AccelaWork feel that there's one action an employer can take that tackles all three and more. Ask an employee to select a process they'd like to improve, and then suggest they take ownership of positively transforming that workflow.
This isn't simply a cop-out for you to not have to solve the issue. Rather, it's a method that should produce the best results for everyone. When stakeholders are actually empowered to do work, they feel like real people, not just numbers. When they have an assignment that has true significance to the organization, they feel a sense of purpose. And when employees have ownership, they don't need direction. They become leaders all their own. Plus, there's a good chance that if a stakeholder has a problem with a process, they may have an idea or two on how to best fix that problem as well!
Think about all the best companies to work for, either those where you've worked or those you've heard about. What are the common trends that tie them together? There's probably a solid sense of purpose, a personal touch that makes employees feel involved, and plenty of autonomy. If your organization doesn't have those three things, then it's time to take a long look in the mirror to figure out why you don't feel you're able to implement such practices. If after reviewing your process, you still feel like bringing those three things to the forefront isn't possible, then it may be time for some realignment within your company. Because if morale isn't high, then there's no way success can be as high as you'd like.
Don't settle for mediocrity. Improve morale at your company in order to go from good to great. Talk to experts in employee engagement and process improvement. Don't hesitate to contact our business productivity consultants today!
One day, a package arrived at the lumber camp. It contained a strange device and a note explaining that it would revolutionize the lumber industry, and that a sales representative would be along in a few days to show how it worked.
The lumberjack picked up chainsaw, and spent a solid fifteen minutes swinging it at trees with all of his might. After all, this was how he had been chopping wood his entire career. Pretty quickly, he concluded that the newfangled technology was worthless and went back to his trusty axe.
Two days later, the salesman arrived. His first step was to show how to crank the chainsaw.
One year, a new administrator had been hired at headquarters named Sally. Her first major task on the job was to assist with organizing the conference, which included hand-lettering and sorting all of the name badges for the registration table. Sally spent many hours on this task and was excited about meeting everyone at the big event so she could associate names and faces.
Only a few minutes before arriving at the front desk, disaster struck. A gust of wind knocked the box from her arms, and the neatly organized name tags spilled into heap on the pavement. Panicked, Sally scooped them up and rushed into the hotel.
Just as she was trying to sift through the pile to get them back in order, the first participant arrived at the table. "Bill Parsons," the man said. "You must be Sally."
She apologized about the badges and began searching even more frantically. "I'll find it in a moment Mr. Parsons," Sally explained.
Bill laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it, Sally. I've been working for the company for more than thirty years. Pretty much everyone knows who I am. Heck, let's have a little fun with it."
The old man reached inside the messy box of badges and grabbed one at random. "Eleanor Mitchen. I'll wear this until she tracks me down and asks for it back." Then Bill Parsons walked away laughing.
Within a few seconds, someone else was speaking to Sally. "I saw Bill Parsons wearing someone else's name tag," the stranger noted. "What's going on?"
Sally explained and ended up giving the young man a random badge as well. Before she could really get to organizing the remaining items into alphabetical order, the line had started to form. People were digging into the box and grabbing the first name tag that came out. They all thought it was a fantastic way to get reacquainted with friends from years before. By the time breakfast was over, everyone had the correct badge and had met several new people. The opening speaker praised Sally for the "creative icebreaker."
The next year, Sally didn't bother to sort the name tags. She saved herself tons of time and helped make the conference a better experience for everyone.
Stay tuned for more campfire stories in future blogs! Or contact the consultants at AccelaWork for more details on the wisdom you can take from these stories.
My cellphone rang, and I did not recognize the number of the caller ID. I answered it anyway:
Me: This is Robby.Technician: Hello.
(silence)
Me: Hello, can you hear me?
Technician: Uh, yeah. It's going be $287.53. Okay?
Me: What? What are you talking about?
Technician: For the door. We already did the oil change.
Me: Oh! You must be calling from the repair shop.
Technician: Yeah. So, should I do it?
Me: Well what about the other stuff I asked for?
Technician: What other stuff?
Me: The coolant light. The tire pressure. I gave you guys a couple of things. I can't remember what all I said.
Technician: Oh. Yeah, we did all that. All that's left is the door.
Me: Okay. Three hundred bucks? I guess that's fine.
Technician: Okay. We'll give you a call back day after tomorrow.
Me: Wait, you aren't going to finish it today? It's only 10AM.
Technician: We have to get the parts. So, you'll get the car on Friday.
Me: I need it tomorrow. You know what, never mind. I'll come pick it up today. How much do I owe?
Technician: I dunno, let me get the billing department.
Me: Never mind. I'll be there soon.
(click)
It's easy to see what happened here. The mechanic knows he's calling from the garage, and he knows the problem with the car. He assumes that I too, know these things when I answer the phone.
Unfortunately, like most people, I have other things going on in my life besides waiting around for the shop to call me with an update. I also need information to make a decision. Here's how the call should have gone:
Me: This is Robby.Technician: Hello Mr. Slaughter, this is Ed calling from XYZ Repair shop about your 2008 Ford F150. Is this a convenient time to speak about the status of your vehicle?
Me: Yes, this is fine. What's up?
Technician: Well sir, you asked us to complete four tasks: an oil change, diagnose the coolant light, check the tire pressure and provide an estimate to repair the locking mechanism on the passenger side door.
We've completed the oil change without any problems.
We've also determined that you just needed a top-off on your coolant, so we took care of that as well.
We determined that you may have a slow leak in your front driver-side tire, but nothing to worry about now. We added some air.
Finally, we have determined the cause of the issue with the locking mechanism. We can order parts, but they won't be in until Friday morning. Our estimate for this repair, including parts and labor is $287.53. With the oil change, that would bring your total to $313.75.
Me: Hmm, well I'd like to fix the lock but it would be inconvenient not to be able to use the car tomorrow.
Technician: Not a problem sir. If you like, we can go ahead and order the parts and bill them for you now. Then we can hold the parts and schedule the service any time in the next thirty days. How does that sound?
Me: That sounds great. How much is it for the just the parts?
Technician: The parts for the lock repair are just $145.53. So with your oil change, your total is $171.75. Do you want to do that and pick up the car today? We can schedule the follow up visit when you come into the shop, or later by telephone.
Me: That sounds great. I'll be there within the hour. Thanks!
Technician: Our pleasure. See you soon!
The alternate version of this conversation is not only clearer, it's actually a little shorter. The only difference is actually having a plan for making outbound telephone calls.
These sorts of scripts are not difficult to write, but it's sometimes incredibly difficult to realize that they are necessary. Every aspect of routine work may benefit from checklists, protocols, patterns or artifacts. The next time you make a routine phone call, consider this story. You might just realize the need for a system.
Like a preview to a movie or a synopsis of a book, a menu is the opening act of your dining experience. It sets the stage for first impressions. And though it may appear to be a relatively insignificant tool, the truth is, a bad menu that misses the mark can taint the entire meal. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to me. Below are my first impressions of the restaurant's menu:
I have no idea what it's like to open a new restaurant. From what I can imagine it is no easy task. Between choosing the perfect location to achieving a marketing strategy that actually works—and all that lies in between—hard work and dedication are an absolute must. So it's not hard to imagine that anyone who expends such undying effort into a project would allow for anything less than success. After all, the last thing any participant wishes to see is their project fail. That is why ease of workflow is extremely valuable in business. Not only does it foster productivity, but it creates a fluid, less stressful environment that opens avenues for continuous process awareness and improvement.
Our job at AccelaWork is to help businesses reach a level of productivity that is both effective and satisfying for all stakeholders involved. After all, no one should have to work overtime to reap a small portion of benefits a business has to offer; particularly when it comes to buyers, customers and stakeholders.
Don't allow failed first impressions get the better of you or your business. Consider reaching out to the business process methodology specialists at AccelaWork today to learn more about how we can help get you back on top.
These two terms are based on the following abbreviations:
If you get on board a bus, however, it's almost always a case of LIFO. If you wait until everyone else has taken their seats and then enter the vehicle, you'll get a spot near the front. When you reach your destination, you'll get to exit first. Most public transportation is LIFO: last-in, first-out.
You probably have already noticed the primary difference between LIFO and FIFO. A first-in, first-out system is one that seems much more fair. People who were early get served first; those who were late get served last. A LIFO design, however, can be pretty frustrating. You go to all the trouble to show up early, and people who arrive just in the nick of time get to leave the bus sooner than you. LIFO usually seems unfair.
LIFO and FIFO aren't just about equity, however. These terms can also shed light on our perspective. A FIFO (first-in, first-out) system is also a LILO (last-in, last-out). A LIFO process, likewise, is also a FILO (first-in, last-out). If you enjoy an activity, you might prefer to stay longer. The first person to make a reservation at a popular hotel gets their choice of rooms and they can stay as long as they want. But the last person experiences LIFO—they don't have many choices and are forced to leave probably sooner than they want.
Most of the time these processes are dictated by the organization. If a grocery store tried to do LIFO with their eggs, the majority would go bad before they were sold. That would be wasted inventory and would lead to a decrease in profits. The same can be said for the example with the checkout line. Doing LIFO for that would be chaos. It's a no-brainer to go with FIFO. But not every situation is as cut and dry. The important thing isn't necessarily whether you operate in a LIFO or FIFO structure. The important thing is that you're mindful of why your operation does what it does.
There's one more important point about LIFO and FIFO: many processes only give an advantage on one side of the experience. A bus is usually LIFO, but the assigned seats on an airplane mean that you will depart by row number, not by the order in which you arrived. In fact, if you're sitting in a terminal, you might as well wait until the very last second before taking your seat! There's no advantage to being first. Commercial airliner boarding procedures are neither LIFO or FIFO. They are simply, always, time-consuming and frustrating.
Does your organization have processes that could be characterized as LIFO or FIFO? Or have you experienced systems out in the world that remind you of these terms? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you in the comments or have you contact our small business consultants today!
Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discussed this particular topic in the monthly NewFocus HR newsletter. In his article, Asking For More Productivity, Slaughter highlights three standard methods that companies lean on to improve employee performance: training, tools, and team building. Yet, according to Slaughter, these solutions can leave little to no effect on office productivity:
There is a thriving market for retreats, conferences, ropes courses, and other group activities. Any of these techniques might result in a bump in productivity, but we've all seen significant investments in these sorts of programs that seem to have no effect whatsoever. Is there any way to reliably increase the quantity and quality of employee work? The answer is easy to state but extremely difficult to put into practice. We know that individuals accomplish more when they are empowered, respected, and supported. In the entire history of the human resources business, that message has been a constant thread that employers and consultants have long struggled to put into practice. Instead of authoritatively sending people to training, we get more results by asking if they’d like to take any training classes and encouraging them to research and select programs on their own. The same logic applies to tools and team building. If we reach out to employees with ideas and seek their feedback, we’re much more likely to foster a true sense of ownership and camaraderie.Personally, once I went to two monitors, I couldn't imagine a life without both of them. But someone may be resistant to the idea. Forcing them to use technology they aren't comfortable with isn't going to help anyone. Instead, by giving the employee an option, you're allowing them to feel like they have a say in their work destiny. And it's more than likely that almost everyone is going to respond positively to your request. If someone doesn't, then maybe that can be an opportunity to find out why they'd be hesitant to such a change. It's a simple act, but it can improve everyone's experience in the workplace, from top to bottom.Take a well-known, concrete example: installing dual monitors at employee workstations. Multiple studies have shown that adding a second screen can increase performance by nearly 50% and reduce errors by one-third. The cost of the additional display is easily recovered in a few weeks, if not sooner. Yet forcing employees to use this technology is likely to hurt morale.
Improving worker productivity is a topic that AccelaWork discusses quite often in conjunction with stakeholder satisfaction. We strongly believe that empowering employees to analyze and implement business processes through the freedom of knowledge, responsibility, and authority is the best way to increase productivity. In conclusion of his article, Slaughter takes the opportunity to highlight this exact point:
Often, the best way to improve productivity is to grant others a little bit of freedom. Empower them to succeed by giving them the opportunity to explore. Seek their counsel on ways to transform their own work and ask for their guidance on how to make your office more efficient. You just might find ideas tucked away and undiscovered. Sometimes the smartest move of all is simply to listen.To learn more about improving productivity and satisfaction in your office, reach out to our our productivity consultants today.
AccelaWork came across an article from US News & World Report that provided sixteen tips aimed at helping employees keep their job. To say the very least, the column caught our eye but not because it was eye-opening. In this three part series, we divide these sixteen tips into three separate categories: The Hits, The Misses and The Nearly There.
Today, we'd like to tackle the tips we feel missed the mark in regards to helpfulness. Not only are they far from inspiring, but they convey a message that does little more than patronize and insult. Below are "the misses" quoted directly from the article, with our own translations:
Showing up to work first and leaving last shows your boss that you are dedicated to your job.
Translation: You don't have to be engaged or productive at work. So long as you're taking up space and expending your personal time you'll be safe.
No matter how much you hate your job, always show up with a smile on your face.
Translation: Don't attempt to rectify unsettling factors at work that leave you unhappy. Dissatisfaction in a job is just a part of life.
Bite the bullet and offer to take on the task that no one wants to do. Your boss (and coworkers) will love you for it.
Translation: Being empowered enough to admit that's not my job is far from useful in the large scheme of things.
It is very easy for companies to track what you do on your computer while in the office, especially online activities. Stay off of Facebook, don't check your personal emails, don't surf the web, and don't use your company email address to send personal emails.
Translation: You cannot trust yourself to define what is and what is not considered proper use of your time in the office.
Who would want to fire the life of the party?
Translation: Popularity trumps capability.
Whether or not you read the descriptions beneath each tip doesn't really matter. The bullet points are clear enough to interpret. In our view, they do nothing more than magnify the looming doubt and anxiety that already exists in stakeholders who fear for their jobs. To us, the overall theme is hard to deny:Bottom line: When keeping a job weighs heavier than actually doing your job, perhaps it's time to reevaluate. After all, what value is generated when the actions taken to prove it compromise the quality and level of work you perform?Despite how hard you work, the dedication you have, the expertise you hold or the results you produce, the only viable way to prove true value is by partaking in unnecessary actions that distract from workflow, stall productivity and force you to embrace activity that is perhaps outside your comfort zone.
Stay tuned for our views on the usefulness of tips that are "Nearly There".
It's getting harder to find copies of publications online that are nearly twenty years old. Here's a link to the Harvard Business Review article, Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work, which opens with this unbelievable paragraph [emphasis added]:
It is difficult to overstate the extent to which most managers and the people who advise them believe in the redemptive power of rewards. Certainly, the vast majority of U.S. corporations use some sort of program intended to motivate employees by tying compensation to one index of performance or another. But more striking is the rarely examined belief that people will do a better job if they have been promised some sort of incentive. This assumption and the practices associated with it are pervasive, but a growing collection of evidence supports an opposing view. According to numerous studies in laboratories, workplaces, classrooms, and other settings, rewards typically undermine the very processes they are intended to enhance. The findings suggest that the failure of any given incentive program is due less to a glitch in that program than to the inadequacy of the psychological assumptions that ground all such plans.It's not surprising that this idea hasn't taken hold. Just about every aspect of popular communication about work tries to connect getting more stuff with getting more stuff done. However, researchers have known for decades that rewards simply do not work. In fact, trying to give people bonuses or compensation for their efforts often has the opposite effect.
Here at AccelaWork, we've been talking about the relationship between incentives and productivity for years. We published Workplace Productivity and Motivation, which included a mesmerizing video on the topic. We then covered the fascinating comparison of two different research funding models and how they relate to worker productivity. Our business consultants even praised local businessman Michael Reynolds regarding his thoughts on the ROWE . Plus, we've taken on the Fox Network and their claims that rewards improve improve employee productivity.
You should read Kohn's full article for more information. If you only remember one thing, though, remember this:
Rewards do not motivate employees, they actually undermine employee motivation.We're pretty confident that this little blog post isn't going to kill millions of commission-driven sales plans, but we have to put out the word. Stop rewarding employees. Try respecting them instead.Instead, the best way to motivate employees is to empower them through respect and freedom.
Let us know how it goes for you.
This may be the most significant paradox of modern office life: amount of time does not equate to amount of work. This is startling, especially considering that many studies report that Americans are now working longer hours. One study from a HR firm Kronos, presented some frightening statistics:
The irony, of course, is that being at work has absolutely nothing to do with getting work done. In fact as we've pointed out before, the modern office is an interruption factory that decreases worker productivity. The office might just be the worst possible place to actually get something accomplished.
We tend to automatically assume that putting in tons of face time must prove you are getting a lot done. That's what has been drilled into us. An old episode of the television show Seinfeld explains why this isn't the case:
Mr. Wilhelm (To George): I'm sorry to interrupt you, but Mr. Steinbrenner and I really want you to know we appreciate all the hours you've been putting in (mentioning the car in the parking lot)...and, uh, confidentially, Sozonkel, our Assistant to the General Manager, hasn't really been working out, and the boss thinks you're the man for the job! So keep it under your hat!Just because you appear to be in the office doesn't mean you're actually getting anything done. Organizations need to recognize that it's the results that matter, not the face time or even the number of hours logged. If we only look at when people seem to arrive and depart, George Costanza seems like the most productive employee of all time. Even the casual Seinfeld viewer knows that nothing could be farther from the truth.(Jumps to Jerry's Apartment) George: Assistant to the General Manager! You know what that means? He could be askin' my advice on trades! Trades, Jerry! I'm a heartbeat away! Jerry: That's a hell of an organization they're running up there. I can't understand why they haven't won a pennant in 15 years. George: And, it's all because of that car. You see, Steinbrenner is like the first guy in, at the crack of dawn. He sees my car, he figures I'm the first guy in. Then, the last person to leave is Wilhelm. He sees my car, he figures I'm burning the midnight oil. Between the two of them, they think I'm working an 18 hour day! Jerry: Locking your keys in your car is the best career move you ever made.
"Facetime" is a paradox. The more people see you at the office, the less work you are probably getting done. Focus on the process work and the actual outcome, not the appearances. Efficiency is key. Taking eight hours to do something that someone else can do in four doesn't make you a harder worker. It means you're wasting more time than they are. Work is what matters at work.
Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discussed this particular topic in a column for the Indianapolis Business Journal. In his article We need a remote-work revolution, Slaughter pointed out the common office interruptions that stall rather than promote productivity:
Workplaces aren't like school libraries, where silence is golden and quiet intellectual pursuit is the foundation of progress.Instead, they are buzzing with conversation, ringing phones, shuffling papers, whirring copy machines, squeaky hinges and clunking footfalls. If you’re lucky enough to have your own walls, you can escape some of the chaos by closing your door. Most of us, however, work in cubes and must battle dozens of interruptions per hour.
According to Slaughter, with the advancement of technology and ease of data accessibility, working in an office where cubicles, equipment and centralized files once served a purpose is no longer a necessity. In fact, he questions the institution of centralized workplaces since, to him, they appear to do more harm than good:
According to a New York Times article, we spend an average of 5.6 hours per week in meetings and 71 percent of us report that these sessions are “unproductive.” Most of the work we do is solitary and most of the value we provide requires concentration. Why suffer from the interruptions and overhead expense of an office, if most of the time most of us don’t need it, anyway?. . .
The most fundamental reason we have not shifted the brunt of office work away from the office is because our business culture is based more on assessing the appearance of productivity than on actual results. People humming about in offices look busy, even though in reality they are constantly interrupting one another and struggling against the inconvenience of commuting and set hours.
Whether inside or outside the office walls, empowering stakeholders to create and control their own work environments can not only build an immense amount of satisfaction, but assist in raising an employee's ability to increase their own productivity. What needs to be realized is that every person works differently. Therefore, perhaps it's more sensible for the stakeholders, rather than corporations, to determine the way in which they work best. After all, despite the environment, being accountable for work is reason enough for employee's to maintain performance and quality.
To learn more about AccelaWork's views on telecommuting and how we can help your business, contact our business improvement solutions experts today!
In the article Employers rethinking the 5-day workweek, thoughts as to whether or not the idea of shortened office hours is better for a company and its stakeholders vary greatly. According to Robert Whaples, a professor of economics at Wake Forest University, compressing the workweek and making it the new standard is a far-fetched idea. He cites conformity as the main factor: "the traditional five-day, 40-hour week simply has been in place too long."
Yet, to other professionals, work flexibility is invaluable when it comes to productivity and stakeholder satisfaction. In fact, two entrepreneurs quoted in the article feel strongly that success at work shouldn't be based on how many hours put in, but rather upon the actual results that come from being efficient and empowered.
“It’s pathetic,” said Nadine Mockler, founder of Flexible Resources Inc., a staffing firm. “Most companies are not allowing flexibility. They want people there, they want face time, they want to make sure work is getting done, and now people are working even longer.”From sleep rooms to increase productivity growth to drinkable energy for a boost to employee productivity, we have discussed all sorts of gimmicky solutions that aim to sustain individual well-being while achieving productivity at work. But the truth of the matter is, every workplace culture is different. Just because one company finds a 40-hour workweek a necessity, does not mean other companies can't have success with a 30-hour one. Essentially, what works for one team of stakeholders may not work for another. And that is why AccelaWork cautions companies about developing office environments based upon societal norms rather than what's actually conducive to your business. Our philosophy is simple:This is happening, she added, even though providing such flexibility makes the workforce more efficient.
Leigh Steere, co-founder of management research firm Managing People Better, agreed and pointed to a study done by Microsoft in 2005 that found workers who put in 45 hours a week said they were only productive for about three days.
“Employers should be paying based on results delivered and not hours worked,” she said. “Should a person who can deliver a project in two days be paid the same as a person who takes six days to perform the same work?”
Please conduct your work wherever and whenever you feel you can be most productive, most efficient, most effective and most satisfied.That might sound a little bold. After all, shouldn't employees come into the office most days? Shouldn't they have set working hours? Shouldn't we define what kind of work can and cannot be done from home?
The answer to all of those questions is a firm “maybe.” If there are reasons to be in the office, to work specific hours, or to specify where work should be done, it’s likely that employees will have the best perspective to generate these reasons and make sound decisions. We trust our employees to do what they believe is best for the company. Ultimately, any corporate policy is either a reminder of what everyone knows or a restriction on how people should behave.
Great organizations have great workplace productivity. If we want employees to be innovative, we don’t need to tell them where to get their work done. Instead, we need to focus on making sure they are fully empowered to work. Brilliance comes from being unencumbered.
For more information on how to transform your workflow and your perspective, contact our small business consulting firm today!
A writer named Maxime Haineault noted in his post, The Importance of a Well Thought Workflow, that the workflow of an automated teller machine (ATM) makes a tremendous impact on the customer experience. He outlined a sequence that will probably seem familiar. Unfortunately, that site has since been taken offline, but we were able to save the steps of that sequence for you.
What's the problem? As Haineault, explained, there have been many times that he was walked away after step six, leaving the machine open with his account and holding his personal ATM card!
- Insert your card
- Select your preferred language
- Enter your PIN
- Chose an action (withdraw)
- Enter the desired amount and press OK
- Receive your money
- Wait a few seconds for the next screen to load
- Then the next screen asks if you want to make another transaction (let's say no)
- Wait a few seconds and retrieve your card from the teller machine
The solution is incredibly straightforward. Change the workflow to make the order sensible, and the system becomes easier to use and less error prone. The blogger explains:
The second workflow is better because nobody would walk out of the bank without the money they came to withdraw and they give your the money AFTER you get back your card. This wouldn't solve 100% of problems, but it would take care of the majority. If someone did leave without their money, they're clearly a bigger issue at play.
- Insert your card (language is picked transparently from your bank account preferences)
- Enter your PIN
- Chose an action (withdraw)
- Enter the desired amount
- A new screen appears asking if you want to make another transaction (no)
- Retrieve your card
- Receive your money
This might be only a small detail, but on a large scale system the impact is substantial. And it's the small details that can be of the highest importance once an organization is functioning at nearly maximum efficiency. Plenty of companies do most things right, but the closer you can get to an optimal system, the more you can differentiate yourself from your competition.
In essence, this is what productivity consultants do. We closely analyze workflow and look for ways to make improvements.
Just because things seem to be working fine, that doesn't mean it's time to get complacent. The Baseball Magazine wrote about how the tiniest margin can impact a baseball game.
Almost everyone has sat in a game where a hot liner struck the fence almost exactly at the top. Had the ball been even an inch higher it would have gone into the stand and been a home run. As it was, it is seldom more than a fly ball. Note that the bat met the ball below the center. This ball was hit so low that it will probably result in a foul fly behind the catcher. a two-base hit and may bound back so far from its impact with the fence as to go for a scant single. Now just what was the difference in this instance between a home run, which may have broken up the game, and a hit that was merely a safe hit? The difference was probably not over a hundredth of an inch, perhaps not over a thousandth of an inch in the elevation of the plane at which the bat met the ball.Your company may not rely on hundredths of inches, but if you can find ways to maximize your workflow, then who knows how much more successful you may become?
Learn more. Contact our business process consulting team today!
Joe works for a well known contracting business that focuses mainly on window installment and repair. Recently, the company has dabbled in some other projects such as general household maintenance, bathroom remodeling, and wood restoration for decks and patios. However, Joe's mission isn't to actually sell these services. Instead, his goal is to sell the business as a whole so that callers are convinced and eager enough to accept a free in-home consultation. Essentially, he sells appointments.
Like many companies, Joe has a predetermined dialogue that he has the option to follow. It is below:
SALES SCRIPTHello. How are you doing today?
My name is Joe and I am calling from ABC Windows. We are currently doing work in your neighborhood and figured that since we were near you perhaps you'd like to receive a free estimate on some home repair. Have you seen our signs in the neighborhood or seen our commercials on TV?
Well, in case you haven't, let me give you a quick background on our company . . .
Do you have any work that needs to be done in your house?
If you sign up for a free consultation today, I'll be able to enter you into a drawing to win at $30,000 home makeover. Can you please confirm the following information: [Home address, home phone, email address]. Regardless of whether you're able to keep the appointment or not, you'll still be eligible to win the big prize!
Thank you for making an appointment with us. Someone from customer service will call to confirm with you 48 hours prior to the appointment.
Simply having a sales script makes Joe's life easier. And in fact, as time progressed and his comfort level rose, Joe began straying a bit from the script to develop more of a personal rapport with the caller on the other end of the line. His personal touch and ability to morph a soliciting phone call into a laid back conversation serves him well since, on average he secures 36 appointments per month (about 1-2 appointments per day).
But is that enough for the company? To understand what happens after Joe finishes a call, we need to look at the overall sales process for ABC Windows. This is part of their sales and marketing funnel. Below is a diagram that demonstrates a typical month with Joe's figures:
600 Calls made. 36 Appointments set up.
6% success rate.
-------
18 Appointments confirmed.
50% success rate.
-------
12 in-home sales made.
66% success rate.
-------
3 sales secured.
25% success rate.
This diagram is not a way to lessen the amount of success that Joe has nor does it deny his ability as a salesman. Instead, it provides a simplistic visual on exactly how ABC Window's funnel system works. By looking at it this way— appointments made vs. actual sale—it may be easier to determine whether or not the process as a whole is worthwhile.
Take a moment to consider the sales equation. There are many factors beyond those shown above. Based on what you know, what would you recommend to ABC Windows? What would you say to Joe?This may be an example that doesn't directly relate to your organization, but the idea behind it can spread far beyond telemarketing. Finding new ways to evaluate your success can reveal whether the processes you've put in place are actually effective. For more information on this, feel free to contact the business improvement team at AccelaWork today.
In his guest post, The Double Audience, Double Editing Rule, Slaughter encouraged readers to adopt a particular process that increases productivity, quality and effectiveness of marketing communication:
One of the most profound techniques is a four-word rule: “Double Audience, Double Editing.” It means that for each time you increase the size of your audience by 100%, you need to make an extra pass at your editing process. So if you have a report completed by you and a colleague that is going to be reviewed by your boss and the company president, you should have another person edit the work. That’s because you’re doubling your audience from two people up to four people total.. . .
Remember that productivity is not about working harder, but working smarter. Efficient, effective communication is judicious and thoughtful. Take time to produce great marketing copy, and take more time as you have more customers. You’ll be glad you made the investment.
Here at AccelaWork, we talk a lot about productivity, particularly when it comes to email marketing and correspondence. That's because we understand just how influential electronic messaging can be when establishing and increasing business. To learn more about how we can help positively enhance your office, reach out to our business process improvement consultants today!
In the blog post, Banner wrote:
The heroic worker is the one who comes to the rescue when things fall apart, working 20 hour days if needed to patch together a project. They usually wear several hats, sometimes a few at once. I used to admire these heroic workers, standing in awe of their accomplishments. No more.Banner was absolutely correct. It's easy to adore people who can achieve amazing feats, but it's more important to ask why we need flashes of superhuman effort in the first place.So what's wrong with a hard working employee that can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Isn't that a good thing?
Having a heroic worker around can seem like a good thing but really it's more like business heroin. The company gets hooked and keeps going back to the heroic worker to bail them out without addressing the underlying issues.
The post went on to list ways to spot workplace heroes, which included:
All of these issues are near to our hearts here at AccelaWork. We've blogged extensively about how not to view job security and worker productivity. We've talked about the importance of balancing work and life and how it affects employee satisfaction, as well as the business process methodology of efficient vacations. A great employee is not an irreplaceable superhero. Instead, fantastic workers are those that show up and make consistent, meaningful, independent progress every day.
- They brag of their hard work, lack of sleep, and general suffering.
- They keep several key areas of the business in lockdown, unwilling to share their "secrets" with others
- They regularly send emails late at night reminding everyone else that they are still working.
- They sincerely believe that the company would go out of business without them.
- They rarely take real vacations.
Banner breaks it down well.
Effective systems are at the core of every healthy business. Systems are the enemy of chaos. So heroic workers usually resist systems. Systems remove the organizational need for regular heroism.He's 100% correct. It's great to have someone to step up in a time of distress, but the better question is why is that time of distress happening? Why are we putting ourselves in a position where systems failed and we needed corrective action? Why are we operating without a solid system in place? Before being quick to praise superheroes in the workplace, figure out why someone feels the need to act in such a way. And be sure that their heroism isn't all talk. After all, no one feels the need to talk about how much they work more than someone who doesn't work all that much.
Once we find a way to institute a solid system in the workplace, you'll notice the need for superheroes decreases. If Gotham City finds a way to stop all super villains, then Batman will no longer be needed. That means Gotham will be a better place.
Jeb Banner wraps up his post with an intriguing comment:
In a healthy company with an effective system everyone can be replaced. I've learned that myself, the hard way.This sentiment may be the hardest to swallow. It's true that great organizations have great systems. Companies should be able to survive the loss of individual stakeholders. That doesn't mean you should expect to lose your job. Instead, you should focus on being consistently valuable, not inconsistently heroic. The tortoise, not the hare, always wins the race.
For more information on how to find consistency in the workplace, contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today!
Of course, you already know the basics of a how a library operates. There are books on the shelves. Each book has a code printed on the spine, which is usually known as call numbers. All of the books throughout the library are referenced by a master index called a card catalog, which is a directory of all of the books and their individual call numbers. (Modern libraries have a computerized system but they basically work the same way.) It's all based on the Dewey Decimal system, allowing numbers to stand for topics. Fiction books have a different system. Instead of using numbers, they're labeled with the first three letters of the author's last name.
Every library has the same set of basic activities. Workflow experts call these use cases, because they are particular scenarios which have utility. And again, you know what they are:
Anyway, volunteering at the Padua Academy library has reminded me that one of the two above tasks is a ton of work. I spent most of my volunteering time helping the staff with this activity, and I barely make a dent. It's not finding books on the shelves; it's putting them back.
Libraries are optimized for task #1 (finding books) at the expense of task #2 (re-shelving books). It takes forever to do this. It can literally take hours to re-shelve just one cart of books, especially if they're spread out through the library. Yet, if you think for a moment, there's no reason why it has to be so time consuming to put the stock back into the stacks. In fact, with a simple change, you can make re-shelving almost totally painless without affecting task #1. Here's the new system:
Instead of re-shelving books back in the "right" place; just stick them wherever is convenient. Then, record the new location in the master catalog so that the next person who wants to find the book will be able to do so.This sounds like a brilliant solution. You don't have to walk all over the library putting books away. You just need to go between the card catalog and the closest shelf with some leftover space. If you have a computer-based card catalog, the system is even faster. You don't even have to write down the new spot. Just plug it into the computer!
And of course, if someone wants to find a book, they are going to start by looking up where to find it in the library. Perfect! No more spending countless hours carefully putting books back in the "right" place. Sure, the library will shuffle like a deck of cards, but you'll be able to find anything just as fast.
However, this proposed solution has a terrible, enormous flaw. Can you see what it is? Sound off in the comments. We'll reveal our viewpoint in a future post.
And if this post has made you think about workflow within your own organization, feel free to contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork. We can help you be mindful of the processes you've put in place.
If you're building a enormous nationwide telephone system, the "last mile problem" refers to the fact that the most expensive and difficult part of the network are the endpoints. These bits of infrastructure only service a handful of people and are often in remote locations. Putting in these "last miles" is incredibly costly, perhaps much more so than high-density areas near the core of the overall system.
An article by Forbes further explains this problem:
A majority of the population in developing economies live in rural areas often accessible only by poor quality road infrastructure. Furthermore, geographical isolation or limited access to relevant information disconnects populations in many developing countries from any business value chain. The consequence—which can affect both urban and rural populations—is that products providing essential value either do not reach the intended customers or are more expensive or lower quality than the standard products that are accessible by other populations.Likewise, there's a very old joke about computer programming by Tom Cargill of Bell Labs.
The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time.So what is the Last Hour Problem? It's that the most time-consuming, nerve-wracking, expensive, and painful hour of almost any project is the final hour.
In fact, the last hour is rarely actually an hour! Have you ever found yourself on a project where the math works out as:
5 hours of writing + 1 hour of editing = 10 hours of work
Or even if it isn't two separate portions of the same task. You're rolling along on something, making great progress, maybe even ahead of schedule, and suddenly you feel like you hit a wall. You can't make any progress forward even though you can see the end just around the corner.There are two main reasons why the last hour is the worst hour of all. First, the farther we get into a project, the more we become a perfectionist. We start to see the possibility of the final result, and we keep tweaking and tweaking and tweaking. The second issue is simply fatigue. After staring at the same material for a long period of time, we start to make mistakes more easily. These errors become harder and harder to detect, which is especially difficult considering the rising problem of perfectionism.
Another potential problem is fear. That plays into becoming a perfectionist, but if we fear that our work isn't good enough, we're going to put off finishing as a way to put off disappointing whoever the project is due to. But, there's nothing about extending a project that makes it better.
The solution to all of these problems is smarter process design. If you have other people in your organization, divide up duties to avoid perfectionism and fatigue. If you are working alone, adjust your schedule so that you take breaks and switch to new projects. Wherever possible, define your standards and your expectations before you begin. That way, you are more likely to be on time and on budget with your projects.
Watch out for that last hour! If you're not careful, it can keep you up all night.
For more tips on how to maximize your projects from start to finish, don't hesitate to contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you retain efficiency until the end!
Today, we continue our efforts by taking a look at five more ideas that have merit but need to be amended. Below are the tips that are "nearly there" quoted directly from the original article.
We've also added our own feedback:
Make sure your boss knows how hard you are working and what you are working on by giving him or her progress reports on a weekly basis. If your boss has evidence that you are pulling your weight, he or she will be less likely to fire you.
Feedback: Progress reports are a great way to gauge productivity. They can help you keep organized and can provide a team with useful mechanism to passively coordinate work.
However, they should never be used defensively. If you find yourself spending time trying to prove your value rather than being productive, consider looking for a job where you'll be valued for doing your work.
Be sure to avoid drama whenever possible. [Try:] "I'm so sorry, I really have to finish this project. Maybe we can catch up later after work?"
Feedback: While asking your coworker to "catch up later" is a polite response, perhaps it's best to lead them directly to someone who can actually help (like the HR department.)
In general, though, while you don't want to engage in drama, you do want to be aware of the issues. For example, if a colleague is experiencing personal loss or crisis, be especially conscientious in your interactions with them.
Even though you should avoid drama, try to stay informed about what other people are saying about you.
Feedback: Maintaining and improving relationships with coworkers is incredibly important. However, when it comes to your own career and image, do more than "stay informed." It may be more productive to head directly to the source. Doing so will demonstrate just how diligent you are about establishing positive work relationships.
Only take a sick or personal day when you absolutely need to do so...Whenever you're feeling lazy, just remember the countless unemployed people who would love to have your job.
Feedback: While we certainly don't condone playing hooky, Slaughter Development recognizes that a fried brain can have an impact on your work.
In any case, you shouldn't be driven by fear at work but instead by genuine passion.
If you are on a new project and no one seems to be taking charge, step up and be a leader. They can't fire you if you're the point person of an important ongoing project.
Feedback: If it’s within your expertise, sure. Volunteering for a position you are not comfortable handling simply because no one else is stepping up, however, sounds like countercompetence.
If you’re taking on random projects just to make yourself impossible to fire, maybe there’s something fishy about your working environment
Make sure your boss knows about your family by keeping pictures of them on your desk or bringing them to company parties when appropriate. Also, show an interest in your boss's family in return. Employers are less likely to fire someone they have a personal relationship with. Just be wary of over sharing. Keep personal conversations light and upbeat.
Feedback: If it is sincere and time appropriate, having a conversation about life outside the office can help create a sense of commonality and break an overly formal barrier. If possible however, be strategic about when this interaction occurs. Personal conversations can become a distraction and leave you scrambling to complete your work.
Stay tuned for our views on the tips that "hit the mark" in regards to usefulness.
"Making Your Customers More Productive", a guest post written by Robby Slaughter for Delivra's blog, focused in on why particular email marketing strategies could be more problematic than helpful. To help describe his thoughts, Slaughter's post highlighted an experience of his own:
Just last week, I received an email marketing message about an upcoming seminar. All of the key information was helpfully displayed right in the body of the message, including the date, location, time, and cost of the program. But when I went to copy and paste this text to add to my calendar, I discovered it was actually an image of the content! I had to manually reproduce the details by retyping them into my electronic day planner.
According to Slaughter, marketing messages are an expense not just to the marketer, but to the recipient as well. So, instead of incurring costs for design, composition, delivery, and support—as well as time and attention—it would be more beneficial to adopt a clearer, more personalized perspective on the process.
Finally, it's important to remember that marketing messages are paid for twice. As the marketer, you pay a cost to design, compose, send and support the message. But the recipient also pays a cost: the time and attention to read your message. We can reduce the cost to subscribers by making email marketing messages easier to read and process. But we can also reduce the cost by giving them something for the courtesy of their time: special discounts, exclusive access, or personalized content. Doing so acknowledges the value of their efforts, which in turn, increases subscriber productivity.What that means is you have to think wisely about your marketing materials. Be mindful of the purpose and the user experience. If you don't think about what you would like in a message, then you aren't likely to deliver a message that your customers like. The person who sent Slaughter the image invitation likely didn't think about the fact it wasn't in a format that could be copied and pasted. They likely didn't think about the fact it wasn't in a format that could be searchable. Their error wasn't a malicious one, it was simply a case of failing to be mindful of the purpose.
That is sometimes hard to do. It's hard to separate yourself from your work and look at it with an objective eye. You know what you meant to do, but that can make it hard to truly know if your message is coming across in the intended way. Your brain could be filling in the gaps for you. That's why it can be helpful to bring a consultant into the fold. If you don't take steps to ensure the recipient's time is going to be maximized, then you're surely going to lose focus and eventually lose subscribers.
It's important to find ways to help your subscribers. The easier you make it for them to utilize your materials, the better response you're going to get. Don't expect your customers to work for you. Do the work for them. Make their lives easier. Think about their process, and do everything you can to maximize it for them. If you do that, then you're going to get the productive audience that your time and marketing deserve.
To learn more about captivating target audiences through clear, productive communication, don't hesitate to contact our productivity consultants today.
The story came from a public services agency that coordinates on-site visits to constituents. The overall process has many steps, but here are a few key aspects of this process:
That's how we discovered this story. An on-site visit was scheduled for the Thursday before a three-day weekend consisting of a Federal Holiday. On Tuesday, the following automated email went out:
To: Joe Public Cc: Jill Agent Subject: Your Public Services ReportThis is a classic example of email productivity gone awry. Counting the weekend and the holiday, five business days have not yet passed. The agent feels frustrated that they've been "called out" even though the report is really not even due. The constituent might call up a supervisor to complain. Although this is an efficient system, it's not one that is all that effective!Dear Constituent:
By now, you should have received your report from your agent. If you have not received this report, please contact the service provider.
Regards, Public Services Agency
The language used in the email makes the problem especially obvious. It's a little passive-aggressive and could be written in a friendlier tone. But even if the report was delivered before the message was sent it doesn't provide any value. This email is at the very least redundant and at the most insulting. All it proves is that the automated system doesn't know the status of the report. Why would any company want to broadcast their system's ignorance to customers?
Just because you can put a system in place, doesn't mean you should. If an automated system doesn't add to the efficiency and productivity of your process, then it's probably time to look for a different solution. Systems for the sake of systems aren't going to help anyone, you or your customers.
Here at AccelaWork, we love smart workflow. A good email management system is possible. When in doubt, ratchet down the technology and spend more time studying the human side of workflow. You'll often find that there are smarter ways to work. Reach out to our organizational productivity experts to learn more.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned on the New Jersey Turnpike
For me, the corollary to Robert Fulghum’s book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” took place during a Christmas break in college. One of my fraternity brothers and I were taking a statistics class together in which we had to complete a class project. Our project involved counting the cars queued up at a toll plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike during the peak of holiday travel. If I were to write a book about that day, I would title it “All I Really Need to Know I Learned on the New Jersey Turnpike”. Like many book titles, that’s a bit of an exaggeration – but for me that experience kindled an appreciation for the value of robust business processes.
Yesterday I was working with a client on a process and once again I drew from the well of experience that began that day on the New Jersey Turnpike. This client has a fixed window of time in which to serve a large number of customers (like the holiday travelers) with varying needs (similar to one traveler who has exact change, and other who needs change, and a third who has an E-Zpass). The precise number of customers and their specific needs are uncertain. The process the client designed was built for maximum efficiency assuming a particular profile of needs – similar to assuming that for every five vehicles, two would have an E-Zpass, two would have exact change and one would need change.
While the client’s process design was efficient, it was not flexible and if his assumptions about the consistent mix of people’s needs was off, it would be a mess. Using my toll plaza analogy, I advised him to be sure that all his workers were cross trained to handle the variances between exact change, needing change, or E-Zpasses. We stationed someone to monitor the queue at each “toll both”, and planned in the flexibility to convert lanes to any one of the three types throughout the day, re-balancing as needed based on the queues.
In the spirit of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”, the simple lesson I learned at the toll plaza and applied yesterday is: in an environment fraught with uncertainty, focus on flexibility. If your work environment includes this element of uncertainty, perhaps your processes need the flexibility of team members who are cross-trained and equipped to perform multiple roles with someone to monitor the process and decide when to open another “E-Zpass lane”.
Harry Howe is President of Howe Leadership and provides hands-on consulting support to business owners who have become victims of their own success.
It's certainly out of the ordinary that a top-selling waitress, who no doubt works hard to secure every cent she receives in gratuity, would willingly drop all of her tips into a communal jar for equal distribution at the end of each night. After all, in an industry where minimum wage is the base salary, tips are all the rage (and virtually the only source of a profitable income.) So what could possibly motivate anyone to happily share all their hard earned money? According to Ms. Mueller, working as a team and sharing tips is less stressful, less hectic and highly beneficial to the consumer:
For most servers, coworkers are our competition. Instead of spending our shift concentrating solely on the patrons, we're also spending it stressed about how often our section is seated, how quickly we can turn over tables, and which servers are getting unfair advantages from the hostess, manager or even customer. So, regardless of the fact that I was top in sales, it didn't stop me from going into work every single day nervous about how worthwhile my shift would be.When management had the idea of pooling tips, they approached me first to see if I'd be willing to partake in the venture. I didn't hesitate to say yes because I had confidence in the result: a happier, calmer, friendlier staff that helps and cooperates with one another while still making money.
Turns out, I have actually seen a rise in my income and in my sales. And as great as the money is, the best part is that I have managed to earn a living without the stress and anxiety that once accompanied my workday.
AccelaWork sends along our kudos to all restaurants and businesses that empower their employees to create workflow that not only reflects well upon themselves and of the group, but does so in a creative way that breaks the norm. This story in particular opens the door on a new perspective—one that revolves around positively managing workplace dynamics through innovative solutions and trust. In the words of our Indianapolis speaker, Robby Slaughter:
. . . We can all acknowledge that responsible people thrive in an environment of freedom. Fewer restrictions and less bureaucracy create greater potential for innovation. Brilliance often requires knowing the rules and knowingly setting them aside. Most important, responsible people will work because they are driven by the satisfaction of progress and discovery.In our view, stepping outside the box to generate techniques that not only enhance business but bring stakeholder satisfaction is a powerful combination. Good employees will be even better in a system that empowers them. Bad employees will stand out like a sore thumb. You'll have your organization move forward, while maybe weeding out some who don't have the same goals and work ethic that your top employees do.Likewise, irresponsible people quickly stand out in a culture that emphasizes freedom. They will exploit any cookie jar left unguarded. They will be lazy and complacent. If they are rarely monitored, their work will barely advance.
Does this sound familiar? If you or your company have integrated new and unique systems into your office, we'd love to hear about it here at The Methodology Blog. Feel free to share your story with us by commenting directly on this post.
In a guest post published on the Golden Technologies Blog, Slaughter educated readers on three separate ways they can achieve productivity despite particular shortcomings in technological understanding. Below are his tips:
- Figure out what can go wrong: If you’ve personally experienced catastrophic issues with computers, this is easy to do: just think about your worst experiences. But even if your computer productivity problems mostly take place in nightmares, it’s still not that difficult to come up with scenarios. A machine could be stolen or irreparably damaged. Files could become corrupt or go missing. Services could grind to a halt. A mission critical software feature could suddenly stop working. It’s not too tough to think of what could go wrong, and doing so is the first step.
- Take simple, preventative actions. You should rely an expert IT team and legal team to mitigate major organizational risks. But as an individual, you can give yourself a great deal of comfort by preventing major issues on your own. Make a copy of your most critical documents and put them on a USB disk inside a locked drawer at your desk. If you’re working on a major document on deadline, frequently save extra copies with the current time and date in the file name. If there’s a chance you might run out of toner and paper, always keep extra reserves in a cabinet. Take steps on your own to prevent the worst from happening!
- Look for patterns – If you find yourself repeating the same task over and over again on the computer, take note of the steps involved. You may be inadvertently taking the long way around, or a technology expert might be able to help you automate your work. If you record these patterns—and then show them off to others—you may just a smarter, faster way to work.
We've talked before about how automation isn't always the solution. Just because implementing a new technology should make things more efficient, doesn't mean that it will. You need to be smart about the way you're approaching technological advancement in the office. Certain things can be greatly improved by bringing the newest technology into the fold. But you need to be mindful about your process and whether you're actually doing things in the best way.
In the same sense, don't wait until you have a problem to fix it. New technologies are ripe for unexpected problems. You need to review what could potentially go wrong before getting stuck into a system that's going to waste a ton of time and hurt the bottom line. Imagine a new automated phone-answering system. If that system goes haywire and doesn't route any calls through, then you're going to have major problems in your office. But if that system goes haywire and you haven't figured out how to shut it off before the problem strikes, then you're going to have a much bigger disaster on your hands. It's as simple as being smart and mindful about the processes you put in place.
Achieving productivity at work isn't just about being organized and getting specific tasks done. It's also about establishing workflow that leaves you prepared ahead of time for future projects, events and even problems. If you'd like to learn more about how AccelaWork can help you, reach out out our productivity consultants. We'd love to help you prepare for the worst while finding ways to improve your systems across the board.
Damie Allison did not expect to spend two-weeks fighting with her cable provider to get her phone line, modem, and router repaired when they were struck by lightning. But, that's exactly what happened. Her unbelievable story is below:
The day my computer line was struck by lightning I called Comcast. Since my home phone was out, I called from my cell phone which has a (561) area code [which is south Florida]. I followed the automated prompts and dialed in my home phone number to access my account. Though my home phone is a (317) area code, the system—in an attempt at being efficient—overrode the number dialed and routed my call to the south Florida office. Unfortunately, the Florida representative informed me she couldn't help because my account was established in Indiana. She gave me the direct 1-877 number for the Indianapolis office and manually transferred me to them.While the idea of establishing a more efficient call system is great, Comcast's attempt at improving the process failed before it even began. Here's why: They did not take into consideration all realms of possibility in regards to phone calls. Namely, they failed to recognize that not only have cell phones become main phone lines of many consumers, but such numbers don't define a caller's actual location. As the diagram below demonstrates, Comcast's system is nothing more than an infuriating process that is never-ending and ineffective for customers.After I was connected, I went through the motions again by plugging in my home phone number. I was told by a local representative that home phone customers are a high priority and I would have an appointment within 48 hours. Though I was assured that someone would call me the following day, I never received a call. Concerned, I called the direct Indianapolis office line, but my call was repeatedly denied. I simply kept getting automated messages saying my "call cannot be completed as dialed". I was forced to call 1800-Comcast, wait on hold and go through all the motions only to be routed to S. Florida again where I was told only the Indianapolis office could help me.
It took days to finally get an appointment, and even then they expected me to wait over a week. Though I was upset, I waited patiently for the service. Yet, when the day of the appointment arrived, no one called or showed up. When I called Comcast, I was once again thrown into the circulation of re-routed calls and transfers. Afterwards, I found out that my appointment was rescheduled and occurred three days prior to my original time. Since I was unaware of this change, I wasn't home to let the tech in.Though this productivity paradox makes us cringe, we all can empathize with Damie's experience. In fact, we've covered a similar corporate productivity issue with Comcast's main competitor! The story brings to light just how important AcclaWork's mission is when it comes to workflow and stakeholder satisfaction. To learn more about what we do and how we can help your company effectively improve processes in your office, contact our consulting firm today!Turns out, after Comcast finally repaired my phone system, I was able to check my home phone's voicemail. Only then did I discover that Comcast called to alert me that my appointment changed. Yet, my service ticket in their system specifically noted that my home phone was out and in need of repair. To this day I'm still baffled: Why were they calling that number and leaving messages on it when they knew specifically it wasn't working? To me, their attempts at an efficient process is nothing more than a fried system of misdirection, miscommunication, and misguidance.
Robby Slaughter's guest post, Devoting Time To Online Marketing, was featured on the Delivra Blog.
For your reading convenience, the blog is below:
I started this blog post at exactly 8:30:00 and I have the clock running on my screen while I type. The pressure is on to produce three hundred words as quickly as possible, but more importantly to make a serious point: great online marketing is about efficiency and effectiveness. I want to be fast, of course, but I also want to write great copy.As I pass the one minute mark (yes, just now—I type pretty fast) the core message I want to share with you is that all marketing is about storytelling. In the email format, our ability to tell stories has some constraints and some advantages. We generally can only use the written word and a simple images, but we also have the tremendous advantage of knowing something about our customers. You can insert their name in every post. You can localize the email message to their city or cross reference the campaign to past purchases. You can segment messages by employer or industry. You can tell the story that makes the most sense for the audience at hand.While you may not have the goal of writing a blog post as fast as eight minutes, this should serve as a good reminder that online marketing doesn't have to be an all-consuming task. You shouldn't be intimidated, thinking that there's no way you have time to keep up with a blog or a social network page. I'm sure you've spent at least a few minutes more than needed checking Facebook, sipping your coffee, or even staring out the window. And you don't even have to stop doing those things! Just convert a little bit of that time into some online marketing time and get ready to reap the rewards.At the same time, however, you also have the powerful opportunity to strike quickly and leave your customer with the desired frame of mind. As I approach three minutes and forty-five seconds, I’m hopeful that you are impressed by how fast I am producing this content. I’m especially eager for you to recognize that this is possible because of Delivra’s great technology as well as my writing process. Since both systems are up-to-date and well-maintained, I am approaching the 250-word mark in just over five minutes. I’m ready to complete this post in perhaps only seven minutes of writing time.
There’s more to the process, of course. Someone else will double-check my work for errors and typos, and make final preparations to schedule this blog post. The content will also be automatically picked up for use in email marketing newsletters by Delivra. It is these procedures, however, that make marketing effective. By leveraging our time and our resources intelligently, we can offer useful, practical and powerful information to customers. We can share our stories over and over again and build a reputation among those who want to do business with our organization. Marketing, in essence, is storytelling to an audience for the purpose of making commerce meaningful.
Eight minutes. Enjoy the rest of your day, however you choose to spend your time.
Unsure of how to start your marketing? Fear not! We can help! To learn more about AccelaWork's services, consider reaching out to our business process transformation consultants today. We'll get you headed in the right direction.
An Australian electronics retail store by the name of Dick Smith, discovered that their New Zealand website failed to register main items for sale. Electronics such as the iMac, retailing anywhere from $1,500 - $1,800, were being sold for the price of shipping and handling. Immediately, customers began tweeting about the enormous clearance tags:
@stefan: My order just went through. 27 inch iMac. Total price: $4.95.
The store immediately performed offline maintenance to repair the malfunction. An action that was, no doubt, done so in extreme haste. And though no report has identified just how long the mistake persisted, the fact that at least sixty individuals were able to purchase high-end merchandise like plasma TVs and iPhones, demonstrates just how fast and furious online news can spread now that social media has become a major influence in our day-to-day lives.
Of course, we all may be wondering about two particular things: 1.) how did the problem begin? and 2.) what becomes of the discounted merchandise that already sold? According to a Dick Smith's spokesperson, the incorrect pricing was due to a technical error—a glitch that is still being investigated. In regard to the goods, unlike our previous blog that our productivity consultants reported about how China Eastern Airlines honored the three dollar flights they mistakenly sold, the Dick Smith store may have only provided New Zealand site customers with a 10 percent discount:
Its call centre [will] contact the 60-odd customers who ordered free products. They [can] opt for the 10 per cent discount off the current price or cancel their orders.The moral of the story is that failures of fantastic proportions can occur. And while remedies may vary greatly between those dealing with the mistakes, the same conclusion can be made: failure is simply a part of life. That being said, we needn't shrug our shoulders in defeat and accept the loss as it is. Instead, we must consciously recognize that, though consequences to failure occur, we can still effectively achieve success in the aftermath. We owe it to ourselves and our business to take the initiative to grow and learn from experiences that challenge our knowledge and our work....
Consumer New Zealand chief executive Sue Chetwin said the Fair Trading Act allowed retailers to refuse to honour an advertised price if it was a genuine mistake.
...
Another customer, Ed, said he had visited the website after hearing the retailer had a sale – but the discounts were much bigger than he expected.
He ordered a 40-inch television and an iPhone, both of which cost him $5 for delivery. He would not take advantage of the discount.
"I just did it as an experiment to see if I could buy something. There had obviously been an error."
Also, it's important to realize that errors with new technologies can occur on alarming scale. It's important to be prepared for these potential errors, and have a system in place to deal with them before things spiral out of hand. When you're prepared, you can deal with nearly any situation that comes your way.
We must change our outlook on failure if we are to accept that it is ever-present in our lives. To learn more, you can read a sample chapter from our book Failure: The Secret To Success or simply check out www.failurethebook.com. Or, if you want more information on how to prevent errors like this from happening within your organization, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
Our small business consultants shared Part One and Part Two of this series that delved into improving worker productivity where we analyzed eleven of sixteen tips that, according to US News and World Report, make you unfireable. Below are the five remaining tips, quoted directly from the article, followed by our own reflections on their usefulness in the workplace.
Take a look at where your company is spending its money. Then see if there are ways to reduce those costs. Your boss won't fire someone who is improving the company's bottom line.
Reflections: AccelaWork stands firm in the idea that improving both process and workflow patterns in business is invaluable. Doing so not only reduces costs, but creates avenues for further innovation and development.
Even better, figure out ways to increase revenue. Find a new client or develop new products and services for your company to sell.
Reflections: Besides cutting costs, the best part about streamlining processes is that it frees up time for other tasks that you would otherwise not be able to focus on. You'll soon find that your ability to concentrate on a new initiative will easily fit within your scope of daily activity.
You have to be able to work well with your coworkers. Listen to their suggestions. Adapt to each person's idiosyncrasies. Treat each coworker with respect and courtesy. If you can't be a member of a team, chances are you won't survive the next layoff.
Reflections: Communication in the workplace is impossible to avoid, but with the right approach it can actually be worthwhile. By supporting a work environment that encourages constructive interaction, your office will not only be upbeat, but productive as well. To quote a previous business consulting post:
There’s a key connection between good behavior and productive behavior. If we take time to be conscientious of others at work, we make it easier for them to be more efficient and more effective at their jobs. Likewise, that effort will reflect well on us.
By remaining positive during tough times, you can help create a more optimistic work environment.
Reflections: As humans, the tendency to rally around positive energy is simply natural. Not only does it raise our spirits, but inspires us to do better. That's why adopting a positive attitude at work is essential. This mentality will positively reflect upon your ability for progress, increase workplace productivity and inspire others around you as well.
Take advantage of any training, certification, or back-to-school programs offered by your employer. The more skills you develop the more valuable you become to your employer. If your company doesn't offer any programs, buy some new books and start training yourself.
Reflections: Investing the time to better yourself is priceless. So when the opportunity to flourish in knowledge and skill arises, don't hesitate to jump on board!
Thanks for reading our series on How Not to View Job Security. For more information on helping your company to be more productive, reach out to our business improvement consultants!If there is one topic that consultants know is likely to end in a management fight, it is the subject of targets. Opinions vary wildly. There are at least two sides to the argument and a whole host of shades of gray.
The case for targets:
"I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there, you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants." ~Zig ZiglarThe arguments in favor of target setting are numerous:
"Whenever there is fear, you will get wrong figures." ~ W. Edwards DemingThere are as many voices decrying target setting:
What is the Solution?
The target isn't really the problem; it is the behaviors that surround the target that cause the issues. Here are some ideas to change those behaviors.
If you must provide cash incentives, our business consultants only remind you that the way you set your incentives motivates people. It is just a question of what it entices them to do.
A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for ~ W.C. FieldsJames Lawther gets upset by business operations that don’t work and apoplectic about poor customer service. Visit his web site “The Squawk Point” to find out more about service improvement.
From road signs to cookbooks, manuals to tests, my actions are always the same when it comes to directions: first read, then decipher. From what I know, this is not unusual. After all, isn't that the process of thinking? We write down information so we can track a procedure and pass it along to others. Yet, when language is unclear, it really irks me. Not just because it's unproductive, but because I know it can be expressed more effectively. Below are two scenarios I came across today:
Prescription Confusion
I started a brand new antibiotic that I've never used before. The instructions read as follows:
Simple enough right? Wrong. Immediately my brain raced with questions. Take all three tablets at the same time? Take one tablet at three different increments in the same day? Is there a specific time to take the tablets?Take three tablets by mouth daily for 4 days.
My first reaction was to turn the bottle around to see if any other instructions were included. Luckily there were some. They read as follows:
How can I take or use this drug exactly as directed when I'm not even clear as to what I've been instructed to do in the first place? I was at an impasse. I had two options: 1.) take an educated guess or 2.) call the pharmacist. I opted for the latter.Take or use this exactly as directed. Do not skip doses or discontinue.
Turns out, I had to take 3 tablets before 9AM once a day. In the end I had the correct answer, but generating it meant I had to spend an additional fifteen minutes of my time interpreting and calling before I could move on with the action. How productive is that? Wouldn't it be better if the directions on the front were as follows:
Deli Counter ProblemTake three tablets consecutively by 9AM on a daily basis for 4 days.
Grocery shopping while my deli order is being fulfilled is a much more productive process. So, I always go to the deli counter first. Today I was surprised to discover a new system was added to help expedite orders. The sign read:
I wasn't sure whether to take a number, ring the bell or do both. Being that I was the only person at the counter, it didn't seem to make sense to pick up a number. But, I didn't know for sure. If I take a number but don't ring the bell will they know I'm here? If I take a number and ring the bell am I messing up an unknown system?Please take a number to secure your place in line. Ring the bell if you need assistance.
I deduced the bell was there for people in my situation, alone at the counter with no attendant in sight. I rang the bell. Later I learned that the numbers are for customers who want to pick up their order later rather than wait at the counter. In the short stint of time I was at the counter it wasn't difficult to come up with a clearer sign:
The process of reading and interpreting directions is something we can't escape, and that is why we should channel our knowledge into creating informative language that is clear and effective. Perhaps take time to consider whether manuals, directions or processes could use some clarification in your office. Or better yet, take the initiative to utilize visual schematics to improve worker productivity and workflow diagrams. We promise it will be worth your time.If the counter is unattended, please ring bell for attention. To continue shopping while your order is being fulfilled, please take a number.
Kim Oster Holstein, Founder and CEO of Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels, started her business with the intention of reinventing the pretzel. In an article highlighting her company, Holstein owed her inspiration to local resources:
After reading an article about a soft pretzel stand at a local Chicago green market, Kim became obsessed with the idea that she could turn the pretzel concept inside out – literally. She envisioned stuffed pretzels in funky flavors like cinnamon roll and grilled cheese, a whole new spin on a classic American snack.From the start, Holstein was enthusiastic about her concept. And despite the bouts of rejection, she never gave up on her idea. Instead, she utilized the technique of positive thinking to maintain her focus and keep her goals clear:
One day, Scott [Kim's husband] showed up at Kim’s door with a handmade piggy bank decorated with a flying pretzel and the motto, “Dreams made upon deposit will come true.” As the business grew, they started papering the apartment with sticky-note affirmations such as, “Our sales are $200,000, but we have a million-dollar business.". . .
Kim, who calls herself the CIO or “Chief Inspiration Officer” of her company, still posts affirmations around her office. One reads, “We are going to make and sell a million pretzels a week.” Kim says, “Sure, we’re not there yet, but we have a vision for growth. We see those numbers and believe them.”
Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels sells freshly made pretzels to regional outlets and stocks the shelves of nationwide stores such as Whole Foods, Walmart, and Barnes and Nobel. The company was estimated to be worth anywhere from $10 million to $15 million dollars. The power of thinking positive is a concept we often discuss. That's because we believe maintaining a strong and optimistic mentality not only impacts your performance, productivity and satisfaction in the office, but in your life as well.
That's not to say that upbeat thoughts will solve all your problems. Rather, putting your mind in a positive state is the best possible foundation for tackling meaningful and challenging work. So take the time now to establish a balanced and happy existence at work. We guarantee you'll quickly recognize (and reap) the benefits.
If you think you're destined to fail, chances are you're going to fail. It's really hard to continue to persevere if you don't have hope that you're going to break through to the other side. You see this in athletics often. Players have to think they're great before they can realize that greatness. The best baseball players fail to get a hit 7 out of 10 times, but they still manage to retain positivity. Track and Field great Steve Prefontaine was never supposed to be an elite runner. Before the 1972 Olympic games he had this to say:
There are big odds against me. Nobody under 25 has ever won the Olympic five. But if everything goes right, whoever wins will know he has been in one helluva race.Prefontaine didn't end up winning the Olympic Gold that year, but he won countless races throughout his career against athletes who were "supposed" to be much better than him. But through hard work and positive thinking, he persevered.
These are just a few examples of the power of keeping a positive outlook on your career and your life. It's not always easy, but the results are well worth the work.
Concerned your office is accidentally destroying morale and employee satisfaction? Consider reaching out to AccelaWork today to learn more about we can help get your office back on track. Our business improvement consultants are here to help!
Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, was given the opportunity to express his thoughts on the topic of email productivity on The Work Buzz blog. In the article 7 Tips for improving email etiquette, Slaughter and a few other industry experts relayed their thoughts on common mistakes and inefficiencies that can inhibit productive communication when it comes to email.
Below are some selected quotes from the list of the Do's and Don'ts of email etiquette:
There's no doubt that email can be overwhelming, but it truly doesn't have to be. By utilizing it in the right manner, you'll soon discover how efficient and productive it is. To learn more about effectively managing your email, consider reaching out to the best consultants Indianapolis has to offer.Do
Be concise: “Email is intended for short, informational messages,” says Jodi R. R. Smith, president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Marblehead . . .“Keep in mind that with some email systems it is possible for the recipient to read just the first three lines of your message without ever opening the email. Make the first couple lines count.”Double check: “Never, ever skip the spell check and double check the word is not changed to a word you did not intend to use,” says Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas . . . “Spell check is not foolproof if it picks up a word that it ‘thinks’ you mean.”
Be professional: “Treat email like a professional correspondence, because it is. It’s the only communication most executives see and you will be judged accordingly,” Gottsman says. That means spelling out words in their entirety (no “U,” “LOL,” etc.), using correct capitalization and including an email signature with your contact information.
Be pleasant: You probably know from experience that it’s hard to tell whether someone is being sarcastic or serious via email. “Watch not only what you say, but how you say it,” Smith says. “Using all capital letters is considered yelling.” The same goes for sentences with excessive punctuation — ending a sentence with “!!!” or “???” will just make you seem angry.
Similarly, suggests Robby Slaughter, owner of AccelaWork, a business productivity firm based in Indianapolis, start your email off with a friendly greeting, not an order. “The word ‘hello’ followed by the name of the recipient does wonders in ensuring your email is well received and actually read,” he says.
Don't
Avoid face-to-face conversation: Sometimes, it’s just easier and more effective to walk into your boss’s office, or pick up the phone and call your customer. “Remember this rule: Email is more for coordination than it is for communication,” Slaughter says. If you have a lengthy project or proposal to discuss, schedule time to talk to the person face-to-face or over the phone.Similarly, email shouldn't be used to resolve conflict, or as a method of avoiding confrontation. “Don’t hide behind your computer,” Smith says. “Don’t use email as a shield to avoid having a conversation or a face-to-face interaction.”
Copy your whole team: “This is like scheduling a pickup from two taxi companies ‘just in case’– you’re wasting almost everyone’s time, and most of the recipients will assume that someone else will answer,” Slaughter says.
Send an email when you’re angry: In the heat of an angry moment, it is way too easy to fire off a scathing email full of things you’d never actually say to someone’s face. “Wait until you cool off before putting something down in writing,” Gottsman says.
When we think of Gene Hackman, our thoughts immediately go into star struck tunnel mode. We begin filtering through his 40-year Hollywood career to pinpoint the best and brightest of his films.
Hackman was abandoned by his father at 13. He left home at 16. His mother tragically died when he was 30. And, at 36, after 17 years struggling to create an acting career, his first big break was taken away. Initially cast to play Dustin Hoffman's potential father-in-law in The Graduate, he was thrown off set before filming even began. Yet despite the rough road, he refused to breakdown in defeat. That same year he finally made his entrance into film by portraying Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde and the rest is history.
A story of Hackman's life includes some great illustrations of some of the struggles he had before becoming the famous Gene Hackman we all know.
Not long after his parents’ divorce, Hackman signed up with the Marine Corps—“I was literally in high school in the middle of the week and in Parris Island, South Carolina, by the end of the week.” His five-year stint with those few good men took him, in the late ’40s, to Tsingtao, China, where one night the unit’s radio operator was injured and Hackman volunteered to take his place.Surprising as it may seem, these stories are not as uncommon as we may think. Influential folks such as Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, and Michael Jordan paved their way through failure to reach excellence in their careers. Like them, AccelaWork sees failure as an opportunity, not a misfortune. Despite what our society tends to believe, it's okay to recognize that challenges and defeats in life can lead us in a direction toward better pastures. To quote our ourselves:...
In the mid-’50s, Hackman went to New York to break in to acting for real. For a time he took odd jobs—as a truck driver, shoe salesman, doorman, and soda jerk. “One day I was working as a doorman at the Howard Johnson’s on Times Square, and my old sergeant came by, and looked at me. He didn’t even stop, but under his breath he said, ‘Hackman, I always knew you were a bum,’ and kept right on walking.”
Failure is simply information to try something different. No business or individual should expect perfection without trial and error. No system or approach, however ideal for the present moment, should be immune from refinement or reinvention. Mistakes are signposts along the roadway called improvement. While we will never reach that perfect destination, stopping and convincing ourselves we have arrived means we are stuck at permanent failure. Rewards come from taking risks, and risks from taking chances, learning lessons, and continuing onward.Like this story and intrigued to read more? Consider reading Failure: The Secret To Success. Or reach out to our business improvement consultants for tips on how to bring more resilience into your life.
It might seem kind of sad to have birthday presents that never get unwrapped. They pile up year after year in a closet and are totally ignored. That's what it is like to have a subscriber who never actually opens your marketing email.
Clearly, something is amiss. Maybe you have a bad address. Maybe your messages are being silently routed to spam. Maybe that person is too busy and deletes messages without reading them.
Non-openers should be taken off your main list. The main list database is for people who actually read your messages. Instead the non-responsive should be put into a special list of problem prospects. Either something went wrong during the process of getting these names or when they opted-in to your newsletter.
Good email marketing packages let you quickly and easily manage lists. But the most important step comes after you've built a pattern of routinely moving non-openers to their own list. You need to establish time in your schedule to figure out what went wrong. Can you pick up the phone and call the prospect? Can you determine which sales rep or online form produced the name? Can you check with your email service provider to see about deliverability issues? These names in the "gray area" are perhaps the greatest possible customers. You know they want your stuff but haven't ever had the chance to get it!
Learn more about how to excel at email productivity by contacting our business process transformation specialists at AccelaWork today!
I wrote a blog post inquiring for others to share their insight about paperless receipts. Having just been to a store that offered them I was curious to learn as much as I could, so I also did some research. Here’s an article that described how some Indianapolis stores are planning on using this.
Listed below are a couple of pros and cons I found while digging around.
Pro: Paperless receipts can be a great way for the busy shopper to get out of the store a little quicker and still be able to find the receipt later. (Some of us with bottomless pits for purses can understand how important this can be.)
Con: Some stores may use these email addresses as a way to start sending other emails to these consumers. For these stores, it may be a way to skip the opt-in process. Instead, companies should be sure to email the receipt and then follow-up with asking about joining the email list.
Pro: Emailing receipts and not printing them off for every consumer could be another small way for companies to move towards “green.”
Con: In order for the receipt to make it to the inbox, it depends a lot on the sales associate typing the email address correctly every time.
Overall, paperless receipts have the opportunity to improve the check out process; however, just like any other email sent, it is imperative that those sending do so properly in order to make this system productive and efficient.Although it is early, what do you think…useful or useless?
Lavon Temple is the Marketing Coordinator at Delivra where she is responsible for assisting with the day-to-day marketing activities. Lavon earned a bachelor’s degree in International Management from Butler University, Indianapolis, IN.
Robby Slaughter provided a guest post for Delivra's Blog, emailchatr. In his post, You Have More Content Than You Realize, Slaughter dove into a question we often receive here at AccelaWork: how do we produce so much content? Below is the brief post that outlines an answer as eye-opening as it is simple.
When people check out our productivity blog, they sometimes ask me how we come up with all of our content. “There’s no way I could write that much about our organization”, they say. My reply is always the same: “You have more content than you realize.”What Slaughter says at the end of that post is very true. Once you start coming up with content ideas for your blog, additional ones are going to continue to flow in. The hard part is kicking things off. Picture it like rolling a big rock down a hill. Sure, pushing it over that hump isn't easy, but once the momentum begins, it's going to be pretty dang hard to stop.Naturally, it’s easy to debunk the “content generation is hard” by listing open-ended questions. Here’s a bunch just off the top of my head:
Answering any of these prompts will of course make great fodder for your email marketing campaigns. Think of any brand that you currently follow— wouldn't you love to hear someone inside their organization talk about any of these topics? We all adore stories.
- How did your company get started?
- Who was your first customer?
- What’s the biggest misconception about your industry?
- What do you hope to accomplish next year?
- Who is one of your strategic partners, and why?
- What great idea did you have that turned out to be a flop?
- What’s a great story about how you saved the day?
- What’s industry innovation most excites you?
- What are the legal issues in your industry?
- How do you go about finding new employees?
- What’s something that tells you that a customer is going to work out well?
It’s easy to complain about the challenge of generating story ideas for your online marketing campaigns, but in truth the real challenge is deciding what not to say. Once you begin to share your beliefs and your experiences, the content floodgates are open. It’s often harder to stop talking than it is to keep the conversation going. That is: once you actually begin.
Walk around with a small pad of paper in your pocket or keep a notes app on your phone. When you think of an idea that could be good for a blog post, simply write it down. That way you're never at a loss for what to write about.
Still stuck? Think about topics you would want to read about. If you're interested in reading about something, chances are pretty good that someone else will be interested as well. Write for yourself and your audience will follow.
Think of open-ended questions like the ones Slaughter suggested. Each one of those questions he listed could lead to an array of blog posts. Do you really think you can only come up with only 700 words about the biggest misconceptions about your industry? A quality open-ended question can be the source of dozens of blog posts.
If you are looking for inspiration when creating blog content, consider contacting our productivity consultants today.
The details of this case are even more gut-wrenching than I can reveal. My friend has had a career of exceptional independence, where he has completed countless freelance projects without the overhead of an office. His new job for the mystery firm is one working in marketing and social media. Worst of all, the company is a hometown darling. They've been profiled over and over again as a great example of an innovative Indiana enterprise.
It's not as if talking about telecommuting is anything new here at AccelaWork. We had five blog posts in Remote Work Week relating to worker productivity. We've predicted the telework revolution and how it will affect worker productivity. We've complained when journalists say that a four day work week is "weird news", though it may positively affect workplace productivity. We constantly quote our own philosophy on workplace productivity, which is simply:
Please conduct your work wherever and whenever you feel you can be most productive, most efficient, most effective, and most satisfied.Why are we taking on the location of work as a battleground in productivity? Aren't there more important factors like technology, management styles, or workflow design?
It's true that all those can help. But none is particularly effective until you address the fundamental issue: empowering stakeholders to get work done. The office is usually a place where we manage to make progress despite the distractions, politics and constant monitoring. If we're less worried about where employees are working and more focused on meaningful outcomes, productivity will rise. People will accomplish more, and those who can't work without being micromanaged will end up elsewhere.
On the off-chance all the articles we've posted on this subject aren't enough proof for you, check out some tips from The Muse:
My friend's employer needs to take notice. Stop demanding face time from your workers, as it is producing low employee satisfaction. And if they can get 99% of their work done from elsewhere, you're probably making them less productive by controlling their hours. Work is about getting work done. Let people prove themselves through their results, not their obedience.You Can Learn More and Become More Independent
Because you don’t have colleagues just a few feet away or a tech team one floor down, you’ll find yourself developing the skill of looking for your own answers and becoming more proactive to find what you need on your own. Of course you can still ask questions and get help if you need to. But, a lot of the time, you can do a Google search, download a free guide, or check out your company’s wiki to find the answer yourself just as quickly.You Can Keep in Touch More Effectively
Because you don’t have everyone physically around you all the time, you become much more aware of the importance of keeping in touch. Instead of just knowing that you can pop around the corner to chat with Rena about the site redesign whenever you like, you know that you need to write her or at least have a video chat. So, either in the process of composing your message or planning the meeting, you’ll refine your thoughts and questions and end up saving time for both of you when you do have that discussion.You Can Stay More Focused
With some willpower and a steady routine, you’ll soon learn to avoid being distracted by the TV or your next load of laundry. And, in fact, you should find yourself getting more done when you work remotely. That’s because you can control your working situation much more—you don’t have to worry about co-workers stopping by to “just ask a quick question” (and 20 minutes later...), obligatory socializing when you grab more coffee, or offending someone by shutting the door to your office. When you’re remote and need to really concentrate, you can just change your status in the group chat to “do not disturb” and buckle down.
The message came from April Weatherston at HNI. Let me just allow her blog post to speak for itself. As she wrote:
Leadership has a choice to make [regarding organizational change]. They can follow an exclusive model, where the executive team excludes all stakeholders except a select few to determine what needs to be changed. Or, they can embrace an inclusive model, which give will give stakeholders a voice - from mutual diagnosis to action planning and implementation.In my view, Ms. Weatherson's phrasing is perhaps unintentionally hilarious. It's almost as if she is making a discovery: company leaders get to make a choice about excluding or including people. Wow! Ask people their opinion? What a concept!
In all seriousness, Weatherson is absolutely correct. Effective organizational change is inclusive. But I think she misses the mark when providing the rationale for this approach:
The big benefit to including the stakeholders in the process is employee motivation. Employees that are part of the change efforts from the very beginning are much more motivated to adopt and sustain any new behaviors required for change. Continued implementation of new processes and procedures are more likely to be successful and sustainable.I mean... she isn't wrong about this. Sure, it's true that asking people for feedback will be motivating. This is the Hawthorne Effect that everyone has been talking about for sixty years now. However, the major advantage to talking with others is not merely a boost in morale. That shouldn't be the number one goal here. Rather, the upside to being inclusive is the quality, diversity, and accuracy of information you get from people actually doing the work.
This is the kind of "aha" moment that almost deserves another stock photo. Guess who probably has some pretty interesting ideas about how to improve manufacturing procedures, how to change corporate IT systems or how to offer better customer service? That's right, the stakeholders who do this stuff every day.
The real question about organizational change is one that April Weatherstone does not cover: if being inclusive is so effective, why do so many leaders fail to engage their staff?
The answer is much tougher than one can begin to answer in a single blog post, or really even a full presentation. Companies and non-profits across the world are built on authority and hierarchy. Decisions are made at the top and handed down. Changing a culture from one based on giving orders to one based on seeking feedback is no small feat. Many people worked their way to the top with the goal of being the one to make all the decisions. Many stakeholders who are lower on the traditional totem pole are used to being subservient. Yet, making this transformation is essential. Institutions that wish to survive must learn to truly engage their stakeholders.
Struggling to make this transition within your own organization? It can definitely be a difficult one. Start with small steps. When thinking about a minor change to a department, ask someone within the department for feedback. That shouldn't sound like too revolutionary of an idea. Then, as you progress forward and have more and more decisions that need to be made, this culture of collaboration should become one that everyone not only accepts, but embraces.
And of course, if you're still struggling, we'd love to help! Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork. Sometimes an outsider's point of view is what's needed to find the best route to success.
To learn more about Supportive Systems, LLC, visit their website now!PRODUCTIVITY CORNER Want To Get Noticed?
Wow! That can be a double edged sword! Sometimes it is comfortable to slide under the radar, where you do your job and keep your nose clean. You know the feeling of showing up. When we do what is expected and not draw attention to ourselves we stay safe. Old sayings even support that philosophy. “You know how to recognize the pioneers? They are the ones with the arrows in their backs”. “Why be outstanding in the field when you can be grazing in the yard.” Or how about this one…“ Never stand taller than your cubicle. You can be seen from across the room and tapped for a new project”.All of those sayings are from the perspective that once you are noticed, you are no longer safe. If you are noticed, then unfairness may happen. If you are noticed, you will be asked to do more, and more, and more! If you are noticed, you are no longer part of the core group of people who complain and gripe about the boss, the system, or other workplace concerns.
So what is the other side of that coin? Being noticed positions you for your future. Being noticed means you have contributed to an effective and possibly new initiative within the organization.
How does this translate into success? Employee engagement goes hand in hand with the concept of a committed workforce. Once you slide under the radar, your commitment to the organization and your ability to be engaged evaporates. To commit, as defined by Webster, is being responsible for; to entrust; to pledge oneself to a position. We know that workplaces that have engaged employees enjoy an increased market position, successful research and development divisions, and a work force who invests time, energy, and talent, thus committing to the success of the company.
Do you enjoy the view from the top of the cubicle? If so, maybe you are waiting to get noticed. The choice is yours and the price you pay is minuscule. Investing in your future costs nothing but your self-determination to allow for the arrow while you stand in the field. I say go for it!
Here at Accelawork, we definitely agree with what Pam has to say. We've written before about how optimism can impact productivity. The stress of being put into a new situation where you're given more responsibility shouldn't be viewed as a threat. It should be viewed as a challenge! A challenge that can easily be conquered, as long as you are approaching it as an opportunity instead of a hindrance to skating by under the radar. Sure, if something is outside of your comfort zone, it may not be easy, or even something that you can instantly excel at, but that's okay. After all, failing isn't a big deal. We all fail. If handled in the right way, failure can be a stepping stone to even bigger successes. But not putting yourself in a position to get noticed, and thus succeed, is never the proper way to thrive in your career.
Looking for more tips on how to get noticed at work? We can help! Contact the business consultants at Accelawork today!
In a blog post from Zach Holman, the message was clear:
Hours are great ways to determine productivity in many industries, but not ours. Working in a startup is a much different experience than working in a factory. You can’t throw more time at a problem and expect it to get solved. Code is a creative endeavor. You need to be in the right mindset to create high-quality code.
At first glance, we might dismiss Holman's comments as being mostly irrelevant. Few of us work in startup companies; few people are software developers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does keep track of how many Americans work in factories (about 6%-8% of all non-farm workers). But many people in large organizations do feel like they are just a cog in a larger machine:
If we tweak this blogger's comments to remove technical language, his argument sounds more broadly applicable. Check out how he closes the piece:
We’re currently at 35 employees and growing, and this approach still works great. But managers love to assign hours for a reason: it gives them the illusion that hours can measure performance.That's not to say that we agree with everything Zach Hollman has to say in his post. But we do concur that if you're measuring hours, you're probably missing the point. Even in highly-mechanized environments, it's not the number of minutes that matter at work but what you do with them.If you don’t go hard on hours, you do have to look at different metrics. How good is their
codework? Are they fixingbugsproblems? Are they involved in work, or is the greater flexibility not motivating them?It’s difficult to make these qualitative judgements, but they’re still going to be more valuable than “did this guy put in his ten hours of work today”. Because as soon as you make it about hours, their job becomes less about
codemeaningful results and more about hours.
If you are paid by the hour, you may be thinking by the hour. Contact our workplace productivity experts to learn more about smarter ways to work.
Robby Slaughter's article, The Next Educational Frontier, was featured in an issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine. Below is an excerpt from the article which appears on page 20 of the magazine.
Traditional approaches to learning are making room for 21st century alternatives. Online programs have taken the world by storm and represent the fastest growing sector of the education industry. You can now earn certificates, college degrees and even doctorates from the comfort of your living room. Most of these courses of study, however, are characterized by a defined curriculum. Much of what we need to know for work is too new or too open ended to fit easily into the classical model of education.Here at AccelaWork, we are confident in stating that social media, in all its complexity, is a powerful tool that provides profound opportunity for growing business and expanding knowledge. Just as you would go to an expert within your organization for their thoughts on improving workflow, why would you not want to reach out to experts all over the world? Of course, you have to be careful to not blindly take advice, but as with any learning, critically monitor your intake and you'll be able to figure out what the best route forward is.That’s why social learning—learning through social media—represents the next frontier. You’ve already encountered this phenomenon on a microscopic scale. A Facebook post asking for a local recommendation (such as an orthodontist in Westfield), is a simple example of social learning. Among the community of your Facebook friends, there is likely to be some expertise in this topic. Furthermore, the credibility of any suggestion is reinforced by existing relationships. Social learning is gaining new wisdom from people distinctly qualified to share.
Other social media websites are specifically focused on social learning. Stack- Exchange (www.stackexchange.com) is a network of over fifty Q&A sites on various topics. Users can ask and answer questions, vote, comment, and establish reputation. Many of the sites are related to technology, but subjects range from home improvement to cooking to Judaism. Likewise, the website Quora (www.quora.com) is also centered around questions and answers. Quora is gaining traction among entrepreneurs and business professionals who are seeking advice.
The big kid on the block, however, is LinkedIn. In addition to publishing your career history and networking with others, LinkedIn also has an extensive “Answers” section. Even more powerful are LinkedIn Groups. Virtually every topic imaginable has associated groups with dozens, hundreds, or thousands of professionals as members. Interacting within these discussion areas raises your LinkedIn notoriety, giving experts the incentive to help novices. Furthermore, if you want to check the education, experience and even references of someone giving you advice on LinkedIn, their own profile is only a click away.
Workforce development might occur at any time, in any place and via any medium. You may send employees to conferences or classrooms or ask them to login to webinars or conference calls. Ultimately, though, the most effective way to learn may be interacting directly with experts. Social media websites grant us incredible and immediate access to people throughout the world. Consider making social learning part of your career path. You’ll gain knowledge from teachers who you may never meet.
To learn more about potential social learning benefits, consider reaching out to our business process improvement consultants for further information.
In an online article, six stress factors were highlighted as issues that could negatively impact an employee's workspace and productivity in the office if left unresolved. For your convenience, we have listed them below and shortened the synopsis of each:
1. Infrequent Feedback Employees worry about performance when they don’t receive feedback from mangers. Eliminate this office stress by scheduling regular evaluations.
2. Mundane Office Hours Forget the traditional 9-5 office hours. If it works for your small business, allow employees to decide the set hours they are in the office.
3. Uncomfortable Work Space Simple things like glaring computer screens, limited sticky notes or painful desk chairs can cause stress. Allow employees to select desk furniture and keep a “grocery list” for needed office supplies.
4. Cubicle Confinement Don’t trap your employees at their desks all day. Encouraging your team to interact on a personal level can foster better cohesion and a happier work environment.
5. Unhealthy Habits Poor eating habits and lack of sleep and exercise create stress before your employees even enter the office. Help offset unhealthy habits by promoting health while at work.
6. Missing Direction A major cause of stress for employees is not knowing where the company is going and their role plays in to the overall strategy. Involve your team in making long-term and short-term goals.
Here at AccelaWork, we could easily respond to each of the points above with our own assessment. We could go on and on about the troubles with employee productivity and rewards. We could discuss how influential healthy habits can be for our minds and our bodies and why we encourage stakeholders to stand strong and work, because it will only increase employee satisfaction! We could point out the negative results that come from judging chaotic workplaces and how they effect worker productivity. We could also blame measuring office space and workplace productivity rather than actual work. And though we can certainly recognize the benefits in the tips above, we must not fall victim to the notion that the simple equation (a+b = c) applies (and works) in every situation. Because the truth of the matter is, stress can be caused by many things outside our comprehension and knowledge, which could take more than just a preventative measure to alleviate.
Chances are, despite how much you attempt to prevent pressure and anxiety from occurring, eliminating stress completely doesn't always occur. After all, we cannot erase the infestation of outside factors that arrive through the office's front doors. For no matter how hard we try, preventing gridlock, broken alarm clocks, unrelenting stoplights, crabby children or car troubles is not always within our reach. So rather than spending valuable time pinpointing possible sources for stress in the office and thereby mending them, wouldn't it make more sense to simply encourage stakeholders to empower themselves through action when tensions do in fact arise?
If you begin to feel anxious about the positive or negative effects your work may be having on the office, take the opportunity to:
Dr. Maoshing Ni, doctor of Chinese medicine, relayed his thoughts on how we can easily strengthen our minds. According to him, by challenging our brains everyday with mental exercises, we'll increase our memory and brain power. Below is an excerpt from his article:
Scientists have found that the human brain has an amazing ability to adapt and change--an ability called neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, helping increase your cognitive capabilities, improve your ability to learn new information, and give your memory a boost.By the time you are an adult, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you solve problems you have come across before and process information at a rapid pace. But sticking to these well-worn pathways does not give your brain the stimulation it needs to keep developing. Mental brain puzzles performed on a daily basis help strengthen your brain by activating new neural pathways.
Dr. Ni goes on to list ways in which people can challenge their brain during the day. He suggests memorizing a poem, playing chess or even using your non-dominant hand to navigate a computer's mouse. And while these activities certainly get our brains moving, we can't help but wonder if there's a way to not only challenge our brains, but increase our productivity as well?
By combining AccelaWork's view on failure with Dr. Ni's philosophy on brain power, we've come up with two strategies of our own that will strengthen your noodle while boosting your workflow:
Despite popular opinion, performing tasks in order isn't always the key to success. The P90X workout videos, where muscle confusion is the key component, is a great example. According to the exercise theory, when our muscles become used to the same workout (in the same order) everyday, they are not utilized to full capacity. So despite caloric burn, we see little to no change in our bodies.
By occasionally following the last instructions first or skipping steps altogether in a process, your brain will begin forming new neural pathways as it tackles the challenge of discovering new ways to completing a task. Additionally, this way may also lend a hand in adopting a new perspective on process operation and productivity. You may discover steps that are unnecessary, ones that can be combined or ones that need to be reworked altogether.
Let's face it, we all know how easy it is to fall into patterns at work without truly understanding why a process is the way it is. In our line of business, we can't tell you how many times we've heard the words, I don't know why, but this is how we've always done it. So, rather than simply completing your part of a project and passing it forth to the next guy, take the opportunity to learn all its components. If a project involves contributions by several departments, walk through the entire procedure. Find out who is involved, why their work is needed and how their portion is completed. Taking the time to understand all aspects will not only challenge you to learn more, but will give you a better understanding of how efficient the process is and whether or not it can be streamlined even further.
If you find these suggestions helpful and want to learn more about failure and productivity, consider reading a sample chapter from Robby Slaughter's book, Failure: The Secret To Success.According to an article, ACCO Klix Clips are an advanced prototype that aim to succeed where old school paper clips have failed:
Standard clips "don't actually do the job they're supposed to do," says Julian Peck, a Newcastle, England-based engineer who invented Klix. "They ping off. You can't rely on them."Yet, some are skeptical at the actual need and price-effectiveness of the product, which has been said to cost 16 times the amount of its less than fancy counterpart. The article points out that even the company bigwigs have conceded to this fact:
ACCO executives acknowledge that customers weren't clamoring for a better clip. Emily Ford, a manager who orders supplies in the Atlanta office of consulting firm Kurt Salmon, says some people can be very picky about pens or notebooks. But paper clips? "I've done this job for 17 years, and no one has ever expressed an opinion on paper clips," she says. "It's really a price decision."After a bit of research, AccelaWork discovered that the difference in price could easily sway the consumer's opinion on the new product and the true necessity of it. While a box of 100 paper clips costs around $1, a package of ten Klix Clips costs around $3. Given that consumers utilize about 11 billion paper clips each year, it certainly seems as if price will be the ultimate factor in choosing which prototype office managers choose to stock supply closets with in their workplace....
ACCO marketing executives say they haven't done market research on paper clips for years. The company wasn't looking for the next big thing in paper fasteners until Mr. Peck, the inventor, came knocking a few years ago . . .
Yet, if we disregard price for a moment and simply compare the usefulness and effectiveness of the products themselves, it could ultimately change consumer's minds. Take for instance, reliability. How many times have traditional paper clips lost their strength from being bent or reused too much? How often have we resorted to staples or folders when documents prove too large? When we examine the difference in this regard, it poses quite a viable case for Klix Clips. Though more expensive, the fact is, the innovative clip proves stronger and more versatile in the office. So it can be argued that, despite upfront cost, the product with an extensively higher performance value can easily be made up in price.
Of course, the jury is still out on this product. It probably will be for as long as it takes to prove whether it's worth every penny spent. But, it prompts us to reflect upon the importance for innovation. Like the paper clip, we all have processes in our offices that have essentially worked for years. We've probably left them unaltered specifically because there's little reason to question their effectiveness. The old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is often applied. Yet, as ACCO has done with Klix Clips, we should be encouraged to seek out innovation even when it appears unnecessary. It is this type of mentality that fosters motivation, productive workflow, and the desire for further improvement. Not to mention, it creates an environment filled with an immense amount of stakeholder satisfaction. So don't waste another second working among outdated processes. Take the time to innovate today and you'll soon see just how much of a difference it can make!
David Mamet wrote in his play Boston Marriage "We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie." If only that was really case. Guests can get stressed out waiting for the pie as it slowly smells more and more delectable. This can stress out the cook, as he or she doesn't want to disappoint, but certainly doesn't want too many cooks fiddling about and messing up the dessert masterpiece. The entire process can be one snowball of stress, spiraling out of control until no one is able to properly enjoy the process or the result. And that's never good (no matter how much ice cream you put on the side).
That's why I like to tell people that executing complex projects is a little like making a pie. We need to talk up front to decide your preferences and dietary requirements, but the work of prepping, chopping, folding, and baking is best done by chefs, not by guests. You can watch and we can teach you how, but please be careful not to get in the way.
Here is a plain and simple truth about pie making and project management: Every time you open the oven to peek, you only delay the hour when dessert will be served ready. You're more likely to burn yourself than learn anything new.
This is hard advice to take. Maybe you've never had this variety and you want a closer look. Maybe your tummy rumbles with hunger and you want to ensure that feeding time is fast approaching. Maybe the pie smells a little funny and you are doubting the chef. When customers place an order, it's difficult to wait patiently. Yet, doing so is the most efficient method for getting the best possible dessert.
Furthermore, it's important to remember that uncooked pie is not pie! Freshly rolled crust may be dripping with salmonella. Newly-basted crust does not yet possess its promised glaze and texture. Not-yet-pie does not taste like pie, so trying a piece only detracts from the final experience.
Good pie requires an expert chef, quality ingredients and time to focus. Keep this mantra in mind when clients and consultants are working together (or managers are expecting deliverables from members of their team.) The pie is STILL baking. Nagging about status, asking for early samples, wandering around in the kitchen, or opening the oven can only endanger the process.
Let the chef work and allow the pie to cook. If the dish is a flop, there's always another chance or another kitchen. The best desserts are worth trusting and waiting for.
We've talked countless times on this blog about allowing workers to focus on their expertise uninhibited by outside factors. If employees can't be trusted, then maybe you have the wrong employees. If you can't trust any of your employees, then the problem might lie with you.
Want more information on how to apply these principles to your organization? We're here to help! Contact the business improvement team at AccelaWork today and we'll get you moving in the right direction.
(If this post did nothing more than make you hungry for pie, feel free to try out this tried and true recipe for Dutch apple pie. Just be sure to wait until cooking is complete before you try it!)
I was rifling through my mail seeking out anything significant. Per usual, out of the stack of letters I was holding, I found only one piece that had importance. Everything else was heading straight for the trash. Yet, as I was tossing the useless catalogs and marketing pieces away, one caused me to stop in my tracks. Below is what the postcard read: (details slightly altered for privacy reasons)
Sold In Your Neighborhood
555 State Street
Considering a move in the future or thought about listing your home?
Now is the time!
I'm never too busy to help you with all your Real Estate Needs!
CALL ME TODAY!
Tom Smith 317-123-4567
If your property is currently listed with another broker, please excuse my aggressive marketing.
To clarify, this flyer has nothing to offer me. I'm not moving nor am I planning to. So why then did I find this direct marketing mailer so intriguing? Truth be told, after scanning the information I stopped because of one sentiment on the very bottom of the postcard:
. . . please excuse my aggressive marketing.
To say the very least, I was struck by the disclaimer for several reasons. First, the use of aggressive felt a bit abrasive to me. Now, let me preface by saying, I know this word is not always negative in fashion. But, speaking as a representative of Tom Smith's target audience, I felt the word choice could have been more strategic and upbeat in nature. By utilizing a descriptive adjective such as proactive or ambitious, my receptiveness to actually saving the mailer for future reference would have increased greatly.
Second, I was quite bothered by Smith's blatant display of inefficient research. For instance, the catalog of properties that are currently assigned to real estate brokers is a matter of public record. This means that prior to conducting his mailing, Smith could have easily conjured a marketing list excluding properties already under alternate representation. Understanding this, I am left to formulate one of two conclusions: either he is deficient in the knowledge of the resource or he simply lacks effort in its regard. I'm not sure which aspect is more off-putting. There is good reason why professionals take advantage of industry resources to improve productivity growth. After all, doing so creates the opportunity to boost efficient and effective workflow and positive customer service.
Lastly, I was surprised by Smith's carelessness. Here's the deal: direct mail marketing can bring great opportunity, but it's also a tough and expensive process, particularly since results and success vary greatly no matter how much money is spent. For real estate brokers, I can only assume it's essential to utilize this marketing technique in a thoughtful, financially cognizant manner—not just because they front the cost of the venture, but because it reinforces the value in worthwhile spending. Unfortunately, it is clear that Smith got caught up in his own productivity paradox. Despite how reasonable and productive it seemed to send out postcards to every resident within a designated area, Smith's attempt at mass marketing not only demonstrated the price of fruitless spending, but probably turned away a substantial amount of potential clients.
In the end, we may never know how much business Smith's postcards generated, but I have to wonder whether or not others agree with my thoughts. Is Smith's message effective? Take a moment to decipher your point of view on the matter and enlighten us with your opinion by posting a comment today!The Productivity Loop
By: Chris Arnold
I had the opportunity to read Chris Brady's book, Rascal. In this book, Brady defines key characteristics of a Rascal Leader and even has a self-assessment for testing your "rascalinity". Brady's humor and passion clearly make this book an easy read and his heart for freedom is readily apparent.In particular, one of the things that I related with this book and wanted to pass along to AccelaWork is "The Battle Plan - The Productive Loop."
Arnold Business Advisors LLC’s mission is aiding businesses and individuals in truly defining what success looks like and building strategies to achieve this success. Substituting the word success for dream in the loop, we offer the following. Brady states:
Rascals start out ignorant like everyone else. They simply don't know what they don't know about a certain subject, and they may not even realize they are Rascals. But then new information finds its way into their consciousness, either through a good book, a friend, a life experience, or whatever. The new information suggests a path toward accomplishment, a route of opportunity, an idea to be tried.In our terms this is a picture of what success look's like. From this, the process begins. Whether it's someone looking to find a new career, start a business, partner with a new business, increase sales, work through a difficult relationship, raise their leadership capabilities, increase team effectiveness, or many other circumstances, individuals become aware of the possibility of success and normally immediately are skeptical. Things like, "I'm not good enough to do that" or "we've tried that before" come to mind. However, then, curiosity is raised leading to a process of learning, followed by excitement to a point where we need to take some action. But, prior to this action, we have that critical step of overcoming fear.
You see, it's not the initial lack of overcoming fear that diminishes our dreams or picture of success, it's at the "Fork In The Road" that most of us experience the make it or break it decision. Will we wimp out or, as Rascals, will we reengage in our dream and press on to a point where we find ourselves in the productivity loop and having the experience of being in 'The Zone"! Brady states:
The Zone is a concept that describes a peak performer in a moment all their own, where they are doing exactly what God built them to do, to the best of their ability, with all of their faculties aligned and intensely focused.It's that point at which we're hitting on all cylinders and seem invincible. I'm sure you have experienced it at points in your life. So, how are you and your team with being Rascals and operating in "The Zone"? What's your "rascalinity" score?
It's our experience, which Brady also comments, that most need a coach or mentor to continually stay in the Productivity Loop. He states that this coach or mentor should "have fruit on the tree" and not just academic knowledge for aiding in Rascal development. For this reason, we mentor with those who "have fruit on the tree" and provide the same for our clients.
In association with Chris Brady and LIFE, Chris Arnold, a "Leading Rascal", inspires communities of individuals to Live Intentionally for Excellence through 8Fs – Faith, Family, Finance, Freedom, Following, Fitness, Friends, and Fun.
According to Robby Slaughter's article in an edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal, potential job candidates "must be tremendously interesting, but not too interesting." In the column, AccelaWork's founder encourages readers to shift their outlook on the application process and become stronger advocates for themselves:
... the biggest challenge facing job seekers is not tweaking their application to match the position, but reinventing themselves to be as intriguing as possible according to the culture of their targeted employer.
For your reading convenience, the article in its entirety is below:
Why You Can’t Find a JobNeed more tips on the right way to secure a job? Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!It’s true, the economy is tough. If you've been searching for a job for months or even for more than a year, you have my sympathies. Yet I believe there may be one factor that’s inhibiting your success more than anything else. The greatest challenge in landing a new gig is making a tremendous shift in perspective.
Years ago, job hunting was a well-defined activity. Polish your résumé, browse the classified ads, follow up with old colleagues, and attend a few career fairs. Getting hired was like washing your hands: lather, rinse, repeat. Eventually you’d squeak your way into an interview and end up with an offer.
Today, however, these methods seem tired and obsolete. For a sobering experience, try conducting a social experiment. Play the role of hiring manager and post a fictitious position on a free job board. Within a week, your inbox will overflow with hundreds of applicants. Imagine trying to filter through that list to determine which candidates are actually qualified. Is it any wonder that the old system of entering through the front door feels woefully inadequate? The toughest way in is to directly apply.
Nevertheless, submitting a résumé is more complex than ever. Longtime jobseekers understand the importance of tailoring their application to match the position. If the candidate appears underqualified they will be dismissed in favor of stronger potentials, but if they appear overqualified they may be passed over out of fear that they will simply leave when the economy recovers. Older workers often try to mask their age by omitting key dates or early work history, out of a concern that hiring managers may assume they are unaffordable. Younger candidates will sometimes deemphasize their education, even if it was recent. Job hunters consciously and ruthlessly self-edit in the hopes of winning an interview. Getting an actual offer seems too remote to even consider.
I believe that the biggest challenge facing job seekers is not tweaking their application to match the position, but reinventing themselves to be as intriguing as possible according to the culture of their targeted employer. In broader terms: candidates must be tremendously interesting, but not too interesting. You want to pleasantly surprise hiring managers but not be so creative that you annoy them. This requires some covert intelligence. Every firm appreciates a different level of eccentricity. Effective jobseekers know their target well enough to step closer to the line than anyone else.
The secret to being an interesting candidate is more than unusual methods of delivering your résumé. You need the buzz around you to be equally stimulating, so that those who know your name or type it into a search engine associate you with all kinds of fascinating, relevant information. This is a process called personal branding, and there is no better roadmap than the excellent new book Branding Yourself by local authors Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy. In fact, this volume is my response to anyone who wants my advice on their job hunt. Buy their book and follow their instructions.
The reason you can’t get a job is not merely a mismatch between your qualifications and what is available. It’s more likely that compared to all the rest of the people applying, you’re equally uninteresting or far too odd. Control your personal brand. Reinvent yourself. Present a candidate that gives hiring managers a reason to scratch their chin and schedule you for an interview. Be distinctive to win.
Every seminar I attended seemed to harp on this theme (even the one I gave on remaining productive while using social media). Jay Baer, the Thursday keynote, begged us not to bother with social media unless we had something meaningful to measure about everyday users. Erik Deckers, the Friday keynote, repeatedly said that good writing is plain and clear. His t-shirt said something like "eschew obfuscated phraseology." We even got a nice visual of the content consumer on a title slide from DK New Media:
Likewise, Rocky Walls (of local video marketing fame) talked about the fear people have of making videos that are not sufficiently professional. "Don't worry about it!" he implores. "Have a plan for what you are going to say, but don't write a script. Viewers like when you are real."
What else? Jenn Lisak explained The Art of the Infographic. I didn't see it, but I overheard the message: Text can be more fun if it's trimmed down and balanced against attractive visuals. Kirsten Shaw expressed the not-entirely-surprising but entirely-entertaining view that shocking audiences is a great way to build an audience. (If you dare: the blog of the Results Not Typical Girl). Peter Dunn (aka Pete the Planner gave advice on how to become known as an expert. Mainly: confidently insist to everyone that you know that you are an expert. Content consumers eat that stuff up.
The message of Blog Indiana is not that we don't need to take social media seriously. Online marketing and community building is hard, complicated work that requires constant assessment and reinvention. Rather, we need to remember that it's about getting the attention of a somewhat simplistic animal: The content consumer. That's not a rare species---it's us.
When you flip channels, comb through search results, scan through news feeds, read gossip columns, or spend time occupied with other online habits that don't represent the pinnacle of your educational advancement, then you're a content consumer. It's that simple. That's the person most of us are most of the time. It's who we should target. It's the person who will become our clients, customers, and advocates. There's no need to thing of the content consumer as some abstract concept. Extensive market research isn't always needed. Sometimes finding the best way to be effective online is as simple as looking at your own habits, finding what appeals to you, and then translating that to your own work. After all, if your methods wouldn't even appeal to the consumer in you, why would they appeal to everyone else?
For more information on how your business can succeed online, don't hesitate to contact the business improvement consultants at Accelawork today!
Why do I love getting rid of old email? The main answer is that there is no more straightforward measure of activity in this digital age than the Sent Items folder. Every email I personally wrote is an effort to advance some aspect of my personal or professional life. These are messages to clients, advice to friends, requests to vendors or follow-ups to prospects. Each email represents me trying to get something done. When I look at my total Sent Items for half a year, I feel pretty great.
The numbers in particular are fantastically motivating. In half of the year I wrote a total of 4,849 emails. Some are only a few words and others run for several paragraphs. They are spread across over a thousand individual recipients (although the largest percentage of emails were inside the company.) That's a ton of work, and it's easy to see where the time went: into communicating essential ideas over email.
You can go farther down the analysis. Of those emails, I initially flagged 1,567 for follow-up. That's a feature of my email program, Microsoft Outlook, which I use when I think I might need to check again with the recipient about the content of my email. I don't use the flagging feature for people inside AccelaWork naturally, and I don't use it for messages that are sent just to personal contacts. Therefore, those 1,567 emails represent current or potential business opportunities!
Emails tend to pile up as a sequence of replies. I do my best to keep a flag on only the most current email in a follow-up chain, so that means that although I marked 1,500+ emails at one time, I processed most of those conversations to a resolution. There were only 143 emails remaining. That means I chased down 1,424 individual interactions to get a satisfactory reply! That number is encouraging. It means that I'm getting answers, advancing opportunities and building business in a very real way over email.
That's not to say that my Sent Items data is the only measure of my work. And in fact, I actually do the archiving six months later (to keep recent sent email handy), so the information is not current. Nevertheless, this quick checkup feels great. I know I'm working hard and what I have to show for it.
Finally, archiving old email provides a satisfying finality to days gone by. If a conversation is older than six months, then I need to accept that it's no longer happening. There's a catharsis in letting go of old email. Messages I sent in the distant past will probably never receive replies. If I need to reach that person still, it's time to write a new message, or better yet, to pick up the phone.
A striking example is an invention that you've probably never heard of. It was created in the 1940s and is cheaply available. By one calculation, it can save 30,000 hours of work over the course of a lifetime. Once you understand it, you'll wonder why they haven't been installed everywhere. It's the dish-draining closet:
That's right: hand wash a dish and stick it in the dish-draining closet. The wire racks and open bottom allow for water to drip out and land in the sink. No more leaving dishes out on the counter. No more laborious hand-drying with a dishcloth. Just put the dish away wet, and it will dry on it's own behind closed doors.
Not surprisingly, millions of the dish-draining closets have been sold. Billions of hours have been put to better use than drying dishes by hand. So why haven't you seen one before? Where are all of these labor-saving cabinets?
The answer: they are mostly in Finland.
The dish-draining closet was invented by Maiju Gebhard at the Finnish Association for Work Efficiency. It even won an award as one of the most important Finnish inventions of the millennium, according to the Finnish Invention Foundation. A few have made it to other European countries, but for the most part, there's only place to find this incredible creation. If you want to see a dish-draining closet, your best bet is to hop a plane for the Republic of Finland.
The message here should be clear: productivity consulting is a tough sell because people are resistant to change. A simple, inexpensive invention can save the average home oodles of time in drying dishes, but most people have a hard time making a switch. Imagine what improvements are possible in your organization if you are actually open-minded to new possibilities?
Finally, resistance to change can actually be an advantage. If everyone else is afraid to try something new, your firm might be able to move ahead of the competition. Make a change. Consider reaching out to AccelaWork. Our productivity consultants would love to talk about ways to help your firm be more productive at work.
The Wall Street Journal discussed how the increasing amount of paraphernalia students are carrying in their backpacks was impacting more than just their workload. According to the article, the influx of weight is exacerbating back problems:
There were an estimated 27,900 backpack-related injuries among U.S. kids and adults last year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Most injuries occur to the upper back, as many kids grab one strap and go . . . The resulting strain and inflammation frequently resolve on their own. But if a child keeps up the same motion, it can lead to more serious problems including damage to the brachial plexus network of nerves that conducts signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, and hand.The combination of heavy books along with laptops, electronics, clothing, bottled water, lunch boxes, and school supplies has increased backpack density to an astounding 22% of a student's body weight. In response, manufacturers such as North Face, L.L. Bean and Land's End have created designs that not only sport softer, more cushioned shoulder straps and back padding, but provide ample storage space:
The fastest growing backpack by sales at L.L. Bean Inc. this back-to-school season is the Turbo Transit II. It's the retailer's largest daypack—measuring 2,400 cubic inches, about the capacity of a small dorm refrigerator—with a separate compartment at the bottom that allows a child to store a change of clothes or shoes.
When it comes to selecting a book bag that is durable enough to carry a couple of bowling balls, the options are seemingly endless. Yet, it appears as if the solution to the heavy backpack problem has become dependent on a bag's design rather than the contents being stored within it.
To AccelaWork, this is a bit mind boggling. After all, is it really necessary to carry a change of clothes and shoes to every class? Haven't water fountains been stationed all around school buildings precisely so students are able to hydrate as much as they need to during the day? And what elementary or high school building allows personal laptops or electronics into the classroom?
To be honest, perhaps the only unavoidable item that weighs students down are school books. After all, it's hard to regulate their size. So, rather than having students carry them around on their backs all day long, perhaps teachers could store them on shelves in their classroom. If homework requires the books be taken home, an option could be allotting a few minutes at the end of class for students to place them in their lockers or cubby holes. The point is, backpack awareness should be about eliminating unnecessary weight, not a reason to figure out better ways of carrying it.
Like the unnecessary contents of a student's book bag, office stress and process overload weigh heavily on our shoulders. And though we could spend day after day manufacturing temporary solutions to unmanageable tasks, it would behoove us all to take the opportunity to seek out ways of improving our workload. For instance, rather than accepting additional work that will surely feel as if an elephant is standing on your back, consider that saying no or telling your colleagues "I don't have time to take that on" is a responsible, healthful choice. Let this be a lesson to us all: the ability to eliminate excess weight off our shoulders without actually losing anything pertinent to success is feasible!
It's hard to think of an example of business productivity advice which is more fundamental or more commonly ignored. Informally, we've known for a long time that multitasking doesn't work. Scientific studies on managing multiple tasks all show that personal productivity is diminished, whether it's about distracted driving or remembering your shopping list after an interruption.
At the same time, people tend to boast about multitasking. Here in Indiananapolis, consulting companies sometimes announce that they are able to help more than one customer at the same time! We're often proud of all we can "accomplish" at the same time, as we stand in line at the airport, check email on our cellphones, and finish a sandwich.
But in reality, are you really comprehending written messages if you're also constantly looking to see where you should be walking? Are you savoring a meal if you're trying to type a response on your Blackberry? We can't really do more than one useful thing at the same time. At least, not without making those activities far less meaningful.
Moty Koppes, a business development coach, offers a great round-up of the multitasking problem on her website. Here's what she has to say about this personal productivity technique:
The term "multitasking" was originally used to describe computers' parallel processing abilities. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the term began appearing on resumes as jobseekers restyled themselves into high-tech, high-performing team players.In the business world, where time management is always a priority, multitasking skills are expected, especially in younger workers reared in multiple media environments.
Beginning in 2005, however, studies began to show that distractions negatively affected productivity and efficiency. A study funded by Hewlett-Packard and conducted by the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry found that "workers distracted by email and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that found in marijuana smokers." The report termed this new "infomania" a serious threat to workplace productivity.
Koppes is right: multitasking is a serious problem. It's such a serious issue that Dan Crenshaw wrote an entire book about it, The Myth of Multitasking.
That's not to say you can't delegate tasks to machines or systems. When the weather turns cold in Indianapolis, consultants in our company sometimes use a remote starter for their car. But that's not multitasking. That's no different than pre-heating the oven while you prepare ingredients.
What do the experts advise? How should we deal with our tendency to try to do too many things at the same time? Here are some helpful tips:
A weakness of all human beings is trying to do too many things at once.
As reported by reported by CBS News:
The average worker loses 11 days and $2,300 in productivity each year by not getting enough shut-eye. These people are still on the job, just dragging.The report data came from a survey of over 7,000 employees. More than a fifth of respondents indicated that they were "insomniacs." The researchers also analyzed variables such as gender, age, and education level."We were shocked by the enormous impact insomnia has on the average person's life," [wrote] study author Dr. Ronald C. Kessler.
"Americans are not missing work because of insomnia. They are still going to their jobs but accomplishing less because they're tired."
Unfortunately, the prescription for this billion dollar problem doesn't really address the real issue. According to the article:
Kessler said employers tend to ignore insomnia's consequences since it's not considered a real disease. He hopes his finding will encourage employers to pay for treatment programs, which can cost up to $1,200 a year for therapy.What's the cause of insomnia? According to the National Institutes of Health, a lack of refreshing sleep is usually caused by stress or anxiety, or by alcohol and caffeine—the two drugs we use to manage stress and anxiety. The article delves into the causes and classification further.
The study found education was a factor, and in this case, less education is more sleep.Only 19 percent of people with less than a high school education were insomniacs, but 25 percent of their diploma-touting counterparts had insomnia.
Insomnia occurs when people have difficulty sleeping for at least a month. Some cases are caused by alcoholism, anxiety, coffee, and stress, but insomnia can also result from medical conditions like depression. The more insomniacs think about getting enough sleep, the more stressed they become, which results in less sleep.
Insomnia treatment programs might help, but it should be clear that there's a more fundamental reason that employees are less productive due to lack of sleep: the stress of their working hours. If workers show up at the office at 8AM sharp but had trouble falling asleep the night before, is the mandatory arrival time really a good idea? If employees are struggling with unreasonable expectations that cause low employee satisfaction which leads to them lying awake at night with stress, maybe it's time to address the volume of work?
Kessler's last quote in the article poses the following question:
"Now that we know how much insomnia costs the American workplace, the question for employers is whether the price of intervention is worthwhile," said Kessler. "Can U.S. employers afford not to address insomnia in workplace?"Here at AccelaWork, we think not. And we're trying to fight insomnia by actually being reasonable. It's part of our philosophy on task management:
Please conduct your work wherever and whenever you feel you can be most productive, most efficient, most effective, and most satisfied.Had to stay up all night with a sick child? Just let someone know that you will be catching up on sleep instead of working on a project. Concerned about a deadline? Communicate with the team so we can adjust resources and expectations.
Work should not be a cause of distress, but a place filled with opportunity and meaning. Don't lose sleep over your job. Instead, figure out how to get enough so you can do your job in way that makes you proud.
To learn more about workplace productivity, reach out to the best business improvement services Indianapolis has to offer.
One of the wittiest string of commercials on TV is for the Toyota Venza. If you've not seen these commercials as of yet, prepare to laugh because the advertisement has no qualms about poking fun at people's obsession with Facebook. Take a quick moment to watch the short clip below:
Naturally, this advertisement revolves around social media's unyielding grasp on our everyday lives—to quote directly from the leading lady, "this is living". Humorously enough, her words implore us to recognize just the opposite. And so the irony sinks in while the laughing begins.Without a doubt, our small business consultants know that social media plays a powerful role in both our personal and professional lives. And though it enhances our ability for widespread communication, it can also become a black hole of inefficiency. Essentially, if and when we fail to establish an appropriate workflow pattern that helps us control our time and output effectively on networking sites, we lose hours out of our day without even batting an eyelash. Next thing you know your day is half over, you've got a pile of work a mile high, and your nerves are shot from the unrelenting stress that is increasing by the minute. If this sounds familiar, don't fret—you're not alone.
Our productivity consultants are strong advocates of social media. AccelaWork believes anyone can maintain online involvement without wasting valuable time. To quote our business consultants directly:
With any new tool, it’s easy to become distracted with activity without making progress. Productivity is the ability to define objectives and meet objectives. To make social media productive, we must move beyond the allure and mystery of the technology as well as beyond the simplicity of being busy. Instead, we need to set goals and then set out to meet them.There are so many more tools to analyze social media use now than there were even two years ago. Facebook allows businesses to see how many people have viewed and interacted with their ads. Twitter analytics presents the same sort of platform. The company's blog delves into more information on how their product can be useful.
Want an even deeper dive? Visit the Tweet activity dashboard to see in-depth metrics for your individual Tweets. We start with impressions and total engagements — we’ll do the math, and calculate your engagement rate, too. If you click on a Tweet, you’ll see engagement broken down even further, into Retweets, favorites, clicks on media, replies, link clicks, follows and more. If that’s still not enough data for you, you can download the data on your last 3200 Tweets, going back as far as October 2013.Basically, there's no reason you can't be smart about the way your organization is utilizing social media. And when it comes to that topic, AccelaWork urges companies to recognize that the most effective way to achieve success and reap beneficial results is by balancing our communication correctly with our workflow. To learn more about making social media productive in your office, consider contacting our business process transformation experts today!...
We’ve also recently introduced personas. This means that, in addition to your followers, you can now get to know specific audiences on Twitter such as parents, millennials or small business decision-makers. Once you find the persona that matches your desired audience, you can target them in an ads campaign with one click, directly from your audience insights dashboard. Personas are currently only available to advertisers in the U.S., but we’re working to roll out this new tool more broadly.
A friend came to me later and told me about the Workforce Investment Act grant that gave students up to $3,000 a year to attend school if they had lost their job. I looked up the grant, met all the qualifications to apply, so I went to the local government office. The counselor I was assigned to was very nice and I felt as if she truly cared about my situation. She set everything up for me to get the grant moving along and it was great. But, this was after I waited over 45 minutes just to speak with her. Together we looked over all the materials once more and I didn't think anything was wrong. I left happy and the time was well worth what I believed the outcome to be.
A week goes by and I arrive at my 8am scheduled time to attend the FOUR hour training session. I’m pumped, ready to do the class, take my test and get some assistance with grad school. I have filled out all the paperwork, I fill out more the day of, and now I am about an hour and a half into the PowerPoint presentation. The slide comes up that reads, “requirements for WIA grant.” The presenter starts to talk and all of a sudden she says the words, “if you already have a bachelor’s degree you are ineligible for the WIA grant.” WHAT! WAIT!
I wait until break and approach the instructor as to what she said. Sorry, nothing she can do. I explain my situation, that I met with a counselor, and how I was NEVER told that I was ineligible. The website didn't even say that! She told me to check with my counselor, which I did, and she told me that she was unaware of that rule. Seriously?! I was told to call back so they could check on the rule. I called back and the answer was "Sorry."
Again I am appreciative of what I have received, it's just unfortunate I had to waste over five hours of my time in the end for nothing. I’m not sure how I got so far in the process without my counselor knowing that you cannot have a degree and qualify for the WIA grant. Life goes on and instead of a grant, I find myself still having to pay for my own schooling.
[Editor's note: Sounds like the WIA grant needs an attached checklist for advocates and potential recipients! A disqualifier like another degree would likely be right at the top!]
Risinger is also the founder of DoItIndy, an online viral video show that highlights the Top 5 urban events each week in the city of Indianapolis. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in Public Relations from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. To learn more, visit www.BenRisinger.com.
First: a heads up on what this is all about. From the website:
The idea for this project is: find a local non-profit, gather a team, make said non-profit a useful web site in 24 hours, raise community awareness and maybe get them some donations in the process. The team gets to revel inThe event is organized and staffed by SmallBox, an Indianapolis web design firm. The team did double duty one year, producing impressive websites for both the Earth House Collective and INDYCOG.losing sleephelping out for a good cause, the non-profit gets to benefit from their new site. Win-win, all around.
At first glance, it's easy to be skeptical about a marathon, company-wide effort. If we look just at the raw details out of context, this might seem like a recipe for disaster. In fact, the 24 Hour Web Project does include some of the classic hallmarks of what industry veterans call a "death march":
So why are the SmallBoxers staying up long past their bedtimes once a year to build websites? Are they crazy? To understand why this is rare example of when extreme conditions actually work, we need to look at the primary cause of the traditional, soul-crushing death march. To quote Ed Yourdon (author of the definitive work on this topic) in an interview:
More often than not it is the result of an arbitrary deadline determination by management. Management decrees that something will be done in a very aggressive fashion, and then they stubbornly refuse to back down.Or, in the language of Dilbert:
So why is the 24 Hour Web Project not an example of a death march? One reason above all others: the arbitrary deadline is not a management decree.
The SmallBox team decided together that it would be loads of fun to set out to build a website in only twenty four hours. They have set parameters for the project to ensure success—such as requiring a client-approved sitemap before starting the clock. And of course, they are only building websites for non-profit causes, which helps keep everyone's spirits up.
If you're considering extreme working conditions at your own company, you might be tempted to use the 24 Hour Web Project as an example. After all, if the SmallBoxers can load up on Diet Coke and churn out two websites in a single day, what's wrong with expecting your team to put in a couple of sixty or seventy hour weeks?
The answer is that anyone asking their employees for long hours is asking the wrong question. The right question is the one SmallBox has answered on their company culture page. The right question is asking: "How should we work together?" The SmallBoxers decided that part of that answer was the 24 Hour Web Project. The answer for you may be something similar or different, but only if you're asking that question.
So to summarize: is it good for the company to stay up all night working on a crazy project? Yes, sometimes. Only if you've decided—all together—to change your working parameters and see what amazing results you might produce.
Congratulations to the SmallBox team on their success with the 24 Hour Web Project. And an even bigger congratulations to the SmallBox team for building a collaborative working environment where such fantastic ideas can be part of a healthy workplace culture.
Let me back up. Here are the main points:
The problem is that the business model runs directly counter to the consumer model. The business wants to reward high sales, so it creates a system by which people win if they sell more. But as a customer, I'm most interested in getting great advice and fantastic prices. I have to do what's bad for me (waiting, waiting, waiting) in order to help out Avery. In fact, I'm likely to get a negative opinion of the Major Consumer Brand while trying to help my friend make more money. What's worse, Avery is making enemies out of his fellow salespeople. Why would they want to help each other if doing so only keeps them from succeeding?
I'm not here to say that all commission systems are broken. Rather, that whether you realize it or not, your business has a workflow. The customer and the employee both have a sequence of choices that are driven by individual incentives. If those values don't align, friction appears. Business processes need to be consciously designed to reduce these issue and ensure that all stakeholders can actually collaborate.
As for my relationship with Avery, I am not sure where it's headed next. I have to admit, I'm tired of driving halfway across town and waiting for him to be available. But like the business process methodology of the tip-sharing waitress or the tale of the end-of-month commission check that affected worker productivity, there are probably smarter ways to work. Hopefully the Major Consumer Brand will realize how to become more productive and more satisfied before their competition.
Obviously we can't tell you the event or the company that put up their money to get their name on the program, but we can give you the highlights:
The sponsor did make use of those five free tickets. They brought a handful of staff people, each of which were wearing company shirts with their official corporate logo. But for the entire, ninety minute reception, these five people only did one thing: stand at the same table and talk only to each other.
This is a business process error of the highest magnitude. Sure, the business' name was all over the place, but the reason that the sponsor received these tickets was so they would have direct access to the attendees. Failure to actually go out and meet people, exchange business cards, or have further conversation makes the expense nearly a complete waste. Why would this company have its employees stand around chatting when hundreds of prospects were in the very same room?
The likely answer is that the sponsor did not define a workflow. It's easy to do this. Consider the following idea:
It's very unlikely that these employees only talked to each other with the intention of wasting their company's money. Rather, they just failed to step outside of their comfort zone and network. Perhaps the employer could've sent people who are more inclined to branch out, but in reality, a simple bit of direction can lead to nearly anyone making better use of their time. A few networking tips beforehand, and a direct plan for how to maximize the time and money invested in this event would've led to a much better outcome.
So much lost opportunity in business is unintentional. If you don't have a business process, your business and your employees are likely to pursue the path of least resistance. Take a few minutes to plan. You'll be amazed how it influences your results.
Struggling to implement a functional process within your organization? We can help! Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today. We've seen all sorts of organizational problems and we can get you on the fastest route to success.
Over at the SquawkPoint blog, they like to talk about process improvement just about as much as we do. So needless to say, it was quite a pleasure when Robby Slaughter was asked to pass along his perspective on email to their followers. In his blog post, Why E-mail is Like Oil, Slaughter pointed out just how similar email and oil actually are when it comes to keeping our lives efficient. And while the two tools differ greatly in use and execution, inevitably they both work toward the same thing—power delivery.
According to Slaughter, there are three aspects between email and oil that can make or break the actual benefits we receive from them. Originally listed in his post, the points are below for your convenience:
There’s great wisdom in thinking about the way you maintain lubrication in your car and facilitate coordination in your office:Ultimately, if used correctly, email can enhance your business processes greatly. If over used or left unmaintained, the effects can feel as messy and chaotic as an oil spill. And that is why we encourage businesses and stakeholders to take action in proactively managing their inbox. If you and your team are looking to learn more about email productivity, consider reaching out to our productivity consulting Indianapolis based firm.
- First: the total quantity of oil/e-mail must be carefully maintained. Not enough and the parts and pieces mash together, creating tension. Too much and the stuff overflows and you spend more time cleaning up than making progress.
- Second, both e-mail and oil work well when they are applied in thin layers between the junctions of moving pieces. Oil droplets and e-mail messages work best when they are nearly microscopic. If you’re writing a message that goes on for more than a few sentences or tries to cover more than one topic, you’ll gum up the works.
- Third, e-mail and oil both need to be expunged and replaced. Mechanics recommend 3,000 miles for the typical car engine. I advise about one day for the typical e-mail inbox. You should be processing your email down to zero messages almost every day. Use the “offline mode” of your e-mail program to prevent more messages from coming in while you’re draining out those that are in the system. Clean out the pipes and make way for fresh content!
It was almost hard to believe all of the content we've generated since we started blogging back in 2006. After all, not only had we managed to create 500 blog posts in 5 years, but we're still going strong! And while anticipation has already begun for celebration, we decided to leave ourselves one last project before we cracked the virtual champagne bottle. Rather than allow our 500th blog post to come and go as any other normally would, we decided to capitalize on the chance to hear what our followers thought about the memorable (or not so memorable) posts we've published.
And so the contest began! Here were the guidelines:
CONTEST SUMMARY
Create and submit a blog post to Slaughter Development that is a reflection of your thoughts and opinions on any published content from The Methodology Blog. A panel of Slaughter Development judges will read all submissions and narrow down the selection to the top five posts. The winning submission will be published as our 500th blog post.
PRIZES
Each of the five finalists will receive a pair of free tickets valid for any one of our 2012 Productivity Series sessions. They will also have their post published on The Methodology Blog in 2012.
The winning submission will receive a $75 Visa giftcard. But more importantly, he/she will receive bragging rights as the author of a major milestone on The Methodology Blog.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
If you're interested in our productivity services, you can reach out to our Indianapolis consultants today.
An article highlighted the surprising failure of supermarket self-checkout lanes:
Market studies cited by the Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute found only 16 percent of supermarket transactions in 2010 were done at self-checkout lanes in stores that provided the option. That's down from a high of 22 percent three years ago.Turns out that even major chains are beginning to phase out these systems:
An internal study by [one large retailer] found delays in its self-service lines caused by customer confusion over coupons, payments and other problems; intentional and accidental theft, including misidentifying produce and baked goods as less-expensive varieties; and other problems that helped guide its decision to bag the self-serve lanes.Stores are finally starting to look at their customer base when deciding if self-serve lanes are the best route. Instead of just blindly going for the technology, they're analyzing the system.
Home Depot and some other businesses, which cater to customers with a do-it-yourself mentality, report success with their self-serve lanes.But not all supermarket shoppers share that mentality, and whether they embrace or reject the self-serve option may come down to demographics -- such as whether they're in a tech-savvy region -- and other factors that the supermarkets cannot control.In total, while some grocery stores are keeping their systems, the overall consensus is that the technology has steadily declined in value."I think some of the stores are just deciding that, on the balance, it's a negative. Other stores, because they have a different composition of shoppers, are deciding to keep it," John Stanton, a professor of food marketing at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, said of the self-serve option."I don't think this is as much a referendum on the technology as much as it is a match between the technology and the customer base," he said.
While failure is always interesting, we want to focus on one possible culprit for this trend. Supermarkets face a classic problem: the struggle between efficiency and simplicity.
To improve efficiency, grocery stores need to reduce waste to see more organizational productivity while finding ways to make shoppers productive, which in turn creates productivity growth. Given the outstanding success many other business have gained from these self-serve kiosks, can any of us really blame the industry for at least trying them out?
Businesses might want efficiency, but customers want a shopping experience marked by simplicity. When we buy groceries there are a lot of steps in the process—scanning, weighing, bagging, entering membership and product codes, and processing coupons and payments. For many of us, if waiting in line means someone else will take care of processing the information, we'll gladly bide our time reading a magazine until it's our turn. Lastly, while self-checkout lanes might seem convenient and empowering, a trained staff member is probably much better at the task. An abundance of errors and suddenly a slight convenience can turn into a major inconvenience.
Just like self-service kiosks, new office technologies designed to increase efficiency can sometimes backfire. A new approach or tool might have the potential to be incredibly fast but be far too complex for anyone to use it. If there are forgotten operations manuals, half-completed internal projects, or underutilized software programs at your company, call our productivity consultants. We'll help you become more efficient without sacrificing simplicity. That's what productivity really is: increasing output while increasing satisfaction.
Jonathon Kaplan, an entrepreneur and founder of Pure Digital, took another step in his path of ambitious creations. He opened the first location in his chain of grilled cheese sandwich shops. His restaurant The Melt has an extensive menu of varying grilled cheese sandwiches and soups guaranteed to make your mouth water. And if that wasn't enough, it had also introduced a type of technology that makes custom order and pick-up a snap. According to Kaplan, this integration aims to please both busy and efficient customers alike:
If you don't want to wait in line, you can order on a smartphone using The Melt's website. After placing an order, you receive a QR code — a cousin to the traditional bar code, but with more data encoded in a smaller space. You bring that to a code reader in the restaurant for scanning, and an employee then gathers up your order.Kaplan's choice in technology for The Melt, if we may speculate, is perhaps more than just about convenience. Given his history in development, AccelaWork ventures to guess that it's also a strategic move based upon the lessons he learned from a previous failure.When The Melt has more locations up and running, customers will be able to choose where to redeem their codes, Kaplan says.
He believes the technology in use at The Melt will improve the customer experience, "rather than technology that is just there for marketing reasons or technology for technology's sake."
Back in 2009, when Kaplan's company Pure Digital sold The Flip Video camcorder to Cisco Systems, it was the first of its kind. In fact, at the time, the camcorder was considered such a step forward in technology that it paved the way for the industry. Yet, with technology evolving faster than our brains can sometimes comprehend, the camcorder barely lasted two years before newer products weeded it out. By 2011, The Flip Video camcorder was discontinued.
It's hard to know where things can go wrong before they actually do go wrong. While Kaplan's project wasn't a failure per se (he was able to sell it off before the market turned), it still wasn't the sort of sustainable business that most entrepreneurs shoot for. But when he created the Flipcam, he probably wasn't thinking about how smartphones would overtake that technology. But after seeing that happen to one product, you can bet that isn't something he wanted to happen again.
When we consider just how difficult it must have been for Kaplan to watch his creation turn obsolete, it leaves absolutely no question as to why he created technology compatible with the smartphone. After all, it's an extremely influential product in our society today. With the amount of applications it provides to its users, it has become more than just a cell phone. In fact, it's a one stop shop for owners, acting as a computer, video camera, digital camera, music player, GPS system, social media outlet, internet provider, etc.
Kaplan's strategy of amplifying customer service through efficient and popular technology is incredibly smart. By discovering success through failure, he has enhanced his entrepreneurial endeavors. By following lessons from the past, we're confident he'll find that his twist on comfort food restaurants will come to fruition.
To learn more about failure and how it can be beneficial, consider reading Failure: The Secret to Success.
One of the greatest attributes of children is their incredible ability to imagine and create. I am certain that anyone who remembers their own childhood would agree: a child's imagination is more than just fascinating. Their creativity is inspiring. Because no matter the object or scenario, they can transform 'boring' into 'complete awesomeness!'
While adults see a tent, children see an alien spaceship on a mission to Mars. While adults consider cardboard boxes garbage, children cherish them for the life-sized building blocks that they are. A simple seesaw in the backyard is far more than just a tool for jumping up and down. It's an over-sized catapult that Cabbage Patch Kids and GI Joe's use to leap across mountains. And as we toss candy into plastic grocery bags or pillow cases, we know they aren't just bags of candy. Rather they are satchels of treasure more precious than gold that will surely be protected in hidden caves beneath beds and in closets.
But regardless of the story line, what can be seen is that children live in a world where bikes turn into race cars, bunk beds into tree houses and toothbrushes into airplanes. And as we watch imagination at work, it's hard to deny just how mystified we as adults can actually become by the intricacies of creativity. After all, if there's one thing we know, it's that conjuring up new and bright ideas creates endless possibilities!
So why then, do we often find ourselves in a rut in the office? If we know that creativity can transform ordinary into extraordinary, why are we still working in the same patterns and using the same systems that have long since been outdated?
Whether it's our fear of failure or difficulty with implementing change in the workplace, when we ignore the opportunity for innovation we must prepare ourselves for negative results. Because believe it or not, when we fail to empower ourselves, we damage our motivation for discovering better, more efficient ways of working.
So if your inbox is suffocating you, consider that establishing a progressive email usage policy on email may be just the ticket to opening a new avenue for creative opportunity. Don't be afraid to stand strong suggest something crazy, like the idea that a conference room without chairs could foster better meetings and more productivity growth. Or, even if you don't have a talent for sketching, why not grab that pencil and translate your thoughts into pictures, it will actually improve employee satisfaction. No matter the situation, no matter the idea, don't hesitate to use your imagination to further improvement in the workplace.
Get inspired by the wacky costumes and wild inventions during Halloween time. Consider bringing new ways of thinking to work. Resurrect your creativity, and inspire others around you!
Take a minute and watch the short film yourself. You may want to maximize your window to full screen (click the button in the bottom right corner) to see all the detail. (Direct YouTube link):
The film is filled with amazing examples of workplace productivity and employee efficiency. Most of these show off advanced technology concepts which may not even be possible, such as paper thin display screens and three dimensional interactive displays. The productivity techniques—such as the automatic language translation done in the opening sequence—make for a great marketing message. Once viewers are reminded of the sponsors of the clip, they'll be sure to associate increased productivity and enhanced personal sanctification with Microsoft Office and General Motors.
Despite all of whiz-bang gadgetry, many of the "productivity enhancements" are actually entirely possible in today's world. For example:
Appointment management - At about the one minute mark, a character receives an e-mail on her mobile device. Attached to the message is a proposal document. She responds with a brief reply: "Hi Qin, I'll review it first thing tomorrow."
The science fiction moment arrives in the next few seconds of video. Her mobile device recognizes the phrase "first thing tomorrow" and automatically creates a calendar appointment for the following day. Later in the clip, we see the same character thumbing through her agenda and discovering this event.
While this sounds a little like having a personal assistant in the palm of your hand, it's really a lesson in discipline. Any of us can receive e-mail messages, but how many of us take the time to reply to acknowledge receipt? Just letting the sender know we got the message is a huge productivity improvement. It establishes a commitment in our mind and gives the other person a sense of relief.Likewise, how many of us have the discipline to actually reserve time on our calendar to complete individual tasks? Once again, the value is not in the automatic reservation system, but in actually setting aside time by penciling in an hour to review a document.
There several more examples of simple productivity tips in the same video:
Clear and concise wording - At about the 1:30 mark, another character receives a different message. You may have to pause the video to see the text, but the scripting is really clear. The subject is "Question", a subtitle below it says "Oliver Project" and the entire message reads "Here's my latest visualization, does this work?"
Once again, this technique for improving productivity is really about discipline. We so often see e-mail messages whose subjects read "hey", "i have a question for you..." or simply "help." In this case, the sender has been exceptionally precise. The subject line reads "Question: Oliver Project." Clearly this message is going to contain a question about the Oliver Project. The body of the message is a total of seven words, and is beautifully precise.The rest of the video includes even more proof that employee productivity is as much about choices as it is about tools. A transcribed voicemail message reads: "Can you approve the order today?" When was the last time you received a voicemail that did not ramble on for several minutes? A slide presentation is edited using copy and paste, in the same manner that we do today with the mouse. Shouldn't we be making simple modifications to documents as well?
Humanity will continue to improve productivity through new technologies. However, the greatest opportunity for improving worker productivity is by adopting new perspectives at work. Poor choices on every day tasks rob of us our ability to get things done. Make smarter decisions about structuring time, using tools and selecting language. And if in need of help, contact the best experts in business process improvement Indianapolis has. We'd love to help you learn to function at the speed of the future.
If you've ever wondered who had the worst job in America, ponder no more. The ten most hated jobs were revealed in an online article by CNBC. For your reading convenience, each hated position at the time of the survey (accompanied by a brief job overview and a summary of complaints) is listed below:
#10 - Marketing Manager Job overview: Oversees advertising and promotion. Primary complaint: Lack of direction
#9 - CNC Machinist Job overview: Operates computer numerical control machines. Primary complaint: No room for advancement
#8 - Technical Support Analyst Job overview: Assists people with their computer issues. Primary complaint: Dealing with panicked individuals, inconsistent work environments and last minute project work
#7 - Law Clerk Job overview: Assists judges as they write opinions. Primary complaint: Long, grueling hours and dealing with unpredictable personalities
#6 - Electronics Technician Job overview: Maintain, troubleshoot and collect monthly measurement data for electronic systems. Primary complaints: Little control in situations, difficult work schedule and disgruntled peers
#5 - Technical Specialist Job overview: Leads the evaluation of a potential design project to see what is possible and what isn't. Primary complaints: Lack of communication from upper management and expertise not taken seriously
#4 - Senior Web Developer Job overview: Design, maintain, and develop applications for the Internet. Primary complaints: Inability of employers to communicate coherently or understand technology
#3 - Product Manager Job overview: As such a broad title, one example is being responsible for evaluating products and how they blend with company's business model. Primary complaints: Restricted growth, boredom and not challenging enough
#2 - Director of Sales and Marketing Job overview: Plans and implements efforts to promote companies and generate business. Primary complaints: Lack of direction from upper management and no room for growth
#1 - Director of Information Technology Job overview: Maintains and administers all information technology policies. Primary complaints: Nepotism, cronyism, disrespect for workers
When reading the major frustrations associated with each position, you may have noticed two common areas of discontent. First, many complained about the lack of opportunity for career advancement. More intriguing however, was the second issue: a lack of rewards. According to the survey, this was a driving factor in stakeholder frustration.
It's easy to sympathize with these complaints. We've all had dead-end jobs where we feel unappreciated. But for now, let's focus on the curious language used in the survey. How would you answer the following questions about common workplace problems?
True, the thought of future productivity growth may be far from the minds of many at this moment, but that doesn't negate the fact that it's an important topic to tackle earlier rather than later. So where to start? On the Espresso To Go Show, Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discussed the topic of planning goals with the show's creator and host Eric Marasco. According to Slaughter, planning well ahead of time will help nurture future endeavors. Robby says:
It's powerful to make the choice to plan your year farther in advance. Because if you're trying to do it in December or after the new year starts, you're just running to catch up. And for most of us business owners, that January 1st time frame is already pretty busy because you're trying to get new sales and build new relationships. So, if you can do it in October or November and think about what you want to do for the next year, you'll have a longer view of things.Marasco then hops in with his thoughts:
It seems to me, every time I think back to when I started setting those goals and planning for the year, it usually took me thirty days to really dive through it. Next thing you know, you're already in mid-February sometime. You've kind of lost the momentum there. I think if you go into it now, it makes a lot more sense.For your convenience, the entire video is below: To AccelaWork, it's a no brainer—taking the time now to foster productive planning is the best way to avoid the stress and chaos that comes in the new year. So, what better time than now to get motivated about milestones you hope to reach in the upcoming year? We implore you to take the opportunity today to begin creating and setting goals for each new year.
Even if it isn't near the new year, there's no reason not to plan for the time ahead. Yes, people like to focus on January 1 since it's a nice, clean date, but there's no reason you can't plan a year in advance from February, May, or even August. Proper planning is key to preparation, and if you aren't prepared, then it's going to be an uphill battle for your organization to find success.
Plus, as an article from Forbes explains, New Year's planning often doesn't mean a thing.
Self-improvement, or at least the desire for it, is a shared American hobby. It’s why so many of us—some estimates say more than 40% of Americans—make New Year’s resolutions. (For comparison, about one-third of Americans watch the Super Bowl.)Don't wait around until the first of the year. Take the proper steps to succeed today!But for all the good intentions, only a tiny fraction of us keep our resolutions; University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year’s goals.
If you're baffled as to where to start, you may want to read tips from our productivity consultants that will help get you on track. By taking the steps to prepare for what's to come, you and your team will soon discover that the new year isn't as daunting as it may currently seem. Best wishes to you and your team for a successful new year!
In a piece for The Atlantic based on his best-selling book, Brian Christian wrote:
One of my best friends was a barista in high school. Over the course of a day, she would make countless subtle adjustments to the espresso being made, to account for everything from the freshness of the beans to the temperature of the machine to the barometric pressure’s effect on the steam volume, meanwhile manipulating the machine with an octopus’s dexterity and bantering with all manner of customers on whatever topics came up. Then she went to college and landed her first “real” job: rigidly procedural data entry. She thought longingly back to her barista days—when her job actually made demands of her intelligence.
Christian's article and book is about artificial intelligence, a field of computer science devoted to making machines "think" like human beings. Yet this passage helps to explain how some jobs that might seem menial actually require intellect and problem solving. The job of a barista is actually quite technical and extremely social. Not only does it require managing a finicky machine and the taste buds of countless customers, but the role is only suited for people who can hold their own with the personalities of the general public.
Most of us can probably remember a job which was wholly characterized as a sequence of tasks. And although we might try to reduce a position to an operations manual which will certainly affect employee productivity, the most interesting parts of any work are those that cannot be written down. Instead, the exciting stuff at work is that which requires creativity, ingenuity and the opportunity for invention. We all crave to matter at the workplace. Ensuring that we can do something which engages our brain is the best way to drive productivity and employee satisfaction.
If you lead a team or own a company, perhaps it's time to consider the degree of personal freedom you grant your employees and the impact it has on employee retention. It may be time to trust your employees to takes risks and innovate, which may actually increase workplace productivity. You can empower employees at any level, even minimum wage baristas at the coffee shop. And as Brian Christian's article shows, you can inadvertently treat anyone like a computer and ask them to blindly execute instructions. The difference will soon become clear. Employees who are empowered will be the ones who are most productive and the most successful.
It's easy for most business consultants to empathize with the agony of a teleconference. Although they are scheduled to begin at a specific time, they seem to always take a good five minutes to get rolling. Although everyone is supposed to be paying attention, if you listen carefully you can hear everyone typing away or shuffling papers while the speaker is talking. The more people who are on the teleconference, the fewer that actually say anything. Many (if not most) conference calls seem completely pointless.
Why are conference calls so terrible, and what can we do about it? The reason most teleconferences stink is because they are made up of the worst parts of traditional meetings. And as you probably know, most businesses are already terrible at running meetings that actually increase organizational productivity. Here are some of the aspects of in-person meetings which are even worse on a conference call:
What's the answer to fixing boring teleconferences? Probably the best thing to do is not have conference calls at all. But if you can't do that, here are some ideas that will help tremendously:
We'd love to hear your conference call horror stories and productivity tips. Share them in the comments below. Thanks!
The feature in question is called "carbon copy" or simply CC. As any experienced emailer knows, you can send direct the same message to multiple recipients by placing their respective addresses on the CC line. (The term "carbon copy" refers to an even older technology for duplication that predates many younger business professionals.)
In this story, four people are doing similar work and all report to the same manager. Two of the team members, Ellen and Ernie, were doing quite well. Unfortunately their counterparts Sylvia and Stan had fallen behind. Since these employees are largely independent and work in different offices, none of them really know what the others are doing. Check out the email that Brittany the boss sent to all four:
Subject: Current Performance Levels Cc: Ellen, Ernie, Sylvia, Stan
Hello. I've been reviewing the numbers from the last quarter and we've got some inconsistencies. Some of the team is doing pretty well but others are lagging below our needs. Let's go ahead and institute a new review process: please send me all your reports for a final check before passing them along to their respective clients.
-Brittany
There's likely three very good reasons that Brittany sent this email. First of all: it's accurate. Some people are doing great, others not so great. Second, it's extremely fair. Instead of identifying one or two people as being the source of the problem, the new review process is applied to everyone. Finally, it's efficient. Brittany just sends one email to all four people, cutting her workload by at least 75%.Good for Brittany. But how does this affect Ellen, Ernie, Sylvia and Stan?
Let's review what each might be thinking when reading this email, starting with the two who are already doing excellent work:
Ellen: Hmm, interesting. I know that I'm doing a great job, so obviously I'm not the problem here. It must be one of these other guys dragging us down, and now Brittany is going to make us all do more work.Doesn't sound too positive. What about the other competent, on-task employee:That pretty much kills my motivation. No reason to worry about doing flawless work any more, since Brittany's going to review it anyway.
Ernie: Uh oh. I thought I was doing fine, but maybe not. What if I'm one of the problem people? I had no idea there was such a range. What if all of us are part of the problem and Brittany's looking for someone to fire? What am I going to do?How about the two team members who are really the target of Brittany's efforts?
Sylvia: Well, I've been here for ten years and this is the first I've heard of this problem. Probably one of the new people is creating the issue and Brittany is just trying to get things right. I'm sure she doesn't need me to actually follow this rule. I'll just ignore it for now.
Stan: That's too bad. I wonder who is causing the issue. Ellen? Ernie? Or is it Sylvia? Maybe there isn't a problem at all, and this is one of those psychology tricks to try and get us to work harder. Yeah, that's probably it. After all, if there was really an issue she would just call that person and let them know, right?It's always the case that four people can interpret one email entirely differently. The moral of the story, however, is not just to be extremely conscious about using carbon copy. Rather, it's to show that just because a technique appears to be more equitable and efficient, it could still backfire.
Brittany would have done much better if she had taken the time to write four emails. Or better yet, she could have talked with everyone on the phone individually. For communication that is sensitive—such as discussions about individual performance—tone of voice can make all the difference.
If your company is having challenges using email productively, it might be because you're trying too hard to use it efficiently. Watch out for the CC line. It might be a technology that causes more problems than it solves. And if you need help, contact our organizational productivity consultants here at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you improve workflow and communication with email.
A hilarious graph published by PHD Comics helps to put things into perspective:
Much of the problem has to do with the way we perceive work. We often confuse productivity with activity. We sometimes think that working means doing something not necessarily doing something which advances the organization. Every minute we are away from the office can feel like our position or our business is slipping away. Therefore, we feel the urge to check email, make phone calls and read reports while sitting on the beach. This does not make for a good vacation.
Our small business consultants know it's essential to take breaks at work, whether that's to surf your favorite websites or even to visit the restroom, it will increase improve employee satisfaction. A vacation is just a longer form of a break to relax and recharge, and you should do your best to stay off your phone and your computer while you are away. When you return, you're likely to discover that the world did not end. You'll probably realize that you exaggerated the amount of work that piled up. And you'll see that your coworkers did their best to keep the organization humming along in your absence.
This is a disturbing trend that doesn't seem to be getting better with time. According to TIME, the youngest generation of workers seems to be the worst about working while on vacation.
This week, the Boston Globe called attention to the results of a survey conducted for Alamo Rent a Car, which indicates that even when Americans do take vacation days, to a disturbing degree they often aren’t truly taking these days off from work. Not entirely anyway. The survey reports:The next time you go on vacation, make a concerted effort to be both mentally and physically away from work. Leave your business professional attire in your closet and your business equipment at your desk at the office. Tell your colleagues that you won't be available, even for emergencies, because you trust them to be able to handle whatever might come up. Focus on taking care of yourself so that you can take care of your responsibilities when you return. That's the essence of a stress-free vacation: ensuring that you don't have to worry about work.Thirty-five percent of millennials reported that they worked every day of their vacations, and felt less productive when they returned.That’s right: More than one-third of millennial workers say never actually take an entire day off. Ever. At some point every day during their “vacations,” they work.In previous studies, six out of ten employees admitted that they’ve conducted some work on a recent vacation. But millennials appear to be the group most compelled to stay plugged in and productive each and every day, no matter if they’re supposedly not working that week.
We’re not talking about the “workcation” trend covered recently by the Wall Street Journal, in which employees work remotely from a vacation destination. Instead, people—young people in particular—are working during times that are, on paper at least, full-fledged vacations. And as Deborah Good, a human resources management professor at the University of Pittsburgh, told the WSJ, there is a problem if employees are pressured into never truly disconnecting from work: “There may be a backlash among employees if they feel they must work all the time and can’t ever have a real vacation.”
For more information about how to de-stress and properly set yourself up for a relaxing vacation, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
First off, let's talk about the kind of stress that everyone knows about. This is called distress and it refers to the negative emotions and physiological symptoms of our bodies reacting to change. You know what distress feels like:
The manner in which stress affects us depends upon how we choose to think about stress, use stress, and respond to stress. Stress is not always a “bad” thing. Stress motivates us to change our behaviors and move us closer to our chosen goals, dreams, and aspirations. If we felt no stress, we would not be compelled to act in ways that bring about meaningful change.
On the other hand, there are forms of positive stress. Think about the sensation that comes from watching a thrilling movie: you don't know what's going to happen, but you are excited to find out. Or, consider the feelings that comes from healthy competition. This emotion can be exhilarating.
Eustress is positive experience that helps us to be more productive and better enjoy our work and our life. You might be feeling eustress when:
It's important to remember that the line between distress and eustress can often be a very fine one. A great example of this is clear to anyone who's ever run a track race. There's a feeling of butterflies in your stomach, anxiousness, and a bit of worry as you step to the line. Waiting for the starter to blow the gun can be agonizing. Oftentimes, runners frame that stress as distress, when really, they're excited for the race they're about to run and simply ready to get on with it. Framing things in the right way can make all the difference.
The same can be said for workplace stressors. Do you really need to be distressed about the multiple projects you're working on, or can you feel eustress about the fact that you're a valued member of an organization who is able to handle many projects at the same time? Before defaulting to feelings of distress, take a second to reframe things. Sometimes a bit of mental tweaking can be the difference between a healthy stressor and an unhealthy one.
To learn more about healthy stressors, contact our business improvement consultants AccelaWork. We'd love to help you separate eustress from distress at your organization. We'd love to help you become more productive, more efficient, more effective and more satisfied at work.
In my early twenties, I discovered I was allergic to ibuprofen and aspirin. This realization was quite disappointing. Not only was I officially left with one option—Tylenol—to subside aches and pains, but it's also the weakest of the three common pain relievers. And as if that wasn't enough, over the years I've come to the conclusion that aspirin and ibuprofen are clearly the preferred medicinal choices in households across America.
I admit this is a bold statement and if you asked me for scientific proof on the matter, I would certainly come up short. With that being said however, I stand firm in my observation. After all, in nearly ten years of having this allergy, the absence of Tylenol in other people's homes is seemingly an unfailing trend. So much so, that I'm usually left with only one option: bide my time in pain. Interestingly enough, you'd have thought I would have learned my lesson by now. But given the recent circumstances, apparently not.
While in transit to my in-laws home, I developed a headache. In the twenty-five minute car ride that ensued, my pain level went from dull to excruciating. So, by the time we arrived at our destination I immediately asked for some Tylenol. Per usual, my specific request put the entire household up in arms. Between the search in the kitchen to the investigation throughout all the bathrooms, aspirin and ibuprofen were all they could offer. Until, that is, they rummaged upon a generic bottle of Top Care acetaminophen.
Having never ingested this brand of medication, I was avid in my concern for its ingredients. Carefully, I read the back label to confirm its safety. With no sign of any "kryptonite", I swallowed a full dose—anxious only about feeling better. That is until I started getting dizzy and woozy.
At first, I thought that perhaps there was some sleep agent in the generic brand, but soon thereafter I noticed my eyes beginning to swell. This symptom is essentially my red flag. If my eyes are puffing, my airways are next. Panicked, I took a dose of Benadryl, grabbed an EpiPen and sat down to relax while my brother-in-law began reading the label to see what mix of medications the acetaminophen contained. Turns out, one compound listed in the ingredients was an informal reference to aspirin.
Fearing the worst at this point, I felt it was best to simply head home. Unfortunately (but luckily, nonetheless), right as we were approaching the exit for Community North Hospital I suffered a quick bout of breathlessness. Immediately, my husband raced me to the ER for treatment. While in observation, I finally had my "aha" moment: for ten years I've been allowing my reactions to take control of my actions. How crazy is that?
Here's the deal: mistakes happen. Human error does in fact occur. And though we'd like to believe that all failure is predictable, it's clearly wiser to simply accept that this isn't always the case. In my situation, rather than preparing myself ahead of time for allergic reactions, I focused solely on observation—a feat, as I so eloquently displayed, impossible to achieve 100% of the time. So, if there's one lesson I've learned it's to take preventative action before the need for reaction takes over. For me, a bottle of Tylenol in my purse is now a permanent staple.
For more information on the benefits of failure, visit www.failurethebook.com. You can't always predict failure, but it's usually possible to act more intelligently regarding the possibility of mistakes.
Previously, we brought you the notion of the misery index in regards to workplace productivity. It's the degree to which employees detest their work. For the top ten most hated jobs two complaints came to the forefront: lack of opportunity for career advancement and a lack of rewards.
We can't waste another opportunity to address the latter of the two complaints. As many of you know and have certainly experienced, this is a common tactic in many offices worldwide. And why not? After all, office incentive plans such as pizza parties, sales contests, new titles or even additional vacation time sound like good ideas on the surface. But do these efforts actually empower people to be more engaged at work? According to our research, the answer is no. In fact, rewards are almost never a good idea.
Given all the content we've published on productivity and rewards, it's no secret that we have a low opinion of extrinsic motivators. If we want people to be truly passionate about their work, we have to do something much more difficult than giving out prizes and trinkets. To effectively motivate employees we need to grant them authority and responsibility. This is our message today, and it's been a major theme of ours for many years.
In one blog post, we encouraged readers to say no to worker productivity bonuses:
If you’re an employee and you are offered something extra for a job well done, consider something radical: refuse to accept that bonus. Tell your manager that you want to be motivated not out of fear, greed or expectation, but out of a personal desire to contribute. Light a fire within yourself, not one beneath you or one to run toward. Get excited about working hard for the sake of hard work itself.
In another post, we expressed just how important it is to actually value employee productivity:
The best compensation for a job well done is not always monetary in value. There is something to be said about passing along deserving and sincere praise. Trusting and believing in your employees, your colleagues and/or your stakeholders is incredibly important. Yet, if you don’t take the time to express such appreciation they may never know the value they hold. Lacking a sense of value may deter individuals from striving for high performance, efficiency, or even success.
And again, we focused in on the nature of raises in this tough economy and how they affect employee satisfaction:
Millions of companies simply cannot afford to give their employees raises or bonuses at this time, regardless of how much they may deserve one. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t show those employees that you care and appreciate their services.“Not giving out raises can have a real negative impact on employee morale and motivation. You may even lose some talented individuals,” explains Dr. K. Habib Khan, Chief Academic Officer and acting Dean of the School of Business at Stratford University. “But if you still take the time to show that you appreciate them during this rough economic time, they will be more likely to hang in there and remain dedicated and loyal employees.”
Certainly, we aren't aiming to be the party crashers. A cake and ice cream celebration now and then might be a nice way to bring smiles. Yet, we must be firm in our belief that rewards (or lack thereof) in the workplace should not define the extent to which stakeholders are happy, satisfied and valued. Stop rewarding employees. Start respecting them instead!
On the Espresso To Go Show, Robby Slaughter, founder and principal of AccelaWork, discussed the benefits that the QR code can bring to business. During the discussion with Eric Marasco, creator and host of the show, Slaughter cautions viewers:
QR codes have great potential, but they are really easy to misuse.But first, before we dive into the video, it's always nice to have a little foundational knowledge about what QR codes are, courtesy of a post at waspbarcode.com.
Those little jumbled squares were originally designed to track cars through the manufacturing process, but today, quick response (QR) codes can be found everywhere from assembly lines to warehouses and on everything from business cards to billboards.Whether you have a vast array of knowledge on QR codes or literally have no idea of what they even are, take a moment to gain a new perspective on the Do's and Don'ts of QR codes by watching the brief video below. We assure you, it's quite enlightening! If there is one thing our generation can attest to it's that technology is an ever-moving, ever-growing industry. And though it's easy to become overwhelmed, it's crucial to be cognizant of the fact that the way in which applications are utilized can make all the difference in the world. Just because technology is moving fast it doesn't mean that you have to fall behind. Below are some helpful tips for utilizing QR codes correctly:QR codes are now staples in manufacturing and inventory management, and they’ve gained traction in advertising, marketing and networking.
Think of them as barcodes on steroids, more information in less space. QR codes are 2D barcode that can store more than 4,000 alphanumeric characters in a limited horizontal and vertical space. A traditional linear (1D) barcode can hold roughly 20 horizontal characters.
Before implementing any new technology, you need to take the time to analyze how to best maximize the potential. Technology without a clear goal is pointless, and can lead to a ton of wasted time and money. But if you take the time to gameplan, research, and study a few trends, then there's no reason that a new technology can't become a staple of innovation within your organization. But the key is to always have an efficient procedure in place.
Are QR codes right for your business? That's for you to decide. But they're certainly worth looking at and considering. After all, why would you neglect a chance for innovation, even if maybe it seems unnecessary. Let these new technologies work for you and drive customers into your arms.
For more information on how to enhance technology through efficient procedures, contact the business process methodology experts at AccelaWork today! We'd be happy to help get you on your way to innovating effectively.
The physicist Edward Teller, who worked on the Manhattan Project and the hydrogen bomb, had this to say on the topic of keeping information confidential:
Secrecy, once accepted, becomes an addiction.Even if your organization is not working on a doomsday machine capable of killing millions of people (and we really do hope that you aren't), chances are that you've probably experienced the "addiction" of secrecy. How many times have people refused to communicate and thus created more problems in in workplace productivity?
To understand why people have secrets at work, here's another quote. This one comes from music legend Ric Ocasek, who co-founded The Cars:
Secrecy is the enemy of efficiency, but don't let anyone know it.
Although managers, coworkers, executives, and owners may not be consciously keeping details under their hats to slow down the company, doing so does allow them to control progress. If your employees don't know your strategy, they can't move forward except on assigned tasks. If they don't know about major deals in the pipeline, they may feel they have to keep putting in unpaid overtime on existing client relationships. Secrets do work—if your goal is to ensure that no one can get anything done that you did not approve. If there are unstated objectives, you can always claim that any unauthorized work is actually in violation of the plan!
If there are any secrets being kept in your workplace, you need to reflect on why this information isn't being shared. Are you worried it's going to be an unpopular decision? Well if it's going to benefit the company and you can articulate that, then it shouldn't be. And if you can't articulate how it's a positive thing, then is it really something worth implementing? Are you worried people's feelings are going to get hurt? Not every decision can be beloved by everyone, but again, if you articulate the reasoning, then good employees will understand. Do you simply like the power of knowing more than others? Well then that's a whole other problem that has to be addressed.
If we want our organizations to be truly collaborative and incredibly productive, we need to embrace freedom to really increase employee satisfaction. Former President John F. Kennedy said it best:
The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.Ideally, our workplaces should be free of secrets. We may need to keep some information confidential (such as medical records and conversations with HR) but efficient cultures are those that put all data on the table. If everyone knows what's going on, everyone can decide and act in a way that is most beneficial for the company. After all, the only thing more input from quality people should do is better your organization. And if you don't feel like you'll get quality input, then maybe it's time to bring some better, positive people into the fold. Honest feedback and open lines of communication are of the utmost importance in any size business.
Don't keep secrets at work. Instead, share ideas so that all can benefit.
Stuck on how to implement these principles in your organization? Contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today! We'd love to help you get to a secret-free workplace.
That was the premise of a piece from Bloomberg Businessweek published online. The article explained:
In surveys by Gallup and the McKinsey Global Institute, corporate CEOs and small business owners report difficulties finding workers with the right skills. Silicon Valley companies fight over software engineers; Union Health Service and the Harvard hospital system complain it’s hard to find nurses and technicians; manufacturers like Caterpillar and Westinghouse can’t hire enough welders and machinists to keep their state-of-the-art lathes running....
This is the “skills gap,” and as the jobless rate remains stubbornly high, it’s one of the few things policymakers from both parties think they can actually fix. Everyone from President Obama to Mitt Romney to researchers at McKinsey and Harvard’s School of Education suggest the same solution: training. Even if there are arguments about how it should be funded, training enjoys a measure of bipartisan support because, in theory at least, it helps citizens help themselves. A welder, say, with decades on the job learns to be a Web designer or a computer support technician. His brief interaction with the government leaves him more productive and turns him from a drain on revenue to a source of it. What’s not to like?
The question of training is one of the most common we receive in the productivity consulting business. Companies sometimes view workplace efficiency issues as "lack of training" and see personnel changes as ways to exchange "unskilled workers for skilled workers." This logic would make sense—if people were as interchangeable as machine parts.
In fact, the article went on to provide a surprising perspective from some experts. For example:
Yet despite decades of research on job training programs, there’s sharp disagreement over results — whether training actually makes it easier for those out of work to find a job or leads to higher pay. Most training is short-term, and courses vary widely in quality. James J. Heckman, a University of Chicago economics professor and Nobel laureate, has criticized training for being a waste of public money that would be better spent educating the young. Training, he writes in an e-mail, is a “total failure … Its return is ZERO.”
How could it be the case that re-training is completely worthless? Before we get to the scientific evidence, let's review some of the problems with training that may not be obvious at first:
The article did explain some of the science behind the problem with training:
The most exhaustive training study to date was authored by three economists...what they found was that among poor workers who used training to gain a foothold at the low-end of the wage scale, there were gains. Employment rates were higher among the trained than the comparison group, and pay was better by a couple of thousand dollars a year. For displaced workers, however, the study found that “gains from participation are, at best, very modest.”
While training can be of some help to companies and job seekers, our business improvement solutions experts know the real value is in adopting a new perspective. That's a tremendous challenge for both employers and would-be employees. It requires putting aside the old models and being ready to embrace innovation and risk failure. New skills may help, but not as much as being truly open to new points of view.
The Two Consultants and the Long Journey The president of a retail warehouse wanted to improve the efficiency of his delivery drivers. He called in two consultants: one who was an expert in route planning and another who had experience building software systems. The president explained: "Our business changes every season with new products, new suppliers, new customers, new roads, and new routes. Instead of hiring one of you to solve our problems now, I want you both to work together so we can adjust our systems to meet new needs with a click of the button.
The two consultants very gently tried to explain to the president that this was impossible. No one could build a system capable of adapting to all conceivable circumstances, much less one that could be routinely done without a trained expert. The president resisted. Finally, one of the consultants asked if he could tell a story:
Many years ago, a boy and his father were on a long journey together. They crossed the plains, they climbed over the mountains, and they forded many streams. One day, they happened upon a vast ocean that stood in their way. "Son," the father said, "we will need to change directions, the great water is blocking our path." "Father," the son said, "it's not a problem. I brought a bucket. I'll just scoop the water up and move it behind us."The president then asked both consultants if he could hire them on a long-term retainer.
The Pipeline and the Envelope An enormous team of contractors had been hired to build a pipeline that would stretch for hundreds of miles through the barren wilderness. It was very expensive to operate in this remote environment, and so the workers had set up a roving camp and were working around the clock to build the pipeline.
Although the site foreman tried very hard to plan for all possible contingencies, once in a while work would have to slow down and stop completely because of a mechanical failure with one of the machines. The foreman would radio back to base, and team would relax for a few days until the next scheduled delivery truck came rambling down the dirt road. Then, the contractors would get back to work.
Eventually, the project supervisor came to visit the worksite along with several executives from the pipeline company. They arrived by helicopter. During their tour, the portable generator blew a gasket and had to be shut down. In less than a minute, the project supervisor rushed to the helicopter and instructed the pilot to take him back to the supply warehouse. He returned in two hours with a replacement gasket.
The executives were fuming. "Do you have any idea how much it costs to take a helicopter trip?" they shouted. "And our time is very valuable. We sat around for hours with nothing to do! All for a nearly worthless piece of rubber!"
The project supervisor reached into his jacket and took out an envelope and a pen. He estimated the cost of the executives time and the cost of the fuel. Then he estimated the cost of all of the workers salary for the next two days until a delivery truck arrived.
"I have saved you over a hundred thousand dollars," he explained. "We can save more by keeping a helicopter on standby to fly nearly worthless parts to the jobsite."
Stay tuned for more campfire stories in future blogs! And in the meantime, contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork with any questions you have!
That's the issue that comes to mind with the following snippet from an online driving test. Although you probably haven't been studying to pass this particular exam, take a look at the question and see if you can detect why this is yet another example of a failed attempt at productive communication and workplace productivity:
This poorly worded question illustrates a "range error." This is a common problem in making communication productive. You can easily deduce the intention of the test's authors. They want new drivers to remember this crucial fact:
Most collisions occur at speeds of less than 40 MPH.That statistic may be surprising to new drivers. Many would probably assume that most car accidents only occur at high speeds, and might rationalize that they don't need to pay close attention while driving around the city. That's probably why this factoid is included in the test. Officials want to clearly communicate that distracted driving can lead to accidents at any speed, and that even routine, low-speed driving can be dangerous if drivers are not careful.
With this objective in mind, it's easy to rewrite the question to be more effective:
Most collisions occur at ___ to ___ MPH A. 70-100 B. 50-70 C. 40-50 D. 0-40The entire point of test questions or surveys is to give useful answers. With the way the original question was written, not only was there confusion, but the correct information wasn't discovered. With the way we've re-written the question, it can actually serve its proper purpose. In the instance of this driver's test question, all mis-written answer choices do is lead to correct answers being marked incorrect, but if you're writing survey questions with improper ranges, you could be wasting tons of money and time without yielding any valuable information.
There are an array of errors that can occur when it comes to survey questions, and Cornell University ran through the most common ones.
Measurement Error is error or bias that occurs when surveys do not survey what they intended to measure. This type of error results from flaws in the instrument, question wording, question order, interviewer error, timing, question response options, etc. This is perhaps the most common and most problematic collection of errors faced by the polling industry.This lesson on productive communication doesn't just apply to people who write driving tests. Any organization that has crucial facts about their business plan, internal policies, or standard procedures should ensure that they communicate in a way that is consistent with their objectives.Non-response Error results from not being able to interview people who would be eligible to take the survey. Many households now use voice mail and caller ID to screen calls; other people simply do not want to respond to calls sometimes because the endless stream of telemarketing appeals make them wary of answering. Non-response bias is the difference in responses of those people who complete the survey vs. those who refuse to for any reason. While the error itself cannot be calculated, response rates can be calculated and there are countless ways to do so. The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR web site) provides recommended procedures for calculating response rates along with helpful tools and related definitions to assist interested researchers.
If you find that people make implementation mistakes at your company, take a look at your internal communication. You may be writing or speaking in ways that inadvertently create range errors. These communication issues are a common problem that our organizational productivity specialists help companies face. To learn more, contact our business consulting Indianapolis firm today!
The word "culture" is kind of a funny term. It's a word that describes the behavior of a whole community of people. Sometimes we use "culture" to indicate sophistication ("only cultured people go to the symphony"). Other times, the term "culture" is derogatory. (You can't blame him, that's just part of his culture). So what do we mean when we are talking about workplace culture? Is this something real or just marketing speak used by HR business consultants?
Here's my personal definition of workplace culture:
The culture of a working organization is both the common and collective viewpoint on both the meaning and the value of work.There's a lot packed into that sentence, so let me break it down:
A common viewpoint is one that appears frequently. These include positive perceptions such as ("work hard and you will go places") as well as negative ideas such as ("unmonitored employees will be lazy"). The bottom line about the common viewpoint? Nobody goes around trying to build it on purpose. Instead, it develops organically. Some examples of common viewpoints that might exist in your company:
On the other hand, the collective viewpoint is the one that we actually build on purpose. Sometimes those choices are made for us as employees—as a directive—because management selects a "mission statement" or establishes policies about the way we work. Sometimes, the collective viewpoint is produced more collaboratively. This may be done intentionally through workshops or suggestion boxes, or may occur organically as the team struggles and bonds together over time.
Again, the important component of a collective viewpoint is that it is actively defined. Maybe it's specified by a memo ("All employees will arrive by 8AM sharp or be subject to probation") or perhaps it's decided collaboratively in an offsite retreat, but the point is that people are conscious of the source of the collective viewpoint.
There’s a difference too between the meaning of work and the value of work. "Meaning" is about purpose. If we have a job to do, many of us want to know why we do it. What if I perform work that is of superior quality when compared to the workplace productivity?
Likewise, we assign value to work. The most direct form of value is in compensation. But the value of work can also be brought into focus through praise as well as reprimands. The value of work falls somewhere on the scale between "good for the company" and a "waste of time".
Ultimately, organizations that want to become more productive, more efficient, more effective and more satisfied have to start by agreeing on what it means to work together. To build new workflow patterns, to take risks, to try out new ideas and new technologies, companies have to build an internal community of people who have the same basic viewpoint on work. If they don’t share the same idea, you can’t steer the ship in a new direction. You’ll just have people resisting change and preventing meaningful improvement from becoming a reality.
A healthy workplace culture is one where people have consensus about what the company does and why they do it—and that agreement aligns positively with what we know about human psychology. Great companies agree to work together in ways they know benefit everyone!
Discontent in the workplace can exist anywhere. And though you may enjoy the work you actually do, it doesn't mean you are immune to unhappiness. In fact, dissatisfaction can arise through unsuspecting factors such as workplace rewards that may seem harmless at first, but can become problematic in time. Because the truth is, despite the instant gratification that comes from incentive programs, the tactic undermines motivation and can actually decrease employee satisfaction.
That's why we're focusing our attention today on discovering job satisfaction through meaningful outlets. Below we identify four potential sources for occupational discontent that can, if remedied, reverse stakeholder unhappiness.
If you are distracted at work or find yourself counting down the minutes until the end of the day, your problem might not be that you dislike your job. Instead, it may be that you aren't being challenged enough to create more productivity growth. Take a moment to contemplate whether or not you have the authority to freely innovate. If you don't, it's time to talk with your manager about ways you can integrate this into your weekly "to do" list.
Do you feel scrutinized at work? Are you left uninformed about project goals and procedures? If your answer is yes, then it is possible your office is one where mediocre employee productivity is unconsciously encouraged. When stakeholders experience this type of environment, it's easy to feel trapped. To improve such claustrophobic conditions, push back against micromanagement by talking to your manager about gaining freedom in your workflow and creativity.
If you feel dismissed by your manager or your team, it might not have anything to do with your ability as an employee. Rather, it could be that you're simply disorganized. Being judged by a messy desk sounds a bit superficial, but the truth is, coworkers are less inclined to trust and respect you if your workspace is a disaster. So if the area around you is filled with junk, consider that cleaning it up will not only convey a positive message to those around you, but will also improve your workplace productivity, motivation, self-confidence, and satisfaction in your job.
There's a saying: "one bad apple ruins a bunch". Bad attitudes at work are not just disappointing, they can be contagious. Even if you are happy in your job, working with someone who is miserable can affect your own organization and productivity. Worse yet, dealing everyday with such a nuisance can actually hinder your productivity and can stall career advancement. Ask yourself: are workplace attitudes influencing your performance and fueling your discontent? If they are, it's time to focus on building cohesion among your team members.
When you find yourself unhappy at work, the first inclination we have is to blame our discontent directly on the job we do. Yet, before we begin updating our resume and checking out the want ads, isn't it better to first get to the root of the problem? Do you really want to get to a new job and find out that the same misery is still plaguing you? Consider that going to the source of your discontent will help you identify whether certain actions can actually help your situation. As demonstrated above, by analyzing certain cues in the workplace, you'll have a better understanding about the options you have.To learn more about improving stakeholder satisfaction in the workplace, reach out to our small business consulting firm today!
Getting rid of routine meetings is one of the major objectives of an op-ed by Avinoam Nowogrodski, CEO of Clarizen. In the piece published on ZDnet, Nowogrodski writes:
Status updates – via email, a meeting, a PowerPoint deck - kill productivity. Information workers spend countless hours gathering information, preparing, and presenting about their work rather than DOING their work. If information about their work and the deliverables from their work is visible and available to their team and their leadership, information workers free more time to do the work and thoughtfully analyze information. This leads to more efficiency and to more engaged and motivated information professionals. Every information professional values knowing what their colleagues are doing and how it will impact their work. We all want to know the status, but we don’t have the time to waste building materials just to convey it. It should be conveyed by the work execution process.This point of view has a certain bit of elegance. It's like the old Chinese proverb:
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.And at first glance, status updates seem to be about not working. We stop to say what has been done and what cannot be done, instead of continuing to work. To many professionals, work is what happens when you aren't in a meeting!
Nowogrodski envisions a world where the status of projects doesn't need to be intentionally communicated. Rather, he seems to want complete transparency. Anyone should be able to glance through the company network to see where progress is being made and where work has stalled. Our productivity consultants have written before about the advantages of a similar approach: collaboration zones over hard-and-fast deadlines. If you know what co-workers are doing at all times, you don't need them to stop and organize themselves to make a presentation.
However, there is also a serious drawback to living in glass houses. The complete lack of privacy makes it more challenging for people to feel empowered and independent. There are no pleasant surprises when everything is public. There is little room for anything-goes, productivity growth brainstorming sessions. If everything you do at work is subject to scrutiny, taking risks becomes inconceivable. The advantage to status meetings is that you get to prepare.
The author of this piece is mostly correct. Generally speaking, status updates kill productivity. But that's more a fault of our culture of work than the updates themselves. We over-prepare to give informal reports and paint rosy pictures of bad situations. If we were candid and brief, status meetings would not be such a problem. And if much of our work was visible, we'd probably not obsess over these reports anyhow.
If you feel like status updates really are beneficial for your organization, find ways to minimize the negative aspects. Set a time limit on the meeting. Ask people to just speak clearly about what's going on. Don't use flowery language or complex presentations. Make sure that only the necessary things are being talked about.
Workplaces can be glass houses, so long as we have somewhere private to retreat to when taking risks and working independently. Status updates don't have to kill productivity. Management can truly be the art of picking smart people, taking their advice, and getting out of the way.
Stuck on how to implement these principles in your organization? Contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help you maximize all working time.
The story comes from Danny O'Malia. You may recognize Danny's name from his family business: O'Malia's Food Markets. In his post onIndy SmallBiz, he wrote about Chase Bank:
I had a $2000 check from a client to deposit, as well as two personal checks totaling just shy of eight dollars to cash. The girl at the window informed me the bank could not cash the two personal checks because I did not have a personal account with Chase.I thought about asking for the Branch Manager or my business banker, “Joe”. Then I realized I was dealing with an institution failing to train and/or properly empower its employees to give basic customer service. I took the two small checks back, went home and proceeded to call “Joe”.
But “Joe” didn't answer—I got a message from “Frank”.
Two days later I entered the bank with another check from a client. I asked for the Branch Manager. He was gracious. I asked to close the door and told him my story. He was apologetic and explained that “Joe” had been promoted and not yet replaced.
My response was, “So you left his clients twisting in the wind?’ His response was, “Yes, I guess so.”
So I closed the account immediately. I took all my money to [another bank] that very day.
The point of Danny's article is that the original teller should have tried to solve his problem. After all, surely the "no personal check cashing policy" is not intended for cases where you are depositing a check for two grand and want to cash a couple of personal checks worth less than eight bucks. Danny believes the teller should have called the manager immediately. Plus, Danny is unimpressed that his call to Joe got dropped.
This story illustrates a few different problems that are present in many organizations:
Having trouble applying these principals within your business? Reach out to the productivity consultants at AccelaWork today! We'd be happy to help you find ways to empower your employees and optimize the workflow within your organization.
On the positive side, an annual gala can be loads of fun. People get together, dress up, enjoy good food and get to relax for an evening. Employees don't have to open their wallets for a fancy night out. Workers may look forward to the event for weeks or months. Productivity consultants agree that work can be fun. Perhaps that camaraderie will translate into increased productivity later.
Of course, holiday parties have drawbacks. If you want to increase productivity, it's certainly not going to happen at the party itself. In fact, employee efficiency will probably drop before the event as people devote time to planning and preparation. According to one Indianapolis Human Resources firm, holiday affairs can also represent serious liabilities. Alcohol, toasts, risqué comments and gifts can lead to harassment. Having a good time comes with some risks.
So what is best for the company? A holiday party or no holiday party? Here's an idea worth considering: what do the stakeholders think?
According to one study, people don't care for holiday parties:
Nearly 70 per cent of workers polled said their offices throw Christmas parties.When asked which they'd prefer, almost 72 per cent of employees interviewed by Workopolis indicated they'd rather receive the cash.
That data is not unique. Another analysis puts the number of people who'd rather skip the bash and get a bonus at a whopping 90%. One survey even showed that 37% people would rather have daily gourmet coffee or tea instead of the big event!
In summary, we're not going to tell you that a yearly shindig is always a good idea or always a bad idea. Instead, you should do something which has more power to increase productivity and satisfaction than anything else: Ask your employees. Send out an anonymous survey. Do a quick poll. Distribute this blog post. Start a discussion.
Great organizations aren't the ones that throw the best parties. They are the ones that truly engage their people. Try reaching out to yours. You might be surprised at what they have to say.
Mich Kemeter decided to walk across a cavern in Yosemite National Park. Now, for any experienced hiker this sounds like a walk in the park rather than a death defying act, but when you add in a loose rope and a 3,000 foot drop, it's easy to grasp the danger. Take a look at the snapshot below and see whether it musters feelings of fear:
"You just do what you do normally. You just prepare yourself and go with it. For me, high-lining is like meditating."
"There are many factors that go into choosing the right spot. For me, I thought this would be a cool place! But distance is really important and you have to be really careful when choosing the right place to put anchors in. You need confidence in them. You have two different systems; in case one rips you have a backup."
Okay, so we all can't be daredevils, nor would we want to be. But, Kemeter's self-assurance is inspiring. Because despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in front of him, he moves ahead and tackles each challenge without an ounce of hesitation or doubt. By believing in himself and trusting in the preparations he's made, each step forward is a strong stride built in confidence and ability.“For me the highline starts when I'm fixing everything up. I go into a kind of meditation. It's a long process and you start visualizing being on the highline.
Just before I go on it I go through everything in my mind and think about really good things. I stretch a little bit but after the walk and the climb there you're warmed up; everything is flowing.
You're so focused on the moment that when you tie the knot in your harness you just want to keep going and all you can focus on is the next step.”
If Kemeter went into a day of work without confidence, the result could be disastrous. In your case, you most likely won't be falling a few hundred feet onto sharp rocks below, but you could definitely inhibit any progress in your career. By harboring feelings of inadequacy in our jobs, we are (in our own way) facing a different type of danger. When we tackle a project without confidence it can lead down a wavering path of mediocrity and discontent. And as The Methodology Blog has mentioned on many occasions, being happy and satisfied in a job can make all the difference when it comes to achieving individual goals. So believe in yourself and take the plunge toward fueling your self-reliance! Be a daredevil in your career!
In one of our posts, our Indianapolis speaker, Robby Slaughter, tackled the brave new world of job-seeking and the unique issues facing anyone – old or young, experienced or inexperienced – who is applying for a job today:
I believe that the biggest challenge facing job seekers is not tweaking their application to match the position, but reinventing themselves to be as intriguing as possible according to the culture of their targeted employer. In broader terms: candidates must be tremendously interesting, but not too interesting.Robby’s post opened the floodgates on a memory of when I moved back to Indianapolis years ago and networked my way into an interview for a job preparing proposals with a financial services firm. I researched the company and tailored my résumé to demonstrate accurately that I could do the job. I wrote a kick-ass cover letter, had two friends proofread everything, and showed up for the interview appropriately dressed.
It was all going well until the traditional question came: “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” I thought my answer was solid: “I’ll have developed and refined skills in sales and business management, and I hope to be running my own successful business catering to the very wealthy. An art gallery, perhaps, or a fundraising event services firm.” It was in line with what the position offered, skill-development-wise, and it indicated initiative, ambition, and an understanding of their client base. But at the end of our time together, the interviewer said, without a hint of irony or shame, “An art gallery? Really? We do spreadsheets. I think you’d be great at the job, but you’re just too interesting to work here.”
He was right on both counts. I would have done an excellent job in the position. And I was too interesting to work there. I was so eager to have an interview – really, eager to have a paycheck – that I’d overlooked the fact that I would be working with (boring, to me) financial advisors with whom I’d have had very little in common. It was the best thing in the world for that guy to tell me I was “too interesting” – and probably the best thing for his company, too.
I’m not sure if my perspective as a result of that experience is contrary to Robby’s advice about being interesting-but-not-too-interesting. Maybe it’s parallel?
Yes, we must manage our own personal brands, but we must also realize that a job search is about compromise (on both sides) and finding the right fit. If we’re willing to be more interesting or less interesting in the interview (or to get the interview), then we must be prepared for the consequences of that when we get the job. Conversely, if we’re willing to be ourselves completely and utterly, then we must be prepared for the consequences of that when it takes us two or three or four times as long to get the job.
What I’m saying is: Job-seekers, take heart. The right job at the right place with the right people is out there. Be who you are, manage your personal brand, and be mindful of the choices you make and their consequences.
And, for all our sakes, keep being interesting!
Scott Semester is, in fact, pretty interesting. He takes care of offices, pets (yes pets), and kids, and his favorite artificial flavor is cherry. He tweets. A lot.
Let's be clear: Our small business consultants are not talking about taking breaks or vacations. Procrastination is the ultimate anti-productivity disease. Instead of setting and meeting objectives, we work hard at finding ways not to get things done.
An article in Real Simple magazine offers a few helpful tips:
Do the Worst Thing First - Attack the hardest task when your energy is fresh and you give yourself the strongest chance of success. Doing otherwise can have a damaging domino effect.These are great suggestions. But it's important to keep at the forefront of our minds that the opposite of action is not always inaction. Sometimes, we get so obsessed with 'done' that our productivity growth suffers due to working on the wrong things. Personal productivity requires not just completing tasks, but being productive on tasks that actually matter. The way to meet objectives is to set productive objectives in the first place!Make the Job Smaller - Instead of being disheartened by how much you can’t do, look at how much you can. If you have 12 boxes of clutter to sort, do only one.
Create an Audience - It’s easy to blow things off when your commitment to yourself is the only thing at stake.
Start Your Day Over at 2 P.M. - “At 2 p.m. every day, assess how much you’ve accomplished, remind yourself of what’s critical, and alter your plan so you can tackle the most important thing,” says Wisnik. In other words, grant yourself a second morning in the middle of the day (complete with your caffeinated beverage of choice). And if there’s a new project that has become high priority, you still have the time and the energy to start it at 2 p.m. instead of feeling burnt out and procrastinating on that project until there's no time to complete it.
Race the Clock - Having trouble even beginning a burdensome project? Try the old trick of setting a timer for 10 minutes. Work in a focused, perhaps even frantic manner for that short stretch, and watch what happens. “Anyone can do 10 measly minutes,” says Debbie Mandel, a stress-management specialist in New York City
Don’t Interrupt Yourself - If you get pulled away from tasks by every ding, whistle, and ring on your digital devices, well, you’re like most of us. But keep in mind that other people aren’t interrupting you; you are interrupting yourself.
Highly productive organizations are filled with highly productive people. That doesn't mean that these employees don't have any fun, but that they make a concerted effort to stay on target. The true definition of productivity is setting goals and then working to meet those goals. Understanding the business process methodology by which we succeed is what matters. That's how productivity can kick out procrastination. Try it and see what you can accomplish!
Remember, if you're feeling an occasional lack of productivity, then you may be able to find tips that can help snap you out of that lull. But if you're consistently struggling with your productivity, then there's probably an objective or workflow issue in place. Re-evaluate your methodology and you may be able to find out what is going wrong. Until you access the problem, you won't have any way to find a permanent solution.
Looking for more ways to bring a higher level of productivity to your organization? Need clarification on anything we've discussed in this post? Don't hesitate to reach out to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We'd love to help!
It's extremely frustrating to deal with email productivity when dealing with people who ignore email. When messages aren't being read it destroys any sense of an efficient business process. Improvement is possible, but not easy. If you're the supervisor, there are two obvious approaches:
Here are a few business improvement solutions you can use to ensure your messages are actually read:
The team at Forrester published a report which contained a surprising statement. But first, here's a graph that won't shock anyone. As of this year, 41% of IT departments shut out anyone who tries to use a Mac:
“IT departments crave standardization, and Macs pose too many problems for IT departments. The verdict for enterprise-focused vendors is clear: Unless your market is a niche business group, Windows is the only desktop you need support.”"Most of the Macs today," wrote Johnson, "are being freewheeled into the office by executives, top sales reps, and other workaholics. Forrester believes this is the same demographic that we're now calling the "power laptop user," and according to the latest Workforce Technology And Engagement Survey, power laptop users make 44% more money, use more collaboration apps, and carry an average of three devices wherever they go."
(Windows machines) Are slowing them down. Time is the only thing that these fierce competitors can’t make more of. Many of today’s corporate PCs are saddled with management, backup, and security agents that can bog down a PC. Employees want their PCs to boot in 10 seconds, not 10 minutes, and they don’t want to have to get a cup of coffee while opening a 20 MB spreadsheet in Excel. They’re drawn to uncluttered Macs — especially those with solid-state drives, which are more responsive and boot in seconds.
Look cheaply made. Image and personal brand are the currency of influence, and first impressions matter. For the same reason they wouldn’t wear cheap shoes and a bolo tie to meet with Lloyd’s of London to insure their cargo ships and cranes, these power brokers don’t want to show up to a meeting with a plastic laptop that sends the subliminal message that they aren’t prosperous enough to afford something nicer.
Corporate productivity depends on three factors: culture, tools, and people. What's most interesting about this advice is that the firm is advocating on wanting to improve employee satisfaction to increase corporate productivity. It's something we've been championing at AccelaWork for years. They aren't saying that the Macintosh is a better machine, just that people who try to do their own thing tend to get more done.
Here's the final message:
"Stand in the way," Forrester concludes, "and you will eventually get run over."It's difficult to imagine a clearer statement about corporate productivity. Ultimately, it's what we try to prevent that is our undoing. If we want an overall increase in employee effectiveness, we need to get out of the way.
We're not trying to say you need to switch to Mac today. Just that it's always worth considering an alternative. Don't simply stick to the status quo because that's easier. Evaluate all your options, and you may find one that can make your entire organization more effective. The small amount of time you put into considering a new option could be paid back exponentially if you're able to make a positive change for your company.
Learn more about improving corporate productivity. Contact our business process improvement methodology the team at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you learn to be more efficient, more effective, and more satisfied—regardless of your platform of choice.
To address this question, we need to wind back the clock a few years. All of us are involved in many different activities, but just one generation ago there was an extremely clear separation between "work life" and "personal life." Here's how almost every professional operated:
Home - Commute - Work - Commute - Home
Then, the next day, they would do it all over again. Remember those days in which the commute was a nice drive or a subway ride? Where you could listen to the radio, enjoy a cup of coffee, read a good book, and generally prepare yourself to change from being at home to being at work or vice versa? Those were the days!Back then, when you got home you were done with the day. And when you arrived at the office, there wasn't much you could do for your home life. It's not like you could manage your personal finances through online banking at your desk, or use the Internet to check on your children at a daycare via video conferencing. There was no internet or texting to stay in constant contact with friends, family, and colleagues.
Fast forward to today. Work life and home life are not separated by a commute. You can be on your own time or company time, and your mobile phone might ring. You could be interacting with your boss on a Facebook conversation late at night or on a weekend. You might be eating lunch at your desk while sending emails to your friends. The switch between work and life is instant and nearly unstoppable. We live in a 24/7 world.
To many people, the phrase "work/life balance" sounds like doubletalk. Here's what Dilbert had to say on the topic:
While you may feel like being away from work could cause you to miss something important, always being plugged in can easily cause you to feel worn down and burnt out in your job. Neglecting to take any time away from your career responsibilities means that you never have a chance to refresh. And we should all want to feel refreshed and ready to be productive when it comes to going into work.
The next time you hear a coworker say: "I'm going on vacation, but I'll still be checking email and voicemail," consider pushing back. Explain that it's not really a vacation if you're still working. A vacation should be a break from your job, not a time to stress about what you might be missing in the office. And the next time you are at work, and your mind starts to wander, decide if you are ready to be off the clock. You'll find that the balance of work and life is one of making choices. Do what's right for you, no matter the time of day or where you are.
That's the topic our own Robby Slaughter covered in a guest post for MaverickPR. The piece was titled "Are Contract Employees More Productive?" From the article:
Why on earth would millions of people who have limited job security want to keep it that way? Author Michelle Goodman explains:Ask a contract worker what they like most about their lack of employee status and among their top reasons you’ll likely hear include “It gives me more control over my schedule,” “I have more time to travel/raise my kids/work on launching my own business” or “My work/life balance is through the roof.”
On the one hand, contractors and employees couldn't be more different. They are classified differently under tax laws. Contractors are typically exempt from benefits, and employees typically have a higher status in the organization. Contractors tend to get called in to work on a particular project until it’s done, but employees are hired on a permanent basis.
On the other hand, every job is a contract job. When you’re a full time employee, you work under an employment contract. This might be an implied contract or a written job description. It might be a verbal understanding that gets reiterated in periodic reviews. In the case of a sales role, your work contract might be your commission structure. In essence, the contract is: work and you get paid, don’t work and you need to get out.
We've covered similar topics before here at AccelaWork. As we've noted, the most importance connection is between employee productivity and freedom. In this sense, traditional employees might be lagging slightly behind. As Slaughter concludes:
In summary, we can’t say conclusively that contractors are more productive than salaried employees. But we can say that contracts themselves—written descriptions of work, expectations and compensations—are the foundation of productivity.Talk to your accountant about how to pay people to help you do work. But no matter what the tax code says, develop clear expectations and provide employees with autonomy. The secret to maximizing employee productivity is often getting out of the way. Whether your team members are part-time, full-time or provided through an employment agency, the best management technique is to ensure you are not micromanaging.
This should be common sense. Think of the ways you've thrived in the workplace. Haven't you had some sense of ownership to your work? Haven't you had some say in how your job functions? The answer to both of those questions is almost certainly yes. Unfortunately, too many managers forget those facts and instead try to control every aspect of their employees without getting any input that would likely prove to be very valuable.
If you truly feel like you can't trust your employees to have freedom with their work, then maybe you need to re-evaluate the workflow that is in place or the people you've hired. If both of those things are at an exceptional level, then there should be no reason why trust can't be at the forefront of every working relationship. Define what needs to be done and let your employees go out and do it.
Work collaboratively to define a contract for the results you need. Then let people find their way and shine on their own.
Looking for more ways to bring a higher level of productivity to your organization? Need clarification on anything we’ve discussed in this post? Don’t hesitate to reach out to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help!
The Thomas-Killman Conflict Model is a popular method used to consider how we respond to demands or expectations of others. Choices include the following options: Compete, Avoid, Compromise, Accommodate, or Collaborate. Let’s explore what each of these mean in real response language.
If you decide the relationship is of upmost importance, you will most likely choose to accommodate. To accommodate means you’ll place their request in priority, and you will move your schedule, personal goals and expectations accordingly to accommodate their request.
If instead you decide to avoid, you will demonstrate a slow response to their request, such as not calling them back in a timely manner, or saying you’re not able to give them an answer yet and will get back with them later. Possibly, you don’t respond at all. These options are characterized as having no priority on the relationship, and may possibly damage others’ trust in your ability to help in the future.
If you select compete, you’ll tell them your schedule and ask them to completely modify what they’ve asked of you. In this scenario, you’re determining the conditions around your agreement to assist. This definitely defies the fact that their perception is, this is an emergent or urgent request. You’ve placed their request into your list of things to accomplish. If they agree, you win.
Another response is to compromise. With compromise, you offer an equally responsive solution, with respect for their urgency, and your realistic timetable.
When we’re in decision-making mode, we have several opportunities to quickly make decisions. We’re most likely not aware of these steps and stages that we’re considering in a very quick fashion. In the book, Blink, author Malcolm Gladwell delineates the subconscious decision-making capabilities we have available to us, primarily without our awareness of the indicators or foundation of our thought process.
When we’re aware of what we’re doing, we may decide based upon our plan, priorities, values and design. In reality, a decision-making model may look something like this:
Urgency ____________vs__________________Plan Crisis ______________vs__________________Priority Guilt _______________vs__________________Values Default _____________vs__________________Design
For example, in your decision-making mode, you may decide the following regarding the hypothetical request presented above: their urgency trumps your plan, their crises trumps your priority, your values trumps their guilt, their default trumps your design.Let’s break that down. You allow their urgent request to take precedence over your plan for the day. You allow their crisis to now become your priority. Your values are to support the request and the relationship. You may also feel some guilt, which would be the reason you decide to change your priorities. If that is the case, guilt becomes your deciding factor. Lastly, default or design? Sometimes we make decisions based upon what falls into our laps, rather than follow our design or plan. If you follow your nose at times, you may subscribe to the “what comes up next, is the thing I will do” school of thought.
So, back to the emergency… what will you do?
Pam Ruster, a licensed clinical social worker and Owner/President of Supportive Systems, LLC, which provides EAP and Corporate Development services to corporations throughout Indiana. Pam has extensive experience as a consultant and trainer, presenting numerous workshops and seminars. www.supportivesystems.com. Thanks to Pam for sharing this information with us! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact Pam or the business improvement team at AccelaWork!
Anyone who has ever worked in an office knows what it's like to see the clock slip past 5:00PM. We all have gone in on weekends, rolled into the parking lot super early, and put in weeks that were well beyond the official forty hours. According to Ashkenas, not only do we all work late once in a while, but the problem is getting worse:
A study suggests that nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies report that their employees have worked more hours over the past three years. It's likely that there are similar percentages in other countries.The author of this piece admits that he enjoys working late and that he has an "understanding family." But in reality, most people who work late dodge the real issue. The fundamental issue is the relationship between worker productivity and satisfaction. Just because you're putting in lots of time doesn't mean you're getting much done. Furthermore, people who are exhausted and overworked are among the most likely to stop work due to their dissatisfaction or problems with their physical health.This growing trend is predicted to continue. An unintended consequence of our global, connected world is that customers, clients, partners, and colleagues expect immediate responses to their demands. At the same time, jobs are in short supply in many fields, so nobody wants to disappoint. As a result, more employees are putting in longer hours, and many regularly face the dilemma of whether to stay late and finish a critical task or put it aside until the next day.
Ashkenas offers up a good tip for those who may find themselves in a situation where they're constantly being asked to work late for tasks that could be taken care of in the future:
Open up a dialogue at work. Make it clear to your boss and your colleagues that you are indeed willing to stay late and pitch in if there are legitimate reasons (a client deadline, a customer crisis, a seasonal overload, etc.). But also emphasize that this should be the exception, and not the rule. In fact, if there are constant crises and deadline dramas, you might want to talk with your team about how to redesign the work process so that you’re not held captive to it.Ashkenas also makes another point:
And don't stay late just because you want to be perceived as a hard worker. Mostly everyone sees through that ploy.We covered that issue in a blog post about employee productivity workplace heroics. As we noted then, " It’s easy to adore people who can achieve amazing feats, but it’s more important to ask why we need flashes of superhuman effort in the first place."
If you find yourself asking the question about whether or not you should stay or go home, the answer is easy: go home. Unless you are saving lives, the work will probably still be there tomorrow. Come back when you are rested and relaxed. Instead of spending three hours after 5 to get something done, you could maybe get it taken care of in an hour the next morning when you aren't drained. You may just find a fresh perspective to be the most satisfying approach of improving worker productivity.
Looking for more ways to bring a higher level of productivity to your organization? Need clarification on anything we’ve discussed in this post? Don’t hesitate to reach out to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help!
According to an article in Newspapers and Technology, the upgrade has been a success:
The Washington Post is among the latest papers to deploy ink-savings software, in its case capping off a two-year project to study the technology.Although reducing the total ink required to print a paper is primarily a cost saving measure, the Post understands the potential impact on productivity. "We had some established workflows," one staffer remarked, "and we didn't want to change those." How does an organization conduct a major operational improvement without affecting daily routines?The Post rolled out GMG Americas' inkOptimizer app this spring, following an evaluation that included putting four different vendors through their paces, according to Kevin Conner, quality assurance manager.
The goals were straightforward: to quantify savings, and to ensure that the app selected has no negative impact on ads - or in the best of all scenarios, to see an improvement in ad quality.
"We randomly chose pages of photos and full-page color ads of varying ink coverage amounts," Conner said. "Some ad pages were saturated and dark and others were lighter, with more pastels, so we could really judge color shift."
The Post ran its test pages through each vendor's product, looking at various elements.
"We looked at pixel counts, so if a vendor said they could give us 30 percent improvement, we would quantify that," Conner said.
The team at the Washington Post made a bold choice: implement the upgrade so seamlessly that it requires no changes to workflow. From the coverage:
The ability to integrate the ink-optimization software into The Post's existing workflows was another key consideration, said Costa Bugg, the paper's director of advertising operations.This story demonstrates an exceptional commitment to stakeholder satisfaction: upper management is pleased because of a reduction in costs, staff has an improved product without any change in routine, and customers feel positively about the increased printing quality of their advertisements. Seeing how successful this change has been for the Post, it seems as if it would benefit other organizations to study this event as a best practice for enhancing in-house technology."We had some established workflows and we didn't want to change those," he said.
That workflow is based on The Post's homegrown document tracking system, dubbed TrackIt, and its front-end editorial Newsdesk software from CCI Europe. InkOptimizer easily integrated with both, Bugg said...
Deciding the best practical test was to wait for reaction, Conner didn't tell staff or advertisers about the new app ahead of its deployment.
"Two to three weeks after we implemented it, I received a comment from our photo department about how much better the photos were printing," he said. "This has been a win-win."
Advertisers also took notice, according to Bugg.
"Of course, the potential reaction from advertisers was really important to us," he said. "And we've actually seen improvements and had a lot of positive feedback."...
Meantime, the workflow associated with optimizing files is also helping The Post lay the groundwork to migrate to an all-PDF workflow, a move the paper is considering, Bugg said.
"This has opened the door for a more simplified transition and also to enable us to move to a new pagination system if we decide to do that down the road," he said.
At AccelaWork, we remind organizations that sometimes the best way to make a change is to ensure it doesn't require change from others. Process improvement and workflow management is about embracing routines, not disrupting established patterns. If you are considering adopting a new software package, even for only a few people, contact our business improvement consultants today!
95 Tips For Increasing Productivity Within Small and Medium Businesses was an exciting topic published on the Business Unplugged blog. In the post, ninety-five entrepreneurs and experts provided their best tip(s) which they strongly believe increases productivity in their own business.
Naturally, Robby Slaughter, founder and Principal with AccelaWork, was quite enthusiastic to be one of the contributors. As a passionate supporter in productivity consulting, it's not surprising he took the opportunity to share his best productivity suggestion with the entrepreneurial world. And, true to form, his tip is right on target with his book, Failure: The Secret To Success. Slaughter's productivity tip is below:
#67: Ask People to Embrace Failure
Everyone is going to make mistakes at work, but in most business cultures, no one is willing to admit to an error. Instead, we should ENCOURAGE employees to embrace failure. State that we expect people to take risks, which means that we expect them to screw up. If people know that they can do wrong, they are more likely to focus on meaningful results and dream up real innovations, rather than being too conservative or total perfectionists. Failure is the secret to success!
Now, for those of you who may not have the time to read through all 95 tips, we've taken it upon ourselves to highlight a select few we felt were extremely powerful suggestions. They are as follows:
#5: Block & Tackle!
Shutting off email and designating blocks of time to get actual work done is the most effective way to increase productivity. It is far too easy to lose an entire business day to email, phone calls and interruptions -- all of which can send us off on unproductive tangents. Be sure to include scheduled breaks every 45-90 minutes. Research has shown even a 5 minute mental health or stretch break lets you come back more focused and productive!
#23: I Hear What You're Saying
My work is done primarily with small and medium sized businesses. I tell them to take advantage of the fact that they get to know their employees quite well. My recommendation is to find out what their employees think will increase production; ask for their advice! They are the ones doing the job and this will allow them to make it their own and take pride in its growth, knowing that they contributed to that growth. Any place I've worked, employees have ideas - listen to them.
#51: Just Say No
Productive and successful start-ups are ones that can filter out distractions and focus with a laser-like intensity on "what really matters." This is hard to do, but it's absolutely necessary, since accepting every meeting request, inquiry, lead or opportunity that presents itself will pull you in too many directions and you'll never get things done. In short, being able to tune out the noise is the shortest path to hyper productivity and the best way to do that is to "just say no" more often.
If you are looking for advice in regards to improving worker productivity, managing email overload and/or ways to improve employee retention in your office, consider that reaching out to AccelaWork may just be the best tip of all! Contact our business process improvement consultants today to learn more about how we can help you.Constantly monitoring employees at work is hardly empowering or improving worker productivity. In fact, it's micromanagement at its worst. And while the tendency is to create systems of surveillance in order to increase employee productivity, it is truly a counterproductive solution. After all, when stakeholders begin to detect a sense of distrust, their motivation for quality and measure for success decreases as does their overall satisfaction.
Yet, what happens when employees become misguided in their definition of productivity? A surveillance video of a FedEx delivery man became a viewing sensation on YouTube. Unfortunately for FedEx, and for the flat screen monitor that probably ended up in pieces, the clip was a damaging display of employee carelessness and lack in quality control. See the video below [direct link here]:
We may never be certain what motivated this FedEx employee to toss the package over the fence rather than treat it with the precision and care outlined in his training. Perhaps he was rushed and concerned about finishing deliveries or, as is popular opinion, he was acting out of laziness or frustration. Regardless, his actions were a far cry from the values written in FedEx's mission statement:FedEx Corporation will produce superior financial returns for its shareowners by providing high value-added logistics, transportation and related information services through focused operating companies. Customer requirements will be met in the highest quality manner appropriate to each market segment served. FedEx Corporation will strive to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. Safety will be the first consideration in all operations. Corporate activities will be conducted to the highest ethical and professional standards.Sadly, while the video above is disturbing, it's not the only one of its kind on YouTube. And the problem isn't just limited to Federal Express—in fact, UPS may take the cake with all the the bad deliveries caught on video. Below is just one example of the many express deliveries that have gone awry. [direct link here] Unlike the FedEx delivery video, this UPS delivery attendant clearly appeared motivated by time. Perhaps tossing the boxes was a way to save seconds or minutes, but truly, was it really effective? Once getting off the truck, the attendant still had to pick-up, re-stack, and organize the boxes before distributing. So, in the end, tossing the packages saved zero time. It may have even added a few more minutes to the delivery!
Despite the ridiculous display of carelessness in these videos, they bring up an interesting point of view on the causes for misguided employee productivity. Because let's be honest, such actions may not always be a result of laziness or incompetence. Rather, our business improvement process consultants advise they could be a manifestation of micromanagement in the office. So, if procedures in your company are lagging in quality, take a moment to decipher whether processes are created and performed in a collaborative environment where documentation and procedures are clear. If not, perhaps it's time for your company to take a different approach. Either it's time to trust your employees don't need to be micromanaged, or it's time to get some new employees who can be trusted. Either way, it's the culture and standards you set forth that will determine the ultimate success of those you're working with.
Empower employees to become masters of their own work by increasing their level of responsibility and accountability! Reach out to the most knowledgeable consultants Indianapolis has today to learn more about how we can help.
In Connecticut, 46-year-old James J. Butler was elected to the Board of Apportionment and Taxation by a large margin. In fact, his popularity was such that he received the most votes in the race. Unfortunately, he was not actually seeking a position. It was in fact his father, 72-year-old James R. Butler, who vied for the seat. Turns out, the ballot had a typo.
A spokesperson for the Secretary of the State's Office, which oversees elections in Connecticut, said no one in the office has ever heard of an error like this ever happening. But Av Harris said the voters elected James J. Butler, and it will be up to the Democratic Town Committee to sort out the problem.Surely it comes as no surprise when our business process consultants say that human error exists. And despite our best efforts, avoiding mistakes such as the one above is not always guaranteed. Adding to the confusion of the situation is the fact that both men live on Prindle Avenue and both share the same birthday. It's easy to see how the mistake was made. In fact, it's a bit surprising that with all the candidates who've run for office in Connecticut there had never been another instance of an incorrect middle initial. Of course, this knowledge can in no way make up for the utter confusion, frustration, and outright disappointment that James R. Butler experienced because of this situation, but it is a lesson to us all nonetheless. No matter how simple a task may appear, never underestimate the challenges it may bring.The town has a couple of options, including swearing in James J. Butler, then having him resign, and Democrats could appoint his father to replace him. The other would be to not swear in anyone, and allow the position to remain vacant.
In many situations, the repercussions of a small spelling mistake may be nothing more than slight embarrassment or annoyance. Oftentimes, it could even go completely unnoticed. But as we have now seen, even the tiniest misstep in detail can turn into a major debacle. And that is why AccelaWork offers Workplace Diagnostics. Through this service we help clients discover workflow disruptions and countercompentencies that inhibit individuals and teams from performing their jobs effectively.
Whether errors like this are caused by broken forms, an instance of miscommunication, or simply a routine process gone bad, they can be immensely frustrating and inconvenient. Because of that, you should take great lengths to ensure that you've taken every step to ward off potential mistakes. Nothing is completely foolproof, but being proactive is the first step toward preventing an error such as the one that happened in this Connecticut election. Once you're aware of how easily mistakes can happen, then you're able to find ways to stop them before catastrophe strikes your organization.
When it comes to simple mistakes in your office, stay in the race. Take the steps necessary to achieve success rather than conceding to the problems. Contact our Indiana consultants today to learn more about how we can help.
The story comes from Eric Marasco, a local promotional products expert. You may recognize Eric from past videos here at AccelaWork. Today, he's here to talk about a process by which his own family decided to try to adopt a dog. Our own Robby Slaughter leads the short, two-minute video interview (direct link here):
The experience for Eric and his family was quite frustrating. They went through all of the paperwork as well as the interview. They also asked their friends and their veterinarian to spend some time as well on this project. In the end, they were disqualified because of something which appeared on their paper application—at the very start of the entire process!The technical term for this business process element is a short-circuit evaluation. Instead of running through the entire procedure (the "whole circuit"), the business process can be drastically simplified by checking for a short path. Another way to describe this workflow issue is to use the phrase early exit. In any complex, multi-stage business process, we always want to know if there are any early exits to avoid waste and frustration.
It's not difficult to find similar business process implementation issues where a simple disqualification could prevent hours of wasted time. Furthermore, our business process improvement consultants know that this is a workflow problem made worse by a lack of business process transparency. Had the rescue organization explained their policy on "invisible fences" up front, the Marasco family would probably not sent in an application.
Had the problem been one that wasted much more time for the adoption agency, they likely would've been much more cognizant of the way their failure to communicate would be frustrating. As is, the only one who was frustrated was Eric. That may not be a big deal for the rescue organization, but if the same sort of thing is happening in your business, then you may be turning off future customers or clients. And you may be doing that without even knowing it.
It should be the business' job to make things easy for the consumer, not the other way around. This is addressed on the Small Town Marketing blog. The author lists communication as one of the most frequent reasons why businesses lose their customers. Eric's problem came down to a lack of clear communication, and there are plenty of other situations we've all encountered where the same issue is at play.
If everyday procedures like this one have significant yet simple design flaws that impact productivity, how many issues might exist within your organization? Don't let a similar problem happen to your stakeholders. Reach out to our Indiana productivity firm today!A local business here lost a customer simply by telling the customer how difficult it was to produce their job on time. That's not the customers problem... that's your problem and any discussion about how difficult it is should be kept in-house.
Learn from the difficulty and try to find ways to be more efficient next time.
Would this customer feel comfortable bringing the same job back to this company knowing the grief they will receive? I don't think so and I can hardly blame them for leaving.
If you make the decision to take the job that should be the end of the story. If you don't feel you can do the job on time then that's another story.
Considering how much time we spend each day in front of our computers, email productivity is crucially important. Let's start with a quick refresher on the technology. BCC stands for "blind carbon copy." It's a system by which you can send a message to multiple people, while keeping the identities of these recipients under wraps. It's just like the regular carbon copy (CC), except usually it appears below that box.
There are two common reasons to use BCC instead of CC. Both are ways to increase email productivity, but with different angles:
Again, both of these techniques are intended to improve email productivity. You could send multiples of individual emails, but this feature saves time. You could use regular carbon copy, but this way you don't have to ensure that every party doesn't mind having their name shared with the other parties.
In reality however, this isn't so much about email productivity as it is about corporate productivity and secrecy. You are able to control who has access to information. Any time we are actively trying to keep data confidential, we run the risk of an unintentional leak.
That's one of the reasons it's often better to use an email marketing service than it is to dump all of your addresses on to the CC line. And if you want to increase email productivity where you would normally use BCC, try a different approach. Instead of covertly including a third-party in the blind carbon copy box, just forward the sent copy of the message. That way, you can add context and reduce the risk of muddying the conversation.
Ultimately, the practice of using blind carbon copy is like the practice of reading your employees email, which never helps employee satisfaction. At first it might seem like a way to get ahead but it doesn't actually increase email productivity. Instead it reduces the degree to which email is an intentional medium. We probably shouldn't use BCC for anything. We should focus on coordinating with people who know they are part of the conversation.
When it comes to employee satisfaction, I find inspiration in the words of one of my favorite poets, Langston Hughes. He was born 100 years ago today, on February 1st, 1902. Here's the full text of his poem "Harlem":
What happens to a dream deferred?In my experience, the reason that we struggle with employee retention is that we fail to recognize that people have dreams. For many, work is just a way to pay the bills. Their true passion is something else. Time spent on things like preparing for performance reviews seems like a waste of workplace productivity. They would rather be thinking big.Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
If you listen carefully in an office, you can almost hear employee retention crumbling away. It is the sound of dreams fading. I was talking to someone recently in a non-profit about sharing some of their programs with the general public. They said: "I was thinking about seeing if there is a community access television station we could use to promote our services at no cost."
When I asked them to tell me more, the response came back right away. "I don't know. I'll have to send the idea to management."
I pressed the issue. "You don't need to submit the idea of finding out if there's is such a TV station! Management might need to approve the idea to actually create programming, or set up meetings, but not to spend five minutes finding out if it even exists."
So much of employee retention is about encouraging people to dream big at work. Not every great idea is feasible or even possible. But when workers instantly discount a suggestion before a second thought, you can tell that they are counting the minutes before the clock strikes 5PM. If you want employee retention, you need employee engagement. A dream deferred is eventually forgotten. Make a difference by encouraging imagination at work.
According to Jeff Hadden at BNET, the answer is a resounding yes. In his article, he claimed that we can make dramatic productivity improvements without spending any money. Here is his first idea:
Create an esteem incentive. We all work harder when we feel appreciated...Have an employee lead a presentation to upper management. Place an employee in charge of an important project. Give an employee the opportunity to train in another department...And if you work for someone else, think about what makes you feel good about your work and do more of it.
This suggestion is kind of like telling your kids they will have more fun on the weekends if they help keep the house clean. Certainly all of these tips will eventually lead to increased productivity and employee engagement. But they aren't actions which will produce a measurable five percent gain in one day.
Another example from Hadden's article:
Eliminate the worthless. Every company and every job has some number of once-meaningful but now worthless tasks. Think about all the “legacy tasks” your employees currently do; the “that’s how we’ve always done it” stuff. If a task doesn’t directly impact sales, quality, productivity or safety, get rid of it and free up that time.
Here at AccelaWork, we're big fans of reducing waste to improve productivity growth. Certainly, many organizations might be carrying around more than 5% of "excess fat" that could be trimmed. But once again, the challenge is finding these issues. That's much of our long-running campfire stories series, which offers legendary tales of process improvement and corporate productivity that were difficult to detect. It's just not likely that organizations are going to be able to find these issues in one day, especially if they haven't noticed them for years.
So how can you actually increase productivity by 5% in a single day? Here are some tips that might work:
I read a blog post on corporate productivity where Slaughter's views on workplace culture are highlighted. I completely agree with his definition and I'm happy to see this put into action at Delivra. Delivra has in place Vision & Values. Before implementing, all of the Delivra employees had a say in helping to build these ideas. Personally, I was pleased to have a say. My opinions and thoughts were being considered and people are more apt to work with something if they've had a say in it.
I won't go into too much detail about all of the values, but I will say the top one (above all else) states that we exist to serve our customers. It's what we do and it's been a foundational value of Delivra since the beginning. Although it's been understood by employees as a collective viewpoint that it's what we do, it's always good to define that.
Employees had a say in the vision and values of Delivra from the start and now they have been defined and organized. All employees also have them framed on their desk as a constant reminder of what the company does so we can all efficiently work towards that on a daily basis.
Lavon Temple is the Marketing Coordinator at Delivra, an email marketing software and services company located in Indianapolis.
Practice makes perfect. For some, these words revert us back to childhood—where writing our names, our letters, and our numbers seemed a never-ending and painfully boring task. For others, we're reminded of the days in athletics where strategic plays were ingrained in us through repeating drills and relentless scrimmages. Yet, it's hard to deny that the benefits of repetition in everyday life is (and continues to be) an extremely influential component to our development and success.
One such example is the Indiana University basketball win over Kentucky. As many may recall, in mid-December IU basketball fans were in their glory when, in a matter of milliseconds, a last-minute play brought victory to the Hoosiers. It was an exhilarating moment not just for the players and fans, but for their coach, Tom Crean, as well. Take a look at his reaction in the short, but oh-so memorable video (direct link here):
Business process optimization and organizational productivity come through diligence and practice. In basketball, many organized teams run drills called "end of game" scenarios. For hours, coaches have their players run three-second, five-second, ten-second drills that mirror potential situations that creep up in the final moments of a game. In the case above, it is clear that the winning play wasn't just about pure luck. It was the product of relentless practice and endless dedication on the part of players and the coach.Sure, the parallel between basketball and business may not be the most obvious of comparisons to some of you. But one thing is for certain: whether we're playing a game, running a company, or fueling a career, we all strive to grow in knowledge, improve in skill, and to expand our opportunities. Plus, the thought of practicing crunch-time scenarios should be something that's relatable to anyone. Yes, your business probably won't have too many situations where you need to do something in three seconds or you fail, but there may be a situation where being able to think on your feet could be the difference between landing a big client or losing one. The best way to be prepared when the unexpected happens is to have a full knowledge of what to do in any situation.
Not only does practice make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. Don't be lazy in the way you prepare within your business unless you want to be lazy when it comes to actually implementing whatever you practice. You can be sure that Indiana's basketball team wasn't loafing through the drills their coach had them run. They're at the top of their field due to their dedication and the hours of perfect practice they put in. That's the sort of thing that can make even a 1% difference. And clearly, 1% was enough for Indiana to beat Kentucky. There may be similar situations in your processes where 1% could be the difference between reaching your goals and falling short of them. Don't let a lack of perfect practice bring you down.
So, regardless of the hoops you may have to go through to achieve process optimization, take the time now to practice and perfect your game. Your dedication and focus will make you a better person every step in the journey and will one day pay off immensely!
A few years ago, we invested in energy efficient windows through a unique savings plan offered by a window company. We received a flat rate guarantee per window that would never expire, which meant we could replace all the windows in our house slowly, over the course of years, and as we could afford.
However, we began receiving phone calls from competing window companies. With each conversation, I've reiterate our golden deal and nearly always received the same response: a positive confirmation that the guarantee was unbeatable. That is of course, until I received a call from SOS Windows (name changed).
In a matter of months, I found myself in at least three separate conversations with the company about replacing my windows. Each phone call followed the same pattern: 1.) sales pitch 2.) appointment request 3.) non-aggressive rejection on my behalf. Yet, despite my continual reiteration of the current deal on our home, they simply would not take no for an answer. When I mentioned the type of windows I required and all the features we insisted upon, I was assured it could be done. Hesitantly, I finally agreed to set up an appointment for a free estimate.
As is par for the course, I immediately regretted my decision. In my heart I knew SOS Windows wouldn't be able to match the pricing or create uniformity in the windows. Sure enough, within five minutes of being in our home the salesman concurred the windows could not be replicated by his company. When we told him how much we were quoted per window, he once again agreed he couldn't come close to the same deal. As was foreseen, the appointment was a colossal waste of time. Yet, it wasn't my time that I was upset over. It was the poor salesman's that I pitied.
I apologized to him for wasting his time, but he was the one who persistently apologized to me:
I'm sorry that our sales team didn't fully listen to your wants and needs. Sadly, in their opinion it's about getting appointments on the books rather than conscientiously finding solid leads. I don't get too upset if they waste my time, but I get extremely perturbed when they waste the time of homeowners. I plan to have another talk with them about this. Frankly, it's unacceptable.Working among non-cohesive teams isn't just unproductive and wasteful, it creates a barrier between stakeholders. For the SOS Windows salesman, the frustration he felt and disappointment he had in his team was quite apparent. As he openly relayed to my husband and I, this was not the first time he ended a free estimate before even getting it started. And who can blame him? After all, when preparations are wasted, efforts gone in vain and trust broken, it's hard not to become disenchanted at work, leading to poor employee satisfaction.
If there is a clashing of teams in your office don't wait until the rift becomes so large that even prospective clients are aware of the problem. All that will do is make your organization look bad, and further waste the time of everyone who is involved. Instead, take the opportunity to mend the gap through meaningful and proactive measures. Don't hesitate to contact the Indianapolis consultants at AccelaWork today to learn more about how we can help.
Robby Slaughter, principal of AccelaWork, expressed his thoughts on the "If This Then That" (Ifttt) service geared toward automating routine online activities. In the guest post he provided to the Roundpeg blog, Slaughter details the actual meaning of the process, voices his opinion on its behalf, and provides examples of how the service can increase productivity in everyday life.
In fact, to help provide readers with a better picture of the application, Slaughter provides a list of pros and cons that, as a user, he has discovered on his own:
ADVANTAGES of Ifttt:
DRAWBACKS:
When it comes to the drawbacks, those are common things among new apps. The compound decisions are to be expected of most apps. Ideally, we'd have machines that can think for themselves at an advanced level, but for the most part, we aren't there yet. The memory thing is a bigger issue. Ifttt is really only useful if you want the tasks to occur instantly, as opposed to something like every Friday. Slaughter's final point is better explained in the original post:
The system works well when reacting to real human events and triggers, but not so well when interacting with other automated services. I found that an automated service that posts links on Facebook did not awake ifttt as expected. So if you’re currently automating part of your online activities, ifttt may not play nice.That's important to note. When apps don't work well across multiple platforms, or when there's already a similar system in place, major problems can pop up. If you're going to use ifttt or a similar service, it's important that you make sure the app can either do everything you want it to, or if not, that it's at least compatible with services that fill the other needs you have.
Of course, every product on the market comes with its minor quirks, but no doubt, Slaughter believes this product is a great way to expedite routine tasks and increase productivity. To quote his opening remark in the post:
Considering that I run a productivity consulting company, it’s no surprise that I’m excited about a new service designed to automate routine online activities.Slaughter included some ideas of ways you can use ifttt to its full potential.
So what are some examples of how to use ifttt?To learn more about AccelaWork's services and how we can help increase productivity in your office, contact our consultants to learn about improving worker productivity today!How about this one: Every time you are tagged in a photo on Facebook, send that photo to your DropBox.
Here’s another cool one: Send a text to ifttt and have it respond with a phone call. Great for getting out of uncomfortable situations!
I like: Note to Self – Call Ifttt and have it transcribe your voicemail into an email.
All of these pre-built tasks are called recipes. You can make your own tasks into recipes and share them with others on ifttt with just the click of a button!
The analysis was covered in an article from Slate:
The company chose to run the experiment at its airfare and ticketing office in Shanghai, where more than a thousand employees spent an average of 80 minutes—and nearly 10 percent of their salaries—commuting to endless rows of identical gray cubicles in two hangar-sized call centers. All employees who had their own room at home and at least six months’ experience with the company were given the option of enrolling in the study, which gave them a 50 percent shot at working from the house for four of their five weekly shifts over an eight-month span starting near the end of 2010. The study enrollees who didn't get to stay at home would serve as a control group to ensure that any changes in the productivity of the telecommuters could be attributed to their new arrangement, rather than other random changes to the company’s environment. Two-hundred-fifty-five employees—a little more than one-half of those who were eligible—chose to participate; those with even-numbered birthdays were given home-office setups courtesy of the company, while those with odd-numbered birthdays stayed on with their daily commutes.Within a few weeks, the performance of the telecommuting group started to pull away from their cubicle-bound counterparts. Over the duration of the experiment, home workers answered 15 percent more calls, partly because each hour was 4 percent more productive, and partly because home office employees spent 11 percent more time answering phone calls.
...
Employees themselves liked the arrangement better, making it look like a win-win for the company. The home-work group reported less “work exhaustion,” a more positive attitude towards their jobs, and were nearly 50 percent less likely to say they were planning to quit at the end of the eight months. (In fact the quit rate among home-office workers during the experiment was about one-half of what it was for those making the commute.)
If you're a worker who is currently chained to their desk, you're likely to find yourself agreeing with this data. After all, employee productivity is tied to satisfaction. It's really no surprise that people who are self-motivated enjoy the freedom and opportunity to work wherever and/or whenever they want.
If you've been reading our blog for a long time, you know we've talked about the benefits of telecommuting and worker productivity for ages. But what's interesting about this study is not just the evidence that supports working from home, but the emphasis on understanding which tasks are best suited for which work environments. The article continues:
Not every task is particularly well-suited to the home office. A Results-Only Work Environment only makes sense for the subset of relatively solitary tasks where results can easily be tracked and measured—like answering customer calls at a Chinese travel agency—and those where stuff can get done with relatively little face-to-face interaction.Even companies that support work-from-home situations may be missing the point. It's not just about who is "allowed" to be a teleworker, but who makes the decisions about work. Until individual employees are empowered to make their own choices, a home office can be just as stifling as a cubicle.Yet for the right job—one that can be done in fits and starts, and the results easily monitored and evaluated from afar—the advent of mobile computing does have the power to transform the workplace.
Interested in making a change at your organization? Contact the business consulting team at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you discover ways to work smarter and help you increase employee productivity and satisfaction—wherever those employees work.
This is one of those news stories where the only thing you can be sure of is that we don't have all the details. But according to a variety of press reports, a woman in San Francisco found herself stuck in a business process that assumes everyone with a plane ticket also has the ability to pay baggage fees.
One of the many articles on this story came from The Daily Mail:
Teri Weissinger, 55, ended up spending eight days stuck at a California airport because she didn't have enough money to pay the baggage fees.Broadly speaking, it's pretty easy to see the business process improvement error here. Let's look at the sequence from the point of view of the customer:She didn't know about her airline's extra baggage fees of $60, only had $30 to her name and could not raise the funds in time for her flight.
She then had to pay $150 to transfer to another flight and was eventually given the $210 by a church after eight nights of sleeping in the airport
But what about from the perspective of a different stakeholder? In this case, there are two other entities involved, and their respective needs have the potential to create a business improvement process conflict. The airline wants to ensure that they control fuel expenses, and thus have created a bag surcharge. But at the same time, the security administration wants to protect the safety of air travel, and thus needs to ensure that passengers are never separated from their belongings except when being handed off to qualified personnel. There's a lack of consistency in objectives across the board, even though all the objectives may be valid.
Ms. Weissinger apparently got stuck in the middle. She had bags that had to be kept secure, but didn't have the money to pay for them. What are the available solutions to this dilemma? Actually, there are only a few:
Having worked for nearly five years in the tradeshow industry, I can say with confidence that exhibit halls are typically chaotic. So, it was no surprise to me when I entered to find thousands of people scrambling around booths like disoriented ants in a colony. And though the trip from booth A to booth B, display 1 to display 2 seemed a far greater task than it truly needed to be, we still managed to keep our cool.
Yet, with each stop, I couldn't help but think: there are so many ways to increase workplace productivity here.
One display was as impressive as they come. It was the most elaborate LEGO land I'd ever seen! From rolling mountains to beaches, major cities to small towns, the immense exhibit had everything. Yet, viewing it was strenuous. After fifteen minutes of weaving in and out of people, we finally managed to squeeze in close enough to see.
Even still, the opportunity to view more than 10% of the elaborate set-up was close to impossible. Only part of one side of the layout was accessible! We moved on.
The next exhibit was far less crowded. As we came to one end of the display, we saw flashing lights and lots of moving parts—surely the highlight of the entire booth. Yet, there we were, just yards away, unable to get a good view. In front of us was an older man discussing a topic with one of the booth attendants. At first I thought he'd briefly ask his questions and move forward, but that was far from his plan. Instead, he casually talked to the attendant about articles he's read and places he's been—nothing, mind you, having to do with the display itself.
His unwavering position left us no choice. We finally decided to go around him and peek over his shoulders. Ten minutes later, I saw him still standing there with people staggering him on all sides. Fifteen minutes later, he hadn't moved an inch. The blatant insensitivity of the gentleman and the booth attendant was infuriating. Their actions were not only upsetting potential customers and paying attendees, but inhibiting the exhibit's overall productivity.
Being aware of our surroundings can have a major impact on our productivity. Take, for instance, the LEGO display. I watched many people relieve their frustration with the crowd by simply walking away. Yet, as I later discovered, the exhibit had more than just trains. They were selling merchandise and marketing a product. If only the booth attendants were more aware of their surroundings, they would have recognized that the disorganized crowds were actually inhibiting rather than encouraging small business productivity and satisfaction.
In the case of the "human statue" it's a shame he failed to recognize the nuisance he'd become. But, the blame is really on the attendant who could see what was happening, but chose to ignore it. After all, how hard would it have been to ask the gentleman to walk over to a less crowded area to finish the conversation? By focusing in on one patron, the attendant neglected dozens of others—an action that probably lost his booth business.
It's easy to become consumed with one area of a task or project. But it's important to be aware that doing so can weigh heavy upon other supporting factors. So, if you are looking to increase productivity in your office, take the time to recognize valuable components in a process; particularly those that facilitate a productive workflow and improve business. You'll be glad you did.
That's the premise of a recent guest post by our own Robby Slaughter on the CultureRx blog (reposted on Today's Workplace.) The piece is titled "I'll be fired instantly"—company policies and results. (Unfortunately that post has been removed from their website, but we saved some bits of it below.) He explains how a conversation at a business networking group about enjoying tunes at the office accidentally revealed a totally insane company policy:
“Why don’t we all do a weekly song share? We can each send out a piece of music we’re listening to at that moment. It will be a great way to motivate and support each other. In fact, we can just email a link to a music video on YouTube!”Everyone loved the idea...All except the banker. She muttered, “Don’t include me. I can’t click on YouTube at work. I’ll be fired, instantly."
Slaughter notes that for this particular individual, there could be any number of possible explanations for this story. It might not be a written policy, but just part of the company culture. In any case, he summarizes the key message:
Ultimately, no one should work for a company that has either a written policy or an established culture that explains what you cannot do. Work should be about working. It shouldn’t be about trying to identify all of the possible ways in which someone could be at their desk and not be working.Here at AccelaWork, we've been talking about the irony of corporate productivity for years. For example:
This doesn't only apply to technology issues. Anything that is traditional for the workplace shouldn't be blindly accepted. It should be analyzed. If it's actually a positive thing for your organization then keep it. If it doesn't do anything really productive, then why do rules need to be carved into stone? Do employees really need to work from 9-5? Does a lunch break always have to be from 12-1? Absolutely not! There's plenty of gray area on these issues, and that gray area is probably where the correct answer is going to be found.
But sadly that isn't the way many companies think. It's a safe bet that many reading this have been saddled with dancing around out of date rules and regulations within the workplace. In some situations these rules may make sense, but a majority of the time, they're just the product of mindlessness. What do you think? Would you lose your job if you decided to take a break and watch a video? Is this financial institution treating employees like children?
According to journalist Rachel Emma Silverman, there are some serious issues with the practice:
For many years here at AccelaWork, we've been documenting the problems with performance reviews and employee satisfaction for ages. It's pretty easy to understand the major flaws:Performance reviews have long received poor grades, even from those who conduct them. Nearly 60% of human-resources executives graded their own performance-management systems a C or below, according to a 2010 survey by Sibson Consulting Inc. and WorldatWork, a professional association. And one academic review of more than 600 employee-feedback studies found that two-thirds of appraisals had zero or even negative effects on employee performance after the feedback was given.
One comment attached to the WSJ article points out the only "benefit" among all the problems with performance reviews:
If the company has already decided to get rid of you, they give you a review that basically amounts to "does not meet expectations" and you get put on a "performance improvement plan." The reality is that no one ever survives this process--the decision has already been made--there is no hope of recovery. So, you get 6 months to a year to find another job or at least plan how to budget your unemployment.Of course, most employees are not in the position to eliminate performance reviews. And even for managers and owners, blindly cutting these practices is not enough. Instead, employers must work to instill a culture of continuous improvement and honest conversations. As the article states:Otherwise, you would get no warning at all.
"When feedback is not going to be used to judge you or your fate in the company, you are more likely to be open about where you need to grow and it's going to be far more effective."Candid discussions are central to any healthy relationship. If we truly want to achieve more at work, we must learn to be forthright and upfront with our colleagues.
As managers, we need to find better ways to evaluate performance. Looking at qualitative measures instead of quantitative is a great start. Think about a job that requires gathering information from prospective clients over the phone. Yes, call duration could give some indicator of how hard someone is working, but if it really takes one employee 2 minutes to gather the same details that another employee does in 30 seconds, does it really make sense to hold performance reviews based on that metric? Probably not. And is it even a fair metric to see who has gathered the most information?
It's much easier to default to quantitative metrics. But seeing the big picture will always prove to be more valuable in the long run. Don't take the easy route when it comes to performance, and don't force employees to sit through performance reviews. Find a way to build a solid team dynamic, communicate expectations, and see which employees provide a major positive impact to your organization. If you do that, you'll be way ahead of the curve when compared to your performance review peers.
Looking for more ways to bring these principles into play within organization? Need clarification on anything we’ve discussed in this post? Don’t hesitate to reach out to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help!
The best way to understand Asana is to take a quick look at one of their videos (direct link here):
Let's be clear: the opening voice over from this clip strikes at the heart of employee productivity frustrations. It says:We believe that when we reduce the amount of time we spend being in meetings, writing status emails, tracking down updates, and doing other kinds of work about work, we not only get things done faster, we also change the nature and scale of the kinds of projects we can take on.That phrase—"work about work"—really does have a tremendously negative impact on employee productivity and employee satisfaction too.
Unfortunately, technology doesn't really solve the real problem, which is that these negative "work about work" constructs are completely embedded into many corporate cultures. We are addicted to meetings and email productivity, and these patterns sap our ability to actually be productive. The illusion of productivity often takes precedent over actual productivity.
Asana does have some cool features. At about 0:55, the video shows how you can quickly create tasks just by typing a description and pressing enter. But really, this is just a list. In an office where everyone works together, a whiteboard is just as effective for making a task list. If individuals work remotely, a tool like Google Docs is just fine. Any document that multiple people can access and update can become a task list. The important employee productivity concept here is sharing authority and responsibility. No tool is going to make that happen in an environment that doesn't already support it.
Listen carefully to what is said around the one minute mark regarding assigning tasks in Asana:
I'll hold down tab and press a to jump to the assignee field and pass this task to one of my co-workers since I've done all I can here.Wait a minute: isn't this product supposed to get rid of all of this "work about work" such as employee-productivity-destroying status updates over email? This offhand comment makes it sound like the program generates more email! Anyone who opens up their inbox every morning to a few dozen messages that are rather unnecessary certainly doesn't want to have to deal with even more messages that may or may not require a response. Talk about a major headache!I can also add followers which is like cc-ing someone on an email.
When I comment on this task, it will be emailed to all of the followers.
If your company is facing serious employee productivity issues, a new software product will probably not solve all your problems. In fact, productivity growth software usually is only effective if people make serious changes to workflow. Sure, there may be instances where a new tool makes things exponentially easier, but in reality, the mindset behind the tool is much more important. Look at your workflow and see if there are any places where you're lacking. Then, before spending money or time on something outside the box, see if there's a more traditional way to fix your problem. Just because something is new and high tech doesn't mean that it's better. Oftentimes, the methods that are tried and true are tried and true for a reason: they work!
Instead of latching on to the latest craze, consider talking to the experts. Reach out to the Indiana productivity consultants at AccelaWork today!
I'm hot on the topic of "employee appreciation" because this Friday, March 2nd is "Employee Appreciation Day." According to Recognition Professionals International:
Employee Appreciation Day first arrived on calendars in 1995. A Recognition Professionals International’s founding Board member, together with his publishing company, Workman Publishing, created Employee Appreciation Day as a way of focusing the attention of all employers, in all industries on employee recognition. It is always the first Friday in March.Sure, there are lots of invented annual holidays. We could have a long philosophical discussion about whether or not "thanksgiving" distracts people from feeling thankful year round, or if "mother's day" makes us less likely to call mom any other of the year.
But that's not my point. I'm really here to talk about employee satisfaction and rewards.
To understand the issues, we just have to take a look at some of the boneheaded "employee appreciation" advice from around the web. That same link includes a list of some ideas (with my commentary in blue):
Ask an employee to write down six ways they would like to be rewarded. Anything goes. The only rule is that half the ideas need to be low cost or no cost. In other words, we're know we're not paying you enough, so feel free to come up with some ideas but include a few that don't cost us any money.
Offer a free one-year subscription to an employee’s favorite business magazine and have it sent to their home. We'd like to provide subtle pressure to at least think about work when you're not the on the clock.
Consider a gift certificate entitling an employee to lunch with you or another mentor of his/her choosing for the purpose of being coached on one or more topics. We think you need coaching, and that you can be "fixed" after one lunch conversation.
In past years, popular articles on Employee Appreciation Day have noted the irony of this effort. A CBS News story from 2011 notes:Sure, it may not be a real holiday, and it may lack the excitement of National Pancake Day or National Margarita Day, but that doesn't mean it's not important to recognize workers. ... Of course, the best way to reward employees is with cold hard cash. According to research, salary is by far the biggest complaint workers have about their jobs. No better time to ask for a raise than Employee Appreciation Day.How do you really think it affects employee retention when you give them a gift card but still insist on being a micromanager? When you offer them a free vacation day, but refuse to expand your telecommuting policy for workplace productivity?
You might think you're showing your employees you appreciate them with a small gift or a word of affirmation. But if they secretly think poorly of you or aren't engaged in their work, the effort could backfire. Before you can effectively appreciate someone, you have a genuine relationship based on mutual respect.
Ultimately, I think having an employee appreciation day is at its best, a little insulting. Not just because you should be appreciating your employees all the time, but because really this is "give employee a token reward day, instead of respecting and engaging them."
I'll close with an amazing quote from some of the scientific study on this topic. In a 2007 issue of Compensation & Benefits Review, researchers concluded:
Any ambiguity in value of tangible incentives could also make them less effective if employees do not trust the firm. For example, employees may think that the firm is just trying to save money by somehow cheating workers. This would have a negative effect on the motivational power of the incentive and negative long-term consequences for the employees’ relationship with the firm.Don't spend money on employee appreciation. Spend time on employee engagement. Focus on connecting and respecting your employees. Find out what they want, what they need and what they believe. Show them you care about their careers enough to focus on long-term growth rather than short-term tokens and trinkets.If the relationship with the firm is somewhat negative to begin with, an employee may attribute the firm’s actions to greed rather than the interests of employees.
...
Although the $1 billion spent on tangible incentives is small in relation to the amount of employee compensation, it is still a substantial amount of money. Given the large amount spent, the lack of rigorous research in this area needs to be addressed.
... At the very least, firms are spending a great deal of money on these incentives with little theoretical guidance.
Among small owners there is an unwritten code of silence. It is an unofficial "don't ask don't tell policy" when it comes to clients who don't pay their bills. As small business owners ourselves, we identify with the trials and tribulations of other small business owners. We don't want to embarrass our customers or create an uncomfortable situation in a small community.As a result of our code of silence, there are companies who are able to take advantage of us. This is especially true for small marketing companies and freelance writers and designers.
Now I am not talking about companies who hit a snag, and may have to slow pay, or make partial payments. As a business owner, if a client talks to me, I will work with them to develop a reasonable payment schedule. (I have one client who has paid me $100/month for two years.)
I am talking about people who know when they sit down to begin a project they don't have the money to pay the bill for the services they are requesting. They use services and string you along with promises to pay until you cut them off. Then they move on to the next unsuspecting company. They depend on the code of silence.Indianapolis is a small community, and as a community we have to end the code of silence. We have to start telling each other about the clients who don't pay their bills. I have a customer did not pay me for five months. Despite numerous promises, phone conversations and emails, when I went to my mailbox, no check appeared.
I finally put a note on his Facebook page. It was subtle, suggesting I was concerned about the health of their business since they weren't returning my calls. I did finally get paid, but not without quite a bit of drama. So here's my question, am I wrong to want to publish their name here so other small businesses don't experience the same fate? I would love to hear your opinion.
Lorraine Ball is President of Roundpeg, a full service marketing firm in Indianapolis’ small business community. Visit them online at www.roundpeg.biz.
Lorraine brings up a tricky point. On the one hand, it never feels right to call people out in a public fashion, but on the other hand, if it's the only way you get paid, then sometimes your livelihood may depend on it. You also don't want to see your colleagues or friends go through a similar situation with a company that you would avoid at all costs. Depending on what your industry is, one tip we have would be to get paid as the work is completed. Don't do 100% of the work with no payment, even with clients you trust. Do 20% of the work, and then get paid for the equivalent amount, or maybe ask for some money up front. Again, this may not work for every situation, but it's a good idea that can help you avoid potentially unpleasant situations.
Running into situations like this frequently? We can help! Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today. We’ve seen all sorts of problems and we are here to help you maximize your time and potential.
This is not the first time you've heard that punctuality is a virtue. It's easy to understand how keeping our appointments is a sign of respect. This is especially the case for improving employee productivity. If your boss keeps her word about meetings, deadlines, and other time-sensitive promises, it's easy to feel motivated to get things done.
Failure to be prompt has consequences. When you are late or blow someone off entirely, you are telling them that your time is more important than theirs. Of course we should all be on time. And naturally, when circumstances pop up we should call ahead to say we are running late.
Let's put aside human psychology for a moment, however, and talk about machinery. Time is an essential element in any working system. The spark plugs in an engine have to fire at exactly the right speed. A bridge can hold the weight of a million cars, as long as are spaced far enough apart. A clock quickly becomes useless if every second is not precisely one second long. All of these parameters are designed for increasing employee productivity. Time is important!
Being late is like taking the oil out of a well run machine. It gums up the works, cranks up the heat, and causes things to break. When you are late to a doctor's appointment, you may cause a domino effect that disrupts other patients. And when the doctor is running behind, you may end up waiting for ages thanks to overlapping ripples in the schedule. This problem applies to any business. Improvement is only possible if we recognize that failure to manage time affects everything.
When we place time at the forefront of our minds, everything starts to look like a chance to increase efficiency. Meetings of ten people that start five minutes late waste fifty minutes of productive time. Missed deadlines and padded estimates undermine efforts to plan. Business process improvement opportunities begin with understanding timing.
Even if you're respectful of other people's time, always arriving when you're supposed to so as not to waste their time, there's a good chance you aren't being as respectful of your own time as you probably should be. And we're not just talking about wasting time by browsing the web when you should be working. We're talking about not setting aside blocks of time to focus on your own work.
The next time you respond to an email five minutes after it arrives, consider the precedent you are setting with that client. The next time you answer a phone call on the first ring and talk for an hour, consider the impact on your schedule. Often, increasing efficiency means learning how to say no in order to make better use of time. In any case, you can build an effective business process on the foundation of being on-time. Promptness does not ensure perfection, but at least keeps progress on schedule.
I owe all my success in life to having been always a quarter of an hour before my time. - Lord NelsonWhile we keep a man waiting, he reflects on our shortcomings. - French Proverb
Better never than late. - George Bernard Shaw
Still having trouble with managing time within your organization? We can help! Remember you aren't the first one to have this struggle. We've seen all sorts of organizations struggle to properly balance time. Reach out to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today!
That's the complaint of a piece from Time Back Management. It makes a couple of bold comparisons:
On the shop floor: Looking for a tool is waste. In the C-suite: looking for information is part of work. We’d never accept a skilled machinist spending time looking for tools...In the C-suite though? Who hasn't spent 2, 3, 5 minutes—or more—looking for important information in piles of paper or long email strings?These are hilarious, but poignant. We want business process improvement, yet the most expensive people in the company are in many respects the least efficient. What's going on?On the shop floor: Do everything possible to ensure that people can work without interruption. In the C-suite: Interruptions are so commonplace that they’re hardly even recognized. ... between open door policies and a lack of forethought, people in the office suffer an interruption every 11 minutes, with serious consequences for the quality and efficiency of their work.
On the shop floor: Everyone is on the lookout for the waste of waiting. In the C-suite: On-time meetings are a joke. Everyone [in production] understands the waste of waiting, and uses that problem as an opportunity to improve. Now, consider meetings in the C-suite. People wait all the time for the whole group to arrive and meetings to start.
As we've noted before, you don't need management buy-in to achieve true business improvement solutions. But you do need something which many people (executive or otherwise) can find challenging: humility. If you're not willing to change, you aren't likely to see improvement.
At AccelaWork, we seek to help our clients with business process improvement consulting. The greatest difficulty is not the tools, but the mentality. If you're truly ready to change, contact our consulting from based in Indianapolis. We'd love to help your firm become a more efficient, more effective and more satisfying place to work.
Here's the bit, which comes from the original Pink Panther short released in 1964:
I can't tell you how many times I've come across a situation at a client's office that is strikingly similar to this video. We're brought in to increase workplace productivity, but first we have to help employees realize that the existing process and culture is the real enemy. Stakeholders are painting over each other's work.
Even worse, much of the time people don't even know about the wasted effort. Consider the following scenario, which I am confident has happened to you at work in the last month:
While technologies like email are intended to increase productivity, this is a clear case of multiple people painting a pole different colors at the same time. Because there is no clear process, everyone wastes their time tripping over everyone else. An initial goal of that email may have been to save time relative to an in-person meeting, but when all is said and done, and the confusion is actually sorted out, it turns out that far more time was wasted by everyone involved.
It's like micromanagement from every direction, which only serves to decrease employee satisfaction!
This isn't just an issue when it comes to email. It can be an issue for any number of things in the workplace where a clear process isn't put in place. Maybe it's a situation where the same work is reviewed by four people when one would do. Or a situation where two people end up researching the same parts of a project when one could do it just fine.
If you haven't seen the phenomenon I'm describing, I challenge you to look harder. The basis of any program to increase productivity over the long run is by recognizing what others are doing and working collaboratively to make changes.
And don't you dare say that you don't have time to come up with a solid workflow process for these issues. With a little bit of hard thought and some time on the front end, the time you may save your entire organization may be exponential. With every day you wait, more and more people respond to useless emails, sit through over-long meetings, and spread the work of one employee into four.
Feel free to share this little movie at your next meeting to start the conversation. If people in your organization can't get on board after listening to these points and seeing that clip, then maybe it's time to find some new people.
Stuck on how to implement these principles in your organization? Contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help you maximize your productivity.
You can read the story in many places, including this piece in the Daily Mail:
One of the largest information technology companies in the world is to ban e-mails – because it says 90 per cent of them are a waste of time.The business is called Atos, and they are right about one thing when it comes to email productivity: most messages are worthless. While we don't have many stats to back up Breton's 20 out of 200 claim, a quick glance through any inbox will probably show that his figure doesn't seem to be all that far off....
It believes that too many of them waste hours dealing with irrelevant e-mails, so wants them phased out within 18 months.
...
Claiming that only 20 out of every 200 emails received by his staff every day turn out to be important, Mr. Breton (CEO of the company) said: ‘The e-mail is no longer the appropriate tool. It is time to think differently.
‘The deluge of information will be one of the most important problems a company will have to face,’ said Mr. Breton.
He said the main problem was people switching to a 'useless' email while they were carrying out a far more important task.Allowing e-mails to stack up also means that staff have huge e-mail workloads to pile through when they get home.
There's plenty of banter on this subject. A series of columns published by the New York Times can be summarized as follows:
Seriously. Consider changing your email usage and management policy as one in which you respond the next business day. Suddenly, you won't be able to dash off a quick note and expect a quick reply. Within a few hours, people will assume you are in a marathon meeting. Within a few weeks, email will start to become correspondence again.
You may think this is a drastic undertaking and that you certainly have too many important emails coming in to cut them off totally. But Atmos is a company of 80,000 people across 42 countries. If they're able to make this leap, then there's a pretty good chance you could find a way as well.
Honestly, we don't want to say that email doesn't have a place in the business world. Totally eliminating it may be a bit much. But there's no denying that its effectiveness as a productivity tool has been severely hindered by the way that people are so dependent on it, and use it for all communication, even on topics that would be better handled in other ways.
Ultimately, if we aim to improve email productivity then we truly seek to focus on meaningful communication. Break the cycle by making this technology less frantic. Collaborate and produce on a time frame that actually makes sense. And if you're having trouble implementing this in your workplace, consider reaching out to our business productivity consultants at AccelaWork!
My running process is quite routine. I hop on the treadmill, select a running speed and run 4 to 5 miles. Very often I attempt to zone out in hopes of reaching my goal in under an hour without going bonkers from staring at the wall nonstop. Yet, despite my best efforts, I struggle to overcome boredom. So I decided to conduct an experiment to see how easily I could transform the process productively.
So, the first step was to change my usual routine. Rather than simply selecting an unchanging speed and elevation, I created an interval program where every quarter-mile I changed my velocity. By setting the short, quarter-mile goal, I found myself more focused on my ever-changing speed rather than how bored I was. I also discovered that the constant vigilance created motivation in me like never before. I didn't just want to finish 5 miles in under an hour, I wanted to challenge myself to run even faster.
Turns out, this philosophy really works. I completed 5 miles in 42 minutes, which meant that I shaved eight minutes off of my run! Before this change, I used to only have time for a quick stretch after the treadmill. But, by gaining the additional minutes I am now able to stretch and get in some weight training as well.
Everyday tasks can become so routine that it's easy to neglect opportunities for change. I, for one, can definitely attest to this fact. I often wonder what took me so long to actively partake in intentional process improvement. The best answer I can muster is that I lost the motivation to remain engaged in a process that was easy to automate. In some way, shape, or form it seemed easier for me to stay the course rather than change it up. Yet, as I now see it, my inaction was actually making the process harder and less desirable.
The adoption of speed intervals in my running may sound like a simple and small change, but the impact it has had on me is astounding. I officially beat the boredom. I increased productivity. I achieved process improvement. Best of all though, I reaped all the benefits that come with strategic productivity growth and self-empowerment. Sure, some day the boredom of this task may creep back in, but with an open mind and the goal of constant process improvement, I have little doubt that I'll be able to find a way to tweak things for the better yet again!
Given how many processes there are in our daily lives, many of us are filled to the brim in mindless routine. So, what's the harm in proactively innovating new ideas wherever you can? If for no other reason, it will at least add a little flair and excitement to an otherwise boring task. And who doesn't want that?
So, here's my challenge to you: test out your creativity this month! Choose any process and change it up a bit to make it more fun and/or more productive. See how quickly your innovations change the process as a whole and reflect upon the impact it has made on your business or in your personal life. I guarantee it will be worth your time!
Stuck on how to implement these principles in your organization? Contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help you maximize all your processes.
An article from Forbes listed ten reasons why large enterprises struggle with employee retention. The full article is worth a read, but companies of all sizes should take note of the bullet points:
Most of these employee retention problems are really employee engagement issues. Forcing workers to follow silly procedures (#1), changing your objectives without warning (#5) or generally meddling in people's work is classic micromanagement, which decreases employee satisfaction. Nitpicking on past performance (#3) instead of future opportunities (#4) only highlights the how corporate productivity and performance reviews cause problems. And naturally, why would anyone be engaged if their work is boring (#2) or the company seems to have no direction? (#8).
Everyone wants to increase workplace productivity. But if people don't event want to stick around, they certainly won't be inspired to get more done! Employee retention is a prerequisite to any increase in efficiency. Workers must want to keep their jobs before they will begin to work smarter, faster and better.
In our consulting practice, we're often asked how to improve employee retention. The answer is always a series of questions: do people have real autonomy? Do they have a sense of purpose? Do they have the opportunity to grow as professionals?
When the answer to any of these is "yes", there is an opportunity to address problems with employee retention. Individuals will contribute when they are truly connected to the work. Change your culture and change your future!
In a brief article, Scott Cleveland offered three reasons why people consider business process modeling solutions:
1) It takes too long for things to move through their process2) The process appears to be error prone
3) Compliance
Each of these examples are spot on, and are worthy of an entire blog post in themselves. In the case of a slow business process transformation, there may be redundant steps or a lack of resources. If there are business process methodology errors, the result can be frustration or outright failure. And if a there are government productivity requirements surrounding process compliance, there could be serious ramifications if not followed.
Cleveland also outlines two essential outcomes of business process modeling: control and visibility. He writes:
Control - If you have dictated that there will be 10 steps in a process, there will be 10 steps. The software makes sure that all 10 steps take place. There are executive over-rides, but if they are taken the software will show who did it and when.In the case of large organizations, it may be wise to consider purchasing business process modeling software. But for any company or non-profit, the important step is to actually conduct business process modeling. Instead of just winging everyday business activities, why not take the time to try and draw out the sequence, the steps and the major decision points? Why not try to understand what you are actually doing?Visibility - At any time in a process, people are able to see what step is being worked on and whose desk it is on. You will be able to gather 'wall time' and see potential bottlenecks. This allows you to 'tweak' your process to make it more efficient.
Here at AccelaWork, we've congratulated BPM productivity growth software vendors before. But at the same time, software may not be the answer. To quote ourselves:
The challenge is not that we don’t have good software applications for conducting detail business process modeling work, but rather that most employees do not have a process-oriented mindset. Instead, stakeholders at all levels tend to be outcome-oriented.You may want to consider purchasing business process modeling software. But first: model your business processes! Software isn't going to fix all your problems. If you aren't going into the software with the right mindset and with a plan in place, then you're simple going to waste more time and money. A good BPM program can enhance your process and it can help avoid some errors and oversights, but it can't do the initial groundwork for you. That's up to you!
But if you have a solid business process model in place, then it may be time to move into the era of BPM software. Don't rule it out just because you think things are okay in your organization. Just because you aren't seeing the cracks in your system, doesn't mean those cracks aren't there. Sometimes it takes a lot of introspection and even an outside set of eyes to really see where potential errors may lie. Obviously you can't fix a problem you don't know about. But once everything is running as smoothly as possible you'll truly see the sort of results you've always been looking for. All by analyzing the process.
And if you need help, call on the business process modeling experts at AccelaWork. We can help you turn the corner and move forward into an era of efficient processes through your organization.
Seth's post has a fantastic title: "The reason productivity improvements don't work (as well as they could)." That makes you think he's going to have some kind of insight about the difference between an idle suggestion and a useful productivity tip. But instead, he just offers a harebrained hypothesis:
The reason is simple: you don't want to get more done.Come on, Seth. You really think that people are afraid of being more productive? That's silly.You're afraid. Getting more done would mean exposing yourself to considerable risk, to crossing bridges, to putting things into the world. Which means failure.
Of course people aren't fearful of getting more done. In fact, people are constantly looking for ways to increase productivity. They try to hire assistants, they buy more technology, they cut things out of their life, and they are endlessly buying into new programs to increase productivity.
If anything, the success of the productivity improvement industry is proof that people are not fearful of being more productive!
So why don't these tools work all that well? Why is that you read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or go to a motivational seminar, and nothing really changes?
It turns out that there is a simple reason why most productivity improvement techniques don't work very well: Lack of ownership. David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) is a fantastic method for David Allen, but unless you invent your own systems you are not going to internalize them.
Improvement in workplace productivity requires personal engagement. If we believe in our capacity to do more and we take ownership over our own systems and patterns, we can get more done.
Think of productivity improvement as any other resolution. Why do people fail to exercise every day? Well, after a while they miss a day. And they realize that wasn't the end of the world. So then they miss another day. And then it gets a lot easier to continue skipping days. Eventually they're back on the couch with a pint of ice cream and a bag of Dorito's. But compare that with an elite athlete training for competition. That athlete isn't going to find it easier to stay at home, since they know that they can do more. They know that staying in shape is their livelihood. Most of all, they own the process. That's a far different situation than someone who's merely trying to lose 3 pounds.
In the workplace, the same can be true. It's easy for someone to say they want to be more productive, but if being more productive doesn't lead to more money or shorter hours, if it doesn't lead to a greater sense of ownership within the company, or worst of all, if those changes aren't allowed to be implemented, then really what is the point? But if people feel like their improvements actually will have a major positive impact on their working experience, then of course they're going to stick to it and innovate ways to continue to improve. In your work, be sure you're putting yourself in a position where you can truly own the process and where you can reap the benefits of the work you're putting in. Only then will you see the results you desire and continue to move forward.
That's it. You don't fail to improve your productivity because you're afraid. You fail because you haven't been truly empowered with the authority and responsibility to get more done.
An article from The Atlantic explained:
The psychological climate in which you work has a lot to do with your health and happiness. Recent research has found, perhaps not surprisingly, that bad bosses can affect how your whole family relates to one another. They can also affect your physical health, raising your risk for heart disease.Now, new research illustrates how bad bosses can shoot themselves in the foot, hindering their employees' morale, rather than helping it.
Over 1,100 employees at companies of all sizes were questioned about their work environments and their overall well-being. Some questions aimed at gauging the level of involvement the participants felt and at determining their bosses' management styles. Participants rated statements like "my supervisor consults with me to find out what modifications I would like to make to my work" and "my supervisor tries to motivate me by making me feel guilty for not doing enough." Some statements, such as "the organization shows very little concern for me," measured the support the participants felt their companies provided.
The more negative the bosses' management style, the less happy the workers -- not a surprising finding. When bosses were controlling rather than encouraging, employee well-being was low. On the other hand, when employees felt that their autonomy was encouraged (for example, when bosses gave a "meaningful rationale for doing the tasks" and made employees feel they were being asked to contribute rather than commanded to do something), they also had better overall well-being.
The psychological climate of the organization itself also affected participants' happiness: The more supportive the company, the happier the employee.
However, if you really want to understand the relationship between employee productivity, retention of employees, employee satisfaction, and the behavior of supervisors, you have to dig into the study. Unfortunately, the journalist doesn't mention what may be the most important two terms in the entire field of organizational psychology right now: hedonic and eudaiomonic well-being.
Stay with us for a moment. Here's what scientists mean by these words:
And as you might imagine, this is much worse for employee productivity than just simple displeasure. If the office is uncomfortable or customers are behaving badly, you can bite your tongue without too much effort. But if your boss doesn't believe in you, what reason do you have to believe in yourself? You certainly won't feel as engaged as you would be if the company was investing in you and working for your well-being at the same level they expect you to be working for theirs.
Keep an eye on office morale and destructive personalities. They may be the biggest cause of employee productivity issues, ever.
For more information on how to apply these principles in your organization, contact the business improvement team at AccelaWork today!
A company called Crossroads Business Solutions provides a variety of IT services to their clients. This includes state-of-the-art telephone systems that makes use of VoIP (Voice-over IP) technology. Although the handsets are sleek and well-designed, they do require some training to use. Rob Green, president of Crossroads, realized that the most effective technique for teaching customers how to become more productive with these phones would be to leverage the world's largest social network.
So how is this a form of business process improvement? Take a quick peek at the first minute or so of their video:
Of course, this clip really only applies to customers of Crossroads Business Solutions, because of their preferred configuration. But it's also a way to do training. This program requires no travel and does not need to be repeated for employees who can't make a live training session. With more and more companies having multiple campuses and/or using remote contractors, using social media as a training platform makes both logistical and economic sense.Social media also allows for integration of platforms. A company can house a training video like this one on YouTube and incorporate images from Flickr, Pinterest, or some other image-centered site while setting up a private Facebook page to encourage on-going dialogues about training issues and post updates.
No process improvement initiative is effective without buy-in and engagement from employees. Social media delivers in that respect. The voice on the video is already familiar to customers, so there's a built-in trust factor present from the beginning, as opposed to introducing a corporate trainer previously unknown to those being trained. The total number of views gives a rough idea of the number of people who have watched the training, allowing for better monitoring and record keeping. Crossroads can even use the comments section to answer questions, or through the Facebook page or other social channels allow people to share their thoughts, give insight, ask questions, give answers, or provide feedback. And because these conversations on social media are archived, newer trainees get the advantage of learning from those previously trained and the company gains a record of "trial and error" during the training process to use as a foundation for making adjustments.
There's a creative advantage to using social media for training, too. Different social media platforms allow users to set up quizzes, polls or games. For example, a company introducing a new content management system might invite trainees to build their own web page using what they've learned during training. The trainees can then post links to their creations to the closed company training group on Facebook and participants can vote on which site they like best by using the Facebook "like" button. The possibilities for creative interaction on social media are endless.
Process improvement is both science and art: not only do you need to pay attention to measures like efficiency and effectiveness, but you must be able to be inspired to a given situation. Rob Green found a better way to train and support customers, which in turn will help by improving worker and telephone productivity.
It might seem like video training is nothing new. However, leveraging YouTube is a much more effective process. Improvements to everyday business take creative thinking which will actually increase improve employee satisfaction at work. Help your company to be more successful and more productive. Reach out to the Indianapolis consulting firm, AccelaWork, today!
Tackling some of the most destructive corporate myths is the topic of one post from the Harvard Business Review. Blogger Tony Schwartz listed four of them:
Myth #1: Multitasking is critical in a world of infinite demand.Schwartz is correct on two counts: not only are all of these false statements, but there is widespread belief in these incorrect ideas. But it's not as if these are new to us here at AccelaWork. We have discussed debunking multitasking to promote workplace productivity. We've talked candidly about how working longer hours effects employee satisfaction. We've taken on the issues with deadlines interrupting employee productivity. And it seems like half of our posts are about how to be more creative at work, even if you don't feel like a creative person!his myth is based on the assumption that human beings are capable of doing two cognitive tasks at the same time. We’re not. Instead, we learn to move rapidly between tasks. When we’re doing one, we’re actually not even aware of the other.
Myth #2: A little bit of anxiety helps us perform better.
Think for a moment about how you feel when you’re performing at your best. What adjectives come to mind? Almost invariably they’re positive ones. Anxiety may be a source of energy, and even motivation, but it comes with significant costs.
Myth #3: Creativity is genetically inherited, and it's impossible to teach.
In a global economy characterized by unprecedented competitiveness and constant change, nearly every CEO hungers for ways to drive more innovation. Unfortunately, most CEOs don’t think of themselves as creative, and they share with the rest of us a deeply ingrained belief that creativity is mostly inborn and magical.
Myth #4: The best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.
No single myth is more destructive to employers and employees than this one. The reason is that we’re not designed to operate like computers — at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time.
Instead, human beings are designed to pulse intermittently between spending and renewing energy. Great performers — and enlightened leaders — recognize that it’s not the number of hours people work that determines the value they create, but rather the energy they bring to whatever hours they work.
If you've been reading our blog for a while, you've seen all these things talked about ad nauseum. Yet they still keep coming up throughout the business world. There's still people who stay late at work simply for the act of staying late. There's still people who insist on keep seven tabs open on their computer at all times. There are still people who shy away from creative endeavors since they think they don't "have the gift" for it. Perhaps worst of all, people continue to stress themselves thinking that's the only way to really be working.
Myths can be attractive. If it really was possible to do two things at once, surely we could get more done. If creativity was truly genetic, then we wouldn't feel so guilty about our lack of inspiration. But these corporate myths are totally false. Not only have they been handily disproven by science, they are easy to reject through clear thinking and honest self-reflection.
Is your organization operating on an assumption that might just turn out to be another corporate myth? If you're unhappy, exhausted, frustrated or unproductive, this just might be the case. Learn more about how to work smarter. Contact the small business consulting specialists at AccelaWork today!
When we discussed the idea of an infographic on the ways people use social media, some thought it would be a foolish project, because they believed the only uses for social networks were inane and superficial. But once we dug a little bit deeper, the skeptics became believers, and everyone involved saw just how deeply and differently social media had entrenched itself in our lives.
It doesn't make sense to think of social media as websites to visit. It is better to think of social media as a vibrant and dynamic community of a diverse set of people that just so happens to exist on your computer. So while some stubborn folks consider Facebook and Twitter to be inane and boring, we think people should embrace it.
As our infographic shows, these social networks aren't just for entertainment. They are also for finding jobs, or finding your soul mate, or staying apprised of current news and events, or even networking with old friends who you haven't seen since grade school. And the list is going to keep on growing.
There is no doubt now about the staying power of social media. On a daily basis, millions of people across the world are using social networks and media for a variety of reasons and the number of people involved is growing exponentially. A few years ago, Facebook was exclusively for students in college. Now, if your parents aren't on Facebook, you must have been living underground for the last five years and you might as well create a Facebook profile and Twitter handle for your dog Scooter just in case he is in the market for some new friends.
Some might think I am being facetious, but I would bet plenty of you know someone who has created a Facebook page or profile for their dog. It sounds absurd, but it wouldn't be surprising if that trend became commonplace down the road. That is the power that you can harness with social media.
So please, enjoy our infographic below and visit our website for more information about online schools and infographics just like this one. [direct link to larger version]
Here at AccelaWork, we're big believers in the power of social media, when used correctly. Unfortunately, mindlessly sharing the latest cat video isn't likely to be the best way to grow your business. But if you can create an engaged community, and provide content those users enjoy, then you may see your business reach the next level. Not only can you develop a greater sense of loyalty from your existing customers, but you can reach out to people who may have previously been far beyond your initial scope of customers.
Feel lost when it comes to social media? It doesn't have to be intimidating, but for some people, we know that it is. Because of that, we'd be happy to help! Reach out to the business development consultants at AccelaWork and we'll get you headed in the right direction. And in the meantime, feel free to follow us on Twitter for more tips daily. If you don't get on board with social media soon, the 21st century may leave you behind.
The original post was titled 31 Experts Share Advice for Buying Web-Based software. The piece contains tons of advice, such as this quote from Michael Pesochinsky:
The main thing small business owners should look for when it comes to Web-based software is the cost versus output. How much more productive will we be with this software? Will the program do the job efficiently? Can I get this product cheaper–if not for free? Asking these questions prior to selecting the software will help you make the best choice.So what does this blog have to do with business process methodology? If you click through, you can see the author of the blog did not produce much of the content. In fact, he really only produced the first and last paragraphs. Hardly any words were written by the author. Instead, he used a time-honored productivity improvement technique.
Instead of researching and producing a balanced article offering guidance on purchasing these products, the writer "outsourced" the work to several dozen people. In exchange for publicity, the individual experts wrote a few sentences on their own. The editor merely assembled these to form a complete article. But a complete article it is! And a pretty good one at that.
The divide and conquer strategy is sometimes known as a business process methodology called explicit parallelization. Instead of trying to do all the work yourself one step at a time, you scatter the tasks among multiple resources. In the case of writing a persuasive column, you can save hours of labor by spreading it out across thirty different people. Best of all, you are helping other people while reducing your own costs.
This may seem a bit selfish, but doing a good thing doesn't have to be selfless. You really are helping others get publicity while helping yourself get content. It's truly an example of a win-win situation. This doesn't mean you should never write your own posts, but don't ignore the possibilities that networking provides you. And then, after you've curated a post of wisdom from others in the industry, feel free to encourage them to do a similar post which you can then contribute to. Not only are you paying it forward, but you're more than likely going to be driving traffic back to your own blog.
This logic doesn't only apply to blogging. Finding ways to divide and conquer can be valuable in all aspects of business. Maybe your top salesman is completely lost when it comes to graphic design. Does it necessarily make sense for him to be making his own leave-behind materials? Probably not. But when someone in the IT department is a whiz with Photoshop, they likely will be able to help. Instead of one person spending hours struggling with something, by knowing your strengths and dividing things accordingly, better work can get done in far less time.
Everything has a process. Our business improvement consultants know there's a business process methodology to writing a novel and a business process methodology for doctor's appointments. Take a minute to consider your work. You just might discover a clever way to achieve more in less time. The best productivity improvements, after all, are also the most satisfying.
Looking for more ways to bring these principles into play within organization? Need clarification on anything we’ve discussed in this post? Don’t hesitate to reach out to the business improvement team at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help!
The Hamilton County Business Magazine published an article written by AccelaWork's founder and principal, Robby Slaughter. In the piece, Our Workplaces Help Define our Company Culture, Slaughter begs the question: What's the right place to work?
It's an interesting question because, as many of us know and experience on a daily basis, any place we reside can be considered our office. With the ever-growing technology of today, we can be sitting by the public pool or standing in line at the post office and still manage to check our email. So it's fair to say that the formality of an office space is not necessarily in high demand as it once was. And, as Slaughter points out, the number of people on board with the idea of working from home is growing:
... approximately 2.8 million Americans consider their home their primary place of work—and this figure does not include unpaid volunteers or people who are self-employed.
The question is, where does this leave companies when it comes to identifying an appropriate workspace? Is there a systematic way to discover what will work best for you and your stakeholders or is it simply a guessing game? In Slaughter's view, it's about discovering a space that is conducive and positive for everyone. Not to mention, we must remind ourselves that it's not just about affordability and face time anymore—it's about creating an environment that facilitates efficiency and productivity. As is quoted in the article:
Face time might indicate that you are present, but not that you’re valuable . . . it lures us into measuring attendance rather than output. If unchecked, it engenders a culture that reveres those who arrive early and stay late, rather than those who are efficient yet perhaps unseen.If you are beginning to rethink your office space, take a moment to define your workflow and the priorities that come along with it. Contemplate differing environments and decide whether residing in one atmosphere over another will improve your productivity and business.
Not sure where to start? Contact our business process improvement, Indianapolis based firm today to learn more about how we can help.
The Wired Workplace blog, which covers issues facing Federal IT workers, included a post on the topic. Brittany Ballenstedt wrote:
[A] study found that 49 percent of IT professionals doubt that federal agencies can be productive without PC alternatives such as laptops, smartphones and tablets. Fifty-one percent of IT professionals said not having these mobile devices could impair the government's ability to attract and retain top talent.With government mandates like the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act and Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel's new federal mobility strategy, agencies are using more mobile devices. To meet the increasing demand for mobility, the federal workforce will need approximately 533,000 tablets and 355,000 smartphones in the next two years.
Whether you work in government or the private sector, we are all addicted to our mobile devices and email management. It's really no surprise that many experts believe that these gizmos increase productivity, because they let us do work when we aren't at our desk.
However, the article also highlighted some concerns and opportunities:
Still, federal IT professionals said moving to mobile is not without challenges. Security risks (78 percent), IT staffing (43 percent), the diversity of devices and platforms (39 percent) and budget constraints (38 percent) were cited as the biggest challenges for federal mobile use.Here at AccelaWork, we have a bigger question about "going mobile." Are these wireless devices just another way to try to pressure employees into working long hours? After all: you can't increase worker productivity by expecting people to never take breaks. If someone feels like they're always on the clock, then there may be a good chance that they never actually have productive hours of hard work.The federal government can embrace other tools and technologies to help overcome these challenges, however, IT professionals noted. Identity management and access control were considered the most important tools to implement, followed by messaging and collaboration, mobile applications and desktop from the cloud.
The real advantage of portable electronics may be that we are not tied to the office to work. In fact: research shows telecommuting increases employee productivity because it helps people avoid interruptions and demonstrates who is truly effective at their jobs. In previous decades, workers had to be in the office to have access to any semblance of usable technology. Now that the computers from the 80s fit in our pockets, that's no longer necessary.
As with anything technology related, there are strong points to be made in both the pro and con columns. And it's never going to be an answer that falls fully onto one side. Finding the right balance of technology, a mobile workforce, and a proper amount of working hours is necessary. But striking the exact balance is what can be a major difficulty, especially for organizations as large as the United States government. Throw in all the input from the various shareholders and the inevitable public outcry if anything goes remotely wrong, and someone is going to have a major task on their hands. Fortunately, your organization probably isn't the size of an entire country.
We'll see what happens with regard to government productivity. But we're hopeful that the trend toward mobile workers is one toward autonomy, independence, and efficiency.
Struggling with finding the right balance of working while mobile and still taking breaks? You're not the only one! This is a common problem among today's workforce and we'd be happy to help. Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork for more information today.
Both AccelaWork and Jessica Liebman of the Business Insider share the same viewpoint on just how important the business process methodology of thank you notes truly is. In a follow-up to her original blog post on the matter, Liebman admitted that when she doesn't receive a note from a prospective employee (post-interview), it means only one thing:
If I don't get a thank you note, I assume the person doesn't want the job, is disorganized, and I'll likely forget about them.
This holds true for just about any prospective opportunity. Speaking from a small business perspective, writing a note to a potential client to thank them for their time, excitement and/or interest in our services is a crucial step in growing our company. Not only is it a great chance to follow-up, but it also conveys the message that we care and value their enthusiasm for our mission of increasing employee productivity and overall business process improvement solutions. Likewise, thank you notes are also an influential factor in maintaining both positive communication and confidence in our current clients. Sending a quick note of appreciation reinforces our dedication to both the business relationship as well as the goals set forth by the agreed interaction.
And in case your goal for this year is to expand your company, keep in mind that thank you notes are one of the greatest tools in networking! Here's why: they are the perfect reason for genuine follow-up. Writing a quick note to say thanks for taking the time to talk is both sincere and productive at the same time.
And while AccelaWork agrees with Liebman's passion in regards to the business process methodology of thank you notes, we slightly disagree on her caution towards handwritten ones. She continues:
Dangers of the handwritten thank you:When it comes to following up after an interview, we agree that a punctual note can have a lasting impact. Yet, we must remember that email overload in the workplace is becoming a more dominant source of contention. Despite our best efforts, electronic messages can just as easily get lost or deleted in a cluttered inbox. So although an email may reach the interviewer quicker, it doesn't guarantee the impact is better.
- There's a delay. I'm a firm believer in following up with a thank you note less than 24 hours after the interview, while you're still fresh in the interviewer's mind.
- The letter might never get to your interviewer. It could get lost in the mail, the secretary could throw it out, it could end up in a pile of envelopes that don't get opened for months.
- It feels old. It's 2012. Sending a handwritten note just feels ancient to me. Especially if you're up for a job in the Internet industry. Be current.
- The chances of the interviewer writing back to you are less. The letter feels more final.
To say that the art of handwritten notes is ancient is, in our opinion, quite a statement. In a world where fast-paced communication dominates our everyday (and often times interrupts workflow), it seems to us that a thank you note arriving alongside a pile of nonsense junk would actually have a bigger impact on the recipient for two reasons:
The piece came from Inc. Magazine. Three of the items are spot on:
2. Get rid of the managers. Projects without project managers? That doesn’t seem right! Try it.All of these methods of increasing workplace productivity are really variations on the theme of empowering individuals. When people have a sense of ownership, it's no surprise they get more done. Three more suggestions take a different approach to humanize the workplace:...
3. Make your ideas theirs. People hate being told what to do. Instead of telling people what you want done; ask them in a way that will make them feel like they came up with the idea.
...
5. Make everyone a leader. Highlight your top performers’ strengths and let them ... be the example for others.
1. Be generous with praise. Everyone wants it and it’s one of the easiest things to give.The remainder of the ideas, however, are mostly just ways to (indirectly) give employees more cash....
4. Never criticize or correct. No one, and I mean no one, wants to hear that they did something wrong. If you’re looking for a de-motivator, this is it.
...
6. Take an employee to lunch once a week. Surprise them...It’s an easy way to remind them that you notice and appreciate their work.
Of course, people need to be paid at work. Employee productivity is not really possible without a basic form of compensation. And of course, this salary should be competitive and based on results.
But as study after study shows, money is not the way to get people to do more. Instead, if you want to motivate and increase employee satisfaction you need to focus on the satisfaction of a job well done. Give people the room to learn and grow. Set them free to explore and contribute. Focus on opportunity, not on wages.
Our consulting practice focuses on helping organizations get better at what they do. If you want your company to be more efficient, contact the Indianapolis consultants at AccelaWork. We love to help others increase their productivity!
In business process consulting, everything that is old is new again. We're still struggling to leverage the Hawthorne Effect from over fifty years ago, which notes that to increase employee productivity, you must show people genuine attention. It's no surprise then, that an older blog post contains business process consulting wisdom that's still applicable—even though it's talking about an article from 1999. Patrick Meier wrote:
The authors note that using complex language and concepts can also make one sound smart. Indeed, "rare is the manager who stands before his or her peers to present a new strategy with a single slide and an idea that can be summarized in a sentence or two. Instead, managers congratulate themselves and one another when they come up with ideas that are so elaborate and convoluted they require two hours of multipart, multicolored slides and a liberal sprinkling of the latest buzzwords." Now, the authors are "not claiming that complex language and concepts never add value to an organization." They are simply suggesting that such language "brings a lot less value than most executives realize."If you're looking for business process consulting and hear someone talking about "paradigm shifts", "intrapreneuring" or "KPI benchmarking", you have a right to scratch your head.
Meier's blog post is drawing a connection between that old Harvard Business Review article and a modern interest in workplace productivity with social media. For each of the five characteristics of organizations that avoid the "smart talk trap," he outlines how the same advice might apply to tools like Twitter and Facebook.
Here at AccelaWork, we've long covered the relationship between worker productivity and leadership. So when it comes to choosing a business process consulting partner who isn't all buzzwords, here's our advice about the HBR author's five factors:
An article by Good Housekeeping outlined ways in which people can better conserve the juice in their cell phone batteries. Interestingly enough, it just so happens that these excellent tips can also help readers with business process optimization consulting. Below are just a few of the suggestions in the article that can be applied to both energy conservation as well as process efficiency:
While this tip advises users to close out apps that aren't being used, it still hits home about how much of an impact awareness can be when conserving time. The truth is, understanding every step of a process and knowing the portions that may stall productivity is key to becoming more productive. When we have acute awareness, we open the door to greater improvement.
- Be more aware.
There is nothing more distracting than having notifications popping up randomly. So, rather than suffering through a day filled with interruptions, turn off email, voicemail and text message notifications while you are working on a particular project. In fact, The Methodology Blog has previously suggested that achieving workplace productivity may even require having to ignore a ringing phone at times! To respect productive workflow, you must be able to temporarily put aside the sources of distraction.
- Turn off push notifications.
When it comes to actually focusing in on a particular project, it's essential that we limit the intervals with which we focus on tasks such as meetings and emails that essentially interrupt solid workflow. When we allow ourselves to settle into a routine where emails and meetings dictate our progress, we drain both our productivity and our energy. So, be kind to yourself and block off time on your schedule specifically for project work. Transform business processes by managing your calendar appropriately.
- Optimize your data-fetching intervals.
A busy, loud work environment can distract even the most focused of individuals. So if noisy machines, ringing phones or unannounced visitors tend to slow down your day, empower yourself to become cognizant of your location and take measures for controlling it. In other words go work somewhere else!
- Be cognizant of your location.
The greatest way to become frazzled and unhappy at work is to allow stress and the overload of the office to take over your life. So, consider adopting a healthy work/life balance by prioritizing tasks both inside and outside company walls. After all, employee satisfaction should be valued not just by the company itself, but by the individual as well.
- Charge appropriately.
Whether you need more information on how to recharge your office or simply want to learn more about how to bring productivity and satisfaction to your company, contact AccelaWork today. Our vision on business process optimization is certainly worth the small amount of battery you'll use when calling us!
The image, which claims that people spend about an hour a day "slacking" instead of contributing to corporate productivity, is featured below. You can also see it on the website of the software company that commissioned the graphic.
We'd be remiss to not show you how they addressed some of the backlash, so here are a couple excerpts from the post they wrote.
First, let me point out, that our infographic is biased, and based on the average company, where facebook and twitter use isn’t considered pertinent for everyone. You should look at the infographic keeping in mind differences in job descriptions and firm core functions, because it’ll be different for everyone.We’re not saying that facebook and twitter are unproductive. For example, the person responsible for the upkeep of social media for a company is able to set their productivity setting for those specific applications as “productive”. This is obviously considered productive time for them. Nothing’s set in stone, and there is room for adjustment to individual needs.
It should be understood that this tool is mostly relevant for companies and people whose job is centered around computer work. That way it’ll give you the most accurate response. Of course, if you have meetings you can add them to your productive time, and for those who say that socializing with co-workers is the best way to learn, then add that too! It’ll go straight to productive time.
...
It also shouldn’t be forgotten that you can always switch on private time. No one’ forcing you to be productive all of the time. Your HR will of course understand taking a 20 minute break to check up on the latest web videos or tweets.
* * * * *
Broadly speaking, tracking employee productivity and time at work is more often the problem than it is the solution. Software tools that record workplace productivity and what people are doing are easily turned by the kinds of businesses that ban sitting and walking too slowly. In every situation, we need to find ways to show employees that what's most important is the overall corporate productivity generated in what they accomplish, not how they spend their time.
If you want to buy software like Desktime to improve your own productivity, go for it! But if you want to try to force your employees to be more productive, consider focusing on process and results rather than facetime and minutes. That's the real benefit to customers and to workers alike.
Need help figuring out how to bring these principles to your organization? For more information on how to actually increase employee productivity, contact the business improvement team at AccelaWork today!
Since I was 14 and old enough to get a work permit, I've been working. I spent my summers working 50+ hours at a local greenhouse and catering on the weekends. It was great money, lots of fun and showed me the ropes of learning how to run a business. Within a year, I had proven myself to my bosses who had put so much faith in me that they allowed me to manage certain aspects of their business— all before graduating high school. I had so much drive and determination to succeed that before I knew it, I forgot to have a life and live life as a normal teenager. Not to say that my life as a teenager was not fun, but I worked… a lot. Instead of taking time off and going out on weekends, I was filling in shifts at work. In my mind, if I wasn't working, I wasn't succeeding.
Fast forward to today: Many of those early workaholic traits have showed up in my work habits today. I’m always working and if I’m not working, I’m thinking up the next big idea for a client or way to grow my business. Unfortunately, I think that if my mind is resting, I’m not being productive. If I’m not on my feet, I’m not checking things off of my task list. Even in my personal life, if I take a minute or two to sit down and breathe, those dishes aren't getting done. I’m quite sure many of you can relate to what I’m saying. Lately I've been on overload and my mind hasn't shut down. I just feel so busy that I don’t have time to stop.
But I realized something the other day; I realized that while my intent was to have a productive day- I was actually being counter-productive. I spent most of my time trying to sort through the messes I made on my desk with my many sticky notes of ideas, while answering emails, phone calls and researching the next idea I had before the other one had a chance to succeed. I finally realized that I needed to just stop and walk away. So I did. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing things that I wanted to do. I went and got coffee, read the paper and even managed to go to the art museum. I even came home after picking up the boys from school and decided not to cook. As for the dishes— well, one day in the sink won’t kill them… or me!
It’s important to take time away for yourself and remember that you need time away to unplug and decompress (hopefully you realize that before you get overwhelmed like me). You won’t be any good to yourself or your business if you are constantly on overload, easily distracted and moving on to the next thing before the previous thing had a chance to fully brew. Not to mention, taking time away can actually SAVE you time. It’s like a buy one get one! You probably waste a day by being on overload and by not working efficiently. So why not take a day off and get the day back that you are wasting by not taking a day off? Something to ponder….
Here are some other reasons why it’s important to take time off:
1. It’s crucial for your health: taking time off has been proven to greatly reduce stress and be good for your health. As we know, stress can take its toll on you and increase your chances of heart disease, high blood pressure and weight gain, among many other things.
2. It increases creativity: believe it or not, taking time away gives us a chance to reconnect with ourselves and help with the rediscovery of who we are and what our goals are.
3. Less likely to get burned out: Too much of something isn’t always a good thing. Taking time away helps us from getting burned out from the thing we love.
4. You’re less likely to get distracted: You know all of those shiny things that you are always distracted by? Spend a day and get distracted intentionally or have a day dedicated to working on new ideas so it doesn’t interfere with the days you are trying to be productive.
5. Increased job performance: having time off or taking a vacation leads to a better quality of life which can have a profound effect on your work life and increase your desire to work harder.
Take a look at this photo, which an unidentified source caught in the wild:
First, it begins with an edict: "Our office hours start at 8:30 AM."
We know that micromanaging employees has a tremendously negative impact on employee satisfaction. Dictating that they must be there by a certain time isn't going to garner much respect.
But then, the poster gets even worse. It continues by listing other times at which presumably workers tend to stumble in. It goes on and on, listing more times than certainly would be necessary to get the point across.
Finally, the upper notice includes a signature from "your longest serving partner." That's like saying, "I'm the only productive employee around here, and you should listen to me because I've been here for ages."
Workplace productivity does benefit from experience, but the second posting doesn't show much judgment. Instead, it's a sarcastic retort. Not only does it mock the original, but it even ends with "your humble servant." Perhaps the prankster is trying to express that he feels more like a slave than a colleague. This could be an instance of just one less than ideal employee, but there's a good chance that something else is at play here.
We've known for a long time that working overtime is counterproductive. But what this image demonstrates is one of the most obvious signs of a dangerously unhealthy workplace.
Any time people crack sarcastic jokes at the office, you can be sure they are just trying to find ways to relieve tension. But why is the office stressful in the first place? And we're not talking about the kind of workplace stress that's beneficial to worker productivity. Instead, a battle of snarky signs ought to tell us that we need to seriously assess our organizational culture.
Think about a top candidate coming in for a job interview. Would you want them interacting with employees making sarcastic remarks about the workplace? Even if those remarks are supposedly all in good fun? I didn't think so. And if that's the case, then there's no way it can be healthy when it's people who are currently employed either. If there's an undercurrent of sarcasm, then something clearly isn't right and needs to be fixed before things get any worse.
Everyone wants to improve employee productivity. That's a no-brainer. But plastering your opinions to the wall using a nasty tone is no way to drive lasting change.
Instead, we need to address the structure of work. We need to be willing to question assumptions and redesign basic patterns. We must be ready to hear the thoughts of each and every employee. Communication is the number one tool to solve problems. Before our opinions are taken to a sheet of paper, they should be taken in person to the offender. The majority of the time, a simple conversation will be able to solve the problem. Productivity can be dramatically increased, but only if the people doing the work are part of the process.
Struggling with workflow design within your organization? We can help and would be happy to do so! Contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today. We’ve seen all sorts of organizational problems and we can get you on the fastest route to success.
The full video (about 12 minutes long) is available below, and also directly on YouTube:
Here's what may be the most amazing highlight. It's easy to see how this applies to employee productivity:Only 25% of job successes are predicted by IQ. 75% of job successes are predicted by your optimism level, your social support, and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat.Shawn Achor, the speaker, also discusses studies that are specifically tied to employee productivity:
Our brain works in the opposite order. If we can raise our level of positivity in the present, then our brain experiences a "happiness advantage." Which means our brain at positive, performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral, or stressed. Our intelligence rises, our creativity rises, our energy level rises. In fact, every single business outcome improves. Our brain at positive is 31% more productive than our brain at negative, neutral or stressed. We are 37% better at sales. Doctors are 19% faster, more accurate at coming up with a correct diagnosis when positive versus negative, neutral, or stressed.
Here at AccelaWork, we've devoted quite a few posts to connecting employee productivity and happiness. Even if you're a coffee shop barista, you can become engaged in the productivity growth and complexity of your work. The same goes if you walk on a tightrope over a 3,000 foot drop without a safety line: having employee satisfaction at work makes the all difference.
That's part of the reason so many people recommend you find what you love and then find a way to make money off of it. If you're doing something you're truly passionate about, optimism is going to come naturally. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to turn their number one passion in life into a career. But that doesn't mean you're unable to make the best of every situation and find ways to turn your work into something that's fully enriching. Whether you're at a low level in your organization or you're tasked with keep hundreds of employees engaged, the same principle should be in pace: happiness is key to success.
Don't let the difficulties of work stress you out. Instead, you should relish those opportunities as one where you can truly prove your worth. It's similar to the difference between a baseball player who crumbles against an ace pitcher since he knows how hard his opponent can throw and a player who steps up as their competition gets better. George Brett was a great example of this. Denny Matthews spoke about his ability in tough situations.
He was always the guy. He was the clutch guy. Not only with the manager, coaches and his teammates, but the fans knew more often than not in a clutch situation he'd come through because he was so mentally tough and he accepted being that guy.Brett didn't get stressed. Instead he was mentally tough enough to know that a greater challenge meant a greater reward. While your challenge may not be hitting a Nolan Ryan fastball, there's no reason why you can't relish every opportunity to prove your worth.
Company leaders want to increase employee productivity. But the question is, what will make workers want to achieve more and do so with increased efficiency? It's time we recognize the secret to great work is engagement. That's what makes the difference between people who just pass time at their desk and the truly committed employees. Productivity arises from satisfaction. Choose to be happy, grateful, and connected at work.
Long term memory of layout and consistent conventions are crucial to us rapidly finding the information we need. I was rudely reminded of this yesterday when I tried to find my hotel room. My room is 2125 and I was confronted with this sign:Here at AccelaWork, we agree that consistent, logical layout can be key to a successful workflow. We've talked about it before on a large scale (such as when it comes to the layout of your office) and on a miniscule scale (such as when it comes to the layout of a business form). But it isn't the scale of the layout that matters, it's the amount of inefficiency that an inefficient one can cause. Sure, a hard to read, incorrectly labeled set of room numbers for a hotel may not be the end of the world, and it may not be a reason in itself for you to find a new hotel, but struggling to find a room while carrying around heavy suitcases is the last thing that any hotel guest wants after a long day of work.Just in case you are struggling to read it, this is what it says:
First Floor
Bedrooms 2102-2113 (arrow pointing upwards)
Bedrooms 2132-2137
(arrow pointing to the left) Bedrooms 2131-2120
Bedrooms 2138-2142
Bedrooms 2119-2114
Now I eventually worked out that they had reversed the order of the numbers on some of the lines (including the one with my room on it). It had taken me 10-20 seconds to figure out what was going on (it was the end of a long day), probably ten times longer than it would have taken if they had stuck with convention and been consistent. The impact of illogical and inconsistent layout is felt by us dozens of times a day. The good news is that we can train users of our products (in my case report and dashboards) to "know" where their information is by using a very consistent physical layout.It is this strong, long-term memory for layout that humans possess which is the root of the very powerful "memory palace" techniques you may have heard about. It's the technique that Hannibal Lecter uses in Robert Harris's book Hannibal. There's also a fantastic book about Matteo Ricci, a Christian missionary in China in 1577, who wowed the Chinese aristocracy by training their sons to use this technique. (The book is called The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci and is by Jonathan Spence).
So it is worth considering that every time you layout information (or physical items), you may be helping the user jump straight to the right item, effortlessly, or causing them to stop, scratch their head and wonder what is going on.
It's more than likely that the hotel management hasn't even realized how inconsistent this layout is. If they did, then they would've likely had it fixed by now. The same problems could be in place in your business. For more information on how to properly identify inefficiencies and inconsistencies, contact AccelaWork today!
Bernie Smith has helped his clients deliver surprising levels of improvement across a wide range of industries over the past 15 years. His mission is to help clients with a repeatable, practical and jargon-free method for generating insightful and clear KPIs and management reports. He understands that most people don’t get excited by KPIs, but believes it’s a curable condition.You can find out more about KPIs on his website.
The post, called How to Murder Your Productivity, opens with a sarcastic promise:
In this post, you are going to learn proven techniques that you can immediately put to use.I am going to show you exactly how you can:
If you learn the techniques presented in this post, you will:
- Decrease your IQ by 10 points while working
- Make sure you won’t accomplish anything
- Increase your stress levels by at least 100% or more
- Get completely overwhelmed
Sounds good? Let’s get started!
- Become completely insignificant
- Earn less money
- Repel successful and capable people
- Be slave to the random whims of others
- Get fired from your job or drive your business to the ground
Consider reading Jiri Novotny's complete post for details. However, here are the highlights of how you can do the opposite of improving productivity at work:
Some of the explanations he gives for those tasks are worth delving into to, even though it's a no-brainer that they're sarcastic.
It's obvious that distractions of email can ruin your flow for the day, but you'd be surprised at how many people still constantly have a tab with their email account perpetually open on their computer. It's much harder to ignore emails that come in if you're instantly notified of a new one. Even checking to see if it's worth your time has the potential to totally ruin the momentum you have on a current task. Just knowing the email is there, waiting for your attention, can really zap your focus.
Working in a cluttered, uncomfortable workspace can be equally demoralizing. That's part of the reason we firmly believe in letting employees do their work where they're most productive. If someone needs to come into the office to get away from the distractions of home, then by all means, find a proper space to work within the office! But for the good majority of people, not having to commute in, work at a desk that doesn't fit quite right, and sit in a chair that was used by six other people before them is less than ideal.
But really, we've talked about most of these issues here at AccelaWork. We've given tons of email productivity advice, and we've reviewed the impact of a messy desk on workplace productivity. Naturally, we've reported on dealing with interruptions to productivity growth and the organizational productivity myth of multitasking.
The most important message is that employee productivity is about choices. It's a question of what we decide to do and what we decide not to do at work.
What choices are you making so you can get more done?
If you're struggling with productivity in the workplace, then don't hesitate to reach out. We can help and would be happy to do so! The business improvement consultants at AccelaWork have seen all sorts of organizational problems and we can get you on the fastest route to success.
The full post appeared on the The Switchboard, the blog for Fathom Voice. It was also published on Inside Indiana Business. It opened with a productivity tip about what to say when the phone rings:
Here’s a simple example. How many times have you called someone, and they’ve answered with just one word: “Hello?”This is just about the worst possible thing you can do when answering the phone. It shows no interest in the conversation and forces the caller to take charge.
Instead, you can actually increase productivity by considering three distinct factors when answering:
- The type of line are you answering — direct line, company line, or cellphone
- The relationship you have with the caller — personal, professional or none
- Whether or not the call was scheduled
Slaughter's piece also explained how to ensure that the phone doesn't interrupt you while still providing good service. He continued:
There are other ways to increase productivity on the phone as well. One of the most powerful is the “quick answer.”While you may feel like it's a white lie to say you're right in the middle of something, if you really think about it, you likely are in the middle of something when you're phone rings. With your busy schedule, there's probably not a ton of time sitting around and staring at the phone while waiting for it to ring. And if you are, that's a whole other problem within itself.If someone calls in and you’re focused on an urgent task or talking to someone else in person, it can be tempting to let the message go to voicemail. But then, you have to listen to the voicemail and try to return the call later. That’s no way to increase productivity!
Instead, try this: “Jack, Emily here. Hey, I’m in the middle of something. Can I call you back in ten minutes?”
More than likely, the caller will accept this suggestion. They save the time of leaving a voicemail and you save the time of listening to the voicemail.
Plus, the caller can increase productivity by planning to be available in ten minutes. Everyone wins!
The “quick answer” strategy works for any time frame, not just ten minutes. The person answering the phone could have suggested a time to call back, such as 11:00AM.
Plus, they don’t actually have to be “in the middle of something.” The telephone is a source of interruption every time it rings. But if you decide to answer quickly, you can control the phone—instead of it controlling you.
Almost every phone conversation can be accomplished very quickly. By letting people know that you're in the middle of something, more than likely they're going to give you a quick response about what they were calling about. And if the call is something that can't be handled in less than a minute, well then it probably makes sense to schedule a time where you can fully devote your attention to that call anyway. While the phone can be a great source of convenience, if you don't manage it well, it can serve as a major productivity blocker. The task for you is to find the right balance between productive and distracting phone use.
For more information about business telephone systems, check out Sharpen, (which used to be known as Fathom Voice). And for more techniques to improve employee productivity, contact our organizational productivity consultants here at AccelaWork!
In a guest post for an Indianapolis web design firm, Robby Slaughter explained some of the key steps:
Ensure You Have a CMSThese are some of the many ways to increase employee productivity when building and maintaining a website. For more, talk to the folks at Archematic.Hiring a web design company is only one step of the process. Once you have a new custom website designed that meets your needs, you still have to maintain it.
One of the benefits of working with a web design firm like Archematic is their use of a CMS, or content management system, to build your website. A CMS is a software application that lets you edit most of the text and some of the imagery and layout in your site using point-and-click tools.WordPress, which is the CMS I’m using to write this post, is a popular and effective product in this category. I don’t have to worry about coding or technical details in order to add content to the site. I just login and type.
Get Training on Your CMS At first, it may seem like you don’t need training to use a tool like WordPress. It’s similar to a word processor. There’s a box you can type into, and there are buttons at the top that you can use to change formatting or insert pictures.
However, just like a word processor, you don’t know what you don’t know. There are some incredible features inside every CMS and without training, you probably won’t find out about them.
Schedule Time To Maintain Your Site If you plan to write a new blog post once a week, put an hour aside on your calendar and make an appointment with yourself. Or better yet, reserve a day on your calendar to write blog posts for the next two months. Then use, the scheduling feature of your CMS to parcel the blog posts out over time.
Don’t know how to schedule posts? Talk to your website design company.
Create a Guest Login This is an incredible productivity secret that will save you time. If you want to have others post on your blog, create a guest account for them. That way, you don’t have to ask them to send their post by email, copy and paste it into WordPress, and deal with formatting issues. Instead, you’ll find out that there’s a new post ready to be reviewed. What could be easier?
In short, you can actually be more efficient when maintaining your website. Talk to your website design company about your CMS. And if you don’t have one, considering checking with your web design firm about moving to a platform like WordPress.
It's no secret that it's nearly impossible for a company to succeed in today's market without an effective web presence. But merely having a site isn't enough. You need to be sure that your site gives people the information they desire, is easily searchable, and can translate into increased sales for your company. This may seem like a daunting task, but it really shouldn't. The barriers to entry on the web are lower than they've ever been before. Whether you decide to hire someone to do the work for you or you learn to maintain your site yourself, there are very few complications standing in your way.
If you want more information on creating an effective web presence, talk to the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork today.
That's certainly the perception that many people have of offsite seminars. Maybe it's because while employee productivity is supposed to improve thanks to the new technology or approach, the proposed system isn't always better.
Or, you might blame the trainer—or perhaps the trainee.
But whatever the cause of the frustration, everyone can agree that one of the most significant impact on employee productivity is the time required for these sessions. If you're out of commission for a few hours or even an entire week, it can be tough to get caught up when you return.
One solution to this problem is microtraining. This is simply giving quick pieces of advice or simple tactics that only take a few minutes to explain. In one post, 1st Class Solutions explained:
Organizations would benefit by creating a system to teach those little “tips and tricks” to employees. The training could be in the form of JITT (just in time training) modules that take seconds to read. Or, it could be part of a blended learning approach and included in an informal training 5 minute chat session that is scheduled on a regular basis. The purpose being to give learners a small chunk of information that they take back to their desk and apply immediately.Supplement the learning with a job aid which could be referenced as a quick resource to help keep it at hand and used.
Training doesn’t always have to be a major undertaking. Sometimes the little things can make a tremendous difference!
Here at AccelaWork, we've been trying our own form of microtraining on our Twitter account. Check out our tip every morning at 9:00AM Eastern. We hope our quick tips and tricks help you to improve productivity in your office.
That's the gist of this study highlighted in the Business Insider. The piece explained:
In the modern workplace, does cursing affect how your co-workers view you and if yes, is it a bad or good thing? What about words that are meant to take the place of actual swearing, such as "WTF" or "B.S."?Researchers at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. found in a study that swearing actually helped co-workers build relationships with one another and enabled them to express their feelings.
We've covered the topic of workplace productivity and jargon as well as the issue of dealing with sarcastic employees and worker productivity. But the question of foul language takes the prize. Why should it be beneficial to use uncivil language at the office?
The answer is that work should not be so stressful that we feel the need to use profanity. That's not the good kind of productivity growth stress. Instead, the desire to throw out angry epithets proves that too much is going wrong at work.
Science has shown that in the case of injury, swearing reduces pain. The same mechanism should not be at work in the office. If we're here to be more productive and more efficient, we need to find ways to empower and support each other rather than yell and curse. Uncontrolled emotions have no place in routine business.
Long before the web took off, we created standardized forms and duplicated them through traditional printing, mimeograph, photocopy or other methods. When computers became powerful enough to support rudimentary desktop publishing, the form became a file that you could print and distribute by hand.
You could even send the form around by email, although there was no guarantee the recipient would have the software to complete the form electronically and return it to you over the Internet.
But about fifteen years ago, that all started to change. The web emerged as a two-way medium. Not only could you browse web pages, but you could enter data into web forms. Anybody who has ever completed a Google search, keyed in a credit card number, or checked the status of package online has used a a web form. Web forms are ubiquitous.
There are only two answers. The first is that we have become so accustomed to poor systems that we neglect to include the apology. We should be saying "Our legal department has not yet approved online signatures, so we need a scanned copy." Or, "Our IT team is backed up and has not yet made a webform for this, so just write your responses in an email or modify the Word doc and send it back to me."
The second possible answer, however, is far more profound. I believe that millions of Internet users have not yet made the paradigm shift to understand the capacity of the web. They still see the Internet as a form of somewhat interactive television, where there are more channels and more controls. They don't yet realize that everyone controls the productivity of the web.
Year after year, we're going to hopefully see far less of these people hanging on. Ideally, people will realize that to survive in the business world of the 21st century, they need to not only use the internet, but embrace it's convenience. Not simply look at it as a tool for basic communication, but rather allow the innovation of it to become a part of everyday usage. But unfortunately, it's inevitable that there are always going to be some people holding out. You probably have run into them on almost a daily basis (assuming of course you aren't the one still holding out).
I find this to be the case when people ask questions they could easily answer via Google, or stumble over logistical problems that are instantly resolved by making some information available on the web. I meet business owners that dismiss the need to be listed with online mapping services, but actually use these mapping services as their personal, portable atlas.
If you're part of the first group that knows you should be using online forms, don't forget the apology. Or head over to a company that provides an online form builder and solve the problem yourself.
But if you're part of the second group, it's time to admit that you're clueless. Open your mind to the possibilities of technology. These tools make business faster, relationships more sustainable and have the power to simplify communication.
Only, however, if we change our perspective.
GroundFloor creative, an Indianapolis marketing agency, recently sat down with Slaughter Development's principal for a conversation as part of their On the GroundFloor series. The four minute video (direct link here) is embedded below:
Slaughter makes a few key points. For example, he notes why doing things differently is frightening. "Change is scary because it requires that we look at ourselves frankly, and recognize that what we are doing might not be right."The interviewer Matt McNairy also asked, "How do you see corporate America evolving in the last ten years?" Slaughter's answer, however, may surprise you. He doesn't see evolution so much as revolution. Watch the clip to learn more.
Staff productivity is a key concern for any company, especially as it dramatically affects work input and therefore profitability as a whole. The insufficiencies of a desk-chained environment can be overlooked and disregarded as secondary. However, studies by the Centre for Mental Health have highlighted a major issue affecting staff in office-based workplaces - ‘presenteeism'.
A term for employees who simply show up to work as if it’s their only obligation, business bosses are increasingly finding that their staff come to work only to spend their days getting little to nothing done, slowing down important projects and negatively impacting on the staff forced to share their workload. If this sounds like your business, how can you boost your employee's productivity and avoid this vicious cycle?
The answer? Natural light.
It sounds crazy, but when it comes to implementing changes for a positive office environment, many have argued for the health benefits from natural light, particularly sunshine. Sunshine is very important for well-being because of the UV rays it provides. These help the human body to produce vitamin D, dubbed ‘the sunshine vitamin’ by health experts. Vitamin D has been hailed as an effective treatment for allergies, back pain, tension headaches and namely, depression.
Studies have proven the benefits of natural light for workplace productivity. In 2008, a study of 1,000 city workers by the Federation for Small Businesses found that 22% of workers got less than 20 minutes of sunshine a day. As a result, two-thirds of participants suffered with depression and four out of five blamed their lack of motivation on their sunless working environments.
So what can you do? Well, rather than cashing out on expensive light boxes, artificial sunshine ceilings or vitamin supplements on tap, the installation of glass skylights is a worthwhile investment. If the ceiling above an employee’s head is restricting their vitamin D intake and so their capacity to work, the common sense solution is to remove the obstacle. Alternatively a roof window is a brilliant solution and will not only bathe office space in a glow of natural light but will boost the potential and welfare of all of those beneath it.
Sunsquare is one of the UK's leading providers of high-specification skylights and roof windows. Designed to achieve maximum daylight with minimal framework, our skylights can be fitted to any surface on any home. For more information please visit the website. Photograph courtesy Sunsquare.
Blogger Ron Ashkenas writes that:
...Iconic six sigma companies in the United States, such as Motorola and GE, have struggled in recent years to be innovation leaders. 3M, which invested heavily in continuous improvement, had to loosen its sigma methodology in order to increase the flow of innovation. As innovation thinker Vijay Govindarajan says, "The more you hardwire a company on total quality management, [the more] it is going to hurt breakthrough innovation. The mindset that is needed, the capabilities that are needed, the metrics that are needed, the whole culture that is needed for discontinuous innovation, are fundamentally different."Here at AccelaWork, we're no stranger to the problems with productivity growth and six sigma. We've reviewed the issues with Lean corporate productivity management as well. That's not to say that these approaches are entirely bad. Rather, that it is the thinking and questioning done by stakeholders which makes the different. The copyrighted process improvement technique is not what's important. It's the people that matter.
In fact, we covered this in a piece called about being slaves to business process methodology:
[Recall] a familiar saying: there are no silver bullets. This expression reminds us not to put too much stock in comprehensive methodologies. However, the bullets are not without value. Peter Drucker says it best: Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable. The benefit of a methodology is not in adhering to the practice, but in being methodical.Harvard Business Review is right: continuous improvement is important, but not because we stick to officially approved methods. Rather, we must engender a mindset of always improving, always questioning, always thinking of better ways. Only when individual stakeholders are part of the process will true continuous improvement be at the center of the organization.
Unhappy staff produce substandard work and this, of course, will significantly impact business profitability. Acquiring and maintaining the right team of people can be the difference between success and failure. If you have a dynamic team which generates ideas, motivate each other and strive for results, your business will succeed - there's no doubt about it.
However, before you start arranging delivery dates for foosball tables and giant beanbags, the best way of perceiving and improving a proactive workforce is, simply, to listen.
A thorough employee survey will define the strengths and weaknesses of a team, and provides managers with a detailed insight into areas that need improvement. Essentially, a survey should be tailored to the company and the staff - there’s no point in sending out a template that has no relevancy to the industry or individual. You may want to focus on a specific issue or commit a broader audit that provides a general oversight. Whatever the purpose, once the data has been collected, it’s important to collate results and take action.
If you want to gather an essential and comprehensive evaluation of how your employees’ perceive you as a manager though, a traditional employee survey won't work as well as anonymous 360 degree feedback. This has become the industry standard for work-based psychological assessment as it consistently provides quality results, extracting development and leadership opportunities. This, however, is worth nothing if you do not assemble the results and make the appropriate changes. All too often, employee surveys actualize very little progression, which defies the point all together. If this is the case, it’s important to bear in mind that staff perceptions influence their commitment to any given role and this has a genuine impact on your business model.
Why not implement an employee survey today and listen to your most value resource, your staff? You'll see benefits to your business almost immediately.
Dominic Wake is director at ETS plc where he is responsible for leading human resource projects across performance management, development and engagement. For more information about how 360 degree appraisals can benefit your business, please visit the website.
We agree with what Dominic has to say about seeking employee feedback. Just because something works well for Facebook or Google, doesn't mean it's going to work for your business in the middle of Gary, Indiana. Different industries have different needs and different locations have different pros and cons. An industry that's mostly workers in their 50s shouldn't try to copy an industry that has mostly twentysomething employees and vice versa.
The other big pro to listening to your employees instead of what should theoretically work is you can learn a lot about your organization that you may not have thought of. Even if you didn't view something as a problem, if a majority of your employees bring it up as an issue, then it's probably something that's worth looking into. One person may be an anomaly, but when a whole department feels like something should change, then it's going to be really hard to argue that they're wrong.
Don't fear feedback. Instead, embrace it. Seek out opinions from your employees and your organization will be well on its way to the next level. But if you shy away from honest communication, then you can be sure that productivity and employee retention are going to stay at dangerously low levels.
Stuck on how to implement these principles in your organization? Contact the business development consultants at AccelaWork today! We’d love to help you maximize your employee satisfaction.
For the most part, the world of movies show how bad bosses ruin employee productivity. But one article called 6 Movie Bosses We Actually Liked included a few interesting examples of supervisors that might be actually helping with employee productivity and morale:
Meryl Streep's character as a tyrannical fashion magazine editor who thrives on terrorizing her subordinates (Anne Hathaway) was more than comedic. During Anne's short time as her assistant, she learned more about herself and about the fashion industry than she ever thought. Audiences praised Meryl's performance as an overall a talented boss with lots of experience to share. Seats at the Valentino Fashion Show included in the position.https://youtu.be/_wp5yCBhwS4
That clip from The Devil Wears Prada showed a personality with a bit of edge but is also inspiring. The supervisor character is one who is a genuine expert and knows the role she plays in her industry. Her speech also helps to put the young employee into a better mindset. Fashion---just like any area of major production---is not just "stuff." It's an industry that employs millions of people and has a tremendous impact on our world.
Individual employee productivity is most closely tied to a person's perspective on work. If you want to improve employee satisfaction, give them inspiration and get out of the way.
Another example the article brings up is Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. Sure, that movie is remembered as much for his epic quitting scene as it is for his ability as a boss, but that's just as important to learn from.
Tom Cruise plays a successful sports agent who gets fired from his job for writing a memo about the company's tactics, which favor money over their clients. Jerry follows his intuition and heart and starts his own business representing the one client he has left. One of Jerry's most memorable qualities as a boss is his compassion and ability to stick by his clients.When Jerry quits his job, he's so well-respected by his secretary that she follows him out the door, despite the future not looking all too bright. She clearly respected his desire to do the right thing and to go about his business in an ethical way. While that entire scene may seem a bit out of left field, don't you want to be the sort of boss that your employees like so much that they'd follow you into the dark unknown?
Still, far too many movies portray bosses in similar terms as Office Space:
https://youtu.be/Fy3rjQGc6lA
While that scene may be an amusing one, it says a fair bit about the relationship most people feel they have with their bosses. There isn't a level of trust. Rather, there's a sense of disdain. Office Space is such a memorable and beloved movie since it's so relatable for so many people in the workforce. Unlike the characters Cruise and Streep portray, Lumberg doesn't do anything to motivate his employees. They certainly wouldn't trust him enough to follow him into the unknown. He is the furthest thing from inspiring. So instead of being like Lumberg, seek to be like a more inspiring movie boss. It may take four cinematic examples of terrible bosses to find one where the boss is great, but it's a search that's well worth taking.
For more information on how to be like a quality movie boss, contact the business development team at AccelaWork today! We can help you get from good to great.
The graphic is courtesy of SCM Operations, and appears below:
There's a whole lot of information above, so we won't break down all of it, but there are a few important points that are worthwhile to highlight. First of all, it's good to define logistics and supply chain management. Merriam Webster provides a good definition for logistics.
Logistics: The things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity or event that involves many people.
Supply Chain Management is adequately defined by Investopedia.
Supply Chain Management: Supply chain management is the streamlining of a business' supply-side activities to maximize customer value and to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Supply chain management (SCM) represents an effort by suppliers to develop and implement supply chains that are as efficient and economical as possible. Supply chains cover everything from production, to product development, to the information systems needed to direct these undertakings.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's interesting to see how far back supply chain programs were put into place. The ideas of making a business run smoothly certainly isn't a new idea, but Syracuse University clearly was ahead of their time by instituting such a program all the way back in 1919!
It's no surprise that things really took off around the time that Henry Ford implemented the assembly line and mass production for his cars. It's not a stretch at all to see how that one product led a new form of production for just about everything you can find in most major stores today. But there's still a fairly big jump on the timeline from that event in 1927 until others started going beyond mass production in order to get more cerebral, and thus more efficient, when it came to finding ways to really hone in on a proper logistics scheme.
Once you get into the 1980s, the bullet points on the flowchart have fewer and fewer years between them. As with many industries, the growth of supply chain management and logistics was exponential. As more information was brought to light, more people became interested in that information and were able to build on it themselves. That got us to where we are today. A point where any large corporation who doesn't have staff tasked with managing logistics and their supply chain is likely falling behind the curve.
When it comes to planning out your business strategy, it doesn't matter if you're a tiny company or a multi-million dollar corporation, finding the best way to manage and coordinate various activities is paramount to success. Streamlining your business can not only save you money, but it can keep your employees and customers much happier than they would have been otherwise. No employee worth their salt wants to feel as if their work isn't contributing to the success of an organization, and we've discussed before how happiness can increase productivity.
This infographic is a great resource to see the history of these changes, but history doesn't mean a whole lot unless you study it and learn from it. Looking at what has been done right in the past can help you continue to do things right in the future. For more information on how you can apply the best practices of logistics and supply chain management to your business, contact the consultants at AccelaWork today!
That's the topic of a guest post by our own Robby Slaughter for an Indianapolis small business marketing firm. The full article includes several major pieces of advice:
Ask for reports, but don’t expect resultsThis suggestion doesn't just apply to a marketing firm. In fact, anytime you delegate to work to someone else, you should be looking for status updates before you are looking for meaningful progress. That's because it takes time to get results, and you need to see activity first. If you want to know how to delegate workplace productivity, start by changing your perspective. If you don't know what someone is doing, how do you know what you're looking for?There’s a reason that marketing generally takes a long time to be effective, even in the digital age. That’s because the market is busy doing other things besides checking out what you have to offer!
For example, if your outsourced marketing provider starts writing blogs, don’t expect to get a thousand hits to your website in the first day. But do look for them to offer you reports that demonstrate steady growth.
Marketing is about craft, but it’s also extremely scientific. If your outsourced marketing provider isn’t giving you data and showing you how they run real experiments, you may need to look elsewhere.
Slaughter also notes:
Ask what you can do to help, and keep your commitmentsAny serious outsourced marketing firm can tell this story a hundred times over: the client who was excited about a big project but kept dragging their feet on getting the content delivered.
Sure, you can write the content for your own website and brochure. At least the first draft, anyway. But if you don’t meet deadlines and send over information in a timely manner, your outsourced marketing firm isn’t going to be able to create customers out of thin air.
Passing along a task to another person (or an outsourced firm) isn't about tossing it over the wall. Sure, you don't want to force other people into dealing with micromanagement during productivity growth. But if you go silent, you create as many problems as if you meddle too much. As with many things, it's all about finding the perfect balance. While that isn't an easy task, it's definitely a worthwhile thing to strive for.
Finally, Slaughter suggests:
Be Prepared to Get Out of the WayIf you need help with your own small business marketing, consider talking with the fine folks at Roundpeg. And if you want to meet with business improvement consultants, contact the team at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you find the best path for your organization.A major part of what your outsourced marketing firm will do is creative work. And we know that creativity cannot be rushed. So if your new partner says they need a week to work on some designs, don’t call every day asking for updates. Give them the space to do incredible work (and pay their bills on time so they can feel your respect.)
This may be the most difficult aspect of mental preparation for outsourcing marketing. We all want to see how our business is being promoted, but in reality the best place for you to be is only in the room when you are invited. Creative types need the freedom to be able to bat around ideas before getting designs, copy or concepts to a stage that you can review.
Slaughter's post appeared on the website for Compendium, a corporate blogging platform. His topic? The technique of story harvesting. Unfortunately that post has since been taken offline, but luckily we saved an interesting excerpt and have included that below:
Great corporate blogging software helps with [writing] by ensuring that your blogging process is smooth and easy. But there's still a problem: finding content ideas in the first place.Sure, you can try buying articles from third party services. Or: you can use story spinners. But if your goal is to humanize your marketing, these aren't likely to be as effective as the authentic voice of your own employees and advocates.
So what should you do? Give up blogging?
Nah, instead you should leverage technology to your advantage along with the human emotion of pride.
In order to make use of these two ideas, he demonstrates the very same technique we're using in this article. Quoting another piece to make your point. Slaughter summarizes his point as follows:
So that's my content marketing secret. You don't have to write as much as you think you do. Borrow content from other people, celebrate their ideas, comment on them and write what you know.To further borrow from this technique, Issa Mirandilla wrote a great post on more tips for writing engaging blog posts. We've highlighted some of those tips below.
Make Every Word, Phrase, & Sentence CountWe agree 100% with this. Overly wordy blog posts are going to instantly lose attention. Blog posts that are too short may not provide sufficient value. There's a sweet spot in terms of length, and part of that is ensuring that you're maximizing the minimal attention span you get from readers.Because Internet users’ attention spans are shrinking by the day, you have to work harder to hold your readers’ attention from the beginning until the end of your post. To do that, every word, phrase, sentence, and even punctuation mark must add something to your piece.
Use Simple, Yet Precise, WordsA blog post isn't the time to show off your impressive vocabulary. You want to write in a way where everyone can understand you, not just doctoral candidates in linguistics. As Kurt Vonnegut once said, “Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.” Simplify your language and you'll find it much easier to communicate with your readers.You know how MS Word’s “Shift + F7” pulls words from the more obscure parts of the thesaurus? Well, you might not want to rely on that function too much. Readers hate it when you bombard them with highfalutin jargon. Not only do these words sour the reading experience, but they also make your blog post look stilted and pretentious.
Make Your Post Unique (Even If The Idea Isn’t)No one wants to read another cookie-cutter rehashing of an overwrought topic. Find a way to make things unique and you'll find a way to stand out from the crowd. Even when you're writing about something that isn't a totally novel idea, there are still ways to make it seem fresh.
Here at AccelaWork, we've covered a variety of tips for productivity growth and fast blogging. The message is: take advantage of technology and the way people think. Leverage human behavior as well as the tools you have.
For more information on working smarter, contact our business process improvement consultants today!
These come from a guest post by our own Robby Slaughter. The original article is available in full on the New Focus HR blog:
Tell a Story (But Don’t Be the Hero) – Your job is to craft a narrative, which means you need a beginning, middle and an end. Use analogies, humor and suspense. Set up problems and show solutions. And throughout, remember that you are the mentor, not the hero. Help the audience to identify with others, not you.Employees who follow these best practices will find that their presentations are not only be entertaining—but also be productive. They will inspire and engage audiences. Their words and images will help them make the right choice and pursue the next step.Eye Contact and Pacing – You must look at your audience, and not just at one person. In the same way, you must give your audience time to digest ideas. Pause. Take breaks. Ask people to turn to each other to discuss what you just covered. Anything to create rhythm.
Never Read Aloud – If you place words on a slide or in a handout, never read them aloud yourself. There are few experiences more frustrating for an audience member than a narrator droning a bunch of words that the audience can read for themselves. The only exception to this rule is quotations—but even that works better if you ask someone in the group to say it for you.
Commit to Preparation – This might seem obvious, but so many lectures fall flat because the presenter didn’t spend enough time getting ready. Allocate at least ten times as much space on your calendar to get ready as you do in the actual speech. That means an hour with your audience requires at least ten hours of preparation.
Deliver Action Items – People who experience a presentation deserve a gift. The best present you can offer is not a free lunch or a t-shirt, but clear next steps. This may require handouts or crisp phrases, but you want to ensure that people have something they can take back and put into action.
Making a good presentation isn't easy. You can't simply watch a TED talk and feel like you're ready to address a crowd. You need to know who your audience is and how to best serve their needs. You need to be knowledgeable about the topic so that it doesn't seem like an amateur presenting to experts. You need to make the presentation different than the ones that people have seen a million times before.
But basically, all of that stuff comes down to point #4 that Robby made. Commit to Preparation. NBA legend Steve Nash had a great quote about the topic:
You have to rely on your preparation. You got to really be passionate and try to prepare more than anyone else, and put yourself in a position to succeed, and when the moment comes you got to enjoy, relax, breathe and rely on your preparation so that you can perform and not be anxious or filled with doubt.While Nash's quote is about basketball, it can apply to all aspects of life, including presentations. When you're fully prepared about something you're passionate about, then there's really not a whole lot more you can do to set yourself up for success.
Contact us for tips on increasing productivity growth at work and or check out some of our upcoming events hosted by our productivity consultants.
Queueing theory is the analysis of queues. Or, in simpler terms, it is the study of lines.
Why would anybody want to spend hours thinking about waiting in lines? In order to find ways to make those lines go faster, of course.
And if you think about it, most of the routine work you do every day in the office, the shop or even in the garden involves stuff waiting in lines. Usually, though, the most important queue to worry about is a queue full of people. Cartons of milk might expire but individual people hate to wait in lines.
The question which comes up all the time in queuing theory is the one you ask when you arrive at the restaurant: how long is the wait? That's the most important piece of information to you, the potential customer who is ready to eat. However, a productivity expert has to start with a slightly different question: how big is the line?
Now here's what's absolutely amazing about queuing theory. It might seem like this is insanely complicated question. Doesn't it depend on the time of day? Doesn't it matter how long people sit at the restaurant? Isn't it affected if the kitchen is understaffed?
Nope. As long as the system is a steady state (it's not ramping up or shutting down), it's easy to understand the total size of the line. It's an amazingly easy formula:
Suppose you are getting ready to go on vacation next week. This is a good time to figure out how much email you are getting and how much you are processing, so you decide to see how much email you have in your inbox at the end of every day.
Each day, you make a note of the number. And then you add them all up and take the average at the end of the week. Let's say your typical inbox size after adding them all up and diving by five days in the week is 247 messages.
You head out of town for the weekend and don't return until Wednesday morning. Now, there are an additional 120 messages that you missed while you were out. Since you were gone two days (or four if you count the weekend), that's a rate of arrival of 60 messages per day. Now you know the details:
(Average) Size of the line: 247 messages (Average) Rate of Arrival: 60 messages per day (Average) Time in your Inbox: ?
Did you do the arithmetic yet? That's right, the average time a message spends in your inbox is 4.11 work days!(Of course, you don't have to go on vacation to get this data. It's just easier to count rate of arrival if you can ignore the inbox for a while.)
If you can convince your coworkers to send less mail or reduce your average inbox size, you can make a big impact on your personal productivity. If you can get your inbox down to ten messages, you'll be able to respond to every email the same day! (Yes, we've talked before about getting down to inbox zero with email management.)
So that's an introduction to queuing theory. You can apply to it any line in your office: whether it's a sequence of handoffs, processing paper work or even the flow of telephone calls. Try it yourself or contact the Indianapolis productivity consultants at AccelaWork. We'd love to hear from you!
I wouldn't be lying, but it still doesn't mean I accomplished anything. Consider that the average corporate employee has 225 emails come across their desk in an average workday, and you start to understand the problem. Sit at your desk for eight hours (480 minutes), and that's nearly half of your workday, assuming that an email takes an average of one minute to read and respond to. Even that is wishful thinking.
Overwhelmed by the feeling of constantly working but only slowly chipping away at my goals for the day or week, I paused to consider what I might be doing wrong. Even the hardest workers can fall victim to their own bad habits. Here are five that I recognized in myself and corrected.
If you want to maximize your productivity, start your day by attacking a task and give yourself a clean, uncluttered workplace and state-of-mind.
Anita Brady is the President of 123Print.com, one of the foremost suppliers of customizable online business cards and other items for small businesses and individuals. She is an industry veteran who has managed strategic marketing and other efforts for companies small and large.
A good example of the word "productivity" in the popular press came from The Washington Post and was republished here:
[The 2000-2010 decline in the] manufacturing workforce — it shrunk by a third over the decade — actually represented good news, [experts] said. It meant that U.S. workers and factories had become more efficient and, as a result, manufacturing companies needed fewer people.“What happened to manufacturing? In two words, higher productivity,” Robert Reich, former labor secretary in the Clinton administration, wrote in 2009.
This is the definition of productivity that economists tend to use. It's the value of stuff that goes into compared to the value of what comes out. If a manufacturing plant becomes more automated, they may need less people—even though they can sell their goods at roughly the same price. Therefore, the business (and in turn the larger economy) is said to have increased productivity.
It's easy to see how this number could be deceptive. That article notes that the figure may actually be inflated:
Between 2000 and 2010, computer and electronic products manufacturing output rose at a remarkable rate of 18 percent per year.But the term productivity really ought to have a deeper meaning. Instead of just referring to economic efficiency employee productivity at work is about engagement. It doesn't refer just to how much workers get done, but also how likely they are to innovate, how willing they are to speak up with new ideas or concerns, and the degree to which they feel they have autonomy and mastery.Over the same period, output in the rest of U.S. manufacturing remained roughly flat, according to [Council of Economic Advisers] figures. That’s a dismal showing for a decade.
It is only when computer and electronic products are included that overall manufacturing output registers impressive increases. Though it represents 15 percent of manufacturing output, the sector’s strong growth makes the rest of U.S. manufacturing seem more robust than it really is.
The best indicator of employee productivity is not results alone, but results combined with satisfaction. If people have a genuinely positive view toward their workplace and are getting things done, then they are productive. And if you want to increase employee productivity, build an environment where they have the freedom to work and the confidence that their work truly matters.
That's not to say that the economic definition of productivity it not important. But it can seem a little cold. Work is not just about producing results: it's also about the people who do the work. Increase productivity by embracing the individual. Get more done by giving people more room. Help the economy grow through the satisfaction of one employee at a time!
The world today requires company owners and business managers to constantly be thinking of new, better, more innovative ways to run a business. Time is money — a lot of money — so it is important that all employees are using their time wisely. In order to do this, a business has to be proactive about being efficient as well. Employees must be given the tools and resources necessary in order to maximize their productivity during the workday. The following tips are five ways that a company can become more efficient, ultimately saving time and money, resulting in a better, more successful business overall.1. Utilize Cloud Computing. Cloud computing platforms, such as those offered by VMWare, allow businesses to give their employees access on the go. Using cloud networks, employees can store important documents and information in the cloud — and subsequently, they can access those documents, apps and other files from any mobile device, be it a laptop, smart phone, PC or tablet computer. Cloud computing is a great first step in eliminating chaos, because an employee no longer has to worry about whether they have the right device in order to access an important business document. One of the cloud’s selling points is its efficiency with regard to energy consumption; less energy used powering in-house servers means a lower power bill. Collaboration in the cloud ideally increases productivity, and the ability of the cloud to host huge, processor-intensive applications (i.e. Photoshop) and let people log in to access those programs without having to have local installs on each machine greatly increases efficiency in the workflow.
2. Reduce Travel. Asking employees to travel out of state or internationally for business meetings and sales calls is costly and time consuming. Time spent on the road usually amounts to time wasted, time that could be better spent working and being productive. By utilizing new technology, such as video conferencing and video calls, companies can then reduce the amount of time their employees spend traveling. Not only will this save time and money, but it likely will make employees happier as well.
3. Improve Customer Communications. When customers are happier, business is more successful as a whole, and the whole operation is more efficient. By implementing networks that immediately pull up a customer's history, previous projects, comments and complaints, any employee is able to quickly acquaint themselves with customers and properly address their concerns.
4. Link the Phone System. Keeping employees in the loop and within reach is essential to a business running at maximum efficiency. By upgrading the business phone system so that all phones are linked, an employee can easily be reached whether he or she is out on a sales call, driving into the office or simply away from their desk. Ensure that all cell phones and desktop lines are linked together to maximize this feature.
5. Develop a long-term technology plan. Even once you have implemented new technology into the office, it is important to recognize that there will always be new, better, more efficient technology on the horizon. Being prepared and planning for new technology to come is essential. Develop a technology planning group that will help determine what the latest and greatest technology is, how that technology will benefit the business as a whole, and how much the company is willing to invest into the new technology. Keeping abreast of the latest technology is essential in being a success in the global economy of today.
By implementing just a few of these simple steps, a business manager will quickly find that employees are more satisfied at their jobs and they are increasing their productivity. Eliminating chaos in the workplace is as simple as following a few steps, and giving employees the resources to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Cloud computing networks allow employees to access documents and important information no matter where they are or what device they have, and a long-term technology plan allows businesses to keep up with the changing times. At the end of the day, efficiency is the key to success when it comes to business.
Joe Baker is a writer who runs the website Technected and The Professional Intern.
That's the principle of a piece by New York Times columnist David Brooks. He writes:
As a young man, Peter Thiel competed to get into Stanford. Then he competed to get into Stanford Law School. Then he competed to become a clerk for a federal judge. Thiel won all those competitions. But then he competed to get a Supreme Court clerkship.On the one hand, this is more evidence that failure is the secret to success. But the entrepreneur and venture capitalist is now teaching a class at Stanford questioning the role of competition. Brooks continues:Thiel lost that one. So instead of being a clerk, he went out and founded PayPal. Then he became an early investor in Facebook and many other celebrated technology firms. Somebody later asked him. “So, aren’t you glad you didn’t get that Supreme Court clerkship?"
The question got Thiel thinking.
One of his core points is that we tend to confuse capitalism with competition. We tend to think that whoever competes best comes out ahead. In the race to be more competitive, we sometimes confuse what is hard with what is valuable. The intensity of competition becomes a proxy for value.
This message aligns with what we've been saying at AccelaWork for years. Organizations that want to innovate and nurture employee success should not be focusing on competition. Instead, the best way to improve worker productivity is to embrace freedom. In fact, we know that when you add the stress of competing teams it makes employee productivity decrease.
Brooks argues this elegantly--by nothing that we often reduce professional endeavors to metaphors that involve sports:
But business, politics, intellectual life and most other realms are not like [baseball]. In most realms, if somebody hits three home runs against you in one inning, you have the option of picking up your equipment and inventing a different game. You don’t have to compete; you can invent.Instead, organizations should recall the most important corporate productivity advice, ever: that it is the freedom innovate and take risks which enables individuals to succeed, not external motivators such as money, status or points.
Competition works on the field where the rules cannot be changed. The purpose of business, however, is to invent new rules.
The story of this pupil has been in the headlines. Robby Slaughter's guest post on the topic appeared on the CultureRx blog. Unfortunately, that post has since been taken down, but we saved the following excerpt from it:
It’s a cliché but it’s still correct: children are our future. So it’s especially telling that an 18-year old student from Indiana, Elizabeth Olivas, may be denied the chance to become a productive member of our society.Ultimately, the mixup was sorted out, and Olivas was able to get back into the United States in time for her graduation. A CNN article detailed what went wrong and how the mistakes were rectified.This is especially tragic because Olivas is a striking example of the American experience. Although she was born in Mexico, she was brought the United States at the age of 4. Since then she has excelled in virtually every regard. She is an accomplished student and athlete. In fact, she has a 3.9672 and is the salutatorian of her high school.
Except, it looks like won’t be able to give the speech at graduation. In fact, she’s already missed weeks of activities at the end of the school year. That’s because she’s stuck in Mexico and has been refused re-entry to the United States.
Her attorney, Sarah Moshe, had said the U.S. State Department approved a waiver, allowing Olivas to return home and deliver the salutatorian speech at Frankfort High School on Saturday.
An undocumented immigrant who was brought to the United States by her parents when she was 4, Olivas traveled to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, last month to beat a deadline to apply for a visa.
According to immigration laws, children of immigrant parents have until 180 days from their 18th birthday to leave the United States for their country of origin and apply for a visa. The consulate in Mexico granted Olivas an appointment for May 4.
Moshe calculated on two different legal calendars that the 180th day would fall on April 17, so Olivas departed for Mexico that day. But at her May 4 appointment, Olivas was told she had left the United States on the 181st day.
The calendars Moshe used did not account for the leap year.
The mix-up could have meant Olivas would be banned from the United States for three years, living with her grandparents in Juarez until she could apply again.
...
Steve Edwards, principal at Frankfort High School, called Olivas a "phenomenal kid."
"She is a mentor to those younger than her," Edwards said. "There is just not a bad thing to say about Elizabeth. She's an awesome girl."
This isn't the first time that a mistake has nearly had a terrible result for someone who didn't make it. Usually forgetting about a leap year isn't a big deal. It's typically just a cause of a little bit of confusion when it comes to figuring out when March begins. But in this situation, Olivas was nearly banned from returning to her Indiana home for three whole years. That's enough time for a star student to have nearly finished her degree at an American university.
The moral of the story? Always be on the look out for where errors may occur. Don't assume that something small can't have a big impact. If you're proactive about preventing errors in your workflow, then they're much less likely to occur.
Lets face it -- the 'daily deal' has changed the way consumers use coupons. The advent of the Internet bulk coupon deals sent consumers and businesses chomping at the bit to take advantage of this new and effective form of direct Internet marketing. Within months, Groupon had a host of similar competitors, including LivingSocial. Only a couple of years later, the entire industry is seeing a large decline in sales. See a Bloomberg Report on Groupon's falling stock.Christopher Wallace is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, one of the nation's largest providers of promotional products for businesses large and small. Amsterdam specializes in custom pens and other promotional items such as calendars, laptop bags, and T-shirts. Christopher regularly contributes to Promo & Marketing Wall blog.The concept for most email coupons is similar -- businesses get to advertise though a new channel: massive email lists that have assimilated hundreds of thousands of 'bargain hunters' in a local market. Your business must cut a generous deal to get featured (usually at least 50% off a product or service), and deal hungry consumers buy your coupon in force. After your deal period (usually two or three days), Groupon sends you a check for all coupons sold, minus their 40% profit share margin.
The Groupon model hit the United States at just the right time. As the economy took a turn for the worse, many businesses jumped on the internet coupon bandwagon to stimulate sales in down times and bring in new customers from far-away markets. Does it work? Yes. Is it fair to businesses? Well, let's discuss that.
A big factor for businesses considering the daily deal model is cash. Because Groupon handles all coupon sales (essentially your money), once your deal is over, you get paid. Quickly.
That can be a huge help for a struggling business. However all those $20 for $40 half price coupons, minus 40%, taxes and fees ultimately sends the business around $11 for $40 worth of product or services. If you feel like this is a huge gouge by Groupon, you are not alone.
The issue for so many businesses who want to take advantage of the Internet coupon model is profit share. How could a restaurant afford to give away $40 worth of food for $11, to a clientele that (lets be honest) only came out of the woodwork to take advantage of an unusually hefty discount. For some businesses, especially service focused models (gyms, fitness, recreation) with low overhead costs and 'empty spots' that need to be filled, this model can work great. Other businesses, such as restaurants, retailers, and product purveyors with real material costs and overhead are literally -breaking even, or in some cases losing money to these coupons.
As this reality becomes apparent, businesses are hyperaware of the heavy handed tax levied on them using this model, and looking for other, less gratuitous ways to market, without having to pay 40% to the Groupon cartel.
- Email Customers Directly. Groupon has a huge email database. You can too. Personally market to existing customers by collecting email addresses and sending out periodic email blasts, even if only to say 'thanks for your business.' The sky is the limit with email marketing. You can create coupons on YOUR terms, and design them directly for your clientele. Create 'valued customer' programs, or even stimulate a slow weekday with a last minute sale. Email providers such as Constant Contact or YMLP can even personalize email headers with a client's name.
- Text Them a Deal. Cell phones are where the action is in 2012. For retailers and the food and beverage industry, text message blasts are THE way to deliver coupons DIRECTLY to your customers. Nearly one in five smart phone users have used text coupons, and mobile coupon use rose 117% in 2011. Check out this report from TaTango.com. You can offer free products with a small purchase, or offer cash or a percentage off with a certain purchase amount.
By taking direct marketing into your own hands, you are not only empowering your business, you are building brand recognition and local enthusiasm through direct correspondence with your customers. It will take time and diligence to establish your customer database, but will ultimately be worth it in the end. Email is free, Internet marketing is available to everyone, and frankly, a personalized email or weekly text blast to your customers will make a much stronger impression than "Groupon the Cat" and his gold bling ever has.
- New Web based coupon models. By handling so much revenue, Groupon has essentially morphed into a huge e-commerce operation, thanks to your client's money! New models of Internet coupons are trying to bypass the 'middle-man' all together and instituting smaller profit share margins or a marginal, one-time fee per coupon. New models like InTownDiscounts.com only charge consumers $1 to buy a coupon, and allow business to handle the cash transaction directly with customers. The name of the game in 2012: Keep the middle man out of it!
The image comes our way courtesy of OnlineDegrees.com. Much of the information is current and immediately useful. Take a look:
Many of the things mentioned here have already been written about for our blog. It's common sense that if a worker is tired, they'll be lacking in productivity and unable to work as efficiently as possible. Not only can efficiency suffer, but the quality of work can take a major hit as well. That's why it's important to ensure that all employees are functioning at their best as often as possible. As the end of the infographic says, all the lost time due to a lack of productivity costs companies over $136 billion annually.
Exercise: Exercise has been said to improve overall quality of life for a long time, but is it really worth sacrificing that extra hour of sleeping in the morning in order to go for a run? Definitely! The Mayo Clinic detailed some of the actual health benefits of exercise and broke down just how it can impact your energy.
Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores.Sure, for the first few days you may be more worn out as your body adapts to your new lifestyle, but with regular exercise, you'll be more productive in no time.
Trust: Trust is a topic we've tackled over and over again on this blog. It's essential to trust your employees for them to feel like valued members of the organization. Say there's a snow day. Everyone should be trusted to get their work done, regardless of whether they're in the office or at home. If you feel like you can't trust your employees, maybe it's time to re-evaluate your hiring procedures and the talent already in place at your organization. There's no denying that trusted workers are productive workers.
Sleep: It's essential to get enough sleep every night, but sometimes that just isn't possible. Kids have to be put to bed and woken up in the morning. That cup of coffee you had after dinner wasn't decaf after all. The neighbor's car alarm is serenading all the surrounding houses until 2:00 a.m. Regardless of the reason, sleep often eludes us at home. Instead of struggling to stay awake at work, a simple nap could do the trick to get you back on track. A Yahoo article detailed the rise of napping in the workplace.
With Americans averaging fewer than seven hours of sleep per night—and around 20 percent suffering from sleepiness during the day, according to a recent Stanford University study—many companies have turned to the humble nap in an attempt to stave off billions in lost productivity each year. Following the rise of workplace perks like lactation rooms, gyms, and child-care facilities, Nike workers now have access to nap-friendly “quiet rooms” that can also be used for meditation. Google, a forerunner in employee perks, has a number of futuristic napping pods scattered throughout its Mountain View (Calif.) campus.Regardless of the way you approach increased productivity, the right steps could be the difference between days wasted at work and days where you're thriving at work. For more information on how to bring these policies to your business, contact the AccelaWork consultants today.
The article came from our friends at 1st Class Solutions (which unfortunately has since been removed but a copy is here), and includes the following advice:
- Stop being responsible. Consider the fact that if you are responsible, then your learners are not responsible. You hinder their ability to create emotional connections to the learning. Start finding ways to cause active participation and start holding participants responsible for their learning and application.
- Stop speaking. When participants speak, learning is more likely to happen. Participants forget more than 90 percent of what you say within days, yet connect emotionally to their peers’ comments. Start HEARing them: Hint at connections; ask for Elaboration or an Example; offer Affirmation by agreeing, encouraging, or praising; and Reflect to connect to how they could apply what they learned.
- Stop telling. Being told, sold, or lectured to decreases learner esteem and increases passiveness. Start liberating learning by offering real problems to solve; allow all answers to be valid; time their ability to produce results; and leverage competition to generate the best application back to work. Start every learning experience with the participants finding their voice through sharing their best practices, challenges, or conditions in which they apply the skills to be learned.
- Stop coaching. Move the focus from your ability to coach to developing the participants’ ability to coach each other. Start asking participants to identify and give feedback to their peers. Identification and feedback skills become necessary abilities to implement the learning insights back at work. Start building the skills and tools required for application to shift engagement from the learning environment to the workplace.
- Stop using PowerPoint. Relying on PowerPoint illustrates a lack of preparation and understanding of your own content—which causes disengagement. Start designing learning to give the participants the content and let them discover and invent links to their workplace.
This advice comes from Doug Bolger, and for the most part is excellent. But here's what's crucially important: these words of wisdom have nothing to do with training. Instead, they are tactics for increasing productivity with all types of communication and interaction at the office.
For example, if you want other people to take ownership at work, try being a little less responsible yourself. This might seem counter intuitive, but if you let go of tasks and encourage others to pick up the pieces, you'll not only have more productive employees, you'll have people who care more about the work they do.
Likewise, if you're running a meeting, consider spending less time talking. Instead, ask others for their opinions. Solicit feedback and ideas. You can even request that people advocate a different point of view to help stir good discussion.
Increasing productivity at work is not as simple as walking away, however. Although the author suggests that we should "leverage competition", research actually shows that people can become too competitive regarding workplace productivity. Instead, take the opportunity to promote collaboration by ensuring people have interesting problems to solve as a team.
If you want your organization to be more productive, a key first step is to stop doing what you are doing. It's likely that many of your management techniques actually limit productivity because people feel stifled or trapped in their current environment.
Try it yourself! Consider stopping. If you want more information on how to bring this to your organization, contact the business development team at AccelaWork today! We'll be happy to help you reach your goals.
About a year ago, a potential client shared some challenges his business was facing. After carefully listening to his concerns I suggested he consider a balanced business scorecard, and explained my rationale. “No, I don’t think I need that”, he said. I see everything going on in my business, and I know how to fix it”. “Yes, I know”, I calmly responded. “The question is do you know how to fix what’s going on in your business that you can’t see?” He paused to reflect on what I had shared then replied, “Thanks, but I don’t think I need one.”
About a month ago I saw that potential client at a networking event. He shared that he had closed his business about 6 months after our conversation. Being a business owner myself I was sorry to hear this, and asked what he thought was his biggest learning from the experience. “I hate to admit it”, he said frowning. “But I really should have listened to you about implementing that scorecard. I just really felt I had a handle on things”.
I spoke with several small business owners who do not use a scorecard and learned three reasons why: 1) they understand the value of the balanced business scorecard, but don’t think they need it, 2) their business is too small to need one, and 3) they just can’t afford the expense. After reflecting on my potential client who lost his business, I believe that other small businesses are missing opportunities to address underperforming areas that can really hurt them. While it may not be necessary to implement a scorecard with all the bells and whistles like a large business; small businesses that do not use some type of scorecard method are taking a big risk.
Although almost three quarters of major corporations have used the balanced business scorecard, only 3 out of 10 achieved the expected benefits from this tool. But this doesn’t mean the tool is ineffective. It means the scorecard was not successfully implemented in their business.
First, you and other key stakeholders in your business must have the right “mindset” about how you will use the scorecard. Second, realize that implementing the scorecard is a process, and a very strategic one. Third, you must carefully identify the unique key performance indicators for your business. Examples include Innovation, Customer Service, Operations, Finance, IT, Processes, Idea Generation, or Human Resources.
The success factors commonly present in organizations that successfully implemented a balanced business scorecard are:
Know the Role of the Scorecard – it’s to tell the story of your strategy; therefore it is a deployment and communication mechanism that is articulated well.
Alignment and Integration – ensure each performance driver is linked to the metrics and incentives that will help all stakeholders move in the same direction.
Implement the Scorecard within 60 days – place a high priority on selecting the right software and reprioritizing existing initiatives, so you implement quickly.
Include an Improvement Cycle – this cycle must include accountability, challenges to poor performance, and timely delivery of results.
If you do not have a skilled Change Leader in your business, I encourage you to obtain one to lead you successfully through the implementation process. A scorecard is a component of a strategic Performance Management system that no business should be without in today’s complex global business world. It identifies, measures, and allows you to make strategic performance decisions that will ultimately help your business maintain high performance in any economy.
Thresette Briggs, MBA, SPHR is the Founder and President of Performance 3, LLC, a woman-owned management consulting firm dedicated to providing sustainable performance solutions through services in Organizational Development, Facilitation & Training, and Inspirational Speaking. Our services facilitate transformations in organizations experiencing performance challenges, or that want to take their performance to the next level.
Here's the official clip (direct link) from YouTube (2019 edit --- WayBack Machine):
It's clear that the employees are enjoying themselves as they dance, sing and play in the office. Each department must have spent hours making props and setting up for the video. And there's no question that the video has wide public appeal as well. Social media expert Kyle Lacy wrote "I can't stop watching."
But what is the message of the clip? What does it have to say about employee engagement and employee productivity? There are several possible interpretations.
But should work be fun? Does entertainment distract from the mission of the company, or does it enhance it? Our business process consultants have already found research that shows that people would rather skip the company holiday party. So would American Eagle employees rather go home early or stick around the office and make a lip dub video?
We can dig a little deeper. An employee review about working at American Eagle's headquarters in an online forum provides some surprising insight:
As far as AEO Corporate, it is a fantastic place to work. Yes, you will read all large specialty retail companies having long hours and lack of a personal life, but you know what, that's the culture and the ever-changing landscape of the business.Another employee review says it even more simply:...
We are a company that believes in a work/life balance (even though some people would argue that) but you're not going to get anywhere in life being a "clock-puncher", putting your 40 hours in a week and going home.
Cons Long hours Weak BOD Bureaucratic Poor life work balanceThese are just examples, but they do bring up interesting questions about workplace culture. Are non-productive activities beneficial or harmful? Do they genuinely build engagement and camaraderie, or are they just mechanisms used to mask overwork, exhaustion and low employee satisfaction? This brings us to the essential question:
But for the most part, workplaces that produce value consist of functional relationships, not deep friendships. To quote the famous Netflix culture document:
A great workplace is not day-care, espresso, health benefits, sushi lunches, nice offices, or big compensation, and we only do those that are efficient at attracting stunning colleagues.What do you think? Do you want to work somewhere fun, or do you want to work somewhere where you can be productive and valued, and have fun anywhere you want in your life?A great workplace is stunning colleagues.
While being your own boss can be exciting, it also means you have to manage yourself. In this article I'll discuss what I've learned over the last six months about time management from my experience as a solo-entrepreneur.
One of the first things I realized when I started my own business was that there was no one but me to plan my day. I was in charge of when I had to start work, when I took breaks, and when I quit for the day. This was incredibly freeing, but at the same time, incredibly scary. I realized that if I failed to be productive, I'd never get that day back - so I made a plan.
I decided to set a time to get up in the morning and begin a routine that I could live with. I set the alarm for 8 AM, decided I would eat breakfast and get started working first thing in the morning. I'd spend some time checking email, spend some time learning in order to keep sharp, and spend some time networking with other people. That was my first plan.
What actually happened was that by the time I actually started working it was already after 9 AM and my clients had already started their work day. They had been calling and/or emailing me for support while I was still in the shower or eating breakfast. Obviously, I needed to get up earlier. But that wasn't my only problem.
The other problem was that the time spent "checking email" and "learning" was taking way too long. I wasn't actually getting any work done. I decided to create a quota for the day to do at least 2 billable hours per day and this work needed to come before time spent learning or honing my trade. But then I ran out of billable work to do.
I realized I didn't have the right balance of managing my business, fulfilling client needs, learning new skills, and marketing my business (through in-person and online networking). I had spent too much time working on my existing clients and had neglected to spend time trying to get new business. Something else had to change.
I was actively blogging and being social online, but I wasn't getting the type of traction I had hoped for when one of my clients invited me to BNI, which stands for Business Networking International. I was already active in Meetup.com, but Meetups aren't the type of groups geared toward generating business leads (although they can be fun).
I decided to join BNI three months after I started my own business and because of it's mandatory attendance policy, it created a 'center post' in my calendar of which I could start to schedule my time. Because I had to get up at 5:30 AM for my BNI meeting I decided to get up at that time every day and it completely changed the way I worked.
By getting up at 5:30 in the morning on days when I didn't have BNI, I was able to get some production work done in the mornings before my clients started working - giving me an edge on the day. If you can change the way you start your day, you have a good chance of changing your whole day.
Erich Stauffer is the owner at an Indianapolis web design firm, Watershawl, which helps business owners market their businesses online starting with their web sites and moving out into social media and other online marketing tools. Erich also runs his own Meetup, where he teaches business owners how to market their business online.
The analysis comes from professors at the Wharton School, Yale University and Harvard Business School. Here is the link the PDF our business consultants have reviewed.
This is the conclusion from Cassie Mogilner, Zoe Chance, and Michael Norton:
Although feeling starved for time generally leads individuals to prioritize spare hours for themselves over giving this precious resource away, our results suggest that if people instead spent time on others, they would feel less time constrained and more able to complete their myriad tasks and responsibilities.
At first glance, this does not make sense. Shouldn't spending available time on our own work help us to feel less stressed?
In order to understand what's going on, it makes sense to dig a little deeper into the research in this field. Psychologists are extremely interested in how people perceive time. For example, you may have found yourself in a conversation in the past where one person says: "We have plenty of time!" and another says "We don't have much time at all!"
It is possible to conduct experiments that use these types of statements to measure individual reactions to different activities. The research doesn't actually change time. If you have a week to go before the deadline, then no matter how you decide to spend the days ahead the total amount of time available will not really change.
So what should you do if you're feeling pressed for time? Generally speaking, we here at AccelaWork have a problem with deadlines and productivity growth. Certainly, though, one option is to ask for an extension. But most people probably agree with an old saying known as Parkinson's Law:
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
In fact, the study reports the that people who unexpectedly get more time don't necessary feel less stressed or more productive. Instead, it's the individuals who have the chance to give away some of their time that have a stronger sense of their own available free time.
So what should you do? The last sentence in the paper explains clearly:
When individuals feel time-constrained, they should become more generous with their time – despite their inclination to be less so.
It may seem odd that using up the time we have would actually increase our effectiveness, but research supports this claim. It may be easier to think of it this way: when you're feeling short on time, you probably don't feel great about yourself or your work. But if you've just spent time helping someone else, your own self-concept will be much higher. As a result, you're likely to be more productive, more efficient and more effective overall.
Try it yourself! Volunteer. Give back. Help a friend or a colleague. Escape the time crunch by paradoxically giving some of your time away.
Everybody has heard the phrase "get it in writing." It is used to express a desire for certainty. Unless you record a promise as ink on paper (or bits on a computer hard drive), there's not much chance it will actually happen.
(That's not to say that writing is good for everything. Here at AccelaWork, we've warned about how operations manuals and organizational productivity can be counterproductive. We've noted that there are many problems with written instructions and worker productivity. But when it comes to promises and decisions, writing it down is absolutely essential.)
So why do we need to put pen to paper and fingers to keyboard? Why is it so important to get things in writing?
Here's why: Ideas in written form take moments of conversation and turn them into historical record.
Consider some of the following phrases you may have heard at work:
Here are two essential productivity tips for getting things in writing:
1. Write down your own promises, and let people know you're doing it. Say: "Okay, I'm going to reconfirm that our security team has the new schedule. I'm putting that down right now."
This creates one of those moments where everybody quietly realizes they should be doing what you're doing. There are countless ways to say it, so keep doing it until others start the practice as well. You're changing culture, and changing culture takes time.
2. Write down the promises of others, and thank them in writing. You can do this at the meeting or an email afterwards, and preferably both. "Bob, I just want to make sure I heard you correctly: it sounds like the budget doesn't support sending the full staff to the conference this year. I appreciate you keeping us in the loop and being as transparent as you can be."
Following up in writing not only clarifies what was agreed and cements it in the mind of others, but it also provides a reference in case there is any confusion later on. The ultimate insurance policy is an email in your sent folder which reads: "Thanks for clarifying in today's meeting that the Zimmerman Project is *on hold* indefinitely---let me know if this changes."
Bonus Tip: If the decision seems important but vague, or if you work with someone who has a history of changing their mind without telling, you consider adding this sentence:
“I know this is important, so can you please REPLY to this email to confirm I've got it correct?”If they don't respond to your message, you at least have the backup in your sent items. It's proof that you tried to capture the idea in words and that you asked for a confirmation.
That's it. Improve productivity with these simple tips. Get it in writing, and you'll find that your organization has more productive, more efficient, and more effective employees!
There are many advantages to sending one of your team members overseas. Employers benefit from expanding its business operation to another country while the employee has the unique opportunity to explore a different country both personally and professionally. Today's guest blog post reviews the process of relocation as well as to achieve success, the right preparation and planning is required.
Here are the key points that should be followed to ensure that your business is both compliant and fully aware of the implications of the move.
1. Get to know the new country first
If possible, it is advisable that an employer should visit the country in question in order to get familiar with the different local laws and customs. Business owners may also consult a lawyer in the US who specializes in international human resource issues. Especially important is to understand and abide by the local visa regulations, which are different for every country.
2. Be aware of all extra costs
It is important for the business owner to factor in all of the costs, as supplying benefits including living expenses and security (if required) increases costs up to several times the actual salary. With this comes the issue that certain perks may create local tax obligations for an employer.
Be sure to make clear what the business is prepared to pay and the resulting costs for the company. Questions such as the following should be answered:
- If the employee is moving with his/her family, will the company pay accommodation costs overseas?
- Is the payment limited to the first year of the overseas assignment?
- Does your company take into account that the employee might rent his home out and therefore earn rental income whilst abroad?
- Does the host country tax this accommodation and, if so, who pays the tax?
3. Immigration
It is of utmost importance that the business owner understands the immigration requirements in the host country so that the relevant documents can be arranged. In certain countries an employee may need a work permit, whereas in others a visa or maybe even both. In most cases, know that a work visa requires sponsorship from a local company.
4. Get tax advice
Employers should be aware of the tax implications of the relocation for employer and employee in both the home and host countries. A tax adviser can provide different options for the business operation in regards to where the employee is to be paid and where the salary costs are booked. It is possible that paying an employee locally may have withholding tax implications for the company.
An employee might also require tax advice, which is matched to the assignment structure of the company.
5. Social security
It is both vital for the employer and the employee to make certain that social security is paid at the right place. There are roughly three different areas for social security filing purposes: the EU, countries with which the UK has a social security agreement (including USA) and "other."
6. Quick Tips for employers to send staff overseas:
• Location: Inform the employee on where they will be moving to and help them to anticipate any possible challenges.
• Preparation: It is advisable to have copies of any legal documents needed, which include passports, visas, work, and residence permits.
• Arrival in the host country: The beginning of living and working in a new country might be challenging – make sure employees understand this and are aware that adjustment is required to get used to the country’s way of life, cultures and traditions.
• Family and friends: Missing families and friends can be hard for most employees – make certain that employees are aware of this emotional factor.
• Money: Provide necessary assistance, which might be needed in understanding local financial habits, setting up local bank accounts and arranging money transfers.
• Health and safety: Inform employees about the local issues of health and safety before they depart – make them aware of any local threats (illnesses, crime, pollution).
• Culture shock: Make sure that your employee understands what differences he will face in the new culture. Everything from food to customs will be different, so reviewing this and possibly sending them over for a test run could help make the transition easier.
While we live in an increasingly global world, there are still some differences that cannot be glided over. For example, South African Hotels recently did a study to find out what foods South African expats miss the most. They found that in London, South African expats can't find some of their favorite foods. Make sure your employee is aware of differences like these so he assimilates to the new culture as easily as possible.
Adria Saracino is a marketer and blogger. When not consulting businesses on marketing strategy, she can be found writing about style on her personal fashion blog, The Emerald Closet.
A Vanity Fair piece on the topic gives a good explanation of how this system works:
A management system known as “stack ranking”—a program that forces every unit to declare a certain percentage of employees as top performers, good performers, average, and poor—effectively crippled Microsoft’s ability to innovate. “Every current and former Microsoft employee I interviewed—every one—cited stack ranking as the most destructive process inside of Microsoft, something that drove out untold numbers of employees,” [journalist Kurt] Eichenwald writes. “If you were on a team of 10 people, you walked in the first day knowing that, no matter how good everyone was, 2 people were going to get a great review, 7 were going to get mediocre reviews, and 1 was going to get a terrible review,” says a former software developer. “It leads to employees focusing on competing with each other rather than competing with other companies.”
You might be wondering why Microsoft would use this kind of system. What's the rationale behind forced ranking? Does it really improve employee productivity? Or is as horrible as the article implies?
An analysis from CBS News explains:
Forced ranking is a controversial workforce management tool that uses intense yearly evaluations to identify a company's best and worst performing employees, using person-to-person comparisons. In theory, each ranking will improve the quality of the workforce.Although American business is known for innovation, risk-taking, and adapting to change, management policies and employee productivity don't seem to be an area where many companies pay attention to well-established facts. We've known for decades that competition and workplace productivity tend to not mix well. We know that performance reviews and corporate productivity ineffective at best....
Forced ranking tends to be popular with large corporations that have hundreds or thousands of employees and need to systematize their HR processes... The long-run impact should ideally be increased productivity, profitability, and shareholder value. But sometimes a company culture can shift due to forced ranking, creating a more competitive atmosphere and decreasing morale.
...
Critics also claim the system creates a competitive environment that can result in cutthroat, unethical behavior; limit risk-taking, creativity, and teamwork; and discourage workers from asking for help or extra training out of fear that they'll be identified as low performers. The strategy has also resulted in legal troubles [for many companies.]
To summarize it best, we only need to quote the famous management consultant W. Edwards Deming:
The supposition is prevalent the world over that there would be no problems in production or service if only our production workers would do their jobs in the way that they we taught. Pleasant dreams. The workers are handicapped by the system, and the system belongs to the management.
That passage comes from the book Out of the Crisis, published in 1982.Odds are you don't run a corporation the size of Microsoft, so hopefully you haven't fallen in line with this outdated way of thinking. But if you have, the time to re-evaluate how you view performance is far overdue. Don't fall prey to taking the easy way out and working within the constraints of archaic evaluation systems.
Still struggling with how to implement these principles within your own organization? Then don’t hesitate to reach out. We can help and would be happy to do so! The business improvement consultants at AccelaWork have seen all sorts of organizational problems and we can get you on the fastest route to success.
That's the case of a remarkable story reported by NBC:
[The] video shows person after person tripping on the seemingly innocuous step in the middle of the staircase. Some catch themselves instantly; others fall straight to their knees.How is that a half-inch makes all the difference? Watch the video for yourself to see: At first glance, it's amazing to think that the MTA could make this kind of mistake. Surely every part of construction is checked and double checked. And certainly once a station is completed, officials doing a final inspection would notice a step that wasn't quite right.In one worrying instance, a man carrying a baby jerks forward as his foot catches the offending step. He is able to regain his balance by grabbing on to another step in front of him with his free hand.
The dangerous step, it turns out, is a half-inch higher than the others. Stairway design guidelines call for risers to be a minimum of 6 inches and a maximum of 7 inches, according to MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. The allowable variance is 3/8 of an inch.
...
Crews went to the station Wednesday to block off the staircase in preparation for repairs. The MTA said Thursday that the work had begun and involves the replacement of the entire stairway.
"The repair cannot be limited to one stair riser; the entire stairway will need to be refurbished," Ortiz said in an email to NBC 4 New York.
But if you watch the clip closely, it's obvious why the problem wasn't caught sooner. Every person who trips blames themselves. No matter how sure-footed they've been before, no one assumed that stairs were messed up. If someone did, they probably would have been called crazy. But they would've been right. They weren't the problem. In fact, this may be the most fundamental challenge with any business process improvement effort: we tend to think that we are the problem and don't look for problems in the system.
Long before you can improve workflow in your own organization, you have to find out what is not working right. And before you can address those issues in a meaningful way, you must try to demonstrate that the problem is not the people, but the system. Sure, from time to time it could be the people, but more often than not, if you're surrounded by a talented and dedicated team, most issues could be coming from ineffective processes.
Another important thing to note here is that just the one stair couldn't be fixed. The entire stairway has to be refurbished. Sometimes a very minor issue can cause huge problems. If you have a small process problem, things may not be as easy as simply focusing in on that one issue and sorting it out. Perhaps that is affecting something else. Perhaps by changing things, you'll create more problems. That's why it's important to always be looking for things that should be improved. If you can catch them early, then it may be easy to fix. If you wait too long, the ideas and processes become ingrained, and the change may be all the more painful for that.
That's the secret of process improvement: focus on the process, not the employees. People make mistakes. Are you setting them up to make more by giving them uneven steps?
For more information on how you can create and maintain effective processes while improving productivity, contact our business process implementation consultants today! We love to help organizations like yours become more productive and avoid slip-ups like this!
The article came from our friends at OnlineCollege.org, a resource site for people interested in online education. Their post was actually a roundup of viewpoints on employee productivity and unemployment from around the web. They write:
When it comes to productivity, few of us consider the big picture. Being more productive at work means much more than just being able to finish more work in a day or getting your boss to notice your work ethic; it can also have a marked effect on the economy as a whole, especially when considered in relation to unemployment levels. These two markers of economic success (or distress as the case may be) are intertwined in a number of complex ways and the relationship between the two isn’t always as clear cut as we might think.To put things in perspective, here's an infographic about unemployment rates at the time:
If your employer was making major layoffs, how would you act around the office? If you’re like most people, you’d step up your game, working hard, staying late, and becoming as productive as possible so as to appear more indispensable to the company. In some cases, increased productivity may be the direct result of the threat of unemployment, much as unemployment may be the result of increased productivity.Broadly speaking, this is true. Fear of job loss can inspire people to work harder. But will that increased effort be sustainable? Will they burn themselves out and have take time off to recover? And doesn't it imply that they weren't working at 100% in their first place?
In an ideal world, recessions should not have any impact on individual worker productivity. But many people operate in a business environment where actual productivity is not as important as looking busy, putting in face-time, and warming up to the boss.
The article does say that just because productivity goes up, employment isn't necessarily negatively impacted.
While it might seem like spikes in productivity and unemployment go hand in hand, the opposite is very often true. During the 1990s productivity experienced a boom, driven by new developments in the technology sector, growing at almost twice the pace of previous years. Yet despite a huge growth in productivity, unemployment levels actually bottomed out, reaching unusually low levels. A similar pattern happened during the 1970s, not just in the U.S. but also in Europe. The reality? Increased productivity has a pretty complicated relationship with unemployment. Depending on circumstances it can either help produce new jobs or eliminate a large swath of existing jobs. These changes often occur in cycles that occur time and time again as markets adjust and readjust to the realities of the modern world.Is your organization one where productivity fluctuates with fear? Or is it one where people focus on getting things done, not playing politics? Let us know in the comments!Just as productivity levels affect unemployment, unemployment can also have a marked effect on productivity, something we touched upon briefly earlier. Research has shown that unemployment can impact productivity growth, but the scope of the impact depends heavily on how much human capital means to a given business, which in today’s technology-driven marketplace may be at lower levels than in years past... Higher unemployment rates, and the social and economic problems that come with them, can eventually take a toll on productivity, showing that these two economic factors impact each other regardless of which is rising or falling in a given year.
That's the topic of an article from Bloomberg Businessweek, which carries the rather ominous title What People Really Do When They're 'Working From Home':
43 percent watch TV or a movie and 20 percent play video games while officially working from home. Parents are more likely than those without children to partake in these two activities, which aren’t work-related.Employees might not even be sober: 24 percent admit to having a drink. Twenty-six percent say they take naps. Others are distracted by housekeeping: 35 percent do household chores; 28 percent cook dinner.
Yet despite all the distractions, telecommuters are actually more productive than their peers in the office.
This data should be absolutely shocking. If you don't have your mouth open right now, allow us to break it down into two steps:
So what should you do? Send all your employees home? Shut down the office?
It's actually more complicated than that. Certain kinds of work and certain personalities respond better to telecommuting policies for worker productivity. But ultimately, if you are most interested in ensuring that people can get a lot done, the worst thing you can do is insist on face time. Almost anything is better than mandating when and where employees get their work done.
The process by which you generate results is what matters most. Isn't that what matters to you?
Our own Robby Slaughter wrote about this topic for the Entrepreneurship Advancement Center:
It’s an absolute rule of business: people who are able to be successful are those who are exceptional at managing their own time. I’d argue that there are no examples of successful people who aren’t also extremely conscious about how they use their time. But why is time management a second class topic in entrepreneurship? Why do we place our own personal productivity behind topics such as financing, team dynamics and product design?This isn't the first time we've discussed time management here on The Methodology Blog, and not even the first time it was covered for entrepreneurs. But the fact remains: people who get more done in less time are more efficient, and therefore more successful.
Or, as Slaughter states:
If you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you had best be an expert in managing your own time. Be conscious about where you spend your minutes. Once gone, you can never have them back.What do you do in order to manage your own time effectively?
The introduction and widespread implementation of human resource management is one of the business world’s most significant milestones. Since this inception, business leaders have gradually shifted their focus from company profits to employee welfare – and used positive psychology to drive productivity.
Prior to the 20th century, the concept of human resources management at the workplace was virtually non-existent. For a long time, work was performed slaves, indentured servants, prisoners of war and other forced laborers. It was not until the early 1800s, when the Industrial Revolution took hold, that men and women began earning wages in factories, plants and other centers of production. Though they chose to work, their rights were irrelevant in the eyes of employers. Instead, productivity and company profits were the chief concerns – and the collective psychological well being of the workers suffered as a result. And while many companies maintained offices that might be likened to today’s HR departments, their sole purpose was to reach out to immigrant workers and help them acclimatize to American life.
In the early 1900s, a mechanical engineer named Frederick Taylor introduced the concept of ‘scientific management’ as an approach to improving industrial efficiency. Taylor, a mechanical engineer, theorized that talent, intelligence, motivation, work ethic and other variable factors among the laborers had a direct impact on the workflow. Scientific management (or ‘Taylorism’) encouraged employers to conduct empirical analyses of their workers to determine who was the best fit for each task, and then delegate accordingly. Taylor’s theory was seen as an innovative psychological approach to improving conditions for low-level production workers; he is today considered a founding father of human resource management.
Many other innovators followed Taylor’s lead throughout the 20th century. Leaders of companies like Ford Motors, B.F. Goodrich and National Cash Register introduced departments within their offices to address employee concerns, such as wage discrepancies, interpersonal grievances and unacceptable work conditions. But the most influential development of this era began in 1927, when officials at Western Electric’s Hawthorne facility in Cicero, Ill., conducted a series of studies to evaluate attitudes among groups of workers. They observed the relationship between productivity and physical surroundings, in regard to factors such as illumination and temperature. They also experimented with group psychology by monitoring workplace clusters of men and women, for years in some cases. The ‘Hawthorne Studies’ concluded that workers were more motivated by the notion of group appeasement and goal achievement than they were by wage incentives. At the time, this was considered a breakthrough of workplace psychology.
In terms of human resource management, the latter half of the 20th century was considered a period of great productivity. Several initiatives, such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, showed employees that their best interests were of importance to the federal government. During this period, HR departments became commonplace in offices nationwide. These officials were expected to act as intermediaries between management and workers, not only to promote positive psychology in the workplace but also mitigate the threat of company lawsuits, a relatively new advent at the time.
In the late 1990s, two eminent HR experts – Alex Stajkovic and Fred Luthans – examined psychological workplace conditions in terms of four distinct constructs [PDF]: hope, desire coupled with expected fulfillment; confidence, one’s conviction of success given a particular task; resilience, the idea of achieving a goal regardless of negative outside forces; and optimism, a positive outlook reflected by one’s attitude toward good and bad events. Today, many HR experts consider these constructs to be the backbone of ‘psychological capital’, which is an umbrella term for personal characteristics that influence productivity.
Today, human resource management is standard corporate practice – and the link between positive psychology and productive workforce is well established. Measures taken to strengthen the employer-employee relationship have been shown to favorably impact profits and improve corporate standings. But more importantly, they have created a business culture in which the collective wellbeing of employees is considered a company’s most valuable resource.
Alexa Thompson is a professional writer and researcher for a website that discusses formal psychology education, including where to obtain psychology certifications -- programs that may benefit professionals who want to increase their knowledge about psychology and implement those learnings in the workplace.
When I first approached Robby about the opportunity with AccelaWork, I immediately knew success would come once I was able to put aside the generic state of mind I had developed working in the 9 to 5 corporate bubble. Once that occurred, I knew I would be ready to soak up as much knowledge as my frontal lobe could stand. Funny though, as easy and refreshing as it sounded, ridding myself of the "habits" I picked up in the first five years of my career proved to be extremely difficult. And here's why: I had to first experience AccelaWork's mission before I could truly understand it. And so my journey began.
My first step to letting go of the corporate safety blanket was tackling my hang-up with the notion of facetime. In my previous job, the office environment groomed us to believe that working overtime, productive or not, had an actual effect on the work we did. Yes, this notion sounds crazy. But, it was a habit so ingrained in me that it was a strain to break.
When Robby first told me I could set my own working hours as well as define my own goals for project completion, I hardly believed him. But, there it was: a colleague who empowered me to take control of my own workflow. AccelaWork has taught me that in order to measure the value of productivity growth properly, we must focus in on quality. Hours in the office have no bearing on an employee's success; particularly if the work they produce is done in a smarter, more efficient manner.
I also faced the task of viewing improvement as more than just a remedy to problems. In my old line of work, the need for improvement only came when mistakes began affecting the desired outcome. So unless the process was clearly problematic, investing the time to update and improve was considered an unaffordable luxury. After all, work needed to get done, deadlines were always fleeting and time was always of the essence. In this regard, AccelaWork has taught me that process improvement is a living concept that continually opens avenues for further innovation. There are always ways to increase employee productivity and become more efficient.
The most difficult concept to warm up to however, was viewing and accepting failure as a stepping stone toward success. I had the privilege of working directly with Robby on Failure: The Secret To Success. Not only did I get to help develop the concept, but I also was able to immerse myself in the research. Once again, I was thrown for a loop: brainstorm and research positive failures in history? It sounded like an oxymoron. But, true to form, I began to truly understand. AccelaWork has taught me that mistakes happen. We cannot change what has already occurred, but we can proactively learn from our experience and utilize such knowledge to grow in our ability.
It's been a wild ride working with AccelaWork these past years. I've been enlightened day after day by the overall vision that the company is based upon. I thank Robby for all he has taught me and promise to keep the lessons I've learned close in mind if and when I embark upon new pastures in corporate America again. But for now, I am taking a hiatus from working to focus on family life. I also want to thank the loyal readers for your continued readership and support in the ongoing conversation of process improvement!
That's not to say that HR policy is the only thing that matters at work. But, there is considerable evidence to show that improved employee engagement leads to greater productivity and creativity. A study in the UK found that “unequivocally...performance and profitability [are] transformed by employee engagement”. HR policies are obviously part of a larger package of an employee engagement strategy, but they’re a very good place to start.
Here are a few collections of policies that are used in companies across the globe to spur productivity and creativity---which usually brings the extra bonus of improving staff happiness and retention!
Training and development You can try to improve your employees' productivity all you want, but sometimes you need to use less tangible methods. Policies that support your staff’s professional growth are fundamental to productivity. Building in development opportunities such as internal and external training, mentoring schemes and personal goal-setting will keep your employees keen and focused.
But training doesn’t have to focus solely on work. For example, Walmart offer a landmark program for its staff that focuses on training around sustainability - it’s known as PSP (or Personal Sustainability Plan) and has seen huge adoption rates because it allows each ‘associate’ to get creative and develop their own plan.
On a smaller scale, many companies run ‘Lunch and Learns’. These are typically informal lunchtime sessions that focus on knowledge or skill sharing. If you want to ‘wow’ your employees, ask them to plan a series of creative sessions and let them know the policy is for the company to cover lunch expenses.
‘We’ve got you covered’ Training and developing your staff has a clear link to increasing their creativity and productivity. However, often overlooked are those policies that bring your people peace of mind, such as insurance policies.
- Health insurance is the obvious one - get cover that includes previous medical conditions and, as an extra, covers close family. As well as ensuring your staff is as healthy as possible, you’ll be showing them that you genuinely care about their long term wellbeing.
- Pet insurance is a less obvious option but, with an astonishing 39% of homes in the US listed as dog owners, offering dog insurance will keep your people free from concern about large vet bills and more able to focus on their job. Many pet insurance companies like Embrace offer options for employers looking to explore pet coverage options.
Health and wellbeing This group of HR policies is really coming into its own over recent years. If your people are unhealthy or unhappy, they won’t have what they need to deliver at their fullest potential. Here’s a range of creative policies that tackle the problem:
- Physical health can be supported with policies such as subsidized or complimentary gym membership. Take it further like the British Library (PDF) and offer your staff free professional massages!
- Flexible working hours can help improve the mental wellbeing of your staff, as can opportunities to work from home. Getting people out the office can also aid their creativity.
- Many companies offer staff volunteering; this can range from full volunteering days as leave, to like-for-like time matching for people who volunteer in their own time. Check out these case studies of companies that are investing in their people in this way.
- A "cycle to work" scheme that helps more people get on their bikes and get exercise that will improve their mood.
- Healthy eating options in any on site catering – a well-nourished brain is able to concentrate for longer stretches of time, therefore increasing productivity. Danone went as far as to offer training on diet and nutrition (PDF) to their staff.
No matter what policy(s) you decide to implement, it is becoming even more competitive to keep employers, so up your organization's game and make sure you retain your employees for years to come.
Adria Saracino is a marketer and blogger. When not consulting on marketing strategy for businesses, you can find her writing about style on her personal fashion blog, The Emerald Closet.
Improving management skills is something every business professional needs to do - even those who think they know it all. This is a growing and ever-changing industry and there is never a time to stop learning management skills and methods. What are people doing now? What trends are playing out before us?
1. Meet Social Learning Social learning is taking over the way people learn, well, virtually everything. This includes a worthwhile learning tool like a business performance management software. Numerous programs and applications are available online and as downloadable software to enable individuals to get the level of education necessary. This social learning management system, called LMS for short, integrates social learning features to allow both private and public communities to come together. This includes the use of forums, chats, shoutboxes, polls and blogs as well as typical learning methods, subject matter focused learning and more. Collaborative learning may be the task of the future. 2. Targeted Training Another aspect that's becoming important is targeted training. For example, a learning management system can enable professionals to select the highly targeted training necessary. Instead of obtaining just whatever is assigned, it provides an opportunity to learn what the individual needs. The benefits of a learning management system are numerous including improving productivity, enabling social learning, reducing risks and lowering administration costs. 3. Real World Applications No matter if the education comes from social learning or a typical classroom, it is critical for the information to be transferable and acceptable in the real world. Everything from the examples to the modules taught must be information the learner can apply directly to his or her situation. Additionally, the learner must believe in the information. For that to occur, the information must be usable and sensible in today's environment. Learning from a 10 year old textbook doesn't cut it any longer. EagleTribune.com states that it is all about relevant content. 4. eLearning Is a Government Thing Education is the single most important way of reducing poverty and violence and creating a strong economy. To do that, though, it is essential to find a way to reach farther. That's were eLearning comes into play. Some governments are using eLearning to get the same benefits that businesses have had for years. According to Virtual-Strategy.com, for example, the Mexican government has worked to improve the lives of its citizens using a system by Dextro. The system is a custom eLearning platform that allows for the development of comprehensive learning and content management system that helps small businesses and micro-organizations, which make up as much as 52 percent of the country's GDP, to succeed. 5. Going On Demand Education must also be on demand for the student. How many professionals have time to drive to a facility to take a course? Rather, they could pull out their tablet computer, select the right apps and take the courses they need right then and there. This type of mobile learning is faster, newer and better because it provides a just in time solution - information is up to date and easily accessible. This makes it incredibly easy for those who need it to get that information when it works for them. In short, it makes learning more accessible even to the successful professional.
Management education will continue to grow and change. In many ways, it will continue to be more in demand as the competition for being more successful continues to increase. Individuals who want to be successful must have the most up to date education and training. With these methods, management education is easier to obtain than ever and it is more up to date than ever before, too.
Tricia studied journalism and fell in love with the entertainment sector. She is never seen without her camera, her iPhone (back-up camera!), or her pug.
An article from Monster.com by Margaret Steen lists eight bad work habits. Below, we list that are particularly challenging:
Abusing Work-from-Home PrivilegesYes, you save time when you work from home by not commuting. But too many people are easily sidetracked by the laundry, their kids or a quick errand. "People like to say, 'I get so much more done'" working from home, Davis says. And some do -- but not everyone. If you work from home, make sure you're putting in a full day's work -- and that you're accessible to your colleagues during the workday.
Putting Personal Life Before Work
Everyone has emergencies from time to time. But it's annoying to have to fill in for the colleague who is late every morning because he's checking on his home-remodeling project, or who misses an entire afternoon because he scheduled a routine dentist appointment for 1:30 p.m.
Not Taking Care of Health and Hygiene
Leslie G. Griffen, an HR consultant and career coach, is often hired by companies to approach an employee who doesn't bathe and ask him to improve his hygiene. The problem is twofold, says Griffen, principal of The Griffen Group. A sloppy appearance will cause a poor first impression. Also, "if your hygiene is bad, your health is probably bad," Griffen says. An added benefit of eating well and exercising: You'll have more energy.
Not Caring About Your Work
People like coworkers who are enthusiastic about what they do. Show that you take pride in your job by presenting yourself well, communicating clearly and doing your best work.
This is generally speaking, good advice. But here's some more feedback from our own archives:
Telecommuting is about culture and personality. Research shows that autonomy is crucial in any role, which is partially why remote workers typically get more done.
Your personal life is more important than your job. Your family, for example, comes first. And the most effective employees are those that can truly unplug during a vacation.
Your health is crucial. Employees need to be feeling 100% to give 100%. Stay home if you're sick. Eat right at lunch. Watch out for employers that try crazy things, like limiting bathroom breaks.
Passion for purpose, not for the company. It's good to be enthusiastic at the office. But we want employees who highest loyalty is to business ethics and professionalism, not to other people. In fact, workplace loyalty to the company can actually be dangerous.
Watch out for bad habits at work! Focus on making yourself more disciplined, more effective and more productive overall.
The full article is available online, but includes the following suggestions:
Understanding why we have meetings as well as what the outcome should be is important. A meeting may be necessary when:Do the meetings in your organization meet these criteria?
- complex information needs to be shared,
- the expertise of several people is needed to develop the best ideas,
- the subject matter affects everyone in your group, and/or
- a group’s commitment is desired in order to reach an outcome.
These are powerful thoughts, but Shingleton's points may make the most sense in reverse. How many meetings are convened to share information that is simple? In that case, perhaps it would be best just to send an email. And what if there's no need to develop new ideas? If so, there's no reason to have a meeting.
Furthermore, if there are people at a meeting who are not impacted by the topic of the meeting, those people should not have been invited in the first place! And if you're not really interested in people's opinions or involvement, then there is no value to having a meeting.
The article also notes:
Meetings should also lead to positive outcomes that include:
- effective strategies for taking action,
- agreement on responsibilities and assignments,
- development of new ideas,
- better understandings of policies, procedures or changes, and
- better working relationships.
Do the meetings in your organization lead to positive outcomes?
Once again, consider these bulleted items in reverse. If in the end the meeting produces no strategies, no agreement, no new ideas, no increased understanding and does not improve working relationships, why have the meeting?
That's not to say that we should have less meetings. Rather, we should ensure that meetings actually have a purpose. And we should ensure that everyone at the meeting has a role to play. The piece concludes with:
Participants need to have both their practical and personal needs met during a meeting. Practical needs include accomplishing the meeting’s purpose as efficiently and effectively as possible. Personal needs are that the participants feel valued, listened to and included in the meeting.
Are your meetings productive?
Thanks to Kristen Shingleton Deutsch of New Focus HR for permission to reference her article.
That's the news from a post via the Birmingham News. Roy Williams reports:
Maybe companies need to stop blaming Facebook and Twitter for reduced workplace productivity. TrackVia, a technology consulting firm, found that computer glitches and watercooler chit-chat are the biggest causes of distraction in the office.However, it's easy to dismiss this study. After all, this is a self-reported survey. If you read the fine print in their infographic, it states:In a nationwide survey conducted by the firm, 14 percent of workers cited chatting with co-workers as their biggest waste of time in the workplace, followed by dealing with computer software problems (11 percent). Less than 5 percent of respondents cited social media as their biggest time waster.
..in total, 300 surveys were completed by non-IT and non C-level employees who use computers and software as part of their daily job.So what does that mean? Does social media impact work output or not?
In reality, the TrackVia analysis indicates something much more profound: that most employees believe that other parts of work are a waste of time, not social media. The biggest loss of productivity according to survey respondents was water cooler chatter with other employees.
There is often a major difference between what individuals perceive as unproductive and what is actually unproductive. But companies that want to increase overall productivity have to start by merging perceptions and reality. And if people believe that interruptions from other coworkers are the #1 issue, then the culture needs to change to allow those annoyances to become less common.
By focusing on culture and workflow, organizations can measure their output based on what individuals believe to be important. Simply banning social media, adding or removing meetings, or moving the water cooler may have the opposite effect. It may tell people that their productivity is being monitored, but no one is asking them what they want.
I have several years of sales experience with a logistics company. My company has several branches within North America. The multiple branch system is set up to give customers the feeling that they have a local contact that knows their market and is easily accessible.
The problem occurs when the branches need to work together. The compensation system is based on the performance of the individual branch. So the more revenue produced for a branch, the more money the employees within that branch makes. If branch A has a shipment that needs to move and branch B has a carrier to move that shipment, branch A is better off trying to find another carrier so that they do not need to share the revenue on that one shipment. This makes sense if you look at this on a shipment to shipment basis. However, this creates several problems for my company:
It is incredibly inefficient.
The time spent finding another carrier to pick up the shipment is essentially wasted. Whereas utilizing the available carrier right away, the sales rep spends his/her time focusing on one shipment rather than creating new shipments and finding more customers.
It leaves my company vulnerable.
By the time branch A realizes they should have taken branch B's carrier option, it may already be gone. This is not only frustrating in its counter-productiveness, but also comes at the cost of my company's dime. It wastes time and money and loses the opportunity for making money from that shipment.
It turns business away.
With all the internal bickering going on, it's easy for a carrier to be denied a shipment. This alienates the carrier and causes them to go with another logistics company in the future.
I agree with the notion that company systems can get in the way of customer service. In my experience, I feel as if the issues in my company could all be fixed if branch A had an incentive to make a decision based on what was best for the company as a whole as opposed to their individual branch. The compensation system has gotten in the way of customer service, vendor service, and in many cases company profit.
If the goal of my company is to grow revenue this dilemma is getting in the way. The best way to grow sustainable gross revenue is to grow volume as efficiently as possible. To do this you need to allocate time correctly. Assigning carriers to shipments as quickly as possible frees up more time to get more shipments from new and existing customers. Not to mention it also allows for more time to gather carrier capacity and assign that capacity to more of my company's shipments.
In the end, this is the best way to grow revenue and is something my company is very able to do. We just need to get out of each others way.
Thanks to our anonymous guest blogger for this insightful post!
As the cofounder of my start-up, I’m also the current acting VP of Product. As such, I work with our front-end web development team to design, code, test, and deploy every single page of our website. When an opportunity to outsource our engineering to Russia presented itself, I took it, mainly because of lower costs, the ability to work around the clock, and access to a phenomenal talent pool. However, there have been a number of challenges to managing productivity. Here are some tips on how to manage the distance:
Work from visuals. I will often think that I have given a very clear vision, but end up with a product that is different from what I envisioned. Because I’m not around for them to check every step of the way, it’s hard to redirect early in the process when something starts to stray from the original intent. The best way to avoid this is to have great Photoshop mock-ups complete with every possible state. The clearer you can be with what you need done, the better. Although something tells me this is true whether your development team is half way across the world or at the next desk over. Clarity is always king.
Set clear schedules and deadlines. Something I didn’t consider at first was that Russia has different holidays from the U.S, and it can be difficult when the entire Russian office takes off a week for a holiday. If they are working on a project with a team here then the U.S.-based team is a bit stunted while they are gone. This can also be an opportunity, if managed well, to have a team working for you while the U.S-team is gone for 4th of July weekend or another holiday. Either way, setting clear deadlines upfront and asking reasons why the team may not be able to meet that deadline is a good way to uncover cultural issues that could get in the way of a launch.
Communicate over phone and video conference. Nothing beats face-to-face communication. Get used to Google Hangouts and buy some Google Voice money as a backup. For the most part, we’ve been happy with Google Hangouts. They are free and you can see everyone at once. Latency can still be a problem on certain days so Skype or Google Voice serve as nice backups. Email and phone conferences do not make up for seeing someone’s face. Some tools like GoTo Meeting allow you to share screens, which can help with the visual communication discussed above.
Have someone who speaks the language: Our Russian team is (mostly) fluent in English but every once in awhile there will be a nuanced question where the language barrier comes into play. Having a Russian speaking CTO and VP of Engineering makes this workable. I have also learned to speak slower to help in this communication and have picked up a few Russian words along the way.
Have an emergency local front-end team member. Every once in a while there will be an emergency fix needed, so it’s really important to have at least one person locally who can step up.
Kate Endress is the CEO and cofounder of DITTO.com, an ecommerce site selling designer prescription glasses and features cutting-edge video “try-on” technology. Kate is also a graduate of Stanford University and was previously a private equity investor before becoming an entrepreneur.
After providing consulting services for the last decade on our own, we are rebranding and relaunching as a new consortium of speakers, coaches and consultants focused on business improvement. The new firm is called AccelaWork. (Accelerating + Work)
The old Slaughter Development website will be closing down. All of our content is migrating to accelawork.com. If you're subscribed to our newsletters, your email address will be moved over as well.
Why change? Head over to the new website to learn more.
Thanks for your support!
That's been a big question here at Slaughter Development AccelaWork. How do you tell people about the new you?
A major component of our marketing strategy is social media. And since social media happens on platforms controlled by other companies, you have to abide by the rules and policies of those systems.
For example, until recently you could not change the name of a Facebook page. Still, you can change the handy "vanity URL" only one time.
So should we change our Facebook Page, or should we create a new one?
Likewise, we have an (old) Twitter account with just over 2,000 followers and 4,500+ tweets. Twitter DOES allow you to change your handle as much as you want. However, we felt most users would have no idea that you had made the change unless they happened to notice a message from you.
Furthermore, there's lots of printed material with the old social media addresses floating around out there. If we just renamed existing accounts, people who had not heard about the re-brand might be directed to dead links. Or we could go and reclaim the old accounts again, but now we're running in circles.
So what to do? We decided to create brand new accounts and invite people to follow them. We saw three advantages:
Business Insider explains the story of a proposal recently delivered to the CEO:
Mayer told the team she loves the new product so much that she wants it shipped by December 1 – months ahead of the schedule the team itself had put together.Mayer told the team they had one week to figure out if they could meet this deadline.
If, at the end of that week, the team decided they would not be able to meet the December 1 deadline, Mayer said she would find a team that could.
Is this the face of a boss who issues ultimatums?
It is not yet clear if this story is 100% true. But let's assume for the sake of argument that it is and follow the logic:
This is a recipe for disaster. It's an insult to the professionalism of the team, because it implies they either lied about the schedule or aren't nearly competent as another group.
This scenario also highlights a lack of judgment in management. She has indirectly told her workers that they are unqualified. She is also establishing a precedent as someone who refuses to trust an estimate at face value.
If the employees accept the challenge, the result will be exhaustion and probably failure. If another group steps up---who knows less about the project because it wasn't their idea---the result will likely be exhaustion and failure.
How could a management error this enormous happen so quickly? Is this a true story or bad reporting?
We're looking forward to finding out more. But in the meantime, let's all agree that you cannot conduct process improvement simply by making unreasonable demands.
The infographic comes from a post asking when will batteries last the 40 hour work week.. Check out the image below, and our commentary after the jump:
Any professional in the modern age would appreciate a longer battery life. But at some point, isn't battery life long enough? After all, we rarely are awake for much longer than twelve or sixteen hours at a time. Wouldn't a full day of hour battery life be good in most situations?
Perhaps the most striking question from this infographic is a reminder that even in a 24/7 world, we are still fixated on the idea of a 40-hour work week. That's the yardstick for measuring battery life in this infographic and a number often cited by economists, HR professionals and the media.
The truth is that work has very little to do with time. After all, we all know that we can spend an hour productively or waste it entirely. We all know that there are some days where we get nothing done, and other days where we do more work in twenty minutes than we've seen our colleagues do in an entire day.
Are you looking forward to a 40-hour battery life? And more importantly, are you looking forward to a career life measured in results rather than in 40-hour chunks?
That's the result of a new study reported by the BBC:
The report authors told the Journal of Positive Psychology that the concept of miserable Mondays should be ditched.Prof Arthur Stone of Stony Brook University said: "Despite our global beliefs about lousy Mondays, we conclude that this belief should be abandoned.
"Cultural myths may vastly over-emphasise actual day of the week mood patterns."
This report is really about the difference between perception and reality. There's a widespread belief that people get a "case of the Mondays", but actual surveys of 340,000+ American business people don't show this disparity.
A better question might be about actual workplace productivity. Does this go up or down on Mondays? Or is there really no impact on productivity at all?
A recent paper sponsored by the global staffing firm Manpower offers some carefully-worded findings (PDF):
...labour productivity may vary over days of the week for a variety of physical, physiological and compositional reasons relating to lapsed time since the start of a working period, the timing and duration of rest periods, and worker preferences. However, our review of the empirical literature uncovers scant direct evidence on day-of-week productivity effects.
In other words: it's not so much that people are more or less productive on a particular day, but that the most significant effect may be the "timing and duration" of rest periods and in particular "worker preferences."
If there's a problem with Mondays is that we didn't get enough of a break. Or, that we'd rather work a different schedule but simply have no choice.
How are your Mondays?
In a Seattle Times editorial, Carl Jeffers finds fault with the process more egregious than the political positions of candidates. He calls this grandstanding a “broken process”, even sarcastically suggesting that:
Maybe we need hearings on the hearings process, rather than on the nominee. That might be more useful.Meetings are a part of work, even for a workplace as illustrious as the United States Senate. It is appropriate to gather employees together to make a decision, but if that meeting does not have a productive structure you may end up with more posturing and speechmaking than actual discussion.
Chances are good that your own employer has meetings just like this one. You're there to make an important decision, but most of the time people chatter about unrelated topics or generally waste time. Consider the following examples:
Quoting Frauenfelder directly:
The woman [at the ticket office] told my wife what the fine is (about $135), but told her that she could not accept payment for the fine, because the ticket is not in the database. My wife is not allowed to attend driving school, either, because the ticket isn't in the database.The woman instructed my wife to call the court every week, to find out if the ticket had been entered into the computer yet. Once it shows up, she is supposed to drive to the ticket office the very next day to take care of it. And once the ticket has been entered, she is going to be hit with a penalty and possibly a warrrant for her arrest, because once the information goes into the computer it’ll see that she hasn't paid the fine yet, and it will be flagged as delinquent. My wife will then have to explain the situation to another helpful city employee.
Although most of the time, a system operates within a predictable range, unusual circumstances do occur. The LAPD officer who wrote the ticket forgot to scribble down the date, which brought the churning wheels of bureacracy to a frightening standstill. Being trapped between two impossible requirements (“you can't pay if you are not in the system” and “you'll be penalized if you don’ t pay soon”) feels like the plight of character in a Franz Kafka novel.
Organizations that provide important services to clients need to ensure that processes handle both the main path and various alternate paths. When exceptions occur, employees must be empowered to assist customers and managers should refine existing systems accordingly.
Of course, most organizations (and especially city governments) are not places where people are thought of as being able to adapt to a particular situation. The challenge in creating an effective process is handling the typical situation through a standard procedure, but also making sure that individuals have the power to issue an exception.
What about your own company? Can you bend the rules in special circumstances? Or do you punish customers when the details aren't quite right?
A particularly visual example of the story is now a cartoon slideshow. You can view it on Scribd, or see the embedded version below:
The story is all too common. The people who are actually doing the work find all of the other elements of management, leadership, and analysis to be time consuming and wasteful. In fact, it sometimes seems like a manager is just someone who distracts you from what you should be doing and blames you for their own errors.In a healthy organization, however, the relationship between management and employees is quite different. Some of the major distinctions are:
Consider the Lion's initial "revelation." He decides that people produce more when they are supervised. But of course there is not really a relationship between output and constantly watching workers. Rather, there are just some people who are responsible and work well independently, and people who are not responsible and therefore need to be monitored. Why not just hire the right people in the first place?
What other parts of the fable remind you of your own professional experience? Share in the comments.
One such company is Lifelock, offering intuitive threat protection, highly sensitive Internet monitoring, constant access to live, personal assistance, and a proactive security alert system. (More tips about keeping your identity safe and sound can be found through Lifelock on Crunchbase.com.) Being notified right away of any encroachment of your personal information will be the difference between smooth sailing and long lasting negative effects.
Ensure that your computer's system is well protected by firewalls that help to securely limit access to your computer's operating system. Another way to battle hackers is to involve your employees in social engineering to help them learn how to be an active part of protecting your company's technology systems, including time management, according to Symantec.
Being cognizant of the dangers that are lurking once you open your system is critical in procuring and implementing computer security measures that meet your company's ongoing needs for business improvement. Locking up your personal information and your business's sensitive information is key in ensuring you have a future free of flaws. To keep your computer system safe, healthy and moving along smoothly, set up a protection system based on the tips suggested above and you will have the power to fight hackers with awareness and assistance from outside services.
Alan Bryan was born and raised near Silicon Valley, Alan's parent's had high hopes for him. Those hopes did not include gaming. Fortunately, Alan was able to channel his love of gaming into a career as a journalist...focusing on gaming. Both Alan and his parents have accepted this compromise.
That's the topic of a new blog post from the Wall Street Journal. Robert C. Pozen writes:
Internal meetings are the bane of corporate life. There are too many meetings, they take too long, and they get too little accomplished.Why? Because most meetings are really not necessary. Before you call a meeting, think about whether you can accomplish your goals through email or a quick phone call. You rarely need to call a meeting if you’re just planning on sharing information or issuing action instructions.
Pozen is absolutely correct. We've seen this before: study after study that shows how much time people waste in meetings. That's partially because meetings are often called without any plan (like an agenda) and without any outcome (like a list of action steps or responsibilities).
But there's something more insidious going on in meetings besides just a general lack of productivity. Not that issues with business efficiency wouldn't be enough---but there's a deeper problem that's even worse.
Meetings reinforce unhealthy power dynamics at work.
It's true. Consider the following situations:
Aren't these all symptoms of a larger workplace culture issue? They remind us that so much of the problem at work that we aren't always focused on working. Instead, many people spend much of their time politicking, grandstanding, brown nosing or just waiting.
It's true that we're business improvement consultants and we want your company to be more productive and more efficient. But we also want your company culture to be more satisfying. In fact, that may be the most fundamental change of all. Meetings are the core of where culture improves. Change the way you interact in the conference room, and you just might change your whole company.
Thanks to reader Katie P. for submitting this blog idea.
Take a look at a this strip:
Here's a good of time as any to quote Grace Hopper, retired US Rear Admiral:
Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, "We've always done it this way." I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.
The non-answer is one of the most significant problems in organizations. Instead of trying to explain why we've made choices, or how particular approaches are beneficial, many companies and non-profits tend to just avoid giving any details.
In fact, areas where we don't have real answers are precisely the best place to look for areas to make business process improvements. Anytime someone says that it's impossible or just has to be done that way, you know you must be on the right track.
Naturally, this isn't the only Dilbert cartoon that deals with resistance to change at work. Here's another classic:
Unfortunately, we can't turn to Dilbert for the answer to these problems. But if we do want companies to be more productive and communication to be more effective, we need to have a response for the non-answer. Here are a few to consider:
Non-Answer: "We've always done it that way." Response: "True, but it must have started for some reason. If we don't know the original reasons, we don't know if they still apply."Any ideas for your own for dealing with non-answers?Answer: "The system won't let me." Response: "What if we make a note about this work around, and follow up on improving the system?"
Non-Answer: "I am just following instructions." Response: "That makes sense. I'd like to follow up with the person who wrote the instructions, if possible."
According to the New York Times:
It appears that in considering candidates, Mr. Pitt [S.E.C. chairman] had his chief accountant, Robert K. Herdman, evaluate any potential problems [with potential members of the new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board] and reach a conclusion [about any conflicts of interest]. If Mr. Herdman concluded there was no problem, that was where things ended.That was a mistake. Even without the political brawl that appointment process had become, every member of the S.E.C. deserved to know what issues could be raised, and to have the time to review them. But no commissioners were told that William L. Webster, now the chosen chairman of the board, had served as the chairman of the audit committee of a company with significant problems. From the public record, the conclusion that his role was not disqualifying may have been an acceptable one. But it was a decision for the commissioners to make with full knowledge.
Let's review. Enron, the company that kept their books secret and swindled countless shareholders, customers, and employees---was investigated by a government board whose members were vetted in secret.
There are some places in business where you should keep details under wraps. These include confidential information about employment, contracts that are in process, and trade secrets. But for the most part, the more transparency, the better. The more people know what's really going on, the more they can be involved and feel comfortable about what's happening.
Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant. Deciding when to use the right process for the situation — at the right place and the right time — challenges all organizations. If you need help designing or modifying an important process within your organization, talk to the Indianapolis speakers and consultants at AccelaWork today !
The image comes from the folks at Compliance and Safety. More after the image:
Truth be told, on-the-job training is a little hard to define. If you pull people into a conference room to teach them a new skill, that certainly counts as on-the-job training. But what about if you ask a coworker to show you a trick on the computer or you offer some coaching to an employee about handling a difficult situation?
In many respects, the most significant element of on-the-job training may be an old standby: The Hawthorne Effect. Put simply, morale improves at work when people know you are paying attention to their contribution.
There are lots of business improvement techniques. Training is only one of them. But educating your employees is kind of like pizza: even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. The worst thing you can do is to never offer training opportunities. Kind of like the worst way to motivate people is to say nothing. It actually may be better to do bad training than none at all, because then at least people know you're paying attention!
The infographic is right. On-the-job training can boost morale. So go take a class. Ask for help. Or if you have something to offer, organize a brown bag. Your colleagues will be glad you resolved to improve your business.
Let's review:
But I bet it isn’t just me, admit it, you have your fair share of clowns as well. Everybody has them, even the people who protect the nation hire stupid employees. Let me tell you a story…
Take for example the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, they were given to hundreds of pilots, who successfully took them out, fought the enemy and brought them back to land. Then, the second they touched down, instead of pulling the lever to lift the flaps and slow the plane down they pulled the lever that retracted the undercarriage. It hardly takes a genius to realise that retracting the undercarriage just as a plane touches down is not a clever thing to do, the wheels come up into the plane, the propeller ploughs into the field and the machine attempts to do cartwheels; very expensive and potentially lethal cartwheels.
No matter how many memos were written, disciplinary procedures undertaken and lectures attended, the pilots continued to crash their aircraft. And this didn't just happen to B-17’s but B-25 Mitchells and P-47 Thunderbolts as well.
Simple, straight forward, foolish, pilot error.
The solution to the problem was simple, a hard wedge was stuck on the lever for the flaps, and on the one for the wheels a simple rubber disk.
And he got an instant result:
No more crash landings. Pilot error vapourised, as easily as that.
How about you?
James Lawther writes about process improvement and anything else that catches his fancy at www.squawkpoint.com
It’s true, even as a young child you were the one who manned the lemonade stands, you even dragged a little table at your parent’s garage sale, and after extensive research online, sold your old sports cards accordingly. Wherever there was a chance to make an extra dollar you were all over it. Your brother however, was another story. He rolled his eyes at your over-zealous money scheming ideas, never showing up for his lemonade shift. After a long day of sitting under the blazing sun on the sidewalk corner, you’d find him at home, basking under the air-conditioning, hooked up to his video game console.
Two brothers, two completely different motivations. But isn’t this true of the business world? The savvy business owner already knows that employees come with varied strengths and abilities. Now that you’ve put all of your accrued business smarts in a company of your own choosing, you’ve invested every penny and every fiber of your being, but what about your employees? How can you keep them working at top performance and not falling the way of your unmotivated brother? Let’s take a look and see how quality management software can get your company not only organized, but running at its full potential.
Randall Gates is a business professional who specializes in quality management systems and software. He frequently writes on these topics and currently blogs for cebos.com, a provider of compliance management software.
Randall Gates' article is promoting the advantages of quality management software. It all sounds promising: we want employees to be productive and we want companies to produce results that are of the highest quality.
But the title of the piece illustrates the problem: if your employees heard you were reading an article titled "How to Get the Most Out of Them", they'd likely feel belittled. The phrase "getting the most out of it" is used to describe what we do when using juicers on fruit, when we are strategizing for a negotiation, or when doing battle with the IRS.
It's a clause used to describe optimization through beating. You want to ensure that every bit of flesh is squeezed in search of juice, every rock smashed in search of gold, every paper examined in search of lost pennies. "Getting the most out of them" is what you do to people you don't like.
But anyway, shouldn't we all know by now that Quality is Free?
Philip Crosby's amazing book, Quality is Free, is now over thirty years old. Of course we all think at first that quality costs money. How can you make anyone do a good job unless you spend money in systems that double check their work? Unless you have supervisors that audit their efforts? Unless you have reporting mechanisms for defects and punishments for errors?
In truth, however, quality is free because people who are genuinely motivated to do great work provide quality without management systems designed to oversee them. To quote from Quality is Free:
The executive's problem in understanding and utilizing the labor force is compounded by the fact that people are not interested in doing something just because they have been told to do it.If you want employees to be more productive, then the first thing you have to do is stop talking about productivity. You have to dive in and help. You must collaborate on everyday projects. You must be doing what they do so they see you as a peer, not primarily as someone who has the power to fire them....
It is always cheaper to do the job right the first time.
...
If the leader is the only one who knows what game is being played, then the leader is obviously the only one who can win.
And once your employees see you as contributing personally, it's time to have a conversation about what metrics actually matter. Ask them how they think that the work (not them, not their work, but the work) should be measured. Mutually define the exact specifications so that the word "quality" has precise meaning.
And after all that, you have a quality management system. You may even buy or build some software to help facilitate the process. But it didn't come from trying to "get the most" out of anyone. It arose from simply doing the work.
Why don't I like National Boss Day? It's not just because I don't like arbitrary holidays, but because the phenomenon of "the boss" is one of the biggest reasons we can't improve productivity or address challenges in workplace culture. We are a nation of people whose lives are dominated by bosses. According to a recent study, "56% of Americans say their relationship with their boss has a direct impact on work-life happiness."
Furthermore, there's the source of word "boss." From an old Moneywatch column:
Boss is Dutch in origin and is a bastardization of the Dutch "base." Its use was a uniquely American way of avoiding the word "master," which had quickly become associated with slavery by the mid-19th century.Even if we avoid using this term, other euphemisms are rooted in control and mistrust. A "supervisor" means that someone else needs to look over your work. A "director" implies you need direction. Even clever ways to restate the title are designed to show authority and diminish our own role: "top dog", "head honcho" or "higher up."...
Urban workers were fond of using 'boss' primarily because they despised calling their superior 'master.' Ironically, all the effort was in vain. The meaning of the Dutch word, "base" is "master." And it all comes back full circle...
That's not to say that organizations don't need patterns where someone has final authority. Obviously you need to the ability to delegate. But we shouldn't be celebrating the fact that we have a boss. Instead, we should celebrate leadership.
I'm reminded of what former Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky used to say about being a technical manager. To paraphrase:
If two programmers ask me to resolve a technical dispute, I always refuse. My job is to help people learn to work together and communicate, not to pick winners and losers and pit people against each other.A great boss isn't a "boss." They coordinate rather than mandate work. They ask questions as much as they give answers. And they focus most on inspiration and support as the hallmark of real leadership.
To quote Antoine de Saint-Expuery:
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
Let's end National Boss Day. We don't need to celebrate the uneasy relationship between master and subordinate. We need to focus on results through leadership. No worthwhile leader worries about being called "boss."
As explained in a Washington Post article, creating an artificial mileage limit just provided an incentive to surpass the limit. Some managers are busy “coordinating vehicle swaps among their employees to ensure that vehicles hit the magic 4,500-mile target” while others are simply urging workers to drive more. They seem willing to try almost anything to avoid losing vehicles. The Board of Supervisors response? Raise the threshold to 5,000 miles.
If you want to manage resources in an organization effectively, you must understand the role of incentives. Employees who are provided something of tremendous utility, such as a company car, would prefer to keep the benefit. Establishing an arbitrary criteria for removing the the resource is just a reason to game the system.
Instead, groups such as Fairfax County should consider a metric based on legitimate usage, not just distance. The same is true for workers who pad their hours, students that try to play the curve to maximize their grades, and drivers that hog the lane when they should be merging.
Incentives are the basis of resource management. If your organization needs to evaluate resource allocation in the context of workflow, consider reaching out to the Indianapolis speakers at AccelaWork today.
Here's some of the main points from the article on the Indianapolis SEO company's blog:
A considerable proportion of the content you produce as part of your online marketing strategy has a clear pattern. This may not be obvious until you open back the hood and examine text in more detail. For example, this blog post is built around a handful of key phrases. An SEO expert can readily identify them, but so can the casual reader—if they are paying attention.That means that when you go to create content such as blog post, you can start with the structured pieces, such as the keywords. This makes the entire process much smoother. You’re filling in the gaps between the structure with information that makes sense.
This isn't the first piece from Deep Ripples on the subject of process improvement. Take a look at this passage from a post by Ryan Naylor, a local SEO expert:
One of the advantages to internet marketing, more so than any other medium is the ability to evaluate the performance of your campaign and make changes accordingly. Through many of the tools provided by Google, Bing, Yahoo and others we have a pretty large arsenal of tools at our disposal to evaluate the performance of our internet branding efforts. The difficulty however lies in taking the mountains of data at our disposal and turning that information into real life decisions. So how do we turn data into real life information?
Virtually any business practice can be broken down into a process. Figure out what you are doing and then figure out how do it well. Not only will cycle time decrease, but quality will increase. It's the stuff that you cannot automate---such as creativity and innovation---that you want to be your focus.
Process improvement can happen anywhere, even in content management. Take a look at this blog post. Can you see what we did to save time here?
BPM, at its core, has nothing to do with software. NOTHING. We all (usually) color our understanding of and conversations about BPM in the light of a particular vendor's software implementation of BPM (and even more by the applications we've built on these platforms).
The issue raised here doesn't just apply to business process management software. Practically every software application we use in business is a used as a method for preventing business process improvement.
We use Microsoft Excel as a database; we keep key project details in our email inbox. We use instant messenger to interrupt people instead of solving our problems ourselves.
Business process improvement is not about software. It's about asking questions and challenging individuals to think differently. Too often we turn to technology to try and solve our problems. But in truth, it's our lack of understanding of the problems in the first place that makes all the difference.
The piece comes from Ritika Trikha, staff writer for CareerBliss. She quotes our own Robby Slaughter in her opening:
You might be overqualified, underappreciated or, heck, working at a job that’s just too easy for you. Whatever the reason — if boredom has you yawning at work, grab some sort of beverage that will give you a jumpstart (we’re thinking caffeinated, not alcoholic) and beat your boredom once and for all. Don’t sit like a potato!First thing on the list: your vocab. From here on out, there is no such thing as “downtime,” only “opportunity time,” says Robby Slaughter, productivity and workflow expert. Opportunities are meant to be seized!
All of Trikha's suggestions are excellent, but here are a couple we want to highlight:
4. Expand your Virtual NetworkAs we've covered before on The Methodology Blog, you can actually be productive with social media. Building connections on various networks is a great way to do this. You can also reach out to reconnect with old colleagues, or work on your social media process.Take this opportunity to make some new virtual contacts outside of your office. Cue LinkedIn, your second best friend.
Another tip the author mentions reads as follows:
6. Do Something for Someone ElseIn this case, there's even scientific research to support this claim. We recently reported on how helping others increases productivity. When you take time to do something for a colleague, a friend, or even a stranger, you find yourself feeling more satisfied and more competent. And if you were bored before you decided to be useful, then certainly you're making the world a better place!You will feel good and look good! “Even volunteering to organize a file room or shared workspace is something that would probably be appreciated and show that you are a team player and invested in your workplace,” [psychotherapist Joyce] Marter says.
Arthur C. Clarke has often been quoted as saying "The truly educated man can never be bored." We'd like to amend his thought: "Those truly interested in making progress will always find a way to defeat boredom."
We hope you agree!
For example, check out item #3:
If you work at home and have children, your physical presence may be confusing for them, especially while you're trying to remain detached and focused on your work. If your partner doesn't work at home and assumes you can drop what you're doing and take care of a child-related crisis, you may become the "fallback child-care provider."This sounds problematic at first. But aren't traditional workplace jobs full of these kinds of interruptions? We've all had colleagues who assume we can drop whatever we're doing to help them. At least at home, the perpetrator of this distraction isn't someone who controls your paycheck.
Item #5 makes an interesting suggestion:
There is evidence that being out of sight means being out of mind, especially when it comes to how your manager is evaluating your performance and determining whether or not you get a raise or promotionThe staff writer doesn't cite this "evidence", but the real problem here is one that is masked by working in the office. This says you aren't being judge by your results, but rather by face time. If you're more likely get a promotion by showing up more instead of getting more done, you might want promote yourself to a new job by sending out resumes.
If none of the seven items suggested are actual drawbacks to telecommuting, then are there any genuine downsides? Consider the following:
Rapid-fire, highly creative collaboration works best in person. If you're trying to solve an urgent and unusual problem, or brainstorm crazy ideas for a new campaign, you're not going to have as much success through instant messenger or on a teleconference.
Highly emotional or sensitive interactions that leverage body language. When it's time to negotiate a contract, interview a new potential customer-facing retail employee, wow investors, or deliver bad news, you're going to want to make the trek to headquarters.
Recognition and celebration. When heralding someone's accomplishments or ringing in a successful year, it helps for the champagne to be clinked in person.
Are there downsides to telecommuting? Sure. But most of the problems at work have nothing to do with where you are. In fact, working somewhere else for a while tends to bring a sharp focus on the importance of getting work done rather than just looking busy.Some signs that your boss is among the infamous:
Here's the image from LearnStuff (more thoughts afterward):
According to the infographic, psychopath bosses are costing the U.S. economy $300 billion a year, and 2 million people leave their jobs every year because of their bosses. That's a lot of money and a lot of unhappy people. Here's some other staggering stats on psychopath bosses:
I think a good question to ask is whether "psychopath" bosses or "teamwork" bosses are healthier at the workplace. As someone whose boss enjoys a teamwork approach---acts like another member of the team, doesn't micromanage, and motivates rather than demands---I feel that I work in a happy, healthy work environment. Our team is productive, and while we're not immune to workplace stress, we don't spend hours worrying about meeting the demands of our boss. We have the freedom to be creative with our projects, and we feel successful in our achievements.
On the other hand, someone very close to me works for a psychopath boss. His work environment is always stressful, tasks are poorly managed, and his boss bullies his coworkers. New employees spend a week in training and then walk out in the middle of a shift. Poor management is directly causing wasted money on training new employees who don't stick around. Workers never receive compliments on a job well done and therefore don't get a sense of contributing to the company.
Comparing the two approaches to supervising, it's plain to me to see why psychopath bosses are costing us so much time, money and stress. Bosses should encourage productivity in a sense of the bigger picture, the overall goals for the organization.
Do you have a psychopath boss, or have you worked for one? Do you think they have a negative impact on the workforce?
Cassie Dull writes about online communications and social media in education at edsocialmedia.com and blog.case.org.
...only lazy programmers will want to write the kind of tools that might replace them in the end. Lazy, because only a lazy programmer will avoid writing monotonous, repetitive code – thus avoiding redundancy, the enemy of software maintenance...[also] a good programmer must be dumb. Why? Because if he’s smart, and he knows he is smart, he will:
a) stop learning b) stop being critical towards his own work
Does this logic apply to other kinds of workers besides people who write code all day long? The answer, surprisingly, is yes.
Lenssen is absolutely right that laziness is a virtue. If you don't want to work but you have to work, you're likely to try and find ways to expend less effort so you get done earlier. For example, you might:
By itself, though, laziness isn't actually enough to form the personality of a fantastic worker. These team members also need to be dumb.
As Lenssen notes, a key advantage to being dumb is knowing that you don't know everything. It prevents you from being overconfident. Being dumb also gives you license to ask obvious questions, which may well help discover the problem.
There are some other fantastic benefits to being dumb, or more precisely: refusing to be clever.
Great employees are both lazy and dumb. If you're lazy but smart, you may feel entitled not to do any work. And if you're dumb but hardworking, you're likely to dig yourself into a hole before you realize you can't get out.
Laziness and stupidity go hand-in-hand---and are mutually beneficial! Try it and let us know how it goes for you.
Dear Boss,...
I’m also thankful that you never asked for personal feedback or input into department operations. God knows that a lowly employee on the front lines like me never had valuable insights into how the company could help me work better.
My favorite thing about your traditional office was when I was done with my work at 2pm, but you made me sit there until 5pm. Or if you were having a good day and I wasn’t afraid to ask, you generously let me leave at 4:45pm. Your flexibility in wasting my time fit the old-school office template to a T.
The author, Ryan Eggenberger, continues with a few more zingers:
My transition from corporate life to solopreneur hasn’t been overnight. In fact, I’ve been working on my transition for the past three to six months, working diligently on my business before and after work, and weekends. I have already duplicated my income on the side, ensuring me that I can pay rent next month. Officially quitting my corporate gig is the final piece to the transition.As an entrepreneur, I’m able to be the boss: I work when I want and under my conditions. Unlike in your office, I am able to focus 90% of my energy on what I’m good at doing, and hire out the other 10% to somebody else. While this may sound like I work less, the reality is that I actually work way more than the “factory 40”, often from 6am until I go to bed. It doesn’t bother me though because I’m building my dream doing work that I love.
Finally, the letter wraps up with commentary about telecommuting and social status:
I can also work from anywhere so long as I have an Internet connection. Unfortunately, boss, you did not allow me this freedom, even though working from home would have eliminated overhead costs for you and would have provided me a quiet, distraction-free space from coworkers to focus on my work. Oh well!All in all, I’m thankful for having worked for you. You made me realize that as a young person, I had to get out fast or else I would settle for mediocrity like a majority of the working American public.
These are some rather harsh words about how to improve business. But even though the tone is snarky, there are some interesting points. Work should really be about collaboration and progress, not about authoritarian control and looking busy. And while the letter may not represent everyone working with Gen Y, it certainly strikes a chord with many.
There are major challenges to the way we work today. How will we contribute to overall business improvement in the future? We can either make change from within or forge our own path.
We often respond in the same ways our forefathers did as they hunted, gathered, and huddled in caves. We are instinctual creatures, and may be more hard-wired to respond to outside stimulus than we realize. When we understand how an amygdala hijack affects us (pdf), or that basic articulation skills of men are lower than women, we may use this knowledge to everyone’s advantage in business.
People are comfortable with family units of 7, and tribes of 150 – In hunter/gatherer tribes, these were the ideal numbers---large enough to offer protection from predators and other tribes of humans, yet small enough to shelter and feed. Don’t let teams become too large or small. Break large groups up into smaller groups, or combine teams to achieve an ideal family unit size.
People Gossip – Those in the know have always held an upper hand. Having the inside scope in the cave could’ve meant the difference between being ostracized, or becoming the next alpha male or his partner. You will never stop gossip – it’s part of who we are. What you can do is stay plugged in – listen, learn, and influence. You cannot stop gossip, but you might be able to lead it in a positive direction.
People react emotionally before they think logically – Many cavemen survived because they reacted emotionally and instinctively. Those who were in-touch with their emotions and environment had a higher likelihood of survival. When put in a bad situation, they often survived because they allowed their emotions, such as fear, to take over.
Delivering bad news in the workplace may cause a similar emotional illogical disconnect. Regardless of how much positive news there may be, delivering a bad performance review, corrective action, or critique may evoke a defensive response, which will likely result in reduced performance and production.
Avoid this by helping others acknowledge their own need for improvement and how this will help them. Share constructive criticism and recognize their positive contributions. When delivering bad news, set the stage that this is a learning opportunity and you’re there to help. Never hand over the responsibility of critiques to anyone untrained, or who has a negative demeanor or outlook.
People avoid risk when they are comfortable – Given enough food and shelter to survive, our ancestors did just that. They risked exposure only when forced by lack of food or shelter. Knowing this can help managers understand that, regardless how positive or important change for an organization may be, most will resist it.
To drive change, people must be taken out of their comfort zone, but supported by management. For example, when our marketing team at TKO Graphix first became involved in social media it was...uncomfortable. However, management was supportive, giving us time and autonomy, and allowing for educational opportunities. The result was an out-of-the-box creative and positive approach to change.
People are creatures of instinct, and will often react in predictable ways, regardless of how it may affect business or what may be best for them. Knowing this, it’s possible to use these instincts to drive your business in a positive direction, rather than fighting a losing battle against instincts.
If you’d like to learn more, Dr. Jane Goodall and Hard Wired Human offer valuable insights. You can also read the Harvard Business Review white paper, How Hardwired Is Human Behavior (pdf), by Nigel Nicholson. These resources offer a wealth of information on this subject.
Randy Clark is the Director of Communications at TKO Graphix, where he blogs for TKO Graphix Brandwire. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He is a beer geek and on weekends he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under The Radar. He is the proud father of one educator, one Principal, has four amazing grand children, and a public speaking wife who puts up with him. His twitter handle is @randyclarktko, or search Facebook for Randy Clarktko.
What stops current organizations from being agile? No, not software but small-minded resistance to true innovation in IT. [Buzzwords like] SOA are being used to sell huge software stacks and agile BPM promises ‘puppet-on-a-string employees’. Agility will only come from executives being willing to innovate technology and empower their employees by doing away with rigid business processes...
There's quite a bit going on in those few sentences, so let's break it down a bit:
Good business consultants know that process modeling is not just deciding what has to be done, but engaging stakeholders in designing and owning every business process. Think carefully about your own strategy for agility. Avoid the "small-minded resistance" to true innovation that comes from blindly buying products. Consider reaching out to business consultants like the team at AccelaWork.
Employee engagement might seem like the opposite of laziness. Take a look at the numbers presented below, but think of them not in terms of "wasting time" but instead in terms of what makes us successful at work. Our commentary comes after the infographic.
What does the statistics really mean? Let's take a look at the last three first.
23.4% of Employees Waste Time Because They Feel Underpaid - How is it possible to feel underpaid and choose to waste time at work? That's probably because workers are paid by the hour, not paid for results. If you're only getting a few cents or a few dollars over minimum wage, there's not much reason to do anything besides watch the clock.
33.2% of Employees Waste Time Because They Lack Work. Again, this is a question of employee engagement. How is it possible that your colleagues don't see that there is work to do? Perhaps because they feel rewarded for not working because they get paid (at least for a little while) whether they work or not.
14.7% of Employees Waste Time Because They Are Distracted by Coworkers. This problem may be the most profound of all. We do want mutual employee engagement---usually in form of collaboration. But if people are interrupting each other, it's no wonder they can't get work done. We need to change the workplace culture to focus on anything except interruptions.
However, the biggest waste of time at work isn't even mentioned. Here's a hint: you've probably got one on your calendar right now. It's a business meeting. The best way to kill employee engagement is to require people to do things which they don't see as relevant.
Let's start with one extreme, which comes from professional speaker Glenn Shepard. His famous "rules of work" include the following items:
3. Leave your home life at home. 10. Be low maintenance.
Those are some pretty strict edicts. But compare them with the complete opposite direction with regard to employee engagement. An article from the Child Care Information Exchange by Pauline Dave Zeece titles "Way Beyond Chicken Soup: Caring for and about Ill Employees" includes this passage:
Thus, the serious or terminal illness of a staff member presents a wealth of challenges and opportunities for an administrator. To deal effectively with employee illness, a director must ideally be both compassionate and pragmatic....
Caring administrators watch for cues from employees about how and when they can make a difference. The workplace atmosphere is supportive of staff in good health and illness. They are realistic about what they can and cannot do in the context of their administrative role. They are willing to give of themselves without compromising their programs.
So which one is the right kind of employee engagement? Should people leave their home life at home, or should bosses bring chicken soup to people when they are sick?
The reality is much more complicated than fully engaging (or fully denying) the role of emotions at work. We don't want to encourage people to bring their baggage from home into the office---or vice versa. But of course we are all human and it's not possible to fully compartmentalize our lives.
Therefore, what we really want is for people to take personal responsibility for managing their emotional state. If you're too upset to be productive at work, you should probably not try to work that day. If you want to celebrate happiness in your own life with your colleagues, you should feel free to do so in a way that does not significantly impact their ability to be productive either.
Likewise, we don't want managers to become unduly burdened by the personal nature of relationships. You're going to get to know your colleagues as people, and when they have emotional challenges you're certainly going to be aware that they are happening. But as an employer or a fellow staff member, you should not be in the best position to help them. In fact, your loyalties are mixed, because you need the work to get done.
Too many people want to be completely black and white about emotions at the workplace. Happy employees are ones that can express themselves, but also those that recognize how their ability to focus on work and get things done contributes to the company and to their personal sense of accomplishment. Genuine employee engagement means that we treat people as human, but honor the system of the organization.
What's your take on emotions at work?
Our own Robby Slaughter covered this process improvement question in a guest blog for a local retail graphics provider. He explains:
Here’s how the experiment works. You place a tasty marshmallow in front of a small child, and explain to them that they can either eat the treat right away, or they can wait until you get back and receive an additional marshmallow.That’s it. Delayed gratification. Also, it’s YouTube gold.
Slaughter's post covers personality types and the role of self-control in an organization. But these issues also impact business process improvement consulting efforts, especially with regard to process design. As he notes:
What does this mean for you and your workplace? If you want to get better at making the right decisions, build in some patterns of delayed gratification. Unwrap a candy bar and place it on your desk while you finish that report. Offer your team the choice of a small party now—or a major blowout if everyone can make the deadline. Keep the supply cabinet unlocked and set up a ping pong table that anyone can use. Study the psychology of your workplace culture by fostering a live test of everyone’s willpower.Likewise, if there is an established policy in your office but the workaround is more attractive, there are some people who will take the shortcut every time. While this seems like less of a process improvement issue and more of a management problem (i.e., reprimand people who don't follow the rules), it's really an opportunity to design better procedures. We actually want a diverse range of perspectives in our businesses. If we only hire people who do exactly what their supposed to, we'll never have the innovation and creativity that we need to succeed.
Read the complete article on the TKO Graphix website.
Ever wonder why reputable companies continue to send you paper ads in the mail when you are just going to throw them out anyway? I ask myself that every time I get the mail and end up filling the trash can with junk.
The reason why is because it works, even if not on me. Somewhere in this country, probably just down the street, someone is taking those ads and spending respectable amounts of money at those companies – enough that the companies continue to include direct marketing into their campaigns.
Snail mail is not dead, at least not yet, and "old-fashion direct mail" still works. As a small business owner you may think it's expensive, it doesn't yield results or maybe you just don't know where to get started. But that's not true. Think of the effectiveness of a handwritten note, or an event invitation. Snail mail is an important part of the process. Improvement to your overall marketing campaign means a comprehensive approach that includes direct marketing.
Andre Berkowitz Andre lives, breathes and dreams social media. He is the social media strategist for several clients and loves sharing his ideas on Twitter.
That's a question tackled by a recent article in The Atlantic Cities, which argues that a micro-analysis is what is needed to get America growing again.. From the article:
Productivity at the national level has stalled since the Great Recession and even before. Productivity growth was 1.9 percent in the third quarter and just 1.5 percent for the past year. A number of leading economists, led by George Mason University's Tyler Cowen, argue that the United States has in fact entered into a period of prolonged stagnation, having exhausted its capacity for innovation and productivity improvement.A very different picture emerges when we consider the United States not just as a single national economy but as a collection of city and metro economies. Some have dramatic productivity growth, while others are stagnating.
If you plot this productivity data on a map, you get the following insight:
By the way, our own local Indianapolis-Carmel metropolitan area is ranked #13, with a ratio of 1.26. A full chart of the top twenty regions is listed in the article.
But what is a "productivity ratio?" First: we need to talk about what economists mean when they use the word "productivity." For them, productivity is a measure of the value of output for a consistent amount of input. For example, if you work for one hour and create a product or service that can be sold for a hundred bucks, that's your economic productivity.
The "productivity ratio" from The Atlantic Cities article compares economic output per person for a particular metro area to the average gross domestic product for the entire country. In other words, it compares how much value the average worker in Seattle produces to the average worker across the United States. That's the productivity ratio.
It's hard to know if this aggregate data is especially meaningful. But it is interesting to see that some areas appear to be twice as "productive" as others. And if we compare the ranking of cities on this chart to desirability, it tells us even more about how productivity may be linked to satisfaction.
What do you think? Should we consider productivity in this way?
To understand the best way to handle this kind of situation, we need to gain some perspective on the culture of work. An office, a school, or other facility is filled with social relationships, but these connections are not the reason the place exists. The primary purpose of a business or a non-profit is to advance the mission of the organization. Although we do want people to get along, we don’t want our workplace relationships to become so overwhelming that derail the company.
Slaughter also notes the origins of favoritism:
It might seem like having close relationships at the office is inescapable. In fact, the Gallup organization includes a question about having a “best friend at work” as one of their key factors for predicting highly productive workgroups. We are social creatures, and we like to make connections. Part of having friendships in our personal lives is helping people, doing favors, and listening when the need our support. These are all positive aspects of healthy relationships.
For more information, visit the workplace fairness blog.
Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization helping to preserve and promote employee rights. The Workplace Fairness website provides information about job rights and employment issues around the country and in all 50 states. It is for workers, employers, advocates, policymakers, journalists, and anyone else who wants to understand, protect, and strengthen workers’ rights. Their goal is help make the American Dream a reality for all working people.
Many American store managers believe high shrinkage is inevitable, given their enthusiasm for huge displays and the widest possible range of produce. “This feeds a vicious circle of more and more choice,” says Matthew Isotta of Oliver Wyman. And it can backfire if displays disguise rotten food or too much choice overwhelms customers.
When a process offers choice to a stakeholder, it can generate satisfaction. However, too many choices can overwhelm both the customer and the entire system. In Barry Schwartz’s book The Paradox of Choice, studies of supermarket patrons demonstrate that we are less likely to buy when there are too many options to easily evaluate them all. The end result is not only a dissatisfied customer, but a supply chain system that generates wasted products.
Workflow management at an office, warehouse, factory or other facility is subject to similar principles. Some choices are good, as they promote flexibility and help people to have ownership of their work. Too many options can establish a culture of chaos where it seems like everyone has a million projects and nothing is ever truly completed.
This is a tremendous irony of our modern culture. We assume that it's a better business environment to have more options. But in reality, choices can generate problems. This is a classic process improvement problem: people have to wear too many hats and they can't focus on what matters. Or they have too many tools to accomplish the same tasks.
Are you talking to business consulting experts to help your organization understand the challenges and opportunities in the way you work? Contact us today to help provide the right choices to benefit stakeholders and reduce the tragedy of waste.
For more advice about business improvement consulting, contact AccelaWork.
This is covered in a Refresh Leadership blog post. They write:
Are your employees actively engaged in their jobs? If data from a recent CareerBuilder study is any indication, there’s a good chance they’re not. The survey of employees across multiple industries in both the U.S. and Canada showed that 69% percent of full-time workers “regularly search for new job opportunities” and 53% say “they feel like they just have a job, not a career.” A 2011 study by Towers Watson touched on a similar trend and found that of the workers who participated in the study, 74% didn’t believe they had long-term opportunities, 80% weren’t satisfied with their recognition, and 66% said management didn’t do a good job of communicating – all major contributors of employee disengagement.
This is one of those pieces of information that shouldn't be a surprise to most people in business. Consultants have been saying for years that we need to create more engagement, more meaningful work experiences. Yet even in a down economy, most people are frustrated at work and looking for something else. How could this be the case?
The truth is that the problem has many facets. To address employee engagement concerns, the Refresh Leadership article covers three areas:
Recognition refers to the idea that one of the best ways to engage employees is simply to acknowledge their contribution. While this may seem like it's not an efficient business practice, in reality we are creatures that are driven by appreciation. We like to know that what are doing matters, and one of the best ways to retain employees is simply to recognize their work.
Career Pathing is the conscious effort to help employees design a genuine professional route through the company and the industry. It's more than just the words "opportunity for advancement" listed on a job posting. Instead, it means that people in the organization spend time helping you to learn new skills, find new ways to contribute, and take on new responsibilities over time.
Compensation and Rewards are the final component of true employee engagement. Although people don't work because they are rewarded, it's nonetheless essential for everyone to feel like they are being supported financially and practically by the institution. Ultimately though, compensation is about respect more than money. The most engaged employees are not those who are paid the most, but who feel the most connected to the work overall.
What do you think? Is your disengaged workforce walking out the door?
[A] proprietary social network has encouraged vital bits of knowledge that had previously sat hidden in different pockets of the organization to bubble to the surface, where they can be shared among employees..."The things that were typically sequestered on employees' hard drives and [in their] email bins are now available to everyone."
The piece explains more on a featured tool from an international insurance broker:
Marsh's social network is called Marsh University, or MU for short. Launched in 2010, MU -- which offers tools for blogging, online discussions, video presentations, search and the like -- lets Marsh's 26,000 employees harness the experience and brainpower of their colleagues to get work done. More than 350 employee-discussion groups are now active on MU, says [VP Ben] Brooks, who oversees the network.
To some, this may sound like a revolutionary concept. But if you pay attention to how the issues are described, the problem is not a lack of technology but patterns of culture and workflow.
For example, information is "typically sequestered on employees' hard drives and [in their] email bins." But that's not because it couldn't have been kept in shared locations before. Rather, one must ask if the company culture effectively encouraged people to keep information secret.
This is a major problem in many organizations. People sometimes feel that if they train the people around them, they may lose their jobs. And if we're all sorting and filing the same emails that come to us into our own personal email storage systems, how much non-productive time is the company paying for?
The big revolution of social media inside the company is the notion that sharing with colleagues is a benefit, not a risk. The potential issues of social media are truly opportunities. As Chief Human Resource Officer Laurie Ledford notes:
"The point is, if someone says something incorrect, then we can have a conversation out loud about it and adjust that," says Ledford, adding that the firm's existing social-media policy prohibiting offensive or deliberately misleading material applies to MU as well. "If they're posting it in our forums, then they're probably saying it to colleagues in their office or even to clients. This lets us uncover false rumors and set the record straight."
Or in summary: social media in the workplace, for the workplace.
Email and most meetings aren't work. We all know this to be true. But huge swaths of our days are allocated to meetings and answering email. It's impossible to accomplish much aside from information dissemination.A close friend, who like me is a productivity nut, asked me a question that made this point clearly:
What fraction of your day is spent in meetings you asked for compared to meetings that were asked of you?
I didn't know the answer but I calculated it. I was disheartened by the result. Over the past three weeks, my ratio is 6 to 4. For every 6 minutes I spend in a meeting I arranged, I spent 4 in a meeting I was invited to.
The author goes on to explain that he assumes "meetings I request are more productive than meetings I'm invited to", so a small shift in the ratio will have a big impact on productivity.
But is the person who called the meeting really the one who is most productive? As any employee knows, pretty much every meeting is a sinkhole of productivity. And the same goes for email as well: how many times do you write email messages that are a waste of time? As one of our colleagues recently noted:
Why yes, I'd love to take a half hour of my day to have a call with you to reiterate exactly what I said in my email I sent to you.
The author of the post does make a really good point, however:
Email and meetings consume big chunks of time. And though it's easy to convince ourselves they're productive, they aren't.
That's typically true. Unless the meeting is use to make a decision. Or brainstorm a new idea. Or help drive the conversation forward.
And email is unproductive, unless it's used to confirm an action, delegate work, or otherwise create the pathway for progress.
What is and is not work is not a question of the vehicle. It's how you use it. You can make any part of your workday unproductive. But if you're focused on results, you can make things happen in meetings, in email---or anywhere.
The facts. Around Black Friday, Gap had a great sale, so I bought pants online; the fit wasn’t right, so I returned them to a local Gap retail store. The store took back the pants and an associate phoned in a replacement order. After a few days, an email informed me that one color was out of stock, and I received an email explaining the order was reduced accordingly.When the new pants arrived, each was a different size, with none matching what I ordered. Every pair had the correct size label sewn in, but none matched the paper tag attached with a nylon cord.
It might seem a little too soon to pick on The Gap. After all, remember the great logo fiasco of 2010? Unfortunately, though, the story doesn't stop there. It only gets worse---and weirder.
The author continues:
I went back to my local Gap retailer, where the store manager apologized and, after jumping through some computer hoops, eventually refunded my money. Or so I thought.A quick check of the receipt showed a three dollar discrepancy between the amount I paid and what the store refunded. After extensive checking, the manager reported back: the computer said I had already returned one of the pants. Obviously, this was incorrect.
Oops.
What's going on with this business process? Improvement, as always, requires truly understanding how pieces fit together and how stakeholders see their role. From the outside, we can make some educated guesses. Let's start with the very first issue:
"The store took back the pants and an associate phoned in a replacement order. After a few days, an email informed me that one color was out of stock..."
This problem is clear opportunity for business process improvement. If an employee calls in an order on behalf of a customer, they should be told immediately whether the item is available. The warehouse should immediately set that particular piece of stock aside for shipping.
When the new pants arrived, each was a different size, with none matching what I ordered.
How could this be? Whoever packed the order did not cross-check the packing slip with the merchandise. But this kind of business process issue is not all that surprising. The holidays are a busy time of year, and it's likely that the staff member responsible for pulling and packing has less than a minute to get this done. Without confirmation from another person, significant random auditing, or an automated procedure---this business process error is going to happen again and again.
Every pair had the correct size label sewn in, but none matched the paper tag attached with a nylon cord.
Of all of the process improvement opportunities in this story, this one is the most fascinating. The author of the post offers a theory:
Apparel manufacturing today is generally outsourced to countries such as China. The outsourcing manufacturer applies a tag at the factory during the production process. After manufacturing is complete, the retailer, in this case Gap, conducts a quality control inspection to ensure the item and tags are correct.Research shows that factory audits in retail are lacking due to cost. It looks like the factory made a mistake and Gap did not check.
And finally, there is the refund discrepancy. This is probably due to data management problems between the retail channel and the online/direct ordering channel. What a mess!
You don't have to as large as the Gap to have these kind of business process improvement issues. Companies of all sizes face challenges with quality control, pricing accuracy, and customer communication. What are you doing to avoid being like The Gap?
Processes are, if not under attack, then falling out of fashion...Planning is out. "Planning to learn" is in. Little bets, experimentation, just start, iteration, rapid prototyping, lean — these are the cool kids. Process is the dork in the corner wearing mom-jeans and an unironic Christmas sweater.
Green's choice of language illustrates one of the biggest problems with business process improvement: the way process is perceived.
The reason that business process planning is not popular is that people unfairly associate "process" with large, ineffective bureaucracies. But that's not really the case. The word "process" simply means "intention." If you have a business process, that means you decided how you were going to do something before you started doing it.
The author also points out another major issue in business process improvement---fear of increased efficiency:
Too often in business-speak, "We need to get more efficient" translates to "We need to fire some of you."
That's one of the reasons that word "efficiency" is one that might be avoided. Improving business processes certainly does allow for an increase in the ratio of work input to work output, but it also makes everything run more smoothly. It helps individuals be more satisfied and have more opportunity to think big. These are the kinds of phrases that process planners should be using as much as (if not more) than technical discussions of queuing theory and parallelism.
Finally, Green is spot on when it comes to the level to which business process improvement must be executed:
A half-adopted process is as bad, if not worse, than none at all. [Also,] invest for the long term. It's not just about changing the process — it's about changing the culture. Too many processes are implemented superficially, which is why they don't work. "This is not a silver bullet," [one expert stated.] To make it work, you need to be "obsessed."
That's the truth. If process is really about intention, then it can't be something done in a few days and forgotten. It must be something which drives a cultural transformation inside an organization.
That sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?
Here is the clip:
For more advice about business improvement consulting, contact AccelaWork.Steven Hansen, writing for NASDAQ, offers the following in his weekly review:
Productivity [as measured by economists] is calculated by dividing real output by hours worked. If a component was outsourced, this would be considered a productivity improvement.My view of productivity is one of an industrial engineer, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are bean counters using a simple hours vs output approach. Although one could argue that productivity improvement must be cost effective, it is not true that all cost improvements are productivity improvements.
Let's unpack these two paragraphs. First: there's the way that most economists and the government calculate individual employee productivity. They just look at what is produced versus how much time is put into that work. Here's what you get based on that data:
Hansen notes one of the problems with this way of thinking. If you outsource work, you put fewer hours in for the same results so you "increase" productivity. But as any employee knows, having somebody else do the task in another country just moves the work to somewhere that labor is cheaper. And chances are good that the quality will suffer, meaning that rework will be required, which in turn will decrease productivity.
The writer makes a statement which every manager should memorize: it is not true that all cost improvements are productivity improvements.
In other words, you get what you pay for.
So, what is productivity? Simply this: productivity is setting objectives and then meeting those objectives. To measure productivity, we need to understand how well our objectives are defined and how well they were met---both in terms of speed and correctness.
From an economic view, productivity is about the relationship of effort to real value. We ask how much work are we doing and what someone should for whatever we created.
If you can decrease the effort required, you increase productivity. If you can increase the quality of output without changing the effort, you increase productivity.
Is your productivity improving at work?
A short video interview from The Big Money reports that more companies are using e-mail to communicate layoffs and dismissals.
Business depends on relationships. Although sometimes circumstances dictate that an employment relationship must end, a commitment to respect must endure. Individuals should be treated with candor but dignity. A job is not a right, but humane treatment is a basic tenant of professionalism.
No matter what kind of business consulting your firm might need, it will ultimately involve working directly with your people. If your team needs to change, that change must be done in an honest and straightforward manner not only because it is right but because it will help maintain employee productivity and morale.
A blog posted at The Guardian cites a typical claim:
"the average employee spends 40% of their working week dealing with internal emails which add no value to the business."
That suggestion is supported by a variety of other organizations, including a digital signage company and a massive infographic from a software firm.
It was repeated in 2011 by Inc. Magazine, who says that Employees Are Unproductive Half the Day (because of email), as well as by The Weekly Gripe, the British edition of HR Magazine and the online component of The Today Show and more.
It seems practically everybody thinks email is stupid and that we should send less of it.
They couldn't be more wrong.
Here's the terrible secret to the email productivity crisis. Reducing the amount of email---or getting of email entirely---will only make the problem worse.
That's because we all have a need to communicate, we are just using the available channels inefficiently. It's easy to write an email (just type, from anywhere) and easy to read it (just scroll, from anywhere), so we don't take any effort to respect the medium.
We don't try to use email intelligently or write emails in a way that's respectful to our audience. Instead, we just dump our thoughts onto the screen and scramble to deal with the next message.
To understand this better, think of another communication technology: the telephone.
Here's how the telephone works. First: before you call someone up you have to have something to talk about. That's because you're going to use up their time while you are both on the phone. It's pretty embarrassing to call without a plan, so we actually think about what we are going to do.
Second: There are some basic rules of telephone etiquette. You don't start by barking commands. Instead, you ask to speak to the person you need. Or if you've already reached them, you ask them if it's a convenient time to speak. Likewise, you don't answer the phone by groaning "what-do-you-want" or repeated heavy breathing.
Third: You don't try to do things on the phone that don't make sense for the telephone. You don't try to describe the key elements of a diagram that would be better seen in person. You don't read a novel to someone word for word. Instead, you suggest they read it on their own time so you can discuss it later.
Finally: You don't use the telephone in a way that is obviously inane, like calling someone who shares the same cubicle with you. Nor do you utilize conference calling just so your boss knows you are busy, or leave long rambling voicemail messages because you're too lazy to plan what you're going to say.
That would be completely unprofessional. And yet...
We commit all of these sins of laziness with email, and more.
Do you want to stop "wasting" 40% of your day on email? Stop doing these things:
No, the problem is not email. The problem is how we email.
Change the way you write and read email, and you'll help change the culture. Cut email out, and you'll shift the problem somewhere else.
According to the Associated Press, the Upper West Side eatery implemented the program to save costs, but patrons appreciate the impact on their waistlines. Anti-poverty advocates note that each yer, over thirty million tons of food are wasted. The policy at Hayashi Ya Japanese Restaurant benefits three different groups of stakeholders for three entirely different reasons:
If your company or business is ready for fresh perspectives on workflow, business process, resource management and client interaction, consider talking to the experts on process improvement. We're here to offer all the advice you can eat.
Employees experience a retrospective attitude at the turn of the year as well, assessing their work performance, happiness and outlook on the future. Whether a business is thriving or struggling, leaders need employees to carry the load in order to achieve growth. Owners and managers that resolve to invest more in employees will prime their business for success in the new year---no matter what the direction is.
The better the work, the more successful the business. Employee performance requires constant attention, but the more you pay attention to the needs and capacities of your workers, the greater opportunity you have for individual growth. Performance investments look different for different companies. In a sales environment, attending conference discussing modern techniques can give employees new tools to attract leads. A design firm using outdated technology could upgrade to the latest software and provide training. No matter the industry, a tangible commitment to investing in employee performance is one that demonstrates trust and loyalty. Employees that feel like they're growing personally are more likely to commit to the work at hand and deliver a return on investment.
To create a culture of learning, set aside some money in the budget to invest on employee performance. Consider dedicating funds for training, books, or even a general allowance for upgrades.
Productivity is obviously connected with time management. The solution, some think, is to carve out as much time as possible for work. This leads to coming in early and staying late, eating lunch at a desk and staying tethered to a chair at all costs. These choices may appear to increase productivity in spurts, but in the long run they compromise health.
"A proper diet, movement, exercise and seven to eight hours of sleep per night increase productivity," reports Training Magazine. That means businesses that invest in the health of their employees aren't only caring for their workers, they're also improving the bottom line.
Likewise, owners that offer gym memberships may take a hit up front, but it will pay off with increased productivity. Smaller initiatives include encouraging walks throughout the day and discourage working through lunch.
In any profession, there will be elements of the job that don't capture an employee's imagination or evoke excitement. That doesn't mean owners and managers should dismiss the idea of promoting happiness at work, however. Studies show that happier people are more productive and cost employers less in medical costs and absenteeism. According to Psychology Today, a survey of more than 100,000 people demonstrates a clear link between general attitude and overall output.
There's no formula to cultivate workplace happiness, but a high degree of freedom, a feeling of appreciation and a strong sense of engagement in the workplace are common traits of the happiest employees, CBS News Reported. Whether it's an additional pat on the back or more employee input on large projects, managers that promote happiness will be see the difference in overall business productivity.
As an Indianapolis consultant for hedge-fund investors, Madeleine Berry believes that there are many other business endeavors that one can invest in, outside of military spending. She tells her clients to follow their heart and the money will follow.
This topic is consistent with Barbara’s extensive background in instructional design. Training requires change, which means resistance. Training requires adapting the mind to new ideas. Learning new skills means accepting that old ways are obsolete and new approaches are more effective.
The revelation is that training enables us to avoid obsolescence can be frightening, because learning new skills is not always the easiest option. A Reader’s Digest article reminds us about the recent history of work:
In 1972, telecommunications companies and other businesses employed 394,000 telephone operators. Today, that number is 52,000, an 87 percent job loss. Another casualty are clerks who process loan applications. They’re easily replaced by software that does the routine math, and so their ranks are expected to fall by 24,000 over the next several years. And, with self-serve gas stations, ATMs and e-tail sites, productivity is on the rise throughout a broad array of service industries...In the near future, even the trip to work will be revolutionized by computation: Certain New York City subway lines will be driven by computers instead of train operators.
Even the words used in these old jobs seem antiquated: telephone operator, gas station attendant and book keeper. It might seem like our value as employees is dependent on the arrival of the next gizmo or software application to do our work for us. This belief creates fear, and that fear provides power for a resistance to change.
AccelaWork's Indianapolis business consultants invite stakeholders to take a different view of themselves, their work and their organization. We believe that companies, non-profits and government agencies make hiring decisions because they believe in the capacity of individuals. You are more than the sum of your tasks and responsibilities—you are a force for creativity, a source of commitment and limitless potential. A machine might enable you to finish rote tasks faster but it cannot replace brilliance and instinct.
Not everyone believes they are valued at work, and many employees harbor a secret resentment or suspicion for upper management. That’s why great change models focus directly on the stakeholders, not on company leaders. Sometimes it's better to pursue tactics over strategy, especially when fundamental organizational change needs to occur from the bottom up. No one is better positioned than the employee to lead and implement new ideas in their own workflow. Great leaders empower this transformation. Contact us for more information.
Companies that cultivate a strong learning culture within their organization experience distinct business advantages compared to companies lacking a strong learning culture.That is among the findings of a study from Bersin & Associates (www.bersin.com). The study, entitled, Gigh-Impact Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for an Empowered Enterprise, found that the majority of organizations that have built strong learning cultures are market leaders with highly productive employees and satisfied customers.
The summary of the report continues:
The study revealed that 96% of companies with strong learning cultures reported high employee productivity. However, that was not the only advantage identified by the study: 94% of participants surveyed indicated that they have high customer satisfaction; 74% said that they have a “strong” ability to keep costs competitive; and 89% reported market leadership for at least one product or service.
An analysis like this is difficult to make, and often is best interpreted by consultants. Indianapolis-based 1st Class, for example, commented about a similar research project on their blog:
Companies [must learn] the importance of aligning organizational goals with learning and training programs. Along with that is the importance of supervisors and management supporting training and building a culture of continued learning.
We certainly agree. As Indianapolis business consultants ourselves, we believe that culture and success are inextricably connected. If you work in an organization that is devoted to genuine learning, you'll be ready to adapt to new circumstances. And while agility is not enough by itself to make a business grow, it's only becoming more essential every day.
An op-ed piece from CBS News argues that the among the best email productivity tip is not to use any folders at all:
The point is that any filing system depends upon you being able to remember the taxonomy you've created. The report about the Smith account? Is it in the folder you called Reports, or is it still in the In Progress folder? What about Archived Projects? Your ability to find stuff is only as good as your filing system, and even then, no system is perfect.
This first piece of email productivity advice is exactly correct. Having a filing system makes sense for papers and archives, which will be kept for years and rarely touched. But email is a living conversation and only represents a momentary need, so there's no reason to try and organize it for all eternity.
Unfortunately, the article take a turn for the worse. The author suggests:
On the other hand, if you ignore your impulse to file and just leave mail in your inbox, you can use the instant search tool in Outlook or whatever client you are using to find stuff by typing a unique word or two.
This is, frankly, terrible email productivity advice. If you're using the search feature of email, you're not actually processing (and deleting) email conversations. Instead, you should work to eliminate all of the messages in your inbox down to zero.
Why have a stress-filled, always-filled inbox that you can search, when you could instead have stress-free, often-empty inbox that you can analyze just by looking at it? That's the path to maximum email productivity.
The combination of [interdependent people, processes and technology] is something that Forrester calls the customer experience ecosystem. To fully understand how they deliver customer experiences today and make meaningful improvements going forward, customer experience professionals must map their company’s ecosystem and adopt best practices from the emerging field of service design.
To help put statement in context, every business—even those that thrive from a kitchen table—is engaged into two major activities. The first is the actual business process of creating the product or conducting the service. Someone has to mind the register, sweep the floor, deliver the flowers, balance the books and so on.
The second task of any business is servicing customers, or as we usually call it, customer service. Customers aren't part of standard, repeatable business process, but rather they are outside of the company and are often unpredictable.
Hagen warns:
While business process improvements can lead to better experiences by eliminating defects (Six Sigma) or improving efficiency (Lean), these fixes don’t guarantee success. That’s because business process improvement initiatives can:All of these challenges are better addressed by customer experience teams (and customer service consultants), who work to emotional awareness, expand rapport-building techniques, and become champions of cross-functional teams.
- Neglect the emotional aspect of experiences
- Narrowly focus within process silos
- Fail to design for flexibility
That's not to say that more customer service is the answer alone. Business improvement isn't easy. It might seem better to increase customer choices, but this can actually make business less efficient and frustrate your audience.
Ultimately, the scope of the problem is enormous:
To change from a product-centric company to one focused on the outcomes delivered to customers requires nothing short of a full scale cultural transformation. And that’s no small task since true organizational transformation involves being prepared to change how value is delivered and how the firm is organized.Think big. Break down the walls between business process improvement and customer experience management. Help your organization to think about engagement in a new way.Most importantly, it also means working on the behavioral norms for everyone in the company: how you think and engage both employees and customers. Neither business process professionals nor customer experience professionals can do this alone.
Soon, we'll wonder how anyone ever did anything else.
The new year rung in more uncertainty for many small business owners across the country. Entrepreneurs are still complaining of lackluster consumer demand, and with economic changes threatening to raise operating costs in 2014, businesses are scrambling.
Owners struggling to makes ends meet may be feeling pressure to cut staff, but this isn't the only option to reduce costs and raise the bottom line. Below are some tips for small businesses to save money in 2013:
Small businesses can offset marketing and advertising budget cuts by boosting their social media presence. Effective social media marketers post regularly and interact with their followers. To attract a following, try using a traditional marketing tool: the coupon. Not only will you'll generate revenue, you'll also gain regular access to consumers on a personal level.
Jennifer Solci is an Indianapolis consultant who recently received her MBA and has been writing for the past two years about how business owners can better manage their finances and data.
In some respects, a sponsorship of a community event is a truly creative marketing idea. It's not talking about your products or services. It's not describing your customers or sharing testimonials. All it does it associate your brand (and maybe your logo) with a "good cause."
Sponsorship is relatively straightforward and commonplace. Unfortunately, it is not easy to measure the impact of this investment. But there's something else you can do with your marketing dollars: you can sponsor a presentation.
The secret to making this creative marketing idea work is to leverage the main benefit of a traditional sponsorship: not talking about your business. Instead, you show customers, prospects and attendees of the speaking event that you want to be a trusted resource in a wide variety of areas, not just your own business.
Why not consider this creative marketing idea? Why not seek a subscription for ongoing speaking on business improvement topics from AccelaWork?
It's time to be a little pedantic. The word "flexible" doesn't really mean what people seem to think it means. Here's the definition:
Flexible: bends but does not break.
I’m not a flexible person. I don't want to be nearing the point of breaking, but not quite there. I don't want our company to teeter on the edge of collapse, but just barely step away.
Instead, I'm all about predictability. I'm about minimizing risks, or at least trying to calculate what they are up front.
"Being flexible" means twisting best practices and policies to do what they never intended to do. A flexible workplace sounds great, but it's not what what we want at all. Instead: we want to work for companies and with people who are imminently reasonable.
We tell customers that we have a clear and fair refund policy, but what happens when we decide to "be flexible" and throw it away?
We tell investors that we offer a precise set of products and services that have market validation, but then we decide to "be flexible" and undermine shareholder value.
We tell employees that there are protocols and best practices for executing work, communicating with colleagues, and coordinating their schedules. But then we decide to "be flexible" and provide special treatment or build resentment.
Flexibility—which means twisting and bending right up until the system shatters—is bad for business.
Likewise, I want to be clear that being inflexible does not mean being opposed to acceptable variation. No process at any organization is without variation. Whether you manufacture parts or write press releases, you are going to have some errors and some unique elements. Understanding that these things happen (and working to reduce them over time) is not being flexible. In fact, that's the opposite of being flexible! It's being rigid in your devotion to quality.
Yes, anybody technically can bend any rule for any reason. An employee might decide to blow a deadline because they know they can "get away with it." A manager might decide to let people have a casual dress Friday because they are confident that the dress code policy won't be enforced.
But these are not examples of true freedom. Instead, these are just people bending the rules instead of changing the rules. True freedom is about finding out which rules can be eliminated altogether.
At our company, we're not really interested in flexibility. We're not "flexible" about our policy on workplace attire. Rather, we don't have one. We trust people to use good judgement. We're not "flexible" about our policy on when and where work should be completed. Rather, we trust people to complete the work in the manner and place they see most fit.
Process-driven management is the bane of modern companies, says David Milne founding CEO of Wolfson Microelectronics."Process-driven management abolishes the need to think," Milne tells me.
This is not to say that a business process isn't important. We need business processes to get things done every day. To cook a meal consistently, you need a recipe. To play a symphony, you need a score. To run a company, you need patterns and documentation that describe the business as a process. Most of the time, you have to take one step at a time.
But having a process is not a reason to stop thinking. Manners continues:
Once everyone in a company is fixed into certain directions, resource requirements and goals it becomes difficult for an individual to implement a change in any of those things.But circumstances may require change. Opportunities may arise which require change.
The difference between following a business process and managing by business process is subtle but crucial. Following a process means that you are doing what must be done in the way that it must be done to generate the anticipated results.
But "managing by business process" means that the way you motivate others and explore opportunities is dominated by rule-following, not by being open to ideas and seeking input. Manners asks a related question:
So how does an enterprising individual, recognising the need for change, seek to get change implemented in a process-driven managed company?"Boards are terrified of people who don't follow the process," replies Milne.
If, at a management meeting, someone comes up with a new opportunity to invest or a change to strategy, there's only one response. "They are asked to write a report about it," says Milne.
That's certainly an effective way to kill a new idea.
Process-driven management is not the same as having a workable business process. The difference is whether or not the process is more important than the people. We need to try and follow good patterns, but we must be more open to the input of others than we are at doing things the way they have always been done.
A long-standing question is whether differences in management practices across firms can explain differences in productivity, especially in developing countries where these spreads appear particularly large. To investigate this, we ran a management field experiment on large Indian textile firms. We provided free consulting on management practices to randomly chosen treatment plants and compared their performance to a set of control plants. We find that adopting these management practices raised productivity by 17% in the first year through improved quality and efficiency and reduced inventory, and within three years led to the opening of more production plants.
Let's translate that academic-speak into regular language:
The widespread skepticism about managers is nothing new. In fact, a piece by Ray Fisman outlines this complaint and explains the study:
Imagine a world without middle managers. If you've done time in a cubicle, you might picture a paradise where workers are unshackled by pointless bureaucracy, meaningless paperwork, and incompetent bosses. A place where stuff actually gets done.Despite a proliferation of management gurus, management consultants, and management schools, it remains murky to many of us what managers actually do and why we need them in the first place.
Where's the evidence that it worked? Fisman notes that pictures tell the story:
The before/after photographs of stockrooms and production lines tell pretty much the whole story. Out of disarray and confusion, there arose order: In storerooms, bags of yarn were now stacked, carefully arranged, and elevated to protect against dampness. Offices previously cluttered with random stacks of paper were now equipped with charts to prioritize and track the flow of inputs and outputs working their way through newly organized assembly lines. Defects were cut in half and inventories fell by nearly 20 percent, even as output increased by 5 percent.
In short: management is important. But Fisman does provide one key warning:
Keep in mind that this is also a set of practices that has the potential to create a Dilbert-esque world of unwieldy reporting requirements, Big Brotherly monitoring, and rigid protocols that blunt creativity and innovation. (If you doubt any of this, just think about the last time you filed an expense report.)
Management and business processes are like butter on toast. You need just the right amount to perfect the experience.
The entire infographic requires a click, since it's an entire webpage.
Here's the primary claim:
Just because you're at work doesn't mean you're getting work done. You're drowning in email, stuck in dead-end meetings, and constantly interrupted. When do you have time to do any real work? Don't worry. You're not alone.
They also report some other surprising data:
Pretty bad, eh? It's a problem here in Indiana and everywhere. Check out the infographic for more information.
In many instances, a customer's first impression of your business will be formed by what they read about you on the Internet. This is great news for businesses that have complete control over everything posted about them online unfortunately, China notwithstanding, this is impossible. Accordingly, businesses have begun to focus on ways to increase good Internet publicity and decrease the bad. Here are some of the best practices when it comes to managing your online reputation.
In the same way that you want to call business consultants in Indianapolis to help out with your business improvement efforts, you want to reach out to local pros for help with reputation management. Getting the most out of the Internet takes a lot of know-how and a bit of nuance. While there's plenty of Internet-related processes that are easy and intuitive, there are some aspects of managing a business' online presence that are complex and decidedly counterintuitive. Unless you have a firm grasp of how online reputation management works, its best to talk to an expert. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend heaps of money, but companies like Reputation.com utilize basic and advanced techniques to ensure your company is positively represented online.
Nowadays, if a company isn't online, it doesn't exist to most customers. Consumers derive much of their information regarding a company through the Internet, so having a positive Web image and the ability to relay the information a company wishes to impart is vital. Developing a savvy approach to how a company appears online isnt as easy as signing up on Facebook; it takes a concerted and directed approach.
As with any part of business, its important to create a strategic plan on how to manage your online image. A company wishing to get the most out of their web presence shouldn't be afraid to call in professional online reputation management experts, avoid dubious Web marketing and make a plan.
Jake Samson is a blogger and writer living in Indianapolis. Consultants and small businesses all over the world work with him to research the latest industry trends in online marketing.
The 2010 Telework Enhancement Act is changing the workplace landscape. As government agencies establish policies for working outside the office, many employees are no longer bound to the standard 40-hour workweek under the same roof as their manager.This has its advantages. Telework can improve work-life balance, reduce the need for office space and real estate costs, curb absenteeism, and enhance recruitment and retention. Still, many managers are uncomfortable with this new office culture and worry about productivity.
The suggestions are fundamental, but important. They include:
Cover the BasicsManagers and employees both should know the parameters for working off-site—such as who has authority to approve telework and which employees are eligible—and sign agreements
Also, the author suggests:
Check in RegularlyRegular communication ensures everyone is in sync and teleworkers feel connected to their colleagues and agency projects. Frequent check-ins are crucial. Asking questions is a powerful, and often overlooked, communications tool. Managers can use the answers to organize assignments, adjust workflow, and troubleshoot potential problems.
Like most business management advice, however, the real secret is in treating people like adults and focusing on meaningful results rather than watching the clock. We do the same with our Indianapolis consultants. We're not worried about where they get work done, just that it meets the needs for our clients.
Does your office have a telecommuting policy?
If you're doing email marketing, you should be thinking about your return on investment.The ROI question is one we at AccelaWork hear all the time from our clients in Indianapolis. Consultants, managers, and employees should be looking at the results that come from any initial work.This isn't particularly unique to email. It's not even unique to marketing. If you put money into some effort in your business, you want to figure out what that investment actually produces.
Slaughter explains his calculation process for a reactivation campaign (pictured below). The steps were:
- Identify the list to use in these email campaigns (people who have registered for a past workshop)
- Decide the variable data that we wanted to use (beside first name, we also used the date and title of that workshop)
- Produce the email graphic design for our campaign
- Schedule and send the campaign
- Deal with any email deliverability issues (such as bad addresses)
Whether or not you're based in Indianapolis, consulting firms can help you with a variety of business improvement needs. But at the end of the day you need to understand the math involved in figuring out what has an impact and what doesn't in your organization. That's true whether you're solving a problem related to marketing, product development, customer service, or virtually anything else.
Sharpen your pencils! Compute the return on your current investment. Figure out if what you're working on is actually working for you.
When I started my company, I knew that if I ever had employees, I wanted them to feel that Roundpeg was the best place to work. My career has been filled with jobs I loved and a few I didn't, so I had a pretty clear picture of what would make Roundpeg a great place to work. I knew it would be the culture.
The word "culture" gets used a lot. When a company institutes a Colts Blue Friday or brings in pizza for lunch, everyone says "they have a great culture." While those things are nice, culture is about more than what you wear to work or how often you bring in food. Culture is about what you really value as an organization.
So how do you build a great culture? As the leader, it starts with you. Deliberately or by accident, you mold your culture with the decisions you make.
As you hire new people, look for people who seem to naturally exhibit the behaviors you value. At Roundpeg, passion is important to us. Someone who uses the phrase " I wouldn't mind doing that" when talking about a task or assignment won't be offered a job on our team. It seems like a small thing, but their choice of words clearly conveys their lack of passion. They won't fit in our culture.
Companies which really value their people feel different. I saw that in one of my first jobs working for a large ($750 million) family-owned business. The president was accessible and made an effort to get to know the people who worked for his company. I have this wonderful vivid memory of John sitting on a stack of boxes in my office as we discussed a new project.
As a result of the value he placed on people, when we reorganized the company, shutting down regional offices, there were a lot of conversations about the impact on the people. He was actively involved in discussions about alternatives and demanded the plans include support for people through the transition. Although there was a significant staff reduction, those of us who remained didn't have the typical survivor guilt or fear that we would be next.
Today, Roundpeg is everything I always hoped it would be. It is a place where creative, talented, passionate people are serious about what they do. But it is also a comfortable place, relaxed place where we have fun along the way.
Lorraine Ball can be found at the center of the chaos that is Roundpeg, a Digital Agency, serving the small business community.
One of our consultants recently worked with a team trying to come up with an effective marketing program. The pressure was on to help the marketing department bring in more customers. Soon the conversation turned to a lack of resources, and someone brought up the following quotation:
"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."—Leonard Bernstein
It's hard to be clever, and it's particularly hard when you're trying to do something like come up with a creative marketing idea. But this quote does put the problem into perspective. Having not quite enough time can be a motivator for problem solving.
Knowing what you want to do but not enough runaway ahead of you to do it is certainly a cause of fear. But what can we do to besides experience frustration? How do we handle the problem itself?
Here's another perspective:
"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another."—William James
We all get to decide where to focus. Even with the story of our consultant and her client racking their brains to come up with a creative marketing program, they can choose to think about how they feel or think about how to attack the problem.
Our choices are supposed to show us that we have freedom. But whatever we select, we are also opting not to do something else. To quote a famous humorist:
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want."—Bill Watterson
...about 600 district and territory managers and other staffers, with hundreds more from headquarters, jumped into stores for a 10-day push that closed the fiscal year that just ended.It was a big effort, but Best Buy did not bother with a project name. No acronym or clever tag line.
“We called it ‘all hands on deck,’?” said Shawn Score, who was appointed head of U.S. retail last fall. “We tried to keep it so simple you could just get it.”
Really?
"All hands on deck" is a nautical term which means "due to an immediate, ship-wide life-threatening crisis, crew members who are not currently working must report in to help save everyone."
That might make sense if Best Buy were a ship at sea running along peacefully when suddenly an enemy vessel or a huge storm strikes and everyone on could be killed within the hour.
But the problems at Best Buy are not like a calamity on the ocean. The company has been struggling for years. In this case, "all hands on deck" seems to actually be an implied "we've decided the problem is that you were not working hard enough in the past, so now you're going to work all the time."
The lunacy of this idea is illustrated by CEO Hubert Joly 's own words, as quoted in the article: "This is a time when we all need to be mobilized as a team [and] work toward our vision..."
Are there times at which the company doesn't need to be mobilized as a team? Are there periods during which it is not important to work toward a shared vision?
What matters at any organization is results. Best Buy clearly must rethink their business model, but this effort should be through a renewed emphasis on finding out what works best, not on demanding that people simply work more.
A wise captain will call for "all hands on deck" in those precious minutes where it makes sense to sacrifice the sleep and well-being of most of the crew to keep everyone alive. But a wise leader knows that you cannot sustain "all hands on deck" for much longer than a single battle or a single nasty storm.
Weary sailors fail in their duties. Overburdened crews abandon their posts. Angry mariners desert their ships. They evolve from dutiful seaman into vengeful mutineers.
If Best Buy aims to sail successfully into uncharted waters, they should consider the impact of their choices on their people.
Do Stand Up When You SpeakIf you’re not standing when you’re presenting, you’re just in a meeting. Standing up gives you presence and authority. It also allows you to see everyone in the audience and helps you to retain control of the program.
Don’t Lecture the Whole Time
Yes, you are presenting on a topic where you have some expertise. But just because you profess to know something doesn't mean you should drone on like a college professor.
Instead, break up your presentation with elements that don’t involve you talking. You can add some video, an individual exercise, a group activity, ask participants to read sections aloud, and even play music. And if you will be speaking for more than 90 minutes, make sure you give folks a break every hour.
Slaughter also covers a few other points, including:
Do Provide an Agenda and Follow ItWhen you tell people what you’re going to tell them, you create an “up-front contract.” You establish the parameters and this makes everyone feel more comfortable.
...
Don’t Start Late, and Don’t Go Over Time
Respect the participants by arriving early, starting on time, and ending when you said you would.
Do Practice What You Are Going to Say
Try to schedule at least one complete run through with an empty room. Practice standing and speaking and going through each part of the program as if there was a live audience.
For more tips, read the complete article at Roundpeg's website.
She's also young. Born in 1975, she's currently the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Mayer is also a woman in a field dominated by men. And famously, she took the job knowing she was pregnant.
Everything looked good. Mayer came from a company known for brilliant employees and a positive culture. So this smiling face was supposed to what would save Yahoo from destroying itself:
However, the first hint that Marissa Mayer might not be best choice surfaced in September. I blogged about her process improvement strategy:
Marissa Mayer, the new boss at Yahoo, has a new strategy for catapulting the company forward. According to one source, her plan is to set expectations impossibly high and dismiss people unwilling to meet them....
This scenario [potentially] highlights a lack of judgment in management. She has indirectly told her workers that they are unqualified. She is also establishing a precedent as someone who refuses to trust an estimate at face value.
If the employees accept the challenge, the result will be exhaustion and probably failure. If another group steps up—who knows less about the project because it wasn’t their idea—the result will likely be exhaustion and failure.
It wasn't clear at the time if the story was 100% true. But a recent leaked memo (courtesy AllThingsD) from reveals a surprising turn:
Yahoos,Over the past few months, we have introduced a number of great benefits and tools to make us more productive, efficient and fun. With the introduction of initiatives like FYI, Goals and PB&J, we want everyone to participate in our culture and contribute to the positive momentum. From Sunnyvale to Santa Monica, Bangalore to Beijing — I think we can all feel the energy and buzz in our offices.
To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.
Beginning in June, we’re asking all employees with work-from-home arrangements to work in Yahoo! offices. If this impacts you, your management has already been in touch with next steps. And, for the rest of us who occasionally have to stay home for the cable guy, please use your best judgment in the spirit of collaboration. Being a Yahoo isn’t just about your day-to-day job, it is about the interactions and experiences that are only possible in our offices.
Thanks to all of you, we’ve already made remarkable progress as a company — and the best is yet to come. Jackie
It's hard to know where to begin. Yahoo is supposed to be a technology company. It's a bit hard to know for certain. One blogger has been tracking their mission and vision statement, which has changed over twenty times since they started. But here's what it seems to be, from Yahoo's own materials:
Yahoo! is the premier digital media company.Yahoo! creates deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. That's how we deliver your world, your way...
Doesn't seem like they should be requiring that people be in the office, does it?
Should a company famous for connecting people to each other no matter where they are in the world require people to drive into the office?
Should an organization whose goal has been to use the latest communication and collaboration technology be one that depends on random cafeteria conversations?
Should a company trying to invent the future get stuck in the thinking of the past?
I don't think so. Marissa Mayer, this is your wake-up call.
Here's a straightforward definition:
Values are preferences that represent what people believe to be appropriate courses of action.
That should give you a clue that values aren't necessarily positive. And values are what people believe, not necessarily what management prints on the wall.
An organization might value fear. It might value people exhausting themselves by working 100 hour weeks. It might value secrecy.
On the other hand, an organization can value trust. It can value honesty. An organization could value transparency.
We've all worked at companies where the organization doesn't value what we value. Or maybe they say they care about something, but their actions and policies highlight something else.
So what is the most important value at work? Is it integrity? Commitment? Being customer-focused?
I was speaking with another Indianapolis consultant the other day, and it hit me. While all of these are good, the most essential value in a workplace is dignity.
Every other value that might benefit your organization stems from human dignity.
If people have a fundamental worth---if we care about their opinions, their health, and their capacity to contribute---then it is easy to discover our values at work.
Dignity is what matters most. If you have it, you can do anything. If you don't, you won't have a reason to stay.
According to an article from MIT's Technology Review, the challenge may be due to overly simplistic thinking:
Common sense tells us that a member who is competent at a given level will also be competent at a higher level of the hierarchy. So it may well seem a good idea to promote such an individual to the next level.The problem is that common sense often fools us. It's not so hard to see that a new position in an organization requires different skills, so the competent performance of one task may not correlate well with the ability to perform another task well.
These thoughts come from Alessandro Pluchino and his colleagues from the Universita di Catania, who created a powerful computer simulation of an organization to test this theory. Not only does their model show that people do tend to be promoted to the level of their own incompetence, but that promoting employees at random actually produces better results!
You may have heard this before (but hopefully not from business consultants!) It's sometimes called the "Peter Principle" from a famous book of the same name. And although the premise is only half-joking, science may be showing that this is actually a fact.
A computer simulation does not constitute absolute proof of a theory about real people in real organizations, but it does present an interesting idea. The way we reward and promote people may not always make sense. The way we conduct key tasks at the office—our workflow—is something which requires careful design and evaluation. If something as important as career advancement has broken workflow, what about routine tasks like processing email, answering the phone, handling client requests, or generating proposals?
As Indianapolis consultants, we're called upon to help companies figure out how to solve problems as sensitive as making decisions about promotions to those as routine as how to solicit a bid. But every element of business matters. If you need business advice, we're here to help.
This is the advice from an article in the Ivey Business Journal, which notes:
While companies use diverse incentives such as high wages, performance rewards, and stock options to recruit, retain and motivate highly skilled professionals, they assume that employees at the bottom of the corporate ladder can be replaced easily — and don’t need incentives.
Isn't that pretty much what everyone thinks? Employees that are paid only a little more than the minimum wage must be easy to find. After all, there's always unemployment. If someone doesn't want to work, wouldn't we assume there is somebody else waiting take that job?
Researchers Jody Heymann and Magda Barrera studied different companies in 9 countries all over the world. One large firm stood out: Costco, the wholesale retail club. They write:
Leaders at Costco believed that providing advancement opportunities for entry-level workers was necessary for the company’s continuing success. Given the company’s continuing growth, senior managers explained that preparing workers for management positions was the only way to guarantee that they would have managers who knew and understood the company’s operations. Costco executives believed that experience on the warehouse floor made for better leaders. Managers with warehouse experience understood how the warehouses functioned, how to improve operations, and how to best support their staff. The company’s commitment to promoting from within was evident in the fact that it promoted from within 98 percent of the time. Sixty-eight percent of warehouse managers had started with the company as hourly employees.
The case studies also looked at small firms as well. One was a packing supplies company from Canada:
"[The] commitment to sharing profits extended to all employees. Every month, 15 percent of the company’s pre-tax profits were split equally amongst everyone from managers to workers on the factory floor. As a result, workers at every level were aware of how the firm was performing and were motivated to find ways to improve productivity and reduce costs....profit sharing and incentives gave workers a personal stake in the company’s success. Workers were motivated to increase the company’s profits, since this meant that their own incomes would increase at the same time. At the same time, they understood how the company was doing and how their actions could result in improvements. The resulting increased sense of ownership meant that employees worked harder and watched co-workers, since a drop in productivity and product quality would lead to reduced profits for the company — and reduced earnings for employees.
Although we sometimes assume that high turnover and wage cuts are just part of business, this research shows that they may be part of a larger issue. What happens if we treat all employees with respect? Companies that provide real opportunity and genuine incentives to contribute have the chance to become the most successful of all.
Sometimes an individual is so good at their job they become stuck in a position because their management fears promoting or transferring them to another position would cause what they do to completely fall apart. The worker is capable of more or moving on, but they never get the opportunity to do so
At one point in time, I was on a small team who wrote a manufacturing work flow software application. It worked well. So well the business entity counterpart in another division asked us to clone and modify the software for their group. After implementing the modified clone, another group asked for another clone/modify version of the software. Our team felt we were headed for a career cloning, modifying, and, of course, supporting the same software package over and over again. By that time we finished clone both of the other two team members had left the company. And I went on maternity leave to have my son, Robby. The joke was the only way to get off cloning and modifying project was to quit or have a baby.
Our team took drastic measures not to be stuck in the job. Drastic measures such as these are not always the best or possible solution. Maternity leave is not an option for many folks.
So what does the worker do when they find they are so good at what they do, they are stuck?
It is important for the individual to show they can do more for the organization by moving on (or up) than just doing the job they are really good at.
Managers should look for people stuck in the rut. They may want to stay there for job security, or the ego rush of being needed. But tomorrow they may get “hit by a bus.” Work with them to document, find them a mentee, and help them find assignments that will expand their horizons. Just do not promote them to a “position where they reach their level of incompetence.”
About Phyllis Slaughter—she spent 39 years in the Information Technology field doing a variety of positions in a several companies. Among her accomplishments are helping code the Y2K problem and helping eradicate it years later; she can code in several computer languages, has lead projects, worked in software support, and established best practices for data security and change management. In 1999 she earned a Master’s degree in MIS. And she is Robby Slaughter’s mother.
Author Cal Newport describes this in an excellent blog post:
In the early 1990s, a trio of psychologists descended on the Universität der Künste, a historic arts academy in the heart of West Berlin. They came to study the violinists....
Flush with data, the researchers went to work trying to answer a fundamental question: Why are the elite players better than the average players?
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[One key discovery:] The researchers asked the players to estimate how much time they dedicated each week to leisure activities — an important indicator of their subjective feeling of relaxation. By this metric, the elite players were significantly more relaxed than the average players, and the best of the best were the most relaxed of all.
In other words, if you want to be more productive at work, figure out how to be less busy.
Part of this is about having a great workplace culture. But in many respects, increased workplace productivity is really about self-discipline and employee engagement. (Click that link for marshmallows. Seriously.)
Anyway, back to the blog post. Newport summarizes the study as follows:
This analysis leads to an important conclusion. Whether you’re a student or well along in your career, if your goal is to build a remarkable life, then busyness and exhaustion should be your enemy. If you’re chronically stressed and up late working, you’re doing something wrong. You’re the average players from the Universität der Künste — not the elite. You’ve built a life around hard to do work, not hard work.
How is your working life? Are you constantly busy and exhausted? Or are you figuring out how to do hard work on a schedule rather than just work that's hard to do?
When your business starts to expand, the temptation can be to treat it exactly as you did when you were in the early days of starting up; you try to control every aspect yourself. However, you may find that the more control you try to exert, the more aspects of your business tend to slip between your fingers.
This is completely understandable, but not necessarily practical; you see your business as your baby. After all, it was you who created it and you who saw it through its first faltering steps; no one knows your business like you do. But maybe now is the time to let other people step in, and perhaps in order to maintain full and effective control, you need to give a little bit of it up.
The first signs that you need to delegate are usually the early symptoms of the business owner’s worst enemy: burn out. You’ll find that you’re working longer hours, take fewer holidays and are more of a hindrance than a help to your colleagues. Let this go on any longer and you will burn out, which will make you absolutely useless to your own company. So by delegating, you are ensuring that the load is lightened from your shoulders and that you can continue to be the dominant force in the workplace.
Delegating doesn’t mean that you are giving up complete control to someone else, but it does mean that you can apportion sections of responsibility to others. Now might be the time to hire yourself a personal assistant or appoint someone to answer the phones. You might want to take on a part-time office assistant to deal with paperwork and invoices, or even call in a specialist if you are entering an area of business that you have little experience of. These services all cost money, but they also allow you to focus completely on the important aspects of running a business, rather than having to cope with the daily minutiae. Alternatively, if your budget won’t stretch to personnel, why not invest in small business bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks?
In addition, now might be the time to introduce some responsibility to your employees by giving them the power to make certain decisions without your say-so. This could be the beginning of laying the foundations for strong and effective teamwork. It’s widely accepted that the employee who is closest to the action is the one who is best positioned to make informed decisions. So as long as you set the guidelines for these eventualities and are secure in the idea that your employee understands the philosophies behind your business, you can delegate the ‘best person for the job’ without worrying. Your authority is never undermined through taking this step; it’s actually reinforced as you display trust in your staff. In addition, your employees will develop a vested interest in the way the business performs and you may find that, by taking a step back, its efficiency actually increases.
The trick is not to confuse presence with control. Just because you’re in the office, it doesn’t mean you’re being useful! If there are tasks that others can do on your behalf, then it gives you the breathing space to get on with other, more proactive responsibilities.
Carlo Pandian is a management graduate who is based in Australia and the UK. He loves contributing to business publications such as Small Businesses Do It Better, Under30CEO. Recently one of his posts was picked up by The New York Times! When he’s not online, Carlo loves visiting art exhibitions and cycling around town.
Email marketing experts agree that an essential part of your email campaign is timing. You want to make your messages go out on exactly the right day at exactly the right hour.Unfortunately, there isn't much agreement on when that should be. Copyblogger reports many expert email markterers prefer different times. Rick Whittington notes there several studies all showing different data. Scott Stratten insists content is more important than the timing. Even Delivra's competitor (and other email marketing firms) say there are no hard and fast rules. So what should you do?
Slaughter's reflections include the following:
Now for some actual advice about when to send an email message. Whatever you choose, be consistent. If you're writing a weekly newsletter, send it out at exactly the same time and day each week. If you're doing a drip campaign that provides an updated tip every three days, make certain it's actually delivered on that schedule. And be sure and promise the frequency in the text of the copy. People love it when you make and keep a promise!
Here at AccelaWork, we have our very own regular email newsletter that we've been sending out like clockwork for years. You can sign up for business improvement advice at no charge.
And if you're looking for email marketing best practices, talk to our friends at Delivra.
The answer that most people seem to offer is a resounding "yes." According to a piece in the Los Angeles Times:
In its annual poll, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. estimates that the almost monthlong tournament will cost American companies $134 million in "lost wages" as an estimated 3 million workers spend between one to three hours watching hoops.Employers: Brace yourself for slower Internet speeds as online streaming is expected to zap networks' bandwidth, the firm warns.
Of course, those figures come from a business consulting firm so they might be a little suspect. In fact, a Forbes article says they that the problem is real, but not that serious:
..a new report by staffing service OfficeTeam, makes it seem as though the March Madness productivity problem is overstated.The OfficeTeam report is based on responses from over one-thousand senior executives at mid-to-large sized companies, along with replies from more than four-hundred workers employed in office environments. It found that only one-in-five employees are distracted at work by the inherent excitement that forms from watching major sports competitions. Further, eleven percent (11%) of the executives polled said they find March Madness activities to be a welcome diversion, and a whopping fifty-seven percent (57%) of them admitted that while they do not encourage March Madness activities in the workplace, they find said activities to be “OK” in moderation.
...
An inherent flaw in that argument is that it discounts the ability of workers to perform at their jobs while following the games and assumes that people must choose to do one or the other. Further, many workers will put in extra time at their jobs in the beginning or end of the workday to compensate for any production that may be lost listening to a buzzer beater call.
What about an actual study that analyzes the work completed? Charles Clotfelter, a professor at Duke University, did some research and reported this for the Harvard Business Review:
...I wanted to see if I could find evidence that goes beyond anecdotes and back-of-the-envelope estimates. Through my research, I came up with clear evidence of the NCAA tournament's effect on patterns of work. Whether it's a serious problem is another question.To track the amount of work done, I obtained data on the number of academic journal articles viewed (through a web-based repository called JSTOR) by faculty and students in 75 university libraries across the country.
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In each of the three years I observed, the daily number of articles that users looked at [the first week of March Madness] dropped about 6 percent. This decline started on Monday and lasted the entire week.
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Big-time college sports leaves a giant footprint, and the influence of March Madness on patterns of work is just one example. But American productivity probably isn't affected too much, no more than it is by, say, Thanksgiving. People have fun, but most of them find a way to get their work done.
All of these reports cover the metrics of work output, but they don't cover the essential question of employee input.
If employees who were college basketball fans were really less productive for one month each year, wouldn't we ask that in the interview?
Maybe what really matters is whether workers are motivated to be productive. Then temporary distractions would not be so important; but rather our confidence in their ability to get things done.
After all, the biggest college basketball fans of all are probably the players, coaches, and supporting staff themselves. Who worries about them skipping out on practice to watch a game?
I wish I were making this up, but I'm not. As covered in AOL Jobs:
The idea of having employees walk around with electronic sensors to track their every move is unsettling. There are privacy and legal issues, and who wants to feel like they are just a cog in a system? But data companies say that the resulting reams of information will improve life for companies and employees.
I'm a huge fan of productivity. I'd like to think it's the main topic I'm known for an as an Indianapolis speaker. And I love measurement. How else will you improve productivity if you're not measuring what you're doing?
However, this story reminds me of a post we wrote about another productivity improvement plan. That one was based on movement-sensing technology that would sound an alarm if employees walked too slowly.
Here's more from the article:
The sensors are intended to measure when and how employees are truly productive. While individual information is collected, it's anonymized to provide metadata and hedge against privacy concerns. The information is then used to suggest how employees, and the company as a whole, can work more efficiently.[The team] placed electronic sensors in employees' badges, which includes a Bluetooth, a microphone (it doesn't record what people say, but rather the tone of their voice, speaking speed and volume), a motion sensor to measure movement, and an infrared beam.
The idea is that these analytic tools can help determine the nature of the conversations people are having. For example, the microphone can measure speaking tone, and the higher someone's tone or the faster they speak can indicate how excited or passionate they are at any given time.
It's easy to see why some researchers and some managers are excited about this "productivity improvement technology." But it's also easy to see how this can be used. Measurement eventually becomes monitoring
This supposed solution begs the real question: What is the definition of productivity?. The answer is that productivity is about setting and meeting objectives, not about measuring the tone of voice people use to talk to each other.
Ultimately, if we want to improve productivity we need to look at objectives. We need to step out back and encourage stakeholders to take risks. We need to accept that some people will want to have upbeat conversations and others will want to have tense conversations and others will not want to have conversations at all.
In summary: The secret to being more productive isn't more measurement. It's focusing on trust and results.
The story was reported all over the web, including at the Los Angeles times:
"[AA is] conducting a test for a boarding process whereby customers who do not have any baggage to stow in the overhead compartment will be boarded in a separate group. This is a limited test and results are still being analyzed."Airlines have long studied new ways to shorten the boarding time to squeeze more flights into each work shift and cut staffing, fuel and other costs.
Every minute cut on boarding can save $30 per flight, according to a 2008 study in the Journal of Transport Management.
This is an interesting idea. Every air traveler has been frustrated with waiting on others to stuff their luggage into one of those overhead bins. Providing early boarding to people who skip carry-on bags altogether could improve the process considerably.
What is most surprising, however, is that scientists have known for years that boarding people by rows and blocks is the worst method of all. This was covered by The Economist way back in 2011:
According to Dr. Steffen, two things bog down the boarding process. The first is that passengers are often forced to wait in the aisle while those ahead of them stow their luggage and then get out of the way. The second is that passengers already seated in aisle or middle seats often have to get up and move into the aisle to let others take seats nearer the window. Dr Steffen's proposal minimises the former type of disturbance and eliminates the latter.There's even a video (direct link) that shows how much better this method is for everyone!
This goes to show that process improvement is not actually about process improvement. It's about culture and organizational change. Even if you have a better idea that you can prove works and will save lots of money, you still have to convince people to consider a change.
If your organization needs to solve these kinds of challenges, you may want to talk to some business consultants that specialize in process improvement. But ask them about the role of helping people to change their mindset. That's what matters most, and what is most difficult to achieve.
This document is really more of an infographic. It starts with a friendly banner, as if to promise that it's going to propose something that is bold but entirely reasonable.
The full email charter comes from a not-for-profit housing association based in the United Kingdom, just outside of Liverpool. In fact, the complete work is simple enough to be printed on poster and hung on a wall. Here it is:
We've covered email productivity many times in the past here on The Methodology Blog. We even teach email management classes. So it should be no surprise that we support an email charter like this one.
It's crucial to note, however, that many aspects of this campaign only work inside a single organization. For example, consider #7, "I will try to use 'thank you in advance' rather than sending a separate two word 'thank you' email."
This is a great idea within a company where you have professional standards. But when you're working with customers, vendors and prospects, you can't always expect them to have received a message just because you sent it to them. For these people, the follow up "thank you" is a way to provide comfort that a message was actually delivered.
Likewise, the comment at the bottom ("If these rules are broken you will be named and shamed") is probably culturally appropriate within the Halton Housing Trust, where there is lighthearted banter and this statement is not too serious. But that might not be a great recipe for healthy workplace culture in every organization.
Nevertheless, your company should consider it's own email charter. And we have permission from the Halton Housing Trust: If you like theirs, feel free to use it!
Thanks to Nick Atkin for providing a copy of the email charter for this post.
Check out this article about entrepreneur Thorkil Sonne:
In Sonne's native Denmark, as elsewhere, autistics are typically considered unemployable. But Sonne worked in IT, a field more suited to people with autism and related conditions like Asperger's syndrome. "As a general view, they have excellent memory and strong attention to detail. They are persistent and good at following structures and routines," he says. In other words, they're born software engineers.We can all imagine the stereotype of antisocial geeks who prefer computers to people. But these sorts of conditions don't necessarily lead to a life of solitude and technical wizardry. Just ask Penelope Trunk, a nationally-recognized career expert and blogger who has Asperger's:
The reason I’m good at giving career advice is because I had to learn things systematically, which helps me break it down for everyone else.These stories remind us that work is not merely the completion of tasks, but rather, the output of personalities. Individuals who have autism and Asperger's tend to be more methodical than social. That makes them great at detailed technical work and breaking down complex subtleties to share with others. Who we are predicts how we will excel. Seeking employees with autism might be the right choice for some businesses.For example, I had to learn that a candy dish on someone’s desk means “I like to talk with people.” Other people read this cue instinctively. It makes for a good blog post but an annoying co-worker if I don’t teach myself stuff quickly.
As we covered back during Remote Work Week aboutemployee productivity, personality type is the best leading indicator of who will work better at the office or from home. Successful business leaders like Sonne and Trunk would likely agree that knowing how your fellow employees think will help everyone to optimize productivity. If you're interested in reviewing these social dynamics at your organization, contacts our business consultants at AccelaWork. We love to help companies learn more about who they are and how they can succeed.
The subject of increased employee productivity has been a topic here on The Methodology Blog since the beginning. But lately, we've been talking about the relationship between how much you get done and how much freedom you have. In fact, there is a strong relationship between increasing employee productivity and increasing employee freedom.
When I commented on Yahoo's telecommuting policy reversal, my big concern is that this sounded like a culture of control. I wrote: "Should a company trying to invent the future get stuck in the thinking of the past?"
I've also written recently about the most important workplace value---human dignity. And when we covered a story of using electronic sensors to track an employee's every move, it seems clear that we're moving away from individual contributions and creativity and towards a model where people are required to perform according to prescribed patterns which are closely monitored.
A recent podcast interview on IEEE Spectrum discussed these issues with some interesting perspectives. (Read the transcript, or listen)
Here's a good quote from the conversation with John Sullivan, a consultant and management professor:
Interviewer: What about the Richard Branson credo: “Give people the freedom of where to work, and they will excel.” Let’s call this assertion No. 2: Employees who are empowered to choose where and when to work will work more happily and better. True or false?Sullivan: Well, those are what we call words. So words are interesting, and they make good poetry, but you need data. So he has no data. He’s not a data-driven guy. Google has data. So they have a whole function called the People Analytics group that does nothing but analyze how to get the most out of workers, how to increase innovation. So whenever anyone has an opinion, I mean it’s great to have an opinion, but if you’re an engineer, you understand that at Google or Facebook, decisions are made based on data.
Data is wonderful, but it takes wisdom to decide what to measure and to interpret data correctly. Google is the company that famously measured responses to 41 shades of blue. Endless testing is not design. If your innovation strategy is evolution, you just get what survives, not what meets the needs of real people.
Jeb Banner, writing a leading Indianapolis web design firm (and a fellow Broad Ripple, Indianapolis consulting business), comments on the proliferation of big data:
[We'll see] a shift from "gut" to numbers. Although there should always be room for gut and instinct in business, data will allow us to simulate and test on a level that was unimaginable until just recently.
Banner is right on both counts: data gives us more power, but there should always be room for individual creativity based on instinct.
So what is the answer?
We do want to measure results. When people create something of value that is true employee productivity.
We do want to encourage innovation. That means team members should have the freedom to try things, conduct experiments, make mistakes and work on new ideas without a clear understanding of where they are going.
We do not want to focus on activity. Looking busy, or even being busy, is not the sign of a real progress. Programs that try to measure and control everything an employee does distract us from understanding what makes each employee unique.
The fundamental value is dignity. Set expectations and respect individuals. That's what matters most.
All well and good for you to caution Indianapolis blog content writers to make their writing easy to understand, remarked fellow blogger Robby Slaughter, commenting on a Say It For You post, but that’s far from easy to accomplish.Take the first two paragraphs you’re reading right now. The Flesch-Kincaid score, which indicates how easy a text is to read, assigns these a score of 30, closer to small-print legalese (which might score 8-10) than to comic books (which might score around 90). The FLES reading ease score for the paragraph is 12, meaning it would take a typical high school senior to make sense of the message.
How much importance should freelance blog writers place on writing levels? Well, if state automobile insurance policies are any indication, quite a lot (insurance policies, by law, must be written at no higher than a ninth grade level). Obviously, as I explain in corporate blogging training sessions, much depends on your product and services and the target audience. Business owners and the freelance blog writers they hire must gear their writing towards the reading levels of that target audience.
The Flesch-Kincaid scoring system, I was reminded, was developed under contract to the U.S. navy back in 1975. The test measures how many words are in each sentence, and how many syllables are in each word.
Remember that SEO marketing blogs represent a form of “pull marketing”. Web searchers are on a fact-finding mission, looking for information. To the extent that what you do, what you sell, and what you know about are a good match with their needs, readers will be directed to your blog. The goal is to have searchers not only read what you've written, but to have them react favorably by becoming clients or customers. That’s why your knowledge of your target audience needs to influence every aspect of your blog writing, including how easy that writing is for the readers to understand!
At the same time, blogging for business is designed to be more conversational and more informal than, say, brochure or website content. As a professional ghost blogger, that tells me I don’t need to be overly “pre-meditated” or scientific in my approach. After all, the blog writing needs to resemble the kind of conversations the business owner carries on every day with customers.
No doubt, “Flesh-testing” can be of business blogging assistance, along with analytics regarding number of visitors, the length of time those visitors spend on the site, and how many take action. The main emphasis for business owners, though, needs to be on “getting the word out” with frequent posting of new, relevant blog content.
Rhoda Israelov wrote financial advice columns for the Indianapolis Business Journal, the Indianapolis Star, Radius Magazine, Columbian Magazine, and other publications for twenty-five years. Today, at her now four-year-old Say It For You ghost blogging and blog marketing training company, Rhoda and a growing cadre of contract writers create content for corporate blogs, brochures, web page content, white papers, newsletter, and email campaigns for several dozen business-to-consumer and business-to-business corporate clients.
There are several major advantages to using local, Indianapolis speakers for your Central Indiana firm:
If you're thinking about hiring an Indianapolis speaker, however, don't make the classic mistake of just arranging for one program. The time, effort and coordination required to put together a single speaking event makes it hard to recover your investment.
That's why we here at AccelaWork offer a customized speaker series. You select the theme, choose from our menu of experts, schedule the dates you want in the months ahead, and we take care of the rest.
Your marketing budget is limited. Choose wisely how you spend it.
That's the topic of a new article in Metro. They write:
Productivity consultant and author of “The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook” Pierre Khawand says: “When we are working a few minutes here and a few minutes there, we are staying at the superficial level and not getting deep into anything.” Here are his strategies for digging in deeper to get more work done.
Khawand's book includes a brilliant little graphic that explains instantly how to increase your personal productivity:
What may be most interesting about this image is what appears on the vertical axis. It doesn't say "activity" or "work", but it measures results. That brings us to a larger point that we've been talking about for years here on The Methodology Blog: productivity is about defining results.
A good way to think about employee productivity at work---especially if you are a manager, or if you are talking to your manager about becoming more efficient---is to compare your tasks with fireworks. What matters is not just that you start doing something. Instead, you must be able to focus on a project for a continuous block of time. If you do, you'll get the beautiful result. But if you are interrupted before you can make any real progress, you often feel you might as well start over.
If you want to get more done in your business, think fireworks. Imagine a company in which people set the stage, light a fuse, and stepped out of the way. With only a little bit of time to actually focus on making progress, your employees will amaze and illuminate everyone. That's the secret to increasing productivity at work.
Wolchko, a high school junior from New Jersey, won the state's bowling championship by utilizing a very different technique. Instead of holding and rolling the bowling ball with one hand, he uses both. Below is a short video that demonstrates his uniquely unorthodox style (direct link):
Most often, we find that completing a process in the typical and standard fashion is the best, most successful way possible. Yet, as Wolchko proves above, sometimes adhering to convention simply feels wrong or worse yet, limits ability.
Out of the box methods, as bizarre as they may initially seem, can help fuel innovation and develop new guidelines that in time become the norm. Take for example the forward pass in football. Though the technique existed in the early days of the game, it was used more so as a trick play. Nowadays, passing to a sprinting wide receiver is by no means odd. In fact, it's a regular occurrence that often ends in yardage gained or perhaps even a touchdown. And despite all the tradition that comes with America's favorite sport, it's certainly hard to imagine what the game would be like if coaches and teams didn't test the waters throughout the years to develop new ways of reaching victory.
Success has many definitions, but one thing is for sure: there's more than just one right way to achieve it. The key is finding a process that works for you and utilizing it to the best of your ability. So don't be afraid to experiment with new ideas. They just may become the breakthrough you've been looking for.
A conversation with Sharon revealed some major challenges with this philosophy:
Sharon: “Yesterday, for example, I had to drive all the way across town just to pick up a check from a customer.”“Really? Why not have the customer mail it in?”
Sharon: “Because then it might arrive after the 1st of the month, which essentially wouldn't count towards my current goals. Plus, I wouldn't get paid on that check until the following month!”
“Wow!”
Sharon: “On top of that, I had to call another customer, who is still making some final selections, to ask if I could charge their credit card for part of the estimated balance.”
“That sounds like it would be a difficult conversation.”
Sharon: “Yeah, I hate to pressure the customer in order to fit my schedule. Unfortunately, I just don’t have much of a choice!”
Some might argue that salespeople thrive on stress and deadlines. Yet, even if Sharon enjoyed the thrill of meeting an objective, in the end she wasted valuable time and gasoline on an unnecessary trip. Plus, she was forced to threaten a developing customer relationship by asking for an advance payment. Clearly, this is not a good business proecss.
Not only are these actions unpleasant for the stakeholders, they limit overall productivity. Instead of spending her day driving and pleading, Sharon could have concentrated more of her energy on helping customers and making sales.
Workflow is often constrained by arbitrary rules. Although there might be some benefit to creating incentives for closing deals, they must be weighed against potential drawbacks. Corporate programs for rewarding employees are generally not strategic, but tactical. If anyone knows the best way to generate leads, work with customers, deliver results and provide exceptional support, it is not the sales program but the sales people who will do so. The best business processes are ones that are carried about by individuals who see them as valuable for everyone involved.
Empowering individuals with the responsibility and authority to handle such tactical issues will avoid stressful events like those outlined above. AccelaWork's Indianapolis consultants help organizations review current workflow, redesign business processes and implement key changes. If you are ready to talk about working smarter, reach out and contact us today!
First, if your goal is to hire a speaker, then acknowledge the use of the word "hire." That means that you express an intent to pay someone for their time.
Of course, you may not have a budget to pay speakers, and that's okay. You may be paying the speaker through exposure to your audience. That means you'll be sure to provide them a complete list of all of the registrants with their contact information. And you'll be happy to make individual introductions before, during and after the event.
Second, ask the speaker for a speaking contract. This is something that many speakers won't volunteer until you ask for it, because it can be intimidating for event organizers.
However, the contract does help to set expectations. It also can answer any questions you might have (and especially questions you didn't think to ask) about preparing the venue, introducing the speaker, explaining who they are, and advertising appropriately.
Third, have a marketing plan before contacting the speaker. This is especially crucial if you cannot guarantee an audience. But even if everyone attending the event is required to be there—such as at a company rally—you want to the audience excited about attending so that the speaker is walking into a room that is ready to hear from them.
Your plan should at least consist of an online registration system, a couple of announcements to your audience by email, and a press release. If you have the budget for mailers, great! Even better, if you can make time to submit the event to community calendars, that can be extremely helpful.
Fourth, clarify the ground rules. Do you want the speaker to pitch their business? Do you want them to not pitch something else? Do you want the speaker to sell books or materials in the back of the room? Or do you want them not to sell anything at all?
A major element of the ground rules is the format. A speaker who is hired to do a keynote with slides does not want to end up in a seminar room leading a facilitation session. Make sure you communicate verbally as well as in writing the basic structure of the event.
Finally, plan to give feedback. Real feedback. Sure, you should probably pass out feedback forms to attendees either at the session or later via email. But these generally don't produce much useful information.
Instead, plan to have coffee with the speaker or call them on the phone a few days after the event. That way, you can let them know what they can do better.
That's it! Keep these tips in mind. And let us know if you want to hire a speaker in Indianapolis.
Take a minute to salute your parents – they went through high school without Google and graduated college by taking notes on a paper notepad – yes, an actual crafted-from-a-tree notepad. After a minute of silence, check out these awesome apps that will transform note-taking into an easy and fun process.
Have you ever attended an event and later suffered the consequences of flawed note-taking? You got a name or a year wrong? Maybe botched the transcription of a quote in your attempt to type fast enough?
Taking notes during events like seminars or lectures, has been brought to an entirely new level in today's digital age of cloud computing, tablets and smartphones. There is an enormous variety of software applications out there that will ease the process of note-taking by allowing you to use options such as speech-to-text and permitting you to synchronize your notes with your Google account, make snapshots, attach files, back up your notes and many more options. So let’s take a look at some of the best note taking apps out there, shall we?
Let’s first address the elephant in the room – Evernote. This app is one of the greatest additions to any high-tech gadget out there - laptops, smartphones, tablets, you name it. With its ability to attach a variety of items (e.g. video, audio, PDF files) to notes, Evernote is a leader in this niche. The application synchronizes your notes across a wide variety of different platforms and allows you to multitask by giving you the opportunity to take notes, while recording audio. You can also attach images and other types of files to create a truly rich document.
With Evernote you can tag your notes - a useful feature that will ease future search and will organize your notes. The application also provides location information for each note, which is incredibly useful in finding notes from a certain location.
Students, journalists and other professionals could greatly benefit from the timely cloud-storing and syncing capabilities of this application. Most users seek immediate access to information in a note taking app and Evernote does a fantastic job at delivering this service.
GNotes
If you're into Google sync experience and want to try something new, GNotes is the app for you. GNotes is an Android note taking app that enables you to take notes easily on your mobile devices.
All notes you take via this app can be synchronized with GMail or Google App Mail after you set your account.
GNotes lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, shopping lists, record voice memos, create handwriting, paint and so on.
You can organize notes in notebooks and folders, use a drag-and-drop option to move or delete notes, pin a particular note to your home screen and share notes to other apps like GMail, Google Plus and EverNote, among others.
GNotes offers many of the key features that a typical user is looking for in an efficient note taking app. The handwriting feature and item attachment options add to the quality of the note taking experience.
AudioNote
AudioNote is another great note taking app - it enables you to record audio during a meeting, lecture or other type of event. The app will automatically synchronize the audio to where you write or draw on your tablet. This software application has one really useful feature - it allows you to simply tap on a word and the audio will start to play. There is no need to search through your audio anymore. Instead you can just write a keyword down when a topic is being discussed and the app will help you write down only the essentials and let you use audio for the rest of your note taking.
The notes you take will actually be highlighted as you play back your recording. You can use drawing or typing to enter your notes. AudioNote is a must have app for those who want to sit back and relax in the next lecture or meeting.
Bianca Banova is a Media and Communications graduate writing for Mylife.com. She has a passion for mathematics, philosophy, marine biology and astrophysics and experience in journalism and Internet marketing.
An article from the Jamaica Observer explains:
"Jamaica needs to develop a culture of productivity and we are on a mission to build a productivity culture in Jamaica that will influence the growth and development of productivity-driven organisations and individuals in both the public and private sectors," [Minister of Labour and Social Security Derrick] Kellier said."Productivity must become everybody's business and we are starting a productivity revolution," he said.
"Our emphasis on productivity growth as a priority strategy is far from being simplistic and we have to retool and introduce new levels of technology into our business," he added.
The words of Mr. Kellier are certainly bold and optimistic. But if this is a country that wants to improve productivity, it has to change not only its culture, but also its stereotype. Many people around the world envision the island as place to relax, not as a place known for getting things done efficiently and effectively.
In fact, The Methodology Blog has already covered productivity and workflow issues in the Jamaican government. These problems aren't exclusive to this one Caribbean country, however. Any system anywhere in the world may have process and workflow challenges. And any productivity improvement program is subject to similar pressures from stakeholders, cultural expectations, and resource limitations.
If there's any secret to improving organizational productivity, it's recognizing that most of the changes are mental, not technical.
As Kellier says: "Jamaica needs to develop a culture of productivity."
Does your business need to do the same?
Writing for Delivra (a local email marketing provider), Robby advises:
Every time you identify a person's email address, decide what that person has in common with at least one other person associated with your company.Then, make sure both addresses are on the same list.
For more information, check out the complete blog post.
Here's the image. Keep scrolling for some analysis:
This isn't our first post on the drawbacks to telecommuting. But the graphic does make some claims, such as the notion that "Almost half of all American professionals admit to having difficulty maintaining productivity when working from home."
We'd suggest that half of all professionals admit to having difficult maintaining productivity anywhere. It's hard to stay productive! And our culture of interruption and immediacy makes it ever worse.
Here's the data from another survey that doesn't consider telecommuting at all:
Mounting stress appears to be harming American productivity as nearly 30 percent of employees readily concede being "too stressed to be effective" at work for at least five days in 2011, according to a new survey by ComPsych Corp.All told, two-thirds of U.S. workers reported extremely high stress levels, including fatigue and feeling a "loss of control" over what happens in the workplace, ComPsych reports.
In short, the disadvantage is not working from home. The disadvantage is the way we work.
Graphic courtesy InternetProvider.
The photo was taken around midday, just as people began to arrive for the volunteer appreciation luncheon.
A great way to show appreciation for your volunteers is to block off the best parking spots, right?
Of course that's not really what happened. It's probably the case that the building is doing some maintenance to the lot and needed to cordon off these spaces. It may also be the case that this is left over from another project and just has not been cleaned up.
But in any case, this one picture of a parking lot strikes at the heart of so many culture problems at so many companies. It's an issue that is everywhere.
It's called the silo effect.
In the case of this non-profit, the people managing the parking lot and the people managing the volunteer luncheon were not talking to each other. Hence, a bunch of cones demonstrate the silo effect phenomenon.
The reason the silo effect happens is because people are focused on their jobs rather than focusing on a unified organizational mission. Your job is not to maintain facilities or plan luncheons. Your job, in this case, is to make stakeholders feel welcomed.
So if you're going to have a luncheon, you might want to make sure that everyone knows there will be a building full of people who may not know where to park and what to do. And if you're going to tear apart the parking lot, you might want to make sure that everyone knows that the building will not be as accessible as usual.
Addressing the silo effect is more than just inter-departmental communication. Organizations need to figure out what is most important (their mission) and put that at the forefront.
Then, they won't be punishing volunteers for showing up to be appreciated. And they won't end up here in a blog post.
First, a reminder of what's going on. As we previously covered Yahoo dumped telecommuting through a memo (which I called "incredibly foolish.") That document stated "To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side."
But last week, Mayer updated everyone with some new information. CNNMoney reports:
Mayer defended her decision by first acknowledging that "people are more productive when they're alone," and then stressed "but they're more collaborative and innovative when they're together. Some of the best ideas come from pulling two different ideas together."
Okay, I can't really argue with that. It's true that most people are more productive when they are alone. But that statement is a little bit unfair by itself, because it's really talking about the kind of productivity which is related to distraction. For example, athletes perform better in groups, even if they aren't specifically told they are competing.
And it's also true that most people are more collaborative and innovative in small groups. But those groups don't need to be in person. In the book Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science, Michael Nielsen writes:
Online tools are enabling architecture of attention that go beyond what is possible in offline methods of collaboration.
Perhaps Marissa Mayer should note that Yahoo has been long heralded as one of the companies that most aggressively uses Linux, the open source operating system. And Linux is created and maintained almost entirely by thousands of volunteers who collaborate almost solely using online tools.
Surely since Yahoo's employees are paid, they can collaborate online as effectively as the volunteers who created the operating system that the company depends upon?
Regardless, though, the conversation has shifted away from productivity to innovation. Mayer seems to believe that Yahoo's number one challenge is finding ways to be more innovative, not ways to be more productive.
That's an entirely different question. But it doesn't escape the fundamental issue of empowering team members to get work done whenever and wherever they believe makes the most sense.
Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Christopher Borrelli explains:
After a period of pretty-pleasing Netflix to let me poke around its clandestine Chicago-area hub, and see what wonders await and how its ubiquitous red-enveloped packages are processed, I was given an address and a time to arrive and asked not to blab about it. There are 58 Netflix warehouses nationwide, serving 10.6 million subscribers, and only one for greater Chicago; it opened in 2003, Netflix's 19th warehouse. To get there, I was told to go to Carol Stream, to be there around sunrise. I imagined it was like coming upon Narnia -- one stares at it awhile until the entrance becomes evident, which turned out to be sort of true.
We've raved about the employee engagement and culture at Netflix before. But two quotes from Borrelli's piece stand out:
Forty-two people work here, nearly every one in a red Netflix T-shirt, nearly every one in constant motion. Indeed, I was asked not to disturb their groove and hit them up with questions.
Even though a warehouse job might not take a great deal of intellectual skill, Netflix still recognizes the business process advantage of constant motion without interruptions (aka flow).
The writer continues:
To a casual observer, this all seems to happen in a single motion, a flurry of fingers. Employees are expected to perform this a minimum of 650 times an hour. Also, customers stuff things into the envelopes. Scribbled movie reviews, complaints, pictures of dogs and kids. That needs sorting too. After 65 minutes of inspection, a bell rings. Everyone stands up.Calisthenics!
While strict expectations of work-performed-per-hour may seem a little controlling, Netflix also recognizes the importance of measuring results. And part of maximizing results means keeping people limber and fresh. Hence the recurring exercise routine.
Your own business is probably not a competitor to Netflix. You may not have a warehouse or much work that is highly repetitive, such as sorting and analyzing DVDs.
But it's probably true that interruptions impact your success. It's probably true that if you are constantly in motion (mentally or physically) you feel a greater sense of progress.
And it's probably true that you should get up once in a while and exercise.
That's a lesson you don't need to rent a film to take to heart.
Here's a clip from Slaughter's article:
...for most organizations, it’s incredibly difficult to get content out of peoples' heads, and onto their website.Stakeholders may be too busy. Or they may feel uncomfortable with writing, editing, or speaking on camera. If you’re responsible for managing content, you are constantly looking for ways to get more information. But are you fully considering the possibility for content reuse?
The article takes a single sentence and converts it into eleven more pieces of content using a straightforward process. For example, Slaughter notes:
The easiest way to repurpose content is to make purely superficial changes.
Learn more at the annual CMSExpo event in Chicago.
In a blog post from the show All Tech Considered, Yuki Noguchi writes:
Worker pay is the most expensive line item in the budget for most businesses, which means billions of dollars are going to waste.But here's the silver lining: It turns out lack of productivity presents a big business opportunity.
The NPR piece is right that there are tons of challenges to being efficient at work. And although it's not easy to measure employee productivity, the author tried installing a software program intended to do just that:
With good reason, it turns out. My report said on my best day, I was only 68 percent productive. [Software creator] Hruska says mere awareness of where time is spent and wasted improves typical users' productivity by 10 percent.But productivity isn't just about saving wasted time or eliminating distraction. Increasingly, it means adapting to a workforce that's changing demographically.
The advance of tablets and Web-based computing makes it possible for more people to work remotely, but that also makes interoffice coordination a greater challenge.
We certainly agree. Check out the full article (including podcast) on their website.
And then, get back to work.
According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, the science of happiness has changed dramatically in recent times:
As an experimental social psychologist who has been studying happiness for almost 20 years, I’m often asked, “What makes people happy?” Until a few years ago, my answer always reflected the common wisdom and empirical findings in my field – “It’s relationships, stupid.” That is, I always responded that our interpersonal ties – the strength of our friendships, familial bonds, and intimate connections – show the highest correlations with well-being.Imagine my surprise then, after Ed Diener, Laura King, and I conducted a meta-analysis (a “study of studies”) of 225 studies of well-being. I wholly expected to discover that social relationships – more than any other variable – would be both causes and consequences of being happy. However, what I observed was something rather different. One factor towered over relationships in its connection with happiness. That factor was work.
This message flies in the face of popular notions about work. A popular saying advises us to "work to live, but do not live to work." Many warn about the dangers of burnout. The immensely popular movie Fight Club (based on Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel of the same name) includes the legendary quote "you are not your job." Why would would a leading social psychologist be telling us otherwise?
Lyubormisky goes on to explain:
The evidence, for example, demonstrates that people who have jobs distinguished by autonomy, meaning and variety – and who show superior performance, creativity, and productivity – are significantly happier than those who don’t.
The Methodology Blog has a long history of covering the relationship between productivity and satisfaction. As the Psychology Today continues, the two are inextricably connected:
The story doesn’t end there, however. Studies reveal that the causal direction between happiness and work runs both ways. Not only do creativity and productivity at the office make people happy, but happier people have been found to be more creative and productive. They are better “organizational citizens” (going above and beyond their job duties), better negotiators, and are less likely to take sick days, to quit, or to suffer burnout.
If you're looking for a way to increase personal productivity, try this one for size: Allow yourself to enjoy work, and acknowledge that satisfaction will lead to greater productivity. There is power in being conscious about what you do. And come hear one of our Indianapolis speakers! We would love to see you in the room.
That's the implication in an issue of L'Atelier, an online journal of "distruptive innovation." They write:
In January 2012, Mayor of San Francisco Edwin Lee appointed the city’s first Chief Innovation Officer, to foster a culture of innovation across City Hall, and leverage technology to improve San Francisco. “I am a firm believer that the spirit of innovation drives economic growth, solves our toughest civic challenges, and creates a better San Francisco for all of our residents.”
It's hard to know how much this initiative has really helped. Their first-year retrospective [PDF] touts a variety of accomplishments regarding increased access to government data.
It was only a few years ago that SFWeekly called their hometown "The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.". Their complaints include:
Voters approved a $106 million bond in 2000 to rebuild 19 libraries, and $28 million more was ponied up by the state and private donors. That money was spent without a coherent building plan being formulated between the Library Commission and Department of Public Works — leading to such large cost overruns and long delays that the commission abandoned five of the projects....
The San Francisco Chronicle revealed that the city had, for decades, been siphoning nearly $700 million from its Hetch Hetchy water system into the San Francisco General Fund instead of maintaining the aging aqueduct. Several mayors and boards of supervisors used that money to fund pet causes, and the Public Utilities Commission didn't say no.
...
San Francisco installed crime cameras in dangerous areas, which are proven to reduce crime if someone is watching them. The city, however, forbids anyone from watching them until after a crime is committed, out of privacy concerns.
...
The city raised nearly $5 million in private funds for an antipoverty program, Communities of Opportunity, then spent more than half the money on administration and marketing to "raise awareness" of the program among poor people. There wasn't enough money left to offer substantive assistance, and, after five years, an audit found no discernible results for the money spent.
There are plenty of other articles citing government inefficiency. Another from SF Weekly notes the problems with citizen commissions which end up "costing millions of dollars—and, in many cases, actually result in an entrenchment of the bureaucratic status quo."
All of these references are in the past, so San Francisco may have made significant progress in some of these areas. Still, cities need to become more efficient. However, innovation should be focused on fixing a broken process, rather than just making that broken process move faster.
Consider this offering from InnovateSF, the Mayor's program to improve government efficiency:
Figuring out what permits or licenses you may need to start or expand a business in San Francisco is tough. The overwhelmingly complex process may make even the most passionate entrepreneur hesitate.Aspiring small business owners have to navigate across as many as 10 different city departments, – not to mention state and federal agencies – making multiple phone calls and visits to City Hall, filling out dozens of forms, and often receiving conflicting or confusing information
Has InnovateSF identified ways to simplify and combine permits? Have they worked to eliminate permits that are redundant or no longer necessary?
No, they've built an online tool that sends you all of the permits you need after you answer a couple of questions.
Is that really innovation, or is it just taking an "overwhelmingly complex process" and hiding it from view?
Process improvement requires asking difficult questions. That's not just "how can we make this less painful?" but "why does it work this way in the first place?"
Regardless of your political affiliation, difficult questions are at the heart of good government.
Before I continue, let me be clear: I'm not complaining about when people are casually chatting in person or in a meeting. If we're having a live conversation your memory does not need to be perfect.
Rather, I am talking about when people send an email that says "I'm not sure if I already emailed you or not [on this topic]."
This is not acceptable. Because if you're going to make the effort to send an email, that means you can also check your sent items to see if you covered that topic already.
There are possible reasons why you might think that I'm set off by this behavior.
You might assume that I'm simply annoyed by this behavior because it's rude. After all, aren't you forcing someone else to waste their time by sending a message a second time?
And if you're really not certain, what advantage is there to adding this preamble? Isn't "I can't remember if I sent this or not" the same as "Don't take this the wrong way" or "If you don't mind me saying?"
In this sense, "I'm not sure if I sent this or not" is the same as "I may have already sent this before, but I'm sending it again because I'd rather you spend time reading it again than me spent time looking it up."
Another explanation is that "I'm not sure" is a way of saying "I am sure, but I don't want to expose your lack of organization."
In this case, the person writing "I'm can't remember if I sent this or not" is really sending a reminder. But to help the recipient save face, they apologize. "I'm sorry if you heard this already."
But in truth, neither of these are the reasons why I so strongly dislike "I'm not sure if I emailed you or not." Instead it's because it reveals a...
Many people think of their email system as a place to send and receive messages. But email is not merely a place to send and receive messages, and thinking of it as such can be harmful to your productivity.
Instead, email is your personal correspondence hub. Don't conceptualize your email as a blank stack of paper and a postal box. Instead, think of email as your very own social secretary.
So instead of writing and reading email, imagine yourself having a conversation with the secretary. They wouldn't send the same message to the same person twice, because they keep track of that sort of thing.
I'm reminded of how many people misuse the thermostat in their home. The correct mental model for a thermostat is this: the device knows the current temperature, so if you set it to the desired temperature it will turn on the heater or the A/C until the two numbers match.
But many people have an entirely different mental model. They think the thermostat is somehow "motivated" by the difference in the current reading and the desired setting. If the house is 58°F and you want it to be 72°F, it doesn't help to crank the setting up to 85°F. This does not make the heater work harder. All it does is keep working to change the temperature long after you've met your actual goal.
Likewise, your email (and your email partners) will not work harder if you have the wrong mental model. Managing your email inbox requires understanding what it really is.
So before you type "I'm not sure if I sent this or not," check your sent items. Or better yet, consider whether or not you should be sending an email at all.
Maybe the temperature is just fine the way it is.
Luke Mueller departed LAX on a red-eye AirTran flight headed for Pittsburgh. Prepared to travel through the night, his arrival time was set for 9:30 a.m.; however, he found himself stuck in Ft. Myers instead. According to Mueller, his short lay-over turned sour when his departure gate was changed at the last minute.
At 8:45 a.m. everyone at the gate was told to relocate to a different terminal for departure at 9:30 a.m. But when I got to the gate at 9:15 a.m., I was told the plane already left.Preposterous? Perhaps. But, to the AirTran gate attendant, his "tardiness" was not the airline's responsibility.
She told me that all the passengers were paged in the terminal and that everyone was accounted for. But clearly that wasn't the case because I was standing there, stranded.What Mueller later found out was that the flight actually departed at 9:05 a.m.—25 minutes earlier than scheduled. As a result, he spent the rest of the day trying to catch up with the fleeing flight.
I got on the next flight out from Ft. Myers, but still missed my second connecting flight. So, I had to wait again. After all was said and done, I didn't arrive in Pittsburgh until 5:30 p.m.The only compensation for his ordeal was an upgrade to first class on his remaining connection and a $25 travel voucher. A reimbursement that, according to Mueller, is "not enough incentive to ever travel their airline again."
There's no doubt that AirTran, in hopes of adding in some flex time to buffer potential delays in the future, left early for the sole purpose of getting ahead of schedule. After all, what disadvantages would it have caused if everyone was on the plane? Not only would the airline have created a nice schedule cushion, but all the passengers would be grateful for arriving at their destination earlier. The problem, as Mueller experienced personally above, was that not everyone was on board. And so, though 99% of the individuals affected by the change were probably satisfied, 1% was left incredibly dissatisfied.
This story shows the difficulty in achieving an idea with little planning. AirTran's last-minute aspirations of getting ahead of schedule caused their business standards to take a toll. After all, their early departure and early arrival came at the cost of one dedicated patron.
At some point someone was under the impression that all passengers were accounted for. But clearly, one was missing. That's a major oversight that not only cost them a potential return customer, but likely cost them even more than that when you consider everyone that Mueller told this story to.
Being ambitious when conducting business is great when the idea is properly planned out. Taking the time to contemplate a venture not only weeds out any discrepancies, but it also provides time for identifying both the benefits and disadvantages to its implementation. By understanding the effects, you and your stakeholders will not be surprised by its results. Proper planning will prevent unpleasant outcomes.
Still struggling with how to properly plan out your ambitious endeavors? Then don’t hesitate to reach out. We can help and would be happy to do so! The business improvement consultants at AccelaWork have seen all sorts of organizational problems and we can get you on the fastest route to success.
Here are some tips to help improve productivity while taking part in one of those dreaded conference calls.
Here's the reason why: once someone else joins in, you can let them know that you are there, and then go on mute. The conversation goes like this:
Mike: (beep) This is Mike here for the call! You: Hey Mike, it's me Sara. Mike: Hi Sara, how are you today? How is the weather down there? You: Great! Fine. Hey listen Mike, I'm going to go on mute while I get a few things together on this end, okay? Mike: Sure thing.Now, if anyone else calls in, Mike will tell them that you are on mute. And you can wait to go off mute until the call begins in earnest.
Now, that's not an excuse to get lost in email or catching up on your reading. But rather, this is a great time to do fairly mundane work that will not distract you from listening. After all, one way to improve productivity is to be doing something else instead of wasting time! Ideas include:
It's no wonder we all agree that there must be ways to improve productivity on conference calls.
So what does the reality of nuance mean? When you're listening, you can't assume. And when you're speaking, you should be as clear as possible.
For example:
Furthermore, consider using a live collaboration tool like Google Docs, an instant-messaging service, or your favorite webinar platform. This enables backchannel communication while the main discussion is going on over the phone.
And unlike the conference call, multiple people can participate in the chat at the same time. And multiple people can contribute the documentation all at once.
Use these tips to improve productivity when taking part in conference calls. And if you can have the meeting in person (or not at all), consider that instead. The best way to improve productivity is to have everyone fully engaged in the work that truly matters. Sometimes that means talking about what's happened and what needs to be done. But much of the time, it means putting aside the conversation in favor of getting back to the work.
This isn't the first time we've discussed incentives and productivity on The Methodology Blog. In short, they really don't work. If you offer to give people more money if they work harder, in the long run these people become more interested in the reward than they are in the work. They often find ways that undermine the desired result, which ensures the incentive actually makes the situation worse.
But what if instead of giving individuals rewards, we offer them to the entire team? An op-ed piece from The Independent—which services the growing economy of Zimbabwe— supports team-based productivity incentives for a hypothetical entrepreneur:
Apart from training and systems improvement, [business owner] Panashe can institute a restaurant-based productivity improvement incentive.Let’s illustrate the mechanics of a scheme she can institute in one of her restaurants. We will call this restaurant Branch B.
Branch B is returning gross profit margins six percentage points below the accepted level as benchmarked against the flagship restaurant. In other words, Branch B is ‘throwing away’ six cents for every dollar of sales made.
Panashe can decide to convince her employees that if Branch B manages to save these six cents per dollar of revenue for the company, the employees can share the six cents per dollar of revenue savings with the company.
Panashe can say to the employee ‘let’s go 35-65’; you share two cents among yourselves and you give me four cents.
On the one hand, this seems reasonable. After all, increased revenue is good for everyone, right? Better performance means a monthly bonus available for all the employees at the branch location.
But on the other hand, how is a group of people different than an individual? Will this scheme backfire the way that straight commission plans often encourage individual salespeople to overcharge?
How do we increase employee productivity? There are no easy answers. But simple approaches based on incentive plans are at the very least, dangerous. Instead of trying to bribe people into working harder, we need to figure out what truly motivates them and work at engaging them where they actually are.
Let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments below.
Let's just start with the article title, from the headline-writing geniuses over at Gadling. Americans New Boarding Process Could Probably Maybe Not Speed Up Boarding. They write:
Coming soon, passengers without overhead bags will be allowed to board the plane prior to other (but after preferred) passengers. With no bags, they can quickly disburse onto the plane and into their seats without clogging the aisle. The next batch of passengers with bags will hopefully then be less hindered when loading.
This might seem like the kind of process improvement and smart thinking that the airlines need. But Forbes magazine notes that the approach has been considered elsewhere:
In fact, Virgin America has already tried and abandoned American’s new process. “It is more efficient and you do get a lot of people on the aircraft more quickly,” said Virgin America CEO David Cush, in an interview. “But it’s difficult to police. You get into a debate about how big is something that fits under your seat.”
We covered the early parts of this study in an earlier article on process improvement at American Airlines, where we noted that this problem has apparently been solved for years. Unfortunately, most carriers don't have the organizational culture to be able make the kinds of changes necessary. Imagine how boarding would go in one of the following scenarios:
Not all of these ideas may work. But the fact that you haven't heard of them before---and the fact that American's PR department is NOT frantically publishing video of disastrous seating experiments---shows that process improvement is not really about what achieves the best result.
After all, if they were really constantly experimenting to create a better passenger experience, wouldn't they want to tell us about it?
Rather, business process improvement is actually about the culture of change. And if one of our first articles about the business culture at American Airlines remains accurate, it's no surprise this new boarding process represents a tiny shift and "probably-maybe-not really" any change in the long run at all.
Slaughter's book covers the topic of generations in the workplace, with a specific focus on improving workplace productivity across people of different ages.
Here's Robby speaking with IndyStyle host and WISH-TV anchor Andi Hauser:
Learn more about the new book on generational productivity.The original infographic on employee happiness comes from Yast.com. Take a look and then keep scrolling for our comments:
Our first comments are about work-life balance. It's broadly true that if a company doesn't demand unreasonable amounts of an employees time, those employees will appreciate it, right?
But if that's the case, why do so many companies seek extremely loyal and passionate employees? And what about the company whose employees routinely pull an all-nighter to complete a major project?
Second, the infographic explains that employee happiness is tied to rewards. And while we do know that employees would rather have a cash bonus than an end-of-the-year party, we also know that supposed efficacy of rewards may be the biggest misconception in business.
We do agree with many of the suggestions about employee happiness. For example, breaks do increase productivity. And while pay is usually not the most important factor in employee retention, it's certainly is one of the reasons. That's one of the many reasons that managers interested in employee happiness should pay attention to compensation.
But the most important element of employee happiness is not really discussed at all in this infographic. As we covered in a previous post on employee satisfaction, the essential ingredient for a happy employee is meaningful work.
That's what matters most. Make sure everyone on your team has the chance to contribute. Treat them with respect, and the rest will follow.
For one father, the desire to document his daughter's growth from infancy to adolescence was a priority. After all, from the moment she was born until the day she turned ten, he took a picture of her every single day. The result is an awe-inspiring video slide show which proves that small changes aren't as minuscule as they initially seem.
Check out the short video of her growth below:
Change and the business improvement process is never easy. In fact, it can be down right nerve-wracking. After all, it forces us to step outside our comfort zone and blindly navigate a new path—knowing that every decision we make will affect ourselves and those around us. Yet, it plays an essential part in life and work. Without change, we not only lose the ability to actively grow, we relinquish the pride and satisfaction that comes from making an impact on others.As human beings, we have been given a unique ability to transform. Whether we know it or not, change is in our nature and best of all, it comes with great opportunity. By embracing new ideas, taking risks and even experiencing failure, we learn how to utilize specific tools that help bring improvement and innovation.
Entrepreneur published an article about the best ways to transform a business. There are some solid tips in there that could be of value for you. We've pulled out some highlights and included them below.
Re-examine your business model. The founders of HuePhoria LLC had once found success selling its hand-painted party glassware to upscale gift boutiques. But after the recession chipped away at sales, the Syracuse, N.Y.-based microbusiness began forging relationships with drop-shippers, other manufacturers and retailers willing to manage the inventory and ship product on-demand. It was a way to expand product offerings without the hassle and expense of housing the inventory.Just because your business has been focused in a specific direction up until this point doesn't mean that pivoting won't be beneficial. In this situation, a decrease in sales forced the change. But there may be times when even though a change doesn't seem absolutely necessary, it still could be extremely valuable....
Sales in the first quarter of 2011 are up 72%, compared with the same period last year.
Shift resources into initiatives that drive revenue. At brand strategy firm Parker LePla, the recession knocked 2009 revenues to $1.5 million, down 15% from the previous year. Co-founder Lynn Parker suspended the usual year-end bonuses for employees and used the savings to boost the Seattle-based firm's advertising budget by more than 80 percent. New initiatives included an online sponsorship with local NPR radio station KPLU, which gave the Seattle-based company a mention each time a listener visited the station's website and clicked on an audio clip.Again, just because your marketing budget has been focused one way in the past, or you've devoted the majority of your funds into a certain department, that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best way to continue forward. Always be analyzing data and looking for ways to change. Great opportunities can come your way as soon as you start to accept new ideas.
Empower yourself and your employees with the knowledge that change can be a great thing. Reach out to our business process consulting team today to learn more about how we help improve workflow and satisfaction in your office.
Whether the three-day weekend in question is Memorial Day, Labor Day, or when another holiday falls on a Friday or Monday, an NBC News op-ed blames the assassination on one culprit:
[A weekend] would seem an ideal time to take a break, but our ability to unplug and relax is under assault. A three-day weekend? We can barely get through three waking hours without working, new research shows. The average smartphone user checks his or her device 150 times per day, or about once every six minutes. Meanwhile, government data from 2011 says 35 percent of us work on weekends, and those who do average five hours of labor, often without compensation—or even a thank you. The other 65 percent were probably too busy to answer surveyors' questions.
We've advised here on The Methodology Blog before that if you're on vacation, you should unplug completely. Unfortunately, not everyone feels that they can do this. If they don't respond instantly to messages from the office, are they running the risk of being passed over for the next promotion? Or are they likely to be first in the unemployment line when the company decides to slash the budget?
Columnist Bob Sullivan continues:
Some experts think these wounds are self-inflicted. Laura Vanderkam, who recently published the eBook, "What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekends," says that many executives she's worked with have learned they can unplug for a weekend without dire consequences."Many of us have an exaggerated sense of our own importance," she said, speaking on the eve Memorial Day weekend. "I can tell you that come Tuesday morning, the Earth will still be revolving, whether you have checked your email or not."
The real challenge is shifting the culture back to one of respect. Just because you can respond instantly, doesn't mean you should.
Respect yourself enough to take time off. And have enough respect for your employees to trust that they will get back to you when they believe is best.
The three-day weekend may be on life support, but it certainly can be revived.
The entire article is worth a read, but here are a couple of choice quotes:
According to the International Facility Management Association, 70% of American employees work in open-plan office
That number reminds us of title of a Forbes editorial, 70% Of Your Employees Hate Their Jobs. Coincidence?
Here's another quote from Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more likely to get sick:
A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health found that open office setups reported 62% more sick days on average than one-occupant layouts. It was the first national population study conducted in Denmark to find such a linkage. One suggested explanation, unsurprisingly, was that viruses and bacteria spread more easily in open offices. Another was that open offices are more stressful to work in because of the lack of privacy, and that the stress makes sickness more likely.
If you've been a long-time reader of our blog, you shouldn't be surprised to hear this. We reported years and years ago about how cubicle farms are unhealthy. Even the inventor of the cube recanted, calling his creation a "monolithic insanity."
But that's not all! It turns out that there are studies reporting all kinds of other problems with open plan offices, including:
If open-plan offices are so terrible, what's the answer? Here it is in picture form:
Or to put in words:
Work is not place you go, it's a thing you do.
Of course, we need to provide employees with the necessary tools to do their jobs. And for some kinds of work, having a place to go at times to collaborate or access shared resources.
But much of the time, it doesn't. And the idea that we should work in big open plan offices is huge part of the problem.
It's tempting to start with a Google search for "public speakers in (insert your area)." And while that may generate a ton of results, it's not likely to give you a good sense of what each speaker is really like. That's because when you select a speaker, you are seeking an experience.
How do you find speakers who will create a fantastic experience for audience? The old fashioned way: asking around. Here are some ideas:
Service clubs like Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, or Exchange Clubs - Many of these groups have speakers on a weekly or monthly basis and most of them draw from the local community. Call them up and ask who has done job a great job in the past years.
Professional Societies - If you (or a friend, spouse, coworker, etc) is part of an association of professionals, they probably hire speakers too. Reach out and see who they have enjoyed working with.
Meeting Planners - People who plan meetings in Indianapolis need professional speakers. They are often happy to recommend experts to come to your event.
Audience members - Your contacts have seen great speakers! Ask them where they have been and who has had something to say worth hearing.
TV appearances - If someone appears on local television and presents themselves well, they are likely a good speaker for your upcoming events. Look them up!
And that's when you use Google to find the speaker you want---by name!
Need more specifics on what you should be looking for when you hire someone? Gig Masters published a solid post on that very topic. We've included some of those best tips below.
Talk to the speaker before booking. Celebrity speaker Todd Newton (New York, New York) says, "I always request to have a conference call with the people in charge of the event. It makes everyone more comfortable to have an opportunity to get to know each other beforehand...albeit over the phone. We want to be the best we can be for you and in order for that to happen we must be the right fit for your event. Just as you would do your homework before buying a new car, so should you do your homework before booking a speaker. Take your time. Taking the time to find a speaker that matches the environment can make all the difference!"While some of those may seem like no-brainers, it's important to keep in mind that even the things that maybe could go unsaid should still probably be discussed and thought about. After all, hiring a speaker is a big deal, and just because someone is a quality speaker doesn't mean that they're right for your event. Cover all your bases and you're much more likely to have a successful, positive experience.Ask questions to get a sense of the speakers experience and expertise. Public Speaker Sharon Lacey (Portland, Oregon) suggests the following questions: How much experience does the public speaker have? Does the speaker have any video clips in their profile from past engagements? Does the speaker have references and positive feedback available from former clients? Is the speaker's material suitable for the age-group/demographic of our audience? Can the speaker tailor their material to include points specifically pertaining to your group?
Discuss the event and expectations in detail. "The client should ask what the speaker requires in regards to equipment, media, sound etc. Also, it is imperative that the speaker and the client have a mutual plan as to what will be covered in the speech or seminar, the length of the seminar or speech, and all topics to be discussed."
Happy recruiting!
That's why among the best thing you can do---whether you are hiring an Indianapolis speaker or if you are just attending a speaking event in Indianapolis---is focus on being a great audience member. It may not seem like you have much of a role in the process, but what you decide to do makes all the difference to the speaker and in turn to the experience of everyone else in the room.
Or at least, set your phone to silent. Not only does this prevent your phone from having an embarrassing ring, but you should also be encouraged to put your phone away and pay attention as much as possible.
That doesn't mean that you should not take out your phone to take pictures of the speaker or to tweet. In fact, that can be a great way to show the speaker you are engaged. But wait until the presenter indicates that they are active on Twitter or that they want pictures. And if you do use your phone, hold it up high so it's clear to the speaker that you are not trying to hide. You're engaging in the conversation from afar.
If you brought a pen and paper to the event, take notes on what the speaker has to offer. Write down major quotes. If they cite a source or another expert, write down their name as well. A quality speaker will have an outline and by taking detailed notes, you'll be following along with the structure of the speech.
Best of all, good notes will enable you to better return to your memory of the speech later.
The right time to arrive at a speech is early enough to get your seat. The best time to leave is after the presenter is finished. Trying to sneak in late or sneak out earlier is usually disruptive. Respect the speaker and the rest of the audience by making sure you have enough time.
Chances are you know the topic of the speech beforehand. I once went to hear a Indianapolis speaker talk about some current local affairs. I came with a few questions written down in advance. Several were answered, but I had one ready once it was time for Q&A.
With these thoughts in mind, you can be a better audience member. And if it's easier for the speaker to engage with you, you help make the program a better experience for everyone in attendance..
In the beginning, special events might seem frustrating. You might question whether it is worth your time and money. It is critical to remember why you are there. The success of your business and your professional reputation can be built or broken on many of the interactions you have at these events. So, now that you’ve gotten through the initial trauma of entering the room, what are some of the most important things to do?
No, I don’t mean room 201b versus 301b. Who is in your company? What do the attendees represent and how can they help you? How can you help them? Do not spend your time with a population of people if it cannot be beneficial for one or both of you. Think beyond transactional relationships. Building strategic partnerships is the key when networking at events.
There are hundreds of events across the city every week, some which are worth your time and some which are not. Make priorities and stick to them. Based on location, topic, attendees and even price you can easily omit many events that may not fit your specific needs. Try not to get burnt out. Allow yourself a certain number per week or month and stick to it.
The best way to get the most out of your event is to write about it afterwards. Not only will you remind yourself of key takeaways, but you will share with your readers what you’ve experienced. Linking to the speakers website will get their attention and is a way to thank them publicly for sharing their knowledge. Finally, do not forget to share your blog across your social media communities to get the most bang for your buck.
Sometimes popular events can be one big business card-swapping party. It can get ridiculous if you are not strategic. Offer your business card to genuine quality contacts. After the event send a nice thank you card to your new contacts (or email, if you must), and offer to get together again soon. Regular contact afterwards is essential to building referral relationship for the future.
Event marketing takes time and patience. Try and gauge whether you are benefiting from specific events to determine whether or not to attend again. By being conscientious of your actions you can make events a vital part of your business strategy rather than a waste of your day.
These individuals (and some of them are more young at heart than young in years) are on the front lines of what defines the culture of a workplace. A company is an organization which generates revenue by providing value to customers created through paid employees.
So where do unpaid interns fit in?
If you're following the law, an unpaid internship program must meet several criteria, including that the experience must resemble training, the intern does not displace employees, and that the employer must not derive any "immediate advantage from the from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded."
So what does this have to do with workplace culture?
A story in in The Atlantic explains:
"A major U.S. court has ruled that zero dollars for legitimate work does not a legal unpaid internship make. "Considering the totality of the circumstances," reads the ruling from federal judge William Pauley, the plaintiffs, Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman, "were classified improperly as unpaid interns and are 'employees' covered by" the the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as New York's labor laws. The judge added: "They worked as paid employees work, providing an immediate advantage to their employer and performing low-level tasks not requiring specialized training."
Why do some companies choose not to pay some of their team members who are making legitimate contributions? Because they can get away with it. An internship at a major employer is seen as so valuable on a resume, individuals are willing to work for free even if they don't receive any of the benefits described in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
And while illegally unpaid interns make up only a small percentage of the total workforce, the fact that they are widespread indicates something profound about corporate culture: if companies can get away with paying interns nothing to do valuable work, do managers perceive that they are getting away with underpaying all employees for all work?
Here's what most workplaces are missing: respect. Like the old adage that suggests if a person's true character is revealed by how they treat waitstaff, how companies treat interns likely reveals how they would treat everyone if they could.
If your company or non-profit has unpaid interns that do real work, take the place of other employees, and receive no real benefit other being able to say they worked for you, then you may be in violation of Federal law. But more importantly, the basic culture of work should be one of mutual respect. To create engaged, productive, and passionate employees, make sure they are paid what they are worth in salary, training, or opportunities to learn.
Note: A handful of companies (such as our friends at the Indianapolis marketing firm Roundpeg) do have great internship programs based on respecting and developing team members. For more information on internships in Indiana, visit Indiana INTERNnet.
This date comes from a paper called The Value of Bosses, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The authors write:
Replacing a boss who is in the lower 10% of boss quality with one who is in the upper 10% of boss quality increases a team’s total output by about the same amount as would adding one worker to a nine member team...
In plain English, if a boss supervises ten people and does so poorly, they cancel out the efforts of one of their workers!
This result is probably not surprising to those of us who have had a terrible manager. If we report to someone who is disorganized, unreasonable, or lacks professionalism, we know it's difficult to be productive.
Likewise, our personal productivity as an employee clearly increases if we work for a great boss. They inspire us to be creative, innovative, and dedicated. A fantastic manager is an amazing leader. Under their direction, employee productivity increases.
However, the authors of the study also write something which may be surprising:
The primary means by which bosses matter is through teaching; motivating is less important.
It seems like a bad boss is demotivating and a good boss is motivating. However, from what we know about the science of motivation is that we are actually inspired more by meaning novelty and a sense of purpose than we are by typical "motivation techniques" like cash incentives or threats.
Instead, what great bosses do is teach. They mentor. They explain how to complete tasks, outline best practices, and learn from their employee-students.
In fact, employee training increases productivity and morale. So a great boss (a great teacher) not only makes it easier for you to get things done, but makes the environment one that is more pleasant and more meaningful.
If you're a supervisor, work to be a teacher and a mentor. Make space for your employees to explore and take risks. And you're an employee, keep an eye on the person you're reporting to. And if you think "my boss is a psychopath, now may be the time to start looking for work elsewhere.
But I'm not just a process guy because I like process, but because there's good evidence that creating, understanding, and following a process is the foundation for almost every ongoing success in almost every organization in history.
Or to put it in simpler terms: if you don't have a process, you don't have a business.
These may seem like painful words to some business owners. That may be because you consider yourself highly creative or extremely adaptable. It may seem like being in business is about helping customers, not about following a procedure.
But in truth, process-oriented thinking does not prevent creativity. Process-oriented thinking does not stall customer service. Process-oriented thinking does not prevent you from adapting to circumstances.
Instead, a process is about understanding what you are doing well enough to know what impact a variation might have. It's like knowing the route and the geography well enough to take a detour. If you have no idea where you are going and decide to veer off the path, you might get lost entirely.
The famous process expert W. Edwards Deming once noted, "If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you are doing." That quote merits some further discussion. What does it mean to describe what you are doing as a process?
First, describe what you are doing as a series of steps. Perhaps the most self-evident element of a process is sequence. Something comes first, something else comes second, and so on. If there is some order that appeals to you, that structure tells you something about the activity as a process.
Second, identify the inputs and outputs. Every process requires something that goes into it, whether it is raw materials, information, or energy. Every process generates products and byproducts, which may come at the end or anywhere during process executition.
Third, determine what usually goes wrong. It might seem like looking for failures is the opposite of process-oriented thinking, but in reality if you know what kinds of mistakes commonly crop up, you must have had some experience with the process. And you can use this as information about where you need more details, more resources, or more precision.
Finally, document what you learned and test it with someone else. Once you have described what you are doing as a process, give your process documentation to someone else and see how they do. This is what cooks do with recipes and what manual writers do with new manuals. A process which hasn't been documented is just a personal habit.
So if you want to have a business, you have to have a process. In fact, you probably need more than one.
Make it happen. Or: ask for help.
Here's a passage from his blog post:
What keeps email marketers up at night? Sure, there are lots of worries. What if my copy has a typo? What if I get flagged as spam? What if people unsubscribe in droves?But what they should be worrying about is a big word with an important meaning: deliverability.
Deliverability, as Slaughter explains, is the technical process of ensuring that email reaches its intended destination. But even outside the realm of email, it's essential to make sure that you have a business process that ensures that whatever you intend to do actually happens.
Measuring email deliverability is like measuring any other business process. We can't just look at the start, we have to look at the finished product as well.
For more information on email marketing solutions, check out Delivra.
First: a quick reminder on the history of business process improvement. For the past century, everyone has been working to make routine business more scientific and more efficient. No matter which of the business improvement schools of thought you subscribe to, they all based on testing, analysis, and adjustment.
Second: here's what Professor Scott Highhouse has to say about this field (PDF link):
Perhaps the greatest technological achievement in industrial and organizational psychology over the past 100 years is the development of decision aids (e.g., paper-and-pencil tests, structured interviews, mechanical combination of predictors) that substantially reduce error in the prediction of employee performance.Arguably, the greatest failure of industrial and organizational psychology has been the inability to convince employers to use them.
Oops.
It might seem like this is just a marketing problem. Maybe people in industry just haven't heard about all of the work being done to understand how employees are likely to perform.
Sadly, Highhouse continues:
[Researchers] sampled 201 human resources (HR) executives about the perceived effectiveness of various selection methods...they considered the traditional unstructured interview more effective than any of the paper-and-pencil assessment procedures. Inspection of actual effectiveness of these procedures, however, shows that paper-and-pencil tests commonly outperform unstructured interviews...[Research showed] HR professionals agreed, by a factor of more than 3 to 1, that using tests was an effective way to evaluate a candidate’s suitability and that tests that assess specific traits are effective for hiring employees. At the same time, however, these same professionals agreed, by more than 3 to 1, that you can learn more from an informal discussion with job candidates and that you can "read between the lines" to detect whether someone is suitable to hire.
This apparent conflict between knowledge and belief seems loosely analogous to the common practice of preferring brand name cold remedies to store brand remedies containing the same ingredients. People know that the store brands are identical, but they do not trust them for their own colds.
What about all of the recent work covered in books like Malcolm Gladwell's Blink? Doesn't that prove that snap judgments are often right?
Emphatically no. Highly trained experts in fields are often well-attuned to be able to extrapolate from limited data. But if you're trying to build a business, you should be working to create a system. The point is that you don't need to be an expert in hiring to make a hiring decision, you follow the process designed by experts.
So what should you do if you want make a change, but are not sure which of the many industrial organizational psychology tools to use? Here's a start: ask candidates to do some sample work. The most direct way to predict how someone will perform on the job is to see how they perform actually doing the job.
It's not everything, but it's something. And it's much better than going with your gut.
That's the sentiment of an Ebook from Kelly services. In their summary, they write:
Business colonies, synchronized workforces, and skill-set modules are all examples of workplace concepts that can "shake up" an employer’s thinking when it comes to their resource planning. These concepts not only promote knowledge sharing, but also have the potential to help companies save money while still striving towards improving the quality of their process and, ultimately, their products.
Here's the full slide show:
The document is meant for businesses in the sciences, but applies well to all fields. Here are a few highlights:
Modern thinking demands the realization that work can happen anywhere and at anytime.
We agree. As we like to say, Work is not place you go, it's a thing you do..
Free agents are also realizing that they are no longer on the fringe or considered "inferior" next to their full-time peers."
We agree. In fact, we've been known to point out that every job is a contract job.
76% of full-time workers would leave their current jobs if a better opportunity came along.
We agree. We've pointed out before that your disengaged workforce Is heading for the door.
The experiment is over. Work has changed. Business is no longer about requirements—it's about freedom.
Have you adapted?
Are you to be a part of something you despise? Calm down and take some deep breaths---with a little planning you can show everyone how a meeting should be conducted. You can lead the way.
Before planning a meeting determine the purpose of the meeting then consider what type of meeting is best suited to the purpose. There are many types of meetings. Here are four of the basics.
Decision making and problem solving – These meetings, in some ways, are the opposite of status meetings. By their nature they will be longer and more involved. Using problem solving techniques to identify areas of improvement can help the team establish how to overcome challenges. Brain storming, involving the entire team in the process, opens up creativity often presenting new approaches and invests the team in a plan they helped develop. Although it may not be a bad idea to schedule regular problem solving meetings it’s not unusual to schedule meetings as needed. Tip – Part of your preparation should be asking attendees for their input before the meeting, you’ll know where it stands and who you can call on.
Vision, Planning, and Creative – This meeting type is used to set the course for an organization. Where are we going? What’s next? Some companies hold regularly scheduled meetings, monthly, quarterly, or yearly while others share vision and planning as opportunities arise. This type of meeting may be a group input session or a leader may share their vision and plans. Creating a Vision team or conducting a SWOT analysis are examples of this type of meeting. Tip – Assign a meeting note taker. It will be important to follow up on the conclusions of this meeting.
Training - Training meetings include basic training; follow up training, safety, procedural, and policy meetings. They should be continuous, ongoing and scheduled on a regular basis. The schedule will depend on the level of experience, how often there are procedural changes, required compliance - such as OHSA, complexity of tasks, and how often new hires come aboard. Tip – Develop and use checklists for these meetings especially those which, will be repeated.
By first determining the purpose of a meeting and what you want to achieve, you can plan the most effective type of meeting suited to the purpose. For example, attempting to plan in a status meeting or problem solve in a training meeting may lead to a lack of direction, a lot of confusion, and time not well spent. Today in America a majority of employees believe that meetings are a waste time. Is this true in your organization? Are there too many meetings, which are too long? Are meetings a time suck or are they productive and timely?
This Psychology Today post, Why Meetings Kill Productivity, offers valuable suggestions to make meetings more productive (the bullet points are on the mark)
Randy Clark is the Director of Communications at TKO Graphix, where he blogs for TKO Graphix Brandwire. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He’s a beer geek and on weekends he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under the Radar. The proud father of two educators he has four amazing grand children, and a public speaking wife who puts up with him. Twitter @randyclarktko Facebook Randy Clarktko
Chances are you are not using local Indianapolis speakers to promote your local Indianapolis business. You're probably focusing your marketing budget on your website, social media, or on traditional advertising. Those are all good places to invest, but working with speakers to plan events has several distinct advantages.
1. Speaking events create a personal relationship with prospects - Unlike billboards, radio ads and even your website, potential customers at a speaking event actually meet with you and your staff. You shake hands. You learn their names and what brought them to the event. You can read their body language and learn more about their needs. You can figure out how to help them move from prospect to customer.
2. Speaking events show commitment to your local community - Here in Indianapolis, we have a renewed sense of civic pride. If you're bringing in local experts you are showing customers that you care about your own local economy. This improves your brand identity with customers who feel the same way.
3. Speaking events leverage the "association effect" through sponsorship - When you are the sponsor of a fantastic presentation, audience members tend to connect their good feelings about the speaker with your brand. This is basic human psychology (it also makes for one of the best tips for acing interviews).
4. Events show your diversity - Let's face it: you're not the only firm in Indianapolis in your market. If you just send out your own messages, your customers will grow weary. But if you bring in an outside speaker on a fascinating but otherwise unconnected topic, you demonstrate to prospects that you're a lot more than they know.
5. Registration systems allow you to collect information from prospects - In other forms of marketing, it's hard to know precisely who is engaging with your brand. But at a speaking event, you can ask people to preregister or to sign in at the door. This not only assists with planning, but it also means that your potential customers do the legwork of generating your marketing list!
Those are some great reasons to hire presenters as part of your marketing. And if you need help, reach out to our Indianapolis speakers and consultants today!
An op-ed by Peter Martin notes that productivity is not what's put in, it's what's left out:
Productivity ought to be easy to calculate. It is a measure of how many units a nation or a firm gets out for each unit it puts in. Assessing the productivity of something such as car assembly is straightforward. If Holden or Toyota were to produce twice as many cars using no more labour and other inputs, they would have doubled their productivity.But what about hairdressing? If the workers in a salon cut twice as many heads of hair per day would they really have lifted their productivity? That would depend in part on the quality of the haircuts. But it would also depend on something else. Some of what they produce is the attention they give to each customer. It is an output as well as an input.
Martin's point is well taken. As any productivity consultant knows, efficiency is fundamentally about inputs and outputs. The hard part is identifying all of the inputs and outputs and then determining which ones are significant.
Customer satisfaction is an output of any business. But then again, so is employee satisfaction. Likewise, customer input is, naturally, an input. And so is employee engagement. All of these factors are part of the equation when determining overall productivity. Consultants who don't talk about stakeholders as well as systems are missing the boat.
Furthermore, technology is an enormous part of making organizations more productive. An editorial from Manufacture Link urges businesses to put productivity first:
It is particularly concerning that overall business investment in new technologies is expected to decrease due to an uncertain economic outlook and rising cost pressures. Only 22% of all companies surveyed are looking to invest in new technologies this year. This is a drop of 10 percentage points compared with last year. Around a quarter of businesses (26%) expect to reduce expenditure on new technologies [which is] a 15 percentage point rise from a year ago.
Although technology is not a panacea for increasing productivity, the numbers quoted are an area for concern. Companies should be investing in the future. They should be working to figure out how to be more effective and efficient. They should reach out to productivity consultants who can help them identify the best ways to improve everything from machine operations to employee engagement.
The best ideas may come from the inside or from the inside, but the most important idea of all is to be open-minded.
Of the hundreds of millions of American workers, many don't like work. This isn't exactly news, but here's one perspective from one writer:
I really love my job but it turns out I’m in the minority. According to a Gallup survey only 30% of the 100 million Americans with a full-time job are “actively engaged” at the workplace. Half the workforce is “not engaged,” and the remaining 20% are “actively disengaged,” meaning they straight up hate their job and, “roam the halls spreading discontent.”
Now, contrast this with what ABC News has to say:
Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world.More than the English, more than the French, way more than the Germans or Norwegians. Even, recently, more than the Japanese.
And Americans take less vacation, work longer days, and retire later, too.
That much most people agree on. What's harder to pin down is exactly how much Americans are working. It may be more than our industrialized competitors, but is it more than we have ever worked before?
The short answer, according to the government, is that it is only slightly more and not so much that most people should really notice.
These two facts don't make sense by themselves. They seem even crazier when combined together. If people aren't engaged in their work, why do they work all the time? Or to reverse it, If we work so many hours, why are most of us not actually engaged in our work?
This is a workplace productivity paradox. What it really shows, however, is that we have a broken perspective on work.
Instead of thinking about workplace productivity as spending more time doing things we don't like, we should think of productivity as being about focusing on developing a process that produces results in a culture built on respect and accountability.
Hating your job and working endless hours is not a recipe for improved workplace productivity. If you want to get more done, figure out what actually matters for customers and other stakeholders, and set your sights on freedom instead of on control.
Life is too short to work any other way.
The post is titled You Don’t Need a Social Media Policy (But Keep Reading). Slaughter opens with:
I am opposed to social media policies. I think they are a terrible idea. As far as boneheaded workplace ideas go, a social media policy is somewhere between an anonymous suggestion box (stupid!) and handing out counteroffers to employees that are heading to another job (insulting!)
Policies are procedures are a common theme here on The Methodology Blog. We've covered creativity policies, internet access policies and more. And Robby Slaughter was even quoted in the Wall Street Journal on the topic of social media policy.
The common theme is that at work, attempts to control employees are always something to be cautious about.
Slaughter continues in his guest post:
The word “policy” sounds an awful lot like the word “police.” An employer is not a territorial government that has the right to create and enforce laws. Work is not a place you go, it’s a thing you do. Work is creative, technical, or physical endeavor done in concert with other people to advance a collective mission. If you have to do much policing among those people it probably makes sense to find different people to work with. Lots of bureaucratic language describing allowed behavior pretty much takes all the fun out of doing anything meaningful at a job.
There's more to the conversation. Check out the full post for more information.
And when you're ready to talk about ways to change your organization from one defined by policies to one defined by results, call one of our Indianapolis speakers and consultants.
See you online!
Dowd-Higgins is a career planning expert and author. She hosts a nationally syndicated radio show. Robby Slaughter is the guest for the first half hour.
To listen to the podcast, click through to our website.
[powerpress]
Slaughter opens with a definition of employee engagement:
The words "employee engagement" refer to a couple of different factors. First, that we are genuinely connected to the work that we are doing, that it has a personal sense of meaning to us—that we know how it matters and how it fits into the larger organization. But it also means that we have a meaningful rapport with our colleagues, whether we see them every day, all the time, or only once in a while. And it also means the the work we are doing has some kind of meaningful novelty, that is that it inspires us, it changes us, it makes us want to be better people.
The conversation about employee engagement with Dowd-Higgings also turned to the question of people who dislike their jobs. According to Slaughter:
If you do know what you like, if you do know what drives you as a human being, then why wouldn't you look for a way to sustain yourself doing what you love? Why would you take that opportunity away from someone who might love that industry or that job you don't like very much if you can figure out how to support your own lifestyle doing the thing you love?
For more information about employee engagement, check out our posts such as Your Disengaged Workforce Is Heading for the Door and Does “Employee Appreciation Day” Improve Employee Retention?.
For more information on employee engagement across generations in the workplace, check out Robby Slaughter's new book The How-To Guide for Generations at Work. Information on Caroline Dowd-Higgings is available at her website and in her book This is Not the Career I Ordered.
The more productive you are, the better your business will be. Your to-do list will be all tidied up without anything left over. You may be thinking, “Is she dreaming?”
Actually, I'm not dreaming! It can happen. I used to have projects that never got finished and were halfway started, but I learned a trick that helps me everyday. That is to eliminate the distractions, and only put 3 main items on my to-do list daily.
The items can be any projects or must do today emails, writing, calls, etc.; however, keep your limit to three, no more and no less. Then, you have time to work on any other projects that do not have time deadlines or are passion projects. Accomplishing these 3 tasks already have made your day productive, but having the extra time to work on other personal projects, you feel super productive for the day.
Parkinson’s law states that you get the most work completed within shorter deadlines. Do you remember in college writing 10 page papers with 24 hours to start, finish, and edit them? It works and this why your to-do list can be completed.
The key here is to get started on your to-do list first thing in the morning. This way you can eliminate any of your distractions (twitter, Facebook, email, phone, etc.) and just work checking off your items one-by-one. You will soon see that the letter that used to take an hour for you to put together, now only takes 20 minutes because you are focused.
Productivity is in the eye of the beholder. Keep your to-do lists succinct and short, and you will see your accomplishments and productivity rise. I know that I have following this method.
So, how do I do it?
I write my 3 items that I must do the day before usually right before I stop working for the day. Then once, I sit down to work with my browser closed and wireless turned off. I immediately begin on the 3 items and do not get drawn into the email trap (Unless that is one of my items, which I tend not to make it an item, because it can draw you in, and you’ll never leave.). Music is on and then the tasks are usually finished within two hours. Then, I have the rest of the day to work on any other projects that I want to create or do.
It's that easy!
Bobbi Klein (@bobbiklein) is the founder of Splendore, an au courant creative agency, and has launched 100% Unconventional for everyone who does not fit into the box.
As most readers know, the story talks about how several men tried to describe an elephant, but only succeeded in accurately outlining the body part that they could touch. Gangon's interpretation:
The point of the parable is simply this: Each of these men is right -- for his part of the elephant. Yet, in the more important, holistic sense of accurately describing what an elephant is really like, every one of them is ultimately very wrong....this parable perfectly mirrors what life is like for so many people who manage a piece of an important business process. All too often, although they are acutely aware of their part of a given process -- the part they "touch" -- they are "blind" to its other pieces and, therefore, completely unaware of what the whole process really looks like. Without this ability to see "the whole elephant," as it were, they also can't ever properly understand how what they do affects this important process or others involved in it. Given this reality, is it any wonder, then, that so many of our business processes are sub-optimized and so much less effective and efficient than they could be?
The author also quotes famous management consultant W. Edwards Deming:
A bad process will beat a good person every time.
All of this talk of business process improvement and the silo effect should inspire another pair of questions.
Why is business process improvement so necessary? Why do become so focused on our own silo that we can't see the bigger picture?
It's easy to suggest that all problems are management problems. Or to blame employee engagement and turnover.
The most significant issue, however, may be that of incentives. We are encouraged to stay in our areas, keep our heads down, and focus on the problems at hand. This hyperspecialization does enable organizations to create incredible end products but also fosters sprawling bureaucracies.
It also makes us do things which make no sense whatsoever.
As Deming says, a bad process will beat a good person, every single time. Maybe that's why so many good people are going elsewhere.
I recently received a call from a company where I have a couple of accounts. (Why can't I have just one account? That's a whole other blog post.)
The recording said: "We're calling to let you know that some mail we recently sent to your address was returned by the US Postal Service marked undeliverable. As this pertains to your bill, please call us to correct the issue."
I've been getting their bills just fine for years and haven't moved or changed addresses, so this was a surprise. But now it was time to face one of the most well-known destroyers of personal productivity: the call center.
It took about five minutes of plugging through the automated system to determine there was no prompt for "USPS deliverability problems." I convinced the machine to connect me to a live person.
I provided my account information. It took some time to explain the problem to the first agent. She soon realized she could not help me. However, she did spend the majority of our conversation stressing how important they found me as a customer and how much her company appreciated me. Apparently, though, I wasn't valuable enough for the company to actually give the agent the same information they had left for me in a voicemail.
In any case, since this was a accounts receivable question, the first agent transferred me to another department. Again, I gave my name and account information. After telling my story, this agent determined that I would need to speak to the billing department. I was transferred once again.
Agent number three asked for my name and account information. Then I recounted the tale of the incoming message, and she suggested that the address was incorrect in their system. But it turns out that since my account is linked to their online system, she would not be able to change it over the phone. Instead, I had to be connected to agent #4 in the Web Assist department.
As expected, this person needed me to identify myself and give my account number. He did have the power to change my address, but he didn't have any way to confirm that bills had been returned. That, he explained, was another department.
I had now been on the phone for a half hour, so I gave up.
It's not hard to show ways this company could seriously improve productivity based on just this one experience. For example:
All of these ideas to improve productivity are easy to describe but hard to implement. Certainly this a huge company with tens of thousands of employees and millions invested in software systems and business processes.
But the more difficult part about these ideas is that they represent a change in culture. They demand that we fight the silo effect.
Imagine what would happen if large companies put true engagement at the top of the list. Imagine what would happen if organizations broke down departments and worked to solve problems in ways that benefit the customer. Imagine what would happen if calling for support wasn't a horrific experience?
Imagine if big companies were actually competent. Instead of dismissing the enterprise as an acceptable nightmare, we'd be living in the world of our dreams.
The piece appears in Psychology Today. Here are a few examples:
Don't be afraid to close your door."There are a couple, seemingly simple things that I do to ensure that I am productive. The first is simply closing my door at the office! Although I am extremely welcoming, I am often approached by colleagues, peers, and students about various topics ranging from sports to clinical considerations. Closing my door ensures that I remain productive."Work until you complete one chunk. "I'm most productive if think in terms of getting a task done as opposed to spending a set amount of time on it. Most people allocate a certain amount of time to a task; I do the opposite. I break the task down into doable chunks and then work until that chunk is done."
Don't overestimate how much you can get done in your available time. "If you plan to do an unrealistic number of tasks, you'll end up dreading the day ahead."
This isn't the first time we've listed some of the best productivity tips. But it's worth nothing that no matter how much you try to optimize your personal productivity, you will always be limited by the productivity of the entire organization.
It's tougher to come up with tips for improving productivity across an enterprise. That's because: the limiting factor of personal productivity is behavior, and the limiting factor of organizational productivity is culture.
If you want to be more productive at work or in your personal life, you will need to change your behavior. And while you can influence those around you, it's the culture that has to change for if you want your business to get more done.
When motivational speakers have a message they believe is so important, they are compelled to share it. They believe that when people hear the message, they will also consider it important.
Know who your audience is and the best manner in which to speak to them. Good speakers can switch roles quickly depending on the venue and audience. When the current CEO of Ernst & Young, Mark Weinberger, served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Tax Policy, he addressed Congress fairly often. To describe complicated tax code, he delivered information in a straightforward manner. But in smaller committees on tax topics that he was particularly passionate about, he raised his intensity and spoke with appropriate fervor.
For the motivational speaker, writing can become an important tool to improve your skills. Writing books, articles and blog posts about your passion gives you practice expressing your viewpoint. You'll also likely get more feedback on your written work than on your public speaking engagements—people are more likely to write a comment on your blog post than send you a note after a presentation. This gives you an opportunity to hear what the public has to say about your message, which is important if you want to fine-tune the delivery so it reaches more people.
Tony Robbins is a world-famous motivational speaker and life coach. He stresses the importance of putting yourself in the audience members' heads and hearts and tailoring your speech to what they need, not what you want to talk about. Connecting with the audience gives you a sense of what expectations they have and gives you more control over your presentation.
For the motivational speaker, the speech becomes the brand for which they are known. Your speech carries with it the message you are delivering through the words you use, the tone and the storytelling. Often, motivational speakers talk about the struggles of other professionals and how they overcame their challenges. Then they throw in some of their own story. To see examples of this, do a Google search for "public speaking tips," or study how CEO Weinberger peppers his speeches with personal anecdotes.
This is how your speech and the connection you have with your audience become how people remember you. They will remember your personal struggles and achievements, and the passion you have for your message. They will remember how your speech made them feel, much more so than the words you used.
A great speaker uses elements of motivational speaking at just the right time. It gets people thinking about something. It also can move them to take some action. This is the major goal of any motivational speaker.
What motivational speaking tips do you have? Share them in the comments.
Trevor Farrell is an aspiring news anchor who writes any chance he can get.
All children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. -Pablo Picasso
Picasso was an artist that defined the beginning to mid of the 20th century. His ideals, forms, and exploration inspired thousands and brought newness to the art world and propelled the modern art movement. Being an “artist” is not just meant for the art world. There is no need for a canvas, a paintbrush or a pile of clay. Rather, being an artist is a translatable and marketable skill that can be used in any field. It defines the ability to be creative. To generate original ideas that have value is a currently accepted definition of creativity. In today’s millennial generation, as we blossom out of public education and into public and private universities and eventually into the workforce, creativity is what separates those prepared to those successful and to those fulfilled. These three groups are the products of our universities, and the numbers within the last group are beginning to dwindle.
Why is that?
Our current education model was formed in mirror of the industrialization of our modern societies. There was a need to be qualified for a mass number of growing jobs. Those positions were held in high esteem and needed only those qualified and literate to fulfill it’s duties. Those intelligent enough and quite often wealthy enough could not obtain higher-level jobs by showing their credentials. Even going back twenty years ago, a simple B.A. often meant immediate job placement. Fast-forward to now, a B.A. is slowly becoming the equivalent of a high school diploma.
Our education system is breeding groups of young adults to be like everyone else, to know the same information and to only use their head and often just one side of it. When we are children our minds, our ability to take risks, our bodies, and our pure willingness to explore and experiment are wide open. At the end of high school, for most, that openness is left as a tiny crack. So how can we as societies expect to propel forward and innovate with original ideas––if what we are creating is none of the sort?
Changing the education system is something that needs to be done, but is far from being accomplished anytime soon. However, we as college students and/or current graduates have an opportunity to make a change. We can still open our minds, re-nurture our creative spirit and transform our society into one that caters to our generation and not just what has come before us.
We need to take our lives by the reins, seek opportunities, dialogue with our communities and thought-leaders, and know in ourselves that fulfilling jobs and lives do not just fall from the sky––rather they are found from those exploring, pushing and taking risks.
How can we do this? I’ve narrowed it down to four simple tactics:
Reflect
This tactic simply means to look inward and outward and compare notes. Spend time with yourself. Ask yourself questions, give yourself challenges, and know where you thrive and where the road meets the wall. Often enough we as eager beavers take whatever is handed to us without ever letting it simmer and develop. A fulfilling life starts with pursuing your best-fit realm and in order to do that one must know themselves.
Research:
Look at the world around you. Find those who inspire you and get into their shoes and minds. Read, look, watch, and record as much as you can. Humans are natural sponges, regardless of age––and often enough as we shield ourselves off from our creative spirit, that sponge turns into rock.
Renew:
Our bodies are in constant renewal at every moment except from death. Our cells, blood, and connections are constantly generating and changing. We can do the same in our world. Change your routine, your perspective, and take on the role of another. We are natural, especially our generation, at trying new things and throwing out the old. This is key for innovation and essential for a fulfilling life and career.
Risk:
Finally, risk is everything. As children we lack the fear of risk. We are willing to give anything and everything a chance. As we grow, however, we are taught that mistakes are negatives and are to be avoided at all costs. Trial and error defines human existence and should never be hammered away just out of fear of the unknown. Try new things, give failures another go, and push away the fear of being wrong.
Often enough our wrongs, our fears, and our concerns can lead into something new, beautiful, innovative, and creative. We as the new working class of the world can give something back of value. Technology has given us access to information, communities and opportunity in the click of a button. It would be a tragedy to waste it, but the bigger tragedy would be to never try at all.
This post was inspired by a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson. Bethany Shepard is a recent graduate of the Herron School of Art & Design and is currently a copywriter and email marketer at xiik marketing. She lives in Indianapolis with her favorite cat, Mr. Boo and always has a fresh cup of coffee. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, and the xiik website.
Much has been written about the death of Google Reader, but an article from Buzz feed provides a powerful theory:
There’s a very simple corporate reason for why Google Reader was shut down: No one internally deemed it important enough to even work on, much less save.The decision had little to do with consumers — the RSS reader was very popular with a core set of power users — and much more to do with corporate politics. At Google, Chief Executive Larry Page and his inner circle of lieutenants, known as the “L Team,” simply did not view Google Reader as an important strategic priority. Internally, it became obvious that despite Google Reader’s loyal fan base, working on the project was not going to get the attention of Page.
Businesses have to make strategic decisions all the time about what to cut and what to keep. But if the story is true that Google Reader was killed because of internal politics--not external user needs--that hints at serious management problems at Google headquarters.
This brings us to another question..
The answer to this is not "do what will make the boss happy" but age-old management advice. "Define a vision statement, and follow it."
For Google, that vision statement is well articulated. Dumping a product for the reasons suggested above seems like a complete reversal of those objectives.
But even if you don't have a vision statement, you probably have an underlying philosophy. You probably rank employees, customers, and shareholders in some order in your mind. You probably have strong feelings about customer service, management styles, or product quality.
There are lots of ways to run an organization. But if you run it by ignoring millions of customers in favor of the one pseudo-customer in the office at the end of the hall, you'll end up with that individual being the only person you serve.
It's hard to imagine any business sustaining itself like that.
This is the topic of a classic paper by David Maister. He notes that when people want to be more efficient, they often interpret the world around them differently. For example:
[A] well-known hotel group received complaints from guests about excessive waiting times for elevators. After an analysis of how elevator service might be improved, it was suggested that mirrors be installed near where guests waited for elevators. The natural tendency of people to check their personal appearance substantially reduced complaints, although the actual wait for the elevators was unchanged....
As one [restaurant] waiter pointed out: “If they sit down in a good mood, it’s easy to keep them happy. If they sit down disgruntled, it’s almost impossible to turn them around. They’re looking to find fault, to criticize.”
Maister provides a series of bullet points as advice to for anyone who has customers that might have to wait. But each of these can also be taken as a suggestion for how to be more efficient when you are forced to wait. Here are a few:
If you have something to do, waiting seems shorter and more bearable. This realization about being more efficient is expressed in many common sayings, such as "A watched pot never boils" or "Time flies when you're having fun."
If you know you'll have to wait, you can be more efficient by having something to do. Bring a book. Play a game. Call a friend. Plan to do something while you're waiting, and waiting won't seem so bad.
Maister notes that this is the reason that people wait at the bar and restaurant servers are trained to say "I'll be right with you." So if you have to wait in line, you can be more efficient by getting started on whatever you are there to do. Fill out some of the paperwork. Mentally prepare for what you are going to say. Organize your papers.
Although we all want to be more efficient, people waiting may be amused by a version of Murphy's Law attributed to Erma Brombeck:
The other line always moves faster.
In other words, you can be more efficient by trying to reduce your anxiety. Remind yourself that the plane has seats for everyone and won't leave without you, so there's no cause for alarm.
If you don't know how long you will be waiting, it's difficult to find ways to use your time. You could be called any moment or be there for ages.
That's why it's helpful to try and figure out how long the wait will be. Measure the movement of the line with your watch and estimate the number of minutes remaining. Then, you'll be able to fit in a chapter in your book or a important phone call.
You can be more efficient by determining how much time you have remaining.
All of these tips can help you when you are waiting in line. The psychology may be more impactful than the actual dynamics of the system or service. But most importantly: practically everything in business and life can be thought of as a line.
Get better at waiting. Be more efficient. Find something else to do. In no time, it will be your turn.
This question came to mind when a colleague referenced an article titled Does Your Nonprofit Need a Social Media Manager?
The "required skills" section here is particularly valuable... | Does Your Nonprofit Need a Social Media Manager? http://t.co/cpoXKtatik
— AndreaSauceda (@AndreaSauceda) August 5, 2013
To summarize that post and add a little extra zing: If you're asking "do we need a social media manager for our company?" I feel like what you're really asking is "am I operating with a mindset that is decades out of date?"
Or as I quipped back to Andrea:
@AndreaSauceda Can you find the article "Your Nonprofit Probably Needs Actual Leadership If They Are Asking About a 'Social Media Manager'"
— robbyslaughter (@robbyslaughter) August 5, 2013
You might think that I'm about to launch into a business improvement rant about the critical importance of social media for nonprofits and companies.
But I'm not. Of course social media is incredibly important. If your organization has any stakeholders, those individuals are online. It would be foolish not to study what people are doing and act accordingly. It would be a complete failure of leadership to fail to pay attention to current trends. If as a leader you say "I don't get Facebook" you just have not been paying attention. Over one billion people use Facebook every month (source). If you're leading business improvement efforts but you are not closely following a trend that in less than a decade has overtaken a sixth of the world's population...well, what are you doing?
But this isn't a rant about social media. It's a rant about actual leadership.
Leading an organization requires studying how the world is changing. Certainly technology (including social media technology) is an area of tremendous change. For example:
But this isn't a rant about failure to adapt to technology. It's about the most important and most widespread leadership and business improvement failure: a lack of social awareness.
If you're interested in business improvement and real leadership, you must acknowledge that everything is changing. And furthermore, even though you don't agree with all of the changes, the people who are leading these cultural revolutions are pursuing them because they think these changes are good for the world!
Failure in leadership has nothing to do with age. There are plenty of clueless people from every generation. Leadership doesn't require experience (although it certainly helps), it requires a particular perspective:.
If you consider yourself a leader, you must be truly open to new ideas, new conversations, and new experiences.If you consider yourself a leader, you must be not just a teacher of history but a student of a culture.
If you consider yourself a leader, you must accept that what has become popular may not interest you, but cannot be ignored.
If you consider yourself a leader, you must meet people where they are, and rush to join them if they have moved ahead.
If you consider yourself a leader, you must be ready to make room for someone able to think more broadly and act with greater humility.
Too many people who call themselves "leaders" struggle to be emotionally and intellectually available. Real leadership requires a focused awareness on the world of today. If you're not checked in to what's happening, it's time to check out of that leadership role.
Here's the simple, painful truth: There's no chance for business improvement if you don't actually know what's going on.
The original post is by Indiana blogger Marissa Bracke and is called 10 Ways to Make a Request that Annoys, Ticks Off, or Offends the Requestee (with the subtitle "and what to do instead"). Here are a few of her top tips for annoying someone else when reaching out to them:
1. Get her name wrong, or spell it incorrectly.This seems so basic, but I’m shocked at how often someone sends a request with the recipient’s name spelled wrong–or with the wrong name completely. You’re asking for something; getting the requestee’s name right is the least you can do! Double check the spelling against her business card or website. Heck, copy and paste straight from her About Page if you have to!
7. Make lots of work for her to give you what you want.
It’s one thing to ask for a blurb you can use on your new book release.
It’s another thing to ask for a blurb of exactly 183 characters along with a headshot in graytones displaying only a left-facing profile and a solo email about your book to be sent once a week every week for the next two months and also here sign these five different media releases (of which about 2% is actually pertinent to the situation at hand) and I’ll need your left thumbprint in a plaster mold sent via registered courier within the next 48 hours, thanks.
10. Pester her–you can’t follow up too often!
If you’ve sent an email, you do not also need to leave a voicemail, send her a private Facebook message, post on her business’ Facebook wall, send a tweet, send a second email to an alternate email address you have on file in the hopes that it will circumvent the assistant, and then look up her assistant’s home phone number and call that too. (Yes, it has happened.)
Pretty awful, right? There's more: head to Marissa's site for additional details.
We do want to help people who are asking about how to hire a speaker. After all, we provide Indianapolis speakers and consultants to organizations all over Central Indiana and beyond.
But this post inspired us to come up with ten of our own anti-tips regarding how to hire a speaker. We'll include just the first five in today's blog post. Here they are:
11. Send a request that is indistinguishable from one which is entirely generic.
If your message looks like spam or a mass email, it's hard for us to know if you are genuinely interested in one of our speakers.
12. Leave mismatched fonts in your email so it's clear you are copying and pasting from different sources.
You thought you were saving time. What you were really doing is proving that we're not worth too much of yours.
13. Immediately suggest that because you are a nonprofit/new event/providing exposure they should work for free.
Just like your staff works for free and your donors send you invisible non-money, right? Look, we understand that budgets are tight. But let's at least have a conversation to see if it makes sense to do a probono project.
14. Propose a date which directly conflicts with events listed on their public calendar.
We publish all of our Indianapolis speaking events online. Is it reasonable to suggest you check that before you select a date?
15. Name drop someone you know in common, rather than getting the introduction.
We all know people that can help us to connect. But if that person is only saying "feel free to use my name" rather than making the introduction themselves, maybe you ought to find out why they don't want to introduce you.
How To Hire a Speaker, In Summary
So what should you do if you want to hire an Indianapolis speaker? The same thing you do if you're reaching out to anyone else. Be respectful. Recognize that our speakers and consultants make their living based on their expertise.
We're here to help, but we're people too. Just keep that in mind when it's time to hire a speaker for your next event. And if you love these, check out five more anti-tips for hiring a speaker.
The piece is by Jack Rubinger and Dave Hogg, and opens with the following advice:
Manufacturing environments constantly evolve to address rapidly changing customer needs, which means workstations and areas within the plant are constantly impacted by transitions, additions, and moves. Manufacturing leadership that emphasizes visual communications lends a new perspective on lean manufacturing and helps improve operational flow.
It might seem strange to think that signs could have a significant impact on productivity. But think about this technology outside of a company: don't signs make you a better driver, help you to find your way in unfamiliar buildings, and let you know how to interact when visiting a retail location?
The article also feature a quote from our own Robby Slaughter:
Productivity and workflow expert Robby Slaughter, at Indianapolis-based AccelaWork, focuses on warehouse and inventory storage. He has seen many clients ignore some of the most obvious handling costs.“If you stack palettes as they arrive,” he said, “you will have to un-stack them each time to make a delivery to ensure that aging inventory is given priority. Alternately, if you create zones for each period of time, you’ll be constantly moving your entire inventory from one section to the next as time passes. The best approach is to update the signage rather than move the product.” Magnetic labels that can be easily moved are an excellent option for warehouses.
Signs are a great way to improve operational efficiency by providing information to stakeholders. They tell individuals where to go, what to do, and what to avoid.
But while these techniques can help your company improve productivity, they can also negatively impact morale. Here on The Methodology Blog, we've covered some examples of sarcastic signs in the workplace. Visual communication, just like any other form of communication, requires working to understand then needs of stakeholders and designing a message that is well-received.
Whether you're working on the factory floor, the office, a retail site or even in the field, consider improving operational productivity through visual communication. Or in other words, no matter what you do, there's a good chance that a good sign might help.
The shocker appears in a MarketWatch press release titled For Knowledge Workers, Productivity Begins with Workplace Strategy. Key passages include:
Work is what employees do, not where they sit. The focus of work and workplace is no longer about square-footage per person, but about revenue per person....
The traditional one-person-per-desk model does not best serve knowledge workers.
...
Do more with less. The "ownership model" of assigning a seat to every employee is no longer sustainable, given that 50 percent of desks will be vacant on an average day in a typical company. In North America and Europe, for example, job sharing, telecommuting and virtual meetings have significantly decreased office space usage
These quotes about organizational productivity comes from international real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle. They manage 2.6 billion square feet of real estate. So why are they encouraging clients to use less space?
We've covered topics of productivity decisions and real estate before on The Methodology Blog. And we've also talked about the impact of telecommuting on real estate as well.
But a multinational real estate company recognizing changing patterns in work is something else. To quote from the release:
"A typical knowledge-oriented organization spends significantly more on its workers than on its space," says Bernice Boucher, a member of Jones Lang LaSalle's global workplace strategy board with responsibility for the Americas. "For these companies, productivity is not about presence--that is, sitting at a desk--it is about performance. The right workplace strategy can help increase shareholder value, achieve business goals and create a high-performance, cohesive corporate culture."
That's newsworthy. Work is not where you are, it's what you do. If the real estate experts know that organizational productivity has changed, when will the rest of us catch up?
You've been doing public speaking for a few years now. You feel confident about your skills. But you still don't see yourself in that category of a great public speaker. Take some tips from the professionals, and you may find that you're not too far from your goal.
This is a textbook tip, but still critical. You really need to know your material, inside and out. Because you don't know what may happen during your speech that will completely throw you off. A breeze may come up during an outdoor event, and blow all of your notes off of the podium. A very influential figure in the audience may raise their hand and ask a, "What if?" question. There are many things that can happen to disrupt your flow.
The CEO of Ernst & Young, Mark Weinberger, had to address Congress frequently as the assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Tax Policy. He was faced with an audience known for interruptions, distracting statements and speculative questions. Mr. Weinberger had to know his material perfectly, for this is not an audience that accepts the response, "Let me get back to you on that."
If you have memorized a long script, break it up into sections, rather than viewing it as one long stream of words. Thinking of the material as sections means if you are distracted, you can come back to the last section you were in and do a little catch up. People won't mind if you take a moment to find your place.
You may have done this early on as you were just learning, but you should periodically record your presentation and watch yourself. You may have picked up some habits that could be distracting to the audience. Are you speaking loudly and clearly enough? If you hold a microphone, do you hold it in the right position? Do you spend too much time behind the podium or walking back and forth on the stage?
Watch some TED talk presenters. Observe how they handle themselves on stage, with and without microphones, and with props such as charts or slides. Watch some with the sound off, so you can focus on body language and how they move in front of the audience.
The following will sound so intuitive, but they are so often violated. Drink plenty of water before you go on stage. As a backup, take a bottle or glass of water with you. A dry mouth can be very distracting to you and annoying to the audience while you hunt for a glass of water.
Get plenty of rest the night before the speech. It will show during your presentation. You will either appear bright and alert, or dull and listless. Your energy level affects how the audience receives your speech.
Your audience really does want you to have a good time on stage and share a good presentation. They all want you to succeed. If you have any anxiety, tell yourself there's no need because the audience rarely notices. Don't apologize for being nervous or for anything that should happen on the stage. Your audience is way more forgiving than you think.
Michael Hyatt, a professional leadership speaker, writes that it's important to close your speech properly. Don't let your speech just trail off. End your speech with a powerful closing statement that they will remember.
What tips do you have for people to nail their next speeches? Share them in the comments.
Cindy Parsons is a business adviser and mom of four who loves to write and hike in her spare time.
At first glance, it's easy to assume that the workplace is kind of like the department store. You get what you pay for. It seems like higher paid workers are more productive, and lower paid employees are less productive.
But that's not true. We've all worked with people who were incredibly inefficient at their jobs but pulled down a healthy paycheck each month. And we've all seen people slaving away at minimum wage (or even as volunteers!) who produce incredible results. Maybe productive people are paid more in general, but it's not an absolute rule. So what is the link between employee productivity and individual compensation?
This is an important question. We've looked at the psychology of pay for performance before here on The Methodology Blog. And we've even noted that increasing pay can often actually improve overall profitability.
But a blog post from the Economic Policy Institute studies the phenomenon of employee productivity and employee compensation as an economic activity. They write:
We don’t look simply at average compensation, but (generally) at median compensation, the compensation of a worker in the middle of the pack who makes more than half the workforce but less than the other half. This really matters; when, say, LeBron James walks into a bar average compensation rises a lot even though the compensation of the median person in the bar is likely unaffected.
(A quick refresher for those readers who have a few years since their last statistics class. The average is the weighted central value. To get the average, you add up all the elements and divide by the number of elements. So the average of 1,2 and 12 is 5, because 1+2+12=15, and 15/3 = 5.
The median is the middle number in the set. So the median of 1,2 and 12 is just 2, because that's the number in the middle. The benefit of median is that it's not really impacted by outliers, like an how an NBA basketball star's salary wrecks the average salary of a typical restaurant.)
The Economic Policy Institute continues:
So, average compensation does indeed track productivity growth much more closely (though not perfectly) than does median compensation. But this is just another way to make what is the entire point of the compensation/productivity gap analysis: rising inequality has kept typical Americans from seeing their compensation track productivity.Average compensation, after all, includes every workers’ compensation—including those at the very top (and whose pay often include exercised stock options and bonuses paid to corporate executives). Median compensation, conversely, looks at the worker in the exact middle of the wage distribution. Therefore, rising inequality (i.e., compensation at the very top rising much faster than everybody else’s, say) will result in average compensation pulling away from median compensation, and hence a growing gap between median compensation and productivity.
Let's take that out of economist-speak and put it into plain English. The American economy is more productive than ever, but increases in productivity have not been matched by increases in compensation.
It might seem like these numbers are being skewed by unskilled laborers. But according to the author, "the bottom seventy percent of college graduates have not seen a raise in ten years."
So what's going on? Whatever the root cause, a major problem is that companies are not paying enough attention to individual contribution. Productivity and compensation both matter. And not only do they matter to employers, they matter to employees as well! Good workers care about getting things done. If you're looking at results and nurturing people who care about producing something, you're contributing to the gap and chasing away talent.
Focus on what people are actually doing and everything else will fall into place.
First to dispell the rumor. "Tip" does not stand for "to improve performance" or "to insure promptness" or anything else, according to the definitive source on urban legends.
But does tipping help? One restaurant owner who abandoned tips writes:
When we switched from tipping to a service charge, our food improved, probably because our cooks were being paid more and didn't feel taken for granted. In turn, business improved, and within a couple of months, our server team was making more money than it had under the tipped system. The quality of our service also improved. In my observation, however, that wasn't mainly because the servers were making more money (although that helped, too). Instead, our service improved principally because eliminating tips makes it easier to provide good service.
That should make you scratch your head. Just about every restaurant in America uses tips. Everyone knows that tips improve performance, right?
The author continues:
I can hear your objection now: How could servers be motivated to do a good job without tips?This is a common question, but it is also a silly question. Servers are motivated to do a good job in the same ways that everyone else is. Servers want to keep their jobs; servers want to get a raise; servers want to be successful and see themselves as professionals and take pride in their work. In any workplace, everyone is required to perform well, and tips have nothing to do with it. The next time you see your doctor, ask her if she wouldn't do better-quality work if she made minimum wage, with the rest of her income from her patients' tips. I suspect the answer will be a version of "no."
If economists know anything about leaving tips, it's that they know they don't know very much. At the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen writes:
1. Two studies show little relationship between quality of waiter service and size of tip. ... 2. Hotel bellboys can double the size of their tips, on average, by showing guests how the TV and air conditioning work. ... 7. Drawing a smiley face on the check increases a waitress’s tips by 18 percent but decreases a waiter’s tips by 9 percent.
All of this conversation about tips brings up perhaps the most important and yet most unknown phenomena in the entire world of business. Cash incentives do not improve performance. If you want people to work harder, you can't just give them more money. Nor can you promise them more money. How hard we work is really about how much we care and how well we are supported.
If your goal is to improve performance, focus on building an environment where individuals can improve their skills, have true ownership over their work, and enjoy the freedom to tinker. Watch this video on improving performance and employee motivation. Or read the most important article ever written on the topic.
But when you're at a restaurant, don't forget to leave a tip. Even though they don't produce the results we want, servers depends on tips to survive. As in most businesses, until management is ready to change everything else will stay the same.
The Muse put together a list of job tips for the changing market. They further elaborate on how many jobs aren't only posted online these days, and how merely submitting an application online is almost never going to be enough.
You want that job search to last and last? Well, then continue to rely solely on submitting online applications. You want to accelerate this bad boy? Don’t stop once you apply online for that position. Start finding and then endearing yourself to people working at that company of interest. Schedule informational interviews with would-be peers. Approach an internal recruiter and ask a few questions. Get on the radar of the very people who might influence you getting an interview.Because of this changing job market, we've put together a few tips to help you find your way.By lining up with people on the inside of the companies at which you want to work, you will instantly set yourself apart. Decision makers interview people who come recommended or by way of a personal referral before they start sorting through the blob of resumes that arrives by way of the ATS.
Develop a Personal Brand – Create a website that features your bio, blog content that highlights your expertise, links to your social pages, and a contact form. Be sure to include high quality professional photography to make your online presence look sharp.
Get Engaged in Social Media – When Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are used professionally, they can significantly increase your exposure to the employment marketplace. 100% completion of your LinkedIn profile increases the chances that a recruiter or hiring manager will find you through search.
Especially LinkedIn is important. The Muse article further elaborates on this:
If You’re Not on LinkedIn, You Very Nearly Don’t ExistPartner with Recruiters – Recruiters work hard to HUNT for hiring managers to make placements. Make friends with them, and help recruiters find new opportunities to sell you.Considering that more than 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary search tool, this is not an understatement. If you’re a professional, you need to not only be on LinkedIn, you need to be using it to your full advantage. Don’t believe me? Think about it this way: If tomorrow morning, a recruiter logs onto LinkedIn looking for someone in your geography, with expertise in what you do, and you’re not there? Guess who they’re going to find and contact? Yes, that person’s name is “not you.”
Network with a Purpose – Attend networking events to find other professionals who are targeting hiring managers in your industry. This could include payroll sales, HR consultants, recruiters, and employee benefits professionals. Partner with these folks, and trade leads!
While following these tips, remember that an important part of the job search is time management. Consider networking: there are so many options to network that you could literally spend your entire work week networking, solely networking. This is why it is so important to stay consistent and develop a monthly system for your networking.
In summary, the truth is that most professionals NEVER use these techniques when looking for work. That means that if you pursue them, you will be one of the few who do so. Good luck with in finding that next job and moving your career forward!
If you want more information about this, or need any tips on optimizing your business life, don't hesitate to contact the business improvement consultants at AccelaWork. We'd love to help!
A good example of well-intentioned but poorly-worded business process improvement advice appears in an op-ed in the Jamaica Gleaner which begins plainly enough:
At the heart of every company lies an open secret: only a handful of core processes create fundamental value for customers - or stakeholders, in the public sector. These processes, which have a start, an end, and a number of steps in between, are executed by people or computers. They differ based on the industry.
That all sounds fine, right? The author continues:
Non-core activities such as advertising, human resources and accounting support these processes.They are non-core because they support the company, but they don't actually deliver value directly to customers.
Imagine how you'd feel if you worked in one of those departments? You just got told: "you don't actually deliver value directly to customers."
It's absolutely true that a business lives and dies by its processes. But if you want to talk about business process improvement, the first conversation has to be with real people about real value.
Every employee and every department provides value. But if you're not thinking about how that value is provided and how value is generated through repeatable business processes, your company will have problems.
So instead of using words like "business process improvement" start the conversation with "how do we provide value?"
Once people start to agree on what is valuable, they can agree on what is not valuable. And that's where real process improvement can begin: by eliminating what everyone agrees doesn't need to be done.
Why are we writing about how to hire a speaker (opposite day edition?) This is in response to an original post is by Indiana blogger Marissa Bracke and is called 10 Ways to Make a Request that Annoys, Ticks Off, or Offends the Requestee (with the subtitle "and what to do instead").
Hers were so fantastic, we were inspired to offer five more ways not to hire a speaker. So just for fun, here are five more:
16. Threaten to cancel the offer if you don't receive a quick reply.
Everyone has deadlines. For anyone to provide good service, however, those deadlines must be reasonable. Don't write an email that says: "We need a speaker for next summer, respond by tomorrow or we will go with someone else."
17. List other affiliated people or sponsors who have not yet actually committed, or worse, who have already declined.
We're happy to hear you're hoping to get the Governor of Indiana and the CEO of the largest employer in Indianapolis as speakers at your event. But until you've received the thumbs up from their people, please don't toss out their names.
18. Provide inaccurate flattery.
Whether they are traveling to another state or working here in Indianapolis, speakers have an ego. But you won't stroke that ego by listing a great accomplishment or referencing a fantastic program that you didn't actually attend.
19. Ignore the contact form on their website specifically just designed for the query you are making, and try to contact them directly.
Pretty much every website these days has a contact form. These are designed to make it easy for you to reach out with questions, but also for the company to be able to engage with you.
If a speaker's website has a contact form, use it. Don't try to send them a text message out of the blue. Don't try to call their cellphone over the weekend. Interact with the speaker the way they've asked, so they can help you to meet your needs.
20. Explain that consideration for your program requires that they become a member of your organization first at the usual membership rate.
It's hard to see how this benefits your audience. If speakers must become members of the organization, then you're not likely to get outside perspectives. Plus, you're effectively charging the presenter to talk to the audience! Doesn't that mean they are going to want to promote their own products and services rather than entertaining and educating your group?
How To Hire a Speaker, In Summary
So what should you do if you want to hire an Indianapolis speaker? The same thing you do if you’re reaching out to anyone else. Be respectful. Recognize that our speakers and consultants make their living based on their expertise.
We’re here to help, but we’re people too. Just keep that in mind when it’s time to hire a speaker for your next event.
That's the advice of an article about improving productivity from MediaBistro. They quote Maria Tabaka:
The goal is to break your current, negative state by disrupting it with something that will ‘shock’ your internal chemist into action. Here are a few things I suggest you try to jump-start your productivity by adding some positivity. I admit a lot of them might make you look like a crazy person, but, in the pursuit of productivity, I’m willing to try anything.
The list of quirky tips to improve productivity includes suggestions like "Phone a friend." They write:
In this techie age, you may not be able to recall the last time you physically talked to a friend after all of your texts and Facebook messages. Seriously, pick up the phone even if it’s to leave a quick message to let your friend know you wanted to say hi.
We've covered breaking the routine before. A guest post by Bethany Shepard here noted that productivity and innovation requires mixing it up. She writes:
Trial and error defines human existence and should never be hammered away just out of fear of the unknown. Try new things, give failures another go, and push away the fear of being wrong.
Perhaps a key secret to increasing productivity is the same as improving employee retention. When we encourage people to try something unexpected there's a chance that the new perspective will help them break through and find new levels of success.
Who cares if productivity tips are "quirky?" Isn't it the results and the culture that matter most? And if someone finds your approach "too unusual," that may be the ultimate sign that you need to head somewhere new.
As the great Mick Jagger sang:
I can’t get no satisfaction I can’t get no satisfaction ‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try I can’t get no, I can’t get no…
Not so true for U.S. employees according to the Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report released by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). A reported 83% of employees say they are satisfied with their current jobs.
Great news, right?!
Before we begin celebrating like rock stars, it’s important to understand that employee satisfaction is just the beginning. Employees can find job satisfaction just by being employed. For some, it’s as simple as being able to punch in and out, perform assigned tasks, and calling it a day. The employee is happy to have a job and bring home a paycheck that provides for him/herself. Unfortunately, in most industries, satisfaction alone won’t cut it.
If we step it up a notch and look at employee engagement, the numbers are much lower. Gallup reports that less than 30% of employees are engaged, meaning that the number of employees that are emotionally invested in the mission and success of the organization is alarmingly low.
An employee’s level of engagement isn’t always easy to gauge. Some interactions are brief – ordering a cup of coffee at your local coffee shop, for example – and satisfaction and engagement can be easily confused. However, healthcare professionals who are often entrenched in the most trying times of their patient’s lives can’t simply “fake it till they make it.”
What does engagement look like in healthcare? Turns out, it’s not so much what it looks like as much as how it feels. Engaged healthcare workers are the ones who make their patient feel at ease, as if he/she is the only patient they have on their service that day. Their patients never feel like they are being bothersome when they ring that call light for 10th time in an hour. These are the employees that consistently display compassion because they feel called to deliver care in a way that can’t be taught.
In tough economic times, it’s imperative that businesses of all types find a way not only to satisfy, but engage, their employees. When consumers have a tendency to show support and patronage to a business through their wallets, it’s the engaged employees who show up and provide the customer service that keeps consumers coming back.
What are your thoughts? Is your team satisfied or engaged?
As reported by NBC:
Fliers will have to forgo 105 million hours of personal electronic devices (PEDs) this year due to FAA’s ban on their use during takeoff and landing. That's not only video game sessions, but a whole lot of missed opportunities to get some real work done.The productivity drain is not insignificant. Conducted by researchers at the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University, the study, Tablets Take Flight, notes that with more travelers carrying more devices, the amount of “disrupted technological activity” has soared 104 percent since 2010.
It's easy to pick on airlines and airports for their productivity problems. Here on The Methodology Blog, we've pointed out problems with "deals" for checked luggage, noted how one carrier fired an employee for responding to a design suggestion, and how a policy trapped someone at an airport.
But is it fair to blame the Federal Aviation Administration for millions of lost productivity hours due to a gadget ban? NBC seems to think the problem is really one of incompetence in the bureaucracy:
The matter is further complicated by the fact that the jury is still out on the degree to which PEDs can actually cause interference to flight systems. No cases have conclusively tied aircraft problems to the use of such devices.Pressure continues to build to end or at least modify the ban. Passengers wonder why iPads can now be used on the flight deck but not in the cabin, and one recent study showed that as many as 30 percent of fliers have left a device on during takeoff or landing, apparently without causing problems.
These are real problems that should be addressed. But perhaps more fundamentally, the deeper problem is that we know we will have to switch off our devices, so why can't we be prepared? It's no surprise to most travelers that there will be an announcement, so why not bring a paperback book? Why not have some hard copies of important papers?
Or better yet, why not use this time to relax and collect your thoughts? Perhaps that's the biggest loss of productivity of all: never putting down our work and taking a moment to reflect on what we've done, where we are, and what lies ahead.
The post is by our own Robby Slaughter and appears on the Delivra blog. When it comes to email marketing, Slaughter writes about that the campaigns we have done here at AccelaWork:
Let's be honest. You get a lot of email. That's true of almost everybody these days, not just people looking for email marketing advice or those who work for an email marketing firm.That means that you're probably fairly aggressive when it comes to judging other people's email campaigns. It's likely that when you see a piece that isn't too impressive, you hit the delete button. Or worse, you unsusbcribe.
The post goes on to explain various details about this email campaign, including elements such as brand alignment, personalization, and including a call to action. But what's most significant about the entire post is pride of ownership. We're proud of the marketing work we do here at AccelaWork, and we're happy to talk about what we have learned and are open to learning more.
Furthermore, ee've covered the topic of employee ownership before here on The Methodology Blog. The bottom line is that when individuals are truly invested in the work they are conducting, they will not only get more done---they will care more about the quality of the results.
As Indianapolis-based consultants and speakers, caring about the results of our customers is genuinely important. Guest posts about our email campaigns are one way to show our dedication. Just like our seminars, our client engagements, and our other activities in the community, passion for the work and belief that we can help others is what drives us every day.
Want to know more about how we can help you and your organization? Reach out to our consultants today!
Check out clip below:
This isn't the first time we've talked about the astonishing lack of employee engagement. But the video—an advertisement for Scott Berkun's new book The Year Without Pants—perfectly captures the corporate grind that so many experience and despise.
The work is a review of the author's experience working as a manager at an accomplished software company. The success of this organization is clearly tied to the unique, positive, and productive workplace culture there. To quote from the book:
A great fallacy born from the failure to study culture is the assumption that you can take a practice from one culture and simply jam it into another and expect similar results.
For more information, head to Amazon.
Here are four tips that will ensure the right decisions are made for hiring a sales assistant:
1. Assess Everyone - Each candidate should take a personality and skills assessment. Their personality results should tell you that they like stability, follow instruction, and are detail oriented. If you’re a sales person, and you like the candidate because they remind you of you – don’t hire them. They need to be the opposite of you, which means that the candidate is probably a slow, nit-picky, perfectionist.
2. Don’t Take Anything for Granted - How did the candidate show up when you first met them? Were they late, disheveled, and smelly? Remember, this person is going to be seen and heard by ALL of your clients, employees, and partners. First impressions matter, and they don’t change with time.
3. Set Crystal Clear Expectations “Light office work” is not a good description of what your sales assistant is going to do. Get detailed about each task that they will complete, and put the tasks in the job description. If they are going to do first touch sales calls, don’t be afraid to list that in the post. The candidates who are ready, willing, and able to do that work will apply. The others will not.
4. Schedule Trial Interviews - Before anyone is hired with our firm or our clients, we have them do a ½-day of work in the office for one-half of their proposed rate of pay. This is their final interview, and the clearest way to tell if they can do the job, if you like them, and if they enjoy the job and like you. Candidates lie. Make them prove their abilities.
Hiring a sales assistant is simple, but it’s easy to get trapped. Just because the applicant has a good handshake and a nice smile and won’t cost you an arm and a leg, doesn’t mean they are a good fit.
Minding the tips above will help you hire an effective team member.
Your environment plays a huge role in your productivity. Based in part on a Cornell University study involving workplace temperatures, researcher and business consultant Dr. Rod Friedman says lower temperatures lead to lower productivity — as much as a 10 percent drop, in some cases.
Whether you are setting up your first home office or relocating from your kitchen table to the spare bedroom down the hall, take advantage of these environmental tips to create a comfortable and productive home office.
Even if you cannot afford a pricey office, you can lay out your office with a desk, file storage within easy reach, and an ergonomically designed desk chair to reduce back strain from long hours in front of the computer. Chiropractor Rodney Lefler recommends a chair with a firm back rest, soft fabric cushion and an adjustable height so your feet fit flat on the floor. Adjusting the height for writing comfort is essential, too.
Organizing desktop, laptop and iPad docking stations and wireless printers so the equipment is easy to reach, but not cluttering your work space, will keep you focused and reduce stress. Organization is essential for efficiency. When the budget is tight, equip your home office with an Internet package from a reputable company to tackle efficiency and financial goals in one sweep.
Even though business is serious, don't forget to add fun elements to your office. Use brightly colored hole-punchers and staplers. The Tetris Stackable LED Desk Lamp is fun and functional. For only $40, you can use this to add a little dazzle and color to keep your spirits soaring. Another helpful gadget is the MMT Monitor2Go, a second monitor that works with your smartphone. It is a great device for taking your home office on the road, so you never miss a chance to make a sale.
Speaker phones are great for talking and working on the computer at the same time, but investing in the best noise-cancelling headset you can afford is a better option for your home office. Everyone knows when you finally get that VP of marketing on the telephone, the dog will bark, the baby will wake up, and the FedEx guy will knock on your door.
Once you have the basics in place, think about yourself. Make room for a small teapot or single-brew coffee maker, a couple of squishy stress balls and maybe even a nubby foot-roller to encourage circulation in your legs and feet.
Working from home can be an isolating endeavor if you don't have a strong support system. Remember to carve out space for your support team. Whether it is a beanbag in the corner for your encouraging teen, a side chair for your significant other or a cushy spot for your labradoodle to curl up on, be sure you have room for visitors.
Lyle Johnson runs a small roofing business and studies marketing at his local community college. He writes about small business, marketing and how to leverage social media.
A post on the website TriplePundit makes the case for biking to work:
Cycling will reduce health care costs: Cyclists, on average, live two years longer than non-cyclists and take 15 percent fewer days off work due to illness.Statistics show that non-cyclists take two more sick days per year.
Studies show a 4-15 percent increase in productivity, and 27 percent fewer task errors for physically fit employees.
Staff members who cycle are more punctual. Absenteeism can be reduced by up to 80 percent by encouraging cycling to work.
There's more:
Surveys asking people why they don’t exercise have found that the top excuse is that people say they don’t have time. The second reason is that they don’t like gyms, and the third reason is that they can’t afford gyms.Cycling to work addresses all of these concerns. A significant part of the time spent biking to work would have been used to drive to work, especially when you factor in the time it takes to find a parking spot and walk into the building. In most cases, bicycles can be parked quite close to the entrance. As for gyms, they are not needed, at least when the weather is good, and the cost of a bicycle, when amortized over several years, is quite modest, not to mention the gas money saved.
We previously compared business process improvement to the riding a bike here on The Methodology Blog, but we haven't had much to say about bike-to-work programs.
Broadly speaking, though, HR initiatives that are designed to improve employee health and happiness are worthy of consideration. This is especially true if individual workers are empowered to decide what is best for them.
But if you're able, you don't need anyone's permission to bike to work. Try it and see if it improves your productivity!
Runningen writes:
Have you ever been part of a really bad meeting? Like, one where you walked out of it at the end and thought..."Wait, what am I supposed to do now?" Chances are that in that meeting, many things were discussed, opinions were shared, and suggestions were made. However, chances are also good that no one took the reins to ensure that:
- the meeting's intended outcome was clear when the meeting was scheduled
- everyone was clear on their role in the meeting
- the discussion stayed on track and action items were communicated clearly
Remember, you don't have to be the meeting organizer to be the one who makes your meeting a good one (although meeting organizers really should!) You can be the one to make your meeting worthwhile. It only takes one person with a results-focused mindset to take the lead and drive the group to the right result. Your time is too valuable not to!
We couldn't agree more! In fact, we've blogged here about how to make meetings more efficient. We even had a guest blogger write about exactly when you should give a meeting.
One thing we haven't covered? Often the best meeting choice you can make is not to go at all. If the meeting doesn't make sense for you, why show up? And if someone asks where you were, ask them what was accomplished.
Chances are: not much. Because if meetings were productive, you'd want to be there. Deciding to skip a meeting may be the best message you can send that getting work done is what matters most.
The story comes from MIT's Technology Review which in turn discusses research done at Oxford University:
[Approximately 45 percent of American jobs are at high risk of being taken by computers within the next two decades.Computers will start replacing people in especially vulnerable fields like transportation/logistics, production labor, and administrative support. Jobs in services, sales, and construction may also be lost in this first stage. Then, the rate of replacement will slow down due to bottlenecks in harder-to-automate fields such engineering. This “technological plateau” will be followed by a second wave of computerization, dependent upon the development of good artificial intelligence. This could next put jobs in management, science and engineering, and the arts at risk.
This analysis is one we've heard before. In fact, we've discussed everything from process automation and employee morale to the age-old question about increased productivity and job loss.
In the case of this study, however, the future me may be slightly different than the authors predict. Instead of half of all American jobs going the way of the gas station attendant, the milkman, and the telephone operator, the future of employee productivity is about half of all current work becoming fully automated and computerized.
Think of it this way: How much of the work that you do today involves manipulating information or objects in a way that doesn't require much decision making? You are probably copying-and-pasting, typing the same words, or saying the same phrases multiple times throughout the workweek. You may be duplicating efforts you did yesterday, just because there is no program or robot to do it for you.
Of course, much of the work you do is highly individualized and could not be replaced by an Excel macro. However, just as writing an email is far faster than sending an interoffice memo, so too are there countless tiny activities you complete that will be made more efficient or eliminated altogether in the years to come.
But don't worry that your entire job will disappear overnight. Even the researchers agree:
"Our findings thus imply that as technology races ahead, low-skill workers will reallocate to tasks that are non-susceptible to computerization—i.e., tasks that required creative and social intelligence," the authors write. "For workers to win the race, however, they will have to acquire creative and social skills."
Work is about the value you provide, not simply the tasks you complete. In the future, we'll be more productive not because we work harder, but because the hard work we do will better express our creativity, our ingenuity, and our humanity.
That's the topic of a blog post at A Year of Productivity. Chris Bailey writes:
People like the idea of becoming a more productive person. They, like me, want to be known as “that guy” or “that girl” who wakes up at 5:30 every morning to run, meditate, read, and eat a huge, healthy breakfast before most of the world even wakes up.The problem, of course, is you can’t become more productive overnight. You don’t just get to be more productive because you decide to – you have to work at becoming more productive; pushing on the outer boundaries of your potential until they budge. If you could simply decide to be more productive, you would be!
So what are the "four, huge hidden costs of becoming more productive?" According to the blogger:
The last time we covered problems with increasing productivity it was related to working from home. (Check the article for more details.) Usually, we here at The Methodology Blog are covering the advantages of increased productivity.
Bailey's points are well-taken. But perhaps the most significant is #4, the concern that getting more done can make you feel robotic. Accomplishing more shouldn't be about moving faster through repetitive tasks. Instead, it's should be about creating more time to have more freedom to innovate..
His advice makes great sense:
Don't be afraid of increased productivity. Be afraid of working without meaning, or a workplace devoid of values. That's a recipe for disengagement and frustration.
Instead focus on what's possible—and set your sights on making it happen.
He opens the post with a discussion of the nature of these ideas:
Leadership and innovation are both action-based concepts. A person who is leading is proactive. They're not sitting around waiting for something to happen to them. They're the first to volunteer and take action. The same is true with innovators. People and organizations that innovate are actively working to generate new ideas. If you’re contemplating something that might change the world, but not actually building anything, you’re not an innovator. You’re just a dreamer.
Slaughter continues and describes the differences between leadership and innovation:
If leadership and innovation are so closely aligned, how could they be different? Leadership requires facing opposition, whereas innovation requires exploring the unknown.Leaders have a public role in their community, and through the act of leading they invite criticism from others. If you speak up at a school board meeting, you may be attacked for your beliefs. If you are recommending your product over a competing option, you may have to defend your choices and answer difficult questions about your shortcomings. And if you want your team to be victorious, you have to make sure the other side admits defeat.
Unlike leadership, innovation can be pursued in relative isolation. You may be the first explorer in a new realm, or the first researcher in a remote area of study. You can innovate with a small team of peers or inside a large organization of compatriots. Leaders often know that they will face opposition, but innovators never know exactly what they will discover. In fact, the outcome of innovation is often finding something valuable that you never anticipated.
This isn't the first time we've discussed innovation and leadership on The Methodology Blog. For example, we covered business process modeling and innovation and even leadership in NBC's "The Office."
Whatever the needs in your organization, both leadership and innovation are essential. And if you need help, reach out to our business consultants for more information.
There many important aspects of an excellent speaker, but here are a few to consider:
Great speakers care, and you can hear it in their voice On a recent visit to an Indianapolis-area Chamber of Commerce (Beech Grove!) I listened to a military veteran share his personal tale of sacrifice and a second chance at life. Everyone in the audience loved his speech—not because it was deeply educational or because he never stumbled over his words, but because it was clear that every word was true and meaningful.
Great speakers share information. If you already know everything someone has to say, then it doesn't matter how well they say it. Audiences can only connect with a speaker who is offering something which is new, or at least presented in a novel way.
Great speakers are the only individual who can give their talk. Each presenter has a style, and the best leverage that personal approach when talking to a room. Some use words that make you laugh and others are highly physical in their movement. I recently heard about a speaker at a major Indianapolis company who used audience interaction to make her point. Whatever the technique, the unique personality of the speaker must shine through.
Great speakers make and keep promises. Some do this with event organizers, by explaining what they will cover and keeping their talk within the time limit. Others make and keep promises within the context of their talk by outlining and agenda and covering each of the points. The opposite of an accountable speaker is one who rambles. There are not many audience members who enjoy an unstructured talk, which is why great speakers are highly accountable.
Keep these elements in mind as you decide if you want to hire a speaker. And the next time you are in the audience, pay attention to the presenter's passion, knowledge, personality and accountability. You'll realize why you like (and dislike) parts of what they offer.
This problem has been discussed by professional speakers for years. A great article at SpeakerNetNews lists tons of advice from experienced presenters. Their tips include:
Here's what I do, and it works EVERY TIME. I say to the heckler (ever notice, it's never a woman?) "You don't really want to be here, do you?" They say, "No." And I say, "then you have my permission to leave."We usually go back and forth around some issue like, "I don't know if you'll jeapordize your job by leaving... I don't know if it's mandatory that you be here, etc." NO ONE HAS EVER LEFT. AND they've started to participate! —Nanette Miner
...
You must respond to any comment made by someone in the audience. Otherwise you lose control of your presentation.
Be sure to avoid saying anything thing that brings criticism to the "heckler." You want to be the most mature, positive, friendly person in the room. —Steve Kaye
One way to combat negativity is with positivity. But whether you are speaking to a large group or working as a consultant with people one-on-one, opposition can create friction. Instead of trying to be upbeat when others are down, it can be helpful to empathize with them.
"Thanks for your comment. It's true that this information isn't perfect, but it's the best data we have right now.""You're right, this isn't necessarily the best for everyone individually. But sometimes what's best for the whole organization requires some individual sacrifice. We're here to talk about the choices we have to make, together."
"I can understand why you disagree. Can we put that conversation on hold for a minute, and come back later to discuss it? That way, we can stay on schedule and be respectful of everyone's time."
Speakers and consultants should also take to heart the psychology of disdain. In a blog on the Washington Post wesbite:
[Studies show] people who tend to hate things they already know about are (surprise!) more disposed to hate things they have not yet come in contact with.To test out this theory, a team of psychologists asked study participants how they felt about a number of mundane and unrelated subjects that included (but was not limited to) architecture, health care, crossword puzzles, taxidermy and Japan.
They wanted to figure out if people tended to like or dislike things in general. This was dubbed the individual's dispositional attitude or, more simply put, checked for whether they were a hater who pretty much hates on everything that comes across their path.
If some one is speaking out against your presentation or your ideas as consultant, it might not have anything to do with you. Science seems to indicate that, well, "haters are gonna hate."
In summary: do your best, accept that some will challenge you, and keep moving forward.
First, let's put some terminology on what you may already know. The ability to concentrate—which arises from long blocks of uninterrupted time—is essential to maximizing your personal productivity. The mental state that we work ourselves into for these tasks which are highly challenging and require a high degree of skill is called flow. That's a term coined by researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi which we've covered in past blog posts about workplace productivity and overwork.
Second, a healthy reminder about the myth of multitasking. You cannot do more than one intellectually meaningful activity at the same time. So it's possible to read a book while eating, but it's not possible to read a book while having a conversation. At best, you can rapidly switch your focus. This "task switching," as research shows, is the most expensive part.
The American Psychological Association has collected some research on this topic. They write:
[Researchers'] evidence suggests that the human "executive control" processes have two distinct, complementary stages. They call one stage "goal shifting" ("I want to do this now instead of that") and the other stage "rule activation" ("I'm turning off the rules for that and turning on the rules for this"). Both of these stages help people to, without awareness, switch between tasks. That's helpful. Problems arise only when switching costs conflict with environmental demands for productivity and safety.Although switch costs may be relatively small, sometimes just a few tenths of a second per switch, they can add up to large amounts when people switch repeatedly back and forth between tasks. Thus, multitasking may seem efficient on the surface but may actually take more time in the end and involve more error. Meyer has said that even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40 percent of someone's productive time.
In summary, here's what you should do if you have to juggle multiple tasks.
Work as long as you possibly can on each project. If you have three clients and three hours, try to work for an hour on client A, followed by a client on hour B, and finally an hour on client C. Don't work in ten minute cycles.
This may sound like obvious advice, but if you're being honest, you'll see how rarely you do this. In fact, chances are that before you finish this article, you'll be distracted by something else that will interrupt your flow.
Build in ramp-up and ramp-down time - If you know you'll be working for the rest of the day on a particular project, make sure to build in at least fifteen minutes to wrap up. Use this time to leave yourself notes, flag the parts you've recently touched, and organize your materials for easy access next time. The science fiction author Cory Doctorow says it this way:
When you hit your daily word-goal, stop. Stop even if you're in the middle of a sentence. Especially if you're in the middle of a sentence. That way, when you sit down at the keyboard the next day, your first five or ten words are already ordained, so that you get a little push before you begin your work. Knitters leave a bit of yarn sticking out of the day's knitting so they know where to pick up the next day — they call it the "hint." Potters leave a rough edge on the wet clay before they wrap it in plastic for the night — it's hard to build on a smooth edge.
Keep project notes separated. Avoid a unified work log. If you're billing multiple clients or plugging away on multiple related activities, it might seem tempting to create a single master journal to track everything you're doing.
The problem with this is that it makes it even easier to get distracted. You'll see notes for a different project and want to switch over, breaking your discipline. So if you want to keep a journal, create one for every individual activity. Keep your notes separate.
Use ubiquitous capture, but not ubiquitous retrieval. Ever wake up in the middle of a night or find yourself struck in the middle of an unrelated meeting with an idea for some unrelated project? Ubiquitous capture is the idea that you need to have some tool with you at all times where every little random idea can be recorded. This can be a pad of paper, your favorite smart phone app, or a mini-tape recorder. (Alternately, you can just decide to let things go.)
However, just because you can capture your ideas anywhere does not mean you should be able to retrieve your ideas anywhere. A searchable, indexed database of all your projects that is with you every moment of the day might sound helpful, but in truth it's the ultimate distraction. Think of how much the Internet draws you away from your work, and it's not all that personalized! In summary, make sure that when you're working on a project you can capture random ideas for other projects, but that you can't easily get those project details so you get sucked in.
So that's it. Good luck with improving your workflow. Now, get back to whatever you were doing before you were distracted by this blog post.
This infographic comes courtesy of the folks at Time Doctor. Take a look, and then read our comments after the image.
This isn't the first time we've featured an infographic on wasting time at work. And we've covered the ways people waste time, such as duplication of efforts or through terribly unproductive meetings.
It does bring up the larger question: Why do we care so much about "wasted time?" The answer is that we're obsessed with time spent, not results produced. None of us get paid to work, we get paid to be at work.
From a manager's perspective, it's easy to see other people wasting time, consider that to be lost productivity, and demand they use their time better. From an employee's perspective, it's easy to see other people wasting your time, thus requiring you to stay longer to get more done.
A summary of this issue appeared in our post, Reviewing Software Startup Hours:
If you’re measuring hours, you’re probably missing the point. Even in highly-mechanized environments, it’s not the number of minutes that matter at work but what you do with them.
Don't focus on wasted time. Focus on producing results.
The executive in question is Simon Anderson, who heads up DreamHost. From the New York Times interview:
You can be sitting in a meeting and you can say, “I’m going to be shamelessly honest here.” Boom. Now there’s respect and it’s not rude honesty. It just gives us permission to have those hard conversations and get to a point where the elephant is not in the room. We don’t have elephants in the room for very long because someone’s going to call it out and say, “Look, I’m not getting this.”When people talk about culture, they often think that culture is about the lunches and that sort of thing. We don’t really see culture like that. Culture’s a full-contact sport. You’re fighting for what you believe in. Culture is debate. It’s argument. It’s messy, and for culture to be strong, people have to be fighting and challenging each other.
Not everyone agrees with Anderson, though. One blogger based in LA responded to the same piece:
I'm not sure about that - office democratization sounds great, but it requires maximum maturity and minimal ego. The workplace is simply not like that because people are not like that. Being brutally honest works with for some folks and can be utterly debilitating for others. Besides, making good decisions often comes down learning from the bad decisions you've made over the years, and that requires experience. It's great that the workplace has become more flexible and open to different opinions and approaches, but good management will never be a team sport.
This feedback is curious, because it implies that an organization can't have and shouldn't want these qualities. But can't these elements be a goal when building a company? For example:
Organizational culture is changing. This CEO and his fellow employees are doing something---trying to be honest---that doesn't sound that radical. But on reflection, telling the truth at work and leaving your ego at home is a revolutionary concept indeed.
This insight comes from Dave Johnson, writing for CBS News. His advice:stop organizing email:
Any filing system depends upon you being able to remember the taxonomy you've created. The report about the Smith account? Is it in the folder you called Reports, or is it still in the In Progress folder? What about Archived Projects? Your ability to find stuff is only as good as your filing system, and even then, no system is perfect.
At first, this seems like good advice. You're probably too busy to keep track of yet another system, even one of your own design.
However, Johnson continues:
On the other hand, if you ignore your impulse to file and just leave mail in your inbox, you can use the instant search tool in Outlook or whatever client you are using to find stuff by typing a unique word or two.
That's where his advice breaks down. It's true, you should not bother to organize your email. But that's not because no "filing system is perfect" (which is a pretty defeatist attitude toward systems in general) and also not because "you can just search later" (which is just conflict-avoidance for email.)
Instead, you should stop organizing email because you should process it to deletion. Email is no place to store information. Not only are you filling the same role of correspondence bookkeeper that everyone else in your company is doing at the same time---aka, duplication of efforts---but you are saving information in a place that no one else can reach it.
If you get an email, deal with it. Save any permanent information into the appropriate repository. Reply if needed. And then, delete it.
The record of correspondence in email does not need to be organized. Once it's processed, it should be erased. Improve your productivity. Stop organizing email.
The easiest way to think about the right way to hire a speaker is to consider the following six essential questions about your event:
Through a series of upcoming blog posts, we're going to look at each of these questions in detail. But before we start that process, we'll explain the key function of having a presentation at any event:
A speaker creates a shared experience that builds upon a larger theme.
No matter what type of organization you are or what your audience is like, by bringing someone in to talk you are asking those assembled to pay attention. You have a big picture in mind, and that speaker is there to help deliver that message.
Watch this space for more on hiring speakers!
The piece appears on Forbes, and warns about the dangers of using these phrases:
We all laugh at how the managers in Dilbert or on the The Office constantly spew cliches that don’t seem to mean anything. But those parodies shed light on a basic truth: some tired management cliches will impress enough people that they’ll probably help you get promoted to middle management.
Here are some of the best, along with "translations" from writer Eric Jackson:
Let’s circle back to that/Let’s put that in the parking lot/let’s touch base on that later/let’s take this off-line = Shut up and let’s go back to what I was talking about
We think outside the box here/color outside the lines = We wouldn’t know about how to do something innovative if it came up to us and bit us in the behind
I/we/you don’t have the bandwidth = Since we cut 60% of our headcount, we’re all doing the job of 3 people, so we’re all burned out
This is where the rubber meets the road = Don’t screw up
Let’s take the 30,000 foot view… = I like to think I see the big picture
I want you to run with this = I just threw you into the deep end of the pool and you’re on your own to figure it out
We've actually covered ridiculous business jargon before on The Methodology Blog. And while it's a lot of fun to read these kinds of lists, the use of stock phrases illustrate a more serious issue: we tend to communicate by parroting, rather than by thinking.
If you catch yourself "circling back" to "best practices" when it comes time to "drill down" and "make the donuts," it might be time to "take a step back."
Instead, try figuring out what you really want to say. And if you don't know, consider just being honest. It's okay if you don't know. And it's likely that people will appreciate you more if you speak with your own voice rather than one that you've heard countless times before.
Those are the words of Tom Peters, legendary speaker, author, and management consultant, in a classic column titled Judging Jugement: Ouch! Peters runs through a series of examples, and then concludes:
If outrageously poor judgment is pervasive, perhaps it's one more reason for managers to empower lots of people to "get on with it." Though the judgment of those empowered is not likely to be much good either, they are closer to the action, deal with slightly less complex events and receive less distorted information. At a minimum, such a strategy increases the number of people who try stuff. That's not a very scintillating solution, but it may be better than relying on the plans and commands of a small number of self-deluded "experts."
The first question might be: how is it possible that people---especially experts---are terrible at making judgment calls?
The reason lies in social psychology. It turns out that the way a problem is presented to us influences our objectivity. Peters gives a good example:
Confronting data that contradicts our opinion hardens rather than softens that opinion. Almost any study that supports our views is seen as more convincing and better done than studies which refute it.
A second question might be: If our ability to decide what's best is easily influenced by psychology, what should we do?
The answer is to design decision-making processes with these biases in mind. For example, the Israel Defense Forces have a challenging consensus model in which once a conclusion is reached, a group has the responsibility of researching and defending the opposite perspective.
But a broader point might be that basic problems in business improvement are difficult to resolve. A Tom Peters article from 1991 (!) still rings true today, decades later. If we want to get better at making decisions and managing people, we must accept that what we often assume to be correct just isn't so at all.
It might seem obvious that a key source of creativity is other people. We find ourselves inspired by the actions or thinking of others. This notion is nicely presented in a quotation from George Bernard Shaw:
If you have an apple and I have an apple, and we exchange apples, we both still only have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we exchange ideas, we each now have two ideas.
The larger issue of creativity at work is the subject of an op-ed that appeared in The New York Times. Idris Mootee writes:
Management practices evolved for a very different set of business needs: ensuring that repetitive tasks were completed, improving economic efficiency, maximizing labor and machine productivity. Not a lot of creativity is needed; in fact, it might even be inefficient. As a consequence, our workplaces are full of managers who have been trained or encouraged to be un-creative.But managers today need creativity, as they deal with disruptive technologies and breakneck competition. The nature of work has changed, and many workplaces need to reflect that. The old way is to divide each part of a business into subparts and have teams organized around their own turf. The main result is thousands of PowerPoint slides circulating around the company. The creative approach, or “design thinking,” is different. Its goal is to help managers think about wider systems, interdependencies and interconnectedness – throughout the company and the marketplace and beyond. Creativity is not just about “aha” moments or interesting ways to look at things. Creativity is about putting empathy to work. Creativity is not about perfection. Creativity is a means to solve complicated problems.
This writer makes a powerful point about creativity: that it is the opposite of traditional efficiency. That's not to say you can't make a business process more efficient through a creative approach, but rather that creativity itself is about lateral thinking and emotional awareness.
The story comes Fox News, reporting on mistakes made in a Los Angeles Unified School District fiasco where 650,000 students received iPads:
Instead of solving math problems or doing English homework, as administrators envisioned, more than 300 Los Angeles Unified School District students promptly cracked the security settings and started tweeting, posting to Facebook and playing video games....
It's crucial, [an education expert] said, to spend extensive time drawing students into a discussion on using iPads responsibly before handing them out. And, of course, installing a firewall that can't be easily breached.
At [LA's] Roosevelt High, it was the unanimous opinion of more than a dozen students that the school district's security setup was so weak that even the most tech-challenged parent could have gotten past it.
"It was so easy!" said freshman Carlos Espinoza.
Avid readers of The Methodology Blog may remember the last time we covered a project management failure in the LA schools. It might be easy to dismiss this as government incompetence, or to blame cronyism for sweetheart deals that make vendors rich.
Broadly speaking, however, we should focus instead on including all stakeholders when pursuing any project. You shouldn't design something for "someone else" to use without getting that "someone else" involved in design.
In our last post on a school district debacle, we had this to say about project management and consulting:
Firms may want to consider an alternate model for building partnerships---one based on shared risk.
Our advice holds true today. Hopefully, district officials will be able to pull this project back on course by creating a partnership where everyone affected has a seat at the table.
The idea of business productivity, especially when conducting process improvement or simply analyzing daily operations, is extremely important. But productivity itself is not really what we think it is. Software expert Martin Fowler writes:
Productivity, of course, is something you determine by looking at the input of an activity and its output. So to measure software productivity you have to measure the output of software development - the reason we can't measure productivity is because we can't measure output.This doesn't mean people don't try. One of my biggest irritations are studies of productivity based on lines of code...[But] any good developer knows that they can code the same stuff with huge variations in lines of code, furthermore code that's well designed and factored will be shorter because it eliminates the duplication.
Fowler goes on to explain all of the other ways that people try to measure productivity in programming, and why they don't work. The reason is that writing software is a creative activity, and anything you produce from the part of your brain which generates new ideas is not easily evaluated.
The same is true for analyzing business processes. It's difficult to know how much time it will take to make an improvement or to accurately predict the outcome. At best, you can try to measure something about the current state and something about the end state, and compare the two.
The author also notes:
Some people say "if you can't measure it, you can't manage it". That's a cop out. Businesses manage things they can't really measure the value of all the time. How do you measure the productivity of a company's lawyers, it's marketing department, an educational institution? You can't - but you still need to manage them
We've talked about the problems of measuring productivity in the past, and the general business obsession with measurement. The most important message is focus on how activity produces results, and how results create value---while not being distracted by activity numbers.
It doesn't matter how many steps you take or how fast you run. What matters is that you're going in the right direction, and most importantly, that you know why you're headed that way.
Staying on top in corporate America means that companies need to continually maintain their competitive edge. Often times, this is achieved by focusing in on areas such as business theory and technology which create new avenues for advancement. But shouldn't employee training be a part of that equation? It only makes sense that thorough employee knowledge be considered a vital component in a company's mission. Yet, as Robby Slaughter questions in a recent guest post on the Recourse Resource blog, if employees are not properly trained can they effectively improve their workflow? According to Slaughter, a weak or non-existent training program can enormously affect stakeholders:
Untrained employees are easily distracted. ... are less engaged. ... are inefficient. ...negatively impact morale.
Given the unattractive list above, it seems reasonable to assume that companies should want to strive to go the extra mile during employee training. Yes, there may be more work involved. Yes, additional resources may be required. But, investing proper time and energy in an employee's baseline will not only help flourish their career, but your company's overall success. Slaughter concludes:
Highly trained employees become brand champions. ... make your company attractive. ... make your competitors spend more money. ... will have increased loyalty.
If a company undervalues the importance for proper employee training, it is almost guaranteed that productive workflow will begin to reverse; inevitably disrupting and hurting an otherwise successful business. So, take a moment to reevaluate the effectiveness of your company's training. If you sense there are problems, perhaps it's time to take a closer look at how it can be improved. To learn more about how AccelaWork can help your company in this area, read about our services and contact us today.
At first, this bit of business consulting advice does not make sense. If you work for a law firm, don't you want your attorneys spreading your message? If you're part of a CPA group, shouldn't your own accountants and bookkeepers be out in the market talking about you?
Of course, you do want your own staff to networking and your business development team out drumming up leads. But one of the best ways to promote your business is to hire a speaker that has nothing to do with what you sell.
Why would you want to bring in a presenter that talks about something other than your business? Several reasons:
Attract a new audience. Instead of yet another presentation from the VP of Sales to your customers (or to your own employees), an outside expert in a completely different field can get different people to the room. Furthermore, it may inspire new conversations on new topics.
Show diversity. Your organization does have a primary focus. But if you hire a speaker, you'll demonstrate that you're open to new ideas. This is essential when speaking to potential clients or current team members, because they need to know you are ready to face whatever unknown might come next.
Reduce liability. Someone who comes to hear a speaker may take action based on their advice. And if your own employee is giving the speech, it's more likely that you may take the blame if the audience member suffers any negative effect. However, if the speaker you hired is talking on a different topic, it's clear that their advice is their own. Plus, good speakers carry appropriate insurance that provides you with indemnity.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and hire a speaker today!
To begin the conversation, let's review the four different ways to pay people. Chances are, you haven't thought about any of these lately except the one that is used for you. In fact, you may not even be aware of all four approaches.
Most people in most jobs throughout most of human history have been paid for their time. They get paid a wage by the hour, by the week, or by the month. Some people are even paid by the year, such as those who serve on corporate boards.
But when we talk about being paid a wage, most people think of it as an hourly wage. This may range from the minimum wage all the way up to ridiculous consulting fees.
Advantages: The main upside to an hourly wage is that it's easy to measure. You can watch any clock and know how much money you will get. This also makes it easy for managers to budget, since they can easily predict what costs they will incur.
Disadvantages: If it's easy to measure time spent, it's also easy to waste time watching the clock. There's not much incentive to work harder or faster. You get paid the same amount either way. In fact, the best short-term strategy for an hourly worker is to figure out how to do as little real work as possible.
Once you move into the "professional" world you are no longer paid by the hour but instead become a "salaried employee." This means that you are expected to work full-time, which in theory means about forty hours a week.
Advantages: It's even easier to pay salaried employees than hourly ones, because you don't have to keep track of timesheets. Salaried employees also feel more respected.
Disadvantages: Almost nobody works a mere forty hours. We have personal lives, so every job is a part-time job.. And of course, this payment system creates a culture of overwork.
Salespeople often feel they have found a way out of the trap of hourly or salaried employees. That's because many people in business development are paid "on commission." This means that some or all of their earnings come out of a purchase made by a customer.
But in reality, a commission is paid out when a customer makes a payment, so it's really just compensation tied to an event. Of course, salespeople have some control over the event, which makes this one of the most lucrative payment models.
Advantages: An event-based payment model means you can make lots of money, because you can generate lots of events. It also minimizes the financial exposure for the company, since they don't have to pay you until they get paid.
Disadvantages: Commissioned sales people have an incentive to make events happen, even if there is no follow-through. And the payment cycle is bad for customers.
The most progressive way to pay employees is to focus on results rather than on time. This is hard to do because results are difficult to identify and evaluate. It's not as easy as targeting an event, such as a closed sale.
Advantages: Team members can focus on getting things done, not on looking busy. They control their own schedule and feel respected. People are motivated not by money, but by making meaningful contributions.
Disadvantages: Employees must be self-starters. Those that require extensive supervision will fail.
That's the theme of an editorial that appeared in ECN, a publication serving the electronic component industry. It is provocatively titled Fire human resources:
Company policies are the bones of the company. They restrict the company and thus give it structure. Not enough bones and you have a mass of jello. Too many bones (bone spurs) are painful and restrict motion unnecessarily....
Why isn't HR the only section that interviews candidates? After all, they are the human and resources experts. The answer is simple — HR has no clue about what the job requires. All they know is what the company requires.
The real job of HR is to figure out how to bend the rules when necessary to make it possible for less-than-perfectly fitting parts to work together. Evidently, no one explained that to them.
These are serious accusations. We've covered problems with company policies before, but ditching the whole HR department seems extreme. Still, the columnist makes a good point: human resources departments can't work alone, and when they have too many rules they stifle opportunity.
It's worth looking at the source that inspired this rant:
The CEO of a midsize company recently told me that he'd love to hire a person I had recommended, but couldn't persuade his human resources group to go along. The candidate is a true genius -- with an IQ several deviations above average. I warned the CEO that this individual wouldn't fit into any established job description. The CEO liked the person -- a lot -- and felt he would be uniquely valuable to the company. But the SVP of HR said the hire was risky, that it would send the wrong message to employees, and that the candidate would not make a good fit. "What can I do?" the CEO asked me. "I can't undercut my HR guy."
A certain level of risk is acceptable. A few systems and policies may be good, but too many make companies stale and reduce the chance that anything interesting will happen.
You may need to "fire human resources" at your company. Or more likely, you need to work with HR to understand what should be done to improve business without closing the door on ideas that don't fit existing policies.
As always, what matters most is being open to trying something new.
The show comes from the FOX Network and is titled Does Someone Have to Go? We could explain the try to explain the premise, but a preview clip speaks for itself.
Take a look:
It's hard to know where to begin. A blog post from NPR's Linda Holmes outlines the issues:
The premise of Does Someone Have To Go? is that we visit a troubled business and the employees are encouraged to "take over," which here means that they are given the authority to (supposedly) fire someone from within their ranks. This is presented as a very brave move by the owners, as if they are actually surrendering control, rather than refusing one of the fundamental tasks of management — making painful decisions — and pushing it off onto their employees.This is essentially like claiming that because there's a food shortage at the zoo, you've let the lions "take over," by which you mean that they can decide which one of them will be killed and eaten by the rest. They can't leave the zoo, they can't get more food, they can't can the zookeeper and replace him with someone who will manage their environment a little better. But if they decide among them that one of the lions needs his neck ripped out, that's up to them, and nobody will interfere. The lions are "in charge."
Holmes is not the only critic to lash out at this program. Writing for TIME Magazine, James Poniewozik notes:
The problem with Does Someone Have to Go? is in its founding ideas and assumptions. I’m just going to quote Fox’s description here: “Almost every office across the country has some level of dysfunction, which often can be attributed to just a few select individuals – those co-workers who might be viewed as anything from lazy to incompetent to quite simply having a toxic personality that poisons the entire workplace.”In other words, if something’s wrong where you work, the problem isn’t management—God forbid—it’s you, or one of your shiftless coworkers. So go find a scapegoat! To help in that pursuit, the show prods sores by having employees badmouth each other in private interviews—which it then shares publicly—and revealing every participating worker’s salary.
What else can we say? The problems that we encounter at work are severe, but they are mostly about how we choose to build organizations. That's why shows about workplace culture are so often as painful as they are hilarious. They remind us that much of what we do at work is not healthy.
If we want to be more satisfied, more engaged, and find more meaning at work our reality television shouldn't be about cutting each other down and finding someone to eliminate. It should be about working together and solving problems to benefit everyone.
Isn't that the reason work was created in the first place?
This topic is covered in an entertaining New York Times blog post. Timothy Egan notes:
Among the 100 million people in this country who hold full-time jobs, about 70 percent of them either hate going to work or have mentally checked out to the point of costing their companies money — “roaming the halls spreading discontent,” as Gallup reported.At first glance, this sad survey is further proof of two truisms. One, the timeless line from Thoreau that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” The other, less known, came from Homer Simpson by way of fatherly advice, after being asked about a labor dispute by his daughter Lisa. “If you don’t like your job,” he said, “you don’t strike, you just go in there every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.”
Egan's piece doesn't offer much in the way of solutions, besides paying people more. But his aside that a lack of employee engagement is a sort of national tradition is telling indeed. Most everyone in this country is used to this, as well-described in this clip from The Drew Carey Show:
What's the message? Be different.
If you're part of the 30% that's engaged in your work, you are different. Pay attention to what is going right and make it happen for those around you. Figure out why you have the sense of passion and share that with the world.
If you're part if the 70% that isn't engaged, fix it. Talk to your boss. Work with a consulting team. And if it makes sense, quit.
Employers who are interested in making work engaging have a tremendous competitive advantage. The best employees want to have some kind of meaning at work. You can attract them from other firms and drive away those who don't care.
Let's change the American tradition. Let's make work engaging, and make the experience of working truly worthwhile.
The piece appears in Bloomberg and is titled Machines Gauging Your Star Potential Automate HR Hiring. The writer explains:
They can drive cars, win Jeopardy and find your soon-to-be favorite song. Machines are also learning to decipher the most human qualities about you -- and help businesses predict your potential to be their next star employee.A handful of technology companies ... are doing just that, developing video games and online questionnaires that measure personality attributes in a job applicant. Based on patterns of how a company’s best performers responded in these assessments, the software estimates a candidate’s suitability to be everything from a warehouse worker to an investment bank analyst.
This revelation brings to mind the old expression about "feeling like a cog in the machine." But personality tests are nothing new. In fact, this concept is now over a century old:
Personality testing as a term of employment has a very specific history. Fredrick Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management, published in 1911, popularized the notion that employee skills are quantifiable. Taylor’s time-and-motion studies sought to determine, for example, "How many times a minute should [a secretary] be able to open and close a file drawer?" (Answer: "Exactly 25 times.")...
[In fact,] this first boom in personality testing reached its apogee with Henry C. Link’s Employment Psychology, in 1919, in which he proclaimed:
The ideal employment method is undoubtedly an immense machine which would receive applicants of all kinds at one end, automatically sort, interview, and record them, and finally turn them out at the other end nicely labeled with the job which they are to do.
If that were the case, every career would be one that took place inside a factory. Candidates would be the raw materials, work product the profitable output, and used up retirees as the leftover waste. Not a pretty picture.
If Taylor and Link came up with this idea a hundred years ago, why hasn't the world of human resources become as automated as other manufacturing business processes?
The answer is in two parts: first, yes, some aspects of human resources are heavily mechanized, but only in specialized cases. Consider low-level work in retail stores and fast food restaurants. Since these jobs have high turnover and have carefully prescribed responsibilities, companies have tons of data they can use to improve the success rate of hiring decisions. It's no surprise, then, that these jobs are being replaced by machines, as is the case with everything from self-serve ordering kiosks to skeleton-crew sushi chains.
But more importantly, no, automation cannot identify creativity. We've covered this before on The Methodology Blog, specifically with regard to productivity and the limits of measurement. In summary, the most important value at work is human dignity. It's certainly possible for people to complete routine tasks that are selected and graded by machines, but they won't feel empowered to do anything significant or original.
There's no need to worry. The companies that are interested in your capacity for innovation won't be comparing you to a statistical model. And those that do are just telling you it's time to look elsewhere.
"It's not you, it's me" is a sentence we use to get out of hurting someone. Ironically, it's a phrase that has all of the appearance of taking responsibility for how things have gone, but is actually designed to remove any of the need to be responsible. We say this when we want to avoid the responsibility that comes from having hurt someone.
Relationships are relationships are relationships
The way we are at our jobs is not really very different from our romantic relationships. At the end of the day, they're both relationships.
We don't want to take any more responsibility for the way things go with the blowhard jerk in the cubicle next to us than we do for our soon-to-be ex-partner's hurt and suffering. If the problem is simply that he's an unchangeable hopeless donkey, there's nothing for us to do than complain about him right?
The problem is that you're an utter victim to this person. There's nothing you can do, and so you're relegated to your own suffering. And here's the catch - you actually prefer that suffering to taking the next steps, because those next steps require taking responsibility for how you're showing up.
The world is a mirror
I often advocate my clients to imagine everyone's head was replaced with a mirror. That thing that they do that drives you nuts? That represents something that you can't be with in yourself. They are reflecting a part of you that you can't own. Maybe it's something you do but wish you didn't, or something you won't allow yourself to do, because you have a story about why you shouldn't (and therefore, why they shouldn't, either). Whatever it is, you have a relationship with something on the spectrum of whatever it is you can't be with in others.
I have a story — a script, if you like — that it is bad for people to feel sorry for me. Sympathy represents an indication that I've done something wrong, embarrassing, or that I'm failing. After all, if I wasn't one of those things, why would they be sympathetic toward me? Inside that story, there's no possibility for me to hold compassion for myself when I am genuinely struggling.
Sometimes, great leaders struggle. They get caught, they slip, they fall, they trip. Being a leader doesn't mean that you are immune to these things. It means that you get back on the horse after it does happen. My story doesn't allow for this.
It also means that when I see other people act in ways that are designed to elicit sympathy, instead of having compassion for them, I go to judgment. "How pathetic," the voice in my head grumbles, "Why don't they just pick themselves up and get on with what's next?".
The lady two cubicles over that's always griping about her family life? She's just doing her thing. Sure, there's plenty of growth for her to take on, but at the end of the day, she's fine — she gets to continue doing her own thing, and has every right to show up however she wants to. The gift that she provides you is some insight into the part in myself that I can't be with. Sometimes, you just need some sympathy. Sometimes you just need some love.
You've got some work to do
When it really is you, there's work for you to do. It's a lot more work to take responsibility, but when you do, you can actually change things. At the end of the day, that's the game that leaders are up to playing.
Adam Quiney is the founder of Evergrowth Coaching & Consulting, and an executive coach specializing in working with high-performance professionals. Prior to his career as a coach, he worked as a software project manager and a lawyer. Adam and his wife, Bay, are both avid bloggers at www.evergrowthcoaching.com/blog/.
The answer, according to a piece from ZDNet, is a surprising "no." The author explains:
Microsoft continues to have a stranglehold on office productivity in the enterprise: Just 6 percent of companies in our survey give all or some employees an alternative instead of the installed version of Microsoft Office.
That's a significant drop from the last study a few years before. Take a look at their chart:
It might seem that a huge desktop application like Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint would be a dinosaur in this age of cloud-based services. Shouldn't we have switched to tools that are faster, more flexible and less expensive?
Nope. As I wrote years ago in an article explaining the productivity benefits of desktop email, there's so much more that you can do with a program running on your computer than one you are manipulating through a web interface.
That may not be true forever, but it's certainly the case today. And there's another advantage of tools like Microsoft Office: people already know how to use them.
You don't have to learn new paradigms when firing up a copy of Microsoft Excel. You just use it the way you have been for over two decades.
The relative stability of productivity suites like Office also means that you can become much more efficient with them than you can with constantly shifting online services. In fact, studies like this Microsoft Office Specialist report [PDF] indicate that with some training, people who use these tools can become "much more productive."
Considering how much time the modern worker spends in front of the screen, any way we can become more efficient is worth looking into. And if desktop tools like Microsoft Office are here to stay, why wouldn't you seek help to use these programs more effectively?
One example of this appeared in The Huffington Post:
Total health-related employee productivity loss accounts for 77 percent of all such loss and costs employers two to three times more than annual healthcare expenses," study researcher Ray Merrill, a health science professor at Brigham Young University, said in a statement.The study included 19,803 people who worked at one of three large companies. The research was conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University, the Center for Health Research at Healthways and the Health Enhancement Research Organization.
That's a large study and some pretty amazing numbers. But it's information we've covered here on The Methodology Blog before, in articles like our discussion of productivity on your lunch break.
The author continues:
Another thing that takes a major blow on productivity? Sleep deprivation.A study in the Journal of Vision from Brigham and Women's Hospital shows that the more sleep deprived a person, the worse his or her work becomes, Reuters reported.
"The longer someone is awake, the more the ability to perform a task, in this case a visual search, is hindered, and this impact of being awake is even stronger at night," Jeanne Duffy, associate neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's, told Reuters.
None of this should be a surprise, of course. We all know that when we are exercising regularly, sleeping adequately, and eating good food we feel better. We know we have more energy. So why is it so difficult for companies to change?
One of the main reasons that organizations have such unhealthy workers is because we're addicted to working too much. We reward people who put in long hours, and punish people who seem to balance their lives too well.
Until we recognize we have to bring an end to workplace heroics, we'll continue to have these issues. But you can make a difference in your own life and in your own company. Get plenty of rest. Exercise consistently. Eat right.
Those choices will ensure that you feel good no matter what you do or where you go in your career, or your life.
This story comes from southern California and discusses the implementation of an electronic health record system, or EHR. It's covered on the website FierceEMR:
In fact, EHR implementation had the exact opposite effect for residents at both Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno, Calif., and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona, Calif.; it increased the average time of residents for seeing patients and charting the visits from 21 minutes to 37 minutes."Some of us were really excited. We thought it would improve patient care," Maisara Rahman, M.D., who helps to train family-medicine residents at Riverside County, said during a talk at the American Academy of Family Physicians' annual meeting in San Diego in September, according to Medscape. "But when implementation started, we saw inefficiencies."
It's no surprise that often, what is supposed to be a process improvement initiative actually has a negative impact on overall employee productivity. That's for many reasons, some of which we've covered before in posts about process improvement in medicine.
But there's one factor that is often the most significant. The article hints at the problem:
...old software that required users to jump from screen to screen to write basic notes, a slow server and poor training.Seven of 10 residents at Riverside received less than five hours of training, according to Rahman, who said that--not coincidentally--the same number of residents reported receiving subpar training.
Did you see it? If you guessed that the issues were caused by a lack of sufficient training, you're close. If you blamed system design, you're even closer.
But our opinion is that the the new EHR is going against existing workflow rather than just helping to streamline what already works.
Think about switching from a manual transmission to an automatic transmission. Driving a car is similar, there's just one less step to do.
But the process isn't the same if you replace a toaster with a microwave oven. It's true that you can achieve many of the same tasks, but the workflow is different. Furthermore, there are some things you can do well with one (such as toast bread) that the other just can't do!
If a new system requires a great deal of training, that could be a sign it won't necessarily result in immediate improvement.
Sometimes, upgrades intended to result in business process improvement have the opposite effect. That's why we need to study the way people currently work before designing and installing a new system. If we build tools that leverage what they already do and know, they will need less training, get more done, and feel more engaged as a result.
As part of our ongoing blog series about hiring a speaker the right way, we're going to cover the question of timing first. If you want to have your event on, say, the first of June, when do you need to book the speaker?
The short answer is as far in advance as possible, but that's not really a fair response. In reality, you need to answer several important questions about your event first. This will determine when you need to start reaching out to speakers.
Are you inviting attendees, or can you guarantee attendance? The fact is that speakers need audiences. If part of what you need to do is recruit an audience through marketing or advertising, that means you need to talk to the speaker at least a month, if not two months in advance.
On the other hand, if you have a regular monthly or annual meeting with a captive audience, you may be able to hire a speaker on short notice. That's not to say a couple of months doesn't help, but we've been known to book speakers here in Indianapolis with less than twenty-four hours notice!
Is your topic timely, or are you competing with other events? Often we'll get last-minute calls for our speakers to do holiday parties or new-year sales kickoff meetings. These kinds of programs tend to happen right around the same time, so booking early is extremely important.
Likewise, if you're looking to hire a speaker to come talk about an event that is in the news today, keep in mind that may not be a hot button issue in three or six months. Plus, a speaker's expertise shifts as their interests change. So while it might make you feel extra organized to be booking a speaker more than a year in advance, it's rarely advisable.
Booking early still requires staying in contact. Accidents do happen. Speakers are people, and they can get ill or be called away on emergencies. You and your speaker (or their representative) should stay connected about once every month or two leading up to the event, and touch base the day before and the day of your event.
Remember too, that new opportunities may come up for you to better utilize the presenter as part of the program. Maybe they can participate in an impromptu panel discussion, or perhaps you can have them autograph books at an after hours event. These ideas may not have been on your radar when you originally booked them, but if you are staying in touch you can explore new possibilities.
So that's it! Those are the key questions to ask when hiring a speaker. Come back for the next part of this series when we discuss understanding your audience.
IT Staff are Problem Solvers
IT people often enter the work force because they are attracted to the challenges of matching technology to solve business problems. One way to keep talented staff and improve morale is to provide paid training. IT professionals are constantly learning new ways to solve problems. Feeling like their company is investing in them, especially monetarily, is a strong motivation. The more skills they acquire, the better able they are to apply them to new problems they must solve.
Training can be done in a variety of ways that makes this effort be seen as a company benefit. Technical conferences offer forums, panel discussions and mini workshops from which the staff gain current information. Offsite training gives the employee a break from their work space allowing them to focus more on the material. In-house training often allows instructors to tailor their training to the company and its goals.
IT Staff are Educators
Many staff members find they enjoy teaching and sharing their technical knowledge. Lunch and learn sessions allow IT team members to present things they have learned. This is also a way of disseminating knowledge one person received from a workshop to the others on the team.
Another similar opportunity is a lunch and learn where the IT staff present to other areas of the company. These discussions are at a higher level and educate the company as to what the IT department actually does. The functions of IT are often misunderstood by others. Creating this communication will make IT team members feel more appreciated.
IT Staff Look for Improvements
Technical people enjoy using the latest tools to be more productive. Often, the simplest of activities can be a time consuming task for IT, such as resetting someone’s password. If you are in a BYOD environment, consider purchasing a mobile device management solution. For example, the MDM capabilities of BlackBerry include such time savers as self-service password resetting.
Investing in tools to allow IT to be more productive is a morale booster. Whenever they can save time, they can be more creative in their work.
IT Staff Like Clear Direction
Giving staff clear expectations reduces speculation and allows the staff to focus on a direction. Confusion and anxiety happens when team members all have a different understanding of the goal.
A goal to “save costs by minimizing the support of end-users” is fairly nebulous and the team will have different ideas as to how to achieve this. Often, a lot of work gets done with little to show for it. A goal of “reducing end-user support by $24,000 in Q3 through the implementation of self-service apps” sets the entire IT team working in one direction.
Lindsey Waldorf is an engineer for a major tech company. She loves writing about tech and mobile trends, when she is not busy playing piano at her local jazz club.
That's the news from an article in ScienceNordic, which covers the topic:
Surprisingly, the study indicates that a heavy workload has no effect on whether or not employees become depressed. Instead, it is the work environment and the feeling of being treated unfairly by the management that has the greatest effect on an employee’s mood."We may have a tendency to associate depression and stress with work pressure and workload; however, our study shows that the workload actually has no effect on workplace depression," says one of the researchers behind the new study, psychologist Matias Brødsgaard Grynderup, PhD, of the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University.
"This suggests that the risk of workplace depression cannot be minimised by changing the workload."
This is one of those findings that might seem like a surprise until you think about it for a few minutes. Workload may rise and fall, and it's not too difficult to leave what is undone at work. But a difficult boss is there all the time.
And we all know that a negative experience with a boss can stay with us well after work is over.
So workplace depression is caused mostly by who we work for, not what we do. Combine that with the reality of the connection between workplace productivity and bosses. That means that probably the most significant indicator of your future at any company is person you report to.
This means if you hate your job, you probably dislike your boss.
And if you want happier, more productive employees, look at your managers. That may mean looking in the mirror.
The question of compensating people for their labor is a longstanding topic of discussion. A particularly pointed editorial on this idea appeared in the New York Times:
People who would consider it a bizarre breach of conduct to expect anyone to give them a haircut or a can of soda at no cost will ask you, with a straight face and a clear conscience, whether you wouldn’t be willing to write an essay or draw an illustration for them for nothing. They often start by telling you how much they admire your work, although not enough, evidently, to pay one cent for it. “Unfortunately we don’t have the budget to offer compensation to our contributors...” is how the pertinent line usually starts. But just as often, they simply omit any mention of payment.
We've talked about whether hiring a speaker means paying a speaker here on The Methodology Blog. And we've even shared our views on what is probably the most widespread phenomena of unpaid professional work: the internship.
So why do so many speakers and consultants do work for free? The editorial continues:
A familiar figure in one’s 20s is the club owner or event promoter who explains to your band that they won’t be paying you in money, man, because you’re getting paid in the far more valuable currency of exposure. This same figure reappears over the years, like the devil, in different guises — with shorter hair, a better suit — as the editor of a Web site or magazine, dismissing the issue of payment as an irrelevant quibble and impressing upon you how many hits they get per day, how many eyeballs, what great exposure it’ll offer. “Artist Dies of Exposure” goes the rueful joke.
This is such a difficult conundrum. On the one hand, it seems unethical to offer work for free. You depress the entire market. You force other customers to pay those costs.
But on the other hand, speaking for free does provide access to audiences. And all speakers and consultants need audiences in order to find future success.
If you have a speaking opportunity, please contact us, even if you don't have a budget for speakers. We may not be able to find someone for you, but we can at least distribute the information to our network.
And if you are planning a program, consider a budget for a speaker. Even a small honorarium makes a huge difference. After all, if the work is worth doing, why wouldn't you pay for it?
Over at the Delivra Blog email marketing is an important topic of conversation. Robby Slaughter, principal of AccelaWork, no doubt agrees. And, now that seasonal marketing strategies are in discussion, he felt compelled to chime in. In his guest post, "Stop The Holiday Card Madness", Slaughter cautions readers about humdrum holiday email marketing:
Here's what I think when I receive a "seasons greetings" email from you that says little more than just "seasons greetings":You've got email marketing software, but you don't know how to use it You don't know what to say, so you're just copying everyone else You count every email open as a "win", no matter how instantaneous the deletion.
Though some of you may be sitting there thinking, "Geez, is he the modern day Ebenezer Scrooge?" perhaps consider that his message may help you develop a better strategy for your company's initiative this year. After all, spoiling a great opportunity with a generic holiday card is not the best decision. In particular because connecting with current and potential customers is relatively easy. The truth is, anyone can send out an email relaying their best wishes for a great holiday season. But like Slaughter says, everyone does exactly that. So, rather than accepting that your card, amongst many others, will undoubtedly go in the trash folder immediately upon receipt, take a chance on adding something of interest. As Slaughter concludes, it may just be the difference in captivating your audience.
. . . being interesting is the secret to email engagement. You can pique my interest in many different ways. Maybe it's a special offer. Perhaps it's a distinctive story. No matter what you choose to do, if you're different than every other message in my inbox, I'm more likely to read it.Be sure and do your company a favor this year. Forgo the idea of saving time by being generic. Instead make meaningful improvements to your message. Your readers will thank you!
The application is currently available for the iPad, but the concepts have been around a long time in other (although obscure) tools. A review in Macworld notes:
Editorial serves as a full-featured text editor that ... allows users to build custom “workflows” to automate their work. Nonprogrammers can build these workflows without writing a single line of code.[These are] mini programs that you can assemble Lego-style using a wide variety of canned actions. This is a genius concept; rather than trying to include every conceivable text-handling feature into Editorial, the developer has provided a relatively easy way for users to build those features themselves.
That's right: Editorial is not a feature-rich application. And when it comes to improving your productivity, sometimes the secret is in what you build for yourself, rather than what is built in.
The article explains:
Several workflows come with the app. For example, the Copy All workflow grabs all the text in the document (without your having to highlight it) and copies it to the clipboard, either as text or HTML. The Paste As workflow takes the clipboard contents and permits you to paste it as paragraph text, a code block, or a block quote. You can use these workflows as they stand, but they’re also useful for learning how to build your own.
So how does this work? First of all, imagine all of the usual productivity-enhancing techniques in your favorite word processor. You probably use things like search-and-replace, or automatic creation of bulleted lists, or various keyboard shortcuts to create headings. These are all the kinds of tools that you might build and tweak yourself in an application such as Editorial.
Another review by Federico Viticci outlines a different example:
When I’m writing an article, I tend to come up with an idea for a paragraph or a point I want to make later in the piece, and, to make sure I don’t forget about it, I quickly append it at the bottom of the document.
Chances are, you've experienced the same thing. So how do you set that up in Editorial? With a five action custom workflow:
Should you go out and buy Editorial right away? Maybe. If you're already using a text editor (and you're already familiar with systems like Markdown) then this could be a great purchase.
But if you're not using a text editor to create and manage content, then studying this app may be more about changing your perspective. Most of us tend to use tools to accomplish direct tasks leveraging the built-in features. We rarely think about building our own features.
That's a totally different way to think about productivity at work, and one worth considering.
You might think that I'm going to rave about well-defined business processes for inventory management, food prep, and customer service. But instead, this New York Times article explains what might be an unexpected problem for food trucks:
Despite the inherent attractiveness of cute trucks and clever food options, the business stinks. There are numerous (and sometimes conflicting) regulations required by the departments of Health, Sanitation, Transportation and Consumer Affairs. These rules are enforced, with varying consistency, by the New York Police Department. As a result, according to City Councilman Dan Garodnick, it’s nearly impossible (even if you fill out the right paperwork) to operate a truck without breaking some law. Trucks can’t sell food if they’re parked in a metered space . . . or if they’re within 200 feet of a school . . . or within 500 feet of a public market . . . and so on.
It's easy to just blame government incompetence for these problems. But as we've noted before, business process improvement in bureaucracies is often about incentives. Indeed, the editorial continues:
Economically speaking, the problem is a standard one, known as the J-curve, which represents a downslope on a graph followed by a steep rise. Some sensible changes to the current food-vendor system may have long-term benefits for everyone, but the immediate impact could spell short-term losses for those who now profit from the system. A small group of New Yorkers — particularly owners of [mandatory food truck cleaning] commissaries and physical restaurants — are highly motivated to lobby politicians not to change things. And most of the potential beneficiaries don’t realize they’re missing out. Many of the rest of us would love to have more varied food trucks, but we don’t care enough to pressure the City Council.
What's the lesson for business process improvement in your probably-not-a-food-truck business?
First, the power of the J-curve. Although this is a concept that is pretty widely applied to a ton of phenomena, it's still important to consider. In summary: for many complex systems, things will get worse before they get better. That is, they follow the shape of the letter "J."
Second, always go back to incentives. People will gravitate toward whatever is easiest or has the most immediate benefit, especially if this doesn't require them to change.
Finally, the purpose of business processes and business policies is to make business work, not to slow it down. If your company rules prevent people from being productive at work, they may be too domineering. Scale them back.
And while you're at it, head outside for a lunch "al fresco." If anybody is breaking tradition and pursuing innovation, it's the people creating new cuisines for sale in your very own parking lot.
When I give a speech, the easiest thing to do is to get up and actually give it. The hardest part is the preparation I go through to make sure I am able to convey the appropriate message to the audience. Rigorous preparation is one of the things that can be most beneficial for uncomfortable public speakers, but also one of the things that often falls by the wayside. That isn’t to say I am an amazing speaker, on the contrary, I have simply found many ways to be nervous and do poorly. If you have an upcoming speech and aren’t looking forward to it, maybe this quick blog will be helpful for you.
If you haven't created the content you are presenting, then it is all the more important to prepare. It is essential to present it for a friend/significant other ahead of time and see if you come off as an expert in the subject. If you’re knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, that's good. If you’re robotic and monotone, that's bad. The more you know something, the smoother you will be when describing it. Even more important is your passion for the topic. You can get by with a lot of fumbling for words and nervous energy if you convey your energy.
If you have actually created the content you are presenting, that is even better. You should still be prepared to change/add/remove some of the content after the first few practices. First runs rarely end up being the final speech. I find that timing myself is nearly always appropriate, except for the initial run-through. Timing yourself during the initial run-through is a struggle since you'll likely find yourself rushing through topics to make sure you have enough time. Instead, simply go through the first run at a normal pace. Once you have went through a speech once, your internal clock will likely be better 'set' and you'll have a better feel for how much time you have.
If possible, record yourself. You may be entirely surprised with the things you come up with off the cuff. It may actually be better than the material you originally wrote. This is especially true once you have gone through the speech a few times and are finding it a bit more comfortable. Unfortunately, if I don’t record myself, I often forget what I said before I finish my speech. Plus, a recording allows you to actually listen to that brilliant new addition and if you’re like me, realize later that it wasn’t so brilliant after all.
Once you have your timing and content down, it is simply time to repeat everything once again. If you are using a software presentation tool like Prezi or PowerPoint, make sure that you feel comfortable with the timing needed to control the software. If you are guest speaking at a new location, it is important to know what type of projector/computer/software is available ahead of time so you can better prepare. Always be prepared for a variety of issues by bringing your laptop, a USB thumb drive and if all else fails, a floppy disk (in case you are presenting in 1990).
When it comes time to do the speech, I like to take questions throughout. Some people would prefer to power through. In my experience, taking questions allows for people to stay engaged, especially if you are speaking shortly after lunch when people are feeling the lull of post-lunch sitting.
You may never love giving speeches but the fear of them should not paralyze you. Repetition can help make anything boring, even something as personal as giving a speech to a crowd of unknown people. I am positive that your preparation will pay off and allow you to focus on the important things - like whose business card you can grab after you speak.
Cody Sharp is the Marketing Manager at Delivra and has spoken to 1000's of organizational leaders about using technology to both grow their company’s efficiency and revenue. With nearly a decade of experience working with digital marketing solutions, he brings a strong knowledge of the industry to the table and an excellent understanding of the future of the industry.
As part of our ongoing blog series about hiring a speaker the right way, we're now turning our focus to attendees. That's what speakers want, and what you need to provide. There are three critical questions:
This is not always a difficult question to answer. If you're hiring a speaker for a membership organization, then you probably want as many of your current members there. But what if your event is really geared toward recruiting? In that case, you might want a mix of seasoned members and prospects.
Many events where we send speakers, however, are groups that are trying to draw from the general public. In that case, it's worth your time to spend a few minutes coming up with some written personas. That might be as simple as "a middle aged middle-manager in a professional services organization" or "a young mother who will be heading back to work." These will give you ideas for how to market the event, but will also tell your speaker how to tailor their presentation.
The correct answer to this question is simple: you want enough people so that the room is almost too crowded, but not quite. That's because a room that is nearly overflowing creates great buzz for the speaker and for the audience.
Keep in mind that the layout of the room is part of the trick here. If everyone is seated at round tables, it will take far fewer people to fill a space than if there is standing room only.
So, use your venue and work backwards!
There are several ways to ensure people come to your event. The most common is also the worst: making it mandatory. Any time you require people to be somewhere, you automatically make them less interested in showing up. That means the speaker has to do a lot more to get individuals engaged.
Another way is to offer incentives. This could be free food or drinks, or a raffle prize. The danger in using incentives is that people may decide to come to the program for the wrong reasons.
The best way to get people to attend is to market effectively. Work with your speaker to get a compelling program description. Or survey people in advance so they have a sense of ownership in the selection of the presenter.
That's how you build an audience! Come back next time when we talk about program design: before and after the speaker does their talk.
As an example, check out this news story about a government email upgrade. It comes from a county on the outskirts of Baltimore:
Over the weekend, nearly 6,000 county employees had their email inboxes upgraded from a service dating back to the 1980s up to the modern day.County Executive Laura Neuman said the shift to Google's Mail service is a tremendous upgrade, and will ultimately increase efficiency and decrease overall costs.
This is the standard line whenever anyone is updating any system, whether it's a switch to Google or some other provider. Newer tools will be faster, better, and cheaper.
But instead of discussing the benefits of the new provider, check out what the article has to say about the old system:
Neuman said she gets hundreds of emails a day, and using the county's previous mail servers, experienced lag when doing basic operations such as opening or deleting emails. Multiply that lag across the 5,700 employees that use the county's email servers, and it's a frightening amount of time wasted, she said."If you can imagine, 5,700 people all struggling with the same issue, day after day," she said.
The county had previously contracted computer programmers trained in a technologically ancient language to ensure the aging servers could still operate.
First of all: the quoted source in this story gets "hundreds of emails a day." Let's conservatively estimate that at 150 messages, with the time merely to read them at 30 seconds. That means she's spending more than a hour every day just looking at email!
Of course, overflowing email inboxes are quite common. But why does it occur to us to upgrade a system rather than ask why we're dealing with so much information to begin with?
Second: Hiring experts in an "ancient language?" While this decision was apparently made before Ms. Neuman took office, it seems highly questionable. Surely, there is a better way forward than maintaining a system classified as archaic.
Ultimately, making a business process change should not allow us to quietly shirk responsibility. Someone in this county government completely ignored obvious productivity improvements for decades. While we're making things better, we need to ask why they got so bad in the first place.
Let's be honest, smartphones (in their own way) have created an alternate universe that leaves many users lost without their phones. Given the extensive abilities they provide, it's easy to defend our nation's dire need for them. In fact, I freely admit that walking out the door without my iPhone is non-negotiable. I'd venture to guess that many smartphone carriers feel the same way. Even a simple trip to the grocery store for some milk and eggs is enough of a reason to carry what I consider to be my right hand man. So, dare I say that discovering an app which motivates is, well, motivating?
According to an MSN news story on measuring personal goals, keeping track of specific details and creating motivation within ourselves is just a quick download away:
A growing category of devices and software applications promises to measure the mundane details of our daily lives: calories burned, diaper changes, how much and how well we sleep, caffeine intake, kids' studying habits, household chores . . .
Currently, many of these apps appear to focus on personal goals outside the office. But, as history has proven before, growing trends can lead to a change in the workplace. Take for instance Facebook and Twitter. At their start, the social media bigwigs were geared toward casual online communication between friends and family. Nowadays, there is no arguing the fact that they are powerful tools in business that create opportunities in essential areas such as market outreach, product growth and corporate networking.
So can a growing trend in apps change the way we motivate ourselves at work? For current users who have provided feedback on the technology, it sure sounds promising. According to the article, these apps provide visuals that help put success and failure into perspective:
These self-tracking consumers don't necessarily have high-tech backgrounds. But they like pie charts and graphs. They want their achievements highlighted in green, their failures coded red. They also want to compete, against themselves and others, and to create digital scrapbooks that can be referenced years from now.
Truly, it's not unreasonable to assume that an app which measures specific goals, tracks progress and places a visual of success in the palm of your hand can be beneficial. By viewing personal progress in any given day or week, users can create avenues of opportunity and even gain a stronger sense of drive towards future goals. In the end, something as simple as a personal pat on the back (way to go me!) can push us to want more and strive for improvement.
"If we believe in our capacity to do more and we take ownership over our own systems and patterns, we can get more done." - The Methodology Blog
Here at AccelaWork, we believe that empowering employees to take charge of their own workflow is key to a productive and satisfying work experience. And while technology isn't always the answer to creating success, perhaps now and again simple integrations like apps on a phone can blossom into a new outlet for motivation. To learn more about employee productivity and empowerment in the workplace, contact the business improvement experts at AccelaWork today.
Several sources have covered this story in relation to both MLB and the NFL. Here's one from the New York Daily News
As a result of the lawsuit against MLB, which has not been settled, the NFL has elected to hire its own 1,500 workers to help out at events and pay them. The Super Bowl Host Committee is hiring 11,000-12,000 volunteers for community projects, but those people will not be paid and will have to sign a waiver “that among other things says they won’t join a class-action suit asking to be paid.”
Here in Indianapolis, Indianapolis Business Journal reporter Anthony Schoettle describes it this way:
Indianapolis utilized 8,500 volunteers to host the 2012 Super Bowl. Not one of them got a penny for their time and effort.
So what exactly is a "volunteer" anyway? It's time to head back to the granddaddy of all modern employment law, the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here's what the Department of Labor has to say about "volunteering:"
And now back to sports...
Do groups like the National Football League and Major League Baseball need volunteers? The FLSA indicates that the answer is "maybe, but only if they they are religious, charitable or similar." Many are surprised to hear that the NFL is a non-profit. MLB used to be one, but gave it up in 2007 to avoid revealing executive salaries.
Perhaps the best way to answer this question as an individual is this: Do you believe the organization is making the world a better place, and lacks the funds to pay one more person to help? If the answer is yes, sign up. Otherwise, think twice about giving away your time for free. Especially if you're considering an internship.
And if you're an organization thinking about asking for volunteers, it might be best to figure out out why you don't have the revenue to cover the staff that meets your needs. If the answer is that you want to do more good than your income supports, asking for volunteer help might make sense.
Either way, good luck.
Before we get into the value of business consulting, let's discuss the difference between compensated and complimentary services.
If you stay at a hotel for a couple of nights and housekeeping makes the bed, that's complimentary. You might argue that technically, it's part of the bill. And by custom, you should leave a tip for the staff. But you'll never find "sheet folding and reconstruction" listed as a line item on the final invoice that appears under your door.
Of course, compensated services are those that you pay for. The hotel will bill you for room service and any long distance calls you make from the phone in your room.
The purpose of this discussion is to remind us that if we don't have to pay for it, we don't value it. As Thomas Paine once said:
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.
So how does it work with consulting? Isn't all consulting basically listening, talking, and writing reports? Should that be something we pay for or should we expect to get it for free?
It's true that consultants provide advice, but the best consultants observe and listen first before saying much of anything. And whether you pay for a consultant's expertise or find a way to get it at no direct cost, the ultimate outcome should be some kind of improvement. You should save time, money or effort. And if you're working with one of the best consulting firms, the final outcome should so far exceed your initial investment that you make back your money many times over.
In other words, for every dollar you spend on consultants, you should receive two, five, ten or more dollars in increased production, savings, sales, receipts, or financial efficiency.
Like reading a book, the amount of money you pay at the book store or in library fines is nothing compared to the impact the book could have on your life.
Consulting services are not a cost, they are an investment. If you use the investment wisely, it should pay dividends that eventually far exceed the value of the initial investment.
In that sense, good consulting is better than free. It pays you back. So what are you waiting for?
A piece from the online news source site, Slate, explains the issue:
The secretary of state didn't know why Firefox was blocked; an aide stepped in to explain that the free program was too expensive—"it has to be administered, the patches have to be loaded." Isn't that how it always is? You ask your IT manager to let you use something that seems pretty safe and run-of-the-mill, and you're given an outlandish stock answer about administrative costs and unseen dangers lurking on the Web. Like TSA guards at the airport, workplace IT wardens are rarely amenable to rational argument. That's because, in theory, their mission seems reasonable. Computers, like airplanes, can be dangerous things—they can breed viruses and other malware, they can consume enormous resources meant for other tasks, and they're portals to great expanses of procrastination. So why not lock down workplace computers?
In more than one job I've had in the past, the computer I had at home was better than the one that my employer provided. If they wanted to maximize employee productivity, it made the most sense for me to bring that computer to the office.
In fact, this phenomenon is so widespread that it now has a name: BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device. CIO Magazine has an entire BYOD section on their website. And a blog post from Simple MDM lists four major advantages and six downsides to BYOD. That article is titled "The Challenges Of A Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy" and includes one interesting issue that doesn't come up too often:
There may be times when a company must search an employee’s device to find a bit of company data. What happens if, during that search, the IT department stumbles upon evidence that the employee has also been working on a project for a competitor?
"Challenge" is the right word, but many BYOD researchers may be missing the point entirely. An article on Forbes questions the BYOD investment:
Are businesses really benefiting from the Bring Your Own device (BYOD) trend? The idea seems simple: Employees use their own phones and tablets and employers save money.
No, that's not the premise of this movement. BYOD is much more profound: it means that employers are so inept at issuing useful equipment that employees feel more qualified to manage their technology needs on their own.
This is a strong accusation, but the numbers back it up. So what should employers do?
Instead of trying to issue computers and lock them down, they should grant employees individual technology budgets and focus on securing data.
Then, individuals will be empowered to choose whatever is best for their own personal productivity. And that's what we really want---self-directed, highly productive employees.
It isn't that others don't care about what you're doing. It isn't that that they don't care about what you're saying. Though tell me if this sounds familiar: you've got a really great idea to share with your colleagues, or a fantastic suggestion to offer to your boss, or a new product to launch...And you go bounding into the meeting, up to her desk, or enthusiastically press "publish" on the sales page…
And it's crickets. Blank faces. Dead silence. It sure as hell feels like they don't care.
There's a saying I love: "You wouldn't worry nearly as much about what other people thought of you, if you knew how seldom they did." (So true.) But do you know why that's true? It's true because people are too busy thinking about themselves to spend much time thinking about you. They're thinking about whether what they said to their boss came out wrong, or whether they had a big hunk of spinach in their teeth when they did that quick preso right after lunch today. They're thinking about what they're going to do for lunch tomorrow, what they're going to blog about today, how much they're going to charge for the new service they're unveiling soon, whether their son is going to pass his chemistry test, how early they have to leave to make their appointment tomorrow if road construction is bad…
There just ain't a lot of headspace left to spend thinking about you. (No offense.) This isn't a missive about why everyone is uncaring, though. Because they're not. If anything, we probably all care way too much about way too much, which is precisely why we all have so little headspace left to be thinking about anything else.
What this is, is a reminder that when you're talking (or writing) to someone, you've got to make it clear why they should listen (or read). And you do that by making it clear why it's important to them.
Which is easy to forget, because you already know why it's important — otherwise you wouldn't have started telling them about it. But see, your listener doesn't know that yet. And she's sitting there with that whole slew of worries and maybes and what-ifs and could-bes and whether-this and if-thats running through her head, and it isn't that she flat out doesn't want to care about what you're saying… it's just that you're competing with an awful lot that's already there. So if you don't make it really clear that what you're saying ...
...she's likely to tune you out.
Or to hear you...and promptly stop thinking about you two seconds later. Not because she doesn't care, but because unless you make it compellingly clear that what you're saying is important to her, it's just not going to rank above the other 8,472 items fighting for attention in her head.
If you want someone to care about what you're saying, you have to take it from being something exciting to you and turn it into something important to them. Important enough to register through all of the other melee in their head. You make them care by making what you're saying important to them.
And you make it important to them by making it about them. (Not about you, not about the cool new idea — about them, and how you and the cool new idea help them.) Once it's about them, then they care a whole lot about you… but only when you make it about them first.
Marissa Bracke helps solo- and micro- preneurs build and grow prominent, profitable and successful businesses. She is known and trusted for her Straight Scoop Guarantee: all advice and resources provided are always Real World Tested, Reality Checked, and Delivered without the Smoke 'n Mirrors. To get fired up and get down to business each week with FREE insiders' tips straight from Marissa, sign up at http://marissabracke.com
This is a question people ask me all the time. How do you write so much content and still have time for speaking, consulting, travel, and sleep? The answer is simple: we've got a process, and we stick to it. For The Methodology Blog here at AccelaWork, our workflow has seven steps:
Pitch → Draft → In Progress → Ready for Editing → Ready for Scheduling → Scheduled → Published
Every blog post we want to write goes through each of those phases. Since we have multiple authors on this blog (and since we're always busy managing multiple projects) it's important that we have a unified process that involves everyone. And most importantly, no one person manages all the steps. Someone else besides me is going to review this post before it gets launched, which helps avoid the risk of a typo.
Of course, we're not the only organization to have developed a specific process for writing. Linda Formichelli, a freelance writer and author, describes her workflow for creating articles. This workflow is highly efficient and goes into much more detail. Here's a summary of her major steps:
- Enter the assignment due date into my calendar.
- Create a folder on my hard drive called NameofMagazine-NameofArticle, and move it to my “Articles in Progress” folder.
- Create a Word file called NameofMagazine-NameOfArticle-NOTES and store it in the project folder I just created on my hard drive.
- Create a folder with the name of the magazine and article in my email so I have a place to store e-mails related to the article.
- Start finding sources and trying to set interviews right away. Save any information I find into the NOTES file I created.
- Enter interviews into my calendar. I include the name of the interviewee, the name of the magazine, and the source’s phone number so I don’t have to look it up come interview time.
- When I do an interview, name the sound file NameofSource-Interview-Date and save it to the article project folder.
- Write the article! I name the article NameofMagazine-NameofArticle-Formichelli and save it to the project folder.
- Send the article (attached and in the body of the e-mail)
- Move the article project folder from the Articles in Progress folder to a folder titled Articles Completed.
I love the steps that Ms. Formichelli shares. I especially appreciate her tips for selecting file names. That's such a powerful part of defining a computer-based workflow that so many people forget.
How about you? What's your workflow for writing? Share in the comments!
We've already begun to discuss this here on The Methodology Blog. For example, we noted the growing body of research that shows that surprisingly, managers are terrible at making judgements. That might be easily dismissed as "bosses aren't as close to the work as employees" but it turns out that decisions are far more complex than this.
The critical factor is emotions. A great article from the Stanford Graduate School of Business notes:
A good decision is one in which the decision maker is happy with the decision and will stay committed to the decision...And that's where emotions come in: They're mental shortcuts that help us resolve trade-off conflicts and, unlike the vacillating Vulcans who can't even decide between a pen or a wallet, happily commit to a decision. "When you feel a trade-off conflict, it just behooves you to focus on your gut."
That's the viewpoint of Professor Baba Shiv, an expert in decision science (and apparently a fan of the Star Trek movies and television shows.) His research goes on to explain how emotions sometimes make our ability to decide worse in ways that seem like they don't make sense. Consider the following:
A series of studies found a strange price-placebo effect: When participants bought an energy drink at a discount, they actually performed worse on a puzzle-solving task than participants who had paid full price for the same drink. "It turns out you end up becoming dumber if you buy the product at a discount," Shiv says. That's an astounding result in itself, and it also suggests the possibility that drugs bought at a discount, such as drugs from Canada or generic versions of brand-name medications, might be less effective even when they’re otherwise identical. But what's behind this effect? The answer, it turns out, is our unconscious belief equating low price with low quality--a belief that works even though we know on some level that it's not always true. "So when you get a drink at a reduced price, global beliefs get involved without you being aware of it."
Let's restate that: we tend to believe that discounted items aren't as good ("you get what you pay for") and so when we buy stuff for cheap, our decision-making ability goes down the tubes.
Is it that simple? Do we need to take emotions out of all decision making? Not so fast. It turns out that the ability to have feelings actually ensures we can be decisive:
A few years ago, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio made a groundbreaking discovery. He studied people with damage in the part of the brain where emotions are generated. He found that they seemed normal, except that they were not able to feel emotions. But they all had something peculiar in common: they couldn’t make decisions. They could describe what they should be doing in logical terms, yet they found it very difficult to make even simple decisions, such as what to eat.
What does this mean for business managers trying to increase employee productivity or solve difficult problems? Be conscious of other's emotions when making decisions. People are not purely logical creatures, and need feelings to make choices. But at the same time, be wary of any emotional content relating to the topic at hand. Sometimes we make bad decisions because we're too emotionally involved--or because of unrelated anxiety.
In every case, getting one more opinion is more likely to help than hurt: especially if the person you're asking has a different level of investment in the question under review. No matter what decision you're trying to make, think carefully about how it will impact the feelings and the reality of every stakeholder.
Unpaid internships may very well be a divided topic of conversation, but to Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, they are the most unfair aspect of the modern American workforce. In fact, he discusses the ethical and legal implications of unpaid internships on the workplace fairness blog, Today's Workplace. It's an intriguing post with a distinct point of view. Because, when it comes to debating what is right in the world of internships, Slaughter is far from bashful:
We all adhere to the same agreement: if you offer people a chance to contribute in a way that is valuable and if you define requirements around that work, they deserve to receive fair compensation for their efforts.
Unbelievably, there is evidence that half of all internships go unpaid in our country. Yet, this lack of compensation is actually considered illegal. In fact, the only way to employ an individual as an intern and go without paying them is to meet the following government regulated criteria:
1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment; 2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern; 3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff; 4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded; 5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and 6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.
While this criteria is clear enough in definition, it's hard to ignore the fact that adhering to all the strict regulations is close to impossible. Which in turn begs the question: why are so many interns still rendering work for free?
Let's be honest, going unpaid isn't the only financial problem for interns. In my experience for instance, not only were my pockets empty, but I was actually spending money! Driving back and forth to the office everyday wreaked havoc on my gas card! In the end, my morale was low, my motivation was decreasing by the second and I was paying for lunch in coins. Like many of my peers, the only driving force in my diligence was the promise of a resume builder. But is that even enough anymore?
Bottom line, for the amount of time, energy and creativity interns provide companies, it only makes sense to recognize their contributions. By doing so, the increase in overall economic growth and productivity will be seen. Not to mention the increase in satisfaction and motivation among hopeful interns who, like full-time employees, deserve the positive reinforcement of appreciation. Slaughter's advice: "If you put an intern’s efforts to use in promoting your company, creating your products, or delivering your services—then that intern must be paid."
When it comes time to find the brilliant minds of tomorrow, we'd venture to guess that a fair and fruitful internship program is a great start to endless possibilities in business. So, if your company has interns, take a moment to consider what can be gained by such a beneficial employee investment. You just might find that compensating them accordingly creates an environment set for a better, more productive future.
As part of our ongoing blog series about hiring a speaker the right way, we're moving onto designing the event. Because no matter what kind of presentation you've requested, that program fits inside of a larger experience that you are creating for your audience.
A good way to think about this problem is by starting not from the 50,000 foot view, but by asking the question: what happens ten seconds before the speaker begins talking? There's actually one correct answer to this question. The last thing that should happen before the presenter opens their mouth is a round of applause.
When you break down the event in this level of detail, you might start to get a list which has some of the following items, probably in this order:
This might seem like a ton of detail, but it's absolutely necessary if you want to ensure that your event is a success. Even if you're only going to have a few dozen people in attendance, putting together a schedule with timeframes can help give the event organizers more comfort. Furthermore, planning the before-and-after raises crucial questions like whether or not the presenter will be accessible to the audience, whether not you'll have a Q&A period, whether the speaker's books will be available, and so on.
If you're hiring an experienced speaker, they will have been through these details before. You can work with them directly or with their assistant to determine how to give your audience the best experience. In fact, that's one hallmark of a great presenter--they immediately begin asking about the rest of the program so you can collaborate on creating an event worth attending.
Come back for the next event in the series when we discuss the purpose of hiring a speaker. See you then!
It's no secret: our country is filled with workaholics. Our standards for office tinkering time, in many cases, is in overdrive. But, that is not to say that as Americans we don't enjoy personal time as well. Yes. We love dining out. We love getting massages. We enjoy shopping, watching sports, playing games and sweating out excess steam at the gym. All in all, when it comes to taking "me" time, we do so accordingly.The problem is, when given fun perks in our jobs, we tend to forget that taking personal time in the office is actually keeping us in the office. And despite the clear logic behind separating out our work lives from our private ones, it's hard to resist the temptations that creep up amidst our cubicles.
Is it really our inability to resist temptation that keeps us from actively defining the line between work and leisure? Maybe. But what if it goes deeper than that? Perhaps we are overlooking this boundary because our minds are rooted in an image of what we consider the perfect job. After all, when a motivational system provides immediate rewards and is paired with a steady income, it's not unreasonable to equate the combination as ideal. Our efforts are recognized and appreciated, therefore we gain a sense of satisfaction.
So, does it really matter then whether or not you are content in your position? In AccelaWork's opinion, it does.
For some, office perks are just that...perks. You may be reading this thinking to yourself, "Boy, they are really making a big deal over something so harmless." Yet, it's important to recognize that drawing a distinct line between fancy amenities and fruitful benefits can help capture the long term satisfaction desired in a career. In this regard, consider for a moment that certain factors for achieving positive work-life balance can help in determining what the solid perks in a job should be:
Assess the corporate culture While it's convenient to have a state-of-the-art fitness center on-site, someone who will pick up and deliver your dry cleaning every week, or round-the-clock access to a fully stocked game room, perks like these can make it easy for employees to spend a lot more time at the office than they might otherwise . . . If you believe you'll thrive in this type of corporate culture, great -- though don't be surprised if sometimes you'll need to bring a toothbrush and change of clothes to the office. Look beyond bright and shiny things Your heart may skip a beat when a potential employer says you'll never have to pay for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the employee cafeteria -- or that you can bring your dog to work. But as the hiring manager runs through the list of all the nifty perks the company provides, are you also hearing mention of things such as "professional development opportunities," "tuition reimbursement" or "performance-based bonuses"?Evaluate the rewards of the job itself It's easy to be persuaded by the promise of generous perks and pay when you're evaluating a job offer. But it's critical to also consider whether you'd thrive in the company's workplace culture and whether the position would be rewarding to you professionally. Would the role challenge or inspire you? Would it provide a platform for growth and allow you to learn new skills or deepen your expertise? Trust your gut instincts if you sense the job will leave you wanting, and remember that no incentive can truly compensate for an unfulfilling employment situation.
AccelaWork understands just how easy the dilemma with employee productivity and rewards can be for stakeholders. But, we contend that motivating employees should be about respecting their work and their personal lives rather than distracting them from both. It should also be about encouraging personal time. If we can't ever escape work, it's time to wonder just how quickly it will be until we burn out. Don't get us wrong, a fun office environment can be a great thing. We deserve to be happy and productive in the office. Just be cautious of how much you base career decisions upon enticing office perks.
Starting around the one minute mark, BMO's Chief Investment Strategiest Brian Belski says:
We believe you're going to see more onshoring in America, you're going to see more jobs coming back, it's going to be all about productivity here and capacity coming back to America.
You can watch the video on the Bloomberg website.
There are tons of interesting economic questions around outsourcing and productivity. Leaders are always asking: where is the best place for a business to operate? At the same time, they are asking: how that business can produce the greatest returns for the least investment?
We've covered questions about business process improvement and outsourcing before here on The Methodology Blog. There are no easy answers, but there are some well-understood themes.
Customer expectations dictate where you do business. If your clients feel strongly about where you conduct your work, then you'll need to make adjustments. But if most customers are happy to buy products or services made in other parts of the country or the world, you can do so and adjust costs.
Employee productivity is a function of freedom, not costs or controls. We know that the most productive individuals are those that feel they are genuinely respected. In fact, respect is the most important workplace value.
No matter where your employees are working or what they do to make money, it's essential to be aware of all stakeholders and treat them as human beings. That's a clear recipe for success in your company as well as a path to growth in the overall economy. The best organizations are those which pay attention not just to the bottom line, but to the people who make the organization a success.
At the risk of sounding presumptuous, it's likely that at one point or another, we all have procrastinated. Yes, this is a blanket statement, but we're willing to bet many of you (even now) have one outstanding project nagging you day after day. The project that, despite all the excitement or necessity involved, is a continual thorn in your side. The project that needs to get done, but for one reason or another doesn't take precedence on your daily list of to-do's. Sound familiar?
Well, even for process management guru Robby Slaughter, a principal at AccelaWork, procrastination is not an unknown subject. In fact, in a guest post on the Splendore blog, he reveals a secret that helps tackle overdue projects:
The awesome secret for making things happen (especially things you don’t want to do) is just to start.That’s it. Do a little tiny bit of the project. Then you go from having made no progress at all to having made a little bit of progress.
Sure, that tiny fraction isn’t much in the grand scheme of things. But a started project is much easier to finish than one you have not started at all.
While it may not sound like a spectacular, mind-blowing trick, overcoming procrastination by actually taking the first step can magically transform your attitude. Whereas before tackling a stale task was fraught with feelings of negativity and anxiety, now you can begin experiencing feelings of exhilaration and relief knowing project accomplishment is within reach. To Slaughter, it's simple:
Start.Do a little. Because eventually, a little becomes a lot.
Do us a favor, take this post to heart and tell yourself, today is the day I take the first step ... You'll be glad you did.
To learn more about how AccelaWork advises clients on business process planning and project management, contact us today.
You have probably heard this expression, or some variation of it: 'Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!' Right? Every time I talk about this in a workshop, most people in the room begin to nod and smile because we have all dealt with these emergencies, things we call fire drills, in our careers.
One of the ROWE Guideposts is "No More Fire Drills." Well, that sounds great, people say, but it is not realistic. "In OUR business, there will always be fire drills! Our customers come to us with a last minute need, or the boss just had a great idea that would change the course of the project, or I just realized I needed something from a co-worker and she had to drop what she was doing to help me."
Realistically, there are some actual last minute emergencies for which you couldn't plan ahead. There are undoubtedly going to be times when an unexpected issue arises and people must rally around it to get results. But here at Culture Rx, we firmly believe that many of the fire drills that happen at work are simply due to lack of planning. Think about all the work emergencies you deal with daily: is there any way it could have been avoided? By reaching out to people for help before a deadline is in jeopardy, or by thinking upstream about everything that will be needed for a particular issue, maybe you can avoid one of these last-minute emergencies.
Imagine how much more energy you and your co-workers will have if most fire drills are cut out of your work day. You might even have time to (dare I say it?) get AHEAD on your work. And what a great thing that would be! Onward, ROWE friends!
Christy, once a “lifer” in Corporate America, has now joined the ROWE movement. At Best Buy, she was fortunate to live the ROWE lifestyle for 4 years and is now manic about getting everyone across the globe living the dream. She comes armed with MA in Counseling Psychology, BA in Child Psychology, and is SPHR Certified.
Electronic mail is one of the most used communication tools. Instead of hopping on the phone with every single person you need to speak to, you can just shoot out a message. Gone are the days that you could get stuck talking on the phone while you tapped your fingers, hoping the conversation ended quickly. But the problem is that the whole process grew into a monster.
Every email service, be it Google, Yahoo or Outlook, tried to offer some solutions on how to handle your overflowing, barely hanging on inbox. And even though most of us embraced these options, it still seemed as though the surface was barely scratched. As James Pikover over at Gadget Review explained:
This method did not work well for me when the emails I received were no longer mostly press releases and pitches. When 9/10 emails are things to put on your to-do list, the game changes. The worst thing about coming back to a completely different style of workloads and workflows is finding that your tried and true system is no longer functional.
So what were we to do? Had we reached the end of the technology road when it came to dealing with this issue? Not quite. There's a new app, built by Orchestra, called Mailbox. Check out the video below for a preview on how this little lifesaver works!
Mailbox, which was bought by Dropbox, is available for iPhone users only (be prepared to be placed on a waiting list.) The whole purpose is to help you get your messages down to zero. And this program's every function is geared toward that end goal.
While our business process improvement consultants have spoken about ways to organize your email overload, we have to admit, this product is something that can permanently change the way we deal with our inbox nightmares. As long as you have an iPhone!
A classic quote on this topic comes from H. James Harrington, author and professor specializing in business process improvement. He wrote:
Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can't measure something, you can't understand it. If you can't understand it, you can't control it. If you can’t control it, you can't improve it.
This seems like sound advice. But there's a key problem with tracking progress in any organization: when people know they are being measured, they sometimes work to influence the results.
Sometimes, this is what you want. If you keep tabs on company sales and reward people for performance, you might get more sales. On the other hand, your employees might stretch the truth in order to close deals.
Furthermore, we may be measuring the wrong thing. The Hollywood talent whose films have made more than anyone else is someone you've never heard of. Likewise, a business can easily measure prospects reached instead of sales made, or total capacity instead of actual production.
Of course, we've covered some of the dangers of business process measurement before. So how do you avoid measuring something that doesn't matter, or inadvertently encouraging people to game the system?
Start by sharing your goals. Are you trying to increase revenue? Reduce turnover? Have happier employees? Whatever you want to accomplish, include other stakeholders as you come to a decision. That way, they will see the "why" behind your objectives.
Measure what matters, not what's easily measured. It's easy to look at the total number of emails you send per day, or the total sales volume. What's harder to measure is customer satisfaction or brand awareness. But these may be more important, and if so, you need to find a way to measure them.
Decouple measurement from individual rewards. It can be helpful for everyone in the organization to know they benefit when goals are met. However, many business consultants know that direct incentives can often backfire. Let people know that measurement is about insight, not about trying to get people to do more with less.
Chatting, tweeting, and Skyping are usually viewed as things to do on your off-time. Maybe while you're sitting around your house in your pajamas. But the Warwick Business School in the UK decided to challenge these views. They followed a company whose policy is open to social media usage among their employees. The results were surprising. The overall quality of customer interaction and subsequently, productivity increased significantly.
Joe Nandhakumar, professor of information systems at the business school that produced the study, says that there is a reason for this boost in efficiency. He calls it the “theory of virtual co-presence” and told BusinessWeek:
The ability to collaborate with others over long distances in relatively short, productive sessions to resolve problems or accomplish tasks.
Though many have studied the relationship between using these networking sites at work and the employees who use it, the focus was usually on how it affected collaboration among co-workers. And while Nandhakumar realized that companies ban the use of these outlets due to concern over possible hacking or other security breaches, the results remain the same:
In most cases, the social media-enabled workforce was able to accomplish more sales- and customer-relations-related tasks and did so more quickly, the researchers observed.
So should your company adopt this new thought process? Would it be better to allow your employees free reign while online? Maybe, maybe not. We have gone over how this could help by improving worker productivity and our Indianapolis speakers agreed. The only way you'll truly be able to answer that question is if you try to give your employees a little more room to explore and some trust. For more information on ways to implement new processes in your company, contact our business consultants here at AccelaWork!
Speakers have a tough job. Not only must they clearly convey particulars to an audience, but they must also do their best to engage them, no matter how interested or uninterested the sea of faces may appear. All in all, it is a daunting job that may be intimidating, but is nonetheless an incredible way to communicate and educate in business.
In his guest post on Fathom Voice's blog The Switchboard, Robby Slaughter, a seasoned speaker and principal of AccelaWork, provides tips on creating productive and powerful presentations. The post reveals how speakers can properly prepare for a presentation that ensures audience engagement. Below is a summary of his suggestions:
Commit to preparation.. . . Allocate at least ten times as much space on your calendar to get ready as you do in the actual speech.
Tell a story. (But don’t be the hero.)
Your job is to craft a narrative, which means you need a beginning, middle and an end. Use analogies, humor and suspense. Set up problems and show solutions . . . Help the audience to identify with others, not you.
Never read aloud
. . . There are few experiences more frustrating for an audience member than a narrator droning a bunch of words that the audience can read for themselves.
Eye Contact and Pacing
You must look at your audience, and not just at one person . . . give your audience time to digest ideas. Pause. Take breaks. Ask people to turn to each other to discuss what you just covered.
Deliver Action Items
. . . The best present you can offer is . . . clear next steps. This may require handouts or crisp phrases, but you want to ensure that people have something they can take back and put into action.
There's no arguing that presentations are an important part to business. What makes them outstanding though is when powerful content is enhanced by dynamic speakers who engage their audience. So if you're looking to transform your humdrum power point into a memorable presentation, consider Slaughter's tips above. They will no doubt help you create a successful and productive speech.
To see some of our productivity consultants in action, check out AccelaWork's upcoming events. We'd certainly enjoy your presence and participation!
Even though we think we're multitasking, yielding an abundant amount of work in shorter periods of time thanks to all the upgrades around us, the numbers tell a different story. According to the US productivity statistics for Q1 of 2013 and the past couple years, the stats come as a shock:
Productivity Improvements for Q1 2013: 0.5% (annualized) Productivity Improvements for 2012: 0.7% Productivity Improvements for 2011: 0.6%
Jeff Bussgang discussed his thoughts behind the paradox that is productivity over at VentureBeat:
New technologies take time to absorb, refine, and make mainstream. Computer software can be reprogrammed quickly. Humans can’t.
How could this be? We're pretty smart, right? We can adapt, can't we? In reality, the same thing occurred back in 1986. MIT Economist Robert Solow saw this trend and had this to say:
You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.
We have discussed some of Solow's thoughts on employee productivity before. So what could be the reason behind this? The graph below was made years ago yet still rings true today.
So what does that tell us? It actually takes us a pretty long time to get used to new gadgets and brand new technology. Have you ever sat in front of a new program on your computer and knew exactly what you were doing? Of course not. You need to take the time to learn how to properly use it and even more time to really grasp all the tricks and shortcuts.
Innovation and workplace productivity go hand-in-hand. The only way to get better at a process is to admit you could be going about the process better. Reach out to the business improvement consultants here at AccelaWork if you would like more information on how to truly come to your full potential!
The answer to this question is actually quite nuanced. Audience participation is almost always welcomed by any professional speaker. When people in the crowd respond to what you are saying, you know you're connecting with them and are more likely to succeed in your goal of educating, inspiring, or entertaining them.
The difficulty is in creating the most optimal type of participation. We've all been to presentations where the speaker asks if there are any questions, and the audience falls silent. That can be embarrassing for everyone.
So what should speakers and event organizers do to avoid that awkward moment? Here are some suggestions:
All of these techniques can help make this portion of the program more memorable and more enjoyable for the audience. Consider these the next time you are hiring a speaker for your organization!
The folks over at Think Smarter World know their stuff when it comes to ways of having a positive impact on everything around you. Be it your job, family or school, their tips could help you change your world. So they must really know what they're talking about when they say that one way to survive workplace anxiety is through mindlessness. Wait, what?
How could that possibly help any situation at all? Well, it turns out that can actually alleviate some pressure. Think Smarter World explained:
When we quiet the constant chattering of our minds we are more easily able to concentrate, are less stressful, and ultimately more productive.
The thought process behind it is that we need to try to be in the now. If you can leave behind all the noise in your head, you'll be more aware. So how did this realization come about? From sitting back and being conscious of others. What is it that strains our hold on having some peace on the job? It's something that becomes a driving force in (sometimes reckless) thoughts and decisions: Fear.
Was the project done correctly? Were there typos? Why does my boss want a meeting with me?
It's easy to get sucked into that fearful mindset, but now add in all of our assumptions. With the high expectations we set we place even more anxiety on ourselves: I really deserve that raise. Will I get it this year? I shouldn't have to work on weekends. I deserve a better office.
None of this helps you to have a serene place in your head. So instead of dwelling, try to take on Think Smarter World's mindset:
He would not fear of what could come in the future – a demotion in a re-org, or even a loss of his job. If those things happened, they happened. He would deal with them at the appropriate time if necessary. And, he eliminated the expectations we all like to carry about what future rewards we are entitled to. From now on, he had decided he would be content with what he had, where he was in the organization, and what his responsibilities were.
With peacefulness comes more efficiency. In fact, we've talked tips for increasing employee productivity before. Contact our business improvement consultants if you are looking to become more effective at your profession!
Common accounting errors such as data entry mistakes, financial controls given to one person, and not categorizing income and expenses, interfere with business operations. SCORE, the Small Business Association's resource partner, recommends accounting software such as Intuit, QuickBooks, or Peachtree to simplify business accounting processes.
Mistakes happen, but in accounting, accurate and timely data entry provides the information required for business decisions and profitable operations. Accounting checks and balances help uncover data entry errors, while regular reconciliations ensure that errors are noticed in time to correct them. When regular reviews are performed, unusual transactions are easily observed and can be reviewed for accuracy and correction. There are several ways to reduce data entry errors:
Financial Controls Given to One Person
A conservative separation of duties ensures accuracy and reduces the opportunity for fraud and theft. There should be oversight of the person paying company funds, making deposits, managing budgets, and purchasing inventory and equipment. Periodic audits of financial controls by senior management, or an accounting audit service ensure that financial controls are in place to protect the company’s financial assets and accounting procedures.
Income and Expenses
Mistakes categorizing expenses and income must be minimized and corrected quickly. Money going in and out of the business must be monitored to prevent surprises and shortfalls that negatively effect operations. Use standard categorizations for income and expenses, make entries on a regular basis instead of waiting for an annual reconciliation, and don’t overuse miscellaneous or new categories.
Other Common Accounting Errors
There is a lot of room for error in accounting with manual practices. The more automated the processes, the less chance there will be for error. Accounting software helps with reporting and reviewing capabilities, but manual practices such as keeping and categorizing receipts, performing data entry, and keeping a clear paper trail are critical to a good process. Look at all accounting areas periodically to see if there is any lack of timeliness, oversight, or general accounting procedures and make changes if needed.
Here are other common accounting errors to watch for:
Melissa Powell is a certified CPA who shares her expertise on various websites.
It's not something many of us give any thought to. Time zones? Those don't really come into mind when giving thought to being efficient. We have actually looked into the most productive areas in America. But the Todoist blog pointed out that a study proves there is definitely something to the thought that productivity rates are impacted by time zones:
According to a study, people in the Central and Mountain time zones are 4% more likely to be awake at 7:00am and 3.5% more likely to be at work by 8:00am.
That's actually a pretty big deal. So how does this compare to other regions? Let's find out how it works in the United States:
On the other hand, if you live in the Pacific time zone, you are 5% more likely to be awake at 7:00am than people in the Eastern zone (do early morning conference calls ring a bell?!).
Wow. That can't be right...right? Are other areas productive than our Eastern neighbors?
Researchers also found that, while people in the Eastern timezone started work later than those in the Central, Easterners were more likely to work over lunch, this erasing possible productivity gaps.
Apparently, the correlation between time zones and workplace productivity is a world wide issue. Over in Europe, Spain actually attempted to change their time zone because they felt it would increase their productivity. According to their studies, Spaniards sleep an hour less than the World Health Organization advocates. The thought process is that, since they should technically be on Portugal and the UK's time zone, their productivity could benefit from a change in time.
In Russia, which reduced the country's time zones from eleven to nine, the debate over day light savings and standard time that had been raging was finally settled. They have decided to enforce permanent daylight saving time to all nine zones. Even Chile has worked with their time zones to become more energy efficient.
So what can you do to see productivity growth, regardless of the time zone you happen to be in? Know your peak performance hours, turn up the tunes, and make a good to-do list. Our business process consultants couldn't agree more on those organizational productivity tips. Reach out to our corporate productivity specialists here at AccelaWork if you would like more information on how to dominate productivity!
For example: did you know that there is more to be gained from your next non-profit conference or speaker than just education and training? Content creation and curation is often a forgotten benefit of event attendance, though its value is incredibly powerful. Non-profit conferences are a breeding ground for great content for your blog, social media communities, and e-mail newsletter. Here are some creative ways to create impressive content from the next non-profit speaking engagement you attend.
If it's a large enough event the speaker should have a hashtag that will make it easy for organizations to follow the conversation. A tool like Hashtracking makes it easy to follow hashtags, though you can also consider developing a "recipe" in If This Then That that creates a note in Evernote based on a designated hashtag. No matter how you follow and keep track, hashtags are a great way curate other content from the event that you may have missed. Plus, you can find and follow new Twitter users that are attending the event with you.
Consider writing a post before the speaking event to discuss what you hope to learn. After the event write a wrap-up post and link to the speaker's blog. Send the link to them and hopefully they can share it themselves, exposing your non-profit to a new community. Promoting these blog posts well, along with some help from social media influencers, can grow your website traffic significantly.
OK, so you aren't making a full-length film, but your non-profit could still take a short 15 second Instagram video of a presentation highlight. Not on Instagram? Any video will do, just be sure to share it via social media and pull your online community into your experience. You can embed this video into your blog post later and let your readers get a true feeling of your experience. A video blog is not only a nice change from typical written content, but it can keeper visitors on your site longer and likely give a boost to your SEO.
Networking shouldn't end with the business card. In this case, follow up with new connections after the event to see if they would be willing to share your content (and you would share theirs). If appropriate, link to their blog or consider guest blogging for them about what you learned.
So instead of dreading yet another speaking engagement, why not get your laptop, phone and other technology gadgets ready to record and create some killer content? Non-profit conferences can be fun and creative and may just be the great blog post your website is waiting for.
In our multi-part series on Hiring a Speaker The Right Way we've covered many aspects of speaker planning, but not yet talked about speaker purpose. That's on purpose: determining why you want a live presentation is often something it takes a while to determine.
There are only four reasons you should hire a speaker for your organization.
Every manager knows that a key indicator of productivity is employee motivation. When your team is excited about the work they are doing, they are likely to work harder and work smarter. On the contrary, when they are feeling depressed and demotivated, employees are likely to make mistakes and generally produce lower quality work.
Inspiration is also closely tied to creativity, which will lead to productivity growth. When employees feel a sense of opportunity and freedom, they are more likely to take risks. Individuals feel like they take risks and succeed. Sometimes, you need to hire a speaker to rally the team and help everyone feel inspired.
An outside speaker is a great way to teach your team a new skill or provide a new perspective. A great presenter can be much more effective than online learning, textbook material, or self-study alone. (Although, a good teacher will leverage multiple mediums to help people understand.)
Even if you already have experts inside your company, a third-party presenter can make a big difference. Not only will they be an expert at speaking to groups, but they are also a fresh face. Audiences enjoy hearing from someone new rather than the person they have heard from many times before.
Sometimes, audiences just need to laugh. They need to smile, they need to be impressed, or be moved to tears. In a business context, entertainment is a great way to wrap up a day or provide a break between serious work. An entertaining presenter may tell humorous stories to make a point or merely tell jokes. They might show off some magic tricks or do some other kind of artistic performance.
In some regards, though, every presenter is in part, an entertainer. No matter what you are you saying on stage, you must keep your audience engaged. Being interesting is an essential quality for any speaker.
The final reason you might hire a speaker is to have an important or difficult conversation. It can be hard to determine company strategy, resolve disputes, determine best practices, or figure out how to work together. A good speaker can act as a facilitator, enabling different people to interact in a productive way.
It's easy to discount the role of a speaker as a facilitator. After all, why do you need an outside expert to help talk about matters internal to your organization? The answer is that if you didn't, you probably would have solved the problem already. Hiring an outside facilitator can make a huge difference in helping your team to move forward.
I pointed out that every presenter should also be an entertainer. But in truth they should also be a educator, a motivator, and a facilitator too. Whoever you're hiring as a speaker, share your goals with them. Let them know what you need most for your audience, so they can craft a presentation that makes the most sense and has the greatest impact.
Sometimes it's easy to imagine we're all alone in our financial crises and woes. But most countries have felt the sting of the economic disaster. The effects of which can still be seen today. The issue with increasing output efficiently is the top priority of almost every company in the world. So how is Britain handling this issue?
The Telegraph has reported that 2014 has to be the year of handling poor productivity issues if they want price increases and pay rises to match. Mark Beatson, who is the chief economist with the human resources organisation, was the man who presented what the country's "jobs enigma" was and how to get past that issue. And thanks to Britain's strong economic growth, they were able to escape that enigma. Beatson remarked:
“This time last year we were talking about the UK’s 'jobs enigma’. Since then, labour market performance has continued to exceed expectations, turning the UK labour market into a 'jobs machine’. Employment growth looks set to continue at an impressive rate over the year to come. However, the downside is that UK productivity has yet to improve and remains below its pre-recession level.”
He also stated that throughout 2014, employment will steadily increase while unemployment falls. Yet since the growth in employment has exceeded everyone's expectations, the focus now definitely needs to center around increasing productivity. Beatson went on to describe why it is that output which hasn't yielded much.
“A lot of attention is being given to falling real wages and the UK’s 'cost of living crisis’, for understandable reasons. But not enough attention is given to the main reason why this has happened – that productivity has fallen since 2008.”
The only way for Britain to really see an increase would be for managers across the nation to really hunker down and look over their processes. And that is precisely where business process consultants, like those here at AccelaWork, should be on hand to provide their knowledge in how to create better workflow. If you're looking for ways to become more efficient, contact our productivity consultants!
The study appears in on Investors.com, a resource from Investor's Business Daily:
As many as 39% of HR managers in a survey rank Tuesday as the most productive day of the week. Mondays placed second at 24% in the study by temporary accounting and finance staffing service Accountemps. Thursday and Friday were tied for the least productive day, each receiving just 3% of the responses.
This is not a new concept, although past studies have presented competing data. In general, some days are more likely to be productive than others, right?
Not necessarily. It turns out that the biggest impact on our productivity isn't the proximity to the weekend. It's not technology or our own ability to manage our time. It's actually other people.
Harris Interactive conducted a nation-wide survey in which they canvassed more than 2,060 professionals ages 18 and up between March 26 and March 28, to unearth the preferences and habits of U.S. office workers when it comes to an optimally productive environment...A majority of U.S. employees (61%) agree that loud colleagues are the biggest office distraction.[Furthermore], forty percent of respondents named impromptu meetings from co-workers stopping by their workspace as another major office distraction. In fact, almost half (46%) said they primarily communicate with co-workers through e-mail, IM or phone to avoid the distractions that come along with face-to-face interactions (like idle chatter).
When a study notices that productivity appears to peak on certain days of the week, it's a good sign that they are measuring something irrelevant, rather than talking to employees about what they believe truly matters. This is like trying to figure out the speed of a train by looking at which cars have the most passengers.
If you're trying to figure out when people are most productive, you may be headed down the wrong path. Instead ask people: what does it mean to be productive? Find out what they need and how you can help.
And most importantly, get out of the way. That's the best way to ensure that your team can get things done.
Tea has been proven to not only help you relax, but it can also help fight many ailments and can help improve vision. Not only does it help your health, it can kick your productivity up a few notches. So what are the ingredients that so magically improve your life? Theanine and epigallocatechin-3-gallate, also called EGCG, which is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are the really awesome part of teas that help protect against heart disease and cancer. How? They protect against cell damage which is caused by oxidation.
But how does this all relate to becoming more efficient? Tea has been shown to actually improve concentration. Theanine, which is behind the boost in your ability to focus, is an amino acid. They have been proven to increase brain wave activity which in turn helps you unwind. But when you introduce caffeine and the two mix, you will notice an increase in your attentiveness. It can also help decrease anxiety and boosts perceptiveness.
Tea also keeps you hydrated. Even though caffeine is present, tea has been found to be as hydrating as water. Caffeine is usually thought to dehydrate, and while it can, it's pretty hard to drink so much tea that it would cause that issue. And while coffee can give you the jitters, the levels in tea don't cause an overload because it has less caffeine than coffee.
So when your afternoon at work is dragging, which may be attributed to a dip in your body temperature, maybe you should consider brewing a cup of tea instead of coffee. For more tips on how to increase your productivity in the workplace, reach out to one of our business process improvement consultants here at AccelaWork.
Since the day business was born, networking has been used as a consistent tool in growth and development. Yet, as generations come and go, business tactics evolve and technology improves, we inevitably see a change in how networking occurs. It's simply the nature of the beast. Yet, as the prevalence for social media in business and education continues, we are seeing an interesting trend that tends to downplay the importance for actual face to face meetings. Anymore, networking consists of Facebook status updates and page invites, conversations through tweets, LinkedIn invitations, blog comments, and even simple email communication. And though we are still networking in a sense, what we're seeing is a two-fold dilemma.
On one hand, with the conveniences that electronic media brings to our society, we are in constant communication with one another. We are always "in the know" and are rarely in the dark with what's happening around us. The ease we have with communication across cities, nations and time zones creates an unrivaled accessibility that would simply blow the minds of generations past. On the other hand, the reliance we have on technology renders the idea of face to face communication as unnecessary and frankly, inconvenient. The problem with this common viewpoint? Networking in person is incredibly beneficial.
Robby Slaughter, one of AccelaWork's principals, discusses how networking is marketing in a guest post on the Indiana Society of Association Executives blog. This fantastic post brings to light the importance for personal networking amid our daily use of social media. In it, Slaughter points out that attending networking events not only saves us money but actually enhances memory and leaves our colleagues with a lasting impression that even social media cannot reach.
Networking is the most cost-effective marketing tool you have, because it’s based on the perception others have of you and your work. And although it costs very little to do, the results are priceless. Your reputation reflects on your organization, and vice versa. People are talking about you when you are not there.. . .
Psychologists have studied the way we interact in person, and unsurprisingly, it turns out we have a much stronger memory for faces than we do for names, professions or other factoids. Shake hands with someone today, and chances are good they will seem eerily familiar if you spot them at a shopping mall months or even years later. Almost all of us feel that we easily forget names but quickly recognize faces. You may not remember who they are or what was said, but you’re likely to know for the rest of your life that you’ve seen that face before. Leverage that science in your favor.
Our society's desire for the latest and greatest in information creates standards in business that, for many, perpetuates the idea that staying connected in business means constantly being plugged in. In all hopes, we as a society can take a step back and recognize just how important it is to take time out from our screens in exchange for a cup of coffee, a good conversation and a friendly handshake. So, here is our challenge: strategically attend an upcoming event. Whether immediate or in the future, we guarantee you'll reap the benefits of your networking adventure.
Increasing your productivity can be a challenge. But it's a goal for many people in the workplace. So what is a good way to kick bad habits that are holding you back? ContactZilla decided to explore the idea of creating a list of things you should stop doing to give your efficiency a boost.
The idea came from Jim Collins. He wrote about when his friend posed a hypothetical question that truly changed his life:
It goes like this: Suppose you woke up tomorrow and received two phone calls. The first phone call tells you that you have inherited $20 million, no strings attached. The second tells you that you have an incurable and terminal disease, and you have no more than 10 years to live. What would you do differently, and, in particular, what would you stop doing?
So how can you apply this to your own routine? Well, it is pretty similar to the to do list that is most likely sitting on your desk right now. Do you wake up too late, causing more stress on your mornings? Maybe you find yourself stopping to chat with coworkers too often. Whatever the case, most of us can agree we have some habits we should drop. So how can you start the process? Collins posed three questions to ask yourself:
1) What are you deeply passionate about? 2) What are you are genetically encoded for — what activities do you feel just "made to do"? 3) What makes economic sense — what can you make a living at?
Once you've answered these questions, you can really take a look at your life and see what needs to come to an end. We here at AccelaWork are big fans of researching your workplace productivity processes to figure out what you should not be doing. If you're looking for more tips on how to increase your productivity, reach out to our business process improvement consultants!
In a guest post on the Splendore blog, Robby Slaughter, a principal at AccelaWork, provides an unusual tip for achieving your goals this year. In this short assessment, you may find that his suggested method may help you get through the hump of tackling even the most difficult of goals.
All of us have goals we need to meet. But most of the time, we just try and set and complete them on our own.Why not leverage our friends and colleagues to help make our goals a reality?
In much of our lives, we are subject to “peer pressure” to encourage us to make certain choices. But we can use the same phenomenon to achieve our own goals.
First, start by letting people know about your goal. Call some friends or some coworkers. Tell them your plan and your deadline.
Then, ask them to keep you accountable. Ask them to check on you once in a while to see how you are doing.
Finally, report your progress to them, especially when you finally finish.
Use peer pressure to your advantage. By making your goal social, you’re more likely to finish.
Looking to improve your own productivity this year? Ready to tackle and finally manage your email overload? Want to improve presentations and organization productivity in your office? Whatever resolutions are on your list this year, reach out to our productivity consultants at AccelaWork if you are in need of help.
Wamda came out with an article that looked into the ways workaholic startup owners run their companies. The usual 8 hour work day doesn't apply to these guys. Regarding knowledge workers, people who handle information such as software engineers or tech startup workers, it may not be possible to work a 9 to 5. But that doesn't mean it's optimal.
“Knowledge workers actually have fewer good hours in a day than manual laborers do. On average, [the optimal workday is] about six hours, as opposed to eight.”
Knowledge workers should typically work for a few hours after waking up, take a break for a couple of hours midday, then continue again in the evening. They would work better if their work was spread out throughout the day.
“Cognition is best several hours prior to habitual sleep time, and worst near habitual wake time,” says Kenneth Wright, neuroscientist and chronobiologist, as quoted in a recent article in The New Yorker.
Dr. Steven Kay of the University of Southern California published a study that says adults perform better in late morning. When your body temperature starts to rise after waking in the morning, so does your alertness, memory and concentration. Psychologist Robert Matchock of Pennsylvania State University supports this as well, agreeing that people tend to become easily distracted between noon and 4 PM.
Knowledge workers are also more sensitive to sleep loss. Research supports this fact, that even losing just one hour of sleep each night causes cognitive degradation. That's like blowing a .10 in a breathalyzer. Instead of smashing the snooze button, get up right away. Putting your brain back into a sleep cycle actually hurts your productivity for the rest of the day.
In conclusion, it's much better for knowledge workers to be given flexible work schedules. Overworking your employees won't get you the productivity growth you're looking for. If you're looking for better ways to increase your efficiency, contact our business consultants here at AccelaWork!
That's the claim in an infographic from our colleagues at NAVEX Global. Take a look, and keep reading for some of our thoughts on this data.
The big news is that one type of risk---what NAVEX calls "HR, Diversity, and Workplace Respect"--accounts for more incidents than all other categories combined. They go on to explain that if you're going to pay out a claim or deal with a loss due to a compliance issue, it's probably going to be a human resources issue.
How do you mitigate these risks? One approach is through comprehensive employee training. It's true that educating individuals can help to change behavior. If over two-thirds of all negative workplace incidents are basically behavior problems, then training is a good strategy.
But at the same time, companies should strive to have a positive, respect-centric workplace culture. Most organizations frankly don't show respect toward their team members. This may be the most serious employee retention problem of all.
It might sound crazy to think that a company doesn't have a culture of respect for employees. But consider the following elements of the typical business, all of which are standard practice:
If there was more respect at your company, doesn't it seem likely there would be fewer HR issues? Treating employees like adults will have more impact than anything else. You may not need much compliance training if your workers are inspired to use good judgement in all situations.
An article from The Salt Lake Tribune brought to light that a study done by the Society of Human Resource Management, which randomly picked 481 human resource professionals in the U.S., revealed something surprising. The majority agree that employees should use all of their their vacation days.
Taking the time off that you have earned will actually boost your productivity. It increases morale within the company as well as increases employee satisfaction and retention.
"The point is that time to renew fuels productivity rather than undermining it," said Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project, a group working to change the way the world works.
Travel Industry Association, a group working to promote the idea that taking a vacation is a healthy change to make to your lifestyle, found that not taking a break can be detrimental to your body. Mayo Clinic also states that stress leads to insomnia, anxiety, irritability and depression. Taking time off from your routine can help rid your body of all that negativity.
The Society for Human Resource Management has some more opinions on taking vacation time. 72% of SHRM members that took part in a survey say that if employees were taking more vacation time, they would be more productive. Despite this, many workers still leave vacation time unused. 6 out of 10 organizations state that most employees only used an average of 3 or more vacation days per year.
Some companies have found that when they implement a "use it or lose it" strategy when it comes to taking a breather instead of rolling vacation time over, workers are forced to take their time off which in turn increases productivity. 7 in 10 organizations who enforce that policy agree that employees who take all of their vacation time will stay at their jobs longer.
Basically, it's time to pack up the bathing suit and take off for a while. It will only help by improving workplace productivity while vacationing. So put your sunglasses on, don't forget the sunscreen, and reach out to our corporate productivity consultants should you need some guidance.
Slaughter knows all about creating a company from the ground up. As an entrepreneur, he himself has seen the ins and outs of how to create a successful start up. From business plan implementation to successful failures, effective networking to process creation and improvement, he has experienced the full gamut of the business cycle. And, among all aspects of his mission, he continually discovers valuable lessons that help to further define his successes.
One lesson in particular he believes strongly: "one of the first steps to building a viable, sustainable business is creating instructions." In his view, attention to this detail is the key to elevating your company from a freelancing gig to an actual business. In fact, on the Entrepreneurship Advancement Center blog, Slaughter relays to readers the different ways to document business processes:
- Written Manuals: These are the oldest and often easiest tools for communicating routine business activities. The upside to a written manual is that if you know what you are doing, you can probably describe it in written form. But the downside is that it takes a long time for people to read the manual and find what they need. Therefore, written documentation often gets ignored or forgotten.
- Visual Diagrams: There are many formal mechanisms for describing workflow using precise symbols, but a quick sketch of boxes and arrows goes a long way. You can draw pictures that explain major pieces and steps. And although an image may not have the precision of written instructions, it does enable rapid communication of key ideas.
- Video Instructions: With the advent of inexpensive video recording, it often makes sense to produce a short clip showing the best way for things to be done. While these do take some time to produce and to watch, they are often highly effective for people whose learn best when they see others work.
There's no denying that creating a business is exhausting work. The 9 to 5 job where roles are specifically defined and project work is divided among a team is certainly not what you will find in the beginning. Yet, as an entrepreneur, shouldn't one of your main goals be this? To elevate your business to a point where no longer are you a one-man team, but a viable company where your vision is accomplished on a larger scale? If so, consider Slaughter's advice:
. . . if you ever want to be able to grow to involve more people, or of you ever want to sell your business to someone else, you need instructions.
Don't know where to start? Reach out to AccelaWork to learn about our views on business process and documentation.
Business Insider took a look at a working paper by NBER, which is from the minds of Columbia's Geoffrey Heal and Harvard's Jisung Park. It reports some pretty interesting information. Productivity is lower during hotter than normal years, but higher in colder climates by about 3% or 4% GDP for both temperature extremes.
Now, they're not coming right out and blaming the climate for our workplace woes, though they do admit that this two-sided effect could cause problems in many areas. Economics, philosophies and politics could all see consequences. Believe it or not, but there is already an existing inequality between warmer and colder countries. Warmer countries tend to be poorer while colder countries are generally wealthier. Extreme temperatures could cause an increase to that imbalance along with the decrease in efficiency that we're seeing. Check out the chart below that shows predicted output with just a one-degree Celsius change in temperature.
A portion of the negative effect most likely comes from low agricultural yield, a higher sea level, extreme weather events, and possibly some disruption and violence. But the physiological effect of temperature changes is likely causing a drop in productivity.
First, we know that higher temperatures make people perform worse on tasks and score lower on tests. When you add increased mortality and the reduced work hours of people whose jobs are directly affected by temperature, you get a significant drop off.
The chart below from 2006 backs up that claim:
Countries with a warmer climate have lower output and GDP. This has been studied for years and backed by data. Even MIT published a paper stating that countries with a hotter climate are 1.2% to 1.9% poorer. Humans need an optimal zone, smack dab in between hot and cold.
Do you find your productivity to be lagging? Maybe the temperature has something to do with it. There are issues with productivity growth everywhere. Reach out to one of our business process improvement consultants for more information on how to increase your efficiency!
Editor's Note: Our apologies for the slight fuzziness of the images above. While they are not fully clear, we felt the graphs too compelling to leave out of this post.
When it comes to social media sites, often times we think of the ease with which we can connect with people. Old friends, new friends, long time friends, colleagues, acquaintances, business partners; no matter the network, we reach out through our computers and share information with one another. And while there are so many advantages to this type of communication, we are finding that sometimes, divulging too much information can actually put us at a disadvantage when it comes to looking for jobs.
Research conducted at North Carolina State University, which focused on people whose Facebook profiles were screened during the job application process, is now revealing statistics that leave many uneasy about the safety of their privacy. The findings are quite interesting:
In one exercise, two-thirds of online job applicants who had been told that their Facebook accounts had been reviewed for "professionalism" said the practice was an invasion of privacy that reflected poorly on the company doing the screening.In a second exercise, half the participants were asked how they'd respond to social media screening if it meant they got the job, while the other half were told they didn't get the job. Getting hired didn't change their opinion. In both groups, some 60 percent said they thought less of the company because their privacy had been breached.
The results of this study are surprising. But, we have to wonder in which way? Is it shocking to people that profiling on Facebook occurs? Or rather that companies consider social media sites such as Facebook reliable enough to accurately depict a person's professionalism? In either case, it's time to examine why so much merit is being placed on the site itself.
It is unsettling that very little about our private lives is actually private anymore. But at the end of the day, aren't we the ones airing our personal business online? Realistically speaking, our business consultants recognize that divulging information is a choice we make every time we post pictures, opinions and status updates on our profile. Therefore, it is our responsibility to post only that information with which we are comfortable sharing with the public. Because, despite our feelings on privacy, posting information publicly guarantees its transparency.
More concerning however, is the over ambitious merit given to profiles on Facebook by companies examining them for employee screening purposes. Indeed, the site is a popular outlet for networking, but in no way does it solidify with absolute certainty that profiles are reliable in depicting a person's skill level as an employee. In fact, we have to wonder whether it's just the opposite. After all, gone are the days where bravery is needed to make a statement or pass an opinion. When you have a computer or smartphone to hide behind, it's much easier to comment in a way you would have otherwise screened before. So you could pose the argument that perhaps profiles are more misleading than they are informative.
More often than not, individuals utilize their Facebook accounts for social rather than professional interaction. But, as harmless as it may appear, indulging in the site can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, users must always be cognizant of what they are posting because despite the idea that profiles are private, really and truly they are not. On the other hand, companies should be cautious as to the value they place in a candidate's Facebook profile. Because no matter what the conclusion, it's not a resume and therefore cannot fully represent who a person is as a professional.
One of the best ways to learn about an individual's knowledge, experience and work ethic is to interview them. Whether in person, over Facetime or on the phone, speaking directly with potential candidates is the only way to gain a full perspective of how they will fit within your company's parameters. Simply stated: meeting face to face is one of the most effective and efficient way of finding the best fit for a position.
But really, the best method for determining the viability of a candidate for a particular job is to ask them to do some work. Call it a "trial period" or bring them on as a "contractor" or even an "internship." You can only learn so much about someone in a conversation. The best way to see if someone is a good fit for you organization--and for them to see if they like the people, the work, and the culture--is for them to spend some time trying it out.
Bigger logos with brighter colors means more attention. Yet with all of this attention to design, somehow the interior of companies has been left behind. With the endless options for unique websites and nifty business cards, it's easy to choose ways to make your company stand out. But the inside is as important as the outside.
Most retail companies realized this already and have created their own interior space that you would recognize anywhere. Places like Starbucks, Target and McDonald's have a design that is simply all their own. The Worcester Business Journal Online reported on this, stating that it really is necessary to have your company's identity not only outside but inside as well. Brent Maugel, who is the president and owner of Harvard-based Maugel Architects, agrees whole-heartedly:
"Nobody really wants an office space that people don't recognize as being some place special."
Maguel would know, as he currently works with firms that are looking to add some zest to their drab workspaces. But not only are companies concerned on what tiles to select or which colors clash, they're also concerned with creating their own atmospheres. Many businesses are looking to create open conversation areas instead of having huge, formal conference rooms. Not only does this reduce square-footage, but it creates dialogue between coworkers. Most have moved away from overhead projectors and instead group around each other's computers to work on projects together.
Not only is it how the office looks that has an effect on productivity, but it's also the architecture:
How a workplace is designed can also boost productivity, according to a recent survey by Gensler, a global architecture, planning and design firm. Its 2013 survey of more than 2,000 U.S. workers concluded that workplace design that supports the ability to focus and collaborate can boost business success and help employees thrive.
Robby Slaughter himself has spoken out about how workplace productivity is affected by workspaces. There are plenty of ways to spruce up your office which can only help increase efficiency. But this may be best left in the hands of interior designers. If you are looking for more information on how to see productivity growth in your company, contact our business improvement consultants here at AccelaWork!
Thanks for your message! I am currently out of the office and will not be checking email regularly. You may experience a delay in my response as I will only have intermittent access to email. However, I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can!
Someone, please tell me what this means. This auto-response thing is out of control. I get different versions of the above response many times a week, and it always leaves me perplexed.
First of all, what does 'out of the office' mean in 2014? Last time I checked, in many industries, work can and does get completed outside an office building. I talk to hundreds of people every month who regularly do work outside of weekdays and traditional office hours. If you're 'out of the office' does that mean you are not working at all for an extended period of time? Should I contact one of your co-workers for help? Or maybe you're working in a coffee shop or your own living room today (and honestly, I don't care if you are.) With so many possible interpretations and no clear definition, I have no choice but to assume it means you have left the planet. Good luck on your space mission.
The terms 'intermittent access, 'delay in my response,' 'not checking email regularly,' 'get back to you as soon as I can,' and the endless variations are utterly pointless. They don't convey any information about what I can expect from you, and in fact leave me wondering if: 1) this explanation from you is simply a way to avoid getting back to me if you don't have to 2) an excuse to fall back on when you forget to respond to me for two weeks or 3) a catch-all phrase designed to make me think you are really, really busy and I'll be lucky to hear back from someone so important.
Please stop the madness. This auto-response should be employed only when you are unplugged completely from your work and/or not responding within a reasonable amount of time (which, by the way, you need to figure out based on your role), and you need to assign a backup while you are unplugged. That's it.
Feel free to use mine as a template:
You have reached the email box of Christy Runningen of Culture Rx. I will be responding to these messages starting on X Date. If you need assistance prior to that date, please contact Jody Thompson at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Simple. Clear. Specific.
From now on, think again before over-using that 'Out of Office' tool. If you have access to today's technology, are using it to respond within an acceptable amount of time, and are affected by the gravitational pull of the earth, you are IN.
Onward, ROWE friends!
Christy, once a “lifer” in Corporate America, has now joined the ROWE movement. At Best Buy, she was fortunate to live the ROWE lifestyle for 4 years and is now manic about getting everyone across the globe living the dream. She comes armed with MA in Counseling Psychology, BA in Child Psychology, and is SPHR Certified.
St. Louis Today published an editorial about binding worker's and their pay to productivity. We have recently reviewed Britain's need for productivity growth. They focused on John Cridland, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, who made a pretty insightful statement in his annual New Year's message:
"As the financial situation of many firms begins to turn a corner, one of the biggest challenges facing businesses is to deliver growth that will mean better pay and more opportunities for all their employees after a prolonged squeeze. The good news is that wages will pick up in the year ahead as growth beds down and productivity improves. But there are still far too many people stuck in minimum wage jobs without routes to progression — and that’s a serious challenge that businesses and the government must address."
Of course, this is a challenge for minimum wage workers in the US as well. But while Britain has seen pay inequality due in part to slow wage growth, some experts believe the US feels the weight of that issue even more. In his speech, Cridland stated that shared prosperity will all depend on increasing productivity. So what's happening on this side of the Atlantic?
The statistics on worker productivity and pay are fascinating. The Economic Policy Institute reported back in 2012 that from the years 1973 to 2011, productivity in the US increased by 80.4 percent. But at the same time, inflation-adjusted earnings of median workers grew by just 10.7 percent. That means productivity is growing at roughly eight times the rate of wages. It's no wonder there are such significant problems with employee engagement. For many Americans, this seems like a new phenomenon. Between 1948 and 1978 hourly pay actually grew on par with productivity.
There are no instant fixes. We do know from extensive research that simply paying people more does not work, but we also know that many workers feel generally underpaid and disrespected.
So whether you live in the United Kingdom or the United States of America, there's plenty of work to do. We've got to find a way to inspire workers, support their needs, respect them as individuals, and pay them equitably. And companies must be able to afford to do this while maximizing productivity.
Plenty of work to do indeed!
The whole post on Pivot's website is a great, quick read. Grieb opens with a discussion of a smart child who received additional assignments to keep her engaged:
When her brain was full, she was happy. And when she was happy, she wanted to work harder.Those of us who know what it's like to be the kid craving a challenge don’t want to be an adult starving for the same thing. And yet, so many of us are. According to a recent Gallup survey, only 30% of U.S. workers "feel a profound connection to their company"-- and that's high compared to the rest of the world.
That poll gets a lot of traction. We've referenced it many times in our own posts on employee engagement, as well as in meetings and seminars. There's plenty more research that shows what it takes to actually motivate people. Over at Pivot's website, Greib continues:
Let's start with what doesn't keep employees engaged. It's not a frilly perks package or a plush office. It's not a vacation stipend or a bring-your-dog-to-work policy. Sure, these are all manifestations of a great employer, but free food and gym memberships are ultimately not what produces meaningful work.
Yup. Our own Ashley Lee just wrote about job perks and engagement. (Summary: the only "perk" that really matters is respect, which is fundamental and too often forgotten.)
But back to the image of a bright kid, reading ahead, working alone on advanced assignments. Maybe they don't fit perfectly into the structure of the rest of the class. But a good teacher finds something for them to do which is of value. And isn't that the kind of child that you want working in your company someday?
I imagine it is for Pivot Marketing. It's no wonder they're writing about employee engagement. It's no wonder their changing the destinies of the organizations they serve.
There are loads of articles published on the topic of office romances. I wanted to be fair and gather as much information as I could on the issue, and the internet really pulled through. So, what conclusion have I come to? It all depends on how you want to run your business.
Some companies are okay with dating in the workplace. In fact, some don't even have a policy about it. Others lean the exact opposite way, enforcing no dating rules. So is there a middle ground? You could say there is, if you want to enter into a love contract with your significant other. Wait, what?
The purpose of a love contract is to have both employees acknowledge their relationship. This is actually a pretty good idea. What if your coworker, let's call him Bob, insists that he's dating the receptionist, Lisa. Rumors spread. But in reality, Bob has been acting inappropriately toward Lisa and his affections are unwanted. The love contract exists to make sure that both people are willing participants in the relationship and there is not actually a sexual harassment lawsuit just waiting to be filed.
One way to handle the situation is to have an open-door policy, where your employees feel comfortable enough to talk to you on a personal basis. But does all of this affect productivity? It surely can. If employees are fearful of management finding out about their relationship and go through steps to keep it a secret, it can have a huge impact on their work. Also, some people tend to forget their workload and focus more on their relationship, causing their output to leave a lot to be desired.
Whatever the case may be, there really is no way to stop people from being attracted to each other. So either create a dating policy within your organization, be it ruling out dating completely or have some stipulations. People need boundaries and a set of rules to help make sure there isn't chaos in the workplace. Here at AccelaWork, we help improve worker productivity. If you would like more information on how to stay efficient at work, contact one of our business process consultants!
While I don't know to what extent teachers are affected by school delays and closings, I'm pretty certain that sending home lessons for parents to teach their children could easily undermine productivity. In fact, as a mother of a first grader, I know for certain that what I'm doing at home is completely counterproductive. After the last school cancellation, I feel as if I should apologize to the teacher for the fact that, despite my efforts, I royally confused my son. If I sent in an apology letter it would probably go something like this:
Dear Teacher,This winter has brought unexpected delays, so I appreciate all you're doing to keep my child's education on track. That being said, I was unsure as to the teaching techniques utilized in your classroom so I apologize if my son's classwork is incorrect.
When I showed my son the way to solve his addition facts he looked awfully confused. He told me that he learns it differently in school. I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and taught him my way as I didn't know how else to show him. I apologize especially because, since turning in his work, I found out that my husband also showed him another way of solving addition. At this point, I honestly have no idea which technique he is using in the classroom!
While completing the spelling homework I noticed my son misspelled a few words. When I tried to help fix them he said he's supposed to sound out words on his own. I attempted to have him resound out the words, but inevitably allowed the mistakes to remain on the paper. This doesn't seem right, but I didn't want to upset the way you run the lessons.
The science packet you sent home said to make a list of solids vs. liquids; however, there was a section that asked him to write down all their properties. He told me this was not covered in the classroom yet, and since his text book was not sent home, we were unsure of how to move forward. This section is not complete.
I'm afraid he's a bit confused about the lessons covered. Will you review his work and assist him in understanding the content better? My sincerest apologies if this creates an even bigger delay.
Kindly,
Ashley Lee
This scenario brings about two concerns. For one, I've created a big mess for my son's teacher. Now she will have to determine what work needs to be retaught and redone. And that's just for my son. You have to wonder how many other students had incorrect and/or incomplete work. This fact alone hinders productivity, but even more concerning is the second part. With the additional time spent reviewing and correcting make-up work, the only way now for the teacher to catch up and get back on schedule is to speed through future lesson plans. That or skip over content altogether. I'm not sure which is worse.
Given these concerns, is sending home classwork ahead of time doing more harm than good? I suppose only a teacher can answer that question accurately, but I'd venture to guess the answer is yes.
Whether in our homes, careers or the classroom, staying productive is a goal we all share. When we get off track, panic sets in and immediately we seek a solution. Unfortunately, rushing into a remedy without considering all essential factors first may actually put us farther behind. Prevent losing more ground. Create productive workflow through careful evaluation first before implementing a solution.
Online gaming, social media and incessantly checking emails has sucked us into this strange dependency to the internet. So Christian Thurston decided to take a five-month sailing trip from Brazil to New York, using the opportunity to 'detox' and break free of wasting 10 to 12 hours online every single day.
Most of us use the internet in some way to not only work, but unwind after a long day. But that can add to the addiction we're already nursing. Thurston's internet use is a prime example:
"I wanted to know what was happening and make sure things weren't falling apart. I did have some withdrawals; the compulsion was still there and I still wanted to find out what was happening with my friends," he says.
But why are we so consumed with staying connected? Clinical psychologist Les Posen may have the answer:
"Ask yourself what you think you're missing out on and why it's so bad if you do," he suggests. We need people to challenge the idea that they're leading less of a life if they [aren't constantly connected]. Many of us are very adaptable and the less often we use it, the less often we want to use it, but it takes effort and commitment."
So how can you start cutting back from your technology addiction? Start setting boundaries. You can use clinical psychologist Jeroen Decates' recommendation of having one night per week where you unplug yourself completely. Grab a book, take a walk, or simply lock away all of your devices. Once you feel comfortable, start adding more screen-free nights. Though this doesn't mean that productivity growth and technology don't go hand-in-hand in the workplace. But you may find that seeing pictures of your friend's cats or what they made for dinner isn't so important to scroll through.
Of course you have a budget. The first thing event organizers put on their budget is their own time. Whether you're planning a mixer, a conference, a lunch-and-learn, or a seminar series, you're blocking out hours and hours of your life to make the event actually happen.
Even if you don't expect to spend a single real dollar on the event, your time is of incredible value. So before you work on a budget for your program, start working on adding up the total results that you want for your audience.
Since you've already figured out the size of your audience, it should be fairly straightforward to figure out the value for each person. Just compare it to other ways they might spend their time.
If your speaker is provides mostly entertainment, you might consider the cost to see a movie: perhaps $10 per show.
If your speaker is provides mostly education, you might consider the effective cost of an hour of college education: about $50 per hour.
If your speaker helps to facilitate a conversation, you might consider how much individuals have to gain from increased productivity or output. If they manage to save an hour sometime in the next month from what they learned, it's worth at least their hourly wage--perhaps $10, $20 or $30. If they manage to save an hour every month for the rest of the year, consider a number ten times that.
Multiply that by the size of your audience and you've got a good ballpark estimate for what you should spend on your event.
There are three main categories of expenses incurred at a program: the facilities (physical space, décor, insurance, security, personnel), amenities (food, drinks, print collateral, promotional items) and experience (speakers, entertainment). There's also the work you do to make the event happen (promotion, registration) and incidentals (travel, lodging), but these may not apply in your case.
It's possible to get any of these items at no direct cost. A restaurant might be willing to donate some snacks in exchange for promotion. A company might offer up a conference space to help make the business community aware of what they have to offer. And certainly, there are speakers who waive their fees.
Ultimately, though, you get what you pay for. So we encourage you to try and pay a little bit for everything in order to create the best results for your audience.
If all of this sounds expensive, remember that most event planners spend most of their budget by using up their own time. You can do your own promotion, you can even cook instead of catering. But if you're going to spend a dozen or a hundred hours on the event, why not talk to an expert?
That may the be the most important lesson when hiring a speaker: talk to a speaker first to see what parts of the event you should be handling yourself.
When starting a business, it's realistic to assume that you will become a master multitasker. As a one man / woman show, you are in control of every aspect and every role within your start-up company. From marketing to accounting, sales to administration, you name it, you do it. With such a large realm to cover, it certainly would behoove you to expand your company and create a well-rounded environment with other talented individuals. But, in order to succeed in this, you must first develop a pathway that leads in exactly that direction.
Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, talks about one of the greatest pieces of advice for entrepreneurs on the Tipping Point Marketing blog. And while there are so many topics that can be discussed in this regard, the focus is on communication because it can make or break productivity and success in the early days of a business. Slaughter points out:
. . . one of the problems with being a “solopreneur” is that once you do something once, you’re likely to forget how do it the next time around. That’s partially because you have a million things on your mind besides how to enter an invoice in Quickbooks but also because you don’t know when the next time that’s going happen again is. (Sorry.)
So what's an entrepreneur to do? How can you communicate with yourself without feeling like a crazy person who talks to the reflection in the mirror? Simple. Create an operations manual. By doing so, you're able to capture, step by step, the best way to create and complete particular projects throughout the day. And if that isn't enough, having this fantastic document will surely relieve the ongoing stress and frustration that comes with having to recollect a million different things. Now doesn't that sound nice?
Getting started may seem like a daunting task. After all, there are so many aspects to consider and so many factors to keep tabs on. So, below are suggested sections that Slaughter encourages entrepreneurs to put in their business operations manual:
- Financial – What to do with checks, receipts, cash, tax documents, etc.
- Sales – Who you are trying to sell to and what you've tried that works and does not work.
- Marketing – Daily, weekly, monthly patterns for how you’re promoting your business.
- Open/Close – What you need to do when the day starts and ends.
- Vendors– Who you’re getting stuff from, how to contact them and work with them.
- Partnerships– People/companies you’re networking with or supporting.
- Plans– Stuff that would be awesome to do, someday.
Of course, there are no specific rules you must follow when it comes to creating an operations manual. It's yours to write. That's why you're an entrepreneur right? You have ideas, you have goals and you have a business that is yours to mold and grow however you see fit. No matter how you go about it, simply be sure to maintain its value by updating it every step of the way. You'll thank yourself later.
Already have an operations manual and are now looking for advice on how to delegate work? Consider registering for the upcoming seminar, Delegation: The Art and Science of Handing Off and Letting Go, a part of The Efficient Professional Seminar Series.
What if an important email regarding a big project comes through? You just have to check it and maybe spend some time on your phone to make certain things are running smoothly, right? Not quite. In fact, a study shows just how wrong that is. The University of Washington’s Foster School of Business decided to test how much working on your phone late at night affects your sleep and productivity the next day. RedOrbit reported on the surprising results:
Smartphones are bad for sleep, and sleep is very important to effectiveness as an employee.
The study used 82 mid and high level managers that completed daily surveys for two weeks. Results showed that using their smartphones late at night disturbed sleep, which made them tired and less productive at work the following day. Next, researchers used 161 employees who worked at varying types of jobs, including workers with no management titles or duties. They included television, phone, and computer or tablets, along with late night phone use. Results showed that the smartphone was the most disruptive of them all.
The lead researcher of the project, Christopher Barnes, who is the assistant professor of management at the UW’s Foster School of Business, stated that smartphones are perfect for interrupting sleep. By keeping us mentally engaged, we can't really shut off and relax, which allows for deep sleep. Not only that, but smartphones affect sleep hygiene as well, which are habits that help us to fall asleep and stay asleep. Along with the mental aspect, blue light comes from our phones that messes with our melatonin levels, which is a pretty important chemical that promotes sleep.
So what's the solution? We've delved into the impact the constant use of technology has on worker productivity before. Disconnect and shut off at night. Find ways to relax without the use of electronics. Looking for ways to improve your efficiency? Reach out to our business process improvement consultants for more information!
When it comes to creating our own productive workflow, it's easy to go straight to what we know. Yet, there are days where these strategies simply don't work. Begrudgingly, we find ourselves coming to the end of a hard working day feeling unaccomplished and behind. So how can we increase our focus, become more productive and accomplish more in less time? To Joel Runyon, the answer is simple: "workplace popcorn." So, what exactly does that phrase mean?
According to Runyon, workplace popcorn is a four step process that has you popping from place to place completing work projects as you go. It's workflow that is fast-paced, defined, goal-oriented and scenic to boot. It certainly keeps you focused and most importantly, creates an avenue for achieving multiple levels of productivity in a single day. Needless to say, it aims to leave you feeling not only accomplished at the end of the workday, but fully prepared moving forward. So how does it work?
Step 1: Create a specific to do list for the day. The key word is specific. Runyon reminds his readers that defining work tasks properly can be the difference between achieving success in your productive workflow or failing miserably at it:
If you're not quite sure if you'd be able to say yes or no at the end of the day, I'll save you some time: you're not being specific enough.
Runyon provides both good and bad definitions of workday goals:
Bad
- Get some stuff done.
- Make some progress on Impossible Fitness
- Get started on blog posts.
Good
- Write a post of at least 800 words about my new productivity technique, and send it to Joanna.
- Write a complete guide to creating your Impossible List (at least 2,000 words), and send it to Joanna for editing.
- Write a mini guide on the FPC Protocol (upcoming).
Step 2: Break list out into three equal sections. Estimate the amount of hours and/or minutes it will take you to complete each task on your list. Once this is determined, separate them out equally. Below is a quick example:
Group #1Step 3: Find three locations to work from. Whether you're partial to coffee shops, libraries, cafes, etc., all you'll need are conducive locations that provide WiFi and outlets. Why mix up your location? To keep the creative juices flowing. This ensures physical activity is part of your daily pattern. Plus, as Runyon says: you "explore more places."Group #2
- Task 1 (1 hour)
- Task 2 (45 minutes)
- Task 3 (45 minutes)
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Task 1 (1 hour)
- Task 2 (30 minutes)
- Task 3 (1 hour)
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Group #3
- Task 1 (30 minutes)
- Task 2 (45 minutes)
- Task 3 (45 minutes)
Total time: 2 hours
Step 4: Take action. This is the easy part so to speak. After all, now that you've created your list, defined your goals, estimated completion times and discovered prime workspace, it's simply time to get down to it. So, go to the first location armed with section #1 of your goals and begin working. Focus only on the goals set aside for this time and this location. As hard as it is to resist, do not stray from the tasks at hand. Once these are complete, get up and leave your current location. Simply go to the next location with the next set of tasks and complete as you did in the first location. Move forward in this manner until all your goals are complete.
Reminder: Once you're done for the day, you are done. Close your computer, turn off your phone, stop checking email. Do everything you can to relax. You deserve it!
Here at AccelaWork we are always thinking about achieving productive, meaningful work that stretches across multiple projects. Reach out to us if you are in need of some new ideas in your office.
Thanks to Joel Runyon of Impossible HQ for permission to share this idea. Read his full post on on Workstation Popcorn at his website.
Be it at home or in the office, many of us spend the majority of our time sitting at a desk. It's easy to turn the space you have into a boring, cluttered mess. Most of us end up just looking past all the issues in our work environments. Check out the tips in the video below on how to change your work environment:
Personalizing your area is a great tip. Having a bland, boring space doesn't really do much to get the creative juices flowing. In fact, we here at AccelaWork have discussed just how crucial it is to have a fantastic space to work in, because it will definitely help to increase organizational productivity.
Next, get rid of all the clutter. This is definitely necessary if you wish to increase your output. A messy area means you're probably spending most of your time searching for what you need, which leads to low productivity.
Having the right chair to sit in is a pretty big deal. Ergonomics, which is a science that specifically deals with equipment design, has become very significant in that last few years. Proper use of your equipment plus a comfortable chair can really help how you feel throughout the day. Also, getting rid of terrible lighting, like fluorescent bulbs, can make a huge impact on your productivity. Studies have shown that artificial lighting can cause migraines, depression and many other symptoms. If you can, throw back the drapes and open your blinds. Nothing beats good old fashioned sunlight.
If you're looking for more ways to increase your productivity growth, reach out to our Indianapolis based business improvement consultants for more information!
The Today Show highlights one company on the Fortune's list of 2014. Only second to Google, SAS Institute, based in North Carolina, is named on this year's list, and for good reason too. Check out this video (direct link) about some surprising aspects of some workplaces.
There's no denying the fact that working at SAS has some great benefits. But, as The Methodology Blog has discussed before, distinguishing between beneficial and distracting perks on the job isn't easy. So while an onsite pharmacy and watch repair shop are enticing, they are factors that could potentially keep employees on campus and in the office rather than in their homes or with their families. Not to mention, all these things cost loads of money. Whose to say those employees wouldn't rather just be paid more?
Yet, given our views on expensive, over-the-top benefits, there is something remarkable that is seen within SAS's vast wonderland. The company's employee turn around rate is less than 3% in comparison to the national average of 20%. And as the video mentions, this 3% typically reflects employees who retire. So, what can be made from this statistic? Simple. Beneath all the fancy amenities, SAS employees are truly happy and satisfied with their jobs and growth potential. At least, that's what we have to assume because at the end of the day, dissatisfied employees don't hang on to a job for decades simply because there's live music in the cafeteria.
Not all companies can afford to build state-of-the-art gymnasiums or have daycare facilities on their properties, but it doesn't take loads of money to show employees they are valued. In fact, there are ways to provide satisfaction that, in the long term, prove more valuable to your employees than expensive amenities. Consider that the following benefits are spectacular in their own right:
According to Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, spending time on employee engagement may be the best perk of them all:
Focus on connecting and respecting your employees. Find out what they want, what they need and what they believe. Show them you care about their careers enough to focus on long-term growth rather than short-term tokens and trinkets.
It's easy to get bogged down by regulations at work. When an employee stresses about fitting in a doctor's appointment over their lunch hour, or frets about taking a sick day, it inevitably affects their work. After all, stress and feeling undervalued are two factors that can hinder employee productivity and motivation. Not only that, but feeling trapped by a lengthy set of rules that limit freedom can also create dissatisfaction; thereby causing distraction, resentment and inevitably, a strong will to leave.
Work towards a better future for you and your employees. If you want satisfaction in the office, start by respecting your employees. Provide them with meaningful benefits (like: ones they want) that actually enhance their own knowledge, experience, and financial future.
BetaBeat released an article that is right up our alley. They discuss how it is that some people manage to juggle commitments, families and work every day. Their solution? You're not getting up early enough. In fact, studies have proven that early risers are generally happier and more well-rounded than night owls.
Why? Maybe because we are at our most creative in the mornings. Because people who go to bed at a decent time get a full night's sleep and wake up earlier than others; providing time in the mornings just for themselves. You're recharged and can take on the world. You have more willpower. You can go to the gym like you promised yourself you would do, respond to social media and emails, or perhaps get a head start on some fantastic recipe for dinner that night. These are all things most of us wait to do until after work because we view that as our free time. But at night, we're drained; exhausted from those meetings all day, tired from staring at a computer screen, and maybe a bit grumpy too.
Going for a jog or opening up your computer again after work may make you groan a little. In fact, our consultants really don't recommend it at all. So why not get up earlier and save a chunk of time for just you in the morning? Sure, that means going to bed a bit earlier every night. But in all honesty, what good are you accomplishing during those extra couple of hours in the evening anyway? Most of us are useless blobs on the couch by then, so why not be in bed, charging yourself up for a morning of pure, uninterrupted, productive bliss?
On the Self-Employed King website, tips from entrepreneurs in regards to creating joint ventures in business are highlighted. Cindy-Allen Stuckey, CEO of Making Performance Matter and an AccelaWork speaker, is featured in the piece and relays to readers her thoughts about creating and maintaining strategic partners.
To Stuckey, there are 3 questions in regards to the needs and benefits with joint ventures that you should ask yourself. For your convenience, below are her tips (in their entirety) on determining the benefits to this type of marketing:
3 Questions You Always Wanted Answered about Strategic PartnersWhat’s a strategic partner and why would I want one? A strategic partner is a business that sells to the same ideal customer profile you do, but their product/service doesn’t directly compete with yours.
Why would you want a strategic partner? In many instances, you spend the majority of your time on your existing customers. Referrals are the key to growth for most businesses. You provide a great service/product so you *hope* your current customers tell others about you; however, you can be more proactive and grow your business faster by using a strategic partner. This ensures that you can both be mutually beneficial to each other in sharing referrals.
How do you find a strategic partner? As an example, let’s say you own a company that provides doors mats, and runners for businesses. To start identifying possible strategic partners for you, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What else do they need? Landscaping and mowing, uniforms, window washers, document management, computer networking – the list is endless.
For a strategic partner, you want a business that you trust (so you can build a long-term relationship) and will enable you to provide more value to your customers and increase your bottom line and efficiency. Start by identifying your list of potential strategic partners by asking yourself these questions: 1) Who provides the services /products I identified? Think bigger than your existing network. Ask your current customers, vendors, employees, & anyone you meet. 2) Would I feel 100% comfortable referring this business to my best customer?
The most powerful way to increase your value to your customers is to become a wealth of resources and information. You want them to think of you when they need help with their business.
As an entrepreneurial group, AccelaWork agrees that word of mouth marketing can go very far in creating future business. If you are interested in learning more about our services, visit our website and/or reach out to us today.
Lifehack brought us a fantastic list of 10 one-minute hacks that will immediately give your productivity a boost. That's all it takes. Really! Just one minute of your time. We here at AccelaWork picked our five favorite hacks to share with you.
Say “no” to three things
Sometimes, in your work life, it can be incredibly difficult to say no to someone. Whether it be about a meeting or a new project, we have the need inside to say "yes" to anything that is asked of us. I mean, we don't want to look bad, do we? So look at it this way. Instead of instantly agreeing to everything, think about what each task is going to cost you in terms of your energy, motivation or time. If the cost is pretty high, say "no" and move on. Pick 3 times per week to do this and you'll be surprised how refreshing it feels.
Turn off all of your email alerts
New email alerts don't necessarily cost you time, but they do distract your attention, and that's ultimately going to affect your ability to be productive. These alerts rarely bring any truly crucial information that must be acted upon now. In fact, the subject lines are usually so vague, you don't even have a good idea just what the message inside is until you open it. Instead, set aside a few dedicated moments during the day to check your email and respond if necessary.
Live by the two-minute rule The "two-minute rule" comes from David Allen's "Getting Things Done" methodology. Simply stated, it encourages people to immediately accomplish tasks that will take less than two minutes to complete. That means if you get an email requesting a simple task, like forwarding an asset or resource, do that right away. Much of our time gets wasted by procrastinating about simple tasks. When we do that, we're left with a long list of tasks that have to re-read, organized and prioritized, which costs us valuable time. By doing these simple things right away, we remove all that wasted time down the road.
Make a list of three outcomes you want to get out of today
So many of us are constantly making to-do lists every single day. But maybe instead of thinking of these as "to-do", we should be thinking of them as "outcome lists." Take time every morning to write down 3 outcomes you want to see happen that day. It can be anything from cleaning up your desk to getting more done on a project. Make this list daily and you'll end up feeling pretty accomplished.
Download RescueTime to track how you spend time on your computer
We're pretty big fans of apps. In fact, we've written about a few productivity boosting programs that actually do what they say they'll do - make you more efficient. RescueTime is another great one. All you have to do is download it and it will run in the background of your computer. At the end of every week, it will shoot out a report of how much time you spent doing specific things and can also grade you on how productive you were. You can use this to figure out how much time you're wasting or using wisely, which can really help your performance.
Workaholism affects a person’s health, job efficiency, and interpersonal relationships. Symptoms can manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Workaholism can be easily compared to other addictive vices such as smoking, drinking, and gambling and would be similar to process addictions where people at times can have a physiological release from working excessive hours.
There is some evidence that there are two types of workaholics - the naïve addict who is unaware of a time inconsistency problem and the rational one who is aware of the problem but cannot exercise self-restraint. Workaholics should not be confused with inherent characteristics of work preference, but rather the realization that the disutility of additional work is less than the worker forecasted early in his or her career. This type of worker is not seeing how they are moving into the direction of over working. The other type of workaholic will know it is not healthy to over work but continues to do so due to lack of control. There are plenty of highly educated and high income people who over work as well as less educated and lower paid workers.
In the present economy, it is not uncommon that people find themselves working longer hours for the same money out of the pressures to keep their job. A person in this situation will take on some of the same characteristics of someone who works excessively which may result in relationship or health problems, similar to a smoker who continues to smoke even though it is not in their best interest. Another type of person that can be identified as a workaholic is the person with a previous addiction, but has now ceased that drug of choice. They may find themselves working more and developing a workaholic profile, seeing it as less harmful compared to the previous addiction.
People with mental health problems such as those with impulse control disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder can find themselves over working too. Treatment for these individuals will be different as the mental health condition needs attention and treatment verses a behavioral disorder. Workaholics can mask anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy problems. Workaholism in Japan is considered a serious social problem and leading to early death. In the United States, workaholism is viewed as the so-called “respectable addiction." They find themselves feeling the urge to be busy all the time, yet they often tend to be inefficient workers since they focus on being busy instead of focusing on being productive. The workaholic may have a hard time working as part of a team, delegating, or entrusting co-workers. They can also suffer from sleep deprivation and become addicted to the adrenaline their body produces when working in high stress jobs.
Treatment for workaholics is important for an organization and a Human Resource Department to address to make the work place more productive and efficient. There are real costs that can be measured with the workaholic behavior. Referral to an Employee Assistance Program can be the first step in helping such an individual or having the Employee Assistance Program provide education to the workforce. If the person has an underlying mental illness, a counselor can assess and help such a person in getting the correct treatment.
Pam Ruster, a licensed clinical social worker and Owner/President of Supportive Systems, LLC, which provides EAP and Corporate Development services to corporations throughout Indiana. Pam has extensive experience as a consultant and trainer, presenting numerous workshops and seminars. www.supportivesystems.com.
Gino Wickman published an article for EOS about this very issue. Picking up and leaving for a much needed vacation can actually bring along some anxiety as well. You know you will be coming back to work that kept piling up while you were away. And that issue is why some of us come back from our much needed vacations feeling like we need another one again! So how can we avoid ruining our time off with worry? Wickman believes there is a way to do that and actually double your productivity at the same time:
I was recently discussing with someone how I’m able to take stress-free vacations, leaving totally caught up and returning rejuvenated and able to manage the pile of work waiting for me when I return. The secret is, as I teach my clients, to buffer your vacation.
He thinks in advance. He knows he'll have a lot waiting for him when he comes back, so he schedules a buffer day on the day before he leaves and when he returns from vacation. A buffer day is meant to be a transition time, for when you won't be available at work so you can make sure you have everything you can possibly have done ahead of time or so you can catch up once you're back. That means absolutely no meetings of any kind, in person or on the phone. AccelaWork firmly believes in taking vacations to increase productivity growth. Take this time to prioritize what needs to be done so coming home won't leave you with a ball of dread in your stomach.
Below are five reasons why employee motivation and satisfaction should be your top priority:
In business, it never helps to ignore the disaffected. They are what can drive a company to greater heights or toward a dangerous stumble. And that is why businesses should strive for satisfied employees. By doing so, employees will deliver a superior performance, have a more creative approach towards work and will in turn contribute to the overall growth of the company.
Jonathan Curran is an author and founder of PROMOTIVATE Speakers Agency. They represent a group of leading motivational, business, conference, and adventure speakers. Follow them on Google+ for more updates.
Business2community provided this awesome list of these amazing apps. Check out their top 3 and our thoughts below.
Evernote
Evernote is the most well-known productivity app because it works on every device and is free to use (though a paid version is available.) It reigns supreme for a reason because it's pretty simple to use. Everyone from your mother, to students, and business owners can use it to organize themselves. It works by taking the information you need, all the small details of your life, and storing it so you can easily be reminded later. All your notes, to-do lists, and photos are easily searchable which will definitely help out big time.
Yammer
Yammer, like Evernote, is free to use. But that is where the similarities end between the two. This app lets your employees collaborate easily on projects. And that can be accomplished from any where and on any device. It's pretty simple to use, which is mostly thanks to the interface which is pretty similar to Facebook. This is a pretty big deal for small businesses that are competing to fill up their ranks with new employees. The promise of new, innovative ways to use your creativity is a huge incentive. This app provides that and more.
Focus Booster
Most of us are inundated with messages, emails, and numerous other tasks that call for our attention everyday. It can be totally overwhelming. But thanks to Focus Booster, that issue will become nonexistent in your life. Using the Pomodoro Technique, which was created by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, this app helps you to focus on certain tasks for 25 minute intervals with short breaks in between. This app can be used on your desktop, iOS 7, and Android and is totally free to use. Give it a shot, it may just help you restructure your work life.
These three apps, and many like them, are helpful to businesses of all sizes trying to increase productivity for there main reasons:
They utilize existing hardware
It doesn't do a business much good to improve productivity if the cost of doing so creates a negative value proposition. Not only do these apps come without expensive licensing fees, they utilize hardware you've already got on hand. The only cost involved is the short amount of time it takes to download the app.
They work across multiple platforms Most offices aren't "PC only" or "Mac only" nor are they necessarily limited even to desktop environments. Because these apps work across a number of different platforms, you won't run into any inter-office problems with their use. Got a design team working on Macs communicating with a development team working on PCs? No problem. These apps speak all the platform languages fluently.
They provide mobile access
Perhaps most important in today's work setting, these apps provide mobile access. They can be downloaded onto phones and tablets as well as desktop devices. So not only can they follow the worker from the desk to the conference room, they can provide the worker out in the field or the remote employee the same kind of productivity tools the employee sitting at his or her desk has access to.
Looking for many ways to become more efficient? We have plenty of posts on improving worker productivity. Reach out to our productivity consultants for more information!
An infographic from the folks at Staff.com covers a few of the key stats. Take a look:
Yes, we've covered working from home before. When you're discussing business improvement and employee productivity, this is a hot topic. We've even outlined the key disadvantages to telecommuting.
What else is there to say about working from home? The title of this piece nails it: whether you like it or not, remote work is the future. This is for many reasons, but the biggest of all is money. It's always going to be cheaper to have remote team members than it is to have them in an office. There's savings in rent, savings in gas, savings in workplace attire, and savings in office furniture.
Workplaces also have tons of problems. The office is an interruption factory. Plus you have to deal with office politics and interacting with people that you might not otherwise want to interact with.
There's also an opportunity to maximize the fit of the worker to the task at hand. In a traditional work-at-the-office job, you can only get the candidates who are interested in living within the range of a commute. But when an individual can work from anywhere, you've got a huge pool of candidates to choose from.
Lastly, I'd argue that some of the qualities that everyone wants---people who manage their time well, who are self-starters, and who are motivated by results rather than facetime---are the people you're mostly likely to get if telecommuting is part of the culture. It's easy to "look busy" if you're in the office. But there's nothing to do remotely except for the work, which is kind of the point, isn't it?
SilkRoad, a global talent management firm, decided to survey HR professionals about what their biggest concerns are going into 2014. 48 percent of the respondents said that their goal was going to be engaging and retaining workers as they moved into the New Year. Other answers included developing leaders, managing skills gaps and recruiting the best employees. So what can you do to make sure you're going to hang on to the members of your staff? AccelaWork has looked into employee retention using unconventional ideas in the past, so what's new?
ResourceNation delved into this issue and came up with some pretty fantastic ideas, starting off with looking into ways to make new hires feel welcome. First impressions are important, especially in business. And no matter what the new employee's position, you should make them feel like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Next, they discuss team effort, and this is a big one. Cross training your workers on different aspects of the company's routines is a surefire way to make workers feel more important. The result is the sense that they're contributing more to the company, and therefore are more valuable as an employee. Another suggestion is to treat your staff as an investment. Showing interest in new technology that could help make your workers more productive, or linking senior workers to newbies can foster feelings of appreciation. Like they matter to you, which they do!
One suggestion by ResourceNation that really caught our eye has to deal with coddling your employees. You aren't meant to be their mother or father figure, you're their manager. So when it comes time for someone to take responsibility for an issue or mistake, make sure you address it swiftly and create a solution to the matter. Don't become part of the problem. If you're looking for tips on employee retention, don't hesitate to reach out to our business consulting specialists here at AccelaWork.
An approach we have found effective in our consulting practice is to approach management with a conversation about results. An organization's outcomes should provide value to stakeholders. Creating deliverables that align with company culture and market expectations is of paramount importance. Results are often what matter most to owners and decision makers.
That is the purpose of hiring a speaker or a business consultant to help your company: change behavior so you can change outcomes. But often, we don't have direct access to high-level decision makers in the sales process. In fact, working with management is one of the classic mistakes.
If results are what matter to management, everyday experiences are what matter to front line employees. That's why we need to turn the conversation away from typical conventions, such as restrictive policies, incentives, reduction of theft/fraud, security and limitation of liability. We can focus on what creates great results: engaged employees who are willing to take risks without fear of rejection, employees who have the twin pillars of freedom and responsibility, and leadership based on mentoring and support rather than command and control.
Happiness at work is a hard problem. Happy workers are the exception, not the norm. For example, the best path is not to focus on speaking to employees about work/life balance. That can seem patronizing in an environment where they feel constantly pressured to do more with less. Rather, there's value in speaking to owners, managers, and other stakeholders about the difference between demanding labor through control and creating value through a shared understanding of meaningful results. We don't want to tell people what they can and cannot do. We want to have a conversation about what is and is not valuable, and why.
Business improvement requires spreading ownership throughout the organization, instead of stashing it in pockets and dictating it from the top. That's the message we try to offer from our speakers and consultants. The only sustainable way to change is to care.
StudyingPsychology.com has published an article based solely on how to improve your concentration. Some of the tips may seem like common sense, so why don't we follow them? Let's take a look at their top 5 tips.
Cutting Out Noise
This seems pretty simple and straightforward. If you want to be able to focus better, the chaos of background noise certainly needs to go. But we tend to forget that the alerts on our phones and computers, the loud ringtone from your cell going off or even the fax machine beeping down the hall can be super distracting. Shut your door, put your phone on silent, and hunker down!
Understanding Your Objective
This is great food for thought. With social media and funny videos of cats playing just a click away, it can be easy to become sidetracked. You have to remember what your tasks for the day are and what you need to get accomplished. Maybe put a sticky note on your monitor to remind you of your main goal that needs to get done that day. That fulfilling feeling of completing work is far better than a funny video of a dog playing piano (though they're both pretty awesome.)
Planning Your Time
Our time is precious. We only have so many hours in a day to complete our tasks. This tip of planning out your time in blocks is a great idea. Need to respond to emails? Dedicate only 15 minutes to that. Once your 15 minutes are up, close out your email and move onto something else. It's easy to get sucked into one task and forget about the others. This way, you're spreading yourself out evenly.
Expecting Road Blocks
We here at AccelaWork know what stress can do to productivity growth. Unexpected delays and roadblocks to completion can add stress to anyone's day. Say you have all your time set up into nice blocks. You've closed the windows and doors, silenced your phone and avoided being sucked into YouTube for hours. But something happens. An emergency pops up and throws your whole plan out of whack. Panic ensues and you feel like your whole day is lost to chaos. Stop and take a breath! Things happen that are totally out of our control. Just pick up where you left off and start over again. Don't beat yourself up if your day didn't go as planned. There's always tomorrow.
Be Patient
Deadlines are probably the chief source of stress in the workplace. The approaching tension of having to have a completed project can make even the bravest person sweat. Sometimes that can cause us to become pushy and out of sorts with our coworkers, especially if they're dragging their feet on an important part of the project. Those instances can translate into long-term problems among colleagues. Deadlines can also cause us to skip over important details in the rush to complete an assignment. That habit results in loss of quality, and possibly even the loss of our jobs! A better result is to adopt a patient attitude. You'll find your co-workers much easier to work with and more likely to get that critical piece to you on time or even early...and you'll be more careful with your own work, too.
At AccelaWork, we help businesses every day become more efficient in managing their workflows. Contact us today and let us help you concentrate on improving your business's productivity.
First of all, I've pointed out plenty of times that well-established scientific research recommends the exact opposite of what many businesses do every day. That includes everything from working in an office to paying for performance to decision making.
So now it's time to turn your psychology textbooks to the chapter on social loafing.
Here's what the research says: In groups of people, individuals tend to put in less effort than if they were working on their own. That is, if you want to get something done and you can divide it up where everyone is working independently, you're more likely to get the best possible outcome.
How can we know this? Experiments. The original study dates back over a hundred years to 1913, when Max Ringleman found that men hired to pull a rope did not work as hard collectively as they would individually. Similar studies have been done with all kinds of tasks from business projects to team building exercises.
So how can you reduce the social loafing effect? An article on the Psyblog advises:
Task importance. Studies have shown that when people think the task is important they do less. [Participants] worked harder if they thought the relevance of the task was high, thought they were in competition with another group and were encouraged to think the task was attractive.Group importance. When the group is important to its members they work harder.
Decreasing the ‘sucker effect’. The sucker effect is that feeling of being duped when you think that other people in the group are slacking off. Reducing or eliminating this perception is another key to a productive group.
What does all of this mean? First of all, don't make it a group project unless there's a good reason to do so. And if you do, make sure people know why they are all being asked to work together. Build some camaraderie and purpose.
Otherwise, just divide up the work based on where people want to contribute and the unique skills they bring. That way, you'll avoid loafers and get the best result in the end.
No matter what the size of the company, every business owner feels pressure to increase productivity. But why is it that the small businesses in Australia are spending the most on travel and expenses? Dynamic Business took a look at the issue and found some pretty surprising results. The small business of Australia are spending mind-boggling amounts of money on travel.
In the past, in countries like Australia especially, the only way to compete or even participate in global commerce involved expensive travel out of the country. This not only included the expense of the travel itself (airfare, lodging, meals, etc.) but the cost of lost time while employees were stuck on an airplane traveling thousands of miles to a business destination.
With all the technology we have now, it's much more common for individual companies to have employees from different time zones, even different countries. One study shows that by 2030, almost 40 percent of Australia’s workers may be working independently as well as across national borders. That means it's time for them to really kick their efficiency into gear and reduce the amount they spend on traveling.
PageUp People, one of Australia's leading talent management organizations, has already proved that this is possible. Instead of spending thousands on business travel, they use video conferencing instead. Granted, many of us still prefer the good old fashioned face-to-face meetings. And in a perfect world, we would all be able to sit down in person to have all of our meetings. But in the real world, with growing technology, you have to grow with the times. Nothing can take the place of a handshake and being physically present, but your pockets will thank you for the amount of money you will save.
The article is quick to point out there's no "one size fits all" approach to the dilemma of where and how to hold meetings. Certain environments lend themselves better to accomplishing certain goals. For example, if HR was in the process of "on-boarding" a group of new employees, a company might be better served to invest in the cost of travel to a single location where participants could physically interact with one another. A remote video conference version of this important activity would certainly deprive both employees and the business of valuable team-building time, both in and out of the office setting.
On the other hand, businesses hold numerous meetings that don't require that kind of collaboration and authentic "face time." For those, video technology offers the opportunity of sharing critical information in real time with people scattered across the globe without the expense of travel, food and lodging.
One Australian company, MYOB, a business management software firm, has realized the tremendous advantages of remote business technology and taken it to a new level. Only two per cent of their workforce is "on site." They report not only increased savings on business travel, but happier, more productive employees.
We here at AccelaWork are big advocates of using technology to increase productivity growth. Each year, that field grows and puts more hi-tech devices in our hands. Not only will you save on the cost of business trips, but you'll also open yourself up to different avenues, new employees, and new companies. Looking for more ways to become efficient? Reach out to one of our Indianapolis based business improvement consultants today for more information!
That's the topic of a piece from the Wall Street Journal. Sue Shellenbarger writes:
Abuses are rife. People on the line interrupt others, zone out or multitask, forgetting to hit "mute" while talking to kids or slurping drinks.Sales executive Erica Pearce has seen teleconferences interrupted by home FedEx deliveries, crying children and the sound of a co-worker vacuuming his house. "Nobody could hear," she says of the cleaning. As leader of the meeting, she said into the phone, "If you're vacuuming, I appreciate that, and you're welcome to come to my house afterward. But you need to be on mute."
You hate these things, I hate these things, but still they are everywhere. In fact, the article reports that "Time spent in audio conferences in the U.S. is expected to grow 9.6% a year through 2017, according to Wainhouse Research, a Boston market-research firm; about 65% of all conferencing is still done by audio calls."
How can you make conference calls better? Much of the advice would actually make the experience more painful. For example:
To build relationships, Ms. Pearce takes time during the teleconferences she leads to have participants who don't know each other introduce themselves, explain their roles in the project at hand and tell what they want out of the meeting, she says.
It's already tough for people to introduce themselves succinctly in person. In a conference call (where there is a lack of nonverbal cues and even more people) this can drag on. Instead, the meeting organizer should read a list of participants, state their title, and give one sentence explaining why they are on this call.
Second: the organizers need to instruct everyone to break into the conversation or answer open questions with the words "This is Robby speaking." That way, others know who is talking.
Third: A side channel is needed that is text-only. Pick any chat or instant messenger application; or if you are reviewing a document bring it up in a collaborative editor such as Google Docs. This channel should be used for brief interactions or questions that don't need to interrupt the flow. It's also the best place to make jokes, since everyone will see and hear them at the same time and with equal clarity.
There's one more tip to running effective conference calls: don't have them. Or, at least watch this video about them from the comedic minds of Tripp and Tyler:
All companies want to see their efficiency being compared to that of a well-oiled machine. A huge part of that machine are all the employees that are keeping the wheels turning. So employee satisfaction is a pretty big deal if you want to have a successful company.
BusinessNewsDaily shared an article about workspace virtualization, which may be the key for small businesses to be more efficient. It helps break the chains to your desktop at work, which is usually bound to one network system and keeps the worker tied to that specific desktop because that's where all their data is. Instead, their data, desktop and apps are available to them anywhere, in any location. A good example of this would be in a clinical setting. When a doctor opens up their patient's file on their computer in their office, he/she then can walk out and will still be able to view the file on a tablet or other device while on the way to see the patient.
This technology would also be a major help for those employees who work from home. Michael Thompson, a network engineer with Boice.net envisions this scenario:
"You could [virtualize the entire office space by] using laptops, high-speed Internet, video cameras and VoIP [voice over Internet Protocol] phones. An employee could be sitting at their kitchen table, but through the use of technology, have access to everything that they would normally have access to in the office."
In many industries, the traditional office setting just isn't practical. Their employees are out in the field helping customers on a daily basis, and thus cannot be tied down to a singular desktop terminal. This is a dream come true for them. Instead of operating without access to critical information, or with scaled down versions on portable devices, field workers can now have access to whatever data they need. Not only that, but Thompson emphasizes the ability for field workers to communicate with other remote colleagues as well:
"These tools allow us to stay in contact with the main office, as well as other engineers that may be able to lend a helping hand."
With workspace virtualization, it doesn't matter how many times you switch between your PC and other devices because it will save your settings automatically. So not only will this help your employees be more efficient, it will also lower IT costs for small companies. It takes a chunk out of the overhead because they no longer have so many laptops, fax machines, PCs, and printers to juggle every day. This makes this technology particularly appealing to small organizations who don't have a huge budget for IT as it is. Those employees definitely feel that strain in their work life. Workspace virtualization can offer them the mobility and efficiency that workers crave and a cost savings that will make management ecstatic, too.
At AccelaWork, we understand the desire to be more mobile to increase productivity growth, from small businesses to government organizations. That doesn't mean that this idea isn't without risks. Questions about security and employees working longer hours are important concerns. So speak to one of our business process implementation experts before you take that leap!
Gen Y Women – your combination of a clean slate, fresh insight on technology, and family values has the potential to change the world. It's up to your generation now! To help you with this, I'm giving you a gift of the wisdom I've learned.
Take Charge of Your Life Today. Do you really know what you value, what your important roles are, and what YOUR PASSION is? Identifying any of these is the most important step you can take for yourself. Don't just think about this – actually write down your values, roles, and passion. When you have identified what matters deeply, you can use these three insights to make decisions about how to live your life. Make sure you review them often, and make adjustments if circumstances in your life change.
Make it a Priority to Learn the Language of Your Organization. Whether you are a volunteer, an entrepreneur, or an employee with a Fortune 500 company, every organization has its own language, products, services, processes, and tools. You need to soak up all the knowledge you can. You don't have to be an expert in everything; however, you need to be aware of what your organization does, how it does it, and how it goes to market. By knowing these, you will be able to participate in and contribute to conversations about various parts of the business – this increases your credibility.
Learn to Collaborate. This is not compromise, and it's not cooperation. Collaboration is (1) both an outcome and a process (2) in which shared interest or conflict that cannot be addressed by any single individual (3) is addressed by the team members (4) in order to achieve what is best for the organization. Once you know how to collaborate, learn how to lead others to work together.
Create Your Own Personal Advisory Board (PAB). You're never too young or too old to start building a personal advisory board. This is more than a network – it's a small core of people who care about your success and assist you by providing their advice, contacts, and knowledge. They may end up saving you from yourself.
Have Friends of All Ages. Your generation does a better job than previous generations with diversity (thank goodness). Are you aware of the advantages of having friends of all ages? Friends of all ages bring different points-of-view, experience, different interests, and new ideas. I'm sure you know older people with young mindsets and young people with older mindsets.
Finally, Pay It Forward. When you are the recipient of a favor, do a favor for at least three other people. Even if you're not the recipient of a favor today, you have been in the past. Pay It Forward is one of the greatest gifts you can give.
That's what I'm doing right now.
This new item from Hitachi, an electronics manufacturer out of Japan, is causing quite a stir. CNN has reported on the device, called the Hitachi Business Microscope. The way it works is pretty simple and sort of scary. It looks pretty similar to an ID badge that most companies already use. But instead of just being used as a form of ID or to swipe in for work, this actually tracks you throughout your workday.
The developers have placed a microphone sensor, infrared sensors, an accelerometer and a wireless communication device inside each badge. It can then record and transmit all the data back to whoever is listening in. That means all of your conversations, where you had them, and how intense the conversation was is tracked. Because it identifies the other person's badge when you're near them, it also knows exactly who you were speaking to. You aren't safe from getting up and walking away from your desk, either. Have a case of irritable bowel syndrome? They'll know.
Americans have been concerned for some time now about the increase in electronic "spying" from government agencies like the NSA and Homeland Security. Still, we've tolerated it because we believe that it helps improve domestic security against potential terrorist attacks and there are numerous legal hurdles and internal checks that prohibit government snoopers from abusing the technology.
There's question, however, whether these constitutional safeguards apply to private employers. Just how far can they go in monitoring employee activity? While some argument might be able to be made to monitor behavior considered to be related to office productivity, what about lunch times, bathroom breaks and other "private" moments throughout the day? Is that stepping over legal boundaries?
Hitachi defends the usefulness of the technology this way:
"With the enormous amount of data collected with the Business Microscope, it will be possible to propose methods to improve organizational communication and quantitatively evaluate efficacy."
But what does a company do with the information it collects? Is that data grounds for termination? What if some hacker, either externally or internally, gets hold of the data? Are companies equipped to secure the privacy of their employees.
As you can see, this technological breakthrough is fraught with personal and legal hazards. Any possible gain in productivity appears to be more than offset by potential abuses and cases of liability for the company.
Truthfully, this sounds like an absolute nightmare. Unless you lie to your employees, they will all know that they're being watched. It brings micromanagement to a whole new level, and we have already discussed how little we here at Accelawork believe that actually helps improve worker productivity. But the purpose of the Hitachi Business Microscope is to improve efficiency by figuring out who the weak links are, or if certain meeting topics are exciting enough for everyone to pay attention (because it monitors if you are interacting or nodding off.)
There really aren't enough words to stress how horrible of an idea this is. Your employees deserve respect and some amount of trust. If you can't trust them at all and need to put a device around their necks to monitor them, then why are they still employed in your company? Instead of intruding on everyone's privacy, maybe hold some conferences. Have a business improvement consultant come speak to your workers about being productive. Or hire more people that you actually trust. But going Big Brother on everyone will only end in resentment and an empty office.
An article from benefitspro, Shutting the door on open office plans?, looks at all the angles of office design and dives into this split discussion with views from both sides. And despite how cut and dry this subject matter may seem, it's actually not simple at all:
Ask anyone who’s worked in an open office and you’ll learn two things with absolute certainty: 1) it’s the best thing in the world since sliced bread; 2) it’s not.
So, what are the opposing arguments? Below is a summary of what the article states for each side of the case.
Pro-Open Floor Plan
Anti-Open Floor Plan
Undoubtedly, both sides have valid points about the successes and failures of office configurations. Yet, it would seem that the majority of U.S. companies lean in one direction. According to the article, 70% of offices in our country follow the open floor plan model. This is an astounding figure, which easily suggests that the concept does in fact work well for business. In particular, tech and startup companies, both of which thrive in such collaborative environments.
But to what extent does this percentage really reflect productive workflow?
A flood of recent academic research seems to support [the] view that open offices lead to more stress and sick days, less creativity, less concentration, less productivity, less motivation and less job satisfaction. In that light, the field is becoming more nuanced in its approach.
Could it be that the open floor plan owes much of its popularity to the undeniably attractive reduction in costs? After all, according to a 2010 real estate study, workspace has dropped nearly 75 square feet per employee and it's still dropping. For 2015, projections suggest employees will have only about 100 square feet of office space to themselves. It wouldn't be the first time that companies allowed short-term bottom line considerations negatively impact productivity in the long term.
Take note: if you're not buddy buddy with your coworkers now, prepare to be next year.
Don't fret, Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, offers readers some advice on how to cope with open work spaces. In the article, he suggests the following:
For starters, using noise-blocking headphones or ear buds to listen to music can help, he said.Also, flex-time and telecommuting are good solutions. If that’s not possible, Slaughter advises creating clusters of chairs in office corners or quiet spots where employees can retreat.
Also, hanging a sign asking people not to interrupt might work, though that’s something that should be used sparingly.
You may not be able to determine where your desk resides in comparison to your colleagues, but you can still have full control over your own productivity. If you're currently in an office with an open floor plan and feel overwhelmed, utilize Slaughter's suggestions above to help regain a sense of privacy. If you are in a more traditional floor plan and feel isolated, consider creating a common space where colleagues can go to collaborate and create. You can have the best of both worlds. Take some time to find the right balance for you and then go with it!
AsapScience, known best for their YouTube channel where they release a weekly video of fun and interesting science, published a short, informational video on what we can do to increase productivity at work. I'm more of a visual learner, and if you are too, then this video will be right up your alley. Check it out!
We all know the dread of starting a new project. Your mind can run a mile a minute just thinking of all the work you are going to have to do before you even begin. Their advice? Just start! They mention the Zeigarnik Effect which is that natural drive we all have to finish tasks we have accepted. Not completing the task actually makes us feel uneasy, which leads to thinking about the task even more. But no one has ever completed a task without first starting it. It may sound a bit cliche, but getting started is always the most important part of anything.
Their time management technique is something we here at AccelaWork believe will help your productivity growth. Break your day down into segments and leave time for rest! Cramming all of your work in without a breather will drive you crazy. So give yourself a deadline to work with and write it down on your calendar. Seeing that every day will help give you the drive to finish your work. And by limiting each segment of work to a finite amount of time, the overall project won't seem so insurmountable.
And as we write in the post that's linked above, trying to just plow through your work isn't always the best way:
Knowledge workers should typically work for a few hours after waking up, take a break for a couple of hours midday, then continue again in the evening. They would work better if their work was spread out throughout the day.Sure, there may be times when you're on a tight deadline and simply have to get things done, but if you manage your time better, make accountability charts, and are aware of these things from the start of a project, you're far less likely to run up against a situation where you're short on time despite having a ton of work left to do.“Cognition is best several hours prior to habitual sleep time, and worst near habitual wake time,” says Kenneth Wright, neuroscientist and chronobiologist, as quoted in a recent article in The New Yorker.
The accountability chart, which they compare to those who have a diet diary, is a fantastic way to see where you're lagging. Writing down the time you have spent in certain areas of your work can help you figure out where you need improvement. Also, to help boost efficiency try to avoid multitasking; completing multiple activities at once is a sure fire way to miss something or complete work inaccurately. As the video points out, implementing an action plan will set you up to accomplish all your goals productively.
Looking for more help on putting these principles in place? Give our our organizational productivity consultants a call today to learn more about how we can help improve productivity in your organization. We’d love to find a way to help!
Achieving productivity in the workplace is a constant goal for many of us. And while there are many factors that are difficult to control, the telephone is certainly not one of them. On the contrary, phone productivity is one of the easiest factors for us to dictate in our workday. The key is recognizing how to manage it properly. Below are a few helpful tips to consider if your phone is impeding your workflow:
If you want to survive conducting business on the phone, you first have to recognize that everyone is busy. Everyone has an agenda. And while you can still adhere to phone etiquette, it's important to not fall victim to it.
Mitch Grey, an Account Manager for one of the world's largest 3PL providers, knows a thing or two about managing phone calls. After all, 90% of his day is spent on the phone. So when it comes to productive phone strategy, he emphatically agrees that awareness is essential. Here's what he has to say:
Recently, I was asked to sit in on a phone call with one of our new hires who was struggling to meet her revenue goals. It didn't take me long to see why. I listened as she spent the first five minutes engaged in small talk. At my company, reps are making 40 or more calls a day. So spending even mere minutes on a greeting can set you back thousands of dollars.
Unproductive conversations occur when you are disorganized. So, do yourself a favor and always have a plan. Create a phone call agenda; a visual guide to keep you on task. It doesn't have to be in-depth or professionally written, just a quick list of prioritized bullet points.
To Grey, this is key in achieving a clear and concise conversation:
When covering a load, there are dozens of details that need to be discussed. But, there are three factors to relay first before moving forward with a sale: load size, location and money. If truck drivers can't accommodate these three things, then they won't take the job. I've seen so many sales reps struggle in this regard. They spend too much time relaying details that make no difference to the sale and then find out later that the load is too heavy or the money isn't good enough. Suddenly, they're halfway through their day without a load covered. When I train new hires, I immediately teach them the 3 factor tactic. Within days, their revenue growth skyrockets.
When the phone rings, often times we debate whether or not to pick up. Regardless of what choice is made, our workflow is interrupted. And that is why the "quick answer" can be just the ticket.
Robby Slaughter, a principal at AccelaWork, covers this exact type of phone productivity on The Switchboard:
If someone calls in and you’re focused on an urgent task or talking to someone else in person, it can be tempting to let the message go to voicemail. But then, you have to listen to the voicemail and try to return the call later. That’s no way to increase productivity!Instead, try this: “Jack, Emily here. Hey, I’m in the middle of something. Can I call you back in ten minutes?”
More than likely, the caller will accept this suggestion. They save the time of leaving a voicemail and you save the time of listening to the voicemail. Everyone wins!
If you're tired of the phone dictating your day, it's time to come up with a strategy for improvement. Consider the tips above as well as some additional advice on controlling workflow and boosting productivity. Check out our services to learn more.
Most of us don't really have the opportunity to paint the walls where we work. But for those of us that work from home, the ability to design your personal space is totally up to you. It's a luxury that some people envy! No more blank, white walls and fluorescent lighting. You get to make all the choices! And the options can be pretty overwhelming.
Painting your home office certain colors can actually help you become more efficient. We all know that certain colors invoke specific feelings inside of us. Be it a color that reminds you of something from your past or a bright red that really stimulates you and gets you going. Every color has its own reaction. Amy Morin from Forbes sat down and spoke with Christa O’Leary, who is the founder of Home in Harmony Lifestyle, to get her advice on how to choose colors for your work environment.
"Our bodies react to color on a physiological level. The color red stimulates our appetite and increases our heart rate. The color blue has a calming effect on the nervous system. Taking into consideration the physiological response of color to the body is important."
O'Leary also advises that having accent colors can add more oomph to the design as well as contribute to the affect we're looking for in colors. Matching a warm yellow to the serenity of blue tones can help your focus. Red can pump up the negotiator and help increase their drive for sales. Also, using glossy or flat paints is also an important decision. Glossy provides a sheen that can provide a feeling of higher energy.
We here at AccelaWork know just how much having a green work environment helps productivity growth. You will want to be wary of brands that aren't no-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds.) Some paints can emit noxious substances. Since you will be in this room for the majority of your day, you want to be sure you're surrounding yourself with the healthiest products available.
If you've been reading our six-part series on hiring a speaker the right way, you know the process is filled with unexpected details. One area that too many speaker coordinators neglect is event marketing and support. In fact, it's a separate service you can get independent of booking a keynote. This involves getting audience members in the room, and taking care of those in attendance--as well as your presenters.
But back to the question that leaves people speechless: How do you plan to fill the room? This is a hard question because event planners are often focused on the experience in the room, but not the messaging that will drive people to the room. Here are some tips to make event marketing work:
Start by building your registration system. You need some mechanism to confirm an individual's intentions. If they plan to be there (an "RSVP"), you need to know. If they can't make it (a "decline") you need to know that too. Registration systems may be as simple as a whiteboard and a call list, or as complex as an online form. But in either case, you need to determine how you will keep track of who is coming.
Develop a messaging campaign. At the minimum, every single event requires three messages to the audience. The announcement explains the program and describes how to register. The confirmation lets people know that their intentions (accept/decline) have been received. The reminder should go out just before the event to nudge those people who might forget and to build some excitement before arrival.
Determine your check-in process. Some events are best when registrants are matched to a list. This may be helpful if they have paid in advance, and also to manage walk-ins. You might also have materials--such as nametags, handouts, or promotional items--that are distributed when individuals arrive. And in some cases you need to collect information, tickets, or completed worksheets from individuals on their way in the door.
Confirm attendee logistics. Remember that your audience hasn't been planning this program for months. They may need signage to find their way to the right room. They may need volunteers to be able to direct them to the restroom. They may need reminders about the schedule or any expectations you have for them.
Establish your "Green Room" plan. Whether you have one speaker or a dozen, whether you have an audience of ten or an audience of a thousand, you'll want to figure out where your speakers will be throughout the entire event. This may include a place for your presenters to be before the event and it might include a spot for them to be after they speak to greet people and sell books.
Of course, there's lots more you can do. You might need options in your registration system based on individual preferences. You might want to have special messages to thank people after they attend. You might consider a special handout with day-of reminders. And you might include thank you gifts in the green room for your speakers.
Whatever you do, event marketing and support is an essential part of the process. It's too often overlooked. Make sure it's on your radar when planning your next event.
As soon as someone talks to you about posture, you're sure to sit up straight. It makes you more aware if it's pointed out to you. The way you sit can actually affect your efficiency. According to EHS Today nearly half the adult workforce suffers from some degree of head, back, or neck pain. Unsurprisingly, that leads to a lot of down time and loss of production across all industries.
The article is based on a study performed by UpRight, makers of a posture training device combining an app and wearable feature, and Ernst & Young that studied the correlation between posture and workplace productivity. UpRight CEO Oded Cohen theorized that poor posture was costing companies in missed time and productivity.
“The reality is that most business men and women spend eight to twelve hours a day sitting slouched over at their desks, which leads to back pain, decreased productivity, poor health and missed work days.”
Over a period of weeks, 31 employees were coached on healthy posture habits and surveyed about their personal experiences with back pain and productivity. The coaching took place two to four times a week for six weeks with assistance from the UpRight mobile app and wearable. The UpRight device attaches to the upper or lower back and utilizes advanced sensors to notify the user when he/she was slouching.
Their results showed that 75 per cent of participants improved their posture over the course of the study. Not only that, but they reported decreased back pain and a greater feeling of productivity while at work.
Additional finding included these:
It's estimated that back pain results in productivity and work time losses totaling nearly $7 billion, with existing issues contributing to nearly 70 per cent of all lost time among the U.S. workforce. It makes tremendous sense for employers to explore simple solutions, like improving workers' postures, with so much on the line.
So what can you do at your work space? Start by paying attention to your own posture and the effects it has on you. Do you notice yourself slouching or slumping? Do you find yourself getting headaches or having back pain? These are simple warning signs that your posture needs fixing. The solutions are pretty simple, too.
Hunching over in your chair not only makes you look tired, but it actually makes you feel tired, too. It drains you of your energy, and can hurt your ambition for the day. Try sitting up straight in your chair, pushing your shoulders down and back and keep your head facing forward. The same goes for when you're standing or walking around. Just give it a shot and see how you feel. Do you feel more confident? Do you feel more strength, like you could take anything on?
Here at AccelaWork, we know that ergonomics help productivity growth. It's not just about posture, but also the way your equipment is set up around you. Looking for more ways to become efficient? Reach out to one of our business improvement consultants!
Not to say the company was perfect. That company doesn't exist right? But there were processes for everything. The personnel manual sat on every manager’s bookshelf so if you didn't know the answer, you would just spin around and pull the book down. You knew how much vacation you were able to take. You knew what was considered excessive absence. You knew what your numbers needed to be for the company sales recognition trip.
This company was also a leader in diversity and inclusion. It was very apparent when a division had under representation. We knew, leaders of that organization would be challenged to find a qualified candidate or start a succession plan. We knew what was considered appropriate and inappropriate behavior at work and events. We had open door policies, executive interviews and round table meetings for 2nd level managers to meet with employees. We even had an anonymous comment venue. Should you feel uncomfortable sharing your thoughts or concerns you still had a place to share your feelings.
There was a time that it was pretty unheard of for people to leave this company voluntarily. You may have been ushered out due to lack of performance, but I can’t remember anyone leaving on their own. It wasn't until after I left this organization and worked for several other companies that I realized this was the exception and not the norm.
I went on to sell HR services. We worked with small businesses to emphasize the importance for office processes. But, as sales professionals, we never received performance reviews, merit increases, or career counseling. Unbelievable. Turnover was high despite high based salaries and great benefits.
While in Chicago, I did consulting and training for an organization that had over 300 employees. During the training, several women informed me of harassment taking place in their office. While at their office, I actually witnessed very inappropriate conversations. Several women asked for suggestions on how to handle it. I advised them to speak with their manager. Unfortunately, it was this manager who was harassing them. "So now," they ask, "who do we turn to?" Several had reported it to their HR manager, but the department told them to work it out. Really?
After completing my focus groups, I asked about the procedures for reporting harassment. The HR manager, confident they "had something for that", informed me she would look it up. In the end, nothing seemed to happen.
These days we want quick answers for everything. Positive workplace culture is no exception. We want a place where we are supported, valued, and trusted. We want to push a button and get feedback or have problems solved. It would be great if there was an app for the perfect organization.
Does your company have performance management processes and anti-harassment procedures? If a company is not consistent in the treatment of employees and don’t have processes in place, are they at risk for high turnover, poor moral, and possibly being dragged into court?
There is an answer, it's just not instant. Take the time to put procedures, policies and education in place. It is a business imperative. Just because you’re small doesn't mean you can let your business run amok. Have an HR manager do an audit. Train your staff. Conduct annual harassment awareness. You will be a better company for it!
The University of Minnesota completed a study revolving around these new contraptions. CBS published a report on how they can actually help you to be more efficient at work while also stimulating your creative juices.
The maximum speed is set to slow, so that's a good thing. Imagine trying to jog and talk on the phone at the same time. Researchers spent a year looking at 40 workers that had their desks fitted with treadmills. They have found that being sedentary during the day really makes it harder to give your best at work. Dr. Ben-Ner, one of the researchers on the project, explained how this works.
"You get more blood flowing to the brain. And if you use the brain, then you get an advantage from that. And if you're slumped in your chair, you don't get as much benefit from your brain."
The company, Salo, already knows the benefits of this. They implemented 6 treadmill workstations in their company 6 years ago and have been reaping much reward. They traded in their conventional conference room for a room with 4 treadmills facing each other. Their creativity immediately saw an increase.
So what about cost? Some treadmills can be pretty pricey, ranging from $1,000 to $4,000. Dr. Ben-Ner had something to say about that, as well.
“But even if you have only 2-percent, 3-percent, 4-percent increase in productivity, associated with walking while working, that will wipe out the cost of the treadmills in a year.”
We here at AccelaWork think this could prove to be mighty helpful. Not only will you be burning off calories and improving your posture, but you'll be positively affecting your workplace productivity. As long as there are safety guidelines for everyone to follow, this can only help you rather than hurt you. Looking for more efficiency tips? Reach out to our business improvement consultants today!
Employee motivation is more than about making your employees happy. Oh yes, yes it is.
A happy employee who doesn't know what her results should be or how her job is tied to bigger organizational goals, is not going to be a truly productive and motivated employee. She won't be intrinsically motivated to do her best work. In fact, she's probably looking for another job.
Motivation has to be grounded in getting individual employee goals aligned with the big picture of how those goals relate to customer service or business growth. But this post isn't about goal-setting; it's about what not to do when you want to motivate people...
No...they don't. Pizza parties, corporate barbecues, and awkward birthday celebrations around a store-bought cake in the conference room... do these things sound like fun to you? Because I remember those forced social gatherings and I distinctly remember them being very weird. If you have a small team that genuinely enjoys one another's company, let them figure out how they want to hang out...don't figure it out for them.
80% of teams we work with say they are thinking this when they get invited to one of these cheesy events: "I'd rather get my work done and spend time with my real friends/my family." So stop wasting their time.
Try instead: Just say no to throwing office parties and barbecues. If your team wants those things to happen, tell them it's in their hands.
Working from home is not a motivational perk if a) you still have mandatory check-ins with the boss, b) strict or even stricter rules about time tracking and face time, or c) you have spying software installed on your computer so your boss can know exactly what you were working on during "work hours."
In other words, same traditional office rules but just a different location. I get to work from home, but I can't even get up from my computer to let my dog out or my manager will think I'm slacking. Try instead: Focus on your employees' measurable results and make sure those things are getting done. If your employees work from home, don't chain them to their computers, instant messangers, and email so you can feel assured that they're "really working." Focus on the results and you'll know if the work is getting done or not.
Please, no hate mail on this one. I love animals as much as the next person, and I have pets. But even bringing one of my pets to work isn't going to motivate me if I'm being treated like a child and told how I have to get things done. Try instead: When you work in a Results-Only Work Environment, you get to decide how, when and where work gets done, which will make Fido and you happy...and based on the results of the hundreds of teams we've worked with, more productive, too. See this ROWE testimonial we recently received from Glenn the dog.
Management isn’t about walking around and seeing if people are in their offices, on the clock and looking busy. Checking in on employees by lurking in the hallways and popping your head into cubes doesn't show how involved of a manager you are - it's creepy. And it's not motivating anyone to work harder in case you might pop in. It's more likely to make them paranoid...and angry.
Try instead: Provide your team with clearly communicated goals and deadlines. Then manage their performance.
[Editors note: Love Cali's post? Check out part two which highlights more annoying employee motivation gimmicks to avoid.]
Cali Ressler's first book, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, was named “The Year’s Best Book on Work-Life Balance” by Business Week. She has been featured on the covers of BusinessWeek, Workforce Management Magazine, HR Magazine, Hybrid Mom Magazine, as well as in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, USA Today, and on Good Morning America, CNBC and CNN. Cali and her partner created ROWE based on the belief that the traditional solution of flexible schedules is not the answer to managing life’s many twists and turns.
We're all seeking balance in every aspect of our lives. And with company cutbacks placing increasing emphasis on job security and creating more internal competition, that pressure can be pretty overwhelming for employees. So how do you find that elusive nirvana? Forbes published an article about how to reach that promised land.
Life is constantly changing. Marriage, children, personal issues are all going to make major impacts on anyone's life. There are a couple small steps you can take to ensure that you don't lose your way. The trick is taking the time to really take a look at your life and edit out what doesn't fit. Jody Greenstone Miller, who is an author and chief executive of Business Talent Group, has a few tips that can help you on your way.
“Focus on the things that are important to you, and don’t do the extraneous stuff,” says Miller. “It’s a discipline that doesn’t come too naturally to most of us.”
We all have a lot of things that compete for our time outside of work. The tendency is for us to scatter our attention on many different pursuits. This tends to wear us out and not give us the sense of accomplishment we desire. Miller suggests taking inventory of those things and devoting ourselves to a few pursuits that we can really commit to without feeling overwhelmed or ineffective.
Another option to consider is telecommuting. Not every company offers this, but it can really help give you extra time to handle some of your personal life issues that compete for your attention while at work. Don't be afraid to broach the topic with your manager. You may be surprised by their answer! They may be sympathetic to your needs, seeing as how everyone has their own daily struggles. Companies care about their workers and want them to succeed.
Next, keep an eye on your technology use. The important thing to remember is that technology ideally exists to help us, not control us. Our phones and tablets can be a means to great efficiency and productivity. But when we utilize them obsessively and without any boundaries, they can quickly become the tail wagging the dog. Setting up boundaries and technology "blackout" times when we're at home helps to establish that critical work/life balance. And don't be afraid to let your co-workers and managers know about your boundaries either. They probably won't be frustrated or irritated. In fact, they likely will respect the proactive steps you're taking to protect yourself. Barbara Wankoff, director of workplace solutions for a professional services firm called KPMG, agrees.
“Set up your rules and adhere to them. This doesn’t make you inflexible or unresponsive; it just allows you to be more in control of how you work.”
Loretta Penn, former president of Spherion Staffing Services, add that this discipline can be practiced in the workplace as well as at home.
"You don't have to respond to every e-mail or voicemail as soon as it comes in. Just because someone else deems something a priority doesn't mean you should too."
We here at AccelaWork know it's easy to have devices affect employee satisfaction and attention. Shut off your phone, turn off your computer, and give your full attention to family and work separately.
Robby Slaughter, a principal at AccelaWork and co-author of the article Signage and Psychology in the Industrial Workplace, discusses this topic in detail. In it, he and Jack Rubinger ask readers whether signs actually impact the way in which we think and behave. It's an important question and one that isn't cut-and-dry, but, it's certainly something worth taking a step back to look at so improvements can be made where necessary.
Slaughter and Rubinger cite a case study from the UK where a restroom was continually covered in graffiti despite daily cleanings. Each day, Professor T. Steuart Watson and his graduate students conducting the study carefully recorded the number of marks on each wall of the restroom. Despite signs forbidding the defacing of the public space, the graffiti kept popping up day after day, even increasing in number. The professor tried an unconventional, but simple tactic: He simply taped a sign on the wall that read, “A local licensed doctor has agreed to donate a set amount of money to the local chapter of the United Way for each day this wall remains free of any writing, drawing or other markings.”
Within three months, the restroom walls were free of graffiti.
Watson believes the emphasis on a positive outcome was the difference maker. Rather than using the common language of prohibition, this sign offered a reward for refraining from marking up the bathrooms. Can this work in an industrial setting?
Slaughter and Rubinger think so. In the article, they point out, "if employees get too used to seeing the same poster in the same location, it becomes part of the background, and they no longer 'see' the sign." In this case, it's clear that if a sign becomes a blended fixture on the wall, it's more or less worthless in its impact on behavior. In the case of the UK bathroom, the negative, prohibiting language was not only common in location, but in tone. When the professor shifted the type of sign and the language from negative to positive, behavior changed.
So how can we ensure that signs have the proper effect? Slaughter and Rubinger point out:
. . . concrete, simple graphics—such as a hand with a blade cutting it—are more effective than abstract images whose meaning must be learned. These variables enhance recognition and retention.
Finally, safety culture and climate are strong determinants of safety behavior. So is leadership. If leadership incentivizes safe behavior while punishing unsafe behavior, and trains and mandates safety, employees will more likely attend to the sign and remember and internalize its message.
When it comes to creating signage in the industrial workplace, the co-authors make the following suggestions on some options:
- Durable metal signs that will last for decades.
- Signage from a catalog, perfect for generic signs.
- Paint and stencils.
- Customizable labeling systems that include labeling software and access to thousands of OSHA, National Fire Protection Association and other important symbols and graphics.
Psychology and signage is a continuous conversation that will be analyzed and studied for an indefinite amount time. No doubt there will be more studies conducted and more opinions to be had. But for now, consider the overall message of the article: "think very long and hard about each situation you may face and talk to others who've been in similar situations. See what has worked and what hasn't. Then, use your experience to craft the most potent message for your workplace."
Many of us tend to put some music on while we work. And most of us think that bopping along to some tunes actually helps us to concentrate on our tasks. Some companies will allow you to have music playing, while others believe that it's a distraction and forbid it. So which side of the argument is right?
Truth is, both are right and it depends on the person. Some people are more capable of focusing on their work while jamming but others may lose their concentration. PayScale published an article detailing this dilemma. If you are able to listen to music at work, what is the best type to listen to? Their thoughts are that if you are performing repetitive tasks, anything with lyrics is an option. Your movements are machine-like because you don't have to put much thought into them. Music with lyrics force some type of multitasking on you, because a part of you is paying attention to the words. But what about when you're working on something else that takes a little more brain power? Their idea is to choose something without lyrics. And if you can't find that, pick something in a language you don't know. That way, your brain isn't trying to listen to the words.
Not only can music help some other's productivity, but we all know it can have a pretty big impact on our moods. PayScale reminds us that upbeat music helps put a smile on your face. Not only that, but the effects can be seen on our physical health as well. We all know that there are differing ideas on what can be considered a negative impact on employee productivity. In the end, try it out for yourself. Only you know what affects your concentration. Contact our business process improvement consultants for more information!
Of course, any time I am hired as a speaker to talk about generational issues, I start with a brief overview of the four age groups in the workforce today. (For more information, see my book on this topic.) Usually this prompts a discussion about important events in people's lives, i.e., "where were you when it happened?" Individuals bring up famous events in history, especially political events or natural disasters.
The other common topic of discussion is about "kids these days." According to some members of some audiences, young people spend too much time in front of screens and don't have the knowledge, manners, worldliness, or sense of reverence that they should.
Although these conversations are interesting, they usually aren't all that productive. Instead, organizations today have a more dire question: how do we attract younger people to join our cause? I say "dire" because this issue threatens the existence of these groups. If they don't add fresh faces to their ranks, they won't survive in the years ahead.
Changing the behavior of others is an common theme here on The Methodology Blog. The usual approach is to try bribe others by using incentives and gimmicks. But we've known for ages that the best way to inspire change is focusing on the motivations of others, and sharing the "why" of what we want.
For that reason, it's essential to understand why young people don't want to be involved in your operation. Do they see it as stuffy or closed-off? Do they feel it is backwards or out-of-touch? Do they disagree with your politics or your ethics? The first step in solving any problem is to ask good questions.
A key question to ask is what makes the world different for younger and older people? Of all of the possible answers, perhaps the most useful to consider the role of speed:
These insights can help you design your organization to be more attractive to younger people. Don't require them to do things which might seem inefficient in the 21st century. Don't expect them to conform to old standards that aren't relevant with the advent of new technologies and current social values. Instead, run quicker meetings, reduce paperwork, laser-target tasks to match people's skills and interests, and respect boundaries.
The way we used to do it often won't be the way we do it in the future. Now is the time to adapt. If you don't, you may not get to participate tomorrow.
It seems a little odd to think of Microsoft releasing something specifically for an iPad. Microsoft and Apple are pretty much arch enemies, right? You would think that they would optimize their own tablets with an Office app first. Well, in reality, Microsoft has been churning out iOS and Android applications for a while. The Verge reported on exactly how common it is. OneNote, a Mac app, is absolutely killing it at the top of the app store charts. But OneNote isn't alone. OneDrive and Remote Desktop, both Microsoft made Mac applications, are both in the top 10.
And Apple's equivalents of Word, Powerpoint, and Excel which are Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, still find themselves in the top 10 as well. Yet if you take a peek at the customer reviews, the majority are pretty horrible. Each have only received two or three stars. Clearly, the way is clear for Microsoft to totally dominate this space. They're giving us a taste of the Office app, which will be out next year, with how OneNote's interface was created.
Still, it seems a little strange for Windows, known for its pioneering operating systems, to be apparently more focused on becoming a delivery system for a variety of platforms. That appears to be exactly the direction they're headed, however. The market bears that out. Microsoft got lapped in the competition to serve PC technology when Google introduced the cloud. With Google Docs, spreadsheets and a whole suite of shareable software products that mimic the Office suite, Google opened up a sizable competitive advantage with Microsoft. That means the one-time software giant must adapt to the new rules governing the digital space. That means developing assets that can be used across operating systems and (gasp!) sharing revenue with those other systems.
That may spell an end to the age-old (if you're under 40) battle between "PC v. Mac." Today, almost every application is being designed for use across applications, making the relative differences in operating systems negligible. That's mostly true for the computer world and is fast becoming truth in the world of mobile devices.
The question then becomes can a predominately hardware-based company like Apple, and a predominately software-based company like Microsoft, keep up with the Googles? They will if they want to avoid becoming technology dinosaurs. Moves like the one we're seeing with Microsoft's productivity line indicate that Microsoft is swallowing the bitter pill of market change and diversifying their approach. Apple, less dependent on proprietary software advantages, is also at less of a disadvantage as their hardware products are still the industry standard.
We here at AccelaWork are totally behind finding apps that will help to increase worker productivity. It takes time, trial and error, and patience to find the one that really works for you. Every app is different and each one brings something special to the table. Try out some free ones first, so you can get a feel for what you're looking for before you start breaking the bank with tons of app purchases.
This is good news for businesses, who may have considerable sunken costs in PC or Mac related hardware. The move toward applications that work across platforms means the days of expensive hardware replacement may be over, replaced by necessary operating system and platform upgrades that are far less taxing on the bottom line.
Looking for more helpful tips on increasing productivity at work? Reach out to one of our business process improvement consultants today to bump up your efficiency!
When you're running a business time is everything. Between email, administrative work, networking, marketing, etc., it's a necessity to create a schedule that assists in keeping your day productive. Yet, it's easy to see how quickly time can escape you; particularly when certain tasks are done inefficiently. Maintaining quality and effectiveness in work is a goal every business strives for. So when it comes to tasks such as marketing, where upkeep and continual effort is not only wise, but pretty much necessary, how can you be effective and efficient on a consistent basis?
According to Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, there are simple ways to keeping your business in the forefront. To him, all you need is marketing time management and a bit of finesse. Below are his helpful tips that he shares on the Boldthink Blog:
For example, you might decide to post once a day on Google Plus. You might plan to visit a networking group once a week. You might decide to take a day each month to write blog posts. And you might want to meet quarterly with your marketing agency to work on strategic planning.
In this regard, a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel can be your best friend . . . start a spreadsheet that keeps track of each message you’ve sent and the last date you used it. This allows you to repeat yourself, on purpose, when enough time has passed.
For example, you can build a campaign that automatically inserts the first name of every customer into a mailing, personalizing each message. You can schedule marketing to occur while you’re busy doing something else.Like all technology, however, this can be dangerous. Pay attention to your automation to ensure that you don’t accidentally do something foolish. It’s not “set it and forget it” but rather “set it and remember it.”
If time management is a struggle in your office, consider reaching out to one of our business consultants for help. At AccelaWork, we strive to get your productivity back on track so your business can once again find success.
Some of us have a lot going on in our lives and find it hard to get enough sleep. This affects every aspect of our lives, including the amount of work we yield. In fact, we here at AccelaWork are pretty big on getting enough rest, which will only help increase your productivity growth. Many business owners are aware of this issue and have decided to take the matter into their own hands. Columbia Tribune has reported eight reason why snoozing in your cubicle can actually help how productive you are. We picked our favorite reasons to expand on below.
Napping makes you more productive
Many studies have shown that naps not only help your moods and focus, but make you capable of completing more work. Being sleepy at work has given us a loss of $18 billion per year in lost productivity. So taking a quick nap in the middle of the day can not only help our jobs, but keep us safe. No one wants to be nodding off on their way home while driving a car!
You'll be more creative
Deep sleep, known as REM, gives a boost to efficiency by about 40 percent. It was proven that Salvador Dali utilized napping before jumping into creating his amazing surrealist paintings.
"He would sit down with his arms extending beyond the chair's arms. In one hand he would grasp a key between thumb and forefinger. After he fell asleep, his fingers would relax, the key would fall to the floor, the clatter would wake him up and he would harvest the wild associations common to the first few minutes of sleep."
Winston Churchill napped throughout World War II. It's hard to name a more effective leader in the history of the world than Winston Churchill. Your challenges on your job might be important, but I doubt they'll rise to the level of saving the United Kingdom from the clutches of Nazi Germany! So if it was good enough for Churchill, why wouldn't it be good enough for you? Churchill even gave a nod to his naps in his memoir:
“Nature had not intended mankind to work from 8 in the morning until midnight without the refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts 20 minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.”
Napping is natural. Go to the zoo. Take a look at your cat or your dog. Do they stay awake and alert all day long? Of course not. We even have the term, "cat naps" to describe what our feline friends do naturally. Those brief times of shut-down appear to be evolutionary "hard wires" in other mammals. Only we humans have instituted a system that overrides our natural urge to take a quick snooze in late afternoon.
Napping is cheaper and more effective than coffee
This may be the most important reason of all. On average, Americans spend about $1,092 on coffee per year. Most of us need that little kick of caffeine to get through the day. Studies have shown, after comparing caffeine with napping and placebo conditions on three memory areas: motor, verbal, and visual. Caffeine actually decreased verbal and motor skills while napping only helped all three. Not only that, but it seems that after regular use of caffeine, the benefits of it disappear. And we only end up feeding our addiction, just to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
The evidence strongly suggests that a little nap time during the day increases productivity as a whole. If your company won't supply you time for a siesta, consider chiseling out some time during your lunch our to grab some z's and re-energize.
In part one, Cali Ressler points out 4 motivational gimmicks in the workplace including: Office parties, Working from home (same rules, different location), Pets in the Office, and Walking around to "show how much you care". Her unique perspective in this first post is eye-opening and informative to say the very least. Certainly, we have no doubts that this second post will be just as intriguing to read. Check out her final perspectives on three more motivation gimmicks below.
Jeff Haden beats up on this tired old gimmick in his article on Inc.com:
"When you announce your latest Employee of the Month, one employee 'wins.' Great. That means every other employee loses. Recognition should be specific, timely, genuine... and available to everyone, not just a 'winner.' Get rid of generic praise and recognition programs and spread the positive feedback wealth."
Try instead: Take some tips from Razor Suleman, Founder and CEO of Achievers.
This one is simple. Telling your employees how to dress during the week is ridiculous, and giving them a special day to wear jeans is even more ridiculous.
Try instead: Let employees be in charge of their own wardrobe decisions. Easy as that. Handle the one person who will decide to wear a tube top, mini-skirt and flip-flops to a client meeting with one conversation; don't punish the rest because of her bad decisions.
Corporate perks that seem awesome may get in the way of work-life balance. Google, for example, and similar massive organizations are creating campuses where everything is there that you need; sleeping nooks, dry-cleaners, gyms, daycare — everything’s at the office. People look to Google and say: "Look at how progressive they are!"
Why would you ever leave the office? There’s everything you need right here!
As summarized by architect Andrew Maynard:
Modern employment tactics create the illusion that our employer is our friend. This fabrication empowers the employer while denying the employed the right to vocalize and protest dissatisfaction of their working conditions. “You’re not going to stick around and help out? I thought we were a team? I thought we were friends?”
If you find yourself banging your head against the wall with employee motivation programs, gimmicks, rewards, incentives, perks, benefits, raises, promotions, all without success, then maybe you're ignoring the basics.
Cali Ressler's first book, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, was named “The Year’s Best Book on Work-Life Balance” by Business Week. She has been featured on the covers of BusinessWeek, Workforce Management Magazine, HR Magazine, Hybrid Mom Magazine, as well as in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, USA Today, and on Good Morning America, CNBC and CNN. Cali and her partner created ROWE based on the belief that the traditional solution of flexible schedules is not the answer to managing life’s many twists and turns.
Quick, think of what you did with your old cellphone or tablet. Did it become a useless paperweight? That might be true for many of us. But according to an article from PC World, that might be a tremendous waste. Their seven tips for making good use of old devices could really help boost your productivity. We here at AccelaWork agree that technology and productivity growth can be friends. So, we picked our favorite ingenious ideas of theirs to expand on below.
Turn your tablet into a second monitor
Do you ever have monitor envy when you walk by someone at work who has two big, shiny monitors that they work on? Well, this is where your old tablet can come in handy. Just get your hands on a display app and you're good to go. Now you can keep an eye on incoming emails or photos without having to tab through your screens on your main monitor. Not only that, but it's pretty easy to pack it up with you should you need to finish work at home or are traveling.
Turn your tablet into a full-blown command center
This sounds pretty epic because it totally is. iPad users can get their hands on an app called Actions, which allows you to set all your own buttons to reflect what you need to do on your PC. We all know that pointing and clicking with a mouse is definitely not as easy as just tapping a screen. Once you get used to where all the buttons are, you won't even have to look down and your motions will be fluid. This will definitely save you some time.
Dedicate the old device to calls and video chats
Let's be honest, not all of us have amazing computers that move at the speed of light. Be it very limited battery time or super slow processors, we all deal with sluggish technology in our lives. So why not use your phone or tablet to take the heat off of your computer? Instead of using your computer for your chat or video sessions, leave that solely to your old devices. It will put less pressure on your PC. Just make sure your device has a built in camera and you're good to go.
Use the device as a small file server
It's not the same amount of space you'll get from a networked hard drive, but your old device could be the perfect storage solution for smaller files you need to keep. And as the authors point out, your old device operates on battery power and isn't linked to your computer's power supply, so you can have access to those files any time, anywhere. It's like having your own personal battery-powered cloud!
Use your old tablet as a portable writing station
Too often in office settings, creatives get stuck at a terminal inside a cubicle. That's not exactly the most conducive atmosphere for the flow of great ideas. By utilizing your old tablet for word processing/brainstorm storage, you can escape the doldrums of the cube and go somewhere more inspiring. Maybe there's a place in the office where the sun comes in through the window, or maybe even some spot outside where you could even sit on the ground and compose. Go there and let those creative juices flow and then come back to the main terminal and upload those thoughts so you can work on them there.
Looking for more ways to increase your productivity? Reach out to our business process transformation specialists for more information today!
This time around, the topic of discussion is employee engagement. Take a peek for yourself:
This isn't the first time we've mentioned employee engagement. We've covered it back in 2009 when discussing an energy treasure hunt. We talked about it in 2012 with regard to disengaged employees who will quit soon. And the topic has even been covered by guest bloggers. In short, we're interested in what makes employees want to do the work.
The pointy-haired manager is right in some way. If you have friends at work, you're likely to be more connected to the workplace:
According to Christine M. Riordan, provost and professor of management at the University of Kentucky, camaraderie is a key ingredient to happiness at work for male and female employees. A study led by Riordan, published in the Journal of Business Psychology in the '90s, found that the mere opportunity for friendship increases employee job satisfaction and organizational effectiveness.
But at the same time, is work really about friendships, or is it about results? And while many people advocate friendships at work, studies also show that you should avoid starting businesses with your buds. And aren't you less likely to quit a bad job if you feel guilt about leaving your pals behind?
Ultimately, if you want to have more engaged employees, don't worry so much about ensuring they get along. Rather, focus on providing a clear definition of results and work that is interesting, novel, and over which they have real ownership. Employees decide they want to work for you by taking the job, so why shouldn't they decide what they want to do day by day?
That's real engagement. Friendships are great in life, but may not always help at work. Business is about collaborating to produce results. Figure out what your employees need to be productive. Then, get out of the way.
Comfort foods usually tend to be creamy, fatty, and heavy. We all grew up chowing down on these items, which inevitably became part of what makes us happy. But what if these foods are actually negatively affecting the way we work? We here at AccelaWork have discussed before that you should eat better and get more exercise to increase worker satisfaction. So how much does the food we eat contribute to our output? Business News Daily published an article explaining just how much our diets contribute to our concentration and the type of work we yield.
The researchers from Brigham Young University, the Health Enhancement Research Organization and the Center for Health Research at Healthways, have proved that an unhealthy lifestyle could result in high levels of lost productive work time. In fact, 66 percent of people who chow down on not-so-healthy foods were more likely to see a loss in productivity than those whose diets were comprised of vegetables, grains, and fruits. Those who didn't exercise enough saw a loss of 50 percent in productivity, and smokers saw a loss of 28 percent. So what kinds of foods should you be eating? Business Insider provided a list of just that.
Check out the list below for the perfect brain foods:
1. Berries (also in combination with walnuts/avocados) 2. Bananas 3. Eggs 4. Salmon 5. Eggplant 6. Caffeine from coffee 7. Dark chocolate 8. Green Tea 9. Yogurt 10. Dark leafy greens 11. Raw carrots 12. Red wine (preferably not at work) 13. Whole grains 14. Antioxidants in hot cocoa 15. Garlic
It's important to note that the healthy lifestyle study mentioned above isn't just talking about how workers take care of themselves away from the office. The results show a clear connection to engaging in healthy eating and exercise while at the workplace. The research showed that employees who had trouble exercising during the work day were 96 per cent more likely to see a drop in productivity while at work.
What's more, it appears the mental attitude toward exercise and healthy eating can affect productivity as well:
Those who did not believe their workplace environment would support them in becoming physically and emotionally healthier were more likely to see their productivity decrease.
It also appears that those workers in more sedentary occupations, like clerical workers and those in the transportation industry, saw a greater decrease in productivity when not engaging in healthy lifestyle choices, while those effects were less pronounced among those in industries that were more naturally active, like farming and construction work.
The bottom line is that businesses owe it to themselves to promote healthier lifestyle choices among their employees. Jerry Noyce, CEO of the Health Enhancement Research Organization put it this way:
"It's critical that companies look deeper at productivity loss and measure it to understand the impact it is making on their bottom line. Business leaders have the ability to reduce the factors that significantly impact productivity loss by implementing comprehensive, best practice workplace wellness programs focused on well-being improvement, which in turn can lead to improvements in employee satisfaction, productivity and profitability for employers."
The best thing to do is try to include some of the food items mentioned above as much as possible in your daily diet, especially while at work. It's okay to have a bit of greasy goodness here and there. But don't make a habit out of it! And exercise. If your place of business doesn't have a workout facility, plan a walk around the hallways or parking lot during lunch. And if you're part of the management team responsible for increasing productivity, encourage these behaviors. Your bottom line depends on it!
Here at AccelaWork, we pride ourselves on investing in our productivity. But, like so many small businesses, our goal is to maximize our resources rather than extend our budget. So, why not try to develop productive workflow through alternative solutions before taking the leap toward expenses that may prove unnecessary? Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, writes about this very topic in a guest post on the Entrepreneurship Advancement Center blog. In his post (republished on Inside Indiana Business), More Screens, More Productivity, Slaughter encourages readers to consider that adding a second display screen to their workstation could increase productivity by twenty percent.
Much of what we do when we’re creating, editing, reviewing, or composing on the computer requires looking at source material for inspiration or facts. In a one-screen environment, you must constantly switch between the two applications. Although it only takes a few seconds to do so, the mental fatigue from constant swapping builds up over time. Adding a display allows you to glance in the right direction to retrieve the needed information.An additional screen also gives you more real estate for complex work. A spreadsheet can be made twice as wide. A graphic design can be spread across multiple viewports to highlight additional detail. Technical users—whether creating websites, software applications, or audiovisual media—can see the source on one screen and the results on another. Two screens are better than one.
While two screens may sound overwhelming, they're truly the fashion nowadays. Slaughter writes, "from programmers to accountants to stock traders, multiple monitors are everywhere." And despite the potential worry that multiple screens will encroach upon an already crowded desk, relinquishing a bit more of that real estate is certainly worth a try. In fact, Slaughter references several studies that conclude two screens are better than one.
The studies highlight some findings that appear rather obvious on the surface. Nevertheless, it's always helpful to have solid research to support our suppositions, particularly when it comes to how to allocate resources to improve productivity. The studies noted:
It's that last point that is perhaps the key takeaway. As we at AccelaWork have pointed out many times, employee satisfaction is a major key to increasing productivity. If that can be achieved through the relatively inexpensive option of purchasing additional computer monitors, businesses could go a long way on one dime toward increasing their overall efficiency. So, before you go investing in expensive solutions for increased productivity, take a chance by adding a second display. You'll be happy you did.
For more productivity tips and ways to improve workflow in your office, consider reaching out to us for more information.
Depression is a common problem challenging millions. Its effects vary from person to person. Some are able to manage through their own means like a exercise, diets and relationships, while others need the help of medication and therapy. Not only does feeling depressed affect your personal life but it can also have a big impact on your workplace productivity. An EU study estimates that 9 in 10 people who suffer from depression are of working age, meaning the effects of depression impact the workplace. This brings about economic costs for employers.
The Independentreported that businesses in Europe have decided to take the matter into their own hands, launching a program to help identify employees who are suffering. They will be looking for symptoms such as lapses in concentration, being forgetful, and indecisiveness. We already know that improving concentration helps employee productivity. So how do we tackle this problem?
Target Depression is a coalition of top organizations in Europe. They're the ones who've committed to tackling this problem with major economic and personal implications. One survey completed by the Depression Alliance charity found that 1 out of 3 people in the UK struggle to cope at work due to "depression, stress or burn-out." Workers who struggle to cope at work are also workers who struggle to be productive at work, costing their employers dearly. The effects of depression in the workplace can be seen in increased absenteeism, lack of effective cooperation resulting in decreased efficiency, and general low quality of work brought about by distractions.
Depression's deleterious effects on workplace efficiency is hardly surprising given the increasingly mentally challenging nature of today's work world. Bill Wilkerson, the chair of Target Depression's forum, summarized the threat this way:
“Today’s brain-based economy puts a premium on cerebral skills, in which cognition is the ignition of productivity and innovation. Depression attacks that vital asset."
Emer O'Neill, the charity's founder, added this regarding the employer's responsibility to help meet this challenge:
"Depression is the biggest mental health challenge among working-age people and often leads to considerable loneliness and isolation at work. However, many companies aren't properly equipped to manage employees who suffer from depression so providing support to these individuals in the workplace is essential."
The goal is a 10 per cent reduction by 2015 in work-related mental ill-health cases and working days lost to mental ill-health, according to Unilever UK's Tim Munden. They hope to accomplish this through two critical outcomes of forming this kind of business consortium. First, through sharing best practices, they can improve the quality of programs and care provided to workers, cutting down on their own inefficiencies. Second, by presenting a united concern around the issue of depression, they can help eliminate much of the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
So what can you do to combat this issue in your business? Some companies provide something of a mental health toolkit to their employees. The PR firm, Ogilvy, has nutrition sessions as well as sleep and time management education and access to a clinical psychologist. Implementing small steps such as these can make a big difference. Taking an interest in your worker's mental health will help the company as a whole succeed together. Searching for may ways to become efficient? Reach out to our business improvement consultants today!
Time management is often a topic on The Methodology Blog, but why? As a workflow consultancy, we view productivity as the backbone to a successful business. So naturally, marketing time management is a subject matter completely exciting to us as it enhances both personal and office productivity. Not to mention it's an important discussion to have with our readers as we aim to inspire you in every way we can to improve your workflow. Besides, the topic of maximizing online marketing benefits is clearly a fun conversation that will no doubt perk up your day and leave you feeling energized about the countless possibilities for your marketing strategy!
Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, shares marketing tips with the readers of the Indiana Society of Association Executives blog. In his latest guest post, he highlights 2 elements of online marketing time management: collaborative relationships and resource sharing. To Slaughter, these two components enhance productivity and will no doubt streamline your company's marketing process. Below is a summary of his tips:
- Schedule and Stick to Meetings – You should be getting together in person or taking part in a dedicated phone call on a consistent basis. These meetings are the best time to bring up new ideas, not when inspiration strikes you at 4AM and you decide to dash off a text message. (Don’t do that.) Instead, come prepared with questions, ideas and assignments. Start and end on time. Make sure you’re focused on having a meaningful conversation, not just a todo list.
- Use Collaboration Software – It can be as simple as free tools like Google Docs or DropBox, or as fancy as a document management system. Just avoid the endless barrage of emails and instead update the mutual, virtual whiteboard. That way, everyone can see project status without the frustration of interruptions—and everyone can focus on advancing your association, rather than dealing with communication challenges.
- Give Positive and Negative Feedback - Make sure that you are always ready to tell what you do like and what you don’t like. If all you offer is either praise or criticism, your words may fall on deaf ears. Provide a range!
All marketing is about storytelling. No matter the format (whitepaper, blog post, video, podcast, etc.) our ability to tell stories has some constraints and some advantages. We generally reply on the written word and simple images, but we also have the tremendous advantage of knowing something about our members. You can insert their name in every post. You can localize the email message to their city or cross reference the campaign to past purchases. You can segment messages by employer or membership type. You can tell the story that makes the most sense for the audience at hand.These are the types of information your marketing professional needs, and what you should focus on when providing content ideas or general direction. If you pay attention to these parameters you can churn out suggestions at incredible speak.
Marketing is far from the once-in-awhile task where you check in now and again to see if it's working. It's a process that aims to enhance business by keeping your company fresh in the minds of your consumers. So, strive to maintain quality in standards. Respect both the timeliness and deadlines necessary for success. And most importantly, move forward in strategy with the future ever present in your mind. The long term impact it has in business will astound you!
As Slaughter eloquently puts it, "Marketing, in essence, is storytelling to an audience for the purpose of making the business relationship a meaningful one."
Working outside of your house for a company can present you with a lot of fantastic opportunities. You get to meet new people, network, and some of us work better in an office environment. The problem is that we can't control others around us. Fast Company published an article warning against the Energy Vampire. The author interviews Dr. Judith Orloff, who wrote The Ecstasy of Surrender to give us tips on how to tell if we have met an Energy Vampire and the different types we may come across.
Types of Vampires
The drama queen, the victim, and the narcissist are all types of energy suckers. The drama queen is the one who pulls you into their chaotic world, complaining so often about their family and love life until you want to strangle yourself (or them.) How do you avoid them? Don't feed drama! Give short responses. The victim is easy to spot. They're the eternal pessimists. Try to remind them to be positive but don't get sucked into their negativity. Narcissists are also easily spotted but harder to deal with. Just give them what they want to hear (praise for how wonderful they are) and walk away. Don't waste any more time than necessary.
So how do we avoid becoming victims of these people? Garlic? Crosses? No, it's actually much easier than that.
Ignore Them
Most people aren't trying to be energy thieves. It's usually not their goal, it's just something they've become quite good at naturally doing. But they feed on our responses. It's only our responses to their energy-draining cues that keep those behaviors alive. So if they say things that set you off, just don't react. Don't give them a response. Just nod and smile, or shake your head, and walk away. They'll have nothing to feed on. This is one of the only ways to keep yourself sane around these types of people.
Flip The Story
Negative feeds on more negativity. The best thing to do when confronted with someone who is a big ball of negativity is to try to insert something positive into the conversation. That's hard to do though. Most of us instinctively meet negativity with our own negative responses. It's only through being intentionally positive that we can combat this energy-sucker. While at work, try to let go of some old opinions and habits. Be willing to not always be right. You'll find that, in turn, your energy is your own again!
But What If It's Me?
Of course, we have to honestly entertain the possibility that sometimes we're the Energy Vampires. It's not others, but ourselves who are sucking the life out of our coworkers. How can we tell if we've turned into one of these monsters? Dr. Orloff has some tell-tale signs:
As Dr. Orloff points out, don't be worried if this is you once in a while. It happens to all of us. The key is to own up to where we are emotionally and work on changing the negative behaviors. Dr. Orloff also encourages people to have open discussions about these behaviors with a friend or therapist. Don't be afraid to seek assistance. You can't kill the vampire by yourself.
Looking for more tips on how to be more productive at work? Reach out to our business process improvement consultants for more information!
Over at the Indiana Society of Association Executives, customer service is an important topic. In fact, it's an essential subject matter to discuss because it has so many definitions and perspectives to consider. After all, customer service means something different to everyone. Which is why, in the spirit of improving stakeholder satisfaction, Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, shares his thoughts on customer service in a recent guest post on their blog. His main message to ISAE readers: “Know what your members know.”
By ensuring that we think of customers as “never wrong” we avoid getting into arguments or bringing out strong negative emotions.But in association management, much of the reason we have members is that they seek to be educated. That means we need to uncover their misconceptions and, frankly, correct their thinking. Education is often about gaining new information and perspectives, but also about eliminating what we now realize is wrong.
In short, in association management, the "customer is always right" assumption is the absolute worst point of view managers can take. Doing so virtually ensures miscommunications and other "errors of omission" that can create the dreaded "crisis of competence" between an organization and its members. Perhaps the worst mistake any organization can make is giving customers the impression they don't know what they're doing. That can be a danger at all levels of interaction, from the time of the "sale" all the way through any customer service issues. When organizations leave that impression, customers inevitably just leave.
In contrast, by knowing what your members know, you eliminate confusion, frustration and unnecessary annoyances that may bring about confrontation. In his post, Slaughter outlines a few examples of ways associations can keep up with customer service. Below is summary of his suggestions:
EXAMPLE: A group promotes an upcoming program, and I decide to register for the event. A week later I get a follow-up email, again encouraging me to sign up.The reason I get the second message is that it’s sent to the same list as the first: everyone in the association. But really, the second message ought to be sent only to those people who have not yet registered.
If your members have interests in particular areas of their profession, you should know. If they are approaching a significant anniversary at their employer or as a member in your association, you should know. If they prefer a phone call over a text message, you should know. If there is any information that a member provides to you, retaining and using that information is a critical component of good customer service.
Your member records should include a detailed account of everything that has gone wrong, whether it happened last week or years ago. This is something that the member knows, so your organization should know it as well. This empowers you (or anyone else in your association management team) to make sure that problems are resolved quickly and prevents the chance that they will resurface.
Only through investing the time and energy into understanding those who are a part of your association can you truly know what your members know. Doing so will create a happier and more engaged environment for everyone.
Most people assume that working harder than everyone else will put you ahead. If you can save the day on an important project or come to the rescue and solve a crisis, that has to count in your favor when it comes time for the next promotion. Right?
Well, maybe. There are consequences to workplace heroics. If you do something you don't normally do, that abnormality sends signals throughout the organization. Consider the following:
And as Jeb Banner points out in the article, people who position themselves as "office heroes" often are subtly contributing to actually creating situations where their "heroics" are needed. They may not be as forthcoming with details that need to be shared with the team on a project. That lack of sharing might create an actual crisis. Of course, since the "hero" is the only one who has the necessary information, he or she must naturally step in and save the day.
These office heroes operate under the delusion that the company cannot survive without them. Because of that, they often work longer hours or refuse to take vacation time. The result isn't that their increased presence helps the company. To the contrary, by spreading themselves so thin, they reduce their own productivity and effectiveness. That, in turn, can create other crises. And if there's a culture that encourages competition for the role of hero, that means that this can develop into a continuous cycle of crashing, burning and rescuing. That takes its toll on the entire team.
If you want to do something radical in your life, focus on making plans and keeping them. When people ask for favors or give you assignments, think carefully. Answer honestly. And if circumstances change, let them know.
Don't be a hero. Instead, be consistently good. Perform your role to the best of your ability. If everyone on your team does that, there will be fewer crises that need any heroes. Most importantly, you'll earn more respect, and you'll get better every day.
Forbes released an article that defines procrastination and what's behind it. In the technologically inclined world we live in, it's easy to become distracted and lose your way throughout the day. After all, we have found that technology can help and hurt productivity. And while many would agree that working on a last minute sales pitch is less than appealing, the truth is, procrastination only adds anxiety to an already stressful to-do list.
So is there some kind of miracle you should pray for? Some power food that will kick start your desire to stop putting off work? Not really. But, Forbes provides a list of easy ways to avoid procrastination. Below are three of our favorite tips from the article:
Firstly, notice that you are procrastinating and acknowledge this. Try and do so without judging yourself and without getting stressed about not having enough time. Simply say to yourself (in your head or out loud) a simple phrase such as “procrastinating” or “moving on.”
You would think such a small, simple thing wouldn't be such a big deal. Yet, putting a name to your procrastination not only calls your attention to its existence but allows you to accept the fact that remedying the ongoing issue is a necessary step.
Procrastinators frequently delude themselves regarding the passage of time. If you often tend to get to the end of the day bewildered as to where the day went then try shifting your relationship to time. Start to become aware of exactly how long each task takes, rather than making a wild guess.
By making a conscious effort to understand what kind of time is necessary to complete a project well, you'll soon discover just how many possibilities there are for process improvement.
Often, the only time we finally get round to focusing properly on a task is when we’re uncomfortably close to a deadline. So if you want to be more productive and focused, an easy solution is to have more deadlines. This idea may make you feel pressured, but these are deadlines that you impose on yourself.
No matter the workload, procrastination can happen for a multitude of reasons. One factor in particular however, can be a large culprit. If you are dissatisfied at work, perhaps it's time to evaluate why you're unhappy. After all, much of our success is derived from our excitement and motivation in what we are accomplishing. So ask yourself, Am I engaged in what I'm doing? Take the time to invest in your occupational contentment. It will help you avoid more than just procrastination. Real engagement will help you focus on what matters most: meaningful results.
No one likes to think about what could happen if a tornado hits the office building. It's certainly difficult to even imagine. But, it's this type of preparation that could be the difference between saving lives and losing them. The question is, does your office have a disaster preparedness team in place to help create a plan for emergency situations? If not, perhaps it's time to get one together.
Robby Slaughter, business productivity expert and a principal of AccelaWork, contributes some thoughts on the subject in the article Disaster Planning For Facility Managers. To him, “True employee engagement is more than lip service.”
A disaster plan that is collaboratively developed by your team will help them feel more engaged in your business, and will lead to increased productivity overall.
For those who have been in a disaster situation, you may know the feeling that comes with allowing instinct to take over. But for many of us who have never found ourselves in a major emergency at work, it's hard to predict just exactly how we'll act when the time comes. In this case, Slaughter's thoughts above couldn't be more true. When it comes right down to it, the best way to feel confident in your own reactive instincts is to know the plan exactly. And what better way to achieve this than becoming a contributor? Encouraging employees to engage in this type of project not only makes them feel involved and satisfied, but it also provides them with a sense of security knowing they helped formulate the steps.
According to Jack Rubinger, author of the article, creating an emergency plan consists of many different parts. Below are areas that should be considered when your disaster preparedness team sits down to discuss components and solidify actions:
Communications: Who is the designated spokesperson? Which customers can talk about how the business continued to serve them throughout the crisis? Emergency egress: Are exits and evacuation routes clear at all times? Are routes marked with clear wayfinding signage that is visible without light or power? Supplies: What will be done if employees (or customers) can’t go home? Are there robust first aid and emergency supplies on hand? Are food, water, and blankets available? What about radios, tools, and other disaster supplies, such as crowbars and shovels?Facility: Are fire extinguishers maintained and accessible? Is the HVAC system secure and capable of filtering potential contaminants? Is it easy to shut off? Is the gas shutoff readily accessible? Do you have a backup generator and enough safely stored fuel for it to be useful? Are pipes and valves prominently marked? Are all hazardous materials properly stored and labeled with NFPA hazard diamond and/or HazCom 2012 labels?
Business continuity plan: When a disaster takes out an entire city or region, many employers go out of business. Planning for contingencies can help keep a business afloat.
For Rubinger, these insights into the benefits of disaster preparedness aren't just theory. They came out of his experience in Oregon helping his and other businesses in the city avoid being wiped out during a flood.
"While kind of scary, it brought us all together."
As a company, keeping business afloat and maintaining office safety for employees is a must. So rather than remaining naive, take measures to prevent the inevitable chaos and panic that could arise from unexpected scenarios. Now is the time to be prepared.
Robby Slaughter, a productivity expert and author of the book Failure: The Secret to Success, discusses the difficulties that job seekers face in our market today. In particular, he talks about the misconception that failing is always bad and taking risks is something to avoid when unemployed. On the contrary, Slaughter believes these are the factors that out of work professionals should embrace more often:
You have to find the wrong jobs first before you find the right job. You have to work your way through the process to find the best opportunity to move forward.
Here, Slaughter illustrates one of the most valuable gifts failure can offer: contrast. Failure is something that none of us wishes for, but it's one of those things that provides us with the something we don't need. For every job that didn't work out, every interview that didn't go well, every task that didn't succeed, we're given valuable information about what didn't work. This information is critical to helping us form an accurate picture of what we really do want. Without it, we're left with ideas that can end up being illusions or mistakes and that ultimately will lead to...you guessed it, failure.
So it's fair to say that failure can provide great clarity. If we're willing to take the information from failure and truly learn from it, each failure can diminish our chances for future failure and put us on a path where true success is far more likely.
In his interview with Karen Weik, Slaughter highlights why failure is important both for potential candidates and companies. He also provides advice on to how to move forward in your job search and why breaking the rules is a good risk to take. Take a few minutes to watch the video below and consider what more you can do to enhance your resume and get a leg up on your competition.
One of the chief enemies of success for the job seeker that Slaughter points out in the video is the sense of panic and fear that comes with being unemployed. There are very real existential concerns facing the job seeker: How do I pay my bills? How will I get insurance? What if I lose my house or my car? Additionally, other more psychological questions can plague the job seeker: Am I really talented? Do I have any worth? Do my family and friends think less of me because I don't have a job?
These fears and the panic they induce can cause job seekers to go into a protective shell, the exact opposite approach that Slaughter suggests for success. Instead, Slaughter says, job seekers should be unafraid to fail, to accept the feedback that comes with failure, and to use that as fuel for eventual success.
The job search is like every other part of our lives--it is filled with ups and downs. But if we pretend that failures don't happen or that they don't matter, we make the experience far worse. Instead, as the author suggests, professionals should embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. After all, if a company fails to learn from what they did wrong, why should candidates want to work there?
To learn more about Slaughter's book, Failure: The Secret to Success, visit http://www.failurethebook.com. Already have a job and want to improve your workflow and productivity? Consider reaching out to AccelaWork for a consultation.
Since the creation of smartphones, new applications come out every day, insisting they can change your life. We have even noted some of the big ones that have definitely proven to increase workplace productivity. These apps are important to workplace success because they offer tools that help the individual stay focused, organized and on task. The best, like Evernote, provide seamless integration between the web and other applications, allowing the user to easily transition from one task or platform to the next.
These apps represent a universal improvement over clunky old paper organizers and planners. Too often, these actually made staying organized more difficult as it was a challenge to incorporate all the loose papers from meeting notes, contact information and random post-its containing ideas or "to-do" lists. Having all of this organizing capability contained within a smartphone app with different functions just the touch of a finger away is like moving from horse and buggy to jet airplane in one fell swoop.
Yet for some of us, actually checking in with them on a daily basis becomes a job in itself. You may even find yourself procrastinating about even using the program anymore. Habitica took a look at that problem and decided to release a game changer for the masses that will actually make you want to keep coming back for more.
Instead of keeping some boring log about how long tasks take to complete, Habitica has created a little world where you not only keep track of your time, but reap the rewards that come with doing so. But, of course, it's not all fun and games. For instance, if a task completely slips your mind or you fail to complete it on time you will be penalized.
Habitica can set up game scenarios to track the most mundane of work tasks like filing and filling out inventory sheets. It can even turn sorting through your email in-box into a challenging game! It also helps teams track group tasks and goals as well, such as measuring KPIs.
This app isn't limited to workplace tasks and goals, though. It allows the user to gamify any aspect of life. The health options offer points for healthy eating, avoiding bad habits like smoking, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The user can also program in personal goals like learning to play the piano or writing a post for your personal blog.
Habitica can even follow you home to make sure you got that load of laundry finished or made progress on the gardening project in the back yard. It even has school options that can help those who are pursuing continuing education options, or it can be used in tandem with your kids to help motivate them toward better school achievement.
Close to a year since its release, the positive reviews keep pouring in. So how does it work? It treats your life like a role playing game. You level up each time you successfully complete a task, lose HP (health points) when you fail, and earn money that you can spend on armor and weapons. Not only that, but you can join a guild, enter into parties with friends, and even get some cute pets. It's available for both iOS and Android. And the best part? It's totally free to use. So go check it out now and start your epic adventure today!
A new book called Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace covers this topic. A great interview appears on The Atlantic. Rebecca Rosen and the author, Nikil Saval, discuss the horror story of the cubicle:
The original cubicle was about liberation. [Designer Robert Probst's] concept proved enormously successful, and resulted in several copies—chiefly because businesses found it incredibly useful for cramming people into smaller spaces, while upper-level management still enjoyed windowed offices on the perimeter of the building. In that sense, the design was intended to increase the power of ordinary workers; in practice it came to do something quite different, or at least that's how it felt to many people....
The cubicle became a symbol of an oppressive workplace because the years that the cubicle rose to dominance were also years that the workplace, in many ways, became more oppressive. It really took off in the 1980s and 90s, when mergers and buyouts took over the headlines, and layoffs became commonplace (the original meaning of the word “layoff” was just time off from work -- not mass, somewhat indiscriminate firing). These were the years when the cubicle began to seem less like a space for exerting autonomy and independence, and more like a flimsy, fabric-wrapped symbol of workplace insecurity.
We've talked about productivity and cubicles before here on The Methodology Blog. And we've discussed what seems like the total opposite: the open-plan office space.
Neither cube farms, nor a big room, nor even private offices are what's best for all employees. In fact, everyone working remote isn't what's best either. The ideal office environment is one in which individual team members choose the surroundings in which they work. By granting this power, people know they are trusted.
The culture of work is changing. This is evidenced by the visual appearance of workplaces, and the nature of work itself. If you're thinking of buying more cubicles, think of talking with your team first. That conversation will make a difference.
Tony Schwartz over at Business Insider posed this very question to readers and received some surprising results. This type of response was all too typical: "I was never so poorly treated, undervalued, underpaid and overworked than as an adjunct professor in three different universities." With that prevalent attitude in the workplace, it's no wonder so many of us hate our jobs. So many employees feel unappreciated it's like a plague that completely attacks and destroys productivity at work.
But what is the solution? Does it fall on managers to make work more enticing? Or is it the employee's responsibility to just do the job they're expected to do? We here at The Methodology Blog agree with Mr. Schwartz's standpoint: There are simple, cost-free ways that managers can make the workplace more enjoyable. Here are some solutions Schwartz suggests with some thoughts we have.
Respect and hold the value of every person who works for you, because nothing matters more.
This is pretty self explanatory. Workers don't know whether they're valued or not unless managers speak to them and let them know. Not doing so creates hostility and complacency among employees. Those who are doing well and aren't recognized become resentful, while those who perform poorly and don't hear about it believe they can continue with that substandard performance. Before long, you may have a coup on your hands. Simply expressing appreciation and using positive reinforcement can help you avoid a revolution.
Start measuring people by the value they create, not by the number of hours they work.
Lots of managers do too much "handholding" of their employees, never truly allowing them to take ownership of their performance. Schwartz suggests, and we agree, clearly defining what success looks like, and then turning employees loose to work toward that goal. That way, employees are thinking in terms of how to spend their time at work being productive and contributing value, not just watching the clock.
Help people build more renewal into their lives, on and off the job.
We have discussed why taking breaks at work is so important to employee satisfaction. Encouraging walks outside or a 15 minute power nap will rejuvenate them and in turn, bump up the productivity. Not only that, but it will show workers that you care about their well being and state of mind.
Actively focus on making people's jobs matter more.
As Schwartz points out, we all have the desire to contribute to something larger than ourselves. Effective managers can help their employees tap into that "bigger picture." This creates a whole new level of satisfaction to the job they are doing. It could be a low-level task like filing, or a repetitive one like coding, but when employees recognize their contribution to the greater whole, those jobs take on new meaning.
What you do every day makes a far stronger statement than anything you can ever say.
The writer ended with this and made a statement by not writing an explanation. The words are powerful enough on their own. You can talk for hours about all that you're planning to do but it means absolutely nothing if you don't follow through with action.
Looking for more tips on how to boost productivity growth at work? Reach out to our business process improvement consultants!
This story began a few years ago. Back in 2008, Bloomberg Businessweek covered the policy at one young company:
When Zappos hires new employees, it puts them through an intensive four-week training program, immersing them in the company's culture, strategy, and processes. Then, about one week in, Zappos makes what it calls "The Offer," telling newbies, "If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you have worked, plus a $2,000 bonus."
Recently, Amazon adopted a similar program. In a letter to shareholders, company CEO Jeff Bezos explains that the company will pay warehouse employees a $1,000 to quit, increasing each year up to $5,000. And now, the video game producer Riot Games is joining the ranks as well. Their policy is a little different, but it can pay out up to $25,000 to the former employee.
The writer and military officer Ian Fleming is quoted as saying "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action." Why are companies handing over cash to people who are heading for the door?
The reason is simple: disengaged employees are among the most expensive line items in your company.
We've all worked with people who are spending much of their day wishing they were somewhere else. They may try to maintain a professional attitude and get work done, but these are mostly employees in name only. If we give these individuals a little extra push to move on, they may make room for someone who is a better fit.
Reed Hastings at Netflix puts it this way: "Adequate performance gets a generous severance package."
A great employee isn't just slightly more productive than average employees. Rather, people who are amazingly right for their jobs is the foundation for competitive advantage. Sometimes, these are the team members who change the world.
So, consider paying your people to quit. It might send the right person out, and bring the right person in.
Though the US has several sleep centers, Sleepyhead differs in a few ways. They recently opened their doors and is the first clinic of their kind in the UK. They specialize in sleep therapy for adults. So what makes them so different? They offer their services to corporate clients.
The center, which is headed by sleep physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski, recognizes that difficulty sleeping can impact your ability to be efficient at work. We here at The Methodology Blog fully agree. In fact, we have reported that many companies are allowing their employees to take naps at work as a way to boost productivity growth. But using the services of Sleepyhead before a problem presents in the workplace could nip the problem in the bud. Romiszewski explains:
“Sleep deprivation and poor sleep is detrimental when it comes to how we operate at work. It affects our decision-making, productivity, alertness and memory. Poor sleep can also be dangerous when it comes to the workplace. We have already experienced the terrible effects that this can have.”
This 2010 study from The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicinewould seem to support Romiszewski's theory. The study finds a clear correlation between sleep and job performance.
The most obvious connection would be regarding on-the-job safety. The study shows that workers getting less than the recommended eight hours of sleep per night showed higher instances of injury on the job and "slowed reaction times on a psychomotor vigilance test, divided attention, reduced memory recall, and decreased self-rated qualities of performance." All of these factors put workers at a higher risk for on-the-job injury. This is particularly problematic in industrial, transportation, and health-care settings where lack of attention and poor reaction time can result in serious injury, or even death.
Of course, any injury or safety mishap in the workplace has a financial cost as well. When these sleep-induced errors occur, companies incur loss of product, downtime in equipment or machinery, and loss of work. The authors estimate that for every 4000 workers suffering from sleep disturbances, companies lose $13.2 million annually. And that's just those who actually show up for work. Employers bear nearly $2000 per year additionally for workers whose sleep disturbances result in a higher degree of absenteeism.
So it's not just heavy lifting or machine operating that poses a danger to businesses when employees are running on fumes due to lack of sleep. Office environments can suffer as well. Maybe in your drowsy state, you add an extra zero in a spreadsheet where it doesn't belong, costing the company time and money. While the mistakes in the office may not be life threatening like in other industries, combined with the money lost due to absenteeism, they can significantly affect a company's bottom line.
Romiszewski acknowledges how important sleep is:
“Part of my job as a sleep physiologist is to help educate employees and employers on sleep wellbeing and how to make the most out of our sleep."
That's the need Sleepyhead specializes in filling with its workshops for groups of employees and individual insomnia screenings to help identify and treat employees suffering from sleep disturbances.
Are you looking for more ways to improve your work life? Contact our consultants to find out more about our business improvement services!
Why is networking so important? This may seem like an obvious question with a no-brainer answer. But, when you are walking into an event in the hopes of making successful connections, it's an important thing to contemplate and ask yourself. For professionals and job seekers alike, we must challenge ourselves to recognize why we network and, perhaps more importantly, what we hope to achieve by partaking in it.
Beyond.com's Karen Weik poses this very question to AccelaWork's Robby Slaughter in her most recent interview in the three part series: the Confidant Candidate. In the first video, Slaughter talks to Weik about why failure is important in a job search. This latest video installment, How to Become a Networking Pro, provides valuable tips that should be considered when attending events. Check out the short clip below:
Weik and Slaughter discuss two areas of networking that are important to understand and prepare for when jumping into the process. The first topic is the dilemma of dealing with stuffy events. For many, when networking seems unproductive in conversation, our initial reaction is to do one of two things: leave or socialize. Yet, when you think about it, neither of these options really solidify successful leads. Chances are, taking one of these routes will leave you wondering why you made the effort to attend in the first place. Instead, if you find yourself in a stuffy environment, it's time to make a proactive choice. Rather than quietly ducking out of the room, Slaughter encourages you to persevere and participate:
Break things up. Come in, ask questions, listen and contribute. Or find someone you do know and use them as a way to help break up the conversation; to help start things and make them happen differently. Because after all, if you're not talking to new people and developing new relationships at a networking event, then you are just socializing with people you already know. And really the purpose of these events is to build new relationships, to find new people that you might be able to help and possibly be able to help you.
The second topic Slaughter discusses is the importance for utilizing social media. This aspect of networking is extremely beneficial to recognize because anymore, having an active presence online is no longer a trend, but the norm. If you're not connected through outlets such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and so on, then you are missing out on a large chunk of opportunity. According to Slaughter, involvement in social media not only keeps you up to date, but gives off the impression that you are involved, committed and diligent in your persistence of achieving successful standards as a professional.
If you're a job seeker you need to be known by the people who might want to hire you. And if they can't find you online it's hard to trust you. On the other hand, if they can find you online and they see that you are commenting, blogging, contributing, that you have active profiles, it shows that you are committed to your professionalism everywhere you go.
Networking takes time and work. There's no doubt about that. Ultimately however, it's a crucial process in establishing professional relationships and opening doors. No matter how you go about it, never stop! Every once in a while however, take time to learn from others and observe how you can improve your networking skills. You don't have to be a pro to be successful after all, but it never hurts to adopt tips along the way.
Every workplace has that one person whose life seems to constantly be falling apart. It seems like not a single positive thing happens to them and they just have to let you know about it. Every single day. You may find yourself having a difficult time concentrating on your work when this individual is around. Maybe you're the source of the complaints. Whatever the case, you're not alone. The fine folks over at Huffington Post released an article detailing this exact issue.
They show that research into the topic done by Thomas Straube of the University of Muenster and a second completed by Go Okada from Hiroshima University can back up your claim that this person is ruining your work life. Negative words actually impair your ability to form memory associations. Robert Sapolsky, who hails from Stanford Univeristy, researched how stress can affect a part of the brain called the hippocampus. That's the part of your brain that you use to solve problems and motivates you to take the initiative to complete tasks. Literally: whiny people can actually cause your brain to shrink.
Here at The Methodology Blog, we've already mentioned how unruly coworkers can literally drain employee productivity dry. So how can you avoid becoming a complainer and deal with the whiners around you? Huffington Post provided a pretty awesome list. Here are some of our favorites:
Resolve not to be the first to complain about an issue at work.
Lead by example. Don't jump onto the negative bandwagon. Try to find the positive in every situation. You'll become the beacon of light at work.
Resolve never to complain about your team to others.
Each department is a unit, but you're all part of a whole machine. Whining about your own team members not only makes you look bad, but will cast a shadow of doubt on your whole team, including you.
Resolve to limit your grousing to the lunch hour or (better) after work.
Everyone needs to vent, especially about work. Instead of venting about work while you're actually supposed to be working, try to save it for when you're out of the building.
Robby Slaughter, a productivity and workflow expert, and Jack Rubinger of Graphic Products, Inc., take an inside look at office organization. Their article, Productivity Tip: Put a Label On It, appeared in Training Magazine. In the piece, they encourage readers to consider the benefits that come with the integration of an office labeling system.
Individuals find success when they achieve the goals that are driving them to get organized at work. These goals might include:
- Eliminating night and weekend work
- Maintaining an e-mail inbox so all messages are visible on one screen—improving e-mail responsiveness and management of action items
- Reducing paper to maximize office space and improve records management
- Maximizing the financial investment in software by improving efficient utilization of its features
- Financial enrichment, including increasing billable hours and/or better expense tracking
- Improved sales closure rates due to consistent follow-up and pipeline tracking
Are you a person who is always trying to get organized at work? If so, keep it up! You may not have figured out how to aptly tackle the mountain of paper residing on your desk as of yet, but aspiring to achieve an organized state is the first step toward a cleaner, more effective way of working. Now all you have to do is begin creating a plan. And one way to start is by breaking out the labeling machine.
According to Slaughter and Rubinger, there are several ways to use labels that go far beyond their stereotypical function. In their article, they highlight 3 different systems that can define zones, space and even communication; all of which create a better, more efficient way of doing things. Each suggestion is summarized below:
Defining zones
If you asked any individual which part of their office needs the most help with organization, chances are the majority would say their desk. After all, that's where most of your work happens right? Piles upon piles of paper mount on every corner. It's relentless. And as much as a person attempts to keep up with it, at times it's just too overwhelming. So that is why the authors suggest creating specific areas to help control the amount of paperwork on your desk at any given time.
Zones to accommodate to-process orders on your desk can provide an instant visual snapshot of your workflow and your potential cash flow. You quickly can estimate how much time you’ll need to process these items and how much money you’ll make.
Defining space
It may sound strange that labeling a physical space for certain activities can actually improve a person's productivity. But, when all is said and done, alleviating the happenings that are going on outside the area in which you need to focus does truly help.
. . . one of the greatest inhibitors to productivity is distraction, so labeling a space for a particular activity helps keep unrelated items out of view. A good label message—as long as people follow it—can improve productivity and save time.
Defining communication
One easy way to lessen the amount of confusion--a huge culprit for disorganization among employees and visitors--is to ensure that communication is clear.
If your work area has many frequent visitors, you can vary signage messages to reflect your company culture, meeting schedules, and special events. Outsiders will appreciate your open communications—making their stay efficient and pleasant.
We applaud your due diligence at keeping organized workflow ever present in your mind! If you're looking for more tips on increasing productivity in your office, consider that following The Methodology Blog on a regular basis is a fantastic resource. If you're not yet receiving our weekly newsletter, AccelaNews, sign up today! We promise to provide you with useful information that can easily apply to your everyday work.
Researchers Thomas Schreiner and Björn Rasch, based out of Zurich and Fribourg universities, respectively, decided to test this out on German-speakers who were trying to learn Dutch. They took 60 volunteers, and at 10:00 PM asked them to learn pairs of vocabulary words. Afterwards, they let them doze off while listening to a recording of the words while the control group stayed awake and listened to the same recording. Those napping were awakened at 2:00 AM and promptly given a test along with those unlucky enough to have to stay awake. Surprisingly, those who got to doze excelled over those who didn't sleep.
Schreiner and Rasch concluded that this is strong evidence that sleep can spontaneously activate newly learned material. There is also evidence that suggests other stimuli combined with sleep can produce even greater results. In a previous study Rasch has already proved that scent has a strong tie to memory, using the smell of roses on napping volunteers after learning memory cards. This most recent study showed similar results using verbal cues instead of smells. According to Rasch, this makes this mode of learning even more accessible:
"Our method is easy to use in daily life and can be adopted by anyone."
So would this translate to having to learn a new process at work? Could an employee study material and then listen to a recording of the process steps? Not necessarily. Schreiner is quick to point out this method doesn't work if it's new material never before learned. Schreiner explained:
"You can only successfully activate words that you have learned before you go to sleep. Playing back words you don't know while you're asleep has no effect."
Businesses wishing to incorporate this methodology should be cautious on two fronts: First, Schreiner and Rasch's research is still highly experimental. No results have yet to be found outside their laboratory settings. Second, this mode of learning doesn't mean the passive "osmosis" learning students joke about is going to become reality. While sleep may be able to activate and enhance learning, it's not a substitute for actually engaging in material and learning the "old-fashioned" way, either by reading, viewing or listening.
If this research does eventually yield results in the workplace, it could revolutionize the way businesses instruct their employees. Imagine, instead of long meetings in conference rooms going over flow charts and matrixes, employee "nap times" where this information plays over speakers or through head phones while the employees drift into dreamland. Perhaps one day, the notion of an afternoon "siesta" won't just be a pie-in-the-sky dream of an employee perk or rest time. It could be an exercise initiated by HR or management in an effort to increase productivity!
The Methodology Blog already supports using sleep to increase productivity growth. If you are looking for more ways to increase your efficiency, reach out to one of our business improvement consultants today!
We're all busy. Every day we're inundated with calls, emails, and projects that can leave even the most efficient people feeling scattered. Jose Vasquez recognized this issue and wrote a piece for Huffington Post insisting that taking just 20 minutes to follow some pretty simple steps will increase how productive you are. As he mentioned, that's even less time than a lunch break. But how does it work? The first step is to shut everything down (if you can), try to isolate yourself as much as possible. Turn off the tunes, turn off the phone, and get started.
For five minutes, do nothing. Think nothing. Every time you catch yourself starting along the lines of a train of thought, gently pull yourself back to a peaceful, meditative state. Let your mind empty -- think of it as clearing your cache.
Don't be surprised if it's hard to get past this first step initially. It's difficult to do a hard reset on your mind. It may initially take 20 minutes every day just to master this, so don't be deterred!
For five minutes, get moving. Even if you feel a little silly, try doing some jumping jacks or some pushups in your office. If you're interested in lower intensity, then simply stretch. But make sure you get your body in motion for five minutes.
We have already spoken about the benefits that exercise has on productivity growth. This will really help clear your head and get your blood pumping.
For five minutes, make a list of everything that worries you. These are long-term worries and short-term worries that might otherwise distract you from what you need to do. Then, one by one, cross them off that list. It's a psychological trick that will help you focus on what you can change rather than what concerns you.
Maybe you're worried about dinner or have been putting off household chores. Cross them out, even though you have haven't finished them. You can't do anything about them while you're at work, so let's get them out of here for now.
For the last five minutes, jot down the most important tasks you want to accomplish in the rest of the day. This will set a strong course for the remainder of your time at work.
You can't do everything in one day. Just tackle the ones that you can actually complete that day. Think about the others during your 20 minutes the next day!
There is a natural tension between getting things done and getting along with people. On the one hand, we are social creatures. We need to talk to our colleagues as human beings. We need to be sensitive to their individual situations and supportive of them as they deal with the challenges in their personal and professional lives.
But on the other hand, it's called "work." If we spend all of our time around the water cooler talking about the weather or the local sports team, we're not going to make progress on the business. We need to be working.
So when someone comes up to your cubicle or workspace and you're already feeling a little behind, you might be tempted to say: "Is there something you need?"
It's a reasonable sentiment. But it's probably not a phrase you should use.
This phrase might get the other person to go away, but it can sound patronizing. It also changes the topic of conversation away from whatever the other person wants to talk about, which can make them feel belittled.
Instead of "Is there something you need?" consider "Thanks for dropping by! How can I help you?"
There are four parts of this statement, but only the first two are visible in the dialogue.
If you express appreciation to someone, you lower the intensity of the conversation. They are probably already feeling a little panicked because they are coming to you in person. And while you don't appreciate being interrupted, you likely do appreciate that they see you as a valuable resource.
This is reason they are talking to you. They need your assistance. And if they just dropped by to chit chat, they will be forced to admit that they don't need any help. If that's the case, you can politely suggest that you socialize later, and explain you need to get back to work.
Here's where you listen to what they have to say and either empathize, respond, or work to solve the problem. While it may seem silly to mention this step, too often people come with a problem but never get any kind of answer. A good way to ensure that you've been helpful is to say: "Does that answer your question?"
The final step is to let the other person know that they have interrupted you. But here's the essential part: don't do it right then! They want to go and apply your good advice, not feel embarrassed for bugging you. Instead ask: "Can you do me a favor and let me know when you get this worked out?"
There's a reasonable chance that they won't remember to tell you about their victory, so you may need to follow up. But either way, you can take their enthusiasm and follow-up with a conversation about being interrupted.
"I'm glad you were able to solve this problem. But I do want to ask if there's any way we can work together to reduce interruptions in the future. We all get more done when we can concentrate, and I have the feeling that this could be have been discussed in an email rather than a phone call."
Always keep in mind that there is a balance to strike between being productive and being human. If we lash out at people by being aggressive or even just passive-aggressive, we're likely to become unpopular. But if we always rush to help others instead of doing our own work, how will be get anything done?
Be conscious. Walk the line. And let us know in the comments below how you handle this at your own job!
Employee satisfaction is sort of a big deal. If your goal is to have a successful company (which should be the case), then keeping your employees engaged and happy is a necessity. Surprisingly, there have been many cases in which pregnant women have been treated unfairly in the workplace. One such case that began eight years ago is now being taken on by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This case centers around Peggy Young, a UPS employee who sought workplace accommodations from her employer during her pregnancy. At issue is other "light work" accommodations that UPS was providing to other employees dealing with injuries, illnesses and other disabilities, but did not offer employees who were expecting. Young contends this is in violation of the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
UPS, on the other hand, says that its policies are in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act and is "pregnancy blind." What the Court must decide, it seems, is the apparent contradiction between the two laws and how the courts interpret them (UPS prevailed in a lower court) and a way forward to include the needs of expectant women.
If you're planning on having a child, or maybe it's a pleasant surprise, arm yourself with the facts! While discriminating against pregnant women at work has been illegal since 1978, that doesn't mean the rules are clear. The EEOC has stepped in and revised their guidelines. Here is the gist of the new rules:
1. You do not have to disclose your pregnancy.Failing to alert employers in regards to pregnancy is a defense mechanism common among those who fear discrimination. Regardless, women are within their rights not to discuss it if they so choose.
2. Stereotyping is not allowed.
Companies can't utilize pregnancy as a reason to not hire a woman. They also can't terminate a pregnant employee because they believe she will leave after giving birth or will be taking too much time off of work.
3. You are still protected after the baby is born.
Female employees can't be fired based on fertility plans. Whether pregnancy is in their future or not, their job is protected.
4. Lactation and breastfeeding are included in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
While this rule was previously enforced, it has been more defined that any type of discrimination against pumping or breastfeeding is very illegal.
5. Additional medical leave rights aren't provided.
This is the difference between firing a pregnant woman or firing a woman who has become pregnant. Make sure you know your company's leave policies!
6. Abortion protection.
While employers aren't required to have insurance that covers elective abortions, you can't be discriminated against for having an abortion or be pressured into having one.
7. Pregnancy accommodations are the same as any other temporary accommodations.
If your doctor states you need light duty, and your company allows this for other conditions (such as having a broken arm or other injury), you are allowed those same accommodations.
Of course, the warning signs for these problems often occur in the language used by your coworkers. Watch out for sarcastic comments about work-life balance that might imply discrimination is just around the corner.
Looking for more tips on efficiency in the workplace? Reach out to our productivity consultants. And make sure your workplace isn't biased against pregnant women: it's the law.
Sarcasm is a fundamental and important part of our culture. But before we can talk about when and why people say these words, let's be clear on what it means to be sarcastic. Merriam-Webster has a great definition:
sarcasm (n) - the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really want to say especially in order to insult someone, to show irritation, or to be funny
You can't always see sarcasm at work, although there is a punctuation mark intended for this purpose. However, you can hear it in the way people speak. Here are a few common examples:
The purpose of sarcasm is to allow us to talk about something that we feel is unacceptable without being direct. If we're being flippant about our own feelings, (e.g. "I'd be happy to pay for the repairs even though they aren't my fault") we mean that we feel the opposite way (i.e. "I do not feel that I should pay for the repairs, because I am not at fault.")
Sarcasm gets bad at the office, because it's usually about other people or institutions. We make fun of customers, vendors, partners, or the company as a whole. Here are some more examples, along with their implication (one of our favorite workplace communication exposition techniques):
These are all pretty terrible. So what should you do when someone drops a sarcasm bomb in the office?
If you ignore it, that won't do anything. If you respond with your own witty comment, you help reinforce the idea that it is acceptable. Therefore, the best response to sarcasm is to acknowledge it as evidence of frustration.
"It sounds like you have a concern. Can we talk about that? I want to do the best work possible, so if you have a concern I want to hear it so we can work through it. Can we talk about your concern?"
It’s true that some people won’t want to engage. But if that’s the case, you can ask them why they brought it up in the first place. You can even repeat their words back to them.
"Wait---I just heard you ‘thanks for deciding to grace us with your presence.’ What inspired you to say that?"
This can be a little awkward. Return to the emotion that is lying underneath, not the one that is stated aloud.
"It's okay if you're frustrated. But if a change needs to be made, we have to talk about it directly. Are you willing to share?"
Sarcasm can undermine morale at the workplace. Try not to engage in it yourself. And if other people use this technique, stop them by asking them why they are doing it.
Remember: the words you choose do make a difference.
Plenty of us feel like we're working way too much. Sometimes, these 40 hour work weeks seemingly drain the soul. Over time you may end up feeling like you're just running in a hamster wheel. The last person you would expect to agree with you is the world's second richest man, Carlos Slim. But, believe it or not, his philosophy emphasizes a shorter work week.
So how did this guy make so much money? Probably thanks to the extensive holdings in a hefty number of Mexican companies. Currently, Slim is the chairman and chief executive for two major telecommunications companies, América Móvil and Telemex. Given his belief that the working class breaks their backs for far too long during the week, he suggests an alternative schedule: an 11 hour, 3-day work week. But he does recognize there is a catch. People are living longer lives, and if we took up his idea to only work a few days a week, we would end up working until we were 70 or 75. According to Slim:
“With three work days a week, we would have more time to relax; for quality of life. Having four days [off] would be very important to generate new entertainment activities and other ways of being occupied.”
Slim isn't alone in his theory. This study confirms that a three-day work week may be the best work/life balance, particularly for those over 40.
"Researchers found that working approximately 25 hours a week had a positive impact on cognitive functioning, while not working at all, or working more than 25 hours a week, had a negative impact."
Optimally, that would involve workers putting in three 8-9 hour days. According to the researchers, that would provide the ideal balance. The work hours provide the ultimate dose of cognitive stimulation while not venturing into the area where work becomes a source of fatigue and burnout.
It should be noted that the study finds the" most damage to workers is done at the extremes, either not working at all or working in excess of 55 hours. Both ultimately damage cognitive functioning. Ironically, excessive work is more damaging than not working at all.
According to Colin McKenzie, one of the project's researchers:
"“Work can be a double-edged sword, in that it can stimulate brain activity, but at the same time long working hours can cause fatigue and stress, which potentially damage cognitive functions.”
Of course other issues would have to be addressed if the world adopted a three-day work week. For instance, with all those in the corporate world spending four days off, how would the service industry compensate? Would there be enough employees available to provide the necessary service at the restaurants, hotels, etc. these newly freed workers would be enjoying. Assuming the three-day work week would also be valuable for the service workers too, simply having enough capable bodies to staff all the jobs could be a challenge.
Here at The Methodology Blog we agree that employees need a work life balance in order to see any productivity growth. And Slim isn't just spouting words. He's following up with action. In his company, Telemex--where there are workers who were hired as teenagers that are capable of retiring before they're 50--he has offered workers a 4-day work week with full pay.
Looking for more ways to improve your workflow? Reach out to our business process improvement consultants!
It's easy to blame smartphones as contributing to the downfall of society, but truthfully, our human need for immediacy has been around since the dawn of humanity. The only difference between then and now is the decline in actual wait time. Primitive man didn't sit around patiently waiting for an animal to drop dead at his feet, but then again, he also didn't have the luxury of satisfying his aching stomach the instant it began growling.
Instead, he had to develop tools, weapons, understand nature and animal behavior. Thousands of years later, we too are taking steps to proactively fulfill our needs as quickly as possible. Today, it's about maintaining a competitive edge, expanding our knowledge and remaining a successful player in the age of technology. With information at our fingertips and so many avenues for discovery, our social norms are changing to reflect our infinite need for answers. But is the direction we're heading a healthy one?
One could argue patience is a learned behavior rather than an inherent trait. As children we were taught to take turns, to calmly wait, even to control our sense for urgency in non-emergency situations. And yet, as adults, we want information--the quicker the better. We act upon our impulse in seeking answers, particularly now more than ever, because we've been handed tools (like smartphones) that enable us to do so. Yet, this ease of technology has left the divide between our work and personal lives murky at best. Suffice it to say, the inability to ignore technology makes escaping work close to impossible.
Maintaining a healthy balance between our personal and work lives isn't just important, it's a necessity. As humans, we need proper nourishment, sleep and relaxation. Otherwise, our bodies become rundown, our minds less sharp and our emotional capacity disheveled. When we're burned out at work, it's easy to just let go and give up. Workaholism is a problem. And that, if nothing else, is one of the most important lessons we as a society need to learn. Germany has taken action in this regard. Recently, their labor ministry has banned all managers from calling or emailing their employees outside of standard working hours. According to their statement, this prevents undue stress. Among the official guidelines, expectations for employees are made clear:
. . . no staff should be penalized for turning off their cellphone or failing to pick up messages after working hours "to prevent self-exploitation."
When it comes to productivity and work/life balance, we at AccelaWork have a strong position on the matter: invest in yourself. Working hard and making strides in your career is a great component in your life, but it's not the only one that matters (nor should it be). We must explore all realms of life to achieve proper balance in all that we do. Indulging in our own well-being inspires us, motivates us, excites us and keeps us happy. Best of all, when we invest in ourselves, we nurture our desire for success, achievement, and even self-improvement.
Take a moment to contemplate: Are you able to escape the phone prison? When you leave the office for the day, do you actually stop all work-related activities for the evening? We venture to guess that many of you are currently agreeing and perhaps even cringing as you quietly answer these questions in your head. As a society, it's not strange or uncommon to spend evenings catching up on emails or discussing upcoming projects via conference calls. And, in all honesty, this may not even bother the majority of people who do this. It may even make them feel better since they are catching up or getting ahead of the game with work. But eventually, working around the clock will begin to wear on you and the effects won't be pretty.
Consider that, despite some misleading societal norms, longer office hours doesn't mean you're actually getting more done. It may just be that you're overworking yourself.
First: a link to their PDF download page. To quote from them:
There is clear, compelling, and mounting evidence that employee engagement is strongly correlated to beneficial individual, group. and corporate performance outcomes – including recruiting, retention, turnover, individual employee performance and productivity, service, and customer loyalty as well as to bottom-line results such as growth in operating margins, increased profitability, and revenue growth rates.
And here's the graphic. Yes, it's big. Scroll away, and read our comments at the bottom.
Yes, we know, employee engagement is a huge problem and a huge opportunity. We've covered it about a zillion times, from how it impacts retention of key employees to the role of perks in enticing workers.
Are the ten best practices suggested by The Henry Miller Group a series of good ideas? Absolutely. But it's worth asking a more fundamental question. Why are almost all of us so disengaged in our work?
The reason, as we've said before, is that too many organizations simply don't respect employees as people.
If you want to increase employee engagement, increase employee respect. Here are ten best practices for that:
In short, care about employees as people. Then, get out of their way and let them shine.
Julia Gifford writes about stealing those secrets in The Muse. What Gifford describes isn't really "stealing" in the sense that you're taking something of value from someone else and using it for yourself. What you're really doing is adopting productive behavior you've observed and applying it to your own situation. It's a "win-win" for everybody.
So how do we get our hands on our coworker’s secrets to success? By using the time-tracking and productivity app DeskTime, Gifford's group has been able to study these magnificent employees and what their workflow looks like. This app can analyze where you're wasting time, if you're late, and ways to track billing for clients. What they found using this was that their most productive workers had something in common: they take effective breaks. Specifically, the most productive people work for 52 minutes at a time, then break for 17 minutes before getting back to it.
In fact, Gifford writes, the employees with the highest productivity ratings don't even work eight-hour days. The secret to retaining the highest level of productivity over the span of a workday, it appears, is not working longer—but working smarter with frequent breaks.
Most employees treat work like it's a marathon. That leads to periods of exhaustion, fatigue, and even giving up. Gifford found that the most productive employees approach their jobs as a series of sprints. They make the most of those 52 minutes at an all out run, then slow down to catch their breath so they can get ready for their next sprint. And no, their break doesn't consist of sitting back and sorting through stacks of paperwork or keeping an eye on incoming email. They take this time to peruse their favorite social media or look at some funny videos of cats playing the piano. They actually break physically and mentally from work and allow themselves to recharge.
Gifford also found that by truly breaking from work tasks (not just slowing down as many do on their "breaks") these productive employees were fully engaged during their work time and not distracted by social media or other non-work related activities.
Gifford also cites other physiological research that supports this sprinter's method of approaching work:
...working for long periods of time can be detrimental to your level of engagement with a certain task. Repeating tasks leads to cognitive boredom, which in turn halts your ability to thrive at whatever you’re doing. The human brain just wasn't built to focus for eight hours at a time — the best way to refresh attention span is to take a break.
In addition, the human body has never been made to sit for eight hours straight, and research has shown that breaking up the all-day sit-a-thon can improve productivity. (Oh, it also makes you way healthier.)
Repetitive tasks and sitting hunched over your computer all day is proven to be actually awful for not only your productivity, but your health as well. So get up, stretch out, grab a snack. Chat up some coworkers (so long as you're not interrupting their sprint.) It's impossible to be 100% productive, but using this strategy will get you on the right track to increased efficiency.
Looking for more ways to become more productive? Reach out to our business process consulting experts!
As a Sales Manager (or business owner acting in that role), you have probably spent your share of time doing frontline sales. You have tried new things, had your share of success, and learned from your mistakes. Year after year you have excelled at bringing business to your company. Your experience matters. Your wisdom matters. Your voice deserves to be heard, right? Most of the time, this is certainly true. But there is one situation when you should simply keep quiet. That situation--one that is critical to sales success--is...
As a Sales Manager, you are, of course, manager of the sales process; but you are more than that: you are also a teacher, a motivator, and a leader. It is your job to instruct, inform and inspire your sales team so they feel empowered to perform their best. They depend on you to speak up with lessons and advice. Most of the time, this is essential. The one time it is more important for you to remain quiet, however, is when you accompany a member of your sales team on a sales call.
Don't get me wrong; I don't expect you to put duct tape over your mouth while sitting with your salesperson in the prospect or client's office. Nor do I expect you to hover outside the door, hidden from view as you eavesdrop on what is being discussed. During the meeting portion of a ride-along day with your salesperson, your presence in the room can, and should, be a signal to the customer that their business matters enough for you to be involved firsthand. You will, of course, want to act in a courteous and confident manner. You should be there to support both the customer and the salesperson. You can answer questions directed to you, and act, if necessary, to authorize any exceptions or enhancements to standard services or solutions your salesperson normally offers.
But you must not run the meeting. You must not criticize or instruct the salesperson during the sales call. You must never undermine the customer's understanding that the salesperson is the go-to person responsible for the account.
You are there to listen, to observe, to make mental notes, and to be prepared to discuss the meeting afterward with the salesperson. You are there to learn – silently (even if it means losing the sale) – so you can teach more effectively later on.
When riding along on a sales call with your salesperson, don't use the drive to the customer's office as teaching time. Trying to instill new methods right before the call will only add stress to the situation. Rather use that time to reinforce what you should have already planned. I'm a strong advocate of role-playing so that you and your salesperson know in advance how to conduct the sales call. As I note in my book, Beyond the Mountaintop: Observations on Selling, Living and Achieving, while "only 15 to 20% of sales teams actually practice role-playing…if yours is one that does, you've got an instant advantage over most of your competition." Again, role-play with purpose well before the sales call. At that time, make sure you and your salesperson are clear and in agreement on your individual roles to be exercised when you meet with the client.
Before the sales call, agree that you will leave most of the talking to your salesperson. Understand that you will let the salesperson and the customer drive the meeting from the initial handshakes and pleasantries to the final discussions of next steps, agreements and follow-ups. Know that the objective is not only (and not always) to win the sale, but IS always to make the customer understand that you and your salesperson are on the same team, on the same page, and ready to serve with a solid solution.
During the sales call, you should have observed, supported, and stepped up when necessary to offer additional resources or perhaps negotiate minor exceptions to your company's standard solution offerings. Other than that, you should have kept quiet and took mental notes. After the call, you should discuss with your salesperson how the meeting went (but only after they have shared with you their perception of the meeting and their own performance). If you role-played beforehand, there should have been few surprises or situations you didn't anticipate. Share your observations and perceptions with the salesperson. There may be things the salesperson didn't notice about the customer's reactions you were able to observe. Constructive criticism is appropriate at this point (never in front of the customer during the sales call). Now is the time for praise, too, and motivational coaching. “Sandwich” your criticism with praise (start and end with praise).
Bottom LineBy role-playing beforehand, silently observing during the sales call, and using the time after the call to debrief, praise and coach, you can help your salesperson hone his or her craft in order to boost future sales.
Remaining mostly silent during a sales meeting is tough. There will be times you will be chomping at the bit to interject, correct, or even overrule your salesperson. Don't do it! Let the customer observe you showing quiet confidence in your salesperson. That, in turn, will help fill your customer with that same confidence in the Sales Rep and your company.
Mark Thacker is the President of Propelis Consulting, a firm specializing in outsourcing sales leadership, sales training, leadership coaching and sales optimization. Mark has a 29-year history of sales leadership and success in varied industries. A natural leader and motivator, Mark has led sales teams with annual revenue responsibility from $1 million to in excess of $800 million.
Here's the list of workplace issues that lead to frustration, exhaustion and collapse:
The word "expectations" is at the core of this problem. We used to think of our jobs as a set of duties. Do the work according to the process set forth by management, and your role continues. Fail to do the work, and you lose your job. Our careers were a series of tasks, and were measured by how well we performed those tasks.
Somewhere in the 1970s and 1980s, however, the corporate world began to started to replace words like "tasks" with words like "expectations." This coincided with an renewed emphases on outcomes and total cost of ownership. By "setting expectations" instead of "assigning tasks", management is in effect saying: "we only care about results." Fail to meet expectations, and your boss will get angry.
Unfortunately, there's a clear problem with using outcomes as a way to specify work—expectations can become impossible to meet.
To change expectations from possible into impossible, we just have to adjust parameters such as time frame and quality. Compare:
Read this book in the next six months vs. Read this book in the next six minutes.The problem, naturally, is further compounded when employees have many different simultaneous responsibilities or managers.Find and correct as many errors as you can vs. Find and correct every last error, period.
Arrive at work on time, or call in sick vs. Never arrive late or miss work.
If you feel you're being burdened by unreasonable expectations, what is really happening is that you are being asked for outcomes which are physically impossible. The solution is to push back and ask for process-oriented guidance. Try these phrases:
That's an aggressive deadline. Can we work together to identify the necessary steps we will need to take to meet it?I have other priorities, but this may take precedence. Can we look at my current workload to decide the right order to complete tasks?
I'm happy to look for any weaknesses in the proposal. Can we develop a model for ensuring that this analysis is as comprehensive as it needs to be?
Of course, pushing back is easier said than done from the employee's point of view. If management hasn't established a culture where employees can question timelines, workloads and other expectations, employees can feel stuck under the weight of unrealistic expectations. Even so, it's incumbent upon the employee to speak up. If you're being asked to produce unreasonable results or results in an unreasonable time frame, the time to speak up is before the project is due, not after. If you agree to undertake the project under unreasonable expectations, then you're on the hook for whatever results, including feeling overworked, might come your way.
Unreasonable expectations are one of the greatest causes of overwork. Challenge outcomes and focus on processes. Support the sequence of work, not just the result. Learn more by contacting our business process implementation experts today!
Number two, "unnecessary interruptions" may be the source of most explosive outbursts at the office. You are bearing down on a deadline, racing to finish a critical task before heading to the next meeting or going to pick up the kids, and someone comes into taps you on the shoulder just to say hello. At times like these, you may be wondering what a jury would say given the circumstances. Shouldn't you have the chance to do professional work without being bothered?
It might seem like interruptions are just a part of life. Although annoying, do a few minutes of banter here and there really add up to something that would cause overwork? You probably know the answer from personal experience: yes, absolutely!
We've written about workplace interruptions many times before. This chart, adapted from work done by researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, help explains why interruptions are so destructive to workflow:
As we move up and to the right on the diagram, we need more and more concentration. Interruption forces us to move rapidly from one side to the other, According to multiple studies, it can take as long as thirty minutes to recover! A few brief interjections, random noises or loud conversations can destroy an entire workday.
That's not to say that all interruptions are bad. Sometimes, the office really is on fire. Some of us do work in environments where minutes or even seconds count. Thankfully, emergency services personnel can be interrupted to save lives, even if they are on a break. But for most of us, most of the time, interruptions are simply unnecessary.
To change the culture in your office, use a two-fold strategy:
If the phone rings and you know you don't have time to answer it, let it go to voicemail! In fact, you can even reply to the caller with a quick email message:
To: Bob Smith Subject: Your phone call at 2:45PM, 15-Feb Bob -- I saw your name on the caller ID, but I'm in the middle of a huge project on a major deadline. If your need is urgent, feel free to ring me again and I'll pick up. Otherwise, do you want to email me your request or schedule time for a meeting later this week? Thanks! -Frances
If a coworkers want you join in an interruption, resist. Consider this script:
Marcus: Hey, let's see if Sally wants to grab a cup of coffee. You: It looks like she's really busy with that report. Why don't we bring her a cup instead?
Finally, if you must jump in and mess with someone else's workflow, apologize:
You: Lou, I am sorry to interrupt you. I know what you are working on is important, but the client is about to go into a major meeting and has a question only you can answer. Will you pick up line three?
Bobbi: Hey there, ready for weekend? You: You know, actually I am excited. I've got big plans to clean the bathroom with this new, eco-friendly cleaner I got from my aunt Flo. I know that sounds crazy, but she swears by it. You wanna go to the break room and have a snack? I'll tell you all about it. Bobbi: Uh...actually, I gotta wrap up some emails. You: No problem.
It might feel a little odd to over-engage at first, but by doing so you are actually training other people to know that interruptions mean serious business. And if they do want to go have that conversation about your housecleaning project, you can use the rapport to explain the issue:
Bobbi: Fascinating. I look forward to hearing about how the cleaning project goes! You: Thanks. You know I appreciate the break, but maybe we should put this on our calendars in the future! Same time next Friday work for you?
Unnecessary interruptions lead to overwork, not just because of lost time but lost concentration. Model smarter behavior and train your colleagues to be smarter with their use of time. Learn more by contacting our business process transformation consultants today!
Last time, we talked about situations that cause interruptions in workplace productivity. That was second on the list of workplace issues that lead to frustration, exhaustion and collapse:
Whenever we aren't able to do the work in front of us because we don't actually know how to do it, we often experience a sense of helplessness. Imagine a nightmare where you suddenly find yourself responsible for a critical, life-altering task: performing surgery, landing an airplane or translating for a hostage negotiator. Unless you've had the years of training and experience necessary, these kinds of tasks are simply impossible.
Of course, the reality is that the gap between our current skills and what we are asked to do isn't often that enormous. You don't go from being qualified to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy to suddenly holding a scalpel and performing open heart surgery. Usually, when we lack the ability to do part of our jobs, the desired task is just far enough out of reach to be both frustrating and disheartening. We become frightened that we might not be qualified, and sometimes feel ashamed at our incompetence.
This experience of feeling suddenly unqualified and have low employee satisfaction for our jobs is often called the impostor syndrome. Even though we actually are capable of doing the work (and learning new tricks of the trade as part of the process), finding ourselves staring a new task in the face can be overwhelming. We sometimes feel like we've somehow managed to fool all the people around us into believing that we have the credentials and the mental acuity required, but in secret have no idea what we are doing.
It's fairly easy to see how this emotion translates into overwork. A particular assignment seems beyond our reach, and then we spiral into a panic and begin to believe that we are totally unqualified. The hours start to pile up as we work furiously to make up for the difference.
The root problem with "inadequate skill" is how we characterize the learning process. Usually, we think that the ability to complete a tasks consists of only two steps:
What should you do if you're feeling overworked because you think you don't have the skills to complete a certain task? Talk to your colleagues about how you are countercompetent. Explain that you are able to do to the work, but that you'll need more time and more support to check for any errors or mistakes.
Technically speaking, this is the easiest area of overwork to eliminate. You merely need to reach out and explain the areas of your expertise. But practically speaking, it's the most difficult of all. None of us like to admit weakness. We all tend to feel like impostors when we're asked to do something that we don't yet know how to do.
Productivity is about getting more work done in less time and feeling good about the process. When you're overworked, you're not being productive. Take note of which of the three causes of overwork are most significantly impacting your workflow. Change your behaviors and your perspective. And when you do find yourself putting in fewer hours but having greater results, reach out to our productivity consultants and tell us about it. We'd love to hear your stories about how you've found ways to keep from working too much.
On the DuraNews blog, asset management is defined as follows:
. . . the formal process of operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of goods and services cost effectively.
If and when you begin this in-depth process, it's important to keep the above definition handy as it helps determine exactly what portions of the business need to be analyzed and included in your assessment. The piece, titled Asset Management: Orange is the New Challenge, suggests monitoring investments, company inventory, and accounts receivable. Armed with this knowledge, you can determine how well and how fast your company can pay off its debts.
According to Jack Rubinger, author of the post, keeping track of inventory and expenses can be as simple as saving receipts and recording financial plans and activity. But, he also admits that it's not always about money and equipment. Most companies possess certain "intangible" assets in addition to money and hardware. Intellectual capital in the form of plans, documents, designs, and the like must also be calculated in any good asset management plan. After all, they were created using hours upon hours of time, so there was a financial investment in their creation. An effective asset management plan must determine which, among all these intangible items, is still of ongoing value to the organization. It's not different than making decisions about computer hardware. The organization invested in it. The asset management plan must determine if it's still functional or has become obsolete.
Of course the greatest asset any organization has is its people. They are the ones who drive the day-to-day progress. Any asset management plan must include careful evaluation of human resources:
Two of the most important assets in an organization are the knowledge of how the business is run, and the people who execute their work every day using that knowledge. The saying “people are our greatest asset” may seem trite, but it’s true. And in most organizations, people are the most expensive asset to replace and their knowledge incredibly difficult to capture.
To Rubinger's point, we couldn't agree more. In fact, Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, contributes to his view by expanding upon the importance for recognizing valuable talent among employees. Below is Slaughter's excerpt from the post:
. . . asset management is much more difficult when you can’t put your hands on what’s valuable. “Experienced team members know how to solve obscure problems and how to conduct routine tasks,” he explains. “We usually don’t realize just how much someone knows about our business until they are gone.”
Asset management isn't just the responsibility of management either. According to Rubinger, everyone in the organization has a stake in protecting what is valuable.
We need to take care of the equipment we have, maintaining it and keeping it running. We need to be good stewards of financial assets for our business, helping to confirm that customers are paying on time and that money we do spend is used wisely.
When it comes time to document your company's assets, remember that paying attention to both tangible and intangible factors is key in determining their overall value to your business. So keep track of finances, take care of your products and equipment, document processes, and invest time in maintaining employee satisfaction.
Assets must be managed, or they--like unhappy employees--will find a way to leave your firm. Build a plan and keep it running!
Mark is with New Roads Leadership. Here's what he has to say:
If you spend more time organizing your work than the actual work itself, then you may need some productivity help. We need to be very aware of the time we spend actually working versus the time we spend preparing to work. Being effective is not the same as being organized. A person can be organized, but get very little accomplished.Here are three things to consider if you want to increase your effectiveness, and not compromise your preparation and planning.
1.) Stop procrastinating! Organizing work is easier than the work itself. We can find ourselves putting off the work because the planning is easier. If you find yourself procrastinating, change your planning time to the end of your day. Tackle the hardest work first thing in the morning, and delay more of your routine tasks until later.
2.) Make organization a habit! If you are spending too much time on organization, then it is possible that you have not yet converted these tasks to habits. Habits are usually done quickly and without much thought. You don't plan or spend much time brushing your teeth. That is how your organizational efforts should feel.
3.) Keep It Simple! Using the latest software and gadgets may be more efficient, but they may also come with a huge learning curve. That learning curve is likely to be repeated as new features and versions are released. You have to decide what is the best balance for you. Sometimes the best solution is the simplest solution, a pencil and a piece of paper.
There are days I struggle in all three of these areas. But most days I can overcome these shortfalls with simple solutions converted to habits, and a focus to achieve my commitments. If you need more help in these areas, I would be glad to grab a cup of coffee with you and learn about your obstacles.
If Mark's suggestions sound familiar, you might be a long-time reader of The Methodology Blog. We've talked about stopping procrastination, about the role of habits and productivity, and about the incredible value of refusing to be clever.
In fact, we ran a post way back in 2010 advocating doing nothing at all for a while to enable you to focus on more important tasks in the future.
Organizing is not working, but it is impossible to work efficiently if you are not organized. Just like meetings and email aren't work, deciding what you will do and when you will do it truly matters. And although the act of cleaning your desk doesn't actually get anything done, it improves your mood and the opinions that others have of you and your work.
The irony of accomplishment is the work matters about as much as the setup. Like taking a long road trip, having the car pointed in the right direction with the maps ready to go is as essential as keeping gas in the car and staying focused on driving. Stay organized, but don't an obsession with complex organization prevent you from making progress.
Or, in the words of James Cash Penney (who founded the J.C. Penney department store chain): "It is always the start that requires the greatest effort."
Mark S. Brown is an executive coach who is passionate about personal development. He works to make a difference in people's lives by empowering them with skills and knowledge that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in. Mark has been coached, mentored, and certified by John Maxwell and his team. This coaching certification allows Mark to successfully coach and train individuals, groups, organizations, and companies.
Do you work from home? If so, do us a favor. Take a moment to look at the area in which you work. Whether it's a specific room, a kitchen countertop, a corner in your basement, or even your bed, ask yourself: is this space conducive to my needs? Now, before you quickly answer yes, consider the following:
An organized and defined workspace is key. Choosing the right area in your house to conduct business not only helps maintain a healthy balance in your productivity with work, but in your personal time as well. If you're unsure as to where to start, think about the bullet points above. Consider them a road map for discovering the perfect location in your humble abode. Once 'X' marks the spot, the next step is customizing your space. Below are a few suggestions and helpful tips on the common spots for the home-based worker.
If you are one of the lucky people to have an additional room in your house that is going unused, you're certainly blessed! But, be sure to double check a couple of things. Does the room have a door that you can close behind you? If not, consider installing one. This may come at an expense, but for the amount of quiet it provides we promise it will definitely be worth your while.
Also, be sure that your Internet connection is 1.) reliable and 2.) your desk is situated in the area of the room where the connection is the strongest (if using Wi-Fi). Truthfully, this is very important and a very common problem. Worrying about how many bars you have in your connection not only diminishes your productivity, it can drive you crazy; particularly if your wireless is prone to going in and out often.
This space can be extremely beneficial as it is probably one of the quietest places in your home. But, it could also make you feel trapped if you have low ceilings or no windows. To combat this, bring in extra lamps or overhead lighting. Paint the room a light color to make the space feel more open and airy. Lastly, don't drive yourself batty by boxing yourself in all day long. Take your lunch outside, clean and organize your inbox while having coffee in your kitchen, go to networking events, schedule face-to-face meetings at a coffeeshop rather than always conducting business over the phone.
Tread carefully when choosing this spot. Yes, it can be comfortable sitting on your bed while working on your laptop, but it can also make the line between work and rest very, very fuzzy. If you haven't already experienced the work instead of sleeping phenomenon, rest assure it won't take long to happen. But, if this is your only option, it's imperative to have a desk. When it comes time to close up shop, you need to be able to stand up and walk away from your computer (as well as your smartphone, iPad, and tablet).
If you're home is limited in space--forcing you to become extremely creative in choosing your spot--don't panic. Remember that a conducive area can easily be lurking in corners, alcoves, and even closets! If you can spare folding your clothes rather than hanging them, you've just hit the jackpot.
Not only does a closet have bonus space and shelving, generally it is large enough to put a small or floating desk inside. Best of all, you'll have doors that shut up tight. Voila! As lifestyle website Glo notes, a closet workplace that you can close and walk away from helps maintains the divide between work and play.
No matter the place, no matter the space, your home office should provide you exactly what you need. So roll up your sleeves and create your own, unique utopia for productivity.
The office supply store Staples released their third annual telecommuting survey. The report reveals that 71 percent of telecommuters consider teleworking an important benefit when considering a new job, with 19 percent indicating they would avoid a potential new job if telecommuting wasn't offered. The overwhelming response to the question of why the option to work from home was important was this: to find a work/life balance that is less stressful.
Surprisingly, the results show allowing employees to work off-premise actually costs less, increases productivity and increases retention.
Ten percent of respondents in the Staples survey said they would accept a pay cut in order to have the benefit of teleworking. This statistic was also confirmed by the consulting firm Global Workplace Analytics, which found 36 percent of the survey participants would choose telecommuting in lieu of more money. This is a critical benefit from a recruiting standpoint. Employers willing to provide their staff with the tools needed to telecommute have a definite advantage in retaining talent.
A solid 69 percent of employees surveyed also cite reduced stress as a major telecommuting benefit, up from 48 percent in 2013. In fact, 88 percent of surveyed employees believe telecommuting is a win-win for both them and their company--and employers agree. According to Staples, which conducted the online survey of 137 managers and 174 office workers at organizations in the United States and Canada:
Additional benefits, according to the Mobile Work Exchange, include:
First, from a human resource perspective, be fair. Kyle Jones, the HR manager at MegaGate Broadband, says offering telecommuting should be done for all positions and not case-by-case. "Allowing Employee A to telecommute while not doing so for Employee B--who is also in the same department working the same position--creates a variety of potential issues." This is only one of many recommended implementation steps, controls and polices.
Second, from an information technology perspective, provide the tools and technology. Staples reported that experts recommend equipping the workforce by:
(Learn more on how to keep your company's network safe and avoid cyber-attacks.)
This data might seem surprising, but what's even more important is that telecommuting continues to grow. Talk to your team and think carefully about making the switch to remote work in your office.
Tim Garrison is a certified public accountant with over 30 years of experience as a controller and accounting guru. What you might not expect, however, is that Tim is also an avid mountain climber and outdoorsman. He's quick to point out the similarities between scaling a mountain, and growing a business.
On Electronic Products and Technology, Jack Rubinger, provides a detailed guide to understanding not only the best practices for this work technique, but how it transforms development into an efficient, more productive process that genuinely improves overall results.
Cellular or small group manufacturing practices have many advantages over traditional line-based manufacturing practices and are an integral part of lean manufacturing which has its roots in the automotive industry. Each group or cell can handle multiple families of parts, incorporate greater operator involvement across multiple processes rather than just one in traditional line-based manufacturing, and handle fewer parts for more precision work.
Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork and author of The How-To Guide for Generations at Work, is well-versed in the subject matter of achieving productive workflow through innovation. In fact, as an entrepreneur, he believes a company must have the ability to recognize a need for change and stand strong in proactively evolving to remain competitive. In Rubinger's article, Slaughter discusses his point of view on the matter:
Cellular environments are excellent for products that require variability and customization and a loose coupling of steps . . . Ultimately, you wind up with more options. And in a rapidly changing economy, you need to adapt to constantly changing customer demands.
The article also discusses how cellular manufacturing reduces work in progress (WIP) and creates a checks-and-balances system for quality control. By allowing employees to focus in on one particular portion of a process, they are able to recognize and fix problems efficiently. According to Mike Bangasser of Best Technology, another source in Rubinger's article, problem-solving isn't the only benefit to this type of work production:
Another reason these types of companies have cellularized is due to the high precision nature of manufacturing. Many times, a manufacturing step will require ultra-high precision machining and the next process could be state-of-the-art laser welding. Splitting up these process steps allows an employee to become an expert at one process rather than just slightly knowledgeable about multiple processes.
Companies that utilize cellular manufacturing create products in a timely and cost-effective manner and provide enhanced flexibility for the clients they serve. To put into perspective how groups are determined, the article provides a checklist of the essential components:
Here at The Methodology Blog we love to highlight topics such as productivity, effective workflow, and employee satisfaction, to name only a few. And while cellular manufacturing may not necessarily fit within the parameters of your company, it advances a common goal in business: to seek improvement and enhance overall process performance. As Rubinger summarizes:
Cellular-based manufacturing requires a high degree of collaboration, communication, and consistency to work properly. For many companies and their communications, the approach is worthwhile because products are delivered on time and according to specifications.
Every company is different. There may be a large variation between what works and what doesn't work. But it's important to know that despite the task and no matter the goal, there are an infinite number of ways to streamline processes to improve overall business. All it takes is awareness, initiative, and the ability to put a plan into action.
To learn more about how AccelaWork can help implement new and improved processes in your company, reach out to us today!
This is the science behind a study from Christin Munsch, an assistant professor of sociology at Furman University. According to the official press release:
[The research] found that both men and women who made flexible work requests for childcare related reasons were advantaged compared to those who made the same requests for other reasons.
Basically: if you want to shift your hours around at work, your kids are the best possible excuse.
It seems odd to draw a distinction between workers with children and workers without children. And while "parent" is not one of the so-called protected classes, it's true that mothers and fathers have responsibilities that others don't have.
Before we can determine whether or not parents should get special treatment with regard to flextime, there's more in Munsch's study:
[When] a man requested to work from home for childcare related reasons, 69.7 percent said they would be "likely" or "very likely" to approve the request, compared to 56.7 percent of those who read the scenario in which a woman made the request. Almost a quarter—24.3 percent—found the man to be "extremely likable," compared to only 3 percent who found the woman to be "extremely likable."
If you want to ask permission to modify your schedule, it helps tremendously to be a parent. And furthermore, it apparently helps to be a father rather than a mother.
It might be uncomfortable to talk about, but when we pick one group over another without a reasonable basis, that's called discrimination. In the case of giving preferential treatment to parents (or non-parents), that's sometimes called parentism. And in the case of one gender over another, it's called sexism.
And then there's Olga Khazan's piece in The Atlantic, appropriately titled, Working From Home Seems More Legitimate If You Have a Kid. She writes:
But as a childless homebody who hates riding the metro, I find it alarming that people asking to work from home for non-childcare, personal reasons were at a disadvantage. The people reading the transcripts [in the study] weren't even the workers' actual bosses! Imagine what someone with real money on the line would do in their shoes.With modern technology, there is almost no white-collar work task that can't be done from home. People hate being in open-plan offices, which some research shows kill productivity anyway. Calls for a shorter workweek for everyone are growing increasingly vociferous. There should be ways for both parents and non-parents to negotiate for such things without fearing a backlash.
Here's the bottom line: yes, discrimination is horrible. But the main reason people experience sexism, ageism, parentism, favoritism, and more at the office is because our wider culture leaks into organizations, rather than making results the primary focus of business.
If you are victimized at work or treated unfairly, you should speak up. At the same time, recognize that the office, jobsite, warehouse, or factory is a place for getting things done, not for enforcing biases. If someone wants to work from home, don't try to judge their unique situation. Instead, continue measure their results.
The world of work is part of the larger world. Culture is changing. Expectations of gender roles, choices about having children, and the march of technology all impact our workplace experiences. These issues will not go away overnight, but the more we focus on being productive and creating value, the less we will be impacted by arbitrary traditions and hurtful biases.
Do the work, and judge the work. Don't judge the workers.
Keeping content fresh and engaging can be tough. We have spoken about the challenges of being a writer and how you can keep an efficient workflow. You can start to feel like there are only so many ways to speak about topics that you write about. Writer's block can rear its head and distractions will throw you off your path to article greatness. Frances Booth recognizes this very issue, being a writer that focuses on productivity as well. Her piece in Forbes about how to stay focused and efficient is something every author should read over. Below are her tips and our thoughts.
Ignore the first 10 minutes
It really takes the right mindset to be able to sit down and begin writing. And those first 10 minutes are the worst. You start typing and the negative thoughts come rolling in. "This is awful, what am I even saying? I should scrap this and start over." But before you close out of your word processing program and give up all together, take a second to reassure that self-doubt. You have to get into your groove. Once you pass those first few minutes, you'll find your pace. You can always go back and get rid of those initial sentences!
Blank page etiquette
How many times have you found yourself just sitting and staring at a blank page, watching the cursor blink back at you, almost mocking you? An empty slate is necessary and awful at the same time. But don't let yourself get too wrapped up in what you might say. Just start typing. Fill up the blank space, it'll help get those juices flowing. You can always reorganize what you have written after you've got something down.
Writing comes first
Writing is just as draining as any other type of work. So if producing articles isn't your main job, you may find yourself wanting to push it off to be the last thing you do for the day. Always make it come first! It will definitely reflect in your words if you aren't really into what you're saying. Don't take phone calls or peruse your email. You'll feel more accomplished after finishing up which will help you feel like a productive superhero!
Know that distractions will tempt you
Accept the fact that, no matter how hard you try, your mind will wander. Maybe you saw an email notification pop up in the corner of your screen. Or there could be a really cute video of a cat playing in a bathtub, just waiting for you to watch it on Facebook. Resist the temptation! Promise yourself that you will allow a few minutes of distraction once you're done penning your masterpiece. Everyone deserves a couple breaks throughout the day. In fact, we have found that taking breaks increases employee productivity!
When you get the chance to write, seize it
Most writers don't only sit and write all day. Plenty of us have other duties to attend to. Maybe you're freelancing and need to keep your eye on other opportunities. Or you not only write but help manage a website. Those other tasks will take up parts of your day as well. So as soon as you get a chance to jot some words down, take it! You never know how busy you will be tomorrow or the day after. Every moment of time is precious for writers!
Searching for more ways to become efficient? Reach out to one of our business consultants today for more information!
The person repeating this tired expression is usually someone whose been in his or her field for a long time. A seasoned pro, if you will, that's “been there, done that.” Those pros come with years of experience and are typically well sought-after by employers.
They have their methods, and for the most part, the methods seem to work. Their routines are tried-and-true. They get results. But –
What Happens When Staying Still Isn't Enough?
The idea of functional fixedness is the enemy of innovation. Even if you've never heard the term, you're probably familiar with the idea behind it.
Simply said, it means seeing objects as capable only of fulfilling their original function, and processes fall into this trap as well. In healthcare, we practice functional fixedness when we say, "I've done this for twenty years, and this is how I've always done it. Why should I change now?"
But the healthcare industry will always be in flux, and now more than ever, we need to stay nimble and flexible. Budget cuts and reimbursement changes mean that our processes and procedures will have to change. Does it mean that we’ve done it wrong this whole time? No. However, we’re now challenged to look at the same process and look for opportunities for improvement. At every level, the industry is shifting.
Ten years ago, "This is how we've always done it," might have been a harmless crutch. But now, it's a stumbling block. So, how can we break out of complacency and start innovating?
Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, "We've always done it this way." I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.--Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
The Big Question
Innovation happens when we're willing to look at something and ask, "What would it be like if...?" Consider the scene from the recent Steve Jobs biopic, in which Jobs wondered, "What would it be like if you could carry all of your music with you?"
To some people, this seemed like a question that didn't need to be asked. If you wanted to travel with your music, you would choose your favorite CDs and pack them along with you. It was how we had always done it... So why change now?
If Jobs had listened to the naysayers, then we would never have had the iPod or the other innovations that Apple produced. With each innovation, Jobs was able to create lasting changes not only to his company's finances, but also to the technological landscape. However, this kind of innovative thinking isn't limited to the technology industry.
Everyday Innovations in Healthcare
We’re already seeing innovative processes that are changing the way healthcare is experienced. For example, most healthcare organizations have moved to an open dining concept in which the patient can eat their meals at their desired times. Before, if you were a late sleeper, good luck on getting a hearty breakfast.
And who said an appointment has to be made by picking up the phone? Healthcare organizations have seen that patients are leaning more heavily on online resources and have responded by creating robust patient portals to manage their care. In most cases, it’s simply thinking about how to make things better. Innovation doesn't need to be limited to addressing a situation that's broken — you can also improve "the way we've always done it" and create positive, lasting change.
In healthcare, asking ourselves, "What would happen if...?" opens the door to innovation in direct care settings. And, as leaders, we can foster a culture that encourages creative thought. This sets up your staff to provide better, more patient-centered, adaptive care. Things are changing. "This is how we've always done it" is the kiss of death.
It's easy to stand back and think about what isn't working, to focus on what is less-than-ideal. But not everyone will wonder, "What would it look like if...?"
Let's push ourselves to stay open and keep striving.
As a creative, I have been known to get distracted by shiny things, often forgetting to follow up on a website lead or not remembering to reply to an email that I’ve looked at on my phone because it has probably been buried by new emails by the time I get around to it.
The areas that I really felt like I needed help with were things such as following up on website leads, responding to emails in a timely manner (or being reminded to do so), getting email correspondence into a CRM, or having someone who is working 24/7 to sell my services. In an ideal world, I’d clone myself and call it a day, but since that’s not really an option, I thought that maybe I needed an assistant. Of course that requires not only time and money, but also a significant learning curve to understand my sales process. And then it hit me… all of this could all be done through my website if I gave it the tools to do so.
You’ve already taken the initial steps on establishing an online presence, so why not maximize what you’ve done to help streamline your sales?
Here are 5 ways to put your website to work, which will result in a more productive process:
A common mistake that people make with online content is that they assume buyers know what they are looking for, when in reality, they probably don’t. Your website should show empathy as if it were another person behind the screen, selling your services or products. If you can talk about pain-points, offer guidance, and offer solutions, your website can be a powerful sales person with untapped potential. It will also help to funnel prospects through your sales process.
Now that you have great content, it’s time to tell the buyer what to do. Much like what a sales person would say, offer clear calls-to-actions on what the next steps are. Should they download your brochure or read a case study about how you helped a company save millions? You need to tell them what to do. The more value you can offer them for providing their email or contact information, the more likely they are to complete the call-to-action.
When you have good calls-to-actions it enables you the ability to start collecting information from your leads. I say lead at this stage because if they are willing to take the time to fill out some information, they are probably interested in what you’re selling. Having a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) will give your website the ability to integrate and automatically store lead information without manually inputting the information yourself. You can also get an email notification that someone has filled out a form through your website so you can start looking into whether the lead is qualified or not.
Marketing automation is essentially a marriage between sales and marketing. It helps streamline the mundane, repetitive tasks that a sales team would need to take to follow up on a lead. It’s the perfect way to increase efficiency, productivity, and consistency.
Lead scoring is basically a method that ranks the value of a prospect. This is what a sales person would typically do when evaluating whether a buyer is a good fit. This is great when you don’t have the time to sit down and meet face to face or call every single person back that contacts you through your website.
Talking with other business colleagues, many of us joke that it would be great to have an extra day in the week that allows us to catch up on the small tasks that never seem to end. As we get busier, we know that we need to spend our time more wisely and where it matters most. Keep in mind that there is something to be said about the human touch-point, or rather that every prospect and lead is handled with a phone call with a person on the other end.
When our days get crazy and time starts slipping away, it’s best to let your website handle some of the tasks so you don’t start losing potential business. Potential customers will often go where they can get answers to their questions or resolve issues the quickest. Ultimately, it all comes down to properly managing the customer experience and doing the things that the customer values in an efficient and effective way. The one thing that I’ve learned over the past few years about running a business and key to this efficient and effective process is simply to work smarter, not harder.
Nobody sets out to fail. And there are countless sayings that encourage us all to strive for success. Have you heard "don’t be a quitter" or "if at first you don’t succeed…?" But is that always sound advice? Is that always the best path? After all, there are other sayings that seem to contradict this approach, such as "don’t throw good money after bad," and "know when to cut your losses."
So, what is the right thing to do? As with so many things in life, it's a judgement you have to make based on the specific situation you're in. Next time you embark on a project, try the following steps to plan for success, but also to recognize the time to quit.
1. Establish a clear ROI
Before you embark on any new project, you need to be clear about what type of return you want and within what sort of timescales. Without this, it’s very difficult to identify throughout the project whether you’re on track, whether you’re likely to succeed, or whether you can see early on that the chances of a reasonable return are, in practice, too low to continue.
2. Plan review points
You should also ensure you put clear review points into the project plan. It can sometimes feel like you’re slowing down the project, but these points are critical and pivotal. The temptation, especially if you are concerned you are falling behind, is to ignore these review points when they arrive. However, the discipline of keeping to them will bring great returns.
3. Be objective and analytical
Unless you are genuinely objective and analytical in these reviews, they will be useless. You need to ask yourself tough questions such as:
Don’t be afraid of the answers, otherwise, your decision will be based on flawed information.
4. Explore options
You should always be exploring the options available to you. But, when you’re conducting the review outlined above, you must look beyond the project to consider whether the time and money you’re investing in this program is still the best option.
5. Difficult doesn't mean impossible
Very few projects go like clockwork, entirely hassle or obstacle free. Indeed, some feel like a daily battle. When this is the case, it is useful to consider whether the mental energy, as well as the time and money, is just too much of a drain. Although it’s difficult to be totally self-aware, you must try. Rarely do great results come easily. So, the skill you must display is that of differentiating between continuing when something’s hard and quitting because the chance of success has receded too far.
6. Swallow your pride
There is a strong link to pride, sometimes, on a project. It is ‘your baby’. Everyone knows it is yours and to even contemplate quitting makes you immediately feel like a failure.
Whilst it’s true that deciding to quit a project, and telling people is uncomfortable, it’s not as bad as getting to the end, having used valuable time, money, energy and other resources only for it to fail to provide a decent return.
Stopping part way through, if linked to clear decision-making throughout a well-managed project, will actually enhance your reputation. If you are genuinely driving the business forward, nobody expects you to get it right all of the time.
7. Make the decision
Finally, if you've looked at the evidence, checked that it’s not sentiment or pride that’s clouding your judgement, you just need to make the decision about moving on or quitting. Whether the decision is to continue, or to quit, apply your next moves with the same energy and belief, until it’s time to review again!
When you embark on a project, it’s demotivating to imagine that it will ever fail, and with good planning and organisation, there’s no reason why it should. Sometimes, though, things just don’t seem to be in your favour. At times like that, it’s better to be realistic, and brave enough to pull the plug.
Even if you do have to admit defeat, try to see something positive in it. After all, the great and the good have all experienced failure too. WD40 is so called because the inventors only found success with the 40th attempt at making the product. And take heed from the words of Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
Heather Foley is a consultant at etsplc.com, a bespoke provider of HR technology and consultancy
This is how successful people become more successful in many areas of their life. Instead of having an information group with whom you brainstorm, imagine having your own Personal Advisory Board you can go to for advice and feedback.
This is more like a group of mentors, carefully chosen, who can provide you with mentoring and feedback across a wide variety of your professional concerns. Each advisor should be selected to fulfill specific goals in your professional (and possibly personal) life.
To get you started thinking about your Personal Advisory Board, here are six roles that I recommend for your board:
1) The Supporter is a master listener and knows much about you as a person. He is always there to lend an encouraging ear, a hug, or a kick in the bottom.
2) The Bridge is otherwise known as the connector. This is the matchmaker for your career. Connectors love to engender relationships among people who might not otherwise have met. They are infectious and inspire others to be more like them.
3) The Sage is a person of profound wisdom is many areas. Everyone needs a sage. This should be someone who they admire, has done it all, made the mistakes, learned from them, and then triumphed. This is one of the most trusted positions on the board.
4) The Questioner is imperative for your board. It pays to surround yourself with people who will question your motives, decisions, and intentions. It’s amazing how the question “why are you doing this” will make you stop and think.
5) The Risk Taker is an inspiration to you. These people have made mistakes and wrong decisions, but they have learned from them and will encourage you to do the same. Their mantra is “you won’t know unless you try”.
6) The Maven is an expert in a particular field--yours. They are often ahead of the curve with their thoughts and ideas. These are the folks who help you make informed decisions.
It’s essential for you to be proactive and build your Personal Advisory Board BEFORE you think you need it. Take the time to build these relationships so that there is mutual trust and respect between you and your board members. This is important because you want your Advisory Board to give you honest feedback. If it’s truly honest feedback, it isn't always positive and isn't always something you want to hear. That’s why the relationship is so important.
A Personal Advisory Board can be a valuable tool to help you grow and be successful professionally. Taking the time upfront to identify the roles needed and to choose the members wisely will pay off in the long run as you encounter challenges in your career.
In an op-ed piece, Sylvia Hepler notes there are productivity robbers we must constrain. She writes:
Handling the same item over and over produces anxiety. As the pressure builds, physical and mental health issues may develop. Here's a fact: If you don't feel well, can't find things, and fail to deliver, your professional relationships suffer. For most people, that's a serious problem.
That's all stuff that still likely sound familiar. We know that stress leads to health concerns. Consider the amount of time we waste searching for misplaced items. If we can't deal with what's in front of us, the consequences are significant.
Hepler points out several issues that prevent us from being effective at our job. One in particular relates to power dynamics:
Making yourself accessible to staff 24/7? Acquiescing to countless interruptions? Putting your own needs on hold? These are choices that steal your power. Adjust your open door policy.
There's plenty there we find familiar. Here on The Methodology Blog, we have noted that interruptions are a cause of overwork. When people or systems get in the way of what you are doing needlessly, it's hard to be productive.
Interruptions, however, are usually a sign of a much deeper problem. When people want your attention right now, it often means that they aren't thinking about what else you have to do. If I feel I have the right to knock on your door and ask you a question, it means I think my request is more urgent than anything you could possibly be doing.
That's not just someone being insensitive. That's a cultural problem. The opinion piece continues:
A culture makeover may be in order. If you're the boss, ask your employees what they need most to do their best work with less stress. If you're caught in the middle and have no authority, do your part to improve conversations, meeting content, and strategies wherever you are. Even a tiny pebble tossed into a stream alters the current.
This is advice in two parts:
Or, as Hepler concludes:
As your value at work increases, you feel happier and more in control. You get to shine. It starts with a choice.
John Alker of The Guardian posted a piece on this issue, taking a hard look at buildings and their relationship to workers. They recognize that your salary and benefits take a big chunk (90%) of the company's operational costs, compared to the 1% of energy usage and 9% that goes to rent. This makes you and your coworkers a pretty big deal. So if you're not happy with where you have to work, why isn't more being done to change that?
Most engineers and architects know all about the connection between a structure and poor health and productivity. In fact, the World Green Building Council got together and discussed this issue with other experts to bring light to this problem. So what did their research yield? It's absolutely irrefutable that your dingy office is not only affecting you mentally but physically as well. To quote:
Good indoor air quality, thermal comfort, high quality views, daylight, good acoustics and indeed location and amenities – all play a crucial role in creating a healthy, productive workplace.
The Guardian even had examples to back this claim up. A 2006 study of poor air quality showed that employees' performances were lowered by 10% when measuring speed of typing and output of units. Not only that, but short term sick leave took a hit when fresh hair was being ventilated into the building, lowered by nearly 35%. Temperature wise, a baseline of 21C to 23C was used to prove there was a 10% reduction in performance at 30C and 15C. And when it comes to that awful office lighting, research in 2011 of Northwest University, Washington, showed that those who had offices with natural lighting and a better view took 6.5% less sick days. Not only that, but Neuroscientists have claimed that workers that have loads of natural lighting (173% more) actually gain 46 more minutes of sleep every night. And we all know how important sleep is regarding productivity.
We here at The Methodology Blog know all about how a poorly designed workspace has a huge impact on employee satisfaction. We have written about the affect it has on workplace productivity plenty of times. So what is the answer? Well, giving employees some control over the temperature of their area is a great idea. Find a way to let some light into your office. These small fixes will help save on the energy bill, too. But that isn't enough to eradicate this problem. What's the first step that companies can take to really give this issue some attention? Alker explained:
No matter how convincing the evidence, it will only make a difference when organisations can make their own business case. We have created a toolkit for organisations to fit to their own circumstances. It’s based on three broad types of data: financial, perceptual and physical.
The power is in the company's hands. Most companies are already collecting data on their turnover rate, medical issues, and absenteeism. The problem is that they're not using this data to take a look at how their employees are reacting to their environment. It's not as hard as it may seem to switch the focus, either. Every HR team already gathers information on employee happiness and performance while Facility Managers will have data on the building itself. Companies just need to use this information differently. Reaching out to business process consulting experts would be a great way to dip your toes into this growing concern.
We all have those days. No matter how much you enjoy your job, no matter how engaged you normally are, no matter how rewarding a good day's work usually is, we all occasionally feel that we'd much rather not be working. You may have that feeling more than you'd care to disclose. If you do, you either need to apply for a different job, or take some practical steps to keep yourself motivated.
So what should you do when you're struggling to make any progress?
1. What’s in it for you?
You have to start here. Sometimes, this step alone is all that’s needed to kick-start your usual, motivated self. So, invest a few minutes in reminding yourselfwhy you’re at work, what work gives you, what you enjoy about the job, and what it would be like to be without it. It’s amazing how powerful it is to have a clear perspective on the important things!
2. Commit to others
This is a well-known tactic: commit what you intend to achieve to other people. This way, you will feel motivated to complete what you need to so as not to disappoint your colleagues. Any time you feel like slacking off, that awful thought of telling your colleagues you have failed will motivate you to stay positive.
3. Break it down
If something feels like it’s going to be a slog, break it down into short, manageable sections. That way, you will experience the success of achieving things several times a day.
4. Give yourself rewards
Perhaps it’s a fresh cup of tea? Or maybe a quick call home to ask your kids about their day? Whatever it is, it should put a smile on your face for a few moments. Keep yourself motivated with the promise of rewards.
Editor's note: Be careful with these techniques. While they may work for you personally, you can't translate them into a management practice. Rewards don't always motivate others, so you can't take what helps you be motivated to and apply it to your colleagues.
5. Do the worst thing first
When you have an immense amount of work to do, and you worry about completing it all, you need to prioritise and do the most urgent and important tasks first. However, when you have plenty of time, and the problem is motivation, make sure you complete the tasks you least like first as this is the time of your strongest resolve.
6. Get some fresh air
If you start to feel low on energy or resolve at any point, sometimes the best thing to do is to get out and enjoy some fresh air. A brisk five-minute walk outside can do wonders for energy levels and can give your motivation a valuable boost.
7. Visualize the end
As the day ends, and your resolve wanes, pause for a moment and visualize two endings. In the first, you decide to slack off and leave things undone. You would need to inform your colleagues that you won’t, after all, be giving them what you committed to. You’ll go home feeling pretty down and you’ll possibly have to gear yourself up tomorrow to complete today’s tasks.
The alternative ending is that you complete everything. You can give your colleagues exactly what you promised and you’ll return home with the satisfaction of a great day’s work done, despite how it started.
Keeping yourself motivated isn’t easy. It takes real effort and a determination that you might have to acquire, but it’s vital. Motivational speaker, Les Brown, agreed, when he said “life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner”. Now, get yourself motivated with that thought in mind!
Heather Foley is a consultant at etsplc.com, a a leading HR consultancy. ETS takes a bespoke approach to every project to ensure that all clients get their ideal survey solution.
First, a quick primer on why we think of work as forty hours spread across five days. The answer to that question is: labor unions. As reported by PBS:
Around the turn of the twentieth century, a popular movement for the eight-hour day in the U.S. rippled from coast to coast. At least fifty years earlier, working Americans were pushing for a ten-hour day standard. But by the 1880s, many Americans called for an even shorter workday of eight-hours.Groups of laborers across the country, from cobblers and garment cutters to machinists and carpenters, began organizing Knights of Labor assemblies, which called for better working conditions.
That's a big drop. In fact, according to Discovery News, "[In 1890,] full-time manufacturing employees worked an average of 100 hours a week and building tradesmen were on the job an average 102 hours."
Whether it's enforced by government mandate, market forces, or company practices, shorter workdays do make sense. Since taking breaks increases productivity, it stands to reason that changing the duration of work might have a positive impact.
So why not even shorter? That's the story of one city government office in Sweden:
Municipal staff in Gothenburg will act as guinea pigs in a proposed push for six-hour workdays with full pay, with hopes that it will cut down on sick leave, boost efficiency, and ultimately save Sweden money."We think it's time to give this a real shot in Sweden," Mats Pilhem, Left Party deputy mayor of Gothenburg, told The Local. He explained that the municipal council would use two different departments - a test group and a control group, in essence. Staff in one section will cut down to six-hour days, while their colleagues in a different section stick to the ordinary forty-hour week. All employees will be given the same pay.
The debate isn't just about the length of the workday, but also the total number of hours. The experiment in Sweden will either prove that employees can get more done in less time, or they can't. Consider these possibilities:
A more fundamental question might be: How long should people work? A much larger experiment with even more profound effects on society has been running for decades. It's a debate in the nursing community about the length of a shift. In a blog post for American Nurse Today, Dona Cardillo asks: Are 12-hour shifts safe?
12-hour shifts have become the norm in hospitals...[However,] a recent study done by the University of Maryland concludes that the odds of making patient errors increases three-fold when nurses work 12-hour vs. 8.5-hour shifts.
That's not to say a shorter shift is always safer than a longer shift. In healthcare, anyway, there's considerable evidence to note that the greatest risk factor to the patient happens right around the changeover. But certainly there are limits to how long people can work and remain effective.
The bottom line is this: you should stop working when you're tired. You should take breaks when you need to. And to the degree that it is practical, companies should create schedules that are based on understanding how fatigue impacts the work at hand.
Maybe nobody works the last two hours. And if so, they shouldn't be expected to be there. After all, isn't work about getting things done?
Frances Booth, a contributor at Forbes takes a hard look at exactly how we could all become more organized. In fact, she's even started a series of blog posts dedicated to it. She explains how and why mental clutter affects us in such a negative way. When your brain is clogged, it has a hard time sorting out the easiest of tasks. You may even find yourself sitting in front of your computer, finger on the mouse and totally sure you were just about to do something, but you lost your train of thought. This happens because we are a generation of multitaskers. In fact, many job postings insist on a potential employee being able to multitask. But if multitasking has a negative impact on efficiency at work, why is it so sought after? And why do we all strive to be able to claim that supposed attribute?
We here at The Methodology Blog have taken a hard look into multitasking at work and totally debunk it. So how can you spot the clutter before it becomes enemy number one? Booth provides us with a pretty clear example:
"For example, say you read your emails first thing in the morning, but reply to none of them. Then you turn to a task you have to get done. It’s likely that you won’t be able to focus fully on the task. Cluttered thinking will be getting in the way. You’ll be thinking about those emails that you read, what your response will be, and perhaps even how you’re going to phrase your messages. You might even write and re-write the messages in your mind, again, and again, and again."
How many of you can say you have done this exact thing? Probably at least once a day! It's a prime example of how clutter is taking up way too much space inside your head. One suggestion for avoiding this is reading your emails only when you plan on actually taking the time to reply to them. And that goes for all other mind-cluttering tasks. When you're ready and prepared to tackle a project, you won't be sitting back and thinking about it the rest of the day, which is not only taxing on your stress level but an unnecessary mental drain that can be prevented.
Now, we know what you're thinking: what about the times I've already gone ahead and opened an email message? It's like a ticking time bomb in your brain now! What do you do? Booth has a suggestion:
"But if you’re not responding instantly, move the message to another folder and make a note to tackle it at a specified time, so it can be transferred off your running mental To Do list."
Booth also discusses the familiar social media and technology bombardments that distract the mind on a daily basis. While we're all for using these tools at work (it has been shown that many companies see productivity growth when using social media). But if you don't know how to manage your time wisely, these tools can become a time-wasting trap. If you see it affecting your focus, turn it off and put it away!
Looking for more ways to increase your workplace productivity? Reach out to one of our experienced business process improvement consultants for more information!
Often, people's intentions come across in a way that has a different impact from what they truly intend. When this happens, it's time for you to have a difficult conversation.
Here are two helpful definitions of intend and impact:
Intent: What I say, do, or know.Impact: What others see or hear.
It's important to remember that we judge ourselves based on our intent & we judge others based on the impact we see.
Let's look at this situation: Your employee believes (intends) that he always listens to and values others' opinions. Your perception (impact) is that he often is in a rush and does not listen well to others. This creates a GAP between your employee's intent and his impact on others.
When "who your employee is" doesn't align with "how others see him", this creates a critical disconnect that needs to be addressed. Your job, as his manager/supervisor, is to provide feedback so that he sees the difference between his intent and the impact that others see. This is often a matter of helping him step into other people's shoes so that he can have a fresh look at how he's viewed.
Here are 5 steps, using intent amd impact, to help you address this difficult issue. Try saying the following:
1) I know that you intend to do a great job every day at work and that you believe you always listen to and value other people's opinions.
These words are intended to reinforce the idea that we all go to work with the best of intentions. We're there to help, and by reminding people that we know this, we're starting the conversation in productive place.
2) My perception (impact) is that you rush many times and do not listen well to others. So this creates a GAP. Here are some examples of what I have seen: give specific examples of his behavior.
Be prepared: Feedback can come as a shock. You may hear things like "you don't know who I really am...I'm not like that...That's not what I intended...Why would you say this?" Acknowledge what is said, and try to maintain eye contact.
3) I'm sure that's not what you intended. Put yourself in my place--what would you think about the intent if you saw that your employee was in a rush much of the time and did not seem to listen well?
Now, wait for your employee to answer. The waiting is important! Feel free to ask open-ended questions to lead the discussion.
4) We've talked about the gap between your intent and the impact that I see. What do you want your behavior to look like so that your intent and impact align?
Again, wait for the employee to answer, and ask open-ended questions to lead the discussion.
5) So that we can ensure your intent and impact are aligning with this situation, let's schedule a time to meet to follow up.
This ensures that the employee knows that the conversation is about ongoing improvement, not just one-time feedback.
It's not always easy to talk about the gap between what we mean and what was heard. This discussion will probably feel uncomfortable at first; however, feedback and follow up are the only way that your employee can know about and understand the gap between his intent and his impact on others.
Now, you're prepared to work on the difference between what people want and what effect their actions have!
AccelaWork helps organizations everyday learn to engage their employees more successfully. Contact them today with your question about building better workplace productivity.
Many of us put in 40 hours a week at work. Even that can feel overwhelming at times. When there is an important project or deadline that needs to be completed, it can demand even more than those dedicated 40 hours. You may find yourself sitting at your desk, jealously watching coworkers clock out at 5:30 and resign yourself to putting in extra hours, maybe for the rest of the week. Better make an extra strong pot of coffee and get to work. But what if there was a better way to manage your schedule, meet your deadlines, and still make it out of the office at quitting time?
Eric Barkeer writes in The Week concerning this exact issue. Barker reached out to his friend, Cal Newport, who seems to be a genius at getting work done and leaving the office at exactly 5:30 PM every single day. Newport, who is a full-time professor at Georgetown University, teaches classes, meets with students, pens several peer-reviewed academic journal papers every year, blogs, has written four books and somehow manages to be married and father to a young child. So how does he get this all done while rarely working a weekend or putting in overtime? Check out his tips and our thoughts below:
1) To-do lists are evil. Schedule everything. We're pretty fond of to-do lists around here. Writing out the day's tasks can help ease a scattered brain. In fact, one of our guest bloggers suggests keeping that list to just three items. But as Barker points out, sitting down and writing out a bunch of stuff you have to do is only the first step. Go the extra mile and schedule those tasks. Just because you jotted down "take care of emails" as your second item for the day doesn't mean that it's actually efficient to handle because it happens to be #2. Looking at your calendar and plotting out the timing of your to-do list is necessary!
2) Assume you're going home at 5:30, then plan your day backwards. So you've decided to leave on time today. What's next? Give yourself a deadline. Don't leave your entire day open to just complete work as it pops up throughout the day. If you give yourself those 8 hours to get work done, the deadline being your specific clock-out time, you're less likely to end up getting stuck finishing things. This is why actually scheduling your duties off of your to-do list is so important, and working backwards can help you finish on time.
3) Make a plan for the entire week. Most of us have a hard enough time planning a day, let alone an entire week. But Newport insists that looking at the bigger picture is necessary:
"People don't look at the larger picture with their time and schedule. I know each day what I'm doing with each hour of the day. I know each week what I'm doing with each day of the week and I know each month what I'm doing with each week of the month."Sure, things will pop up along the way. But if you know your schedule, then you can accommodate these issues and work around them.
4) Do very few things, but be awesome at them. This is a great piece of advice. No, you won't get every single thing on your to-do list done, but trying to do that is what gets you stuck in your chair later than necessary. You're taking on too much! Our employee productivity experts have discussed how necessary it is to say no. Get rid of unessential tasks and give your attention to things that are actually a priority. And do them excellently.
Good work can be completed within a 40 hour week, but it requires some efficiency. If you're interested in learning how your organization can use its time better, contact us at Accelawork.
It's true we've covered the role of color in the office before. But Mark's piece looks specifically at the color yellow, with some interesting links. Take a look below!
Wouldn’t it be great if you would become more productive by painting the walls yellow? I recently read an article on 6 Totally Strange But Effective Productivity Hacks. One of the six encouraged us to surround ourselves with yellow.According to the article, filling your office with the color yellow can help you concentrate. This sunny color decreases the production of melatonin, the hormone which makes you sleepy. Supposedly putting yellow objects and furnishings around your office can keep you more alert and awake, leading to better productivity and renewed focus.
My curiosity led me to investigate how yellow was being used in workplace design. Another article I found claimed yellow is associated with intellect and the expression of thoughts.
Further searches led me to this site that showcases rooms decorated in yellow, and a site that sells yellow office chairs.
Do you think it really makes a difference? If it did, I would imagine all offices becoming yellow. We all want more productivity, right?
Maybe the reason we don’t see all the offices in the world decorated in yellow is because different colors impact the environment in different ways. For example, orange is a color of adventure which inspires and creates enthusiasm. It is optimistic and sociable and suggests affordability. Who would have known?
If yellow does not seem to be working for you, I would suggest getting back to basics by defining smart goals that are linked to your passion and have your full attention. If you need some help with making the basics effective, lets talk about it. If you decide you want to try yellow walls, call a painter!
The skeptical manager may have difficulty believing that something as simple as the color of the walls could improve productivity. But Mark is onto something when he notes that "if yellow doesn't work for you...get back to basics by defining your goals." If your goal is to help your team get more done, then giving them the authority to control their environment is a key step.
After all, someone may prefer yellow, blue, or even the great outdoors. The less we focus on control and the more we focus on results, the better the outcome for everyone.
Mark S. Brown is an executive coach who is passionate about personal development. He works to make a difference in people's lives by empowering them with skills and knowledge that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in. Mark has been coached, mentored, and certified by John Maxwell and his team. This coaching certification allows Mark to successfully coach and train individuals, groups, organizations, and companies.
If you are a man and reading this, have you ever sat back and wished that you could just be surrounded by only dudes at work? And ladies, wouldn't it be nice to just have a bunch of girls to work with? Wouldn't it be easier without having to worry about gender roles in the office? In fact, both genders feel more comfortable working with their specific sex. It makes sense yet it doesn't necessarily translate into increased productivity. In fact, it will actually hurt your bottom line to have gender specific offices.
EurkeAlert! published an article detailing some findings that are sure to surprise most of you: Having a more gender diverse workplace will actually increase productivity. The paper, "Diversity, Social Goods Provision, and Performance in the Firm," that was published in the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy is causing quite the commotion on this topic. And while it may help your bottom line to be diverse, it doesn't mean that employees will be pleased with it. In fact, gender diversity has actually shown to decrease employee satisfaction. Sara Ellison, co-author of the paper and MIT researcher, explains:
"Having a more diverse set of employees means you have a more diverse set of skills which could result in an office that functions better."
But how does this affect worker happiness? She continues:
"The more homogeneous offices have higher levels of social capital. But the interesting twist is that ... higher levels of social capital are not important enough to cause those offices to perform better. The employees might be happier, they might be more comfortable, and these might be cooperative places, but they seem to perform less well."
So how did Ellison and her partner, Wallace P. Mullin, an economist hailing from George Washington University, discover these findings? Using results from a company with over 60 offices in the United States as well as abroad during an eight year period from 1995 to 2002. The company studied, ideal in its varying workplace environments, has offices consisting of entirely female workers, some that are entirely male, and also maintaining mixed gender ones to boot. Ellison and Mullin were able to study morale, satisfaction, and cooperation in each environment. They found that the offices with evenly split genders saw an increase in revenue by about 41 percent. But how is that possible? Well, having a mixed gender workplace offers more diversity in experience. Another observation that they were able to make may come as a surprise. Ellison stated:
"In offices where people thought the firm was accepting of diversity, they were happier and more cooperative. But that didn't translate into any effect on office performance. People may like the idea of a diverse workplace more than they like actual diversity in the workplace."
We here at The Methodology Blog are constantly on the lookout for ways to increase employee satisfaction and also improve employee retention. Does that mean that companies should shift to having one gender to accommodate happiness? Not if you want to see an increase in revenue. But even if a company states they are gender diverse, without even backing that claim up, employees were happier. That doesn't mean they are more efficient at all, but they enjoy the idea that they work for a company that states its diverse. In reality, most people just feel more comfortable working with the same sex.
Looking for some more thoughts and ideas on productivity? Reach out to one of our experts in business improvement services!
Monster.com isn't just a place to post resumes and look for jobs. It also provides sound advice when it comes to our careers. In 3 reasons you shouldn't try to multitask, the ill-effects of multitasking are brought to light through the perspectives of several productivity experts including our very own Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork. Below we highlight some of the key components to this discussion.
Multitasking Makes You Less Productive
One of the most eye-opening statements in this post is that 40% of our productive time is lost when we shift from one project to the other before finishing any one entirely. Think about that? If the goal is to get more done in a day, how can multitasking be a viable solution with a statistic like that? As The Methodology Blog has advised readers in the past: multitasking is a myth and this myth is a serious problem.
Tamara Myels, a certified professional organizer and productivity consultant, advises the following:
When you are trying to listen to your voicemail while reading your email, or reading other materials during meetings, multitasking is working against you. Instead, identify the priorities, the tasks — the important things you need to work on — and work on them one at a time. Time management isn’t about doing more things; it’s about doing more of the important things.
Multitasking Makes You Less Effective
How many of us have attempted to talk on the phone and write an email at the same time? It's fairly easy to do, but we all can certainly attest to the fact that, despite our best efforts, one line of communication is inevitably lost. Either we completely stop listening to the person on the phone, casually contributing "Mmms" and "Oh, yeah(s)?" to suggest otherwise, or type out fragmented sentences and misspell words that will inevitably need our full attention for editing after the phone call. No matter what, productivity is reduced because, once again, we operated under the assumption that getting two things done at once is best in terms of our productivity. According to Slaughter, this scenario is far from ideal:
Multitasking is the worst way to try and get lots of things done ... It's contrary to human psychology. We do best when we concentrate on one task at time. It's also insulting to the work (and the person who assigned it), because it indicates that task doesn't deserve our complete attention.
Multitasking Can Slow Down Your Brain
Nowadays, it's become quite habit-forming to dive into numerous projects at the same time. Whether it's at work or at home, we've become so accustomed to this behavior it has become second nature to us. The problem is that doing this is hurting our brains! Monster.com's article highlights a study from Stanford University that says those of us who often multitask are less efficient in our work even on the occasions we choose to tackle one project at a time. So not only is multitasking hurting our productivity and effectiveness, it's also diligently working against us in the long term! In this case, Slaughter relays some pointers as to how we can combat our habitual instincts to take on several projects at a time:
To fight the urge to multitask, redirect your focus. Try maximizing your computer windows to hide distractions, putting on headphones (even with no music, just to communicate to others to leave you alone), turning off email pop-ups and setting your phone to do-not disturb. And when you really need to focus, leave your desk and head for a conference room.
Increasing personal productivity is a fantastic goal and one we all should continually strive for. And while it's easy to believe that multitasking will help in this area, we assure you it won't. But, that doesn't mean there aren't new ways to work that will aid in your efforts of gaining effective strategies in your job. It's just a matter of understanding the right path versus the wrong one.
No one can be an efficient, work-completing machine all day, every day right? We end up telling ourselves little lies to support this claim because really, you can be productive every day and you know it. Some of us spend so much time thinking up ways to get out of finishing a task that we probably could have already completed it in the amount of time spent procrastinating. And we here at The Methodology Blog know exactly what procrastination does to productivity growth. The Business Insider posted an article by Janet Choi that zeroes in on a cold hard truth - you're lying to yourself. She points out the top 3 lies we tell ourselves to avoid having to be productive. Check them out below along with some of our own thoughts on these deceitful little mind games we play on ourselves.
1. I’m going to catch up later.
This is definitely the most common dishonest thought that crosses many of our minds. You have a huge report due by the end of the week? That's fine, you can catch up on it tomorrow, right? You have other duties to attend to, anyway. So you put it off today, then maybe the next day, as well. Suddenly, your deadline is looming and you find yourself in panic mode. How could this have happened! You were totally going to catch up later, right? Wrong. Carve out enough time for each task on a daily basis. Don't kid yourself into thinking you will ever catch up if you continually put things off for tomorrow. Choi points to using the 70% rule which states if you're at least 70% sure you want to start a task, just dive in.
2. I just don’t have any time.
It's hard to find enough time in any given day to finish everything. The anxiety that comes from having so much to do before you can finally crash into bed can overwhelm you, so you keep telling yourself this little lie to excuse not getting everything done. In fact, there are ways to get your tasks completed every single day if you learn how to manage time correctly. Because when it comes down to it, time management is productivity. So break out a pen, make a to-do list, and start filling up your calendar. Being able to see where your time is going every day helps you not waste a single moment!
3. I’m productive because I've been so busy.
Do you end days feeling absolutely exhausted from how busy you are; yet you still find that you have a mountain of duties to climb the next day? That's probably because you fill your day with busy work. Maybe you reorganized your desk, sorted out some clutter, and cleaned out your email. But what did that do to chip away at your actual tasks? (You know, the big ones that your company depends on you completing) Sure, it helps to stay organized, but if you exhaust yourself on the little things, you won't have time to check off to-do list items. Choi has an excellent idea to help nip this issue in the bud:
"Keep a done list where you write down what you get done. Take a pause at the end of the day to reflect on what you got done, rather than focusing on the many things you have left to do."
This is a fantastic way to keep track of how much time you are spending on tasks and what you are actually accomplishing!
Let's be honest, not everyone cares whether or not they have a reputation in the office. In fact, some people may actually like the fact that others have labeled them in a particular way. And despite the notion that reputations are purely a high school thing--a phase we clearly mature out of--we are still in fact human. It's in our nature to internally speculate about behavior and place judgments on others based on what we see rather than what we actually know. In fact, the Webster's Dictionary defines the word as such:
rep'u'ta'tion (noun) The common opinion that people have about someone or something : overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general.
So what's the typical cycle of reputations? How are they started? How do they spread? How do we clue ourselves in to them? And finally, how can we combat them respectfully? There are so many questions and most certainly, many answers. Today however, we'll simply touch upon the subject matter to provide a visual and encourage our readers to share their opinions and advice.
How We Create Reputations
How many times have you made assumptions about a person based on what you observe? Perhaps saying to yourself something along the lines of the following:
No one cares to admit that not only is it relatively easy to base our opinions on an individual's demeanor, but by doing so, we create an unspoken reputation that's hard for the target to combat. After all, when was the last time someone in your company openly admitted that you are considered the office bully, gossip, procrastinator, crab apple, know-it-all, drama queen, etc.? Our guess is rarely if not ever. And that is a major problem to the individual who is unaware of how people view them.
When Your Reputation Is Revealed
Meet Dave. He is six foot six and 250 pounds. He has worked at his company for 15 years and has a hefty background in closing business deals. Naturally, he is the office go-to person when problems arise or difficult negotiations are needed. He's tough when it's warranted and aggressive when he needs to be. And while he has a strong, confident air about him, he simultaneously fosters a great rapport with the customers he accommodates. Recently however, Dave is discovering he has a reputation in the office. On two separate occasions, colleagues have revealed they find him intimidating.
I was forwarded an email chain that contained a discussion about an upcoming meeting. I was not originally on the email chain, so those involved did not filter their apprehensions about working with me. The word 'intimidated' was not used, but some of the communication eluded as such. Then, during our office Christmas party, I sat with one of my coworkers for dinner. We had a few laughs, talked about work and just enjoyed the atmosphere. At one point in the conversation, she looked at me and said she was surprised by how nice I was. I asked her why and she said I was very intimidating in the office. It was difficult to hear because I've never viewed myself in such a way. After that, I began making more of an effort at becoming more approachable.
Dave's size alone can be misleading. At first glance, it's easy to be intimidated by his tall, bulky frame. To exasperate it all, he is also the person in the group who has the job of being tough with negotiations and fixing problematic situations. So, it isn't difficult to see how feelings of intimidation could arise. As it turns out however, once he was in a relaxed environment, judgments and assumptions were put to rest. All it took was a conversation to see that deep down, he's just a genuinely nice and funny guy.
Combating False Assumptions If you know (or think) you have a reputation at work trust us: it's not the end of the world. It is however, something you should try to put to rest. And not necessarily because we think you need to belong to the group or follow the crowd. False or not, a reputation can weaken your position in the company. You could end up being underestimated or overlooked for a particular project or role simply because people don't like working with you. Inevitably, negative perceptions in the office can affect personal productivity and stall one's ability to work effectively within a team setting.
One way to overcome judgement in the office is by taking a step outside of yourself to perceive what others are seeing. Ask yourself, are you approachable? Do you make an effort to connect with those around you? Are you sending signals that are off-putting to others?
Do you have advice on how to combat office reputations? Let's get the conversation going!
Gmail is massively popular, both for work and personal use. We here at The Methodology Blog know how hard it can be to navigate through email overload and somehow improve your productivity at the same time. This is where plugins can come in and save your life. Most of us aren't even aware these exist!
Lifehack hosts a series on their site called Ask The Entrepreneurs, which is a great way to get some solid advice from successful business people. Not surprisingly, the question of how to manage your Gmail inbox is posed. Multiple entrepreneurs chime in with their favorites and we couldn't agree more with their choices. Check out their list and our thoughts below!
1. Rapportive
It can be a nightmare to try to keep clients and coworkers straight in your head. Rapportive gathers some background information on them so you can actually put a name and a face to that email address.
2. Send & Archive
Part of the reason we love this plugin is because it's free. The other part is that this is like having your own personal inbox cleaner. All you have to do is hit this button after you respond to an email and it neatly archives the whole thread, keeping the clutter at bay!
3. Ecquire
This blends the use of a CRM system with your inbox seamlessly. No more bouncing back and forth, trying to make sure you grabbed all your pertinent emails. One click and Ecquire sends your emails and contacts through.
4. Boomerang
Wish you could schedule your emails to be sent throughout the day? Now you can. Not only will Boomerang do that, but it will shoot back important emails to your inbox to remind you to take care of them. It's like a personal inbox assistant!
5. Email Game
This is a personal favorite of mine, probably because I love video games so much. Email Game will chronologically give you your emails one at a time. You have to respond as quickly as you can to earn some points. It's fun, and before you know it, your messages are all taken care of!
6. KeyRocket
Wish you could learn all those nifty shortcuts on your keyboard? KeyRocket will show you the way to move at lightening speed through your inbox.
7. Unroll.me
Have you found yourself drowning in a ton of newsletters you either forgot you signed up for or didn't realize you would receive on a weekly, sometimes daily basis? Install this plugin to help you unsubscribe to them in one sweep!
8. Dropbox
The free email that Dropbox provides may seem like just another thing you have to check. Yet it really helps organize your inbox even more by dumping them into one folder.
9. FollowUp
All you have to do is blind copy FollowUp and this little helper reminds you of that email to your specifications. Not only that but it merges with your calendar so it will remind you even if you forget to remind it!
10. ActiveInbox
ActiveInbox works by turning your inbox into an efficient task manager. Your emails become tasks, lets you put due dates on messages, creates an email to-do list, and so much more.
11. Auto-Advance
Have you ever found yourself sending an email, then staring at your inbox again, trying to figure out what to do next? Auto-Advance doesn't give you that opportunity. It moves you right onto the next email after hitting send.
12. Canned Responses
If you use a specific format for an email, be it for customers or clients, Canned Responses will let you save that form and insert it into future emails. No more copying and pasting!
Looking for more tips to stay productive? Reach out to our organizational productivity consultants today for more information!
Robby Slaughter, a workflow and productivity expert and the founder of AccelaWork, dives into the topic of marketing time management in his article on the Indiana Society of Association Executives (ISAE) Blog. Slaughter discusses how particular marketing tasks can be either forgotten or overlooked, inevitably stalling both the effectiveness of a company's marketing strategies as well as the overall workflow and productivity of those involved.
But, there are ways we can improve the process and increase time management all around. Slaughter suggests that if we provide undivided attention and make an effort to satisfy two elements to time management for online marketing, we not only effectively reach our target audience, but do so quite successfully in all matters speaking. Below are are few of his thoughts on efficiently working with your marketing pro:
MAXIMIZE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Schedule and stick to meetings:
Come prepared with questions, ideas and assignments. Start and end on time. Make sure you’re focused on having a meaningful conversation, not just a to do list.
Use collaborative software:
Avoid the endless barrage of emails and instead update the mutual, virtual whiteboard. That way, everyone can see project status without the frustration of interruptions—and everyone can focus on advancing your association, rather than dealing with communication challenges.
Give positive and negative feedback:
If all you offer is either praise or criticism, your words may fall on deaf ears. Provide a range!
PROVIDE RESOURCES
Regardless of whether or not you think your marketing professional is well in tune with your company, it is imperative to provide them with as much useful information as possible about the business, target audience, goals, etc. If you want to promote your company in the best way possible, educate and communicate as much as you can to those in charge of spearheading your marketing campaign! Information that is helpful to relay: member names, cities, past purchases, employers, and membership type. These details can help personalize and segment messages for particular branding and, as Slaughter suggests, help tell your company's story:
By leveraging our time and our resources intelligently, we can offer useful, practical and powerful information to customers. We can share our stories over and over again and build a reputation among those who want to do business with our organization. Marketing, in essence, is storytelling to an audience for the purpose of making the business relationship a meaningful one. Use your marketing time wisely, and show respect for the time that your marketing professional is devoting to your association.
Achieving a successful marketing plan can feel like a race where sprinting seems to be the only solution. And while it's easy to focus only on the finish line itself, remember that it takes collaboration and support to actually get across. So do your leg of the relay and pass the baton effectively!
First: where is this data coming from? According to a piece from National Geographic that covers a University of Iowa study:
[Participants where asked to] recall sounds, images, and objects after an hour, a day, and then a week. Auditory recall came in last, lagging far behind the tactile and visual memories, which the students recalled at about the same level. The longer the time that elapsed, the greater the gap became, with auditory memory lagging farther and farther behind the other types of memory.
The evidence is clear: listening is hard!
When you become a better listener, you improve your productivity and your ability to influence, persuade, and negotiate. This will enable you to manage conflict better and avoid misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success.
Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps:
Notice that real listening is an “active” process--the way to become a better listener is to practice “active listening”. This is when you make a conscious effort to not only hear the words that someone is saying but to also understand and judge the complete message being sent.
So what should you do to become an active listener?
In order to be successful in the workplace, you must be able to write, speak, and listen effectively. Listening is the most important of these, because it's so universal. Listening is also the most difficult skill to do well. Practicing active listening enables you to become more productive and better able to handle the conflicts that arise.
Listen carefully! Listen up! And when you're ready---speak to show you've understood.
Being efficient in a company, large or small, can be tricky. Mainly because, we often times become blind to change. Similar to the motto, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," companies find themselves sticking to the formula rather than investing the time and money in figuring out how to improve upon it. This is not to say that establishing best practices isn't important. On the contrary, it's extremely beneficial for everyone to have a clear idea as to what is involved and expected in overall business processes.
In fact, it is this careful attention to workflow that assists companies in maintaining a competitive edge. For instance, when we have a process that works well, but find ways to make it even better, more work is done in less time and a better product result is achieved.
Accessa Coatings Solutions, a research and development company in the coating industry, discusses how change (or lack thereof) in workflow can impact companies differently. In a recent blog, they highlight the differences in workflow between big and small coating finisher companies:
For many, “workflow” is something you figured out when you built the place. Perhaps you reconsidered it when you acquired new equipment, added employees or when you expanded capabilities. After that, most shops go to autopilot. Smaller shops, in particular, observe fewer alternatives so they learn to worry less about workarounds. Larger competitors, however, get more and more sophisticated with workflow management. They continue to monitor effectiveness using advanced software and efficiency measurement tools. They revisit workflow plans, if not daily, with each new job that enters the plant. Sometimes they make significant changes, sometimes, small improvements — all in the name of effectiveness.
Unlike big companies that keep a close eye on the effectiveness of processes, small companies tend to stick to the old routine. Whether it's due in part to financial restrictions or not, this poses a problem for growing a business:
It’s a bit ironic. Small shops remain small largely because they get comfortable jumping through the hoops they build. Without knowing it, they assume a work-harder stance, not realizing they could be working smarter ...Without an up-to-date workflow plan based on the right information and stimulus, perception is altered. You think you’re doing well, but you’re actually hallucinating.
AccelaWork's very own Robby Slaughter, productivity and workflow expert, contributes his intricate knowledge by advising small companies to seek out optimal workflow through diagrams:
There’s no clearer way to map out what you are doing than to draw a picture. Find a whiteboard and work with your team to identify the steps, the flow, the dependencies and the challenges.
When it comes to growing a business, complacency is ill-advised. It's a trip wire that stalls momentum. Rather, be vigilant, be open to change and innovate!
Let’s be honest, a lot of companies down right suck at customer service. They make it all about their agenda, rather than the customer. No rapport, no trust, no bueno. One adage always comes to mind “Make one customer happy and they’ll tell five friends; tick them off and they’ll tell everyone they know.”
If you've ever had a good experience or a bad experience as a customer, you know that statement is the truth.
Many years ago my family experienced a house fire. As a sophomore in high school it had been the single most devastating event in my 16 years of life. Our emotions were high, no doubt about it. I will never forget a small silver car making its way down our long winding driveway with the words “State Farm” on the side. While the firemen were still dousing the flames, our insurance agent had driven 45 minutes to come to our aid.
I didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t a family friend, just an agent with hundreds of other clients. He explained that he had called his secretary to get messages and when he heard the news, he jumped in his car and drove directly to us. In his haste he had forgotten the company checkbook. Our agent proceeded to write a check out of his own personal bank account, and handed over all the cash he had in his wallet. He gave more than was necessary and he did more than was expected. We were blown away. At 16 I knew little about insurance, but the significance was not lost on me. In that moment I became a loyal client long before I was old enough to be a buyer.
Most companies don’t experience the drama of hellfire and brimstone when working with clients, but is it fair to say there are moments when emotions run high? When customers are vulnerable and loyalty may be wavering? It is your job to make sure your team is equipped to come to the rescue.
Good customer service does require responding to fires, and sometimes even putting out the fire. If you want loyalty, show up when people really need you. But if you aren't interested in customers for life, then you won't even think about being there. This is the difference between average customer service and amazing customer service: dedication that inspires loyalty.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou
Of course, this advice doesn't just apply to the world of insurance, and it's not just about customer service. If you want to have great relationships throughout your business and your personal life, focus on showing up when it's most important. Focus on doing the right thing, even when it's difficult and inconvenient.
And of course, people who aren't even customers are impacted by the power of reputation. Just by being nice to the individuals who come into your office, you may be remembered. And if you're rude to them---even if they aren't customers---there's a good chance your character will echo throughout their network.
Your business may involve the occasional fire, or it may be entirely filled with routine activity. But either way, always be serving others. You'll reap the benefits for years to come.
Some people seem to thrive on “being busy.” For them it's like an adrenaline rush. They scurry from task to task and from person to person. But many times, they aren't getting the job done. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and the same 168 hours in a week. (But don't try to work all of them!) We have to figure out how to best use these hours to concentrate on achieving results, not on being busy.
To get you started on managing your time better, here are eight strategies that I recommend. Choose one of these strategies, try it for two to four weeks and see if it helps. If it does, keep doing it, and consider adding another one. If not, try a different one.
That may be the most important time management tip of all: pay attention to what works for you, and keep doing it!
#1--Set goals. Know where you're going and aim high. For every long-term goal you set, make sure you set many short and medium-term goals. This ensures that you have momentum, because you're knocking out small tasks while making progress on the big ones.
#2--Break large goals into smaller tasks. You've probably heard this quote: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." Take your short and medium-term goals and break them into smaller tasks you can achieve along the way.
#3--Plan. Do your weekly planning on Monday morning so you can structure your week and know what to accomplish. Then, instead of doing your daily planning each morning, do it the night before. You’ll sleep better and wake up less stressed.
#4--Prioritize your tasks. This ensures that you spend your time and energy on the tasks that are truly important to meet your goals. It’s easy to allow unimportant tasks to consume your time. The reason? Everything is stressful until you analyze how much it matters.
Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important. -Steven Covey
#5--Learn to say no. It really is OK to say “no”. Think about YOUR goals and schedule before you say “yes” to take on addition work and over commit.
#6--Take the time to do it right the first time. Doing quality work the first time may take more time upfront, but reworking and making corrections take more time overall.
#7--Beat procrastination. Practice the 10-minute rule: Do you have task(s) that you dread? Try spending 10 minutes/daily on this.
#8--Make yourself un-interruptible. We get distracted—phone calls, emails, colleagues, and social media. But you allow this to happen. If you really need to get work done, limit distractions. Block out time for your important tasks—even if that means closing your door, turning off your phone and other electronic devices, and putting a sign on your door.
It's impossible to get everything done, but you can concentrate on achieving results instead of being busy. Remember to try a strategy for two to four weeks and see if it works. If it doesn't work for you, try a different one. If it helps you, keep doing it and consider adding another one.
Lastly: don't compare your own time management techniques to that of other people. We are all motivated different ways, and we all have different patterns that work for us. Keep experimenting.
Good luck tackling your time management challenge! Come back any time for more inspiration on how to improve.
According to Peter Vajda, author of the article Do Your Filters Stop You From Hearing, we've all adopted certain listening filters that begin in childhood and mature with us into adulthood. This skill is a learned behavior and tends to leave most of us unaware of its presence in our brains as we age. In fact, now that I've read this article, I can safely say that I am someone who is (or was) totally in the dark about the habit. And yet, reading the different categories of listening filters, it's easy to recognize the different ways I personally interpret conversations. Even more enlightening, I now have a sense as to why I react to certain people in particular ways. Suddenly, the demeanor with which I conduct various conversations makes perfect sense now!
Below are the examples of listening filters Vajda brings to light:
I need to fix youWhen this filter is active, you might respond to your boss' or partner’s comment by saying, “Why don’t you sit down and relax for a few minutes," because you feel you need to prescribe to, or "fix" someone.
I need to judge youIf you've grown up with the belief that you have to be a judge of others' actions, your listening filter might lead you to respond, for example, with “You’ve had such an easy morning, what do you have to be upset about?”
Look what just happened to me!If you have been raised as one who constantly compares yourself to others, you might respond with “You think you’re upset, let me tell you about how upset I am!". This grows out of a need to hijack another's experience and make it your own; the conversation then morphs into a conversation that is "all about me".
Okay, so you've read the different examples of listening filters. But now the question becomes, why does this matter when it comes to my job? You may be thinking: I may have filters in my personal life, but certainly not at my office. Well, think again.
No matter how easy it may be to convince yourself that your ear muffs disappear the moment you arrive at your workplace, they really don't. After all, it's an unconscious behavior--we are can't be aware of it until we are made aware of it. So, let's take the first step together and admit we filter what others say. There, now don't you feel better?
Active listening is more productive than merely hearing. Partaking in a discussion and listening without filters creates an engaging atmosphere; one in which is characterized by comprehension rather than misinterpretation. Suddenly, as we lift the unspoken barriers our ears and our brain create, we find that problem solving is easier to manage. Our time is being utilized productively, and our potential to engage in successful, working relationships is not just possible, but attainable.
All this and you've done nothing more than filter out your filters to get to the meat of the conversation. Vajda concludes:
The moment you become aware that you’re listening through a filter during a conversation, your awareness expands beyond them. It’s like consciously removing the things that are covering your ears. Suddenly you can hear what other people are actually saying and you start to engage with another on a higher level with real connectivity.
Being highly productive is a complex task. Just when you think you've figured out how to get a handle in one portion of business, you soon discover yet another kink that needs improvement. Business process improvement is constantly evolving. So focus on the solutions rather than the problems. With each new discovery comes a new step in the right direction.
To learn more about gaining momentum in your office, reach out to the experts at AccelaWork today.
The answer to this question is a teeth-gritting "maybe." Work is filled with people, and people need relationships. But work isn't just about getting along. It's mostly about getting things done.
This is a frequent topic of discussion in the popular press. A Businessweek op-ed piece quotes one expert:
Angie Herbers, a professional HR consultant, told me not to worry, that being friends with a higher-up isn’t that big of a deal. “I actually encourage friendships between bosses and their employees,” she said. “People like to work with people they like, and if you can develop a friendship with your boss, you’ll want to be more productive. You’ll want to worker harder, and you’ll probably want to stay at the company.”
But on the opposite side, an article from Inc Magazine lists seven reasons against being friends with employees. These include:
They won't take you seriously. As a boss, your final decisions must be respected. Your friend-employees may roll their eyes at ideas they don't agree with.It's not fair. When it's time to promote, assign bonuses, and grant growth opportunities, you may find it difficult to separate your personal feelings from professional observations.
It's hard to fire a friend. Your friend...was probably well suited to the job when you launched the company, but now you need a higher level of skill and creativity. What do you do?
That's not all. If you're interested in a scientific perspective, Lynn Taylor for Psychology Today. She advises:
The safest bet is to be friendly with everyone, but not necessarily hangout buddies with your boss, or even co-workers.
So what's the right answer? I've written about workplace favoritism and friendships previously here on The Methodology Blog. And as before, it's hard to disagree with any of these points. But let's talk about the purpose of a boss and the purpose of a friend:
Is it okay for a colleague to be a friend? Yes, when these two factors are in alignment. But what about when they aren't?
For example, if an employee is sick and asks for a ride to the doctor's office, should you take them yourself or call a cab? Your answer requires deciding what's more important: the results you provide for the company, or the personal relationship with the colleague.
This is not an easy question to answer, but here's one fact to remember: jobs are temporary, but friends are forever. One is more likely to be forgiving when you can't be there. The other needs you to produce results to keep the institution moving forward.
Here are some tips for making the best decision:
When people join your organization, describe the culture. Do you consider yourselves a team or a family? Do people hang out after work, or do they focus on getting their work done and socialize elsewhere? Tell people what to expect, rather than just letting them figure it out.Use examples in training. If your company has an employee assistance program, describe sample cases in which it should be used instead of talking to your boss.
Reinforce the importance of results. We all get along better with some people than others. Remind your team that what matters most is not playing favorites, but generating value.
Good luck on deciding where to draw the line for yourself and your business. It's not easy to decide whether you can be colleagues, friends, or both.
First off: money and time are both resources, and we need to plan for them accordingly. But they aren't the same. They aren't even convertible into each other. Don't believe the old saying that time is money.
Instead, recognize that the relationship between time and money is a bridge called productivity. If you invest time, you can get things done. If you invest money, you can get things---things which in turn can help you get more done.
It's easy enough to think of examples of this:
Pretty straightforward stuff. So why is it that we are "penny-wise and pound-foolish?" The way I see it, there are three different reasons why companies tend to avoid spending small amounts of time or money that end up costing them large amounts of time and money.
I've heard these six words dozens of times from financial types and accountants. They are right: if you don't have to pay for something that you didn't plan to buy, you aren't saving money. It's like the clever psychology of the "big sale" at a department store. You don't actually need it, so buying something that you didn't plan to get isn't actually real savings. You're still spending money you didn't intend to spend.
But, you need to reverse the statement to get at the truth: Cost savings means incurring costs. If you want to save time or money, you usually have to spend a little time or money to figure out what to do! You need to invest in whatever device, technique, training, or resource that will let you get ahead.
You know how every side view mirror warns us that "objects are closer than they appear?" The opposite is true for many costs. Spending a few dollars or a few hours seems tremendously expensive in an environment where budgets are squeezed to the max.
However, that's because you see these costs because you're talking about them. What you don't see is the countless hours of time people spend at their desk working on one tiny screen (when multiple monitors make a huge difference), or the tremendous ongoing expense of wasted electricity or wasted space.
In short, just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not expensive!
"Hey, I can do that," is a sentiment I often hear from business professionals. They want to step up and be helpful and say they don't mind doing work by hand.
Stop it. If you're the executive director of an organization, don't take weeks off to bake for the annual fundraiser. Seriously. Just don't.
If you work for a company or a non-profit and ever think "there has got to be a better way," the answer is that there probably is! But you'll need to break a few eggs to make that omelette. You'll need to spend money to make more money.
Don't be afraid to spend a little bit on new computers, software, or training. Be willing to invest in research, outside experts, or marketing support. Call a consulting firm to get some new ideas.
After all, something you spend money on for improving your business should be such a great deal that in the long run it's better than free.
The national average of time Americans spend commuting, round trip, is about 50 minutes. That doesn't account for the "megacommuters" that spend over 3 hours on the road. Instead of turning up the radio to drown out your screams, you could be using this time to multitask. Studies have shown that this will actually help your commute feel less awful. Slate has given some tips on what you can do while sitting in your car to actually help you become more efficient. And we couldn't agree more with their ideas.
Their first idea is to plan your day. It may be the last thing you want to do, seeing as how you are probably feeling like turning your car around and going home at this point. But it helps to schedule your time out. In fact, we here at The Methodology Blog are big fans of using apps to improve productivity. So checking out something like Timeful, which is free, can really benefit you. Timeful is an awesome calendar and to-do list wrapped into one, if you have an iPhone. If you don't, you can check into Any.do. This will allow you to plan out your day, week, or even month with easy to use options and syncing abilities.
Now, we don't condone using your phone while driving. So if you're stuck in traffic and going no where fast, or use public transportation, this is a great option. Otherwise, you can always record your notes for the day to input into your apps for later when you finally make it into the office. This is where Evernote comes in handy. We have talked about how awesome Evernote is at boosting productivity growth, and here's another reason. It has a voice recording function. It really can do everything.
If you have made your list for the day and are still stuck behind the wheel, maybe you can get a head start with your email. We all know that sifting through emails is pretty much a big pain in the you know what. So why not start now? You can use an app called ASAM. This will read your emails out loud to you so you can stay hands free while driving. Not only that, but it will transcribe your dictation into an email and send it off for you. But if you're stuck on a bus and have the option to sit back and read, try using Medeley or Papers. These apps organize your documents by author, year, journal, or topic. You can also tag, or dog ear, pages to come back to later.
If you prefer to not have to work on your way into work, that's totally understandable. So why not take care of some other mounting tasks that are looming over you? Why not pay some of your bills? Or make that doctor's appointment you keep putting off. In fact, there's an app for that, too. FastCustomer is the middleman when it comes to dealing with companies. You simply input the name of the company you're looking to get in touch with and they have a customer service representative contact you. That means zero time spent on hold listening to soft rock from the 90's. Or, if you really want to be bold, take this time to learn a second language. Duolingo is totally free and will help you really nail a new language quickly.
Looking for more ways to stay productive? Reach out to our business improvement consultants today!
I've been teaching classes about email management for years, and it's a topic which seems to never get old. I think the reason it's so popular is because email is so terrifying. We get more messages today than we ever have, and thanks to smartphone technology they have the ability to follow us to bed, to the beach, and even to the bathroom!
Email is getting worse all of the time, and our strategies for dealing with it are hopelessly out of date. So to bring something in from completely out of left field, I'm going to talk about Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, an army commander who served for nearly seventy years and totally changed the theory of warfare.
Moltke came to four essential conclusions about the nature of battle:
What does all that mean and what does it have to do with email? Consider Moltke's statements this way:
Think about that while you check out this old political cartoon/map of Prussia (where Helmuth von Moltke the Elder spent much of his time.)
The reality is that the way we think about email is completely wrong. Just as Moltke revolutionized warfare by thinking about the size of armies and about the reality of unexpected outcomes, we also need to revolutionize the battle with our email inboxes by accepting that they are too large to manage without a strategy, and that our strategy must be flexible.
A key reason why we continue to struggle with email is that many of the new enhancements designed to improve our lives actually have the opposite effect. These features seem like they are helping but just encourage bad habits, so they don't really solve anything.
One example is the rise of search. Since modern computers are blazingly fast, we can sift through tens of thousands of email in seconds. As a result, we get lazy about managing information because we know---or rather we think---that we can just find it later.
The problem also applies to more complex features. I wrote an extended rant about Google's Priority Inbox, which tries to hide email instead of letting you manage it on your own.
Email used to be something you checked perhaps once a day, when you made it over to the computer lab on campus or used your computer to dial-up to the Internet. Today, we are looking at email constantly, and it's on our tablets, smartphones, and laptops.
This means we can't treat email like regular mail. We can't ignore it until a fresh batch arrives, because the letter carrier is always there, knocking at the door. So we don't deal with email like correspondence, we deal with it as if it is rising floodwater pouring into our houses.
There's got to be a better way to manage email. That's the topic of my book, The Battle For Your Email Inbox. Order it today from The Efficient Professional Store.
Good luck doing battle with your inbox. Just remember what Helmuth von Moltke the Elder said: "No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy."
Dorie Clark, a contributor to the Harvard Business Review blog network, offers four tips for handling time-wasters. They include:
State your preferred method of communication. You can often limit aggravation (and harassment via multiple channels) by proactively informing colleagues about the best way to reach you, whether it's via phone calls, texts, emails, or even tweets.Require an agenda for meetings. Insist on seeing an agenda before you commit to attending any meeting, "to ensure I can contribute fully."
Police guest lists. Meetings are also dangerous when their list of invitees has been wantonly constructed, filled with irrelevant people and lacking decisionmakers with the authority to get things moving.
Force others to prepare. Even when they're requesting the meeting, they may have done very little research and waste our time with extremely basic questions they could have Googled.
This a topic near and dear to my heart. Let's look at each of Clark's four areas where others waste your time in more detail.
There's a right medium and a wrong medium for every style of communication. As we've noted here on The Methodology Blog before, there are a few times when you should use text messaging and there are times when you need a face-to-face meeting.
It's not just about letting people know what medium you prefer, but rather having conversations about why multiple communication channels even exist. There are big advantages to each one, and reminding others that they get to choose will help to reduce how much time they waste.
I love the idea of agendas so much I wrote a whole blog post for IndyAtWork explaining why I won't take a meeting without one. But it's not just to ensure that other people don't waste my time. It's also to ensure I don't waste their time.
After all, what if I can answer what you need in the meeting by doing some advance research? Or what if we can skip the first meeting and go right to the second one? Agendas make that possible. Send one, or request one.
Sometimes, I'll go to a meeting and keep track of everyone in the room, and make a mark by their name each time they talk for a significant amount of time. I always ask the same question of the people who haven't spoken:
"NAME, you've not had a chance to contribute. What are your thoughts?"
If they don't say anything relevant, I wonder why they were in the meeting? Surely they could have read the written summary afterwards!
This is the toughest item on the list. Dorie Clark admits it can be problematic:
Will you face blow-back by toughening up and putting clear boundaries around your time? Inevitably. But you may also find that people start to respect you---and your time---a lot more.
Whenver you insist that other people have to do work before taking up your time, you push them back on their heels. You might seem self-important to them. So if you're going to use this technique, be careful about it.
A good way to do this is just to play dumb. If someone tries to send you a big document to read, or get a meeting with you, let them know that you don't feel prepared. Ask them if they can put together a summary, or if they can distill it down to a few bullet points.
People may not get back to you, but they can't fault you for admitting ignorance.
So now that you're prepared, want to meet and be productive?
The diverse workplace of today can be pretty hard to navigate. Especially when it comes to mixed-gender companies. How can you make one side happy without ticking off the other? It can feel like you're walking a tightrope on your way to equality and improving employee satisfaction. So how can we reach that nirvana? Investigators at Cornell University decided to dive into this topic and were pretty surprised by their findings. The practice of political correctness at the office actually increases productivity. Dr. Jack Goncalo, an associate professor of organizational behavior, chimes in with his thoughts:
“Our work challenges the widespread assumption that true creativity requires a kind of anarchy in which people are permitted to speak their minds, whatever the consequence.”
Censoring your behavior feels like it would be a good way to ruin your productivity and creativity all in one shot. In fact, we here at The Methodology Blog are pretty big fans of creating workplaces that inspire imagination. It takes the focus off your work and instead, scatters your concentration, doesn't it? If we're all concerned about equality and consideration in the office, how can we put all our efforts into not only being productive, but increasing our efficiency?
So how did they end up with these results? Two experiments with 582 participants took place. They separated them into groups of three people. They then asked random groups to be "politically correct" or "polite." Other groups received no instructions whatsoever. Then, all of the groups were asked to have a brainstorming session to create some business ideas. The amount of creativity in this case was measured by how many ideas were produced during these sessions.
Normally, the idea of having to be politically correct and act in a certain way would make you feel stifled, thereby kicking creativity right out the door. But instead, this experiment proved that not only were the groups unaffected by being asked to be more considerate, it actually increased the productivity of the mixed-sex groups. This is exactly opposite of what was expected. It seems as though having a set guideline of how to behave or respond appropriately in a mixed-sex work environment actually creates a sense of comfort. People feel more comfortable creating and sharing ideas.
So wouldn't be easier to skip all these issues of trying to be politically correct and just have offices comprised of the same gender? Not quite. We have explored the benefits of improving productivity through gender diversity. Surprisingly, having a gender diverse workplace actually promotes employee satisfaction.
While the results of these experiments were certainly surprising, the fact is that it is somewhat disturbing news. Goncalo explains:
“The fact that men and women still experience a high level of uncertainty while working together and that a norm as restrictive as political correctness provided a safer environment for free expression means we still have a lot of work to do.”This means we have a long road ahead of us when it comes to figuring out the perfect mix of ingenuity and productivity in a bias-free environment. So what steps can you take to create a workplace in which your employees feel satisfied and are still yielding impressive results? Reach out to one of our business process improvement consultants today for more information!
If you're in management, we highly suggest you take a seat and break out some paper to take notes. American Psychologist's Association (APA) ran a survey that produced some pretty surprising findings. According to their survey, 25% of Americans don't trust their employers. If that doesn't rattle you a bit, think of it this way. It means 1 in 4 of your employees don't trust you. Taking it a step further, the survey found that only half of those surveyed believe that their employer is being open and up front with them. That's frightening. But you can take some solace in the fact that 64% believe that their employers are treating them fairly. They just don't trust you. David Ballard, PsyD, MBA, and head of APA's Center for Organizational Excellence, had a lot to say on this topic:
“This lack of trust should serve as a wake-up call for employers. Trust plays an important role in the workplace and affects employees’ well-being and job performance. The layoffs, benefit cuts and job insecurity that accompanied the recession put a strain on the employee-employer relationship and people aren't quick to forget.”
It's all fine and well to have meetings regarding the expense of sourcing out employees as well as keeping your current workers satisfied. In fact, we here at The Methodology Blog have a lot to say on the topic of keeping employees satisfied as well as high employee retention. It's good to keep employee satisfaction at the forefront of your company's goals. Because the APA provided some more surprising numbers.
Although a majority of workers reported being satisfied with their job overall, less than half said that they are satisfied with the growth and development opportunities (49 percent) and employee recognition practices (47 percent) where they work. More than a quarter (27 percent) of U.S. workers said they intend to seek new employment in the next year.
This does not bode well for most companies out there. Losing staff not only hurts your bottom line, but it hurts your company's presence as well. Don't think that those employees won't be talking about how unhappy they were working for you. In fact, they probably already are. So what else could be contributing to this? APA says it's possible the gender pay gap is a factor. Employed women (42%) were less likely to report that they received fair compensation when compared to employed men (54%), which was found through Harris Poll who surveyed 1,562 workers for almost 2 months. But wait, there's more!
APA's survey found that workers who felt appreciated by their employers were more likely to be engaged with their work. These employees reported higher levels of energy, a strong involvement in their work, and were happily absorbed in their duties. On top of that, those workers that felt valuable to their company were much more likely to report high satisfaction (92% versus 29% who don't feel valued) with their job. They were also more motivated to do their work (91% versus 37%) and would recommend their employer to other job seekers (85% versus 15%.) These happy employees also stated that, not only do they not feel stressed throughout their workday, but APA found that they were more likely to be in good psychological health. Ballard added:
“The emphasis in recent years on employee wellness is a step in the right direction, but the psychological factors are often overlooked,” says Ballard. “It’s clear that an organizational culture that promotes and supports openness, honesty, transparency and trust is key to a healthy, high-performing workplace.”
So how can you zero in on creating an environment where your employees not only trust you, but are happy to come to work? Reach out to one of our organizational productivity consultants for more information!
The wretched flu is here again. The bad dream that continues to reoccur despite our utter distaste for it. And, like every year, we are once more taken up in frenzy at the potential for what this wintry season has in store for our poor, defenseless immune systems. Almost as if we don't already know that we are surely doomed for some type of icky illness that will no doubt arrive precisely at the wrong time -- like hours before the holidays or right when a project deadline is looming.
According to the International SOS, a worldwide medical and travel security risks company, 83% of companies are expecting more of an impact from the flu than from Ebola this year. Now, this statistic doesn't sound very surprising. After all, Ebola is harder to spread than the flu. But, what is astounding is the amount of loss that comes from the flu on a yearly basis:
The US Government advises that during each flu season 111 million workdays are lost, costing approximately $7 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity in the US.
This is shocking, but it's hard to deny. And while some may only see the loss of money as difficult, we can't help but point out that the setbacks from loss of productivity can actually be worse. Essentially, those out sick with the flu are not just being affected by the illness; colleagues, partners, employees, clients, vendors, just about anyone you conduct business with will also suffer.
Suddenly, work is delayed, deadlines missed, calls not returned and eventually, projects altogether stop. It's a madhouse of scrambling to make up for what others are unable to provide, while simultaneously fighting off the susceptibility your over-worked body has against horrendous symptoms and infection. It's a two-fold problem with insurmountable circumstances outside our control. And the cycle just continues.
On the bright side, there's no guarantee we'll get the flu. Sadly however, it's here and it's lurking. According to Dr. Gordon Peters, Medical Director at International SOS North Asia, the flu shot is a must:
"If organisations are considering a plan to vaccinate staff -- now is the time to act.The vaccine is effective in preventing influenza among healthy adults. Vaccinating a workforce can have a noticeable, positive impact on an organisation's lost hours due to sickness.
There are many unknown factors that affect business continuity, but flu is predictable and preventable."
So besides getting the flu shot and washing our hands incessantly, what can we do to help prevent getting bogged down by sickness? Consider the following suggestions:
It's flu season, but we don't have to assume we'll all get sick. We know what's coming, and we know what to do. Keep warm and be well!
In this day and age, your office can be anywhere. From home, Starbucks, or even your car. You would think the chaos of traveling would be a nightmare for productivity, rather than spending your work hours in an office. But an Expedia survey showed that people who travel for work are 39% more productive. What's their secret and how can we get in on that? Eli Epstein of Mashable reports that there are 6 ways you can stay productive while trekking around for work. Check out his ideas and our thoughts below!
1. Make sure all of your devices stay charged wherever you are
2. Stay connected as you move
3. Synchronize all of your devices so you can work wherever you are, even offline
4. Use your smartphone to manage your itinerary and get more out of meetings
5. Put away the computer and try a brain game
6. Turn your hotel room into a productivity den
If you're an avid follower of The Methodology Blog, then you surely know, we take email seriously. So much so, that AccelaWork's very own founder and principal, Robby Slaughter, launched his newest book The Battle For Your Inbox in December 2014. Since our company's start, email management has always been a passion of ours--as can be seen through blog posts, articles, educational events and speaking engagements. In fact, we've openly discussed the horrible truth about email productivity in the past. And this is our stance:
Here’s the terrible secret to the email productivity crisis. Reducing the amount of email—or getting of email entirely—will only make the problem worse.That’s because we all have a need to communicate, we are just using the available channels inefficiently. It’s easy to write an email (just type, from anywhere) and easy to read it (just scroll, from anywhere), so we don’t take any effort to respect the medium.
We don’t try to use email intelligently or write emails in a way that’s respectful to our audience. Instead, we just dump our thoughts onto the screen and scramble to deal with the next message.
Frances Booth, Forbes contributor, has five suggestions for coping with email overload. They are listed below with some of our added comments.
Don't answer when you're overwhelmed
Whatever the request, if you’re feeling overwhelmed and overloaded, delay your response. In this state, if you reply immediately, you risk making a bad decision, as your judgement will tend to be poor. Once you take a step back, you’ll regain perspective, and give yourself time to think. Your response is also likely to be more considered, clearer and stronger.
Delete and unsubscribe
Make good use of the delete key. You don’t have to read everything. You should also regularly unsubscribe to any lists that you no longer need, or that you never signed up for in the first place.
Remember it wasn't always so
Put email in perspective, and get up from your desk and go and talk to someone instead. Sometimes it’s a welcome change to phone someone, or go and speak to someone in person, and in fact, it can resolve an issue more fully and efficiently.
Don’t let everything live in your inbox
Use folders to siphon off emails into organised ‘boxes’ that you can refer back to and easily find.
Change folders every 6 months
If we don’t change our folders, then we tend to try and make pieces of work fit our filing system, rather than the filing system fitting the work (this also applies to general document filing).
If you are implementing much (or all) of the above techniques and are still having trouble with managing email, perhaps it's time to reach out to a productivity consultant. AccelaWork's experts are here and ready to assist you in all your workflow improvement endeavors!
The answer to this question is a little bit like what bank robber Willie Sutton is famously misquoted as saying:
"Why did I rob banks? Well, that's where the money is."
So where should you go to find places to speak? Where the audiences are.
So while you shouldn't think about the process of public speaking in your local community as akin to stealing money, it is valuable to consider where people gather as likely candidates for possible venues. Here are six straightforward tips for finding these places.
Your community is filled with civic-minded individuals who donate their time to worthy causes. They are called volunteers. While many people do so through a religious institution, millions of people are involved in service clubs.
The largest of these groups you have heard of before: Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions and Exchange. Chances are you've seen signs for theses clubs in your own community.
But there are countless more, including the Optimist Club, Altrusa International, Zonta, and Soroptimist. Visit your favorite search engine to learn more.
Your local Chamber of Commerce is an institution where business leaders meet to discuss ideas and forge new partnerships. It's also an old tradition (dating back to the 18th century) and one you should leverage for speaking opportunities.
Most chambers organize recurring events for their members, such as monthly luncheons, quarterly breakfasts, or other networking programs. They are always looking for engaging speakers with distinct messages. And best of all, you'll be in front of the local business community---which is almost certainly the people you want to meet.
Every profession is vying for relevance and opportunity in today's economy. That includes attorneys, accountants, dentists, fundraisers, therapists and even chimney sweeps. If it's a profession, there is a professional society for it. Funeral directors have the National Funeral Directors Association. Independent insurance adjusters can become members of the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters. Every profession has a society.
That also means there are local affiliates of these groups, such as the Indianapolis chapter of the National Contract Management Association. And all of these groups have meetings, and therefore need speakers.
If you work for a company you probably take a break from your workday to enjoy a meal. Many organizations have begun to host regular "lunch and learn" programs. Sometimes the company will bring in a catered meal or suggest a pot-luck. Other times, people are encouraged to pack a "brown bag" with food from home. Everyone gathers in a common space to hear a speaker share on a new topic.
A great way to find lunch and learn opportunities is to ask friends who work at local employers for connections. You can make them look good by suggesting it to their boss, and get on the radar with a company where you might want to do more work in the future.
Business professionals sometimes get together for the purpose of getting together. They want to mingle, socialize, and see what opportunities are out there. Even in this age of modern technology, among the best ways to do this is to attend a networking event in person.
While we do have a list of Indianapolis networking groups, the best place to find them may be with a quick Google search or a scan of your own inbox. Chances are you're being invited to them all the time. Check them out!
There's one final tip for finding places to speak: follow in the footsteps of other speakers. Ask people you know who they've recently heard stand up in front of an audience. When they answer, you get two potential referrals. One is the organization where they spoke, and the other is that speaker---who may have some ideas for you!
I love this season, and I especially look forward to the movies--It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Frosty the Snowman, and even Christmas Vacation. But my very favorite movie is Pay It Forward.
If you don't know the film, it was released in 2000 and stars Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, and Helen Hunt. It is based on a true story about a teacher (Spacey) who gave his class an assignment to devise and put into action a plan that would change the world for the better. One of the students (Osment) suggests starting a charitable program based on the networking of good deeds. He called this plan “Pay-It-Forward’, which means the recipient of a favor does a favor for three others, rather than paying the favor back.
I know that you won’t lose sight of showing thanks to your employees during this holiday season. The gesture of a holiday party can be one way of showing appreciation and thanks to your employees around this time of year. There are countless ways to demonstrate to others that they are valuable to you.
But appreciation doesn't need to be expensive to be meaningful. And in fact, research shows that instead of going above and beyond, simply keeping your word is among the best things you can do to keep people happy.
Think about "Pay It Forward." How can you take all the times you have been a recipient of good deeds and “Pay It Forward” with your employees?
Here are some examples to help you get started this holiday season:
Send handwritten cards: Personally writing a card by hand to each employee thanking him/her for the contributions can go a long way toward making each employee feel good about his efforts and the company.
Allow holiday music: Let your employees play a variety of tunes during the day. This can help put your employees into a festive and easygoing mood which will permeate throughout the team and to your customers.
Give gift cards: Depending on your location and employees, this could range from a gas card to a card to the local coffee or sandwich shop. They don’t have to be large amounts to make an impact on your team.
Take a team outing: Take your team to a movie or lunch and then perhaps close the office for the rest of the day. Not only will this give you time to strengthen your bonds as a team, it gives your employees additional time off at no cost to them.
Adopt a family or a nursing home patient: If you've never been involved in doing this, you can’t believe how emotionally gratifying this can be. Imagine bringing a cheerful moment to people who may not have many cheerful ones.
Not all of these suggestions will make sense for the culture of your office. Be careful that when you make an effort to appreciate others, you ensure they are truly engaged. As our own Robby Slaughter noted in an article here on The Methodology Blog a few years ago:
You might think you're showing your employees you appreciate them with a small gift or a word of affirmation. But if they secretly think poorly of you or aren't engaged in their work, the effort could backfire. Before you can effectively appreciate someone, you have a genuine relationship based on mutual respect.
Gratitude is all about thanking others for what they have done to impact your life positively. The best gift of all can be the opportunity to give back. This authentic reciprocity is priceless and always appreciated. Paying it forward can be the greatest gift of all to your employees.
We all know that there are many dangerous jobs in the world and many people who are hurt or worse while working. Statistics from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration make this reality clear:
4,405 workers were killed on the job in 2013--–on average, 85 a week or more than 12 deaths every day.
Many of these are in physical environments where the work is taxing and there are dangers everywhere. In fact, 20% of deaths are in just one field: construction. Yet, an article in The Nation about people being required to do more with less:
In industry after industry, speedups are turning work into a hazard, with increasing numbers of injuries and dangerous levels of stress. While 18.6 million people remain underemployed, millions of others are working more hours, and more intensely, than ever....
Overwork is a particular problem among professionals: 14 percent of women and 38 percent of men were working more than fifty hours a week. But it has become common in industrial occupations as well. “When time and a half for overtime was established by federal law, that was really a job-creation measure, so it would cost less to hire a new worker,” says Mike Wright, the United Steelworkers’ director of health and safety. “But starting in the late 1970s, the cost of benefits exceeded that extra pay cost, and it became cheaper to work your existing workers harder.”
It might seem like these risks are limited to relatively unskilled jobs in food service, agriculture, or manufacturing, where people are working with big, dangerous machines at cut-rate wages. But the studies show similar problems in healthcare, where many employees are highly-trained, well-paid, and mostly working in close contact:
Numerous studies over the past decade have shown that higher patient-to-nurse ratios are strongly correlated with medical errors and worse health outcomes, including more patient deaths. A 2007 study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that each additional patient assigned to a nurse above optimal levels was associated with an increased risk of 7 percent for pneumonia and 53 percent for respiratory failure.
We've talked about nursing as a prime example here on The Methodology Blog before. In a piece about moving to a six-hour workday, we mentioned a long-standing question in the medical field: are twelve hours shifts safe?
But it's not just hospitals that are demanding more and more rather than hiring more help. In a story about a plane crash, Fox News quotes the deceased pilot and first officer:
[Captain] Beal had recently expressed concern about the schedules at the cargo carrier, according to a summary of investigators' interviews with witnesses."About 7 weeks before the accident, he told a colleague that the schedules were becoming more demanding because they were flying up to three legs per night," according to summary of interviews compiled by investigators. Beal said, "I can't do this until I retire because it's killing me," and had a similar conversation with another colleague the night before the accident, the summary said.
In text messages at 11:18 a.m. the day before the crash, [First Officer] Fanning described her exhaustion in text messages retrieved by investigators.
"I fell asleep on every damn leg last nite," she wrote. "Bed by 645 ish, now #8 up, slept like 4 # hrs.... Van isnt till 8 tonite so hoping i will nap again this afternoon," she texted, referring to a van that was schedule to pick up the flight crew at their hotel and take them to the airport.
Every business needs to be more effective and more efficient to stay competitive. But the process cannot include simply asking people to do more.
Instead: here's the secret to increasing productivity: make smarter use of technology, empower workers to make decisions, and embrace freedom as a core value.
Don't demand more. Instead, support more. The result will be not only greater returns for your company, but a happier, more engaged workforce.
When we are successful, it’s easy to look at ourselves and think "I did great!" And when we fail, it's easy to look at others and think "It’s their fault!" Basically we look in the mirror when we succeed, and we look through a window at others when we fail.
This is a well-understood scientific phenomenon, by the way, called the self-serving bias. As described by Dr. Alice Boyes in an article from Psychology Today:
The self-serving bias is people's tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors. It's a common type of cognitive bias that has been extensively studied in social psychology.
Another good explanation comes from this three minute clip from MinuteVideos:
So what does the self-serving bias have to do with us at work? Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great talks about leadership and the concept of the window and the mirror. When we succeed, we should look through the window at others to see what is going on with them and give them credit. And when we fail, we should look in the mirror at ourselves and take responsibility.
This concept is powerful and can help you build credibility with all the stakeholders in your organization—peers, direct reports, vendors, and customers.
Here are three keys to help you apply the window and mirrors strategy to your leadership:
Make sure the people around you know that you recognize and value their contributions. Doing this creates loyalty and buy-in. Even when you're in situations where other people are not present, make sure you give them credit. That means to attribute good work to the people who did it that don't happen to be in the room, and also that you put names of contributors on documents and other permanent materials. Also, if you hear positive feedback about someone, make sure you share that with that person.
This isn’t always easy, but it’s so critical. Assigning blame for failure on others erodes trust. You, as the leader, are ultimately responsible for missing a deadline or for sub-par work from your department. After all, it was your team that failed.
Look in the mirror to see how you could have been a better leader. Were expectations clear? Did you communicate well or provide feedback? Take ownership of these occurrences and work to ensure this doesn't happen again. Then work with your employees to hold them accountable for their part of the situation.
How you prepare for it and react to it determines the outcome. As a leader, you need to dig deeper to see what you could have done to mitigate the efforts and what you can do in the future to be better prepared.
The concept of the windows and the mirrors is easy to understand, but it takes time and practice to do it well. Doing so will not only build trust within your organization, but will also help you be a better leader.
After all: much of the good work that happens in the world occurs outside of your sphere of influence and therefore you need to look through the window to see it. And the good work that happens in your own life happens inside yourself, so you must look in the mirror to see yourself.
Best of luck!
If you aren't able to enjoy the ability to work from home, you probably find yourself in a cubicle on a daily basis (or an office, if you're lucky.) This means that, whether you're aware of it or not, you're smack dab in the middle of ongoing office politics. Almost everyone wants to be noticed at work, receive praise and promotions, and for some people, that means throwing your coworkers under the bus to get ahead. What's surprising is how big of an impact this has on employees. An article was published detailing this issue along with some findings that may raise a few eyebrows.
A study was completed, called "Tough at the Top? New rules of resilience for women's leadership success." They found that 90% of employees, both female and male, agree that resilience is necessary in order to be successful. Only 6% of employees said that their company provided them with ways to cope with pressure in the workplace. Authors of the report, Sarah Bond of For Business Sake Consulting, and Gillian Shapiro, from Shaprio Consulting, had some advice for employers: Start focusing on building networking skills and relationships between coworkers.
They also stated:
“Our starting hypothesis was that you needed to be resilient to deal with the volume and pace of work in the pipeline to the top. This is true, but what really surprised us is that it’s relationships at work that, in the end, get people down.”
Their findings proved that, when a crisis happens at work, most people tend to lean on their network of political, personal, and professional relationships. Also, they found that women (71%) are more eager to improve their resilience than men (64%) and that most women (76%) blame office politics for the reason they feel so drained. Only 43% of women cited outside influences, non-work responsibilities, as the biggest test of resilience.
So what does this mean for productivity? Well, think of it this way. How can you focus on your career, your own duties at work, when all of this is going on in the background? We have already found out that just being in an office environment hurts productivity. Many organizations are aware of how important employee satisfaction is and are making pretty big strides in improving that. But somehow, office politics is something that rarely gets addressed. It's as if it's just to be expected, something we all simply have to deal with.
Alison Robb, the group director of customer, people, commercial and communication over at Nationwide had this to say on the topic:
“This research gets to the core of how important resilience is and how it can be encouraged and nurtured in women and men in different ways. A better understanding of what drives resilience enables us as employers to continue to develop environments in which male and female employees are given equal opportunities to thrive.”
Drama at work is a nightmare for efficiency. And even if you don't mean to, most people find themselves being dragged into it by coworkers or even upper management. Companies need to start engaging this problem. You shouldn't have to be The Incredible Hulk just to climb the career ladder. Skills and experience, as well as the drive to learn and grow, should be nurtured and praised. It shouldn't be about how much of a beating you can take getting to the top.
Are you looking for more ways to increase employee retention and happiness? Reach out to one of our business process improvement consultants today for more information!
It's worth taking a look at the definition of the word precision (which by the way, is a good example of being precise in action):
precision - marked by exactness and accuracy of expression or detail.
Recently, I listened to a presentation targeted at salespeople. The topic was "referrals"---which the speaker insisted are a key element of success for anyone in that profession. There were probably thirty people in the room, and all of us nodded as he indicated the importance of seeking referrals and passing them along appropriately.
Unfortunately, the idea is anything but simple. A "referral" is an interaction between three different people. The first individual advises the second individual to make use of the services offered by the third. If you're giving a speech about an idea captured in a single word, your audience will benefit if you explain what that word means. They are more likely to remember your presentation if you break down the parts of the definition into smaller words.
In the case of business referrals, one way might be as follows:
If the speaker had used these or similar phrases, they would have had a much greater impact.
Here are some tips for being a precise, professional speaker:
The easiest way to tell people what you mean is to tell them what others think by quoting a dictionary or a notable person. Audiences love this because it's a familiar part of the learning experience. We're used to reading books or listening to experts talk about complicated topics by defining key ideas.
This doesn't need to be formal. The author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar is credited with saying that "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing---that's why we recommend it daily." This is a folksy way of explaining something that may be difficult to put into practice by connecting it with something everyone knows.
In the presentation I heard a while back, the speaker would use the word "referral" in a variety of ways. It might be the entire process, one of the people within the experience, or just one step. But if you're going to introduce a new concept, make sure you always use the words exactly right.
Similarly, I recall a physics professor once making the distinction between mass and weight. Mass is how much stuff there actually is, but weight is how much there seems to be due to the gravity of the earth. It's easy to remember these two because that teacher was absolutely consistent when using each term.
Illustrations that support your point are a great way to be precise. But what can be even more effective is to show where the line ends by offering up some "anti-examples." These are cases that someone might think apply, but just barely miss the mark.
In a talk about recycling, the speaker explained that knowing what you can't recycle is about knowing the process. Used paper and used cardboard are okay, but used pizza boxes and wet paper should just be trashed. That's because the oils and moisture mess with the fibers and can gum up the recycling machinery.
If you're giving a speech, be precise. Your audience will appreciate you more. They will remember what you said. And best of all, they can share it with others.
To do this: remember to give a definition so that those listening can carry it with them. Be perfectly consistent when you use words to avoid confusion. And in addition to giving people examples, toss out a few scenarios that are close, but not quite there.
That way, people will understood what you said. When they pass on the word to people who didn't hear you, they might understand too.
Teamwork is necessary at the workplace. We learn from a young age in school how to work well with others, but for some reason, those lessons tend to fade as we reach adulthood. Many people spend their time at work just trying to get through the day by flying under the radar. So it can feel like you're pulling teeth just to get coworkers together to brainstorm or finish up a project. And we know how important team-building is to productivity.
There could be many reasons why this occurs and one of them might be that camaraderie between coworkers is minimum or nonexistent. If you don't feel a like team, how are you supposed to work together like one? Entrepreneur posted an article with some pretty fantastic ways to boost collaboration in the workplace. You may be surprised to find that there are some applications out there that are proven to increase teamwork in the workplace. We here at The Methodology Blog are pretty big fans of using apps to increase productivity. Check out these 3 apps they suggested that can bring back that synergy you're craving.
PingPong
Bouncing ideas off of each other is pretty similar to the game of Ping Pong. Witty name aside, this app is a must have for meetings. Not sure if everyone is taking the right information away from the session? Use this app to gauge the attendees understanding of the information. Using PingPong, you can create questions to share with team members. They can respond in real time so you can check in while the meeting is in progress to make sure everyone is on the same page. This is especially great for introverts who don't feel comfortable raising their hand to ask a question. Also, you can share your material through the app so everyone can read up on the information you're trying to get across. It's interactive and really helps increase communication, which is necessary for any team to function properly.
Workboard
Collaboration can come to a screeching halt at any point, especially when dealing with the excruciating minor details. Maybe you have to create spreadsheets and update them to send out to the team so everyone can check progress to make sure the project is moving in the right direction. Not only that, but discussions about the project need to be noted as well. Stop, take a breath, and download Workboard. It's a newer app that simplifies all of that communication. Coworkers can collaborate on details, get status updates, and track all of their work. Any documents or discussions will also be included, so all of the information for your project is in one place, making it easily searchable.
Huddle
When you hear the word huddle, does an image of a team of football players come to mind? Discussing their tactics, what positions each member will take, and so on? That is essentially the purpose of this app. Huddle allows teammates to come together and discuss action items on their to-do lists. You can easily delegate tasks to members for ultimate control over workflow. Beyond that, you can also review, read, and green light file tasks without even needing to be connected to the internet. Use it to create discussions, share objectives, send reports or get feedback from the team.
Searching for more ways to increase your efficiency? Connect with one of our business process consultants!
Here are some background distractions and interruptions that might be popping up:
Stop what you are doing, and just read this article. Seriously. If you can't, come back later. It will still be here.
Radically focusing on just one topic is revolutionary in our society. The idea comes from a New York Times article (and the link is coming, but don't click on it now---just remember that it's there for later) by Tony Schwartz. It's titled Addicted to Distraction and states:
According to one recent survey, the average white-collar worker spends about six hours a day on email. That doesn’t count time online spent shopping, searching or keeping up with social media.The brain’s craving for novelty, constant stimulation and immediate gratification creates something called a “compulsion loop.” Like lab rats and drug addicts, we need more and more to get the same effect.
Endless access to new information also easily overloads our working memory. When we reach cognitive overload, our ability to transfer learning to long-term memory significantly deteriorates. It’s as if our brain has become a full cup of water and anything more poured into it starts to spill out.
Schwartz goes on to explain how he addresses this issue by dropping out of the world of technology. And for some people, these things are possible. If you're a CEO, for example, you may be able to go without email for 30 days. But for most people, this is not a reasonable solution.
What can you do?
One of the best ways to focus more effectively is to get rid of everything which prevents you from putting 100% of your attention toward your work. Much of this is about identifying the source of the distraction. For example:
All of these can help, but you still may be struggling to get rid of those pesky annoyances entirely. There is another approach to consider as well.
When you can't completely remove someone or something that is bothering you, it's still possible to get better at ignoring them. An excellent technique has two parts: wait to respond and schedule a follow up. Instead of having your attention pulled away and then getting lost in another project, the delay-schedule technique helps you focus.
For example: instead of answering a phone on the first ring, let it go to the third or fourth ring. Then when you pick up the phone, say "I am right in the middle of something, can I call you back in ten minutes / at 2:00pm?"
You can do the same thing with a colleague who comes to your desk to chat. Explain that you don't want to lose your train of thought but you will come back to their desk in a few minutes.
Ultimately, there is going to be something in your environment that takes away your focus. Like your favorite professional athlete, learn to block everything else out and work on the task at hand.
No matter what approach you use to battle distractions, the greatest weapon in your arsenal is the agreement among all of your stakeholders that focus matters. Consider a policy of no-meeting Wednesdays. Try and reduce the interruptions you create. Be respectful.
And ultimately, you'll get more done.
The business world can be scary. Sometimes it feels like one false move could cause your whole house of cards to come tumbling down. So CNN posted a Business Insider article where entrepreneurs were asked to chime in with their productivity tricks. And we couldn't agree more with their ideas! Every entrepreneur could use an instruction manual when it comes to startups. Here are some of our favorite tips with our own two cents, too!
Tip #1. Beth Doane, founder of Raintees, lets all calls go to voicemail.
Tip #2. Eric Casaburi, founder and CEO of Retro Fitness, multitasks by combining a "brainless" activity with a "brain-required" activity.
"For example, you could exercise on a treadmill, while taking a conference call (something that I do frequently)," he says. "Yes, you will be winded, but I assure you it won't affect your thinking and communication skills. In fact, there are studies that show the brain neurons fire off at a higher rate while active!"
If this isn't something you see yourself doing, try combining some other activities. You could organize your files while on a business call, too!
Tip #3. Jamie Wong, founder and CEO of Vayable, schedules three non-work-related activities a week that nothing can interfere with.
Tip #5. Kate McKeon, founder of Prepwise and Prepwise Games, utilizes Fancy Hands' assistants-for-hire.
"In some cases, I have them do preliminary research on market segments so I can make a high-level decision very quickly," she says. "In other cases, I break up a very complicated project into small enough pieces that can be done with a series of tasks. I had them sort through a 15,000 word glossary for wrong words, and it only took two days."
It's okay to lean on outside help. You won't be able to manage everything alone, so why not split up some of your duties and hand them off to someone else's capable hands?
Tip #7. Roger J. Hamilton, founder of the XL Group, categorizes every task as a "project" or a "process" and then strictly manages them.
Are you finding yourself in need of ways to increase your effectiveness? Contact one of our organizational productivity consultants today!
We all have habits. It's a part of human nature. But just because something is a habit doesn't mean that it's actually a good thing. Business Insider released a list of the 10 habits that are destroying your effectiveness. Check out their list below and our thoughts!
1. Impulsive web browsing:
The struggle is real when it comes to not clicking some funny videos of dogs playing the piano or checking how many likes your last Facebook post received. We're constantly connected to the internet, which means any question that you might have can be answered in a moment flat. The recommendation is to jot things down that you want to look up later. It's a great way to work around your inquisitiveness!
2. Moral licensing:
So you were super productive this morning and were able to knock things off your to-do list, which our consultants highly recommend having. You deserve a reward, right? You can totally take it easy for the rest of the day. Wrong! The tip is to make your goals part of your identity--you achieve these things because you're that hard of a worker. This philosophy will keep you productive.
3. Putting off your most important work until later in the day:
We all know that procrastination is the enemy of productivity. Saving the big ticket items for the end of the day is the worst thing you could do. Our drive to complete tasks wanes as the day progresses. So that important project you're waiting until the last minute to do will probably not get done on time (or not be done to your best ability.)
4. Taking many meetings:
Unnecessary meetings are the bane of a worker's existence. Did we all really need to sit down for an hour to discuss the new file folders we're using in the office? It's okay to say no in these situations. Simply explain the situation to your manager. Unless it's absolutely necessary, we're pretty sure they'll take your side.
5. Multi-tasking:
No matter how much we want it to be true, we are not good multi-taskers. None of use are. We're simply not wired to do a ton of things at once. In fact, only about 2% of the human race are effective multi-taskers. Handle one thing at a time!
6. Hitting the snooze button:
Getting that extra 10 minutes can feel glorious in the moment but you're actually hurting your productivity for the day. Your body instantly releases hormones when you wake up to make you alert and get your wheels churning. Snoozing puts a cork in that process. Stay awake and make a plan for your day!
7. Failing to prioritize:
When you don't prioritize it may feel like you're just keeping your options open so you don't close a door on the right opportunity, but you're actually ruining your productivity. Warren Buffett recommends making a list of things you want to accomplish, then picking the most important ones and ignoring the rest. If you get a shot at those opportunities later, jump on them then!
8. Over-planning:
The term "Murphy's Law" exists for a reason. Anything that can go wrong, will. You won't be able to plan for everything and trying to will drive you insane. The suggestion of planning for 5 hour increments in your work day is a good way to avoid over-planning!
9. Under-planning:
The flip-side to over-planning is, of course, under-planning. Sit down and come up with a game plan. Figure out the ending you're trying to reach before you're in the middle of your task. Having to stop and figure out your next move is a good way to derail the productivity train.
10. Keeping your phone next to your bed:
We have already put our two cents in when it comes to using your smartphone at night. Not only will it distract you from some much needed sleep, the blue light beaming from the screen actually suppresses melatonin, which we all need in order to get some shut-eye.
Let's face it, noise is everywhere. From the moment we get up in the morning (to a beeping alarm mind you) to the loud construction and traffic noise during our commute, our day starts clouded with background noise. But that's just the start right? Walking into the office we face ringing phones, fax machines, printers, copiers, coworker conversations, coffee makers and just about anything else you can think of. And while we can't escape the constant murmur of muffled sounds, our brains can choose to turn off particular ones when it comes to being productive. The question is, which ones are easily tuned out and which ones aren't?
In a study conducted by Cambridge Sound Management, it was discovered that 30% of workers are distracted by coworker conversations. Interestingly enough, it isn't the actual noise of the conversation that hinders productivity according to Cambridge Sound Management acoustical expert Justin Stout, "When we talk about distractions what we’re primarily concerned with is intelligibility."
While it’s easy to make out the words spoken by the broadcaster on the television in the airport lounge, the various sounds in the coffee shop are jumbled together, creating what is frequently referred to as a "hum." In the coffee shop, the noise is meaningless in my brain. It’s not intelligible speech that I’m trying to pay attention to, it’s just a cacophony of sound.The key to enhancing productivity through sound is consistently generating that office “hum”—the unintelligible mixture of sounds.
Turns out, our brains get distracted when background noise--namely conversation--is intriguing. We may have every intention on being productive, but at times, our intelligence gets the better of us and suddenly we can't put our ear muffs on. It's certainly difficult to admit that coworker A's conversation with coworker B about her dog's trip to the veterinarian was the cause for being behind schedule, but as human beings it's simply in our nature. Our brains are such that we simply can't resist the portal to intellectual stimulation. And despite our best attempts, like listening to music or changing the color of our office, it's difficult to salvage productivity when background noise is more than just a "hum". So what is the solution?
For one, don't fool yourself into thinking you can override the noise without any sort of intervention. Just attempting to ignore a neighbor's phone call will only make you more frustrated and annoyed. In fact, it will probably increase the time in which you are unproductive.
So, our suggestion is get to the bottom of what's really the problem and work from there. If you find that your cube mate's conversation are a constant source of distraction for you, ask if you can relocate to a different area in the office. Or, get them a new headset so they don't have to talk as loudly. According to Stout, defining quiet spaces in the workplace is very beneficial:
. . . create separate zones for focus-driven work, giving employees the option to retreat to a quiet space if needed, and providing secluded areas for employees to hold private phone conversations.
Another great solution is implementing the concept of workplace popcorn. For those avid Methodology Blog followers you may remember this cool idea we highlighted a while back. It's coffee shop hopping at its best, and can provide the beautiful background hum you've been craving when productivity is an absolute must! To refresh your minds, below is a brief summary of Joel Runyan's concept:
Workplace popcorn is a four step process that has you popping from place to place completing work projects as you go. It’s workflow that is fast-paced, defined, goal-oriented and scenic to boot. It certainly keeps you focused and most importantly, creates an avenue for achieving multiple levels of productivity in a single day.
Here's the deal: distractions pop up all over the place. At times you may be able to prevent them from creeping into your office, but if you could use some expert advice on how to truly combat workflow interruptions, consider reaching out to us here at AccelaWork!
When you spend the majority of your day on the computer, time and memory seem to go out the window. In fact, a lot can be said about increasing employee satisfaction through breaks. But if you find yourself having a hard time recalling information you literally just looked over, then this easy hack may be right up your alley. TIME released an article stating that saving regularly actually increases your memory of what you're working on.
“Saving one file before studying a new file significantly improved memory for the contents of the new file,” the authors write. “Saving has the potential to significantly influence how people learn and remember.”
So how did they get this information? Through experiments, of course. The researchers rounded up participants and asked them to study two separate PDF files and try to memorize the words on each. The subjects actually remembered more material from the first PDF if they successfully saved that file before heading over to the second PDF.
Benjamin Strong, the assistant professor of psychology at University of California in Santa Cruz was the head author of this study. He explains:
“Saving allows us to maintain access to more data and experiences than would be possible otherwise. Memory now works in concert with technology, and by saving information we are able to keep that information from interfering with the learning of something new.”
Think of your brain like your own personal hard drive. When you put new information in, you save it so you can access it later. Then, you're free to move onto the next item you want to save. But you retain that first item and can recall it much easier if it's saved. Psychologically, the act of saving something before moving onto the next task frees up our minds so we can turn our attention to the next task at hand. And if you find that you're struggling with focus, we have some tips on improving concentration and productivity.
Strong explains that, in earlier research completed, he found that thinking of new things makes it incredibly hard to remember previous thoughts. He found that we need to set aside work and move on to other important tasks so we can get the most out of our memory and increase our productivity. Think back to your high school or college years. Those "all nighters" where you would stay up and try to cram as much information as possible into your head before a final exam. Do you remember much of that information, if any at all? Probably not. Hitting the save button during projects is a quick way to let your brain hang onto that information without keeping it in front of your face the entire time. Strong says:
“Saving may protect us from this type of thinking-induced forgetting by allowing us to think of new ideas while keeping our old ideas safely saved and out of the way.”
It's a general rule of thumb to save your work regularly. You never know if your computer will decide to crash miserably. Now, there is the added bonus of saving to increase productivity. Strong also says that new information can overcome old thoughts, so saving or writing your new ideas right when they occur can help you avoid forgetting them.
If you're looking for ways to improve your efficiency, try reaching out to one of our organizational productivity consultants for more information!
For most of us, the question (or nagging complaint, depending on how you view it) on managing email is clear: how can we get our inbox under control and keep it that way? It's a difficult question because, as so many of us view it, the messaging technology has overwhelmed and overloaded us to maximum capacity. We've heard from many people who would actually prefer to delete an email account and start fresh rather than manage a current one with 3000+ emails. Suffice it to say, raising the white flag to our inbox and succumbing to its powerful lure has trapped many of us into endless emailing.
And that is where Robby Slaughter's latest book comes in. In early December, The Battle for Your Email Inbox hit the shelves! Its content, email management, has been a hot topic for people across the nation as email has become an integral part of our daily lives. For Slaughter and all of us here at AccelaWork, this fact is important because the more email dominates our world, the bigger impact it has on our productivity both in and out of the office.
Below is a recap of Gilman's conversation with Slaughter. To read the interview in full, be sure and visit the post on the Splash Media U blog.
GILMAN: It’s easy to become distracted by checking email throughout the day. Obviously I want to stay in the loop on current projects, but is there a best time of day to check email that will make me more productive the rest of the day?
SLAUGHTER: The best time to check email is never, or at least, not right now ... Instead, you should make an effort to process email by reserving time to do so on your calendar. I recommend one or two processing windows a day. When you do this, you’ll be responding to email in a less timely fashion, which actually helps you to receive less email. That’s because others will learn if they need you right away, they have to pick up the phone or find you in person.GILMAN: Do you have any tips for staying in touch while away from work without letting it get out of control? Any advice for mobile email use?
SLAUGHTER: ... communicate with your team and change the expectation that you are available when you are not at work. Just as we would consider it rude to interrupt a meeting, a private conversation, or someone who is asleep, you and your office should define reasonable timeframes that you can be away from email.GILMAN: I like your idea of keeping email for coordinating, while reserving more personal interactions for phone calls and face-to-face interactions. Can you offer an example of each and how we can use email to possibly even increase the social side?It’s best to avoid using mobile email at all unless you plan to do so. If you know you’re going to be waiting for a plane, stuck in a line at a government office, or in your doctor’s waiting room, expect to use that time to process email with your phone.
SLAUGHTER: A good rule of thumb is that if the information could be misinterpreted—not just mistaken—you don’t want to use email. After all, we communicate through gestures, body language, facial expression, tone of voice, and through the rapid exchange of clarifying questions. None of these are available when you’re typing at someone else.These tips above only scratch the surface when it comes to Slaughter's advice on email management. If you find his thoughts helpful, we guarantee you'll benefit from these books he's written!
Technology is probably the greatest gift mankind has created. There are always pros and cons when it comes to using it though, and our business consultants agree that you definitely need to keep an eye on what you're using and how much you're using it. It's a game of chance really. You have to find what works best for you and your daily life. The New York Times posted an article that can really come in handy when trying to find the right calendar app that works for you. Writer, Kit Eaton, provides a list of his favorites. Check them out with our thoughts below!
1. Sunrise
Eaton strongly suggests Sunrise, it being his go-to app to use when organizing his days. It's a lot more in depth than the old fashioned calendars of the past. You can get a ton of information with just one glance using weekly or detailed views. The weekly view allows you to see a scrolling list of your upcoming tasks. The detailed view will show a column of several days along with hours. Entering an event into Sunrise is super easy. They even have a feature that allows you to tag an entry with a matching icon so you can quickly find and tap it. Not only will Sunrise sync with all your other calendars, it can also pull information from Facebook and LinkedIn. The best part? It's totally free on either Android or iOS.
2. Tempo Smart Calendar
If you have an Apple product, then this is a serious contender. This is another free iOS product. Tempo, like Sunrise, has loads of visual features that will keep you organized. It's also partnered with Speek so you get a free conference call out of the deal. You can post to Facebook through Tempo to acknowledge birthdays, check out maps and directions, and even keep track of flight information. It will use your natural language in your own words to enter an event and can also use voice input with Siri. You can even check out other members of meetings you will be attending. Tempo will gather their LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter information among others to provide you with a background.
3. Fantastical 2
Like Tempo, Fantastical 2 puts to use the natural language event entry and easy to use interface. But this app has an emphasis on reminders and agenda planning. It'll show your events and reminders in the main list, provide a map for where your event is located, and also allows you to speak into the phone to create new entries. Yet another iPhone product that is well worth the download. If, of course, you want to pay the $4.99 price tag.
4. Cal
If you prefer a minimalist approach, Cal may be right up your alley. It's integrated with Any.do, which is a to-do list app that comes highly recommended--keeping track of your events and tasks has really never been easier. And we all know how important it is to have a to-do list to maintain productivity. Don't forget that you do need to pay for full access to Any.do if you want to sync these two together. Luckily, this app is for both iOS and Android, and it's completely free. It comes in handy for meetings by using a homescreen hub and also syncs all of your calendars.
5. Calendars 5
This app, while normally boasting a $7 price, is having a discount as part of the AppSanta campaign. So you may want to hurry up and grab it while it's only $2.99. It's only available for iOS. Similar to the others in using natural language input, it does have some extras like the ability to seamlessly sync it to your iPad or iPhone. You have the option to choose day, week, or month viewing. Check out the Task Manager for an in depth to-do list. Drag and drop events. You can use this while online or offline and everything will be synced back to your account.
The New Hampshire Union Leader published an article by Dr. Paul Baard, an organizational and sports psychologist with Fordham University, in regards to how anxiety affects motivation at work. It's an interesting piece and we encourage you to read it in full. But to pique your interest, we're highlighting some of Dr. Baard's findings in this post.
First and foremost, it doesn't take a genius to recognize that worrying is a massive distraction. Whether you're upset about something going on in your personal life, or you're stressed about a missed deadline at work, the cause of your worry is running through your mind constantly. It's like a snapshot movie reel that is on instant repeat. And no doubt, with every start to the reel your heart skips a beat and you begin to sweat all over again! Your stomach hurts, your head aches and frankly, you're tired because you spent the whole night tossing and turning. So, not surprisingly, focusing on the spreadsheet that needs updating or the press release that needs writing is painfully difficult. This is the obvious part to worry.
What is hard to distinguish with this emotion however is just how much of a hindrance it is on our daily work routine. Not only is our concentration shot, but so is our motivation. Suddenly, the five tasks on your "to do" list have turned into fifteen because you spent a better part of your day worrying rather than working. As the projects build up, the realistic expectations for completion go down and next thing you know, you've added another layer of worry to your plate. Not to mention, your self-esteem and value begin to diminish as well. It's a slippery slope that quickly goes awry and morphs into chronic worry. According to Dr. Baard:
This often includes imagining a “What if … ?” scenario. This spiral downward starts with picturing a loss of job, and continues with not believing we’ll find another, bills going unpaid, loss of home, untreated illness…and on it goes.
It may sound excessive to say that one worrisome scenario can create dozens more, but this anxiety can have quite an impact on our brains. Just think how quickly our imaginations can run away from us. Or, better yet, how quickly our emotions can lead us to resolve to the fact that one or two problems are, inevitably, the beginning of the end. Dramatic? Yes. But pretty accurate nonetheless. When you consider the above information, one can conclude that worrying at work has the following (potential) consequences:
1. Loss of productivity 2. Loss of motivation 3. Loss of value 4. Loss of self esteem 5. Built-up stress 6. Distraction 7. Exhaustion 8. Impatience caused by exhaustion 9. Lack of sleep 10. Dissatisfaction at work
So what's the solution? Dr. Baard provides sound advice that may assist in calming worry and boost our motivation for active resolution. Below are his 3 tips:
. . . shout (in your mind, at least) “STOP. STOP. STOP!” repeated until another line of thought comes to you. Some stimulus in your immediate environment might trigger the alternative thought, e.g., the mail to be answered.
. . . use that emotional charge as the energy to update a resume, start to assess our strengths, and think through some possible next steps. Or maybe hop onto a bike or take a run, which can help release endorphins.
. . . a better answer to the worrisome question “What if … ?” might be: “I don’t know!” (the future is largely unknowable after all). Remember, you are a capable problem-solver. You can reach out to resources for help, if necessary. And be sure to guard your exposure to sources of worry. Filtering your media intake, and limiting discussions with known doomsayers, will likely help you get your motivation back on track.
If worry is bogging you down at work, consider where it's coming from. Perhaps learning techniques for reducing stress is a good option for you. But, if you have constant anxiety and dissatisfaction in your job, consider why that is and what can be done to remedy it. You may find that talking with your boss and/or seeking alternative pathways to satisfaction in your career may be the answer to your problem.
Almost anyone who is in marketing uses social media. Each year, businesses are getting more and more involved in the numerous platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ among others. Using these to your advantage takes loads of time, but our business improvement consultants agree that it's necessary time spent when concerning productivity growth. Most people these days run to the internet to investigate brands and companies before purchasing. It isn't just for the young kids anymore either. Even grandma has a Facebook profile now. So you can essentially target any audience. Therefore, how can we navigate through internet marketing and come out on top? Entrepreneur published an article by Pooja Lohana detailing how to go about that and not lose your mind. Check out her suggestions along with our two cents below!
1. Rignite
If you wish you had a dashboard that included all of your social media needs, Rignite is the answer to your prayers. You're able to monitor, chat, and collaborate using numerous platforms. You can use their "Schedule Profile Groups" to schedule posts to go out on every single site you use. The best part, though, is their Campaign feature. Host contests for your followers, grow your email subscribers, and numerous other neat options. You can then use their analysis to figure out how well it's working. All of this for $28 per month after the free trial.
2. Topsy
If you're trying to target specific tweets on your own, good luck, because there are about 500 million tweets per day on Twitter. Using Topsy will take the pressure off by analyzing tweets that are relevant to you while also helping your outreach on blogs. Also, you can easily search keywords and authors by location, exposure, activity, etc. The best part? It's totally free.
3. Mention
This real-time monitoring app lets you take control of your online presence by allowing you to react quickly to trending posts. You can keep an eye on anything from videos to forums. It will also report back to you about traffic to your site. There's a free trial, then a basic plan that's for one user at 250 mentions per month. If that doesn't cut it, you can pay for a plan, too.
4. Twtrland
If you want to reach out to new people on Twitter, Twtrland is the best choice. You don't need a separate account, you just sign up with your current Twitter log in. Their dashboard will sync with your account and give you a breakdown of your followers based on age, location, gender, etc. It'll also tell you how well your content is doing on Twitter. After the free trial, you'll be forking out about $49 per month.
5. LikeAlyzer
Among the sea of Twitter analyzers, you may find yourself wishing you had one to keep an eye on Facebook. LikeAlyzer is there to save the day! Driving traffic to your blog or site from Facebook is now easier. Use it to keep an eye on competitor's sites by checking the score that LikeAlyzer assigns each page. It'll report back to you about how your page is performing, your fans, other posts and their length and timing among many other cool features. And guess what? It's free!
6. Swayy
Are you having trouble finding relevant yet popular content to share on your social media sites? Swayy will hunt that down for you. Simply tell them what topics you're looking for and watch it work its magic. If you feel like paying, you can let it manage multiple platforms for you. It'll also tell you how well your shares are doing. It's free for one dashboard but starts at $9 to add an additional one, which is totally worth it.
First: be honest, how did last year go for you? Great, right? Every goal hit majestically, every obstacle tackled effortlessly, and each person you met helped get you there like surfing the mosh pit at a phish concert. (I'm hoping that last line gets me a little street cred.)
OK, so maybe it wasn't quite that easy. What went wrong? What's your fail-safe plan to not screw up this year? Because you're not perfect. (If you are perfect, why are you reading my blog post?)
Here's my 5 cents for how to do it differently:
Lose the Victim Act: Think of the last time something went wrong in your life, whose fault was it? Too often we look to the outside when the proverbial poo hits the fan, but I highly encourage you to look at things differently. We have a much more powerful outcome in our own lives than we often recognize. The victim act just isn't that sexy, or useful for that matter. So take charge of your fate, or at least accept that when things go wrong it doesn't mean you are wrong.
Do More of What's Working: What were your big successes over the last year? Chances are they're measurable and duplicatable (spellcheck says that's not a word, but it is working for me so I'm going for it). For sales people: Create a list of your top clients, and think back to how you landed and closed those deals. For makers and managers, create a list of successful projects and identify the habits that made them work. Do that more, everyday.
Celebrate Your Failures: Do you smell that? I think I stepped in failure. Next to public speaking and spiders, fear of failure is one of the most crippling fears any human can carry. Failure is a necessary evil on the road to success. Recognize it, celebrate it, then wipe it from your shoe and learn from it. That, my friends, will help keep your sanity intact. Need more? There's a book on the topic of failure by AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter.
Goals, They're Not Just for January: You know those things we write out the first month of each year? Those nagging little goals that tell us we are doing great, or we suck at life? How often are you revisiting them? Do you have them broken down into a part of your daily behavior? Are you tweaking them to better serve you? If you answered "no" you should contact me, I have a great resource for this. In any case, it's always a great time to set goals and also to review goals.
Shake it Off: Thank you T-Swift for your brilliance in 2014. (And Macklemore/Lewis/Dalton for saying what "Can't Hold Us" in 2013. And so on). Things truly aren't as bad as they seem, most of the time. We have this amazing gift called perspective which allows us to see the world anyway we choose, which makes celebrating failures a whole lot easier. Keep this in mind when you're right on top of a catastrophe. It may be funny someday, or just a lesson. But it's probably going to get better.
Those are my top tips for being a success in the year ahead. But remember: if all else fails, just do exactly what you did last year. Einstein couldn't have been right about everything.
Every year, most businesses like to generate some kind of report on the overall happiness within their company. It's a good way to check in when one year has passed to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you're not doing that, we recommend getting in that habit quickly. Because it's pretty clear that employee happiness breeds success. In fact, employee satisfaction should take priority. It can be a pretty daunting task, though. So is there an easy way to make a game plan to set your employees up for success? There is now! Zeynep Ilgaz of Entrepreneur stepped in to give us some pretty awesome ways to make sure employees are successful and satisfied. Check out her list and our thoughts below!
1. Discuss personal goals alongside professional aims.
It's important to not only make sure your company is going in the direction that you desire, but that your employees feel as though you're involved as well. That means really getting to know their own personal wishes, too. So why is happiness so important? Well, the University of Warwick found that happy workers are 12% more productive. Therefore, take the time to find out what their goals are. Ilgaz gave a great example where her company included a gym membership in their benefits because they knew most of them had voiced their desire to lose weight. This not only shows that you're listening but you care about their health and well-being.
2. Connect employee aims to larger company objectives.
Each worker contributes to the big picture. Everyone has their own separate duties to complete so that the company's objective can be reached. Sometimes, employees can begin to feel really disconnected from that end goal. A good way to get everyone involved and seeing where all their hard work is going is to share your goals for the year. Let them see where their hours of typing on a computer or talking on the phone is going towards.
3. Set challenging yet achievable targets.
The key to everything is balance. Setting goals for your company is necessary, but so is making sure that those goals are realistic. If your objectives are challenging yet over ambitious, employees will feel the stress of not living up to those plans. Let your employees know the reasoning behind your objective so they have a better understanding of how to succeed. There is an art to creating goals that are not only demanding but attainable as well. As Ilgaz said:
Make sure you ask, “Will these goals make a difference to both you and the company as a whole?”
4. Write the goals down.
This may sound simple, even a little silly. But studies have shown writing down your future goals is necessary to achieve them. MBA students from Harvard were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” The results were surprising. 3% had actually taken the time to write them down, only 13% of them actually had goals that weren't written down, and 84% had absolutely no plans at all. Researchers waited 10 years and approached them again. The students who had goals were earning twice as much as those who had none. But that 3% that actually wrote their goals down? Their earnings were 10 times as much as the other 97%. Combined. Let that sink in.
5. Create a plan for success and stick to it.
Get everyone involved. Once your goals are set, let the employees tell you how they plan to meet them. Let them come up with ideas and tasks on how to reach the end zone. It actually takes some pressure off of you to figure out how to divvy up responsibilities. But stay on top of the process so you can make sure everyone is still comfortable with their tasks. Generate progress reports or hold monthly meetings. That way, your employees can let you know their concerns and you can ensure they're satisfied should any arise. Keeping your workers happy will allow you to thrive!
The first step to working with a productivity consultant has nothing to do with the coach and everything to do with you and your business. You must first admit that there might be a better way to do things.
Don't underestimate how hard it is to accept that you're not the most efficient that you can be. We all feel like we could do things better, sure, but most of us aren't willing to even consider that we could be dramatically better. Here's a story I like to tell:
Several years ago, a friend asked me to help him move out of his apartment. When I arrived, we took the stairs up to the third floor and I saw the many boxes he had packed up.Before we got started, I asked him if he had looked around the complex to confirm that our route from his place to the parking lot was most direct. I thought maybe we could move the truck closer to save time and reduce exhaustion. He admitted that he hadn't looked around much in the entire year he lived there.
A quick search turned up an amazing discovery: there was an elevator in the middle of the complex. My friend was truly shocked. He thought back to the difficulty of moving in, and the many heavy objects he had previously hauled up the stairs.
That move out was finished in record time. And since we had a handcart, we weren't even sore afterwards.
The next step is to find a productivity expert near you. There isn't an international union of people interested in improving personal efficiency. Sure, there are professional organizers. There is an Association of Business Process Management Professionals. There are a bunch of methodologies for business improvement. In fact, there are tons of places where you can find people who love to think about improving efficiency.
Once you've found someone who might be your productivity coach, the next thing to do is to evaluate them. So if you think you could be more productive (but don't know how) there is a bit of an art to interviewing potential productivity coaches.
The best thing to do is to let them ask questions and observe you in your natural environment. Why is this so important? Because someone who is a true expert in improving efficiency will see obvious inefficiencies everywhere. Consider the following examples:
You can spot some of these yourself. One way to increase productivity is to ensure that you're using multiple monitors---each of which should be large, high-resolution screens.They might also comment (politely, I hope) on whether or not your workspace is clean and clear.
Or, they could talk about the amount of natural light or the frequency of distracting noises in your environment. Any of these should be apparent to a productivity expert.
The final element of what a productivity coach should provide for you is some kind of measurement of your current progress so you can see improvement. This may be a hard analysis of the number of items processed per day, or it may be a softer, more intuitive sense of your peace and happiness.
So what are you going to get? A list of things you should start doing, and stop doing. New tools for making your workflow more efficient. Recommendations on new ways to get work done, or to interact with others. And most importantly, you're going to see progress that you can measure, because you'll feel happier and be more productive.
But remember the first step is the hardest: admitting you need help. And no matter what kind of consulting or advice you seek, this is the part almost everyone fails to fully embrace.
Good luck!
On one hand, it's great that a spotlight is being put on employee happiness. On the other, the results of many of these surveys and studies is pretty disheartening. A company called Answers Corp., which is a platform leveraging Answers.com and the cloud based solutions that revolve around business and customer experience improvement, has come out with a study that focuses on employee satisfaction in America.
And the results aren't very promising. The study Answers came out with, called "American Employee Study: A New Perspective on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors", involved 4,000 employees in different positions from companies of varying sizes in different industries. They used something called a "Structural Equation Model" which is essentially a cause and effect methodology to really dive into the issue of employee satisfaction across the states.
What they found was that overall happiness in the workplace is a dismal 65 out of 100. Generally, a score of 80 would mean that businesses were meeting and/or exceeding worker expectations. But they didn't leave it there. Instead, they zeroed in on employee engagement during their normal, daily operations. Only 27% were completely engaged in their duties. 28% were not at all engaged and 45% were in the middle. The senior director of Answers Cloud Services, Eric Feinberg, explained why these results are so troubling:
“Improving employee satisfaction leads to desirable employee behaviors, such as recommending the company to others, supporting its products and satisfying its customers,” said Feinberg. “Considering the high cost of replacing employees — anywhere from a fifth to 200 percent of the person’s salary — a true commitment to measuring and improving the employee experience should be an operational imperative for American employers.”
Besides these findings, Answers also included some other pretty important information. 48% of workers don't think that their employers understand their career goals. 55% have coworkers that disrupt their productivity and impacts their satisfaction. 86% actually like their boss. Also, many employees agree that the areas that need improvement are compensation, leadership, and their relationship with managers.
Beth Kelly of the Grand Rapids firm HR Collaborative agrees that very few of us are truly giving 100% at work. She has found that's mainly due to the fact that workers are unhappy because of lack of support from managers, issues with coworkers undermining or bullying each other, and not being trained enough or provided the right tools to do their job right. She said:
“That does kind of resonate with me, with the people that we talk to. Folks just really want to do a good job and be recognized for the contributions that they make to a company. That is a pretty simple equation when you think about it. It is just the implementing and the executing it that makes it so difficult.”
The Answers study also shows that there is a high level of happiness and engagement in the Millenials age group. 62% felt engaged at work compared to the 56% to 59% of other age groups. 66% reported overall satisfaction with their work. Kelly explained:
“This data indicates millennials just want to do good work. They want to do work they can be proud of and where they get recognized for doing that good work,” said Kelly. “It is a typical lifecycle for people who are between 20 to 25 and 35, that they want to sink their teeth in, put roots down and practice their craft. … We have been spending all this time (talking) about how mobile and finicky millennials are, and this survey says this is just not true.”
So where do we go from here? Take this information and run with it! Our Indianapolis productivity consultants are always searching for ways to improve employee satisfaction. It's time to do massive overhauls in our workplaces. Need some help figuring out how to begin? Reach out to our business productivity consultants!
Or, you may just have goals you've set for the year ahead, or at least the next few months. Whatever the case, many of us go through the mental exercise of deciding what we will do (or won't do) differently.
Well, I've never been big on New Year's resolutions. As a recovering perfectionist I've learned that when I didn't live up to my lofty resolutions, I beat myself up about "why." So five years ago I shifted to a new mindset. I consider the new year not just a new beginning, but a new opportunity to shine. To leverage what went well in the previous year and to learn from what did not, so I can be more ready to receive and celebrate what the new year will bring.
And of course it doesn't need to be January 1st to make this decision. But whenever you start, there's always twelve months in your future worth considering.
So how can you shine in the year ahead?
I've worked with clients in organizations with up to 10,000 employees, developing multiple organizational development approaches for continuous improvement. I have a three-dimensional system. My 3D approach has been used to successfully accelerate significant improvements in organization and leadership performance.
My 3D approach involves:
1. DESIGN - Design what you want the year to look like, so you can build it with intention and purpose. It becomes a blueprint for your success. If you have a plan, you have something to follow!
2. DEFINE - This step allows you to describe exactly what the nature, scope and boundaries of your design will be...including where and how you will use it. Definition is about clarifying what you want, using words, numbers, and even pictures.
3. DELIVER - This is your official launch. Your opportunity to show what you have designed in a powerful way, to the right people and in the right places. A well-defined design must be put into action to have value.
This approach builds intentionality and purpose into your unveil, bringing with it an authentic opportunity for you to shine.
The 3D system is easy to remember and easy to follow, but also easy to set aside. Make an effort to design, define, and deliver on your future. You'll see results in your career and in your personal life!
A bonus fable:
In a field one bright summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. After a few minutes, an Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest."Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant in reply, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. The Grasshopper continued to chirp and sing and laugh.
When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:
It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
-Aesop
We're big fans of using different productivity tools and creating methods for increasing growth. There are so many plug-ins, apps, and new methods coming out on a daily basis. So it came as a shock to read that most people aren't using new tools to be more productive. In fact, they're using the old tried and true methods. Silicon Angle released an article based on a survey by The Pew Research center that details exactly what workers are using. Over 60% of the 535 workers that were surveyed said that email was the most important tool they use. That number changes to 78% where office workers are concerned. They're also more likely to use land-lines--47% showing preference toward being hardwired in over mobile phones. Of course, you have to take into account those that sit at a desk all day compared to those who are on the road during normal business hours.
"But the importance of smartphones and tablets varies greatly from worker to worker. Factors such as billing, which is a notorious pain point when it comes to business calls on personal devices, can make the landline more convenient for employees who spend most of their time in the office. Office dwellers who take work home, however, are more likely to favor their own handsets over the company telephone for the very same logistical reasons."
Those who telecommute reported that their smartphones are extremely important as did Internet workers who work remotely. The fact that telecommuting has been growing certainly contributes to the rise in smartphone and tablet use. So where does social media rank across the board? Pretty low. Only around 4% say it's important to their productivity. And how about having access to the internet? We know that many managers fear that internet capabilities could impact productivity. But have no fear, because only 9% of in-office workers and 3% of remote employees reported that being constantly connected to the internet actually affects their efficiency. 46% of those surveyed reported that their productivity has improved and 39% say that digital tools like email allows them greater flexibility with their work hours.
But does that flexibility come at a cost? Of course.
35% of participants reported that flexibility causes them to work more as a result. That number hikes up to 47% where office workers are concerned. But Pew reports that they are also twice as likely to be able to enjoy a more flexible schedule when compared to blue-collar peers. So what does that mean for companies that are creating new gadgets and software? Maybe it's time to switch gears and center new designs around email or the internet. Most companies can't get their hands on brand new technology, which may be why so many workers cling to the old ways of doing things (because they have to).
There is something to be said however for the saying, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." Despite our generation's need for continual change and upgrading, the old adage is certainly a concept difficult to argue against if a process method is working well and efficiently as is.
Looking for more tips to help you become efficient? Take a moment to reach out to one of our business process improvement consultants today for more information!
Chances are you've heard of it. They are called "meetings."
In order to understand why meetings are incredibly wasteful, we need to remember that meetings are filled with people and that people tend to value perception over reality.
The data on popular opinion is amazingly clear, and widely ignored. People really hate meetings. They want to get work done, and they feel that meetings prevent them from doing much work.
So what is it we are doing when we get together? Often, it's simply us telling others what we have been working on. Here's some statistics about worker perception of status meetings from Psychology Today:
40 percent of employees think status update meetings waste valuable time, and 70 percent say these meetings don’t help them get any work done.
Meetings are such a bad idea, some companies have chosen whole days to be meeting-free zones. A piece in Inc magazine explains:
Software company Asana has another approach: No Meeting Wednesdays. Its policy is exactly as it sounds: Avoid meetings on this particular day of the week (unless absolutely necessary). What sets Asana's policy apart from others is that it openly acknowledges that "managers" and "makers" prioritize their time differently. Employees, in other words, need time to create, a fact that the executive team acknowledges.
They aren't the only ones banning meetings. In the Results-Only Work Environment (which we've discussed before here) meetings aren't banned, but no one ever has to attend one. According to ROWE founders Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson:
In a ROWE, every meeting is optional. Even recurring meetings. Even "mandatory" meetings. Every meeting is optional.
Both of these practices may seem too extreme for your workplace, but the fact remains. People despise going to meetings. What should we do about them?
Compute the cost of meetings to decide whether you should have them or not. Reader PJ Christie pointed us at a cute meeting expense calculator which lets you see just how much your company is spending as the minutes tick by. It's hard to imagine situations in which the value of a status meeting is greater than the cost of the meeting. Because usually if you need to relay the status of something, you could write it and have someone else read it. And better yet, along with the process of doing the work, we should also create a collaboration zone in which others can stay up to date.
Make 'opportunity cost' a common phrase. If there's one concept everyone should have retained from that one economics class, it's the idea of opportunity cost. This refers to what you don't get because you did something else instead. The opportunity cost of going to the gym is what you could have done with that time instead of going to the gym. Bring up the words "opportunity cost" often enough that people know what they mean. Then discuss them when it comes to meetings.
Draw a distinction between work and talking-about-work. There are certainly some meetings that are beneficial, such as meetings for brainstorming or making decisions. Or, if you need to communicate about a sensitive topic, it make sense to get together with the relevant parties in person. But in many cases meetings are not actual work. Talk openly about the difference.
No matter how you decide to deal with the problem, keep in mind that most people think meetings are a waste of time. Even if you do have a reason to meet or you find a way to run them efficiently, you're facing an uphill battle.
So cancel the meeting. It's probably the right thing to do, anyway.
We here at The Methodology Blog are always focused on how to have a thriving business. The only way you can reach the top, though, is to make sure your employees are being taken care of. If you want to improve productivity among your workers or learn how to be a better boss, then we have you covered. Now, it's time we take a look at your most productive employees. They're the ones you can always count on to get their work done. Maybe they take on extra duties without huffing and puffing or have the most sales in their department. These are your stars and it's important to keep them happy so they don't go sniffing around for new work elsewhere. Every employee is important.
Of course, we're not saying to show favoritism. Heather Huhman provided some good insight in her article for Entrepreneur about how you can make sure that your top performers stay happy and employed by you. She referenced a study in which Google announced what is most important to them - employee happiness. They recognize that happy employees are about 12% more productive. Check out Huhman's tips below along with some of our thoughts!
1. Promote a collaborative work environment.
Do you prefer going to work, putting your head down, and just getting your work done? Well, you would be in the minority in that thought process. It may surprise you to find out that most employees have reported that they would prefer to work in an environment that is collaborative. Singling out one employee for one specific task may be the wrong direction to take, now. So how can you create this kind of atmosphere? Pair off your employees for projects. Get your managers involved. Make sure everyone knows they can speak freely without judgement.
2. Offer free lunches.
Who doesn't love food? Mention some scrumptious item around people and really take stock in how many reactions you get. We love to eat. So the fact that workers who receive company provided meals are more likely to collaborate only makes this fact even more beneficial to you. 54% of over a thousand workers that were surveyed by Seamless reported that they would spend more of their time at work if they weren't wasting time packing lunches. On top of that, 60% said they would feel more appreciated if their employers provided them with food items at work. The solution is pretty clear.
3. Develop mindful managers.
Managers are the point of contact for employers. So it isn't very surprising that managers affect employee productivity. One study from Singapore Management University showed that increasing the mindfulness of supervisors lead to not only a better work-life balance, but greater overall happiness. Encourage your managers to be aware of their employees. It can be easy to slip into a robotic routine of barking out orders or demanding results. Make sure they're standing behind their workers and not over-working them!
4. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition.
TINYhr’s engagement and organizational culture report taught us something very important. 44% of those surveyed said they would love to give their co-workers some much deserved recognition - if they had the tools to do so. Using some online platforms and other software tools, you can make this happen. Receiving praise from your peers can sometimes mean more than when it comes from higher-ups.
5. Focus on positive relationships.
Boston Consulting Group came out with a study that really backs this idea. They surveyed 200,000 people and found that relationships between workers and managers are one of the top 10 ways to keep employees satisfied. It's important to have a relationship beyond work. Creating ties on a personal level is a good way to make employees feel valued. Promote creating friendships and bonds! Have gatherings outside of work or plan work outings. Your employees will thank you for it!
It’s a new year and an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Most of us have made various personal New Year’s resolutions throughout the years, maybe to be healthier and exercise more or to spend more time with family; however, have you considered making a work-related resolution? It is common for us to be critical of others behavior in the workplace. But how often do we think about our own behavior and how it may affect others?
If you think about it, we spend more hours at work than we do at home. It makes sense to try and be as accommodating as possible in order to make the workday go smoothly. Here is a list of workplace etiquette items to reflect upon; you may end up resolving to change some behaviors of your own.
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For additional information on company handbook advice, please contact New Focus HR.
Kristen Shingleton Deutsch has over 25 years of management and human resources experience. She received her B.S. from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has continued her excellence in the HR profession by attaining her certification as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) through the WorldatWork Society, Phoenix, Arizona, and as a trainer for Development Dimensions International (DDI), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in their Interaction Management/Skills for an Empowered Workforce Program.
Rhoda Israelov, blogging trainer and writer for Say It For You, recently discussed this very topic by reflecting upon the words of AccelaWork's very own Robby Slaughter. In his most recent book, The Battle for Your Email Inbox, Slaughter relays to readers the concept of ideas and how they are fostered through email:
An idea is information on which you can act.. . .
The reason to make a distinction that email is for 'ideas' is so that we do something with the information that comes to us through email and also so we direct others what to do with what we send them.
One major distinction of Slaughter's perspective that Rhoda points out is, while email can handle big data and has capacity for storage, the communication medium should rather be used as a source for routing information. In other words, take ideas and free them from the system in question by sending them out. To Rhoda, this view is significant to bloggers:
That's where, by the way, there really is one big difference between an inbox and a blog. "Old" blog posts don't go out the door. Even if the information from those blog posts are "routed" through Facebook or Twitter, the material remains in the "archives" of the website, organized in reverse chronological order.. . .
That structural difference, though, doesn't take away one iota from the value of Slaughter definition of an idea as leading to an action.
It's hard to deny just how important email is to our everyday; particularly in the office, but also in our personal lives. And while so many of us live in a bubble of back-and-forth emailing (as if the ever-growing strings of conversations aren't really clouding our inboxes), the problem we face is how to balance this essential element. Especially since, as many can agree, the communication medium can easily become an overwhelming factor to properly manage. In fact, it's such a common issue among so many that it's relatively easy to convince ourselves that everyone is constantly suffering with the effects of a cluttered inbox! But rest assure, this is untrue.
At the risk of sounding boastful, here at AccelaWork, battling our inbox isn't much of an issue. We are strong advocates and successful products of Robby Slaughter's perspective. So, if your email is out of control and seemingly too far gone to manage efficiently, don't give up! Instead, reach out to us or register for our upcoming event, The Battle For Your Inbox: Managing Email Productively. In either case, you'll soon find that email can be more than just a massive stress inducer--it can transform into the exact source and router needed for your brilliant ideas!
There are lots of places where you could put company resources. If you are an HR director looking to improve employee performance, you might want to invest in books, conferences, or one-on-one time with people who need help.
If you are a marketing director looking to bring more leads to your company, you might pay for advertisements in magazines, on the radio, or via billboards. You might buy lists of leads, or try to draw people to your website through content marketing.
These are all perfectly good methods for developing your employees or nurturing relationships, but they don't have the central advantages of hiring a speaker: the audience effect and the audience experience.
What is the audience effect? It's a psychological phenomenon that relates to the way we conduct tasks. We operate differently when we're under observation. Sometimes having an audience improves our performance, and other times it makes it worse, but in virtually all cases our behavior changes when we know we're being watched. When you bring an outside person into your organization to give a talk, you are telling everyone that you expect change. You want people to be inspired, educated, or at least entertained. You're hoping for an outcome, whether that's to increase sales, decrease waste, improve collaboration, or develop a new skill. And while almost everyone in the room is not on stage, a good speaker should cause people watching to empathize with them. The audience behavior should change in the future because they identify with the speaker.
The other benefit to hiring a speaker is creating the audience experience. In short, this is a balance where people are engaged through shared responsibility, but relaxed enough to pay attention. It's the same sensation you get at a great movie, play, or concert. You feel like part of the process, but the performer is doing most of the work.
The audience experience is a fantastic method for employee development. That's why it's been used by colleges and universities for centuries. We explain concepts to a larger group, and challenge people to implement what they've learned.
But the audience experience is also a great system for marketing. When you bring people together into a shared space and provide them with something of value, those people can turn to one another to share what they learned. Not to mention you have an opportunity to follow up and develop the relationship.
So what do you get by hiring a speaker? It's simple:
A better question than "what are the benefits of hiring a speaker" is "how does paying for a professional speaker compare with other options for employee development or marketing?"
In the case of helping your staff to change, the key distinction in working with a speaker is interactivity and shared experiences. If you pass out a book or ask people to watch videos online, they won't have the kinds of discussions that allow for significantly improved collaboration.
If you're hiring a speaker for a marketing event, the advantage is two-fold: your company is seen as being an expert because you brought in an expert, and you also get direct access to all of the attendees. That's a huge benefit over traditional marketing programs in which you tell people directly how great you are, and hope they decide to act on their own after seeing your blog post/billboard/television spot.
Ready to talk details about hiring a speaker? Contact us here at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you make a difference in your organization.
The economy has been turning around. That means there are more job opportunities popping up every single day. That gives workers more options in where they choose to work. So how can you make sure that your employees won't have wandering eyes and look elsewhere for employment? After all, employee turnover is quite expensive. In fact, it can cost as much as 1.5 to 2 times a worker's salary. Factor in low morale or decreased productivity and this spells out trouble for some businesses.
Sharon Florentine wrote an article over at CIO that covers this very issue. They reached out to some business and technology leaders to find out their ideas on keeping your staff happy and working. We here at The Methodology Blog completely agree with her tips on employee retention. We picked our favorites and added some of our thoughts, too!
Retention Starts With Recruiting
The first step is always recruiting. Choosing from all the resumes pouring in is where you will find some pretty good indicators. Dan Pickett, CEO of Nfrastructure, has around 400 employees and a pretty high retention rate at around 97%. This is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he hails from the IT field. Pickett stated:
"Retention starts from the application process to screening applicants to choosing who to interview. It starts with identifying what aspects of culture and strategy you want to emphasize, and then seeking those out in your candidates."
So make sure you are really screening those applicants. You want someone who is in for the long haul!
Study Job Histories
This is where you will find some strong indicators on resumes to be on the lookout for. You can tell how dedicated someone is to their career by how often they bounce around companies. Pickett commented:
"While they might just be looking for the right place to land, a candidate who has had, say, 10 jobs in 12 years is going to be really difficult to retain for any company."
We couldn't agree more. Picking workers that have stuck it out, even through rough patches, are people who will likely stay loyal to you. But are you doing everything you can to make sure their alliance stays with you?
Clear Paths to Advancement
It's really important to promote internally. This will give worker's a clear idea of what they can hope to achieve by working with your company. It will also ensure that your employees feel valued which is critical when it comes to retaining them!
Provide Ongoing Education
Our own Robby Slaughter spoke about ongoing training for employees. It will not only benefit you, but your workers, too. Kevin Griffin of CIO and GE Capital had this to say on education in the workplace:
"There is never a point during your career at GE Capital when you're done learning," says Griffin. "As a current example, we're now focusing on improving how we offer technical training to all of our IT associates," he explains. "We're proposing that every IT employee, regardless of level, undertake at least 40 hours of technical training a year."
This shows your employees that you're committed to them and that you're also in it for the long haul!
Get Employee Feedback
We're really big proponents of keeping employees satisfied. So doing something like a periodic survey rather than waiting on exit interviews will really help your current goals. Founder of TINYpulse and TINYHR, David Niu, explained:
"The fact that the employees are being heard, that they are being listened to, is important and can improve retention, even if there's no way the company can address their challenges at the moment."
Looking for more ways to hang onto your employees? Contact our organizational productivity consultants!
Inspired by Alina Vrabie's blog post on cognitive biases that can hurt your work, we're putting together a series of pieces on findings from social psychology, economics, and other areas of science that prove what we think is normal is absolutely crazy.
This isn't a new concept for The Methodology Blog, but it's a new twist on telling the story. In an old post on the problems with group work, we discussed the psychological term social loafing. We reviewed a paper on the psychology of waiting in lines. Or the classic Alfie Kohn piece which explains why incentive pay doesn't work.
This blog post series will cover a set of cognitive biases. Those are all ways of thinking which are bad for us, but that we tend to do automatically without realizing it. Here's the list of topics we'll be covering:
To start us off let's use an example of cognitive bias. This one is called the denomination effect. Here's how it works: People are less likely to spend money if they have larger bills than the same amount in smaller bills.
That means if you have $100 all in one dollar bills, you're more likely to spend it. But if just have a single Ben Franklin, you're more likely to hold on to it. A few years ago, NPR covered this on the show Planet Money. Here's one way they tested it:
Researcher Priya Raghubir stood outside a gas station in Omaha. She would have people fill in a survey about gas usage and then thanked them with either a $5 bill, five $1 bills or five $1 coins. People went into the store, and when they came out Raghubir asked them for their receipts. The ones with coins spent the most, people with dollar bills a little less. And people with one $5 bill kept that one in their pockets.
This little example is a great way to understand what it means to have a cognitive bias. It's exactly the same amount of money in every case, but we tend to think of it differently based on the type of denomination. Likewise, every cognitive bias we'll investigate in this series is similarly interesting. Our brains trick us into doing what isn't best, and we usually don't even notice.
The denomination bias can be put to use at your company. Say you're passing out gift cards to show employees you appreciate them. If you want them to be spent, hand out multiples of smaller amounts rather than a large one. Likewise, if you want people to better plan their time, ask for estimates using days instead of weeks, or hours instead of days.
And just like scientists studying a cognitive bias, you can run your own experiments. Curious if people tend to hoard vacation days and take them all at once? Try resetting the clock every quarter rather than every year. Want to see if you can reduce waste during the production process? Consider using smaller bins of raw materials.
These kind of changes may leverage the denomination bias and help your business to run better. But more importantly, your company is full of people, and those people have brains. You're one of them. Understanding how it works can make an incredible difference.
The most obvious place to find people asking for freebies is in the not-for-profit sector. Fundraising consultant Pamela Grow comments on this in a blog post titled The Cult of Free:
Nonprofit organizations will do everything in their power, including spending considerable time and effort, to locate things for free.Cobbled-together programs. Free web-hosting. Free email service providers. Free databases. Free training. They all come with a hidden price tag — continued inefficiency. No one’s said it better than ole’ Ben Franklin: Time is money. I’ve always believed that the nonprofit cult of free speaks to something deeper. And, after all, if you’re not committed to funding your mission, how can you possibly be committed to your mission? And if you can’t be compelled to spend money to make money, how committed are you?
We have this problem in our business too. Customers are constantly asking if our presenters can speak for free. (The answer? Maybe sometimes, but let's talk.)
And we've pointed out that good consulting is better than free, because it should save you more money than it cost you in the first place. The opposite is also often true: trying to save money often costs more money.
So why shouldn't you ask for things for free? Three big reasons:
If you ask for something for free, you're saying that you can't afford to pay for it. You're indicating to a potential or current vendor that your business is not healthy---or at least not big enough and successful enough to write the check.
You can tell this is happening because the request often includes an apology. "I'm sorry to ask, but is there anyway we could get this at no charge?"
The words are clear: "I'm sorry." That's a phrase we use when we know we screwed up.
Any time you ask for a reduction in price for your own needs, you're telling the other person that they can afford it. In effect, you're communicating to the vendor that they are overcharging.
Again, the implied language of the negotiation is one that is derogatory. Whether we say it out loud or not, we are intimating "You know the product isn't worth that much."
That's a cruel way to build a relationship.
Although you are focused on your business and your needs, there is a big world out there of buyers, sellers, and transactions called the economy. Every time you get something for free, you're making it cost more for all of the people who do have to buy it.
And while that might not seem like your problem, it's going to be eventually. Later on you're going to need to acquire a product or service, and it will cost more because of all of the customers who have sought discounts.
Every parent knows that children tend to break the toys they were given, and cherish the toys that they had to work to pay for themselves. Likewise, your organization is more likely to use it if you've actually watched the money go out the door.
This gets worse over time as well. Products that have a recurring value (and would be associated with some kind of subscription fee) become taken for granted. We might keep using them, but we forget they are worth anything at all.
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. --Thomas Paine
Try not to get too many things for free. As counter-intuitive as it may sound, build the costs into your budget. If they are offered at no charge, you don't have to push back. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep these concerns in mind.
We here at The Methodology Blog know all about how much of a drag commuting can be. We have spoken before about how telecommuting can improve productivity. Not only does it save on gas, but it helps employee retention rates. Some companies don't offer this opportunity, so some are taking on the issue in a different way. CBS in Dallas/Fort Worth released an article about how commuting to work affects worker's happiness. Author Dan Buettner says getting rid of an hour long commute would put an extra $40,000 in the bank. Many companies in Texas have been moving their headquarters to cities like Frisco and Plano to be closer to their employees. Toyota even got in on the moving action and will be moving to West Plano.
Kym Yancey, who is co-founder of a magazine called Live Happy, agrees that thinking of your employees' commute when factoring in where your company will be located is a great way to improve satisfaction. Not only that, but it has a major impact on their productivity. Yancey explained:
You are going to do nothing but drive your happiness down by thinking about all the things that are wrong with your commute. Think about things that will bring you happiness and think about things that will trigger those things for you and get away from ‘ain’t this awful.
So what can companies do about this dilemma? If telecommuting isn't an option, then perhaps opening a branch or moving to a more centralized location may be a great consideration. Commuting will always be necessary in an environment where being at the office in person is mandatory. In fact, we have talked about how to have a more productive commute. But is there any concrete proof that commuting does in fact affect your happiness and well-being? There is. In fact, a study was released in 2014 centered around this very issue. The Commuting and Personal Well-being study published their findings that support this claim. Below are the key points of their study:
Holding all else equal, commuters have lower life satisfaction, a lower sense that their daily activities are worthwhile, lower levels of happiness and higher anxiety on average than non-commuters.• The worst effects of commuting on personal well-being were associated with journey times lasting between 61 and 90 minutes. On average, all four aspects of personal well-being were negatively affected by commutes of this duration when compared to those traveling only 15 minutes or less to work.
• When commuting time reaches three hours or more, the negative effects on personal well-being disappear, suggesting that the small minority of people with this commuting pattern have quite different experiences to most other commuters.
• Combining both travel method used and the length of time spent commuting showed that taking the bus or coach to work on a journey lasting more than 30 minutes was the most negative commuting option in personal well-being terms.
• The effects of more active forms of commuting such as cycling and walking on personal well-being varied with the amount of time spent traveling in these ways.
With this in mind, it is probably safe to say that if it takes your employees over an hour to get to work, you can bet that they aren't very happy. This will surely affect how productive they are once they reach work. Looking for more ways to improve your efficiency? Try contacting one of our business improvement consultants!
A key step is to change your expectations. One of my favorite quotes about this topic comes from the man who founded Atari:
"Everybody believes in innovation until they see it. Then they think, 'Oh, no; that'll never work. It's too different.'" --Nolan Bushnell
But there's more to innovating than doing things that are different. We also must break the current patterns. That's what different is---not the same as we've always done.
Most of us aren't trying to create the next world-changing startup or cure a major disease. But there's opportunity for innovation at most offices. You can transform the culture of meetings by having participants stand instead of sit. You increase efficiency by adding a second or third computer monitor. You can improve collaboration by switching from deadlines to collaboration zones.
But for any of these ideas to work, you must stop what you're currently doing. We have to disrupt our current standard operating procedure for something new. So how do you step in and change course?
The distinction to make is between disruption and interruption. Being disruptive is about finding a pattern that may lead to problems or frustrations, and intentionally breaking that pattern. This can be healthy, whether it's breaking the pattern of never getting to the small stuff, or the breaking the pattern of market dominance of an outdated idea.
Interruption, however, is disruption without thinking. It's stopping someone else from making progress because you're being selfish. Or it's denying another project the chance to continue without doing so intentionally.
Interruptions come from external sources that simply break our concentration. It's the ringing phone or the ding of an email message. It's a colleague wandering into our cubicle. Or it's a new request taking priority over an old request. That's not exciting disruption, it's just annoying.
Here are some phrases to use when being disruptive:
Just this one time, can we try it a different way?I bet you have an different idea, do you want to say more?
What if the way we've always done it isn't good enough?
Can we take a moment to try an experiment?
If you compare that with the phrases used to make interruptions, you'll come across the one word over and over again. See if you can spot it:
I know you're busy, but can you take a look at this report?The project is important, but this is an emergency.
We need to help customers at the counter, but we can't let the phone ring more than three times.
I know the computer system is glitchy, but you just have to restart it every so often.
Interruptions are redirections. Whoever is initiating the interruption likely feels a twinge of guilt (or at least they should.) But disruptions are opportunities. A disruption is a new idea that may well fail but presents a possibility for positive change.
Here's one more distinction between interruptions and disruptions. We want other people, buzzing phones, and general annoyances to leave us alone. But for a company to continue to improve, those disruptions have to keep happening. And once you innovate, you can't stop. Keep disrupting the patterns.
"It isn't the incompetent who destroy an organization. The incompetent never get in a position to destroy it. It is those who achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up." --F. M. Young
First, a quick conversation about the real meaning of that word. Change requires action, action requires motion, and motion requires we stop standing still. Therefore, motion is potential discomfort. The reason we say people don't like change is because we're imaging that things being different will require someone to experience pain.
I'm not the only person saying this. A piece from the Harvard Business Review on change makes several points:
Change is...Loss of control.Change is...More work.
Change is...Ripple effects.
Change is...Loss of Face.
It's true that change in a business context often means these things. But change isn't necessarily negative and isn't necessarily unwanted. Imagine the following kinds of change:
These are all forms of change, and most people would love any of them. It's not strictly accurate to say that "people hate change." People sometimes adore change. Sometimes people work hard to make change happen. So why are we so obsessed with a broadly negative view toward transforming any organization, modifying any policy, or even introducing a new idea?
I think it's because of one of my favorite pieces of social psychology, the fundamental attribution error. This is the idea that we tend to consider other people's behavior as an aspect of their true identity, but our own behavior as connected to our situation.
Put simply: if someone else trips, it's because they are clumsy. If we trip, it's because the architect failed to design the stairs correctly. We think "people hate change" because we think that other people can't handle change---even though we can handle it ourselves. It's a version of related phenomenon called the self-serving bias (and why you should use a windows and mirrors strategy in your communication.)
So what should we say instead? I like the phrase "change impacts people" because it reminds us that whatever we do will almost certainly have an effect on others.
In order to reduce people's resistance to change, remember the following:
Management and executives make two choices every time they issue a decision: the choice at hand, and the decision of who to talk to when making the decision. Incredibly, people continue to keep secrets at work and fail to include stakeholders.
Instead, give people a sense of what decisions will be made in the future. Consider a suggestion box or town hall meetings. Demonstrate you are actually responding to the ideas, not just letting your team spin their wheels. Refer key questions to committees that consist of people from every level in the company. Where appropriate, take a vote. Be as transparent as you can be in order to avoid people feeling left out.
All change can be perceived as negative. When one company wins a contract, others may have lost it. When someone retires after many years of service, someone has to learn what they did and try to replace them. No matter what the situation it can be easily spun as a problem.
That's why it's helpful to characterize all change in as positive a way is reasonable. Even bad news---such as impending layoffs---can be combined with good news like severance pay, outplacement services, and early retirement options. Be careful not to be guilty of spin, but find something that will benefit those who are negatively affected.
Change is often hated because people think it will become even more unfortunate than they anticipated. We're used to bad news getting worse. That's often tied to our expectation that when we hear something we're not getting the whole story. Details are left out to soften the blow. Or, we're kept entirely out of the loop and suddenly surprised with the news.
Instead, try and tell all of the details every time. Give people the exact numbers and the all of the backstory. Type it up and share it in written form so that it's more permanent and doesn't spread like gossip across the office. The more honesty is part of the experience of working in your company, the less people will fear change when it happens. They will be confident that they truly know what's going on.
Stop saying "people hate change." It's not true. Instead, it's that people hate the way change usually happens. Be a part of improving that process---in your company, in your organization, and everywhere in your life.
This isn't our first piece on techniques for employee empowerment, but the suggestions in Mark's piece make sense. They remind us of an old quote:
As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others. --Bill GatesBut empowering others isn't an quick process with instant results. Instead, most of us are used to work environments where we are told not only what to do, but also how to do it.
As companies change to adapt to the needs of the modern marketplace, employee-employer relations are also changing. Workers have to be decisive and self-motivated. Employers need to recognize that one of the most attractive elements of their company is individual opportunity. When candidates believe they will get to chart their own course, they are more likely to want to work for your firm.
So no matter where you are in your organization---or even if you are in a job search---empowerment makes a difference. If you want more more productivity, more creativity, and more enthusiasm from your team, take a look at Mark S. Brown's post below and his three tips on empowerment.
A strong leader empowers their people. An empowered team will always out perform a team that is led by intimidation. But empowerment is both an art and a science. It is usually a mixture of intuition and fact that guides us to begin empowering others. It is also a skill that you should never stop developing.
Here are three key reminders on empowerment:
1. Recognize you can’t empower everyone. This is usually a mistake of an inexperienced leader. Many have a desire to become an empowering leader, and immediately want to empower everyone on the team. It does not work. Not everyone is ready, able, or deserving to be empowered.
2. Choose people to empower carefully. If you want to empower someone, their success becomes your success. Invest in people that have the knowledge, skill, and desire to be empowered. If someone only possesses two of these three traits, they will be lacking in their success.
3. Invest your time and energy in their success. This is the most critical step. Many times we empower, but fail to follow through. Consider the first time you empowered your son or daughter to drive the family car. How did you know they were ready? How did you train them? How did you help them and transition them to be a successful driver? I am sure you did not just throw them the keys, say “here you go”, and walk away. When you empower anyone, you must take the time to verify they are ready, prepared, trained, and have a proper transition plan before they are on their own.
The rewards for empowering others can be great. Every empowering relationship should result in a win for both parties. You cannot maximize your leadership without it. As James B Stockdale has said, “Great leaders gain authority by giving it away."
Mark S. Brown is an executive coach who is passionate about personal development. He works to make a difference in people's lives by empowering them with skills and knowledge that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in. Mark has been coached, mentored, and certified by John Maxwell and his team. This coaching certification allows Mark to successfully coach and train individuals, groups, organizations, and companies.
Let's be honest here, we are not unfamiliar with the concept of wearable gadgets. Between old school pedometers worn back in the 90's and early 2000's, to the smart watches, glasses and cameras of today, we've seen lots of fancy, technological accessories over the years. As a runner, I love the concept of having the ability to measure my personal mileage, listen to music and monitor my heart rate all from my watch. This type of technology makes me feel all warm inside and makes me happy; particularly when the results exceed my expectations.
But, wearable technology isn't done yet -- it's taking on the challenge of measuring upon a more complicated scale. Recently, Bank of America got wind that their call center productivity was plummeting. So they gave employees an ID badge that contained wearable sensors equipped to measure productivity and happiness. What they found was interesting to say the very least: the more employees interacted, the more productive they became. According to the sensor's creator Ben Waber, CEO of Sociometric Solutions, the results were significant:
At first, we tried to figure out what factors predict an employee's productivity. We thought it would probably be how employees talk on the phone — people who talk in a certain way would complete calls more quickly and be more effective. That wasn’t the case. We saw that people who had a cohesive network and talked to each other completed calls in half the time as those with the least cohesive network.
Waber believes this new technology is one way that will help managers move from gut instinct to fact-based information when making decisions. In his view, the way in which companies currently measure employee happiness and productivity--through surveys and consultants--is subjective and doesn't scale. With his technology, measuring activity through voice analysis is much more accurate and quantifiable:
Today, ID badges have RFID tags, which are actually sensors that can tell a person’s location. But that doesn’t tell [you] how people are collaborating. We’ve added additional sensors to the ID badge to measure that: Two microphones do voice analysis (how loud or quickly somebody talks, the tone of their voice, how much they interrupt whomever is speaking) and an accelerometer measures how active people are in general. It turns out that’s a really good measure of how happy and productive people are.
We've discussed employee productivity tracked through sensors before. It's not a particular subject matter we believe greatly in. Which isn't to say we don't embrace technology. On the contrary, we encourage readers to utilize apps that enhance workflow and assist in productivity.
And we are not against measurement either. Without measuring progress and analyzing the way in which we work, achieving a more productive and successful environment would be impossible. The problem is, measurement through sensors eventually morphs into excessive and unnecessary monitoring--whether intentional or not. This simple fact is the biggest problem of all. How can you make employees happy and productive when they feel they are being watched all the time? In this regard, it stands to reason that, given the impending stress and agitation employees would surely experience, these two items of measurement would in fact go down over time.
Which leads to my next question: can we accurately measure happiness? Certainly, one can interpret the emotion based on observation. But, does that mean we can actually gather data that can be quantified and translated into fact-based conclusions? Plenty of us operate under the assumption that we're happy only to find out days, weeks, months, or years later that we're not fully satisfied. I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but if we can't fully grasp our own level of happiness how in the world can an outside sensor do it?
Based on Waber's conclusion that happiness can be charted, are we then to assume that managers and business owners will begin blindly making decisions based solely on those results without instinct and personal observation whatsoever? If that holds true, it would mean we as a working society would begin to loose our ability to freely make choices based on our own thoughts. Let's hope that is not the ultimate goal because it is a recipe for disaster.
If you ask me, there are simply too many unanswered questions to safely say that a sensor is a "really good measure of how happy and productive people are." Instead, let's focus on how activity produces results, and how results create value—while not being too distracted by measurements.
Probably the best technique for engaging millennials in the workplace is to take whatever knee-jerk reaction comes to mind about this age group---and dismiss it. Some common negative stereotypes about young people include:
You may have thought these things in the past, or something else. This is the biggest problem in effectively communicating with any group of people: preconceptions that limit our beliefs, and therefore influence our actions. Start by challenging your assumptions.
So how can we better connect with people who come from a different generation? The key revelation is to try to understand communication from that group's perspective. In this regard, it's not so much about people from a specific range of ages, but a group of people who have common experiences.
Therefore, effective communication techniques for millennials are complimentary to effective communication techniques for other groups. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about young people in the workplace.
The numbers do tell the truth. A a study from the Pew Research Center reports that 88% of Millenials are texters. Compare this with Baby Boomers, only half of which send messages in this manner.
That doesn't mean you should always use text messages to communicate with younger people. But it does mean that times where texting is appropriate, that's the best option for connecting with young people.
Likewise, if you need someone's undivided attention for a detailed, nuanced, sensitive conversation---request a face-to-face conversation. And if you're interacting with someone who is comfortable communicating over a screen, explain why you want to talk in person.
In essence, show respect for what others prefer.
Millenials are famous for snappy answers, snarky responses, and all around sarcasm. Why is it sometimes hard to connect with young people about important topics?
Part of the reason is that when many of us communicate, we do so by inference rather than directly. We talk around issues instead of about them. We use gentle language, euphemisms, and weasel words. We don't get to details, and this can drive people bonkers.
Consider the following examples:
Bad: What are your thoughts about this project? Better: How do you feel about the June 1st deadline? Best: In order to meet a June 1st deadline, what milestones will we need to meet?Bad: I wanted to talk to you about your performance this past year. Better: It looks like you haven't been hitting your figures. Best: Your average for last year is 80% of quota, but mostly in the last three months. What's up?
Specificity breeds specificity. Try it!
As much as we might want work to be completely under our own control, outside factors are always at play. That may be the weather or a ringing phone or a colleague with an urgent question. Interruptions are everywhere.
Millenials in particular are accustomed to multitasking and handling data from multiple directions. For that reason, we might assume that they are better at handling interruptions than other generations and that we shouldn't worry about piling on new stimuli.
But just as with the other points, distracting another person is often disrespectful. The best way to communicate with a millennial is to determine whether or not you truly need to interrupt them. Can you send an email rather than tapping them on the shoulder? Can you save the conversation for the next scheduled meeting rather than doing it right now?
Some interruptions can't be avoided. But if it is not strictly necessary, don't bug someone.
These are great communication techniques for interacting with millenials. But they are also valid for almost anyone when you take the proper consideration.
It's always a good idea to use the best medium for the message and the recipient. It's always best to be clear and direct, especially if that's the kind of response you want. And it's always best to avoid interrupting other people.
These aren't really aspects of communicating with millenials. They are respectful ways to communicate with human beings. And if we are to embrace younger generations in the workforce, thinking of them as people first may be most important.
AccelaWork's very own Robby Slaughter was delighted to share his perspective on time management with Susan Young and her Hubstaff readers. After all, his passion for productivity in business is extensive--publishing several books on the matter and engaging in countless presentations that educate and inspire businesses and employees on the benefits of becoming an efficient professional.
Below is an overview of Young's and Slaughter's discussion on time management, time tracking and productivity. We've highlighted the meat of their conversation, but if you'd like to read the interview in full be sure to visit the Hubstaff blog today.
Q. What do you feel is the biggest time management issue that businesses face today?
Slaughter: Lack of respect. The single most effective technique for better managing your own time is to better respect everyone’s time—not just yours. You’ll teach others how you want to be treated.
Q. Do you think time management is better today than it has been in years’ past?
Slaughter: Today, we’re saddled with more distractions and interruptions than ever before. . . But mostly it’s due to an instant-answer culture which values getting information faster rather than getting it right.
Q. What are some common mistakes people are making with their time management?
Slaughter: Too many people confuse being responsive with being available. Employees are tacitly expected to respond instantly to emails and phone calls—even after hours—thus preventing them from recharging . . .
Q. What resources (software apps, processes, books) do you recommend for better time management?
Slaughter: . . . a judiciously-maintained personal calendar, and aggressively detailed to-do list, and an additional screen for your computer.
Q. How can companies better manage employees and encourage productivity?
Slaughter: Freedom. The best way to encourage productivity is to encourage individuals to take ownership over how they manage their own time and resources.
Q. How do you feel about employee time tracking (and/or time tracking in general) as it relates to productivity?
Slaughter: Largely speaking, time tracking is counterproductive. If we measure or charge by the hour, we incentivize working more slowly. After all, why get work done faster if you still have to keep working? It can be valuable to track time for resource planning and scheduling, but just like watched pot never boils, a closely monitored employee will be more worried about screwing up than getting things done.
Q. How do you approach business improvement at Accelawork?
Slaughter: We listen. The best way to consult on making a business better is to let people tell you what they think is working and not working. And then, we observe. The way you say you operate is often quite different than how you truly function. Finally, we coach and advise. Change requires ownership. No suggestion will be earnestly followed unless people believe they are part of the process.
Like anything, creating an avenue for time management is a process that should always be evolving to accommodate what you need. Being and staying productive means that change, no matter how subtle, is necessary. So don't be afraid of altering certain routines. Be vigilant when it comes to understanding your workflow and your environment. And keep in mind: if and when a process begins to lag, it's time to reevaluate, rediscover and redefine how you can navigate through it better and more efficiently!
I think it's essential to recognize that while people say lots of things they don't mean, most of the time we do say things that we believe to be true. If you're talking about the past, you're trying to give a fair accounting of what happened. If you're talking about the present, you are attempting to outline the situation as you see it. And if you're talking about the future you are laying out your own plans and the expectations you have for the plans of others.
It's the last one that gets us into trouble. We often say what we will do, but we don't actually ever do it. What's going on?
There's a ton of psychology at work that explains why people have the best of intentions. Blogger George Altman describes part of this phenomenon in a piece on the intention-action gap.
When we want to make a change in our lives, it usually starts with an intention that can be either an articulated expression of some desire or a privately held thought. For example, I might say that I want to lose weight or, think that I want to work on changing the nature of my relationship with a colleague at work..but the weight stays on and the relationship doesn’t change. What stops me?In other words, there’s a gap between intention and action.
There's lots of research about willpower and all kinds of advice for how to make your goals a reality. But what about when other people say they will do something? How can you get your colleagues, your boss, your vendors or your customers to do what they promise?
The secret is writing.
When you write down what's being said, it becomes more real. Here are some techniques for getting writing into the the accountability conversation.
There's something about our culture that means people just cannot stand to let an apology go unnoticed. If you say "I'm really sorry, I need to write this down so that I remember what we talked about" you will almost certainly gain the attention of the other person.
It's great to capture a promise made in a conversation. But sending it back to the person who made it via email takes it from being uncured cement to a solid foundation. Ask for confirmation: "I just want to make sure that I have this right---you said..."
Reach out to the person who you are keeping accountable and ask them if they appreciated the email you sent. You may want to do this in person, rather than over email itself. The purpose of asking is to find out if your tone was misinterpreted. If they think you are micromanaging them, you've gone too far. But if they reference the work they are going to do, you're on target.
Here's where written accountability turns from a form of gentle babysitting into a powerful workplace system. Now that you've captured the notes and written the email, ask other people if they'd like to try it. But there's one more secret....
If you want to improve accountability by writing things down, show others that you are working to improve your own accountability. You're not just expecting them to do it for you.
When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else. -David Brim
There are times at work where you can feel like each second ticks by slower than molasses. You find yourself staring at the clock more than you should. But there are times when all of that disappears and your mental focus is in the zone. Everything melts away and your focus is completely on your task. It's called flow because of the sensation. Steven Kotler over at Entrepreneur wrote an article about this feeling. It's because of how smoothly and flawlessly you find yourself working and solving problems. There have actually been studies into how flow works. You can find it in sports and science breakthroughs.
But where business is concerned, a 10 year old McKinsey study has shown that people feel much more productive when flow hits and focus is intensified. In fact, executives feel five times more productive, which is a 500 percent increase. The CEO at Virgin, Richard Branson, had this to say:
“In two hours [in flow], I can accomplish tremendous things ... It’s like there’s no challenge I can’t meet.”
Kotler has spent a good chunk of time trying to figure out how to really harness that flow. So how did he go about finding out the answer? He co-founded the Flow Genome Project. Their entire purpose is trying to find out how to reach peak human performance. They have found that there are 17 flow triggers: three environmental, three psychological, ten social and one creative. For the purpose of this article, we're focusing on the psychological aspect. One of the biggest researchers, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, provided 3 tips on how to narrow in on flow. Check them out below!
1. Clear goals
Once you set a clear goal, your mind is completely focused on that. Your concentration becomes better and any extra little information gets filtered out. All those little concerns or worries that take up space daily take a back seat to the flow.
"This also tells us something about emphasis. When considering clear goals, most have a tendency to skip over the adjective clear to get to the noun goals."
The only problem you face is the possibility of choking. Think about all those famous people who choked when it mattered most. This happens when the gravity of how important your goal takes over and the anxiety of it can take you off track. It's a delicate balance to manage the stress and attention.
2. Immediate feedback
This is a great way to make sure that our goals are keeping us in the present. It tells us how we're doing right away, in real time. Your mind doesn't derail into the search for betterment.
"Implementing this in business is fairly straightforward: tighten feedback loops, practice agile design, put mechanisms in place so attention doesn't have to wander and ask for more input."
3. The challenge/skills ratio
Kotler states that this is the most important of all. The theory behind this is that there is a strong relationship between how difficult a task is and how well we can perform at said task. There is a delicate balance between being too easy and too hard.
"This sweet spot keeps attention locked in the present. When the challenge is firmly within the boundaries of known skills -- meaning I’ve done it before and am fairly certain I can do so again -- the outcome is predetermined. We’re interested, not riveted. But when we don’t know what’s going to happen next, we pay more attention to the next. Uncertainty is our rocket ride into the now."
Looking for more ways to become efficient? Reach out to one of our business improvement consultants!
The company has a lot to be proud of. They hold the #1 and the #2 spot for most popular soft drink (Coca-Cola and Diet Coke, respectively) and employ well over half a million people worldwide throughout the Coca-Cola system. Add one new innovation to their list: turning off voice messaging. A Bloomberg story has more:
Office voice mail at the world’s largest soft-drink maker was shut down “to simplify the way we work and increase productivity,” according to an internal memo from Chief Information Officer Ed Steinike. The change went into effect this month, and a standard outgoing message now throws up an electronic stiff arm, telling callers to try later or use “an alternative method” to contact the person.
The beverage giant is the first major company to make this announcement, but it's been long predicted. Back in 2012, a CNet editorial asked Is this the death of voicemail?. And way back in 2008, a TechCrunch piece urged people to stop using it.
We've noted that voicemail has it's troubles before here on The Methodology Blog. We've also complained about voicemail's heir apparent: text messaging (though mostly on regard to best etiquette practices for texting.) Should voicemail become extinct?
A better question is this: is voicemail a good form of communication?
It's technically possible to leave a voicemail where every word is crisp and your intent is unmistakable. But I don't think that's happened in years.
This is hard because the medium of the telephone is designed for two-way simultaneous communication, not for making recordings. If I don't hear what you said (or I need you to say it a different way) I can jump in and ask you to repeat yourself. But a voicemail doesn't have that. At most you can review your message, but who wants to hear the sound of their own voice?
Life is short. If it takes 30 seconds for me to tell you something urgent on the phone, you're spending the exact same period of time gaining that knowledge. In fact that's one of the reasons that the world has been so dramatically changed in the past few hundred years by telecommunications. When something happens anywhere in the world, we can learn about it instantly.
When you leave a voicemail you create a delay between when you send the information and when it's received. But even though they may not pick up the message for hours, days, or weeks, they are still required to spend the same amount of time listening as you spent making the recording. Plus, there is the overhead of using their voicemail system and then deciding how to best to communicate back with you.
You know that voicemails are inefficient because you so often think "come on, get to the point" whenever you listen to someone else's message. If someone doesn't answer, it's probably better to hang up and text them rather than giving them the "gift" of your voice.
According to an article from The New York Times:
There’s also the understandable matter of efficiency. A missed-call notification on a cellphone can be its own request for a call back. A “Call me” text will likely be read more quickly than a voice mail message will be heard, and if the matter is urgent, multiple missed calls may declare that most vociferously.
I wrote before that "good communication is clear" and also "efficient" but in essence here's the best way to say both of these: the best communication is about respecting others.
That's why you don't want to have any spelling mistakes in your writing. That's why you don't want to interrupt other people when they are speaking. Is a voicemail a respectful way to deliver a message to someone who didn't take your call?
To answer that question, back up. Why are you making a call in the first place? Chances are that you want to relay some information but you don't have a scheduled meeting. You could type the details into an email, but it's more convenient for you dial a number and hope the other person is available.
Making a phone call with no warning is in effect saying: "No matter what you are doing right now, stop it and talk to me." It is potentially disrespectful. If they weren't available in the first place, leaving a voicemail adds insult to injury. You're practically forcing someone to hear your voice when they opted not to do that when you originally made the call.
Only leave voicemails if the tone of your voice is at least equally important to the content of your message. I like to leave people birthday greetings (since it's nice to hear a voice for that) or other messages of congratulations. And if there's something personal or sensitive to discuss, I'll leave a message that asks them to call back using the right volume and cadence for the situation.
As far as whether or not to have an icy, refreshing Coca-Cola, that's a personal decision. But it's certainly one company that deserves a toast.
There are always more ways to be productive where your inbox is concerned. In fact, we have written a lot about and the topic of email overload and ways to improve email productivity in the past. So when we came across this Huffington Post article suggesting ideas on how to manage your inbox, of course we were all over it. Writer David Finkel's recommendations are pretty on point. Check them out below and some of our thoughts as well!
1. Email is addictive - avoid that first temptation to check.
2. Set firm email boundaries and respect them.
"For me, every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I refrain from checking email until at least 11am, giving me a solid 2-3 hours to get much higher value work done."
3. Understand that every time you do that one "quick" email, that interruption radically diminishes your concentration and flow on the other, higher value work you were doing.
4. Leverage your staff (e.g. personal assistant, etc.) to screen your email.
5. Turn off your auto send-and-receive function (or at least reduce the frequency it downloads new email).
"One business coaching client shared that this one tip alone increased his annual income by over $100,000 per year."
6. To get less e-mail, send less. The more you send, the more you get.
7. To get less email, age your email before you reply.
8. If you're involved in a frustrating back-and-forth conversation by email due to hazy understanding on either side, just pick up the phone or speak in person.
9. In replying to a long conversation thread, pull up the key information to the top of the email.
10. Don’t use email to manage your “tasks” or to manage your team’s tasks.
11. Learn your top five email recipients' preferences.
12. Use powerful subject lines to streamline the time it takes for your team to process and find email.
Most of these problems are more obvious to the audience than they are to the speaker, which is why they happen repeatedly. But that also means the people who are coming to see you present are those who are catching you making the common errors. What shouldn't you do?
This one drives me bananas. If you are using slides in your speech, make sure that you aren't blocking the light from the projector. Doing so casts a literal and metaphorical shadow on your presentation!
There are two good ways to solve this problem. If you can pick a room with rear projection, at worst you'll be in front of the screen but not creating a speaker-sized gray blob in the image. But best of all is to identify a spot where it's safe to stand---and never move.
Usually, you want to walk around a bit during a speech to make points and engage the audience. But if you are using slides, that's what people are looking at any way. Plant your feet until you're done with what's on screen.
Many years ago I sat through a presentation given to a group of employees about financial planning. The speaker used the phrase "at the end of the day" approximately seventeen million times.
Of course, I'm exaggerating. But if you repeat the same words, that's what people will remember. (And the worst offenders? "Like", "Um", "You know", "So", and "Anyway.")
Sometimes you want to speak quickly. Sometimes you want to speak slowly. Sometimes you want to stop talking entirely to make your point.
Furthermore, every speaker knows that the stage is a time machine. What feels like hours up there is only minutes to the audience. Counting to five in your mind while looking out over the crowd is unbelievably difficult. But it makes you seem wise.
Well-timed silence is the most commanding expression. --Mark Helprin
Whether there are five people in your audience or five hundred, you need to make eye contact with individual people in order for them to feel connected to you as a speaker. Otherwise, you're talking to the wall, the floor, or the ceiling---none of whom have any interest in what you have to say.
One secret to doing this if you're nervous about looking at someone else directly is to check in with their forehead. A quick glance at the space above their eyes but below their scalp works well. This seems like eye contact, but is far less nerve-wracking.
95% of the speeches that I've ever attended begin exactly the same way. "Hello! Thank you so much for having me today! It's such an honor to be here. I want to thank the committee/the organizers/the person who introduced me/blah blah blah." It's the equivalent of "I'd like to thank the Academy" for the Oscars, except that nobody is going to play the music and get you off stage in thirty seconds.
If you start with a boring open, you encourage people to start by not listening. It's sort of like the title credits for your favorite television show. If they put up some footage, play a theme song, and display the names of the actors first, that's a sign you have time to grab a drink from the kitchen.
However, if they go right into the story with some dramatic point, comedic moment, or a dead body, you're hooked. Television producers call this the "cold open" and it's exactly the way you should start your speech. Tell a joke, quote a famous person, or launch into a story. You should have already been introduced, and if no one else did it, you can do it later.
That's it. Don't make these mistakes, and you'll be a great speaker. Or at least, you won't be making the common errors we see all the time.
AccelaWork is all about finding ways to make lives easier and more efficient. We spend our time sharing on The Methodology Blog ways to stay on top of these tips. We have brought you efficiency growth tools and ways to figure out what's ruining your workplace productivity. There are so many different ways to improve ourselves but how do we go about picking the ones that are right for us? Mashable published an article that offers some guidance on this matter. They're giving us some helpful hints on how to wade through the ocean of tips out there. Check them out and our thoughts, too!
1. Compare it to your current method
This is a pretty important one. Take a look at your current process and compare it to the one you're looking to start using. Are they similar? They should be. If it varies wildly from what you're currently doing, you're less likely be able to stick to it. Mashable provides the example of the difference between using the Pomodoro Technique which tells us to work for 25 minute chunks with 5 minute breaks. Maybe you currently work for a couple of hours at a time and then take a break. The time difference is too big of a leap to take right away. Work your way up to it!
2. Use common sense
We're sure you have all heard of "clickbait." Basically, it's a way that a website titles something to make a reader want to click the link, which gives them more traffic. You'll see things like "You won't BELIEVE how this stay at home mom is making money hand over fist!" Productivity tip sites use the same method. But just because they're presenting this tip doesn't mean it's better or updated in any way. When reading these, be honest with yourself. Could you realistically see yourself using them?
3. Try one thing at once
It's easy to get super excited about all these new techniques and shift into overdrive with them. You may end up finding yourself drowning in too many new processes before you figure out if even a single one of them is impacting your life in a meaningful way. Make a list of the ideas you want to try out and start with the one that you fancy the most. Once you have that down, move onto the next.
4. Give it time
Patience is really key here. Say you have chosen the perfect new technique and have decided to implement it. That first day you expect immediate nirvana, right? Wrong. Most likely, you will either not notice much of a difference or fall off the bandwagon. That's totally normal. Changing your routine won't go off without a hitch or two. Mashable said:
"Research shows it takes an average of 66 days for a new habit to be fully integrated, so don't expect it to feel perfect for a while. That being said, if a week or two later you're still crumpling up your paper in frustration, then it's probably worth testing something else. However, it's more likely that after a couple of days you'll get used to the new way and start seeing results."AccelaWork's helpful tip of the day: Don't quit before you have had a chance to really give your new routine a chance to take root! Looking for more ways to become a lean, mean, efficient machine? Reach out to one of our business improvement consultants!
"I've never done so badly in a voiceover. I started out a little unsure, stumbled a few times. But then as the director started coaching me, I just got worse and worse. The more he told me what he wanted and started giving me line readings, the more flustered and strained I sounded. It was awful. Eventually I had to ask to take a break. Something I've never done. And when I looked at him when I got out of the booth, we both understood I was not going to be able to give him a usable performance today. And he sent me home. Total fail."
Getting feedback is tough. And if it's not given the right way, it can do more harm than good. It's no wonder most people skip it altogether. The thing is, if we can't give and receive feedback, our work, art, or family can never improve.
Feedback is vital for our development as individuals and organizations. In the introductory class I teach on improvisation, I get people in a very vulnerable situation---being put on the spot in front of strangers doing something new and then receiving gentle feedback they need to get better and have more fun.
Here are my tips for receiving feedback, in improv and life:
As for my voiceover session, although I've had a lot of success in my voice work, the client was not able to use the performance I gave them. And I probably won't be asked to work with that director any time soon. But I did get paid for my time, which I was happy about.
At least I got the feedback! (And I've got advice on giving feedback too!)
Do you have other advice for giving and receiving feedback? A model you like to use? Merlin Works is developing a course on it to be delivered this summer and we are thinking all about this stuff. Let us know!
The Founder of Merlin Works, Shana Merlin is one of the most experienced and effective improv teachers in Central Texas. The former Dean of The Heroes School of Improvisational Theatre, Shana has been an internationally touring performer and award winning teacher since 1995. Shana has trained with some of the top teachers in the field of improvisation including Keith Johnstone, and members of Second City, The Annoyance, IO, The Groundlings and more.
We here at The Methodology Blog know how important email productivity is in marketing. We're always researching ways to use this tool to its fullest abilities. Our business process consulting experts have spoken before about the importance of email in the workplace. So how has email remained such a constant when it comes to marketing? Probably because of its simplicity. While you may get some twirly bits to add on here and there to fancy it up, there hasn't been much change to the process. It's a bit of a comfort that it hasn't evolved much over the years. You can sit down, open up your inbox, and start putting your marketing experience to use immediately.
But before you do that, there may be some tips you're forgetting. Alan L. Shulman wrote an article for Insurance Journal that reminds us to use some basic marketing tips when composing your masterpiece. Check out their suggestions and our thoughts below!
1. Email isn’t free.
Don't view your email as some disposable, free tool. Time is money and you will spend loads of your time setting up a solid mailing list. Also, check into using a service that will distribute emails for you. It takes a load off your back while also providing you with reports so you can check up on your progress. You will have to pay for a service like this but it's well worth the investment.
2. Know what to expect.
Adjust your expectations. Don't expect huge numbers. Shulman states:
There are two key metrics when measuring emails: the open rate (those who actually open it) and the click-through rate (those who also click on your URL). For marketing emails, the typical open rates are about 20 percent and the click through rate is around 3 percent.
3. Target your mailings.
Don't just shoot off emails to anyone. Make sure that your emails are going to people who actually care about the information or product. Otherwise, you're wasting not only their time, but yours as well.
4. Send actual information.
Your emails shouldn't just consist of a sales pitch. Most people investigate and do their homework before purchasing or committing to anything. Try adding in some examples and tips to your messages. That way, you are informing them about what they need to know, which saves your readers time, too.
5. Subject lines.
Your subject line is the very first thing that someone sees. It's important to grab their attention immediately. This is where the email service can also step in and help. Try out different subject lines and see what is actually causing someone to click on your email or click right past it.
6. From lines.
Did you know that you can change what your "From" line says? Rather than some generic email address, you can make it say whatever you'd like. You can choose anything from "Your neighborhood agency" to your own name. Personalize it!
7. Images.
Images are a good way to really reach out and grab your eye. Who wants to open up an email and be greeted by a big wall of text? Keep in mind, though, that most people have settings on their email that will not let images be displayed without their permission. Don't integrate images into the message!
8. Links.
The ability to add links into messages is really important, but keep it simple! Don't clunk up your email with multiple links. It can cause major confusion and frustration.
9. Experiment.
Trial and error is really important to this process. Try out a bunch of different subject and "From" lines. Use different links. See what works and what flops!
First, a bit about this program. Sparks is an Indianapolis-based speakers show which features three talks. The first two talks are only four minutes long, and the final talk is ten minutes long. We time them down to the second, which makes for an engaged audience and an exciting event.
Working with the Sparks team puts me on the other side of the table. Usually, we are offering our speakers and consultants to business, non-profits, and organizations like Sparks. But for this role, I need to recruit people, get them the relevant details, and support them all the way to the stage.
Here's what I've learned after recruiting and placing over 50 speakers in Indianapolis:
It's easy to find people who have something they want to talk about. Maybe they have a product they love, or a company where they work. Perhaps they are in sales, or they have a great story from their personal life.
However, speakers don't know your format. At Sparks, we have some fairly strict rules. We aren't looking for blatant self-promotion. And since we tell the audience to applaud when the timer strikes 00:00, that means you'd better wrap up your major points while you have a few seconds on the clock.
But something else has become apparent: a little bit of controversy can go a long way.
For example, here's Tim Roberts talking about the 2012 election...without talking about the election:
As a professional speaker myself, this one has been tough to accept. When I hear our presenters on the Sparks stage, every "um" and "you know" is painfully apparent. If they pace across the stage, it is totally obvious. If they stumble over words or frantically look at their notes, I have to force myself not to bury my face in my hand.
But, audiences don't mostly consist of professional speakers. The people who are listening are much more forgiving. Or rather, they don't worry about those sorts of things. They are listening to the message more than they are watching the craft.
This is most obvious when speakers take questions (which we don't do at Sparks.) You can't script your answers to random questions, but the audience will still be engaged. That means your speech is effective.
Because this event happens every month, we try to book speakers two, three, four or more months down the road. As much as that helps, almost all of the presenters are amateurs. They don't work on their speech until the month before hand, and most are still assembling their slides the day they are due.
It's okay to get commitments from speakers far in advance, but you have to stay in touch with them. Checking in by email or phone helps ensure they will be prepared for your program.
When we get headliners that are well-known, people show up to hear them present. Even our four-minute speakers tend to call their friends and colleagues to help fill the room.
But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be there. Come join us at the next Sparks. Register today to reserve your seat!
Last time I talked about one experience doing a voiceover. That led into a conversation about how to receive feedback. This time: how to give feedback to others.
Here are my tips:
Giving feedback right after an improv show [or an important meeting] is like giving feedback right after sex.You've just had an exciting and intimate experience with someone else who had their own individual take on it as well. Let them have that. The time for notes is ideally at rehearsal, when everybody is ready to work.
You do want to give feedback, if it's an option people are open to. And best of all? They might offer you feedback in the future, helping everyone to improve!
The Founder of Merlin Works, Shana Merlin is one of the most experienced and effective improv teachers in Central Texas. The former Dean of The Heroes School of Improvisational Theatre, Shana has been an internationally touring performer and award winning teacher since 1995. Shana has trained with some of the top teachers in the field of improvisation including Keith Johnstone, and members of Second City, The Annoyance, IO, The Groundlings and more.
You would think, as adults, that bullying is something we wouldn't have to deal with anymore. With all the awareness being raised about the issue on the playgrounds, it's time to recognize the role it plays elsewhere in life. As you reach working years, you tend to assume that this is an issue that you left behind as you grew up and matured. But maybe one of your co-workers intimidates you while trying to work on a project together or a manager is using their power in the office to make your life miserable. All of this is a big contributor to low employee satisfaction.
The problem is that most of us don't talk about it. It's almost embarrassing to admit that you're being bullied at work. So how can you, as a manager, put a stop to an issue that most people don't even want to talk about? CMI (Chartered Management Institute) published an article that goes in depth about how to get a handle on workplace bullying with some truly helpful tips.
"Design out" bullying
Basically, make bullying impossible. Lead by example that you take a "no bullying" stance. You can do this by providing an open and understanding workplace without coming down hard on employees. Publicly commend workers who are team players and work well with others.
Make staff aware
Some bullies may not even realize they're being a bully. Opinions can vary on the topic. Make it very clear where your company stands on the issue.
Before reading the riot act...
Once your company has defined what bullying is and the repercussions, take time to personally try to resolved conflicts. CMI Stated:
"According to Acas guidance on the subject, before invoking an official bullying policy, managers should first attempt to resolve any problems informally with the concerned parties through discussion and mediation."
Protect yourself with policy
Companies need to ensure that they have an official policy on workplace bullying. CMI provided a list of what your policy should include:
Examples of unacceptable behaviorsA statement from senior management making bullying a disciplinary offence
Guidance for victims on bringing forward a complaint
Guidance for managers having to deal with the complaint
A summary of formal and informal procedures
Respect the bully
Get all the facts before you act. Keep in mind that the bully is still an employee and a person. Get both sides of the story before you enforce your official procedures. Make the bully aware that these policies have been in place and that there will be action taken.
Stick to your guns
This is where there can be problems. Following through on the issue by management is really important but it can also be super awkward. Sometimes, they will end up downplaying the incident to try and make it just go away. But by doing that, you are sending a message that bullying is okay and the victim will feel blown off and completely left hanging out to dry. Not only that, but it can turn into a legal issue and be a liability for the company.
What is bullying?
There are many different ways to define bullying. CMI and Acas have provided their own definitions that you can use in your workplace:
CMI guidance defines workplace bullying as: “Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, or abuse or misuse of power, which violates the dignity of, or creates a hostile environment that undermines, humiliates, denigrates or injures, the recipient.”Acas guidance defines workplace bullying as: “It can include the spreading of rumours, public ridiculing, overbearing supervision or sexual advances.”
That's the story shared by Emily Tisdale in a blog post called Wake-Up Calls & Lattes: An Employee Engagement Nightmare. She tells the story of Tony, an employee at her first job who was never on time to work. Emily was his supervisor.
I knew exactly what to do. I just needed to sit down with Tony, one-on-one, and tell him to come to work on time. After all, he seemed like a reasonable person. He would understand that his consistent tardiness affected not only our patients, but also the rest of our team. Surely, a quick chat would be enough to solve this issue.But it wasn’t.
And despite speaking with Tony multiple times, we soon found ourselves on the performance-improvement path. I shared the challenges with my supervisors and asked for their advice. What, I asked, could I do next?
“Well, why don’t you give him a wake-up call every morning so he doesn’t oversleep?” suggested the CEO.
“That would be nice, huh?” I chuckled, thinking he was kidding.
“And then maybe give him a latte from the café when he gets in. Motivate him to come in on time!” the COO added.
This is, of course, a terrible idea. Getting someone a gift to encourage them to change their behavior or coddling them with an early morning phone call isn't employee engagement. It's enabling.
There are plenty of downsides to rewarding bad behavior, and Tisdale mentions some in her blog post.
If you have ever had a dog or a child, you know that if you respond to their whining by giving them what they want, you will only get more whining. No matter what the behavior, positive reinforcement always creates more of that behavior.
That doesn't mean you should do the opposite---which is negative reinforcement. More on that in a minute. But if someone is doing something you don't want, never try to help them by simply enabling them.
Also: once you start to reward bad behavior, you communicate to others that they should start doing the same thing in order to receive the same reward!
In most any other context, problem-focused thinking is an effective strategy for improvement. If you're trying to figure out how to grow sales, develop new products, or improve your personal relationships, you may find benefit in looking at the issues to see what's wrong. And in general, we don't worry about things until they break.
But with groups of people, spending your time dealing with the "problems" is demoralizing. It makes those people feel bad and at the same time tells everyone else that you are just waiting for them to screw up!
Instead, engage with everyone.
If positive reinforcement for bad behavior is off the table, what about positive reinforcement for good actions? It turns out that many kinds of incentives don't have their intended effect. This is one of those head-scratching suggestions that you may want to read again.
The studies are clear: paying people for performance does not work. If you want to motivate individuals on your team to do something specific, follow these steps: find out what motivates them, describe why what you want is valuable, and tie it to whatever drives them.
So how did the story end with "Tony?" Emily Tisdale wraps up with:
When someone like Tony (who admitted to being late simply because he didn’t like getting up early) gets special treatment, it sends a strong, negative message to all of your employees.Long story short, that position wasn’t a good fit for me for many reasons. But, frustrating as the experience was, it helped cement my management philosophy...Celebrate your good employees and never, ever take them for granted.
Wise words indeed!
You’ve heard of IQ, which measures intellectual ability. But have you heard of EQ – emotional intelligence? It’s been called the missing link that sets high performers apart from the pack.
EQ is defined as having the ability to identify and manage your emotions on the one hand, and then to pick up on the emotions of those with whom you are interacting on the other hand. It really is the ability to express the appropriate emotions at the appropriate time so that you can influence others and work more effectively, put people at ease, confront problem employees, and build relationships.
Studies show that having a high level of EQ is a better indicator of being successful as a leader than having a high IQ. That’s why it’s such an important leadership skill.
Here are five reasons why you, as a leader, should cultivate your emotional intelligence:
1) Self-Awareness – EQ gives you the ability to know what you’re feeling and what’s important to you. This helps you perceive your emotions as they arise in response to a situation. That matters because if you know where you are you'll be better at meeting other people where they are.
2) Emotional Management – With a high EQ, you can have the ability to manage your own emotional state; regulate yourself, and stay in control so you don’t let your anger take over your behavior. As with everything in life, controlling what you can control is often the best course of action.
3) Effective Communication – Now that you are aware of your emotions and can manage them, you can clearly convey directions and know what to say to inspire and motivate others. Leadership requires people to lead, and emotionally aware leaders have great communication skills.
4) Social Awareness – Leaders with high EQ are well-tuned to the emotions of others and are able to pick up on what is going on around them. It’s critical for leaders to be able to inspire and motivate a team---but teams have social dynamics that you must process to lead effectively.
5) Conflict Resolution – This may be the last reason on the list, but it's one of the most important. There are always conflicts in the workplace. Leaders with high EQ are able to handle conflicts better, provide resolution and develop more effective workplace.
It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head -- it is the unique intersection of both. -- David CarusoEmotions help you make decisions. They tell you what is important to you so you can make the right choices because you notice what other people are feeling. That's not to say you should always go with your gut, but that your gut does contain important data to consider!
Likewise, emotional intelligence is emphatically not emotional manipulation. Using a guilt trip or dredging up ancient history isn't smart; it's sabotage. Rather, EQ is about knowing your own emotions so that you can react to them the way you want to react to them. And with that data, you can improve your relationships with others.
Who doesn’t want to be able to manage their own emotional state and know how to deal best with others? Do you want to know how to rate your emotional intelligence? Reach out to us here at AccelaWork to learn more about ways to positively leverage emotions at work---and beyond!
The measure of your effectiveness is not productivity alone. Getting more done in a short period of time is important, but it should not be your primary measure of effectiveness. With my background in manufacturing, this was an idea that took me some time to put into perspective. After all when you are making something, how much you make and the quality of what you are making seems like the bottom line.
It turns out, however, that excellence is more important than productivity. People pay for excellence. People admire excellence. Excellence has longevity. Productivity is based on what you accomplish only during a specific moment in time.
Or to put it using another phrase that you may have heard before: quality is free.
So here is the question to ponder this week. In your business, or your life, where is excellence more important than productivity? We cannot be excellent in everything. So for you, what matters? Where do you need to be excellent, and where do you need productivity?
I have learned that in most cases when you focus primarily on productivity, you risk short changing the result. You risk compromising excellence for time. In many parts of life, this may be acceptable. But there are key areas of your life and your work where you should never compromise excellence for time.
Where is it more important to be right than fast? Where is it more important to be fast… to be first? Where can you adjust and improve as you go? Where are mistakes more costly?
There are areas of your life where you need to be prepared to always give your best. Do you know your area of excellence?
It's been a common topic among everyone at AccelaWork. In fact there are posts about the dangers of measurement and the ways economists view productivity.
There are also quotes from people such as software expert Martin Fowler, who complains about foolish attempts to measure creative efforts:
Productivity, of course, is something you determine by looking at the input of an activity and its output. So to measure software productivity you have to measure the output of software development – the reason we can’t measure productivity is because we can’t measure output.Looks like the experts tend to agree: measuring productivity is important, but not everything that matters can be measured. That's why you should establish programs that keep tabs on performance, but understand that some of the greatest contributions people can make are not those that stand up to analysis by the numbers.This doesn't mean people don’t try. One of my biggest irritations are studies of productivity based on lines of code…[But] any good developer knows that they can code the same stuff with huge variations in lines of code, furthermore code that’s well designed and factored will be shorter because it eliminates the duplication.
...
Some people say “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. That’s a cop out. Businesses manage things they can’t really measure the value of all the time. How do you measure the productivity of a company’s lawyers, it’s marketing department, an educational institution? You can’t – but you still need to manage them.
How do you tell the difference? A key secret is this: Listen to your employees. And another is to ask for outside help. Consider reaching out to our business consultants to get advice. We'd love to be of service.
That issue is a psychological phenomenon called illusory superiority, and it's the first topic in our series on cognitive biases at work. But back to Mickey Mouse.
If through some travesty of pop culture you've never seen Fantasia, here's what happens. Mickey Mouse is an apprentice to a powerful wizard, who has given the young student the arduous task of carrying water.
After the sorcerer leaves, Mickey quickly decides that he has the chops to make short work of this assignment. He steals the wizard's cap, waves his arms dramatically, and a mop comes to life. The animated creature begins carrying water for him, and Mickey puts his feet up to relax. (Watch the full clip at disney.com)
After a while, the mouse slips off to sleep. When he wakes up, his creation has gone overboard. It has filled the entire castle with water and is making an enormous mess. In a panic, Mickey grabs a hatchet, but this makes things worse. The sorcerer returns and chastises Mickey for his hubris. It's worth ten minutes of your time. Watch the segment!
The reason Mickey gets into trouble is because he is under the illusion that he has superior talents and abilities. And just like the world's most famous cartoon mouse, we all have a tendency to think we are smarter, tougher, stronger, and more competent than we actually are.
An article from Live Science highlights some research that demonstrates this phenomenon:
For instance, in a classic 1977 study, 94 percent of professors rated themselves above average relative to their peers. In another study, 32 percent of the employees of a software company said they performed better than 19 out of 20 of their colleagues. And research has found that people overestimate how charitable they'll be in future donation drives, but accurately guess their peers' donations.
Illusory superiority goes by a lot of other names: the above average effect, the superiority bias, the leniency error, and for fans of National Public Radio---the Lake Wobegon effect. But no matter what you call it, thinking we have a capacity we don't actually have is an error. We are evaluating the real world inaccurately.
To understand the origins of illusory superiority, we need to understand how we make decisions. In general, people who are far from the situation make bad judgments. But even when we are close to the situation, we often do a poor job in sizing things up. Why is that?
One of the main reasons why is drawing a difference between objective and subjective evaluation. If you want to estimate the size of a room or the length of time required for a project, you can use your experience and various tools to find an answer. But if you are trying to decide if you have enough knowledge to close a sale or write a software program or fix a broken pipe---or enough knowledge of magic to animate a mop to carry water---you are likely going with your gut. That's a much tougher judgment call to make.
A key reason we think we are above average is because it's beneficial to our species. If we think we can do something that's actually a little bit outside of our capacity, we're still likely to try it. That sometimes has disastrous results, but often leads to an unexpected victory. If we always knew what we would get, we would never take a leap of faith.
If you know that all people (including yourself) are likely to think they are above average, what should you do? Here are some tips:
So remember, you are not above average in every category. You know and can do more in some areas, but not in all areas. Accept that we all fall victim to the illusion of superiority. But, do what you can to do your best.
In the exciting world of technology that we live in there comes a down side: shorter attention spans. So making sure you actually grab someone's attention right away is key. Huffington Post came up with a pretty great list of quick content ideas. The list is pretty lengthy, so we here at The Methodology Blog picked our favorites and listed them below with our own thoughts.
1. Q & A
The best way to figure out what sort of things you should be publishing is to turn to your readers. What questions do you get on a regular basis? Use these as a way to mold your content.
4. Before & After Anything
No matter what sort of business you have, this is a great thing to implement. You can do this by showing some before and after. Maybe using charts or side-by-side pictures as part of your article is a good way to not only grab your eye, but show your readers what your company is all about.
6. Share Milestones
Have you reached a big accomplishment? Share it with everyone! You can write entire articles surrounding thresholds and achievements that you and/or your team reaches. Not only will it be a good way to advertise your business, but it will give always give you something to write about.
7. Quick, Timely Tips
This falls in line with the fact that we all tend to have shorter attention spans. Providing a quick tip will be easy for you to write about. Helping readers and potential clients now will remind them about your company when it's time to navigate other issues.
10. Give Away the Farm
Tell your target audience everything you know. Let the readers know why it is that you're an expert in your field. As the article stated:
"Nothing you write in an email or on social media will eliminate the need for you and what you do. Tell them how to do it. Some will try. Most will call you."
12. Pictures with Quotes Get Shared
The most viral content on the internet are those pictures that have quotes on them. You probably have seen a few pop up on your Facebook feed on a daily basis. If you create images with your company information or social media handles clearly marked, then that is a fantastic way to get information out there.
16. Say It With Video
Most of the content out there is in video format now. If you hadn't noticed it yet, when you're watching YouTube videos most of the ads are pretty short and grab your attention pretty quickly. Try your hand at producing some quick videos that share your thoughts. Then, write an article around the content you're trying to get across to viewers.
20. Embrace Life Hacks
We're pretty big fans of life and productivity hacks. We have written before about how useful they are. If you don't know, they are quick, useful tips that can help you change around your routine. Little shortcuts. Now, think of how you can use them with your own business.
21. Link to an Event you Will Attend
Attending events is pretty important in marketing as well as networking. So if you're planning on going somewhere, give a link to that event in your article. Maybe even try to get some of them to come with you!
Are you looking for more ways to become productive? Reach out to one of our business improvement consultants!
According to results of a survey conducted by Microsoft, employees spend 5.6 hours each week in meetings and 71% of respondents felt meetings weren’t productive. That's bad news, and what's worse is that this isn't the only study reporting that meetings are widely disliked.
It's a big problem. So how do great leaders make sure we have great meetings? It boils down to three things:
1. They achieve the meeting’s objective
2. They take up a minimum amount of time
3. They leave participants feeling that a good process has been followed.
Meetings get a bad rap, and deservedly so - most are disorganized and distracted. But they can be a critical tool for getting your team on the same page. --Justin Rosenstein
The next time, before you schedule a meeting, follow these 4 steps:
Determine if you can accomplish what needs to be done in talking with a key person instead of pulling people into a meeting; can you meet virtually?
Or if you just want the latest information on active projects, you may be able to get it via email or project tracking system. Remember, a status update meeting is usually not a good meeting.
What’s the purpose of the meeting? Is it a daily check-in, staff meeting, ad hoc meeting, or a quarterly meeting? What objectives need to be accomplished? Also determine who really needs to attend, the length of the meeting, and the time it takes everyone to prepare.
Usually the why question is about getting or communicating information, not about making decisions or brainstorming with your team. If the "why" question is not well-answered by taking up people's direct time with a meeting, don't have the meeting!
Time is so valuable, so figure out how much the meeting is going to cost. Take a year’s salary for 1 person & divide it by the number of hours worked to determine the hourly wage. Do that for everyone involved--you may be amazed. Then shorten the length allowed for your meeting.
By the way: you don't have to make every meeting last an hour. You can have 30 minute meetings or fifteen minute meetings. And it's okay to end early if you finish early!
The time to write the agenda is well before you announce the meeting and request time on people's calendars. This should include the meeting’s objective, attendees, length of time, topics, decisions that need to be made, and prep work for attendees to complete prior to their arrival.
Don't forget to include in your plan what happens after the meeting is over! Too many meetings have no follow-up steps, which means they weren't that useful in the first place.
Obviously, you need to follow your agenda and timeline. Make sure you start and end on time. Also, ensure that someone documents the decisions, tasks, and deadlines decided during the meeting.
Meetings can be very valuable and productive, but they often aren't. To ensure they are worth it: before you schedule your next meeting, determine if it’s really necessary.
Drew Hendricks, a contributor at Forbes, recently discussed how artwork can influence productivity in business. It's an interesting concept and one we wanted to dive into further because, as productivity enthusiasts, we love hearing about ways business environments can influence change and satisfaction.
Now we all know that art encompasses so many different mediums, so which ones are best when it comes to increasing productivity and creativity in the office? According to Hendricks, displaying mounted pieces on walls in offices, entryways, reception areas, conference rooms and common areas will set the tone for innovation and inspiration throughout the entire establishment.
There are many different advantages that come with viewing mounted artwork throughout the day. Some examples listed in Hendricks' article include the following:
The inspiration that one feels upon looking at art unlocks creative potential, helping to generate innovative ideas. Innovative ideas in turn lead to new business practices and promotional campaigns, which ultimately create economic growth.
Since our start, AccelaWork has been working with clients in many different ways. In particular though, we have helped many companies improve processes that are outdated, stale or simply in need of transformation. One of the greatest challenges that accompanies this type of change is unlocking fresh perspective. Don't get us wrong--creativity and innovative thinking is bouncing off the walls in every business. Sometimes however, when a task is always completed in the same way and employees are expected to maintain the project in the same way, it can get difficult to think outside the box.
There is something to be said about making an environment warm and welcoming. And let's be honest, a room with four white, blank walls doesn't come to mind when we imagine sitting in a room comfortably. When clients feel at home in your office, there is the great potential for a strong level of connection. Perhaps they'll be more open to ideas seeing as though creativity is floating all around them. Best of all, you'll also have an easy ice breaker if necessary -- just talk about a particular piece of artwork on the wall and the conversation will begin to flow.
Hendricks suggests having photographs and paintings that generate a sense of calm. So consider hanging a beautiful landscape or black and white photo that depicts nature at its best. Doing so will help relax employees and clients alike.
83 percent of the employees felt that artwork was important in the work environment. Of those employees, 73 percent also said that their perceptions of their workplace and their work experiences would change if the art were removed.
There's not much you can argue with here. If the difference between a happy employee and discontented one is a matter of hanging a portrait, then why not give it a try? You may find that a piece of artwork is unhelpful or distracting, but in that case, simply reconsider your choice. Perhaps even ask for your employees' opinion when choosing what to display. In the end, it's better to at least try right?
According to Hendricks:
Images of your company throughout the years, for example, often evoke a slight feeling of nostalgia in viewers, as well as emphasize the longevity of your company.
Increasing productivity in the office not only helps business, but boosts employee satisfaction as well. Here on The Methodology Blog, we've discussed so many different ways that individuals and companies can foster workflow improvement. Today, is yet another post to add to the list. If you are looking for ways to increase productivity in your office, consider reaching out to our experts. As a company, we strive to bring best solutions to our clients and provide tailored service that fits exactly what you need.
Have you ever found yourself reading the news or watching TV and find yourself thinking, "How did these people get so lucky?" You're not alone. If you're looking to get ahead not only in your career, but in life as well, we encourage you to read a recent article by Bill Murphy. In it, he discusses how to make your own luck. Check out his suggestions and our opinions below!
1. Get up early.
The saying, "The early bird catches the worm" is pretty accurate. If you're up and at it early, you leave yourself more time to open yourself up to opportunities.
2. Start with the end in mind.
Know your daily goals like the back of your hand. Start each day with a clear end result so you can work toward that throughout the day.
3. Act.
Don't just sit and think about what you want. Go for it! Your chances of having something awesome happen to you are a lot lower if you aren't actively working on your goals.
4. Be the expert.
Say you're at work in a meeting, and you have something to add to a conversation thanks to your own expertise, don't be afraid to step forward. Showing that you know what you're talking about will get you noticed.
5. Decide who you are.
Knowing yourself and your abilities is only half the battle. What comes next is deciding who you want to be. Once you have made that decision, you can focus solely on how to get where you want to go in life.
6. Share what you can share.
After you have made that decision on who you are, share it with the world. Be confident in your choice and let people know and spread the word about you.
7. Don't reinvent the wheel.
Murphy's mentor had a great idea when he was seeking advice on his own career:
"She suggested going on LinkedIn and finding people who have the job you'd like to have in five, 10 or 20 years. Then, look at the previous steps in their careers, and use them for inspiration as you make career decisions."
8. Be selfless.
Rather than stepping on people while climbing the ladder to your goals, help others out along the way. Not only will they want to help you out in return, but it generates some good karma in your own life too.
9. Reconnect with people you already know.
Networking to increase your productivity is something we here at The Methodology Blog stand behind. But don't forget all of the people you have already connected with. Stay in touch with them!
10. Skip stuff that sucks.
"It turns out, however, that the most productive people--and I think, the ones who generate the most good fortune--are defined by what they refuse to do, as much as what they actually do accomplish."
We couldn't agree more with this advice. Saying no is important to productivity!
11. Write stuff down.
Jotting down your ideas and/or creating a to-do list is an important visual aid. It helps keep your goals at the forefront of your mind.
12. Show up.
Showing up is important if you want to get ahead. Make the effort to be there not only in body but mentally too!
Looking for more ways to become efficient? Get in touch with our business process improvement consultants!
Not surprisingly, many of us start the new year telling ourselves we are going to begin separating our work and personal lives in a better, more manageable way. Yet, once the hoopla of life actually starts, the goal begins to appear lofty and out of reach. Why? Who knows. Perhaps it's nothing more than the actual task of getting started. Because, as many of us know very well, setting a goal is much different than actually following through on it.
For starters, half the problem with setting a goal is knowing how to properly define parameters for it that not only make sense but are actually achievable. As Americans, it's in our nature to create standards that may seem appropriate, but far surpass our actual abilities.
How can you blame us? We are an optimistic bunch with go-getter attitudes who want to be challenged. We are achievers and strive to constantly improve ourselves, and for that we should not be ashamed. We just need to remind ourselves here and there that grounding our thoughts in a realistic, manageable way is the best option for succeeding in our goals.
Forbes shared The Northwestern MutualVoice Team's 5 Tips For Achieving Work/Life Balance in 2015. Naturally, we here at AccelaWork were intrigued with their point of view. Check out the tips below with some of our thoughts.
Just because you can do it all doesn’t mean that you should. We each have a finite amount of awesome in our brain ... To make sure you have bandwidth for what matters most to you, prioritize and organize. Decide which responsibilities and relationships are most meaningful, and then use your calendar to actively block out time to ensure you meet those personal and professional commitments.
Let's be honest, no one "can do it all". That's a phrase you hear from people who are (no offense here) workaholics. If you are under the impression you can do everything on your own, have no reason to delegate projects / tasks to others, or are married to your job, you may want to take a closer look at how well you're managing on your own. Because believe us, be it your personal life or an area within your job, somewhere, somehow, a portion of your life is suffering.
Instead of letting the day dictate your schedule, take control and schedule your time according to your energy level and needs. That way you can dedicate 100 percent of your peak performance hours to the tasks that are most important.
Get a calendar and stick to it. And, no matter what you do, don't allow others to dictate how you plan your day! You may not always be able to avoid meetings, phone calls or last minute problems, but blocking out time for uninterrupted workflow is imperative to your own productivity and happiness.
As you organize your tasks for the day, ask yourself if what you’re focused on is worth the effort.
Prioritizing project work is a lot more difficult than we think. To most of us, every task and project is important. Expectations placed upon us by our clients, peers, managers, and/or companies have created this frame of mind. So, it's easy to see how people find distinguishing between tasks a tough feat. In this way, it's not as much about determining what's important, rather what's crucial to achieve for the day. Set your timeline to determine what needs to get done now vs. what can afford to be delayed, delegated or (in cases of outdated processes) what can be transitioned out.
Schedule a few times each day to check and respond to emails, texts and phone calls. That way you’ll avoid responding to other people’s needs at the expense of your own.
If you are an avid follower of The Methodology Blog, then you know how we feel about email. Simply put, don't let it dictate and interrupt your workflow.
...making small changes to introduce more personal time into your schedule. For example, if you find yourself feeling tired all the time, try going to bed 15 minutes earlier tonight than you did the night before.
There's no harm in transitioning slowly into balancing work and personal time -- so long as you're actually doing it. And no, laying in bed checking your work email is not considered a good balance.
True balance isn't really possible all the time. Being aware of where you are is what matters. Take time to evaluate, time to work hard, and also time to relax. All are crucial to your well-being.
Let's get the most important piece of advice out of the way right at the top: if your boss is a bully, leaving is among the most powerful choices you can make.
If you have a cruel, vindictive supervisor and you quit your job, there are several benefits:
Great stuff. But heading for the door isn't always an option. What else should you know?
Your boss isn't the first one to be a tyrant. That title might belong to the the original emperor of Chinese, Qin Shi Huang. Or maybe the Roman Emperor Nero. Plus, workplace bullying is a topic we've covered here before on The Methodology Blog: whether it's an overview of abuse in the office or a creepy infographic on psychopath bosses.
Alyssa Figueroa's piece on this phenomenon is subtitled "FEAR IN AMERICA." She writes:
Twenty-seven percent of all adult Americans report experiencing work abuse and an additional 21 percent of Americans report witnessing it, meaning some 65 million Americans have been affected.“Anything that affects 65 million Americans is an epidemic,” said Gary Namie, co-founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute. “But it’s an un-discussable epidemic because employers don’t want this discussed.”
Not talking about work abuse has, in turn, normalized the violence, fear and power structure inherent to the phenomenon.
Not everyone agrees on what you should do in these situations. That same Alternet article warns that if you have a bully for a boss, don't expect the environment to get better:
Therapist Judith Wyatt emphasizes that because it’s nearly impossible to escape authoritarian work organizations, where there’s always some kind of abuse, workers should learn some safeguards. The first step is developing a deep understanding of the norms of your workplace as well as acknowledging that you ultimately adhere to these norms....
“We try to teach people to be warriors because they can’t expect justice,” Wyatt said. “The hardest thing for people to accept in breaking through their denial about the workplace is that there’s no justice. It’s not about justice. If you want this job, if you want to stay there, you have to comply with the norms. Period. If you want to leave, you can. But you have to know what you’re up against.”
But another piece from CNBC says treat bullies like children:
Bad bosses and toddlers share a lot of traits: Tantrums, being demanding, stubborn, self-centered, and, fickle with a short attention span, needy, and prone to mood swings....
Office export Lynn Taylor says one of the best approaches in a tough climate is to be the office diplomat.
“Sandwich negative information between positive — and end on a positive note,” she said. “Point to other people in the organization doing great work and don’t be afraid to praise the boss for things he or she is doing right,” Taylor said. “At the end of the day, we all want to be praised.”
My own advice on the topic? turn the conversation to getting things done:
The same strategy to use with anyone who is negatively affecting your workplace experience: Focus on the fundamental purpose of work. The reason you have a job is to produce. No matter whether the behavior others exhibit is uncooperative, distracting or demeaning, they will hurt your productivity. Your ultimate ally against any workplace frustration is your ability to make progress.If your boss tries to bully you into doing more work, ask him to help you prioritize your task list. If your boss berates the quality of your efforts, ask for specific feedback so you can improve. If your boss makes snide comments, take them literally, ask for clarification or include them in the meeting minutes word for word. If your boss tells you to put a project on hold, send a confirmation e-mail in case you need to remind him of the decision later. Your productivity is absolutely inviolable. No boss can bully you while you are focused on getting work done.
Try them. One might work for you.
If you work for a large corporation, chances are you aren't the only person dealing with the bully. Talk to your colleagues. Consider writing a group letter to HR, or approaching them for a meeting. Present consistent concerns to the people in charge. Work together.
If you are in a small business, a tiny non-profit, or an isolated department, your allies may not be at the next desk. But you can join your professional society, talk to your friends, or check out an online resource such as those from the American Psychological Association or the Workplace Bullying Institute.
And of course, there's plenty to read online. No matter what you do, work to conquer your fear. That's the best way to ensure that the bullies don't win.
Recently, Monster.com posted an article on why you should not multitask. They list several major downfalls to multitasking. All three are listed below with a few highlights from several productivity experts including our very own Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork.
According to the American Psychological Association, dividing your time between several tasks at once can deteriorate your productivity by 40 percent! This sounds like an astronomical number; particularly when you consider how chatting with your coworker as you type out a short email is simple enough in nature. But, truly it boils down to this: productivity isn't just about getting things done. It's also about the quality with which the work is completed.
For the productivity experts here at AccelaWork, we believe strongly that defining a job well done means that all assigned projects are given proper attention and full effort. So how can that be accomplished if in the process we are distracting parts of our brains with several other variables?
According to Slaughter:
Multitasking is the worst way to try and get lots of things done. It's contrary to human psychology. We do best when we concentrate on one task at time. It's also insulting to the work (and the person who assigned it), because it indicates that task doesn't deserve our complete attention.
It's relatively obvious when you think about it: when multitasking on several different projects at one time, it's impossible for your mind to focus clearly enough on each task to complete it as thoroughly and as well as if you were working on each one separately. Our brains are advanced, but no one can guarantee top quality for any individual project when there are several in the mix.
And allow us to quickly point out that we couldn't agree more with Slaughter's acknowledgement that multitasking can be insulting to the work itself. As professionals, we should pride ourselves on the work we produce. But, we must also recognize that's its not just about a personal pat on the back for a job well done. When projects are assigned, there is importance to them that goes to the heart of the company. So, when you aren't giving it the due diligence that you should, the project suffers (along with all the variables included in it's process)
Just being in the habit of multitasking can set you back even when you're conscientiously making an effort not to work on more than one thing at a time. In fact, Standford researchers found that the brains of serial multi-taskers work less efficiently even during the times when they are focusing on a single task.
To fight the urge to multitask, redirect your focus, Slaughter says. “Try maximizing your computer windows to hide distractions, putting on headphones (even with no music, just to communicate to others to leave you alone), turning off email pop-ups and setting your phone to do-not disturb. And when you really need to focus, leave your desk and head for a conference room.”
Now that we've pointed out why you shouldn't multitask, it would be unfair of us not to share some advice on how to remedy the habit. Previously on The Methodology Blog, we shared some tips with our readers on how to combat multitasking:
Consider this advice. And then when you're done considering (and no sooner), switch to a new task. After all, you can't do both at once!
We're not a big fan of wasting time in meetings, especially when they can be avoided or weren't even necessary in the first place. Sometimes, you find yourself wondering what you're supposed to do after the meeting. In fact, they can actually end up draining you of your productivity. Brian Patterson over at AllBusiness Experts knows this struggle all too well. He is no stranger to dealing with this very issue. In fact, he wrote an article all about how to make meetings a little less soul-sucking to deal with. Check out his tips below!
1. Demand an agenda
Most meetings head off the tracks because they're lacking something pretty simple: an agenda. You wouldn't drive off somewhere without knowing where you're going, so why should anyone have to attend a meeting without even know what it's going to cover? As Patterson said:
"I’ve heard of executives who won’t attend meetings without being provided an agenda first."
Don't be afraid to put your foot down. Simply explain that you would like to be prepared so you can take away all of the necessary information. This will display your dedication and involvement and the ability to nudge the wheels back on track should you be faced with derailment.
2. Appoint someone to track and distribute meeting minutes and action items
If you don't have someone who attends the meetings to take notes, it would be wise to suggest this idea. Some places often record them and later have an employee transcribe what was said. This works well, too, but only if the actual pertinent points are highlighted. If this isn't currently part of the meeting process, then take charge of the situation. Create an outline of what took place and send it out to your team members and managers. That way, everyone is in the know and old material won't constantly be recycled.
3. Incorporate useful software
Part of the reason why meetings can feel so draining is because you end up listening to one person drone on and on while you find your mind wandering to the pile of work sitting on your desk, seemingly looming over you. Which, in turn, makes you pay more attention to the clock than what's being said. Technology has blessed us with loads of useful tools to create effective meetings. Patterson suggested using video calls instead of the phone. Also, he mentions one program that has a lot of great reviews.
"We also use Attentiv, a meeting management tool, to centralize our agendas, notes, and action items. It also allows us to send questions to attendees in real-time and gather quick feedback. It saves us time and also gets us more honest and detailed opinions rather than people nodding along so as to not be a dissenting voice."
If you want to get everyone involved and listening, this would be a great option to implement!
4. Right-size the amount of time scheduled
There must be some unwritten law somewhere about how to hold a meeting, because most that pop up are either 30 or 60 minutes long. It's like someone, somewhere, decided that this was the standard. But what if you don't even need that much time to go over the material? People tend to feel the need to fill that time up, then. Patterson had an idea for that, too:
"If I suspect a meeting could and should be faster, I’ll schedule it for 15 minutes instead of 30, or perhaps 40 minutes instead of an hour. Is it quirky? Yep! But it works!"
Looking for more tips on becoming productive? Reach out to our experts for more information on our business improvement services!
Aside from a lack of knowledge and experience, the largest problem most startups and small businesses face is a lack of capital. And many people who want to raise money, commit major mistakes if/when they finally get in front of investors. The investor presentation, or “pitch deck” is the key to opening the door with investors, creating interest, and ultimately, to raising money.
One common misconception is that investors are actually going to write a check on the spot, after witnessing your presentation. This never happens. Think of your presentation like a first date–-the very earliest stages of getting to know the investor, building a relationship, and hopefully, getting a second date in the form of a private meeting.
So when you go to raise money via an investor presentation, here are the five things on which you need to focus:
Clearly how you pitch is just as important, if not more so, than what you pitch. If you want to raise money, you must build relationships. Your investor presentation is your chance to make a good first impression. If you lack experience or presentation skills, hiring a good coach or consultant can dramatically improve your odds. They’ve been down that road many times before they understand how investors think, and they know what to present, who to present it to, and how to present it. This is your dream, so don’t leave anything to chance!
In additional to being an investor, and serial entrepreneur, Todd is one of the top business plan consultants in the country. He has consulted with Growth Ventures ranging from high growth start-ups, “closely-held” middle market corporations to new business within Fortune 500 companies for nearly twenty years. Todd is a business plan expert with a specialty in helping high growth start-ups and business units develop investment grade strategic business plans. He is passionate about working with entrepreneurs to develop business plans that obtain investment capital.
If you've ever wished for life to slow down, chances are you're not alone. We've all been at a point where we begrudgingly think to ourselves, "if one more project is put on my plate ...", "if one more message demands returning ...", "if I have to work late again ...", "if ... when ... ugh!"
Truth is, we've gotten to a point that, despite the opportunities presented, actually escaping work is darn near impossible. Between smartphones, social media, and the general existence of our overwhelmingly speedy system of modern communication, we, as a society, are at a loss. Not only are we trying to figure out how to cope with constant interaction, but we're seemingly losing the battle of slowing down the rate with which we are responding to it.
Frances Booth, contributor for Forbes Magazine, discusses this phenomenon in her article What's The Rush? Take Your Time And Gain An Advantage. This piece, refreshing in its reassurance that we're not alone in our continual daily rush, provides sound advice that can help us all take a step back and slow down. Because, as Booth points out, balancing the phenomenal world of technology can be just the advantage you need to do so:
Technology doesn’t always help here. It can leave us with the feeling that there’s always something else to do – messages to reply to, platforms to check, updates to post.Messages scream at us (or so we feel) to respond “now, now, now”, rather than taking our time, or thinking things through. We keep answering but the messages keep coming … we’ll never be finished.
Below are Booth's tips (along with our thoughts) for slowing down in our daily work lives:
When you give 100% attention, you’re saying that the person you’re listening to is important. . . Giving 100% attention will quickly make a difference to your relationships and your business communication.
One of the greatest misconceptions is that multitasking is productive. On the contrary, when your focus is divided between several different projects, that means it's also limited. It is physically and mentally impossible to give 100% of your attention to multiple tasks simultaneously. That means, despite your best efforts, working on several projects at the same time lessens the quality of work you're able to provide. If you want to increase your productivity and quality of success on a task, the best thing you can do is allot time specifically to complete one thing at a time.
One of the perils of the digital world is that ideas get cut off mid-flow by incoming distractions. “Beep beep” or “bzzz” – we answer to a distraction and our half-developed thought is gone. There’s also a danger that we settle for surface thinking or soundbites rather than in-depth thought or considered work. Or we focus on our thoughts being validated, liked, or shared, rather than putting the emphasis on creating, thinking for ourselves, and being original.
It's not a secret. Here on The Methodology Blog, we openly talk about how much we despise the existence of workplace interruptions. Not only do they appear in just about every way possible, many (if not most) can damage our productivity in just a few seconds. In some cases, even the simplest of interruptions can set us back thirty minutes before we can recover and regain our focus. The main problem however, is that we can't always control interruptions when they come creeping about the office.
Our solution? Consider changing the office culture with two strategies:
Focus skills are becoming more valuable as people are becoming more and more easily distracted. This distraction has huge implications in the workplace, particularly in the field of productivity. Can the people you work with concentrate on their work for extended spells of time? Or do they get distracted and break off from their task every 15 minutes? Taking time to concentrate on one task at a time improves your productivity
We encourage you to truly indulge in uninterrupted time throughout the day. If necessary, block off sections on your calendar that is strictly dedicated to creative workflow. During this time, alert coworkers to your unavailability, put up an automatic reply for your inbox, update your voicemail and turn down/off your phone. Do whatever is necessary to create an environment where you can work and concentrate freely.
The pressure to respond instantly means we often give priority – and time – to things that are less important than our major tasks and goals, taking away time from those key projects. Stepping back by pausing gives us perspective. Another benefit of a delayed response is that it gives us time to compose a considered reply. Replying without thinking can lead to us saying yes to things that we don’t have time for, or making poor decisions.
Take it from us, do not doubt this fantastic tip! But, if you are a tad skeptical, consider reading Robby Slaughter's latest book, The Battle For Your Email Inbox. You'll be glad you did.
Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, published an article on this exact topic in the February/March 2015 issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine. In his perspective, the sharing economy of our internet-based world is not only changing the way in which businesses are created, but how service efficiency is valued and consumer trust positively influenced.
According to Slaughter:
These days, it seems every corner of the business community is talking about startups that upset traditional industries. Many of these leverage the democratizing power of the Internet, where everyone has the power to participate in a conversation—or a transaction—regardless of geography or social class. Instead of a business operating out of local storefronts or monolithic warehouses, companies are now everywhere. And most interestingly of all, we carry brand messages along with us and voluntarily share them with our friends.
There certainly is a difference between simply having an idea and actually putting it into action. Before the Internet, entrepreneurs seemingly had a much tougher hill to climb. Nowadays, having a great idea and a good business plan--paired with the web--can do more than just create a lucrative business, it equalizes competition with bigger, more established companies. Slaughter points out this fact with well-known examples of recent successes (or upsets depending on how you view it):
Consider a few of the older examples of industries that have been irrevocably altered by the flattened playing field of the web. Classified ads, once an enormous source of relevance and revenue for newspapers, have been taken over by Craigslist, CareerBuilder, and Monster.com. Yard sales and antique malls now compete with groups on Facebook. Home-based crafters and artists sell via Etsy. Video stores were made extinct by Netflix and Amazon. Travel agents struggle in the era of Expedia and Travelocity.
In the end, technology makes everything easier and more accessible. We have become a society that not only knows but expects that products and/or services are always readily available and immediately at our fingertips. Gone are the days where people rush to the store before the best-selling novel is sold out and are forced to become a number on a never ending wait list. Instead, we download books from the comfort of our own homes and are able to begin reading within minutes of purchasing.
Slaughter states, "In these cases, technology makes connecting buyers and sellers more efficient . . . But a new class of businesses do more than increase the convenience of spending money. Thanks to the so-called sharing economy, we’re now in the business of renting and borrowing directly from one another."
Examples of these types of companies can be seen in Airbnb, Lyft and Uber. For those not familiar with Airbnb, it has taken on the world of hotels, motels, and hostels by allowing people to list their own spaces online for temporary accommodation. You can offer a stranger a spare bedroom, an underused RV, or your entire home. Hamilton County boasts seventy-five lodging options on the website. Worldwide, Airbnb now fills more rooms nightly than the entire chain of Hilton hotels.
Likewise, the two giants of ridesharing, Lyft and Uber, operate under a similar model. Drivers sign up and make themselves available to give rides. Passengers download an app to their smartphone and request a pickup. The company facilitates payment through a credit card and takes a cut. It’s an elegant system for earning extra cash and for putting an otherwise idle vehicle to work.
When it comes to the notion that Internet-based companies have developed increased trust by its consumers, Slaughter's view is quite intuitive:
What I find most fascinating, however, is that while Lyft and Uber seem like high-tech startups that leverage the most advanced technology, they could have been invented decades ago. A business from yesteryear might have certified everyday drivers and mass-produced window decals. What’s different now is really not the technology, but the trust. We’re starting to recognize that most people want what we want. We’re starting to realize that it doesn’t take much authority to confirm who can be trusted to give you a ride or stay in your home.We can only expect the sharing economy to grow. If Lyft and Uber work for transporting people, why not for local deliveries? What about extra room in your trunk for a long road trip, or an unused luggage slot for your next flight? These are obvious extensions of a new way of thinking: that an individual’s excess resources can be a source of profit, but only if we have confidence in each other’s character. That may be the most important lesson from these world-changing startups. There’s money waiting to be made if we put aside our fears and collaborate.
To learn more about how AccelaWork can guide your growing business into a more efficient entity, reach out to us today.
That's the discovery of a landmark study which is now known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, named for the two Cornell scientists who discovered it. For our ongoing series on cognitive biases in the workplace, we're covering a phenomenon which causes tons of us to overestimate our own intelligence.
Here's how it works: people who don't really know what they are talking about tend to think they are experts.
Why would this be the case? Dunning and Kruger (and a whole lot of other researchers) explain that when you're ignorant of the all but the surface details for a particular topic, you likely have zero knowledge of the size and scope of what's hiding below the surface. Or to put it in a handy repetitive phrase: "If you don't know much, you also don't know what you don't know."
Writing for Arkansas Business magazine, Gwen Mortiz notes the career implications of the phenomenon:
[The effect reminds me] of a truism that was pointed out by a supervisor early in my career: The best employees will invariably be the hardest on themselves in self-evaluations, while the lowest performers can be counted on to think they are doing excellent work
That's an offshoot of what the authors write in the original paper:
What’s curious is that, in many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented, perplexed, or cautious. Instead, the incompetent are often blessed with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge.
And it doesn't just apply to self-confidence, but also to people's perception of others. As the PsyBlog reports:
It turns out that people with real talent tend to underestimate just how good they are.The root of this bias is that clever people tend to assume other people find things as easy as they do, when actually this is their talent shining through.
How do we fight the Dunning-Kruger effect at work and for ourselves? Here are some suggestions:
Don't let what you don't know hurt you! Figure out what you don't know. Or, at least assume there's more to learn.
You may have already realized that this psychological bias also works backwards. Genuine experts tend to dismiss their expertise. Why would this be? Shouldn't people who know what they are talking about, well, know that they know what they are talking about?
As I noted before, people tend to think everyone else is pretty much like them. Those who are really smart in one field think everyone is equally smart. Likewise, smart people know about exceptions and unusual cases in which their knowledge is fuzzy. And smart, well-connected people can always send you to the next office to talk to someone else who is even smarter.
Earlier in this series, I covered the concept of illusory superiority. What's the difference between this and Dunning-Kruger?
So: one is about reaching too far and the other is about thinking you're too smart. In either case: be aware.
Just recently I attended an event called Get Motivated Indy. I enjoyed the day, the speakers, the messages, the offers. But yet, I found myself thinking about why it is so hard to stay motivated, and intentional with our actions. The speakers had everyone energized, excited, and ready to take action. Of course, we know that talking about action is easier than taking action.
Talk, as they say, is cheap.
I am curious about how many people will follow through with their intentions after this excellent program. From my experience the percentage is very small. Change is a process, not an event. We can gain inspiration from the moment that we feel connected, but that rarely turns into the motivation to make changes in our life. We often lack the persistence to stick with it. We fail to do the work. We fail to change our ideas into actions.
“Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember: the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” - Zig Ziglar
One of my mastermind groups just finished a 15 week study on growing through failure. Our final discussion was about how difficult it is to embrace failure and take risks, even when we know we must. We know risk is the path to success. We know growth happens outside the comfort zone. But yet, it is still hard.
Success is not easy. People want easy. What is going to motivate you to take action? What is going to motivate you through failure? What is going to give you the perseverance to learn from your mistakes?
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.” - Dale Carnegie
These are questions that we should continually be asking ourselves. I know this much. It comes from within. You can't find motivation from a speaker, a book, or an event. You can find knowledge. You can find inspiration. But you will not gain motivation. Motivation must come from within.
From that event, I discovered some actions and ideas that I want to pursue. Actions I want to be intentional about accomplishing. But the motivation to follow through must come from me.
“It's not that some people have willpower and some don't... It's that some people are ready to change and others are not.” - James Gordon
Why is this important to understand? We are bombarded by motivational messages. They are helpful only when they touch us in a way that we have a desire to respond. If we are impacted by them, we need to search within ourselves for the motivation to act and be persistent.
And what's worse, sometimes motivational messages can have the opposite effect. We can feel distraught by how much we aren't accomplishing. People who try and encourage us can sometimes be the catalysts of depression.
How does that happen? I think our motivation is strongest when we have clarity about our purpose, our passion, our goals, our values, and our desired legacy. When we find ourselves inspired and it is aligned with what we want and who we are, we become empowered. Many people fail to become clear on what it is they want to achieve, and why they want to achieve it. Unfortunately, this prevents people from becoming highly motivated.
When you find yourself lacking motivation, what helps you get back on track?
The question here isn't necessarily about happy versus unhappy employees. Obviously, if businesses had a choice, surely having satisfied employees is much more preferable to dissatisfied ones. I certainly can't speak for every company out there, but my guess would be that disappointing people on purpose isn't something any person or entity would strive for. No, that seems quite backwards. But, all the same, keeping every single employee happy is a monumental task that generally is never fully fulfilled on every level for each individual.
Rather, the question posed here is: to what extent does employee satisfaction play in the overall effectiveness and success of a company's mission and goals?
Recently, I read an article published by The Globe and Mail, that covers a lot of research statistics on the subject matter. To spare you the overwhelming inundation of the numbers (reported in paragraph form), I've taken the liberty of listing some of the statistics below in bullet form:
These numbers are based off of various research, but I'd say overall, the gist to these statistics is pretty clear: factors such as employee engagement, motivation and happiness should be a priority in business. Frankly, this comes as no surprise to us. Since our start, AccelaWork has discussed, highlighted, written and at times, even defended our views on why keeping employees happy is the key to maintaining vitality in the office. But, we do not sugar coat our perspective; achieving happiness in the workplace shouldn't always just be about rewards or gimmicks nor perks on the job.
Instead, companies should focus their sights on providing employees with beneficial freedoms and reassurances that directly involve the work they are doing and enhances the goals with which they are striving to achieve. These crucial benefits, which cost virtually nothing, outweigh the typical monetary rewards because they don't just satisfy employees' needs, they change the overall office culture.
For example, according to one survey conducted by The Energy Project and Harvard Business Review, meeting specific criteria can make all the difference when it comes to keeping people happy in their jobs:
Employees are vastly more satisfied and productive, it turns out, when four of their core needs are met: physical, through opportunities to regularly renew and recharge at work; emotional, by feeling valued and appreciated for their contributions; mental, when they have the opportunity to focus in an absorbed way on their most important tasks and define when and where they get their work done; and spiritual, by doing more of what they do best and enjoy most, and by feeling connected to a higher purpose at work.The more effectively leaders and organizations support employees in meeting these core needs, the more likely the employees are to experience engagement, loyalty, job satisfaction and positive energy at work, and the lower their perceived levels of stress. When employees have one need met, compared with none, all of their performance variables improve. The more needs met, the more positive the impact.
If you have the time, we encourage you to read the full report of The Energy Project and Harvard Business Review's survey. It is profound in its results and can lend a good amount of inspiration for ways to move forward in your company's endeavors for increasing employee satisfaction.
In the end, we at AccelaWork understand the dilemma with employee satisfaction and rewards can be for stakeholders. But, we contend that the best way to keep employees happy in their job is to provide work that is engaging, worthwhile and complementary to their vision as dedicated, talented individuals. Truly investing in an employee's needs on a deeper, more conscientious level, can make all the difference--no longer would it be about "buying them off" with sporadically catered lunches, surprise bonuses or office gyms. To learn more about our perspective on employee engagement, feel free to read more on The Methodology Blog.
A piece in from BBC News reports on powerful, part-time executives:
It has long been received wisdom that getting ahead at work is largely based on long hours and a willingness to put the boss's whims before your personal life.Tales abound of city workers and ambitious junior lawyers who put in 18 and 20 hour days to prove their mettle.
And for those at the top there can also be lots of time at work. Jack Dorsey of Twitter and mobile payments venture Square once said that he put in eight to 10 hours a day at each of those businesses - effectively two working days in one. Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer reportedly worked up to 130 hours a week while at Google.
But the necessity of long hours appears to have been challenged by two recent appointments.
After reporting disappointing sales, Marks and Spencer (a $15B UK-based clothier) has hired a new style director to turn things round. Belinda Earl will work two days a week.
And a new vice president at Facebook, Nicola Mendelsohn, will be their head of Europe, Middle East and Africa. She is expected to work four days a week - as she currently does as head of advertising agency Karmarama.
We all know about people who work part time for personal reasons. Maybe they are semi-retired, or they have family responsibilities with children or aging parents. But the assumption is that the bigwigs at any organization need to be those who are putting in the most time. How is anything else possible?
First, it might be good to remind ourselves that there really is no such thing as a full-time job. We all have things to do besides work. Sleeping, eating, socializing, and resting are all essential to our health. But that's not the business climate. In fact, we're working more than ever.
According to an op-ed from the Los Angeles Times---American Work Obsession Outweighs Family Values---the situation is grim:
We Americans are suckers for work. We put in more hours at our jobs than any people in the industrialized world, except Koreans. We take far fewer days of vacation than Europeans. In the last several years, many among us have seen our workload double while our incomes have stayed flat. And some of us have fallen into criticizing fellow workers who want a lighter load and more time with their families.
So what's different in these isolated cases? To quote again from the BBC:
"We need to move away from a rigid culture of long hours at the top, so that it better reflects what people want at work," says policy advisor Paul Sellers.Organizational psychology professor Cary Cooper says there is a certain type of manager - often older and male - who see flexible working as a sign that a person isn't committed. It can lead to the perception that they're not doing "a proper job" and affect their promotion prospects.
However, Cooper says the question needs to be "do they deliver?". People need to be judged not on how many hours they put in at the office, but on what they get done.
There may be more understanding at higher levels, but the question needs always be the same. What results are people actually producing, not what hours are they putting in. After all, who wouldn't prefer to have two individuals sharing the work and meeting the deadlines, if the alternative is one person falling behind?
The future of work is less about long hours and more about results. Think carefully next time you wonder where people are. Instead, ask what your team has accomplished. And if you're moving up to a new position, consider spending less time at work and more time elsewhere. Companies need the best workers, and all of us at our best when we are rested.
The movie Horrible Bosses, released in 2011, is an interesting take on what it's like to work for the worst kind of boss. And while the movie is quite far-fetched in many ways (Jennifer Aniston's role especially), it may resonate with those of you who are dealing with complicated and frustrating situations with your own boss/employee relationship.
First and foremost, let's be very clear: being the boss is not an easy task. The heavy weight of responsibility alone is often exhausting. Not only do leaders have their own work to contend with, but they also have to simultaneously keep their superiors happy as well as those in their charge; and that's while operating under the expectation that you alone can please both sides of the company. It's pretty obvious that's practically impossible to do! And yet, there is no way around it.
According to a survey commissioned by Lynn Taylor Consulting:
A bad boss will likely jeopardize your career growth and impact your personal life . . . A good manager will help you thrive and bring out the best in you. While it's rarely top of mind, you can empower yourself with a terrible boss, especially if you watch for red flags.Being the boss means you must wear many hats and achieve each role with as much success as is anticipated and defined by the job itself. So, when expectations go unmet, the stakes are high and consequences are much worse. Not only are you letting yourself down (which is hard enough to contend with), but you're letting your employees down as well. I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds pretty darn intimidating.
Let's be honest, there is probably a rather large learning curve that accompanies any leadership position. So, for anyone who is a boss, it's important to first recognize that you too have weaknesses. The areas you may find difficult are ones you should immediately identify and work on because admitting that personal failure exists is imperative. After all, if you can accept the fact that you're not perfect, then your employees and superiors won't expect you to be either.
Taken from the article 21 Signs You Have A Terrible Boss, here are eight traits that are particularly problematic:
In our opinion, these two traits go hand in hand. Chances are, if you're contacting employees during their vacation, then you are a micro manager. In either case, you must respect and trust that they can do their job. As a leader, you should be the first person to reassure your employees that vacation time is important and deserved. By doing so, you're reinforcing their need for rejuvenation which not only helps boost productivity, but maintains a positive level of satisfaction while preventing any burnout.
6. You're Unwilling to Listen to Ideas 8. You Provide Vague, Unuseful Feedback
Just because you're the boss doesn't mean that you are the only one who has ideas. In fact, as leader of a team, it's your priority to seek out the innovative thinkers and flourish their ideas with useful, meaningful feedback. Bottom line: open the door and encourage employees to innovate, create and communicate.
14. You Keep Employees Stagnant 15. You're Employees are Unmotivated to Work 16. You Never Discuss Employee Growth Prospects
Again, these traits all go hand in hand. When employees feel that growth in the company is impossible, their motivation goes out the window. Can you really blame them? As a leader, it may be difficult to discuss with employees where they need to improve. But, avoiding this conversation altogether isn't doing any favors either. Don't leave employees in the dark. Openly discuss their strengths and weaknesses and give them the tools necessary to improve their position.
18. You Have Unrealistic Standards and/or Expectations
Having realistic expectations for you employees is imperative. It's important to maintain perspective. If you're goal is that a new employee will be up and running soundly in their job within the first few weeks of employment, then you have unrealistic expectations. Tone it down a notch; otherwise, you'll leave employees (and yourself) at an extreme disadvantage.
Be wary of the Bad Boss Syndrome! The cure is equal doses of introspection and education. Good luck making it through!
A piece by Sanaz Majd, MD explains why your doctor is always late:
I am late - 10 minutes, 30 minutes, sometimes even an hour. And what's worse? It happens on a daily basis. Yes, I'm late almost every single day as a primary care doctor.This makes me feel overwhelmed and frustrated. It's the one aspect of my profession I truly wish I could fix.
But I've had to accept this unacceptable situation as the reality of working in primary care in the United States. It's a complex problem that is out of my control and it's a hard pill to swallow.
The piece---which is a transcript of Dr. Majd's podcast---characterizes almost all of the reasons as variations on a single theme: trying to fit unpredictable patients and medical requirements in a strict, 20-minute appointment block schedule.
Consider these all-too-real characters who enter her waiting room:
Plus, there's the interruption of an abnormal EKG from the nurse clinic that the doctor needs to interpret, and later another time when a different patient has a critical lab value and needs to be admitted to the ER. As that person's primary care physician, the doctor must convince him to go into the emergency room despite the financial burden.
We're not here to discuss whether the healthcare system is broken (although, we've reviewed outstanding medical office systems as well as the potential for electronic medical records. But what can the rest of us glean from the hectic schedule of a doctor in general practice?
Unless the work is highly regimented and has low variability, you don't want to structure it into short, rapid bursts that are all the same length. The problems with this approach are all implied in the article: you can't deal with interruptions, provide urgent advice, or effectively interact with people who have a wide range of emotional needs.
A straightforward, regimented time block is great if you're working in a factory or processing information that is consistently structured, but it's a terrible strategy the rest of the time.
A primary care physician doesn't just see scheduled patients who come in through the waiting room. They are often also responsible for supporting a clinic, which may have urgent needs. And on top of that, unscheduled patients are calling in for prescriptions and specialists may need consultations. A doctor doesn't just have the people on their schedule, they have other responsibilities that are competing for their time.
Of course, every job has this problem to some degree. But if you're a manager, one of your most important responsibilities is to minimize the amount of task switching your employees need to do. Family practitioners do have supervisors, but this is a challenging problem to address.
The "assumption of perfection" is when we figure that everything is going smoothly because that's what we'd prefer. A doctor's office is a chaotic place because people are sick, and because being unwell is unpredictable. One of the smarter moves you can make--to ensure that you don't end up waiting around--is to call a few hours before your appointment and ask if the doctor is running ahead or behind of schedule. In fact, Sanaz Majd includes this in a list of tips for spending less time waiting for the doctor.
We all have stakeholders who we are trying to engage. They may be customers, patients, supervisors, members, or colleagues. If we take the time to try and understand the environment from the other person's perspective, we are more likely to be able to help the schedule flow more smoothly. Kudos to Dr. Majd for sharing her experience and being sympathetic to what people see from the other side of the waiting room.
The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." -Stephen Covey
For more, read her follow up article about how doctors and staff can improve patient satisfaction.
Stop what you are doing. I want you to pull out your organization’s mission statement. If you don't know it from memory, dig through some HR paperwork. I have mine, and I think it's important to know it by heart. Do you?
Let’s take a look at your organization’s mission statement---a very honest and objective look. Does it inspire people to change, provide an accurate description of what your organization actually does for a living? Or is it more of a convoluted, jargon-y, declaration of intent using phrases such as “world class”, “full service”, and “adding value?”
Maybe you don’t have a mission statement. Maybe you just have buzzwords.
If you’ve been reading about how to create a healthy organization, you know that wishing and hoping will not get you there. In Patrick Lencioni’s book The Advantage, he offers five components that are necessary to have a healthy organization. One of those elements is clarity and alignment.
If that's missing in your organization, ask these six questions.
The first question is WHY DO WE EXIST---This is identifying the reason for being, or the organizational core purpose; this must be idealistic. Dream big and think about a bold, transformed future.
The second question is HOW DO WE BEHAVE---This is about identifying your organization’s core values or your organization’s personality. Consider what you do in challenging times, not just everyday operations.
Question #3 is WHAT DO WE DO---This is a one-sentence definition of what an organization actually does & should contain no flowery words. "What we do" is about normal business, day in and day out.
The fourth question is HOW WILL WE SUCCEED---This is the plan for success; collection of intentional decisions your company makes to give it the best chance to succeed and differentiate itself. Success is not just hard work, it's also smart planning and being aware of the competition.
Question #5 is WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT, RIGHT NOW---This is the one goal that must be achieved (within a clear time boundary), even if there are other goals under consideration. Usually it's a current product launch or growth plan.
And the last question that must be answered to create clarity & alignment is WHO MUST DO WHAT---Don’t assume; take the time to clarify this so that everyone on the leadership team knows this and agrees with it. This is about dividing up the responsibilities to get the answers and implement the solutions in the other five questions.
If members of a leadership team can rally around clear answers to these questions---without using jargon---they increase the likelihood of creating a healthy organization.
Why are stock phrases and hackneyed words so dangerous? Because they make people take the visioning process less seriously. That doesn't mean you can never use a word like "opportunity" or "leadership" in conversation. But when you're trying to get everyone to work together, buzzwords can be detrimental.
The next step once you have achieved a higher degree of organizational clarity is to do the work while constantly checking that you continue to live up to your mission, vision, and values. Too many businesses get a great mission statement together but then leave it in a drawer to gather dust.
So remember: ask the six questions as a team. Dig deep to get to real answers. Engage in healthy conflict. And once you find the path that you are on together, continue to confirm that your new initiatives and your responses in crisis match what you dared to dream.
There is a bizarre misconception in our working American society: vacation time hurts our productivity. But does it really?
For many of us, taking a vacation is difficult simply for the preparation involved. And no, I'm not talking about the stress that comes with transportation plans, hotel bookings, excursions, and packing; though I can't deny these factors are, at times, just as miserable to deal with. Many would agree that preparing our work lives for the "interruption" of vacation is beyond stressful. We find ourselves bogged down days or even weeks prior to our time off in order to get things organized and set for when we are away. All because we instinctively feel that taking a vacation will inevitably set us back light years in our productivity.
In fact, for some the thought of what taking time off will do to a timeline at work is enough of a reason to abandon vacation time altogether! According to Project: Time Off, 41% of people did not use their allotted PTO in 2014. This percentage is simply absurd and, forgive me for saying, flat out nuts! Take your vacation time people! Because whether you choose to believe it or not, there is a very good reason why employees are provided paid time off.
For one, vacation time is extremely beneficial to companies. According to the U.S. Travel Association, employees who invest in downtime are more creative, less stressed and less likely to burn out. As we have discussed on The Methodology Blog previously, taking vacation makes you more valuable:
Taking the time off that you have earned will actually boost your productivity. It increases morale within the company as well as increases employee satisfaction and retention.
Logically speaking, the last thing any company wants is to lose a valuable member of its staff because he/she feels overwhelmed and overworked. No. Companies provide personal time off as a benefit for their employees, but it's hard to argue against the fact that doing so also enhances the overall positive working environment with which business is conducted.
Secondly, it's time to recognize that vacation time is our mental and physical refreshment time. When we don't take a break from the stresses of our daily routines, eventually our brains begin to fizzle and crack under the pressure. Suddenly, we find ourselves not only stressed and exhausted, but physically unwell to boot. Theresa Goodwin, founder of BoldThink Creative, explained the benefits of getting away:
. . . taking time off has been proven to greatly reduce stress and be good for your health. As we know, stress can take its toll on you and increase your chances of heart disease, high blood pressure and weight gain, among many other things.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, taking vacation from work reaffirms our priorities. We all know the expression, work to live don't live to work. By taking a step back and escaping the office, we are able to focus on what's really important and why we are motivated to work in the first place. Vacation is a time to reconnect and strengthen both our relationships and our passions outside the workforce.
Dan Finnigan, president and CEO of Jobvite, highlights this concept in the article Is It Okay to Take Summer Vacation?:
The most important thing a leader can do is to remind your workforce about something obvious that is not so obvious when one is immersed in the job and career - that life is not about work alone, but about family and friends and other pursuits. The best way you can do this is by taking your own vacations from time to time. Show your employees that they won't be judged as less productive simply because they need a few weeks off to recharge their batteries. Build a culture that values happiness and health above hours spent at a desk.
If you are someone who rarely takes time off--rest assure you're not alone--I hope this post resonates with you. And if nothing else, please remember that taking time away from your desk is a vital component when finding satisfaction and contentment in your job. Whether it's a long weekend over the summer or a week long stint between the winter holidays, the hours you spend recuperating are hours you'll gain in refreshed productivity in the office!
The study of human psychology is not much more than a century old, yet it has already provided countless profound insights for both individuals and organizations. (Even though some well-researched science facts are totally ignored.)
One of the most dramatic examples has to do with the term attribution. This is defined as what we think is the cause of something. To whom or to what do we attribute a particular outcome?
Psychologists are particularly interested in the difference between perception and reality. And in truth, everyone should be laser-focused on this distinction. No matter what you do as an employee, a manager, a business owner, a non-profit leader, or just a citizen, figuring out what's really happening versus what we think is happening is tremendously important.
That's why researchers are particularly interested in attribution errors. That's when we think we know the cause of something, but we turn out to be wrong.
Here are some examples:
Each of these situations is about misconception. Part of the problem is that usually people who make judgements don't have all the details. But what's more important is that our concept of others is different than our own self-concept. In fact, this issue is so comprehensive to the human experience that psychologists call it the fundamental attribution error.
The best definition I've found comes from an article by Dr. Mark Sherman which explains why we don't give each other a break:
When we see someone [else] doing something, we tend to think it relates to their personality rather than the situation the person might be in.
Or in other words:
You see this happening all of the time. A piece from Fast Company on the fundamental attribution error tells the story of Amanda:
She was astonished when she got some performance reviews back and found that her team complained that she wasn’t listening to them. What else did she need to do? She had an open-door policy! She investigated some more and discovered the root of the problem. When people came to see her, they sat across from her desk. And when they were talking, sometimes she’d catch a glimpse of an email coming in. And sometimes she’d take the opportunity to reply while the employee was talking. No big deal, right? Just multitasking! But, understandably, the employees felt like she was being rude and not listening.So, one afternoon, she rearranged her office. Now, when people came to see her, she had to turn completely around to face them. Her computer was totally out of sight. No more email temptation.
Six months later, she solicited more feedback from her direct reports, and her communication scores had soared. So what changed Amanda’s character so dramatically? Nothing. She was the same person. But her situation—her environment—was different, so she acted differently.
Here are some more examples:
It should be obvious why the fundamental attribution error makes our list of significant cognitive biases in the workplace. Not only does the word "fundamental" appear in the name of this phenomenon, but the problem is widespread and has serious consequences.
How do you stop it? Treat other people as if they are like you. Assume they are trying their best. Give them your full attention and trust. Fight the urge to judge and dismiss. If you do, everyone will benefit.
Niral Patel and Matthew Davies launched a new website, Autopsy.io, that not only lists out a slew of failed businesses, but includes a historical summary of each startup. The website format is such that interested visitors can see the failed company name, founders, premise to the business, why it failed, and an article explaining its demise in full.
At first, the idea of this site may seem a bit jarring. I admit that my initial reaction was one of sympathy. I couldn't ignore the empathetic side of things when it came right down to it. I thought to myself, "Man, talk about kicking someone when they're down!" But, it took all of ten seconds for me to then realize just how useful a tool this site really is for anyone who is contemplating the road towards starting their own business. Not to mention, many of the failed companies submitted the information willingly to the site in hopes of educating others!
In fact, co-founders Patel and Davies stress the importance for the site itself in a recent article highlighting their new website venture:
We want the site to be a place you can go to learn from others . . . We want to keep it positive.Hopefully people will see the patterns. That seems to be the main thing people are talking about so far. We've seen lists of the ten things that everyone does right, and we're hoping that this will be equally as valuable.
The truth is, creating a viable business from the ground up is no easy task. For some, the business idea may be there but the financial know-how is lacking. For others, the technical and creative sides are flourishing but the market trends simply aren't in synch. Perhaps you're even at odds with your partners and can't find common ground. Whatever the reason, failure can come from anywhere and at any time whether you're ready for it or not.
According to Patel, what some companies were listing as problematic was surprising, but nonetheless detrimental:
What stands out to me is how many companies say they failed because of a 'lack of market fit'. There are just so many people building things that they don't have a customer for. It's like, this is ridiculous! When you see them all at once, I can't believe this many startups got funded.
Naturally, the choice to NOT be blindsided by complications is everyone's hope when they step into the entrepreneurial arena. But it's simply not a realistic perspective. And that's where Autopsy.io is valuable. It brings failure to the forefront, beams it in red like a Vegas show sign, educates us on what's important to do (or not do) and equips us with firsthand experiences that can guide us better in our own business plan.
Being afraid of failure is a natural, human instinct. It's not something that we can necessarily control. Yet, interestingly enough, the best way to fight this particular fear is by embracing it! We must say to ourselves, failure is not a weakness but a starting off point for even sweeter success. After all, mistakes are what we use to anticipate and prevent future problems. Without them, processes could never improve, products rarely enhanced. When something appears perfect from the start, we would never dare to rethink and reinvent. Instead, we would find ourselves at a standstill. Where then would our creativity and need for innovation lead us? Nowhere I suspect.
Here's the deal: we can't stop failure from occurring. All we can do is arm ourselves with the knowledge that complications arise and when (not if) that time comes, we are prepared with preemptive tactics for remedying the problem. Lest we forget, some of the greatest innovations in modern history came at the price of continual failure---the lightbulb being one of the most famous inventions among such a group. Let that be a lesson to us all. If Thomas Edison could repeatedly fail and still find success, then perhaps we can too.
As an employer do you worry about all of the paid time, e.g. vacation, sick, personal days, etc. that your employees have available to them? Think about this: what if you didn’t have to worry about how much time employees had available to take off, and the only thing you had to do as a manager was to wait for the employee to request the time off? No more tracking or administrative tasks to worry about. Just wait, it gets better. For employees not only are they able to choose when they want to take time off, but they are also able to choose how long they want to take off, as well. Taking time off when they want for how long they want are traits of a new concept called discretionary time off, or “unlimited” time off.
Many traditional employers think that this is a crazy idea and that employees will take time off left and right and that productivity will decrease within the business. While this may be true, this model assumes that the company is treating its employees as responsible adults, which in turn shows that the company trusts the employees and their judgment as to when they may need a time off to unwind and recharge away from the workplace. Believe it or not, there are organizations that we all may know that are using this model successfully--Netflix and Best Buy to name a few.
The pros start with the fact that the model is based on the idea that employees shouldn’t be taking any time off if they have a heavy workload to finish and are not completely caught up with their day-to-day work. The model allows employees to manage their time, so that they may take the time off when they want, as long as their workload is manageable. According to an article from SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management), titled “Unlimited Paid Time Off: A Good or Bad Idea?"
The change can potentially lead to a more engaged workforce because management is trusting employees to manage their own time in a way that serves their personal needs while still getting the work done.
The model may also be a huge benefit in terms of the way that applicants view the company as opposed to a company that does not employ discretionary time off. Applicants may see themselves as someone who is able to hold themselves accountable for their work, while still being able to take the time off as needed to recharge. A survey of 2,094 adults done by Ask.com in 2012 showed that almost 70 percent of the surveyed adults would be more inclined to work for a company with discretionary time off.
On the other side of the picture, the company may also see some financial benefits from the use of discretionary time off. Very few employees ever use their total amount of allotted time off, leaving countless vacation and sick days unused. While some do, others do not. Some organizations allow their employees to roll over unused paid time off from year-to-year. On the balance sheet of an organization this may illustrate a large accrued cost for the company. If there is a discretionary time off model in place, there may be no accrued costs on the balance sheet.
The last significant upside to this model is that discretionary time off may lead to increased productivity within the administrative sector of the company because they will no longer have to track the amount of time that an employee has taken off throughout the year. According to Ask.com, who calculated the amount of time an organization would save administratively by moving to an unlimited paid time off model, a business could cut roughly 52 hours a year.
While this seems like a complete win for the employee and the employer, is it really as easy as it seems? One might think that this is a straightforward model to implement and that it is exactly what it sounds like; just take as much vacation as you want, and management won’t bat an eyelash. Not the case, unfortunately. According to Bruce Elliott, Manager of Compensation and Benefits at the Society for Human Resource Management, who is quoted in an article from Business Insider on the topic:
It can be hard to implement fairly. The biggest stumbling point with unlimited vacation is ensuring that all employees are given equal opportunity to take their time off. That comes down to management. The obvious problem is that everyone can’t be out at the same time. Companies with these policies, then, need strong managers who can juggle a vacation schedule that is fair to all and effective for the business.
Another disadvantage to this model may be that companies may offer discretionary time off thinking that if employees are given the option to vacation whenever they want they will inevitably not take advantage of the perk, period. There is only so much time within a year to take off that there is really no “good time” to do so; causing employees to not take time off at all.
So, discretionary time off allows employers to let their employees take as much time off, within reason, whenever they desire. It allows employees to take time off as they need it, whether it be for a family emergency, or just to step away from the desk and recharge. While managers will no longer have to administer the tracking of an employee’s time off, it does require managers to regulate with employees so that not everyone is taking time off simultaneously. In addition, the organization may see some benefits by not having to accrue paid time off on the balance sheet.
Deciding whether your organization should implement this model ultimately is a cultural shift for many organizations. Managers need to ask themselves whether the employees within that organization are ready to be given this much freedom. However, most are finding that implementing this model definitely means greater productivity and less administration.
Kristen Shingleton Deutsch has over 25 years of management and human resources experience. She received her B.S. from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has continued her excellence in the HR profession by attaining her certification as a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) through the WorldatWork Society, Phoenix, Arizona, and as a trainer for Development Dimensions International (DDI), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in their Interaction Management/Skills for an Empowered Workforce Program. She is the founder of New Focus HR.
It's so darn easy to get caught up in work that we may never notice our posture and/or physical activity is lacking in the office. Just the other day my husband came home complaining that his elbows were killing him. When I asked him what he'd done, he didn't have much of an answer. The only explanation he could possibly muster was that he must have been sitting weird and had them resting on his desk the entire day. His normal workday is 10 hours long. How could anyone stand that much pressure on their elbows for such an extended period of time? But, apparently he was so wrapped up in his daily activities that the thought to get up and stretch never even crossed his mind. Poor guy. Sore elbows for a week.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn't just benefit our bodies, but our work as well. When we stop taking care of ourselves, we stop functioning properly altogether. Without staying conscientious about diet, sleep, relaxation and physical exercise, we find ourselves dealing with higher levels of stress, exhaustion, disorganization and dozens of other mental, emotional and physical limitations. In other words, over-extending to the point that may categorize you as a workaholic isn't a good thing. So what can we do about it?
The Methodology Blog has covered lots of different ways we can be productive while also staying kind to our bodies. We've urged our readers to consider that healthy eating and exercise are directly linked to workplace productivity. We've noted that taking breaks from electronics can help lessen our habit of always staying connected. We've highlighted the idea that adopting busyness and exhaustion as a way of life is the best way to become an underachiever. We're proud to be strong advocates for personal time off and relaxation.
However, if these previous posts left you unconvinced about what's truly healthy for you, consider taking small steps to begin a better regimen at work. There are 5 stretches for people who are stuck at a desk all day that come highly recommended. If nothing else, consider that taking a few minutes out of your day to do these stretches may help significantly when it comes to those aches and pains you suffer at the end of the workday.
Check out the stretch suggestions below:
Rest your chin onto your neck and reach your arms behind you until your hands meet. Interlace your fingers and lift your arms up until you feel a stretch in your chest and front shoulders. Hold for 10 seconds, release, and repeat.
Kneel on the floor and step your left leg out in front of you at a 90-degree angle, placing your left foot flat on the floor. Press your hips forward until you start feeling a stretch. For an added stretch, raise your right hand above your head. Hold for 10-15 seconds and then switch sides.
Lie on your back with your arms and legs open and relaxed. Bring your knees to your chest, and then let them both slowly fall to one side of your body, while keeping your upper torso neutral and your arms on the floor. Hold for 10-15 seconds and then move to the other side. Repeat 2-3 times.
Practice rolling your shoulders forward and backward several times to loosen up your upper body. Do 10 reps each way, rest and repeat 2-3 times.
Stand up and reach your arms high over your head until you feel a stretch. Hold for about 8-10 seconds and then reach your hands down to your toes. Hold for 8-10 seconds and repeat.
We can't always be on top of things at the office, but a healthy lifestyle should be a priority. After all, as many of us have heard before--we only have one body, better be safe and take care of it. To learn more about AccelaWork and how we can help you maintain a healthy work/life balance, contact us at AccelaWork today!
Jobs in the corporate world have always been competitive, but many companies are now in search of not just skilled professionals with credentials, but also innovative individuals who are able to contribute to their business strategies for the success of their organization. An approach called Innovation Leadership has been popularized by Dr. David Gliddon of Penn State University. This is a process where an organization influences employees to practice innovation to produce creative ideas, products, services, and solutions. According to Gliddon:
The need for innovation in organizations has resulted in a new focus on the role of leaders in shaping the nature and success of creative efforts.
Generally, innovation refers to the process of creating a fresh outlook, building new ideas, and improving existing services that are expected to increase the success, efficiency, and productivity of an organization. It does not require someone to invent an item or product---instead; they are expected to adapt by building strategies that deliver results to the company they represent.
In being innovative, a person is helping create a culture led by innovative thinkers and creative problem solvers that boost their business in all aspects and areas. These traits are also what many companies are looking for in a trusted leader.
Here are some of the tips offered by the most innovative leaders in the world today as listed by Forbes, which can inspire you to excel in your respective field:
There are common qualities that you can start practicing in order to present yourself as an innovator in your organization. Here are some of the characteristics of an innovative leader:
1. Strong network connections – A leader must always have a good set network that he/she can rely on. Connections are important to the growth and success of the business as well as a way to show your capabilities to other brands. However, avoid desperately looking for attention as that is not the intention of networking. The goal is to gather as many people possible to know who you are, what you do, and what you can offer. Build relationships rather than sales, and expect that they will be the one trusting you to close a deal with their company.
2. Adaptable to tech changes – Start leading your team by being a good leader and showing them that change is part of success. Presenting your capabilities to adapt to change shows a myriad of other things you can do for the success of the company. One of the latest business trends is the BYOD (bring your own device). By showing your willingness to aopt various technologies at work, especially as smartphones become smarter with productivity apps, you are showing that you wish to stay ahead of the curve in the business world. New handsets like the Galaxy S6 Edge also come with mobile payment systems which have the capacity to allow the device to make quick payments at NFC-approved shops.
3. Be observant of your surroundings – Being aware of what's around you is key to aligning all platforms and environments (office setup, team connection, outside network, and business development) for success. You have to understand how each works in order to successfully create plans to benefit the company. Observing past experiences (success and failure) can also contributed to finding strategies that could potentially work in the future.
How do you innovate in your current work environment? Share your stories with us!
Sasha Snow has been a certified tech blogger since 2009, writing topics about technology, latest innovations, business, consumer-owned devices, lifestyle and more. During her spare time, she travels and visits different countries to search for the best beach along with her lonely guitar.
I'm not really writing this article to rant about the awful uses of slides, but since I'm here let's cover a few of the classics:
Here's the number one rule of slide decks: Use them, but don't need them. When people call to ask us about hiring a speaker, that's what I always say. And if other presenters are looking for advice about PowerPoint, here are some tips for what to do and what not to do.
Do use video if you're going to have a room and a projection system which works well with video, but make sure your clips are less than two minutes long and have clear, effective audio. You don't want the video to be more interesting than the presenter or put people to sleep.
Don't use slide transitions. In fact, you probably shouldn't use any animations at all. People's eyes are attracted to motion and if they aren't expecting to see it, they will be distracted from what you are trying to say.
Do use a single, large, freely-available image for each (if not all) the slides. Consider having the image alone, and perhaps a couple of words on it, to use to inspire the conversation.
Don't use more than a dozen words on a slide. The more words you have, the more people read instead of listening and taking notes.
Do visit the room in advance and sit as far as you can from the screen. Walk through your slides and make sure you can see all relevant details without straining your eyes.
Don't read the slides aloud word-for-word. Even if there's only three words on a slide, consider letting the audience take in those words. Use synonyms when you speak aloud.
Do use a handheld clicker instead of relying on a volunteer or walking back to the computer every time. This is more reliable and faster.
Don't pass on seeking guidance. We've written many blog posts with tips for speakers and general advice for presentations. You can always do better, so read an article before every time you get in front of an audience.
So yes, you can and should use PowerPoint. But don't depend on it. It's your words, your presence, and your delivery that make the difference. That's the secret of great speeches.
Now, head for a podium and find your voice.
Here's some highlights from their report:
83% of respondents to the latest Manufacturing Barometer – produced for the Business Growth Service - have indicated that they need to improve productivity in the next six months if they are to achieve their growth plans....
Interestingly, nearly all firms (95%) expect to maintain or increase their investment on machinery, premises and new technology, highlighting a commitment to continuous improvement.
The clip and the associated article from the Express & Star contain more information:
It's no surprise that most organizations report wanting to "continuously improve," but many readers may be shocked to hear that there are many small manufacturers in the UK. According to international magazine The Manufacturer:
Manufacturing contributes £6.7tr to the global economy. Contrary to common belief, UK manufacturing is strong with the UK currently the 11th largest manufacturing nation in the world. Manufacturing makes up 11% of UK GVA and 54% of UK exports and directly employs 2.6 million people.
And it's not just overseas. Here in the United States, the National Association of Manufacturers reports that:
[Last year, American] manufacturers contributed $2.09 trillion to the economy. This figure has steadily risen since 2009 when manufacturers contributed $1.73 trillion. The sector accounts for 12.0 percent of GDP.
So what can small manufacturers do to increase productivity? At first, the same thing every company should do in order to be more efficient.
If anyone is going to see where you have inefficiencies in your business, it's people on the front lines. Great organizations like Richard Branson's family of Virgin companies actively seek feedback from everyday employees. And as we've noted before, managers are often the worst at figuring out what's wrong. The closer you are to the work, the more likely you are to see problems first.
It may be challenging to get employees to make suggestions, especially if they are not used to doing so. Also, your workers are busy doing their jobs, which means that they will be behind if they spend time talking about what could be better. Make sure you reduce their immediate responsibility whenever you're seeking feedback, just like you would if the employee was going to training. That way they are more likely to be honest and thorough in identifying any potential deficiencies in the operation.
The old expression remains true: you cannot manage what you do not measure. Too many manufacturing firms and too many companies in general do not have strict regimens for collecting and analyzing data. It's better to take more information and decide what to discard than it is not to take enough. After all, you can't make an improvement if you don't know where you've been.
Getting this information doesn't necessarily require advanced, automated systems. A spreadsheet or even a clipboard with a few notes can put you well ahead of where you are today. Start documenting whatever you can and set aside time to figure out what it means. Repeat until you find areas to improve!
Sure, we're a consulting company and we do this all the time. But you can also get advice from other people who are not part of your company. A great first place to start: your vendors. They are probably visiting other companies like yours (perhaps even your competitors) and can give you ideas. And remember, you are their customer. That's why they are going to want to try and help.
You can also ask for ideas from job candidates who are taking a tour through your operation. It might seem unthinkable that a person who is visiting your business for the first time can spot possible enhancements, but the nature of psychology is that we tend to be unable to see opportunities after having been staring at them for too long. Get advice from the outside, and take it to heart!
Small businesses, whether or not they are in the manufacturing space, need to find ways to become more productive year over year. This drives down costs, increases customer satisfaction, and helps ensure that they can survive. But more importantly, companies that are more efficient are more engaging for their employees. The less we have to do that we've always done, the more we get to do something new and exciting. Anytime there is the opportunity for positive change, that means people can grow. And that's something every organization should work to offer to its stakeholders.
I hate to say it, but most companies have a serious lack of trust running throughout their organization. I don't mean trust as in "I trust you not to steal my purse if I leave it out." It's related more to risk. When trust exists, you're willing to have risky, open, and truly transparent conversations because you trust it won't be held against you in the long haul.
Trust in this sense is really about "I am more focused on doing good work than I am avoiding be fired." It's the trust that everyone wants the company to succeed. It's trust that acknowledges that people will make mistakes, but most of the time they will work to fix them and move on. So what's the opposite of trust?
If you're in a leadership role I can almost bet you're being lied to. I know, I know, not your team. After all, you have a great dynamic and you work so well together. Everyone is happy in their position, right? I want to defend your team for a moment. They don't mean any harm by lying. In fact, most of the time they don't "lie" per se, but rather they're holding back some truths. This kind of deception is sometimes called a "lie of omission." But more importantly, it means that they just aren't speaking up because keeping quiet is easier and safer.
The numbers, according to an article from Fast Company, are staggering:
Over the past year, Gallup researchers interviewed nearly 150,000 workers—people in all states and industries—and discovered that a stunning number are miserable in their jobs. More specifically, only 30% of the nation’s working population today admits to being fully engaged at work. While Gallup encouragingly notes that there’s been a slight improvement to engagement since the Great Recession, it’s hard to cheer when you realize 52% of Americans admit to being disengaged in their jobs, and another 18% to being actively disengaged.
We've previously covered the stark reality of employee engagement before. And we've noted that what these low numbers truly mean is that your employees are lying to you.
But the reality is even worse than that. A study of U.S. workers polled by Parade magazine states that 35% would "willingly forgo a substantial pay raise in exchange for seeing their direct supervisor fired.." (Emphasis added, because, wow.)
The columnist Mark C. Crowley paints the picture thusly:
To fully comprehend these grim stats, imagine a crew team out on the Potomac River where three people are rowing their hearts out, five are taking in the scenery, and two are trying to sink the boat. It’s hard to conceive how businesses can thrive when so few people are working to move it forward.
Now that you know there's a one in three chance your employees wish you would get the pink slip, what should you do?
Hopefully your organization is large enough that people can be solicited for their thoughts without it being totally obvious who is who. You can print out this blog post and ask them to type up some unsigned comments. These papers could form the basis for a first round of discussion among your management team about your level of employee engagement.
A further step would be to talk to an outside consulting firm and ask them to survey your workers. They can you let you know what's going on without any one person feeling singled out. And hopefully, you're open to taking that advice to heart.
If among the most significant problems in the American workforce is employee engagement, then one of the most common ways that problem manifests itself is through the horrible practice of micromanagement. Chances are you're giving your employees way too much direction, or at the very least interrupting them so often they don't have time to get anything done.
This drives people up the wall. Often the best advice for managers is the reminder that good management is good leadership: inspiring and supporting individuals, and then trusting them to do their best.
Remember the analogy of the rowing team? There are some people working hard, some people barely working, and some people who are slowing progress. Our tendency is to be vigilant and look for everyone to be slacking off, but the reality is that we need to look everywhere and act accordingly.
Your business deserves to make progress on the open waters. That's not just because everyone is happier when they are all working together, but because you're not the only team in the race. You have competition, and the group that is most in sync will pull ahead. Train, communicate, and succeed!
Congratulations, you survived half the calendar year with your inventory! The bad news? Another holiday season is already on the books, as it is year after year, just biding its time until it can unleash the inevitable panic and chaos that comes when inventory management demands attention.
No matter what your company sells, inventory around the months of November and December are generally in high demand. This fact, while great for business, can also be extremely overwhelming and stressful if you're company is not properly prepared for the influx in supply and demand. Particularly for small businesses who may lack the resources necessary to produce inventory at a quicker, more dense rate than is usual.
Yet, have no fear small business owners! If you have experienced rough holiday seasons in the past, read through this post to broaden your perspective on how and when inventory planning can make or break the forthcoming seasonal rush.
Robby Slaughter, a principal for AccelaWork, along with other small business owners, discuss unique ways of Managing Inventory during the holiday season with Wasp Buzz. Below is some information you may find extremely useful for 2015!
For one, managing inventory is very different when comparing small businesses versus large retail companies. According to Slaughter, the contrast between the two is large:
“Big retail companies have to deal with theft, which often isn’t a problem for small businesses — especially those that don’t give the general public access to their inventory. These companies can also move products between stores to deal with regional demand. And they have marketing budgets that can help to move inventory by running specials or other programs
Utilizing software and spreadsheets to track inventory is necessary for many companies, but AccelaWork does not have the need for it. However, Slaughter agrees that forecasting is difficult -- no matter the size of the company. Below are two strategies that retailers utilize to help protect against a failure in seasonal inventory supply:
Inventory Reserve
An inventory reserve refers to the protection used to account for an item not sold at its cost due to deterioration in value.
Not only does this help small businesses estimate financial loss for the current season, which will help them put aside money to cover the loss, but it also helps with forecasting in future years.
Dealing with Shrinkage
Shrinkage is a nice way of explaining lost, stolen, or misplaced items. Suppose a supplier short changes you on an order. Who are you going to believe?One solution might be a perpetual system, fully automated, which captures every movement of inventory from receiving docks to the sales register using barcode scanners or mobile devices. The goal is to know where the inventory is sitting, but a determined thief can “trick” one of these systems.
Instead, do a physical count. The downside is a process that takes time away from production and may require extra personnel. A good compromise is cycle counting – counting a small amount of inventory every day until entire inventory stock is cycled through. Once all inventory is counted, the process starts again from the beginning.
This may seem like more work than is necessary, but again, it ensures proper inventory for the current year and assists in forecasting for years to come. Keep this thought ever-present in your mind because it validates the time spent on it.
Finally, there are four tips to help finish the year productively and start the next year on solid ground:
Keep these in mind as you face the holiday rush!
The reasons, as Gizmodo covered in an article, are myriad:
Powerpoint slides, [Professor Brian Conrad] noted, don’t work for writing out a problem step by step. Plus, technology has that annoying tendency of becoming glitchy at the most inconvenient times.What really surprised me, though, were all the reasons he had for finding chalkboards superior to whiteboards. “Maintaining a clean whiteboard is much more of a pain,” he said. There’s the cleaning fluid, which costs money, and the chemicals can cause health problems. Also, there’s no way to tell when a marker is running low, which is logistically, he explained, even more annoying than you think. “Because you can never tell when any of these markers are running out, people use them at random, and they all start running out at the same time during a talk. It’s a real nuisance,” he said. “I just find the logistics of carrying around a couple pieces of chalk easier than dealing with markers.”
There are some powerful lessons for business hiding in this obscure story about blackboards and college professors. Here are the top three:
Even though most people don't use PowerPoint correctly, it seems like some computer-based system or even dry erase markers would be better than merely using chalk. But the nuisance factor of these approaches causes them to be dismissed.
If you're designing a new process for your company, considering an upgrade to your software, or planning a group activity, figure out what the problems are going to be. Are they going to annoy people? Only a small amount of frustration will trump any value the new system has. And what's worse, as the designer of the new process, you are most likely to dismiss any minor annoyances. Instead: work to remove them!
Even if you don't spend your days scribbling equations, you probably know that chalk tends to get all over your hands. But Hagoromo brand has a "shiny, clear coating on the outside." That keeps dust from transferring to your fingers and instead staying where it belongs.
Likewise, don't sweat the small stuff. Implementing a new vacation policy? Survey people before making a chance. Organizing a catered event? Check for dietary restrictions. If mathematicians can get obsessed over chalk, you can get obsessed over details.
Our society is fixated on getting the latest and greatest technology. Top university experts, too, are working to advance their field with cutting edge research. But just because something is new doesn't mean it's an improvement over the old. Dry erase markers don't necessarily beat out chalk. And likewise, it isn't always best to use the newest approach available.
That which is actually used is superior to that which is ignored, no matter how much better it may seem. If people are already taking advantage of something that works, leaving well enough alone is definitely an option. Too often, this choice is overlooked.
The sad news about this rare brand of Japanese chalk is the company is apparently going out of business. That's a reminder for any business: legacy systems and old ways of doing things are always worthy of consideration. Take time to analyze what you have before throwing it away. You may just want to hold onto it for longer than you ever dreamed.
What do people do instead? They spend loads of time picking just the right product or service to sell. They'll carefully weigh the best kinds of office equipment to buy. They'll even fuss endlessly over their workplace decor.
But none of that holds a candle to what is most assuredly the core of any new business: you can't succeed until you master prospecting and selling!
"But I'm really good at what I do. Won't word just get out and people will find me and want to buy?" you say.
Don't bet on it. We live in a busy, crowded world where thousands of businesses are shouting their marketing messages. If you don't get in there and promote -- and promote WELL -- your customer base will resemble a trickle more than an avalanche.
Here are several proven methods for finding lots of new prospects and turning them into customers. Then I'll show you an exceptionally EASY way to do all this on a shoestring.
1.) Get a web site, get it listed on search engines, and let your site grab prospects 24/7. By now you've surely seen scads of small businesses doing this. For those who do it right, the Net can pull in lots of new customers with very little effort. But remember, it's not as easy as some make it look. Your site has to be good, your copy has to be right, and you must be visible in search engines to make the magic happen.
Here's where it makes sense to call in a professional (and not your nephew in junior high who seems to be good with computers.) An expert copywriter and web designer can get you online for what you might pay for a cross-country plane ticket.
2.) Sell over the telephone. I love email, and meetings will always have their place, but good ole' telephone conversations are a top-notch selling strategy. Prospects feel like they've made a personal connection with you when you give them information over the phone.
Now, that doesn't mean you need to cold-call strangers (although that can be a good way to work your message.) Rather, it means to get a hold of people you've already met and re-establish your rapport with them.
3.) Leverage other experts. This is method number 3: the one to use if you don't want to or don't know how to build your own professional web site, or can't bear the idea of talking to hundreds of people you barely know on the phone.
Frankly, this 3rd method has become the only method I truly recommend to small businesses and individuals: OUTSOURCING. These days, you can OUTSOURCE all your online promotion and selling to companies that specialize in doing the work for you.
In the past, that would have meant spending tens of thousands per month to hire an outside selling team. Today, with online and telephone automation reaching new heights, you can have all the advertising, phone calls, and closing done for you by the pros for about what it costs to get a decent home office computer set-up.
Of course, you can outsource lots of things in your business: bookkeeping, IT, printing services, admin services, and so on. But the one thing you can't outsource is passion! Keep that in focus and get help for what you can't do.
So to summarize: Don't hesitate, do it! Getting a really good marketing, prospecting, and selling machine working for you is essential to your success!
The suggestion goes back ages, but one of my favorite versions is attributed to Benjamin Franklin:
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
(By the way: Franklin popularized this quote but it's actually much, much older.)
The statement is designed to emphasize the value of being the first one up in the morning, as if that will improve your productivity. And the truth is that it might, if two things are true: you are a morning person, and also, your workflow is well-suited to whatever is happening (or not happening in the morning.)
An article from the website Riskology explains:
What time of day do you feel most alive?This is your productive time and it’s the greatest opportunity you have to crank out your best work. If you don’t feel like you’re very productive, it’s probably because you’ve been out of sync with your natural energy levels.
Pay attention to when you really come alive each day and use that window to do your most important work, not check email or surf the web. I can do those things half comatose, so I reserve them for my least energetic times just after waking up, right after lunch, and just before bed.
The problem a lot of people run into is that there are too many distractions during their productive time. Maybe you have to be at work (you know, the one that pays the bills…for now) or have some other commitment you’ve made.
If that’s your case and you’re trying to juggle other commitments with your most important work, then I’d actually recommend trying out the early riser routine. Hey, I said it’s popular because it works – it’s just not the best option for a lot of people.
What I’d recommend even more is that you really work on making your most important work the primary commitment during productive hours.
This advice does match up to what science has to say about sleep patterns:
Mounting research suggests that differences in lifestyle, personality, brain functioning, and even brain physicality define two distinct chronotypes (a person’s characteristic sleep pattern), which could roughly be defined as “night owls” and “morning larks.” Morning larks, those who naturally wake up early and are energized in the pre-lunch hours, are more suited to the typical American work schedule, while the propensities of night owls put them at odds with it, leading them to suffer from chronic social jetlag.
What's important then is not when you get working, but how much you respect your own body and the needs of your workflow. Here are some tips to consider:
There's lots of great productivity advice out there. But "early to bed, early to rise" is not all that helpful. Instead, get up whenever works best for you, and you'll do best overall.
If you see Ben Franklin, let him know.
In order to get a stress attack under control, try using an imagination exercise. Attempt to picture yourself being at a place that you enjoy or find relaxing. For example, if you enjoy beach outings, mentally picture yourself lying on a beach. If you do this for a few minutes, you'll find that it may help in getting your breathing under control and lowering your pulse rate.
If you feel that you are being overwhelmed with stress and anxiety you should take some deep breaths. Deep breathing has been shown to reduce anxiety. It causes you to focus on the way that you are breathing rather than on what's causing you so much anxiety. Breath deeply in through your nose and hold it for 4 to 6 seconds and then breath all the way out through your mouth.
Running is one of the absolute best activities you can do to help reduce stress. Not only does it help clear your mind, it also releases endorphins into your body which helps you feel more relaxed. It's not called a runner's high for no reason at all. If you’re unable to run . . . try walking.
A great way to reduce stress or to prevent it all together is to not get hung up on the little things in life. By worrying about every minuscule thing that happens, you are naturally increasing the pressure and stress levels on yourself. A great practice to follow is to prioritize the things that are happening in your life. By picking the few most important things to worry about, it's easier to allow the other little things happen. You can't control or change everything in life, so by letting the stuff go, you are also reducing your stress level.
Write down what is bothering you. Writing it down and seeing it on paper, will help to provide some perspective on what it is that is causing you stress. Then divide your paper in half. On one side list the "stressors" you can change, and on the other side list those that you can not change. Try to let go of the things you can't change and try to fix the ones that you can change. Better yet, do this in your journal. That way you can look back and notice how you’ve grown!
Find out and target what it is that is stressing you out. If it is just your job, then think about switching careers. If it is your family, then work on the issues you have with them. Really zone in on what's causing your stress and then deal with the root of the problem. Communication is the key and that includes communicating with yourself!
Many reports talk about rising cortisol levels and other hormones that increase when we are under stress. These excess circulating hormones can cause other health problems so it really makes sense to learn useful techniques for controlling, managing or just letting go of stress. Here’s a little something I do when I’m under stress . . . I go back to the book The Four Agreements which usually reminds me that I am violating one of them. Here are the Four Agreements for you to reflect on are as follows:
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
Here's what this seasoned business professional has to say on the topic:
I learned a long time ago, you don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect. This concept is very simple to grasp, but very difficult to implement and sustain. Inspection requires not only the creation of a standard, but also the discipline to observe and audit on a regular basis. If done correctly it will help to create constancy of purpose and the development of a work culture.How many times have you personally or your company started a new initiative (sometimes with great fanfare), only to see it slip away over time. This generally occurs because the expectation was created, but no follow up was established. This confuses your work force and makes people skeptical of any future changes. That is why before any new initiatives are started, you, as the leader, must decide what is important and be prepared to stay the course. The goal is to set a standard and change behavior.
The following are the key steps required to get started:
- Pick something Important
- Involve your People
- Establish Measurable requirements
- Make it Visible
- Set up an Audit frequency
- Have the Discipline to stay the course
People will do what is important to them and what they perceive is important to you, but if you ask an employee to do something and never come around to check to see how it is going or whether it was even done, you are sending a very confusing message. So before you begin a new initiative, develop your plan on how you will audit the activity.
Is Curtiss right? Absolutely! We've covered some of these topics here on The Methodology Blog before. To quote ourselves on the question of measurement:
Start by sharing your goals. Are you trying to increase revenue? Reduce turnover? Have happier employees? Whatever you want to accomplish, include other stakeholders as you come to a decision. That way, they will see the “why” behind your objectives.Measure what matters, not what’s easily measured. It’s easy to look at the total number of emails you send per day, or the total sales volume. What’s harder to measure is customer satisfaction or brand awareness. But these may be more important, and if so, you need to find a way to measure them.
Decouple measurement from individual rewards. It can be helpful for everyone in the organization to know they benefit when goals are met. However, many business consultants know that direct incentives can often backfire. Let people know that measurement is about insight, not about trying to get people to do more with less.
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Thanks Curtiss, for reminding us about the importance of inspection. Now, back to follow the process we committed to doing!
Curtiss Quirin is the Chief Operating Officer of Easter Seals Crossroads Industrial Services. He is a highly motivated leader with years of experience in identifying opportunities for growth and building bottom line results. His emphasis on developing strong relationships with clients as well as external manufacturing partners is a valued business philosophy that resonates throughout the Crossroads organization. With a broad business background in directing a variety of operations on an international scale, Curtiss is an authority on positively managing safety, quality, productivity and inventory while helping clients to reduce lead time and boost revenue. He applies his Six Sigma lean manufacturing knowledge and focus on operational excellence to improve processes and reach target objectives that create growth for both Crossroads and its customers.
Unfortunately, too many people get into business and think that customers will come to you without any kind of system. But the truth is you need a process; one that allows people you meet to get to know you and your business. Part of that can be accomplished through follow-up communication such as invitations to your website and social media pages. Yet, be mindful of the fact that your business' home on the web must reflect well on you. It really is just like inviting people through the door of your home.
Just as people observe you and your behavior to form theories about your character and competence, people do the same thing when it comes to forming opinions about your business. Every action your company makes sends a message to prospects, customers and potential business partners. And people use these messages to determine if your company is trustworthy or not. The credibility of your business often decides whether the venture will succeed or not.
There are many different mechanisms you can use to increase your credibility. Everything from your smile to your handshake to your attire impacts what people think about you. But how about your company? Even without you, your company has a reputation.
One way you can build business credibility is to establish and maintain a professional business image. When your business appears and operates at a professional level, you gain people’s trust. And once they trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you.
To help your business look more professional and credible, you must have the following:
Good business credibility is attainable, even if it takes time and patience. By following these tips, you’ll be happy to invite people into your business home. You will build the credibility you need to build customer loyalty and make your business a success.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to force people to be creative. In fact, demanding that people come up with something totally ingenious will usually cause them to freeze. Instead, what you must do is design your workplace environment and company culture so that it will engender creativity. Here's more on why---and how---to make this happen.
Over on the Refresh Leadership blog, Ashlie Turley explains why creativity is important:
Sometimes it’s easy to think that only a select few employees or teams need to be creative. But creativity in the workplace should go far beyond the artists and writers in a business. Being creative – thinking of something entirely new or finding a new way of doing things – is important to every department and aspect of a company. That’s why creativity should be fostered by building an environment that inspires it.Creativity impacts three aspects of business in particular. These aspects – efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability – also happen to be the areas of business that leaders are usually most concerned about. And that gives business leaders three vital reasons to consider bringing more creativity to their workplace.
These are good insights. We want people to be creative because doing so will help the business to run faster and get more done, as well as expand market share. But how can businesses actually inspire innovative thinking?
If your team members are coming to work in a building, consider allocating your budget to making that a comfortable, inviting space. That might mean painting the office yellow or installing artwork on the walls.
You can also consider your furniture or even a cordon off a sleeping room! Any change you make---as long as you do it with employee support---is likely to have an impact.
The comedian and actor John Cleese is famously quoted as saying "Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating."
In a full-length lecture, Cleese explains:
People function at work in terms of two modes: open and closed. Creativity is not possible in the closed mode.By the "closed mode" I mean the mode that we are in most of the time when we are at work.
We have inside us a feeling that there's lots to be done and we have to get on with it if we're going to get through it all.
We need to be in the open mode when pondering a problem — but! — once we come up with a solution, we must then switch to the closed mode to implement it. Because once we’ve made a decision, we are efficient only if we go through with it decisively, undistracted by doubts about its correctness.
To be at our most efficient, we need to be able to switch backwards and forward between the two modes. But — here’s the problem — we too often get stuck in the closed mode. Under the pressures which are all too familiar to us, we tend to maintain tunnel vision at times when we really need to step back and contemplate the wider view.
Encourage others to spend time in the "open mode." And, encourage them to switch back to the closed mode to get things done.
This final tip is the easiest to explain but it may be the hardest to put into practice. As I wrote in my first book, failure is the secret to success. In order to find a way forward, we have to be willing to make mistakes and stumble.
Too many companies have a culture where failure is not an option. People are afraid of getting anything wrong which means they do not take risks. And if there is no chance of screwing up, it's almost impossible to be creative.
Do whatever you can to let people know that it's okay to fail (as long as they fix whatever they broke!) Celebrate your own mistakes and applaud when others step up to the plate and strike out. To engender a culture of creativity, you must also engender a culture that embraces failure as part of the process.
Now, get to it! Make your workplace an environment where everyone feels ready to invent new ideas and solutions that will make a difference.
Here's some wisdom from Mark S. Brown:
Americans only take half their vacation. Really? If the statistic is true, then I think half of Americans must take all their vacation, and the other half take none. I know plenty of people that take all their vacation, and a few that never take vacation.Why do we not take vacation? Here are my leading theories:
1. Vacation is still work. We cannot seem to get away. We are connected by phone and email, and our company expects us to stay connected and work. So why go if you are just going to work? (Note: these are not real vacations.)
2. You don't want to be disconnected. Even though it is hard to be disconnected in this modern world, leaving your desk and maybe some of your gadgets behind makes you feel unconnected. It is amazing how we have become a society that connects more online than off.
3. You like your routine. There are some personality types that just prefer a daily routine. Vacations become so stressful that they are not worth it. I am glad I don't fall into this category.
4. You feel like you would be penalized by your employer. When you look around your company, do people that don't take vacations get treated better? I'm not sure how prevalent penalties really are, but I am sure there is an increase in companies that expect you to do some work while on vacation.
5. You would rather work than take a vacation. You may be one of those Americans that just feel like work is who you are. You prefer to work hard and find your own success. You are probably uncomfortable on vacation. You can't relax because it makes you feel unproductive.
I am glad I am included in the group of Americans that enjoy vacation. As soon as I finish one, I am planning the next. Did you take a vacation this year?
By the way, Mark's data is true. Americans really do take only half of their paid vacation:
91% of full-time U.S. workers receive paid vacation, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research...[and] employees only use 51% of their eligible paid vacation time and paid time off.
Plus, there is support for his five theories. According to reporting from Forbes, people work on vacation and are generally afraid to go:
Only 25% said they use all their paid days each year and 61% said that while they’re on vacation, they continue to work. A quarter of respondents said that a colleague got in touch about work while they were on vacation and 20% heard from their boss.Thirty three percent of respondents are afraid no one else in the office can properly fill in for them. Another large group, 28%, fear that they’ll fall behind. Seventeen percent are afraid they’ll lose their jobs, 17% fear they won’t meet their goals, and 6% said they were afraid of the boss.
The answer to the vacation crisis is to go on vacation and trust that it is what is best for you. If you can disconnect, you'll get recharged. And if you fall behind or lose your job, that's a good sign you don't have a great employer in the first place!
Take time off. We'll be here when you get back.
Mark S. Brown is an executive coach who is passionate about personal development. He works to make a difference in people's lives by empowering them with skills and knowledge that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in. Mark has been coached, mentored, and certified by John Maxwell and his team. This coaching certification allows Mark to successfully coach and train individuals, groups, organizations, and companies.
Let's be honest here, we have enough on our minds to worry about let alone fretting over the dangers of a creaky office floor or parking lot pothole. However, there are certain hazards in the office that can affect us if we're not mindful of them. According to the latest news, there are 12 surprising health dangers in the office. Their list is summarized below:
Curiosity grabbing the better of me, I decided to read about these office dangers to see for myself whether they actually have merit. And while a couple of them may be a bit overzealous in their need for worry (see dangers #4 & #7), there are a few that certainly raise the red flag.
In this two part series, I'll be highlighting a few of these hazards--what they are and how they happen--along with some thoughts from our point of view. In this first installation, I'm tackling two very real problems that are not as easy to control as you may think: office floor plans and computer screens.
According to the aforementioned article, open floor plans are hazardous to our stress levels:
High noise levels and a lack of privacy increase stress on employees and reduce satisfaction with the work environment, according to several studies, including one published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Like so many of our homes today, the open floor plan has become a popular and highly desirable layout. This new way of living is also being translated into the workplace. Work environments aren't just flooded by endless rows of cubicles anymore. Offices are just as quickly turning to wide open design--where individual work space amounts to not much more than the size of an employee's desk. And while this airiness may provide a feeling of freedom by giving employees "room to breathe," it's also an inescapable environment that leaves very little opportunity for quiet, uninterrupted work time.
So, what's the best office layout for reducing stress and increasing employee satisfaction? According to AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter, it's about encouraging employees to choose what's right for them:
Neither cube farms, nor a big room, nor even private offices are what’s best for all employees. In fact, everyone working remote isn’t what’s best either. The ideal office environment is one in which individual team members choose the surroundings in which they work.
Empower yourself to take control of the factors that dictate how you operate your day! To help minimize the escalating levels of stress at work, you may also consider the following remedies:
Staring at a computer screen for hours on end can lead to dry eye, headaches, eyestrain, blurred vision and other symptoms of computer vision syndrome.
When your head hurts it's impossible to get anything done. And, if that isn't bad enough, computer vision syndrome quickly becomes a chronic problem when you fail to remedy it! The problem is--you can't avoid computer screens (and technology in general) all the time.
So what's the solution? Some suggestions include:
Our suggestion: Get to know your schedule. Chances are, there is a pattern to the way you feel. Give yourself a few days to take notice of this. Write down the times in which you feel great, so-so and terrible. As Slaughter has urged before:
Follow a set schedule, but make it your own. If you like getting up early, do so! If you prefer to sleep a bit later, try that! And if you benefit from a nap during the workday, put it on your calendar.
- Listen to your own rhythms.
- When you break your pattern, ditch your expectations.
- If you’re tired, rest!
No doubt, computer screens are definitely a culprit to headaches and eye strain. But you may also want to consider other factors that may also play a role in this. How's your nutrition? Are you eating enough? Are you getting all the vital nutrients that you should? Be sure to double check your caffeine and sugar intake throughout the day. And most of all, don't neglect your need for sleep!
Stay tuned for part two of this series to get hints on how to tackle office bullies and that wretched candy jar!
It seems like marketing is unique in this regard. Nobody hand-waves over finance, accounting, operations management, or research and development. Marketing is often an afterthought, and people who haven't studied it often dismiss it. Writing for the Just Marketing Blog, Niraj Dawar explains why marketers get no respect:
The CEO wonders how you spend your time, the CFO wonders how you spend the company’s money, the sales folks think you’re too conceptual, too abstract, and not sufficiently focused on the immediate business, and the production and supply chain guys just think you’re full of hot air. So, we have a slight image problem. And where there is smoke...... there must be mirrors.
So why does this happen? I think in part it's because people confuse marketing and advertising. They are both intended to generate interest in your product, but an ad is a paid tool used by a marketer. It's a flyer, a radio spot, a graphic in a newspaper, or something else that is designed to tell people that you're great.
But the other reason that people don't understand marketing is they don't understand the market. There is a huge network of people out there who have information, money, and the power to make decisions. When you give them new information and new choices to make, you can influence their behavior.
Author and speaker Heidi Cohen collected some great definitions of marketing.. My favorite is:
Marketing is the process by which a firm profitably translates customer needs into revenue. --Mark BurgessLet's compare two processes by which you can turn customer needs into revenue. Suppose you work for a bank, and you want more people to open accounts. One strategy is to offer a special promotion and announce it through advertising. Another ideas is to host community events and earn credibility by association.
We all know how this works. The company decides to temporarily lower prices or provide other incentives. The bank offers extra low financing on car loans, or gives away a free toaster for new accounts. These programs are described on postcards that are sent out in the mail to a geographic area near the branch, or talked about on a television advertisement. The hope is that tens of thousands of people will be exposed to the campaign, and a few will decide to check it out in person.
The advantage to this approach is that you know that people who do come through are truly interested in whatever you're offering. They want the service at the low price. And plus, countless more people will have at least heard of your bank. But the downside is that you're spending a lot of money to acquire very few customers.
Instead of low, low, prices, what if the bank decided to keep their branch open later in the evening once a month for a special guest presentation? The market still needs to learn about the event, but this can be done through PR instead of advertising. The program can appear on community calendars and receive coverage through the local news. Since the branch lobby can only hold so many people, direct invitations can be made by email, phone calls, or social media. And since the event is an outside speaker (instead of a sales pitch) the bank earns more respect from the community.
The upside to a speaking event series is that you know who is interested because they have to RSVP. Plus, the bank's sales team has a common topic of conversation for the follow up: whatever the speaker presented. The downside is that resources need to be spent in clumps. If you're going to bring fifty people into your branch every month, you want to have the entire staff on hand to shake hands and meet the community.
A community event with outside speakers is a completely different way to marketing your business. Whether you're a bank, a law firm, a construction company, or any other organization, if you want your clients to meet your sales people, consider hosting these kinds of events.
You'll build connections to the community and establish a higher level of credibility. And if you need help finding the right speakers and event coordinators, contact us. We'd love to help.
For many years I've been talking about healthy organizations--ones that have minimal politics, minimal confusion, high levels of morale, high productivity, and low turnover among your best performing people. But where do these magical creatures come from?
A healthy organization always starts at the top. Therefore, the first component of a healthy organization is for the leadership team to be cohesive and unified. After all, you can't have a healthy body if the head is going in different directions all at once!
Many times we confuse a leadership team with a work group. They are not the same. Here's the difference:
See the difference? It's not just about a bunch of people being together, or even all working at the same time. They need to be collaborative and connected by one purpose.
Here are the five behaviors from Patrick Lencioni’s book The Advantage, necessary for building that cohesive and unified leadership team:
The first behavior is to build trust: This is vulnerability-based trust and happens when, beginning with the team leader, all members can be completely honest about their strengths and weaknesses. They must be able to admit when they are wrong, and apologize. Just getting that far can be a huge accomplishment for many people!
Mastering conflict is the second behavior: Contrary to our culture, conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, conflict has the capacity to be vital, healthy, and productive because it unearths disagreement that you can bring to the surface. (That is, as long as you are focused on getting the best answer and not beating up the other person.)
The third behavior is to achieve commitment: This isn’t passive agreement--where everyone "agrees" and then goes back to their work and does very little to support the decision. Instead it’s walking away from a discussion knowing that people really bought into the choice that was made.
Behavior #4 is to embrace accountability: That is peer-to-peer accountability which is much more effective on a leadership team. When people who respect each other as equals actually commit to a decision, then they have the courage to hold others accountable to the decision and to confront each other without fearing defensiveness or backlash. It's not accountability if you're only doing it because you're afraid.
And the last behavior is focus on results: The point of these first four behaviors is to achieve results. If a leadership team doesn’t achieve results and instead focuses on their individual needs and private areas of interest, it’s not a truly effective leadership team. Meetings to have meetings are a waste. Remember: results trump everything.
In conclusion, results come about because of accountability, which happens because everyone is committed; commitment has been achieved because of working through conflict; and conflict is possible because people trust each other; the trust is built because, beginning with the leader of the team, everyone acknowledges his/her mistakes and is completely honest.
Make sense? It's not easy. Start with radical, shameless honesty. Get people talking and see where it leads. You'll find your organization growing more healthy every day!
So do what you need to do and what will build that foundation for exponential success. It isn’t going out and latching on to someone’s coattails. No. It is doing what you do in life. Making friends. Listening and being a friend. It is supporting and asking. And it’s not hard. All you have to do is aim and make an effort and that leads...to the real target.
Are you up for an experiment?
I know what the outcome can be, but I think many of us (me included) have to actually experience something to really understand the power we hold in the little things we can do.
STEP 1. This is something that you may already have done. I want you to identify your top prospect. Who is it that you really want as a client or as a strategic partner? It could be a business you want to work with, but for this you have to drill down to a particular person.
STEP 2. Go to Google Alerts and enter the company name, the person’s name and the industry they are in.
STEP 3. Keep watch of the articles and news that comes in. When something pops up that you find interesting that relates to them, send it via email to them or through social media with a note saying you thought this might interest them or an insight you gained from the article. Or, if it’s been an achievement made by the company or person, send a quick “Congratulations!” or “I really liked this article!”
STEP 4. Enter on social media. Don’t tweet them or add a post to their timeline. No, FOLLOW THEM. Pay attention to their posts. Retweet, reply and interact with them. This will allow you to start to show up on their radar.
To grow a solid business, build real relationships that will be long term and mutually beneficial. Build on that relationship until you can offer to meet for a cup of coffee or a one-to-one. That meeting is not to sell them, but to get to know them and vice versa. It might take some time, but before long, you will discover one of two things:
Think what those type of relationships mean to your business. If you are in business for the long-term, these are the relationships you want to build and maintain – for your business growth and your own personal and professional development.
Building a business is like every other aspect of life: you create links and connections and they last a long, long time, providing benefits and perks you never thought possible. It’s all in an effort to contribute. So take aim, and hit your mark---to help them!
As part of our ongoing series on cognitive bias, we're covering a pair of phenomena which are well supported by science: the priming effect and the framing effect. Pull up your chair and be ready to read carefully. These two are a big deal.
Think about the color red. Whatever shade comes to mind, put it in your head for just one moment. Imagine it all around you.
Now, think of a fruit.
You probably pictured an apple. That's because of a concept called psychological priming. In the well-known system of stimulus/response, priming is when one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus.
How does this work in the real world? Researchers Lawrence Williams and John Bargh published a study titled Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth. Here's what researchers did: they asked participants to give their perceptions on another person after reading a short biographical sketch about them.
That's it. Except, right before the study began, an actor engaged the subjects in the elevator. His hands were full, so he asked them to hold his coffee for a moment.
If it was hot coffee, the participants tended to like the people in the sketches. If it was iced coffee, they tended to dislike them. The temperature of the coffee was the only experimental variable.
Priming can influence any aspect of our behavior, and often we don't know it.
How can you use this effect in your working life? Here are some examples:
The best way to use priming is to start in the best possible place. Offer support, give people resources, show them you care. Set out on the right foot and you've got a fighting chance for amazing results.
But what about the process?
When we make decisions, we're often looking at multiple choices. Would you like the stripes or the polka dots? Do you want soup or salad? In many situations, the options seem to be equally presented.
Writing for Psychology Today, Noam Shpancer explains the framing effect with several examples:
Considering two packages of ground beef, most people would pick the one labeled, "80% lean" over the one labeled, "20% fat."Are you an old car, or are you vintage?
Are you heading into your twilight years, or your golden years?
Look behind; do you see lost innocence, or gained perspective?
Mistakes, or lessons?
Lost luggage or shed baggage?
And...After watching the same car crash, people who are asked, "How fast were the cars going when they contacted?" remembered slower speeds than those who were asked, "How fast was the car going when they crashed?"
Framing is simply describing the available choices in a way that guides people toward a particular response. You're often "being framed" without realizing it, or doing the same to others. Watch for it!
The secret with both framing and priming is catching them when they happen and using them for good. Establish your workplace culture such that any bias you have is explicit and discussed, rather than hidden away without being recognized. That way, people will give you honest answers. And, you'll get the most from your team no matter what situation presents itself.
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed two health concerns in the workplace that are common and not entirely within our control to stop completely--stress induced open floor plans and pain associated with computer screens. In summary: tough to tackle, but manageable with the right tools and mindset. In order to control these health hazards, we must empower ourselves to make better choices and seek conditions that create a better environment for ourselves.
Today, we'll discuss two more office health hazards: bullies in the workplace and the allure of sugary treats.
According to the article 12 Surprising Health Dangers in the Office, bullying is defined as such:
While the definition of bullying varies, it typically refers to aggressive behavior associated with work primarily intended to cause physical or psychological harm to others ...
Whether or not you've ever experienced bullying in the office, chances are you've likely witnessed it. So it may not come as a surprise that being the recipient of aggressive behavior can conjure a mixture of emotions--fear, frustration, annoyance, anxiety, intimidation, just to name a few. But, what about the physical side effects? According to the article above, victims of bullying suffer more than just emotionally. The stress associated with it can wreak havoc on the body:
Targets of bullies often suffer from sleep and digestive problems, depression and other forms of stress.
Ways to overcome office bullying can vary based on the situation. But, the most common suggestion for problem-solving emphasizes communication. Whether it be with the human resources department, direct managers, or the bully, it's important to vocalize your concerns with the working relationship. Not only does this put solutions into action, but it will hopefully relieve you of some of the side effects that have left you physically and mentally exhausted.
If, despite genuine attempts at mending the problems, the bullying continues and/or increases, it's time to reconsider whether the job or company is worth your health. This isn't to say that you should up and leave your job without contemplation. But, do not lose sight of what is important--a healthy, happy life. Everyone is entitled to achieve satisfaction in their job. If your current company does not present avenues for this, then perhaps it's time to move on.
Ugh--too many of us know all to well about the wretched office candy jar. The moment someone fills it to the brim with yummy, gooey, chocolatey deliciousness, a bell rings in your head and immediately your overcome with a need for sugar. Why is that?
According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, falling victim to our cravings can lead to pretty severe effects:
. . . people ate an average of 225 calories more each day when the office candy dish was within arm’s reach and 100 calories more with the dish six feet away. That amounts to an additional 17 or 7 pounds per year ...
Yeah, after reading that I pretty much wanted to faint. 17 pounds extra per year? But, as I think back to my former years in a large office setting, I totally remember "candy Wednesdays" and how I'd take that as an invitation each week to transform into a veritable kid in a candy store. I suspect many of us can't seem to avoid the temptation for one of two reasons: boredom or stress. Either we need to get away from our desks because we're overwhelmed with the work, or we simply need to fill our time with something.
Mindless eating in the office causes serious health risks beyond just weight gain. The combination of indulgent food and the stationary demands of working behind a desk can increase several health risks, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and dementia. Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, explains:
Exactly how sitting a lot contributes to poor health isn’t clear. But some research suggests that it has harmful effects on sugar and fat metabolism, both of which affect a person’s risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The obvious solution to this health hazard is to abstain from the tempting treats in the office, but that's easier said than done. Possessing willpower on call (in front of delicious food) is a lot more difficult than we like to admit. So rather than setting yourself up to fail, consider making small goals each week to wean yourself off the candy jar habit slowly. And while sitting on the job is rarely discouraged, take it upon yourself to stand periodically throughout the day. It burns 30% more calories an hour!
I met recently with a very bright woman who is looking for a new communications position. She came highly recommended by a trusted colleague and her resume was outstanding. Due to a recent reorganization at her current employer, she is hoping to find a position that is more suited to her interests and abilities. As we talked about what she hoped to do, I began to suggest people she should talk with, assuming she would already know these folks. After all, she has been in the nonprofit community in Indianapolis for fifteen years. Yet she knew none of them. She admitted that she is an introvert and her past positions have all been internal communications. She has been very insular in her thinking and really didn’t see the need to network. Now, however, she is getting the picture!
If you know me at all, you know I’m a relationship person. I love meeting new people, learning about their work and their interests, and connecting them with other like-minded people. That has served me well in 35 years of development work and in finding that next position in my younger years. But I’ve learned that relationship networking does not come easily to everyone and many don’t even know what that is.
Relationship networking is simply the art of meeting people and benefiting from those relationships. Effective relationship networking is all about building those relationships and maintaining long-lasting connections with other professionals. It means meeting people outside your field and learning as much as you can about them and what they do.
Relationship networking opens new doors. Often it’s who you know, not necessarily what you know---and more often it is who they know. Networking creates a placeholder for future contact. Not everyone you meet will become a long-term contact, but you don’t know that at first. You have to meet people in order to find out who you need to have met.
Script a one sentence introduction you can use when you first meet someone new. Don’t just describe what you do, but tell others how they can benefit from what you do. Make your message relevant to them. Customize what you say to the person you're talking to.
Finally: to be a successful relationship networker, you must Be a Giver! Don’t be perceived as a taker always focusing on “what’s in it for me”. Look for opportunities to help other people. Offer to make introductions to other colleagues. Follow up after the meeting with information that could be of value to your new contact. And stay in touch! Drop them a line once in a while.
Does all of this take time? Sure it does. Do you have the time? I’m here to say you have to find the time. The benefits will pay off many times over!
With more than 35 years of experience in all facets of fund raising and non-profit management, Jessica White has provided expertise to all types of non-profit organizations. Among the many professional positions Jessica held, she served as business administrator of Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis and as director of development for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the world’s largest children’s museum, prior to establishing Jessica White Associates. A graduate of The Ardath Burkhart Series of the United Way of Central Indiana, Jessica has been a featured instructor and lecturer on fund raising and non-profit management topics at local, state and national levels.
It's not the first time we've talked about absolutely terrible ways to spend our workday. But usually when we are complaining about inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the American workforce, it's about something specific. We're ranting about the insanity of meetings or the endless stream of email.
A post by Danny Wong, however, notes that the real problem is about process:
Unstructured working arrangements paralyze teams; distractions such as email encourage poor time management. Fortunately, schedules and routines breed efficiency and process creates predictable workflows.To maximize productivity, the most successful people build structure around their work. Often, they plan what to do and how to do it far in advance. This allows them to block off time once a week to manage their calendars and invest the majority of their working hours fulfilling high-impact tasks instead of wondering what they should do next and which steps they ought to take to complete a project.
The secret weapon is process. Here's how to put it into action:
One of the main reasons we are unproductive is because we are constantly jumping between tasks. It takes our brains times to decide to start something new, stop what we're doing, and then start the new activity. That change in direction requires tremendous mental effort. We have to slam on the brakes, change gears, turn completely around, and often check the map all at once.
Of course it's not always possible to stick to one project for more than a few minutes, but the less frequently we switch tasks, the more we get in the zone.
Too often our days are characterized by interruptions that take our focus away from whatever we are trying to accomplish. We're working, and the phone rings. We are reading and an email pops up. Instead of staying on task, we react to the new information.
Instead, try to continue doing what you're doing. Glance at the caller ID if you must, but call back later. Turn off the notifications on your mobile phone and computer. And if a coworker comes up to say hello, apologize that you can't chat at the moment as you want to stay focused.
Next, decide what you are going to do. This sounds fundamental, but usually when we are in "reaction mode" we tend to keep returning to it rather than staying on target. How often do you find your mind wandering or your mouse clicking its way over to Facebook?
A plan can be as simple as a checklist or a big sticky note on your desk telling you what to do. And once you make a plan, clear everything else out of the way so you can focus!
It's going to be hard to do this at first. Most of us don't have any control over our own time. But if you can focus for even fifteen minutes at a time you'll find yourself getting things done in incredible bursts of productivity.
Accept that you're going to make mistakes. Failure, after all, is key to success. Here are a few tips to further improve your workflow:
Your break is over. You read an article about improving your productivity. Decide what you're going to do for the next fifteen minutes and don't let anything else get in your way.
Good luck! Stay focused! You can do it!
There's a big difference being someone who whines and someone who brings up legitimate concerns. That distinction is attitude, not the problem itself. And attitude makes all the difference!
“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.” – Maya Angelou
Be a squeaky wheel that promotes change using a complaint, not just a complainer. Addressing a distressing topic is not easy. It takes courage and thought to make the discussion productive. Being a squeaky wheel can promote change if handled properly, complaining rarely does. In fact, constant complaining can bring down an entire team and prevent any chance of success. I don’t think there is a small business owner who hasn’t experienced or witnessed a team get derailed by complaining.
So what is there to be done? In order to affect changes that are productive, a certain amount of assertive, well-intentioned, and honest discussion is required.
In a recent issue of Success magazine, psychologist Gary Winch, Ph.D. provided five questions to ask before you make a complaint:
WHAT DO I WANT TO ACHIEVE? Are you looking for understanding, an apology, corrective action or behavior? Be clear. As Steven Covey says, "begin with the end in mind."
WHO SHOULD I COMPLAIN TO? Do you want to address the person who can change a situation or are you asking someone else to intervene? If you just want to vent, keep that in mind as well! Make sure your intention (or request) is transparent.
WHAT’S THE BEST VENUE OR METHOD FOR MY COMPLAINT? Sometimes face-to-face can be too personal or intimate. Perhaps a phone call creates the distance needed to prevent either person from becoming defensive and could head off explosive behavior. Although email and notes can also provide distance, clarity and objective language is called for, so be cautious in communicating by written word. Without inflection and body language, or quick clarifications possible during conversation, words and thoughts can be misconstrued – and cannot be taken back or explained before damage is done.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO COMPLAIN? Bringing up a problem on the heels of an emotional or trying situation is obviously not a good idea, but blindsiding someone is never a good idea either. Inform the other party you have something you wish to discuss so they can be prepared and provide their full attention. Be mentally prepared yourself. Make an appointment if needed. Remember, the purpose is to resolve a problem or make a change, not to complain.
HOW SHOULD I PHRASE MY COMPLAINT? Winch suggests the sandwich model. State a positive. State the problem. Then, follow-up with another positive. The last positive statement is motivating and communicates that a lasting resentment can be prevented. It’s the positive hope that the situation will be resolved, a change made and everyone can move on.
Say and do something positive that will help the situation; it doesn't take any brains to complain. -Robert A. Cook
Complaining is a close cousin to gossip. It can fester and generate a lot of bad feelings, resentments, and can divide teams into factions. Instead, try being a clear, honest and well-intentioned squeaky wheel who takes steps to resolve the problem and clear the air. That way, everyone and all their energy can be devoted to growth and success.
Here’s the definition of what a healthy organization looks like:
A company with minimal politics, minimal confusion, high levels of morale, high productivity, and low turnover among your best performing people.
This is the organization where we all want to work. Maybe you, like most of us, aren’t a CEO and aren’t in charge of the organization, but you do have a small department for which you are responsible--and you would like it to fit the definition of a healthy organization. But what can you do?
There are many options available, but here are two ways you can impact the health of your organization. And no, it doesn’t matter where you fall on the org chart.
In our personal and professional life, we spend so much time and energy reacting to or worrying about conditions over which we have little or no control. The late Stephen Covey calls this the Circle of Concern. We get angry about and blame other people, departments, the economy, the weather, and even our customers. In short, we turn to things we don’t and can’t influence and shake our fists with no effect.
Think about what would happen if you focus YOUR time and energy instead on what Covey calls your Circle of Influence. Those are the elements of your world that you can actually impact. What if you stopped trying to control everything in your organization that you’re concerned about?
What part of the organization do you have direct influence over? The department you lead? The projects you manage? The work you have with your own colleagues? That’s what you focus on.
Spend your time and energy working on minimal politics, minimal confusion, high levels of morale, high productivity, and low turnover among your performing people in your own area. Make sure you have a healthy department. If you’re not the boss, act like a leader. If you don’t hire people, at least make them feel good by being supportive. Do good work and make sure people see that good work matters.
Technique one is about making your own domain better. But there’s something else you can do: Realize that leaders of the organization need someone to tell them the kind truth about how they can make the company better. Being honest is rare these days, and someone who speaks up can have a profound impact.
Most leaders are looking for people who will tell them the truth, but kindly. When you go to your management and you humbly give them ideas on what they do to improve the organization, you have nothing to lose.
If they decide they aren’t interested in a healthy organization, that’s something you need to know about. Because then you have a better understanding of what’s going on and you can think about how long you want to be in that organization.
And if they like your ideas (or at least your effort to step forward) that’s a good sign! It means that you’re well on your way to leadership roles yourself. It shows that the company cares about improvement more than it does about status.
In summary, don’t get discouraged when you’re not in charge of the organization and feel that you can’t make a difference. By focusing on your own department or speaking upward with kind truth, you can have more impact than you think.
But no matter what, you have to act. Make it happen!
To make this case, let's pick on two obvious examples: the discount store and the hospital.
The big box retailer that sells everything you can imagine is a classic example of "low prices and low wages." We're all used to the idea that the jobs here barely pay the minimum wage, but the stuff for sale is stunningly affordable. The reason is economic: the company is trying to appeal to the masses, so they drive costs down, aggressively push their vendors to get better deals, and cut corners everywhere. Those savings get passed along to the customer. End result: Low prices, low wages
Now consider a completely different environment: the modern hospital. Whereas a discount store is mostly known for low wage employees, medical care facilities are filled with highly-skilled, extensively trained professionals. Doctors, nurses, medical technicians, hospital administrators, social workers, and other college-educated individuals are busy saving lives. That work is valuable, meaning higher salaries. And as everyone can tell you, it's part of the reason that healthcare is not cheap for the consumer.
This paradox is covered in a New York Times opinion piece called The Good Jobs Strategy, which is about a book by the same name and it's author, professor Zeynep Ton:
As she took a closer look [at retail giants], Ton says, she realized that the problem was that these companies viewed their employees “as a cost that they tried to minimize.” Workers were not just poorly paid, but poorly trained. They often didn’t know their schedule until the last moment. Morale was low and turnover was high. Customer service was largely nonexistent.Yet when she asked executives at these companies why they put up with this pattern, she was told that the only way they could guarantee low prices was to operate with employees who were paid as little as possible, because labor was such a big part of their overhead. The problems that resulted were an unavoidable by-product of a low-price business model.
The article goes on to show that this isn't necessarily the case in reviewing a gas station/convenience store that is bucking the trend:
QuikTrip, an $11 billion company with 722 stores, is a prime example of what Ton means by “human-centered operations strategies.” Paying employees middle-class wages allows the company to get the most out of them. Employees are cross-trained so they can do different jobs. They can solve problems by themselves. They make merchandising decisions for their own stores. The ultimate result of the higher wages QuikTrip pays is that costs everywhere else in the operation go down. At QuikTrip, says Ton, products don’t remain in the back room, and in-store promotions always take place, as they’re supposed to.
The answer to this riddle is what we've been saying here on The Methodology Blog for ages: employees are not an expense---they're an asset. If you're going to bother to have people working for your company, the best thing you can do is find ways to engage them so they want to stay, they want to innovate, and they want to give honest feedback.
Unfortunately too many companies see their team members as just a conduit between their customers and their profit margins. In order to change this culture, leaders must recognize that what made them able to succeed in the first place was genuine passion. Creating employment structures that are filled with policies, politics, and arbitrary rules will only demoralize people. You won't create the culture needed to do amazing work.
You can have low prices and high wages. The secret is employee engagement. But the recipe isn't easy. Reach out to our business improvement consulting team to seek advice.
This advice applies to everything from your sales process to your hiring methods. And since you're constantly reading articles like this one looking for advice to improve your workplace productivity or to grow your business overall, you must think other people have some decent thoughts.
You might call this learning. But another way to think about it stealing. After all, these aren't your ideas. You're taking them and using them.
A great example is producing material for your marketing campaigns. I know it's really hard to find stuff to write about for your email newsletter. You rack your brain for content, but nothing comes out. Let me make a pointed suggestion. Why not steal something instead?
I don't mean you should break into your competitors office, take their newsletter draft off their computers, and then delete the originals. (Although that would make for a great Tom Cruise movie.) Instead, I'm talking about quoting someone else and giving them credit.
Human psychology makes this technique incredibly powerful. Here's how the brain works: when I hear you talking about someone else, I associate my thoughts about that other person with you. That's why quoting smart people makes us sound smart. We don't do anything but memorize a quote, yet we seem wise just by uttering someone else's words. If the person we are quoting finds out we appreciate their ideas and have given them due credit, they will likely beam with pride. Everybody wins!
So here's how you "steal content" for your website or email newsletter:
That's it! Free content for your customers and prospects without too much work. And now you know the secret, you're going to see it everywhere. People love great content. Find some and share it with them.
If this works for marketing content, it can work for marketing strategy. If it works for marketing strategy, it can work for any kind of business strategy. You can do what other people do and expect to get at least similar results.
Where does this end? What can't you duplicate? A good quote on this topic comes from venture capitalist Peter Thiel:
The next Bill Gates will not start an operating system. The next Larry Page won't start a search engine. The next Mark Zuckerberg won't start a social network company. If you are copying these people, you are not learning from them.
You can steal ideas from other people for everyday activities, but core aspects of your business need to be original. That's going to set your direction into unchartered waters and lead you to wherever you need to go.
And if all else fails, remember that you can always borrow from yourself. The blog you are reading was cribbed from one I wrote years ago for Delivra. That should be a good reminder that what's old is new again; and that you can repurpose, reuse, and rethink what has already been done.
Go forth and steal!
Before we get started, let's be clear: these are things professional speakers wish you knew. Most people who work in the field do dozens if not hundreds of presentations a year. But event planners often only put together one or two events in that same time period. Speakers know this business, but they are the vendors, not the customer.
Second: it doesn't matter what kind of event you're doing: keynote for a large conference, a training for a small office, an after-hours panel discussion, or an entertainer for the company holiday party. In all cases, it's easier to work with speakers if you follow these suggestions.
And finally, there are some tips that go without saying. Talk to your speaker as far in advance as possible. Keep them posted about changes. Get contracts hammered out in advance. But you knew all that stuff. Ready to get started with stuff you might not know?
Time to rip off the bandage. The toughest question for speakers---as well as writers, artists, musicians, and anyone else who produces work for public consumption---is about making sure they get paid. Every time someone calls us to book one of our associates, we eventually have to talk about the realities of speaker compensation.
If you have no budget, say so up front. That doesn't mean you can't find someone, but it does affect who you will be able to find. Speakers make their living from giving presentations and consulting with clients, so it only makes sense that most of the time they will need to be paid. But if you have no budget and the person who you want can't help you, maybe they can refer you to someone else. Or, maybe that's just what you need to convince your organization to put some money in the budget.
The best presentations start with preparation. Send your speaker your agenda as soon as possible, even if it's only tentative. There are few things more challenging than finding out you have 20 minutes instead of an hour, or asking participants to move around the room...during a dinner service.
If you know who else will be at the event, if you can give the size of the audience, if you can predict the mood of the people in the room---these are all details to pass along to your speakers. The less surprised they can be when they arrive, the better the experience will be for your attendees.
These days, it's easy enough to take some quick snapshots of the room and send them off via email. Questions like the availability of a screen and a projector for slides, amplification options, seating choices, lighting, flip charts, and more will become immediately apparent. You're also giving your presenter the chance to visualize themselves in the space. That will help them be even more effective.
And of course, speakers may actually know the venues already. We're often invited to present in places where we have been before. We may even know the on-site staff and the quirks of that location. So, let your speaker know what you know about the venue, and let them know right away!
This is a final tip that is about more than ego. If you saw them present elsewhere, let them know where it was and what they said. If they came recommended, or if you've spent time on their website, share what you learned. The context of why they were chosen matters.
And again, this isn't about increasing speaker confidence, but about better tailoring the program to meet your expectations. You're not looking to hire any speaker but instead an excellent speaker. Tell them why you want them, and they will continue to adapt to your needs.
If you're ready to hire a speaker, contact us. Or if you just have questions, reach out. We want to create great experiences for your audiences. Help us to help you!
I must admit, I am terribly confused. What does that word really mean? Would someone help me clarify? Is it talent that drives an organization or persons with minds and bodies? Are we seeking a "skill" to perform a role, or individuals bringing all they are to bear, including their wisdom and expertise and life artistry? Are we interested in people, who are not interchangeable, or do we only need the specific activities they perform?
As an artist/business/consultant, I find myself looking through a unique lens, one which by nature is holistic. It would be easy to say that I am talented. Why? I sing, play an instrument and have done musical theatre. I have sung in Europe, made a CD, sung at funerals, weddings, and even performed with my children in a national convention. My voice doesn't sing on its own---it needs the power of the gut, the function of the larynx and muscular strength to allow me to exercise my "talent."
Yet, too many people seem to feel they have "no talent." I hear this statement all the time. Every person has the capacity to contribute, although many people may be in an organization where they are not able to do so at their full potential. Talent requires work, and part of the work is finding a place where it will be appreciated.
My passion, my mojo, is organizations and people, and likewise it is more than my "talent" in that area that I bring to my work! Along with my talent I bring my emotions, my integrity, my empathy, my abilities, my life experience, my virtue, my learning, my serving, my discernment, my leadership, my relationships and what I have learned from both success and failure. Without the creative lens, I have only a black and white photo from which to see the picture. Through the combination of creativity and what I have learned about organizations through my talent, I can see the totality of the photo in living color.
That's not just me of course. Everyone brings their emotions, integrity, empathy, and so on to their work. If they engage in their own creative talents, these elements of their identity can shine through. But if they see their work or their colleagues as drudgery---or if their management sees them as a cost to be reduced---they will never be truly engaged.
This applies to every profession. As an executive and leadership coach, I have failed to see anyone who isn't suffering in their "talent" (job/role) who doesn't have underlying issues that stem from somewhere else. Leonardo Da Vinci said that "everything is connected to everything else." He ought to know, as he was one of the first to study the body as a living organism.
Please, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Talent is critical in filling a role. Yet it is only a facet of human beings--most of us can claim at least one area of life where we are creative and can excel. However, let us not confuse "talent", a current buzzword in the recruiting arena, for the whole person at work.
Any musician will tell you that there is more to a successful venture in music than just having the talent---one needs connections, savvy, marketing, a business plan, an audience and so forth to be successful. Are you wanting to hire "the voice" or the person who owns it? Food for thought!
Sometimes the buzz about a particular organization is that it's a "revolving door" where people tend to cycle through like perches in a merry-go-round. But this analogy isn't quite accurate. A better way to think about the employment process is the front door (where people enter), the living room (where people reside), and the back door (where they exit).
Before we talk about the causes of turnover, let's review why this is a problem:
Turnover is a big problem. So why does it happen? Three reasons: but a big one is that front door.
If you aren't selecting the appropriate candidates for the jobs they are well-suited for, you'll have high turnover. The author Jim Collins helped popularized this idea as "getting the right people on the bus." Just about everyone who has worked somewhere for any length of time has experienced a bad hire. And there are many mechanisms for solving this problem, including the old expression hire slowly, fire quickly.
First, this means reaching out to the right candidates. It's easy to put up a job ad and get countless applicants, especially if the ad is vague and the economy is weak. But none of those candidates may be what you want. Wouldn't you rather have a small number of highly qualified individuals to consider than a large number of people who are mostly a poor match?
Second, the hiring process should include some reasonable barriers to entry that are based on mutual respect. A good technique is to include some simple instruction in the process, such as "submit your resume, cover letter, and your favorite color." The purpose of this is to weed out people who are not detail-oriented or don't follow instructions. No matter what the role, those two skills are essential.
Our friends at Formstack do part of the interview using their own technology, with an online form that asks questions like "What do you know about Formstack?" and "What makes you a good fit for Formstack?" Anyone not interested in answering these questions in written form is probably not going to be a good match for them, or anyone. And some companies even post a challenging question in a public place. These are all great techniques for finding great candidates.
And broadly speaking, the way most companies interview candidates is totally insane. We glance at their self-produced resumes, ask them some questions over the course of an hour or two, and decide if we like them. But in many fields, vast numbers of candidates can't do what they say they can do.
I'm reminded of a story about a juggler talking with a circus manager for a position under the big top:
Manager: Thanks for coming in today. Juggler: Happy to be here. Manager: So, you're a juggler? What can you do? Juggler: I can juggle three balls, four balls, and five balls. Manager: That's great! Anything else? Juggler: I know a wide variety of tricks and audiences love me. Manager: Fantastic! Juggler: Yes, and I can even juggle flaming torches. Manager: Great! You're hired! Juggler: Wait...aren't you going to ask to see me juggle?
Most interviews never involve any sample work. So what's the solution? As our friends at AnchorPoint note contract-to-hire can be the best option for both the company and the candidate. At the very least, ask someone to spend a day with the team (and pay them accordingly) to see if they can contribute in a way they find rewarding and you find to be valuable.
If you don't manage those entering the firm through the front door well, many of them won't last. That's the first cause of high turnover. Reason two? bad culture causes departures. Stay tuned reason three.
There are leaders who are Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and beyond. But if you’re a Baby Boomer, think back to when you started your career. Were mentoring and coaching part of your leadership development? If they were, there was likely no formal process, unless you were at the highest leadership levels of the organization. Most mid-level leaders during that time had to identify their own mentors and coaches. Sound familiar?
Members of Generation X probably remember a more defined process for matching them with a mentor or coach. And Millennials (also called Generation Y) most likely experience even more focused mentoring and coaching programs--resulting no doubt from companies recognizing the value in ensuring a robust leadership development program in an increasingly complex global world. So what has driven the increased focus on formal mentoring and coaching programs?
It may just be that developing future generations to succeed ensures organizational sustainability.
Since coaching and mentoring are powerful components of developing sustainable leaders, both must be incorporated into the fabric of our organizations. According to John Duggan, CEO of Gazely:
We believe it's in our business interest to become more sustainable. This will become a must-have, rather than a nice-to-have issue, going forward. We want to build our brand around that position.
While working with clients, including Butler University, I’ve seen leaders “walk the talk.” MBA students are assigned a coach early in their program. As one of the leadership coaches, I assist students with completing the 360-degree feedback process, which provides them with feedback on how their leadership style is perceived by their boss, direct reports, and peers. Then, I help them design an action plan to increase their leadership effectiveness. The goal is to ensure their effectiveness is sustained long after the MBA program is complete. I’m intrigued by this program because I am passionate about helping leaders and organizations increase sustainability. I’ve also had the honor of mentoring several young men and women over the years, and I take that honor very seriously.
Through my experiences, I have learned that mentoring differs from coaching in that it’s generally for a longer period of time and focuses on developing the individual holistically for the future—professionally, personally, and often, spiritually. Mentoring is often about following someone through their path in life, learning from their lessons and mistakes. Mentoring is often a private, one-to-one relationship.
Coaching, on the other hand, may only be for a short period of time and focuses on helping the individual overcome a specific issue or performance challenge in the present. I’ve been fortunate to experience the power of coaching and mentoring.
While there are clear differences between coaching and mentoring, the differences complement each other, making both valuable and necessary. Together they are a powerful, unbeatable combination for developing future leaders. Their differences are summarized in the table below.
It is evident that a balance of mentoring and coaching is important to overall leadership success. It is my opinion that both approaches used together will significantly strengthen the development of our future leaders, our organizations, and our communities.
Without mentoring or coaching, however, businesses will struggle to compete. They will have difficulty attracting and retaining talent. People who are currently part of an organization won't see anyone to emulate, nor see people who are getting better through the support of their peers and the people who they admire.
If you're seeking help, seek a mentor or a coach---or both! And if you have help to give, be a mentor or a coach to someone else. It will make a difference.
Success in problem solving begins with two ingredients: people and information. When you add leadership to the mix you get a recipe for serious improvement. What management often forgets (or chooses to ignore) is that we need more than people’s hands---we need their heads. Many times poor attitudes in a group are the result of frustration and can be turned around with a little participation.
A leader needs to create an environment that encourages employees to help solve problems, to focus energy on improving things that are both important to the business and to them. Do not make the common mistake of asking your employees to work harder. That approach rarely succeeds.
What does prove effective, is asking: what can we do to make an employees’ job safer, less stressful, more predictable, and more efficient? How can we get them involved in the solution? To answer these questions, you can use a four-part strategy that will take you and your team from the recognition of a problem to its solution.
To begin, you must first decide what you want to improve. It could be many things, like: Quality, Operational Availability or Health and Safety. The operations area should be the primary source for your data collection. Make the data collection process easy and not a burden for your busy employees, keep it clear and straightforward; sometimes simple tally sheets are a good place to start.
The second step is to analyze the data for meaning. In other words, you’ve got to take all that raw information and use it to create understanding and give your team new insights into the problem at hand. Pareto charts or concentration diagrams are excellent for this purpose because they are vivid and help convey information immediately.
The third step is the most important one, because it serves as a transition point. In this step you must share the information your employees have collected and you have analyzed. Use the opportunity to engage them in an open dialogue about how to improve the workplace. You can share the data at daily team meetings, weekly departmental meetings, plant meetings or special task team workshops. Whichever format you choose, the process of sharing information in a meaningful way will have many benefits:
Now we’re ready for the final step, problem solving. We’ve collected the data on our weak area, synthesized it, and presented the facts in a meaningful format. This information will have a very strong basis for idea generation from the people who work the process every day. Remember from Boss Kettering, “a problem well defined is a problem half solved” and once you are in a position to take a close-up look at definable issues, it becomes much easier to address and correct them!
No one plays a game or watches sports without keeping score, and most people want to know how well they are doing on the job. Involving your employees helps to keep their heads in the game. Remember, people collect data that feeds into analysis. Sharing the analysis creates understanding and the generation of ideas for solutions and improvement.
Curtiss Quirin is the Chief Operating Officer of Easter Seals Crossroads Industrial Services. He is a highly motivated leader with years of experience in identifying opportunities for growth and building bottom line results. His emphasis on developing strong relationships with clients as well as external manufacturing partners is a valued business philosophy that resonates throughout the Crossroads organization. With a broad business background in directing a variety of operations on an international scale, Curtiss is an authority on positively managing safety, quality, productivity and inventory while helping clients to reduce lead time and boost revenue. He applies his Six Sigma lean manufacturing knowledge and focus on operational excellence to improve processes and reach target objectives that create growth for both Crossroads and its customers.
In fact, the post's author explains his rationale with the following quip:
Throwing professional shade is an art form that requires much skill and maneuverability because you need to find the right balance between sh**ing directly on their entire life without saying anything that will get you walked out the building by security.
As much as many of us would secretly love to tell off our colleagues and supervisors, this behavior won’t pay off in the long term. Here are each of the original ten ways to respond plus suggestions that are more likely to create positive change.
People don’t read emails. At least, they don’t read them as carefully as you would like. What matters most is that no one cares as much about what you say as you do. Accepting this reality will help you throughout your life and career, not just in your inbox.
Telling people that you already told them before is saying “You’re not paying enough attention.” It’s an insult. Instead:
Why should you apologize? Because no one can resist at least thinking “It’s okay” if you do that, which may make them realize it’s their fault. And why should you ask them to check if they received the original email? Because if messages were disappearing at random from inboxes, that would be a reason to call IT straight away.
Of course, it’s unlikely that either of these are actually the case. But both are a subtle way of saying “hey, we both know this would go a lot smoother if you paid a little more attention to correspondence, but I’m too classy to call you out directly.” Simple, and often effective.
This language implies that you know what someone is going to do, and you also know that it is not allowed. It’s often offensive to someone when you predict their behavior, and you are almost certainly going to frustrate them if you tell them what they are planning and that they can’t do it. That’s attempted robbery and an insult to their intelligence all at once.
Instead, break the conversation into a few parts:
In short, don’t assume you know, because you probably don’t.
This statement is downright rude, even if it is factually correct. People who don’t know a particular area, tool, or procedure can benefit from education. But telling someone this fact is like saying “If you jump into the pool, you will get wet.”
Instead, acknowledge that the topic is not self-evident. “This topic is complex. Please let me know if you need training and we will get it scheduled for you.”
I’m not personally opposed to this phrase in moderation. It’s more effective in person where you can read body language. For that reason, I suggest it should be rewritten as: “If I’m being unclear, let me know and we can schedule a quick meeting to discuss further. Thanks!”
These two words, like so many other examples on this list, are a confident prediction of other people’s attitudes and future behavior. You only need to tell someone to “rest assured” if you think they will be restless and concerned, and only then because they lack the information or intellect to understand why there is no cause for alarm.
Instead of telling other people they have nothing to worry about, say that YOU will take responsibility. “I understand there is a risk here, but if there is a problem I will be fully responsible and will take steps to correct any issues.”
Email is a medium which bridges the gap between public and private. It’s not quite the same as a conversation in an office with closed doors or a memo posted on the breakroom wall, but every email is company property and every email could potentially end up being read into the Congressional Record during a terrifying investigation.
With that in mind, the only reason you aren’t cc-ing everyone in the company is efficiency. You could include their boss on all correspondence, but there’s no need to trouble them with the small details of how a particular project is being accomplished.
Carbon copying someone’s boss is a great thing to do when you want to praise them. But if you want their boss to see what you’re talking about, go to your sent items afterward and forward the exchange. That way, there’s no danger of getting caught up in an embarrassing reply-all chain and you’re giving the supervisor information they need.
If you have something negative to say about someone, you should either say it to them directly, or say it to their manager directly. You should never say it to both people, unless you’re in person.
This last piece of advice is a terrible way to close an email. It presumes the person will do the work you’ve ordered and communicates that you are too important to bother acknowledging it after the fact. Furthermore, these three words imply their contributions won’t be worthy of praise no matter how they are done. You might as well write: “I don’t care.”
Instead, wait until the work is complete to express appreciation. And while a short message that says “great job!” may seem like it’s cluttering the tubes of the Internet, heartfelt positive sentiment is never a waste of time. Just be sure you mean it.
Read more about email in The Battle For Your Email Inbox, only $1.49 on your Kindle or $10.00 plus shipping in softcover.
Without naming names, I will tell you that the person I was planning to dine with happens to have the same first name as an extremely well-known political figure. The establishment is only a few blocks from the statehouse. When I arrived, the maître d asked me who I was meeting. I responded.
She looked down her list and read the last name that she thought might correspond with the first one I said aloud. It was the well-known political figure, except, she butchered the famous name.
I happened to sit near the front of the establishment and could overhear more of her interactions. When the celebrity arrived, she didn't recognize him. The young woman asked cheerfully, "Do you have a reservation?"
It might seem obvious, but the more you know about your target audience, the more likely you are to be able to win new business and especially recurring business. If your high-end restaurant is right around the corner from the state capitol building, maybe you should ensure that your front-of-the-house staff know the names and faces of all of the high-ranking individuals in state government?
Likewise, no matter what industry you are in, there's always an opportunity to learn more about the people that you'd like to do business with. Here are some techniques that are particularly effective:
Read their industry publications - The next time you are in their office, make note of the magazines in the lobby. Subscribe yourself, and keep up to speed on what's happening in their world. You might even find their name mentioned in an a guest article or an advertisement, which is a reason to reach out and say you saw them!
Attend events where they are - If you want to learn more about your customers and prospects, figure out what programs they might be attending. Ask them if they are going to any educational seminars or networking mixers. Join the same organizations they belong to. Show up where you think they might show up.
Watch them on social media---and take notes! - When they go to a concert, support their favorite sports team, or mention other personal interests, people will often share them on Facebook or Twitter. Pay attention! Take notes! Figure out what they like so you can respond later.
Find out who they know, and seek advice - Social media makes this easy today, but usually if you know someone, you also know people in common. "You and I both know Bob Smith, but I was wondering, what would be a good gift for him? What are his hobbies and interests?"
Search for them online - Use Google. It might seem a little weird to put the names of people you want to know more about into a search engine, but this has become part of our culture. If you want to find out more about them on an ongoing basis, consider a Google alert!
Use CRM software and take notes about your meetings - Finally, you want to ensure that you are putting all of this information into a useful place. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a fantastic way to do this, allowing you to save pertinent details from meetings, phone calls, or other interactions.
Next time you're out to eat, keep an eye out for local celebrities. Maybe the restaurant will have taken time to know who they are and welcome them accordingly.
Or just see if they are taking care of their regulars. It's this audience where there's the most opportunity. Learning about them is among the best ways to grow your business.
Mo offers a highly technical service to his clients: he works in the spray coating industry and offers industrial chemicals and services. He uses the software program Microsoft Visio to map out virtually all of the process of his business with as much ease as you and I put salt on french fries.
Recently Mo visited a client and the first thing he did when got to their location was to give a good thorough “look see” at their equipment, followed by ensuring it was correctly calibrated.
That is my first takeaway from Mo: make sure you know what you’re dealing with. It may not be spray coating equipment or equipment of any kind. It could be the people in the company you’re about to work with or the leaders of a firm you’re interested in developing.
I can’t stress enough the importance of this initial “work see”; especially for anyone in sales be it consulting, coaching, virtual services, or advice-giving of any kind. Make sure you take a look to see what strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities there may be. Make sure you know too who the important players are--those that influence, the leaders, and the stakeholders.
Here’s the second piece I gleaned from my good friend Mo. After he looked over what he would be dealing with, Mo set out to calibrate the equipment. In Mo’s words, “this saved them a ton of money!” You have to know what is really happening. How do the interconnected mechanisms work, how does the communication work, and how does the business operate? Or more importantly: how does it fail to work?.
If you use your smart phone when traveling you’ve done this as many times as you’ve used that device for navigation. When getting from here to there, the first thing we all do is enter the address of our destination. What we don’t consciously think about is the most important part of the trip: where we are now. Your app then calculates a route from your current location to your desired location, and offers several options for the journey.
When working with a customer it is vital to determine what they want (where they want to go.) It’s also just as important to figure out exactly where they are when you start to work with them. From experience, it's the where they are (or where they think they are now) that is very telling.
My third lesson from Mo is taking time to work on yourself. On regular intervals, evaluate your goals. Examine your values. Review your daily plan. According to John Maxwell, "The secret of our success is discovered in our daily agenda." Take a big step back and examine the objectives and appointments for your day. Were they designed by you or created as a reaction to all the many things happening in your life?
Remember three little things: Examine what’s happening now, calibrate your systems to both the beginning and the destination, and lastly carve out the time to work on you. A few minutes here and there will make a huge difference over time.
And guess what… the time is going to pass anyway! Make the most of it! Find your own Mo and get your own inspiration. Good advice, when followed, can change everything.
This is part two of our three-part series on the causes of high turnover. Last time, we discussed how problems in the hiring process can cause people to leave your business. This time, we'll talk about what happens inside the company.
Let's get down to it: one reason why people leave is that your company is a terrible place to work. That frustration could arise from one factor or a combination of factors, such as: The people - Are your employees working for a micromanager? Are your employees insensitive or overbearing? Do they interrupt people when they are speaking or trying to concentrate? Are they mean spirited or just annoying? If this is the case, you may already know---you're just ignoring or dismissing it.
The simple fact is that you don't have to like the people you work with, but you can't dislike them. If people keep quitting after a short period of time, take a close look at who is staying. And if people are being asked to leave, it's possible that the the supervisors are being unreasonable. Do exit interviews, and really listen!
The work - If employees seem to have to drag themselves to work and are quick to leave at the end of the day, it could be the tasks themselves that are driving them crazy. Work can't always be fun, but it should be engaging. This is especially true if someone was hired to do one task and has shifted to "other duties as assigned." Boring, tedious, or difficult work can drive people away.
Furthermore, sometimes the work is much harder to do because the employee doesn't have the training, the resources, or the technology to do the work properly. And if there's no forum to discuss how to get these, they are likely to move along. Therefore, check in with your team members once in a while to ensure that they are engaged.
The process - I've seen companies filled with perfectly nice people and where the work is stimulating, but employees are still quitting left and right. The problem is often maddening bureaucracy. It's hard to get anything done in an environment with crazy company policies that don't make sense.
For example, some businesses require that you arrive at your desk by 8:00am, regardless of whether or not you have a meeting. Others keep the supply cabinet locked, so if you need a pen you have to find a supervisor. Or, your personal computer has more processing power than the one issued by the company, so you end up bringing it from home. These issues can drive people up the wall and lead them to look for employment elsewhere.
What's the solution to ensuring that people don't leave your organization once they find out what's really like to work there? Communication. Talk about the company. Do anonymous surveys. Aggressively review your policies and procedures. Pay attention to what else is happening at other companies. Be open minded about new ideas.
And remember, it's the other people that make the most difference. As the Harvard Business Review article explains:
The best thing you can do for employees—a perk better than foosball or free sushi—is hire only “A” players to work alongside them. Excellent colleagues trump everything else.
If you want people to stay, make your company one worth staying at. That's the secret to keeping.
This is part five of our series on cognitive biases in business. What's a "cognitive bias?" It's a naturally-occurring psychological effect which causes us to make bad decisions. And in the case of Maslow's hammer, this one has struck many a thumb.
When it was first brought into common use (helped in part by the famous psychologist), the idea of "when all you have is a hammer" was often applied to the practice of medicine. Doctors, in particular, were accused of only using the specific techniques in which they had been trained. The human body is more complicated than a handful of procedures, and as a result these professionals were not particularly effective.
The idea, however, applies to all aspects of business. In its broadest form the concept is called function fixedness. A piece in the Harvard Business Review explains the landmark experiment that launched the field:
Study subjects were handed a candle, a book of matches, and a box of tacks and asked to figure out how to stick the candle to a wall so that when lit the wax wouldn’t drip on the floor. The simple solution was to remove the tacks from the box, set the candle upright in the box, and then tack the box to the wall. The problem was, most participants’ understanding of the box as an object used for holding the tacks was so strong and entrenched, they couldn’t imagine that it could also become a makeshift shelf. They were literally unable to “think outside the box.”
Here are some real-world examples of the problem in workplaces:
Specialization in business is usually advisable. In fact, it's often a good thing to tell a co-worker, politely, "that's not my job." But one client we worked with, a vice president could not conceive even one of his departments doing anything other than what they had always done.
"We'll have to find an outside firm to build a new website," he insisted. "We don't have the ability to do anything like that in house."
However, the company had a publications department which created a monthly magazine, an annual catalog, and handled all of their photography and external communications needs. The VP simply couldn't conceive that this department had writers, copy editors, graphic designers, and technical experts. Perhaps some outside talent would be of value, but the knowledge was right there inside the business.
Knowledge workers in modern businesses don't often use hammers, but they do use computer programs. I've seen people try to do graphic design with Microsoft Word. I've seen people save web links in a text file instead of using bookmarks. And we know that there are considerable errors in public genetics data because of the tendency of scientists to use Microsoft Excel in DNA research.
That's a terrible idea. Find the right tool for the job.
One more example comes from a business that had engaged an outside consulting firm to help with some compliance training. They liked the work they did, so they asked them to lead some other workshops.
Then the company needed some copywriting help for the employee manual, so they asked the consultants to assist with that. And then they wanted some assistance recruiting and interviewing, so they did that too. And then they were getting ready to relocate to a new office so the consultants came by to help pack boxes and move furniture.
Of course, there are much better resources for many of these tasks, but if all you have is a hammer...
Here's how you stop this from happening: memorize the words "Are we using the right tool for this task?"
Whenever a suggestion is made, use that phrase. Whenever a plan is developed, use that phrase. And if the phrase itself becomes tired, find a new way to say it!
Don't get stuck with Maslow's hammer. You're sure to stub your finger; or worse.
The image comes to us courtesy of the online MBA program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Here's what their blurb has to say on working remotely:
In a traditional professional work environment, workers drive to an office where they sit in a cubicle from 9am to 5pm while they finish their daily tasks, and then proceed to go home to their family and have the rest of the day for personal pursuits. This way of professional life is now being challenged by telecommuting, a mode of work that came about because of advances in technology and changing expectations.
Below is the full infographic. Keep scrolling past for our thoughts on the topic.
This infographic does a great job outlining the upsides to working remotely. But it doesn't touch on the advantages to employers, which include:
The image does a great job of showing that more and more people are getting more and more work done from anywhere they like. It outlines major companies that support telecommuting, and shows how many executives believe that a greater percentage of their own workforce will be remote.
While the specific figures are interesting, the phenomenon is pretty obvious. Go to any coffee shop in the middle of the day and you'll see laptops everywhere. Ask around, and you'll find lots of friends who are freelancing in their spare time, or working at least one day a week from home. Telecommuting is happening.
Big changes in the history of work usually start with a small rumble and end up as social upheaval. Before the 1800s, virtually everyone in the world was employed in agriculture; living and working on almost exactly the same piece of land. Then mechanization came, people flowed into cities, and civilization went through an industrial revolution.
A century passed, and workers began to organize. They demanded safer working conditions, reasonable hours, and fair wages. The result was a labor revolution.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the nature of employment began to shift away from manufacturing goods to engaging in services with the development of an information economy. The world went through a knowledge revolution, where education and access to data became among the most valuable resources.
And today, the result of all of those movements, we're experiencing a rising trend of remote work. But this is not purely about technology or about individual desires, it actually is a revolution in corporate culture. We are shifting into a society in which work and workers are respected, rather than suspected. We're trusting people because of the results they produce, rather than thinking they can't be trusted and must be forced or incentivized to do anything right.
The economy of the future is going to include more telecommuters to be certain. But it will also be far more fluid than it is today. The notion of a job being a "place you go" for "years and years" will become a memory. Instead, we'll all be producing value whenever and wherever makes the most sense, and doing so for the organizations who most need our expertise.
It's not about telecommuting: it's about opportunity. It's about the chance to trust people to get things done and the profound possibilities that arise when work is about results instead of about fear.
I recently read an article posted on CNN that gets to the heart of the matter:
Information overload refers to the notion that we're trying to take in more than the brain can handle.
According to neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, paying attention to multiple things at the same time comes at a valuable price; one in which we can't afford to lose:
The conscious mind can attend to about three things at once. Trying to juggle any more than that, and you're going to lose some brainpower."
It's problematic (and kind of scary) to think about how much brain power one is losing over a course of a day just by working through the elements we're typically exposed to. Granted, living in the digital age comes with so many awesome benefits in our professional lives: the ease of networking online, staying abreast of the latest and greatest trends and technologies, direct and immediate marketing and advertising, etc. Yet, we aren't doing ourselves any favors if we allow our jobs to be defined by these parameters. Because, as Levitin points out above, overloading our brains is hurting rather than helping us.
The CNN article contains a very intriguing interview with Dr. Levitin that summarizes a lot of what is currently being done to understand and combat information overload. For your convenience, I've highlighted some of the Q&A below.
What does it mean to have information overload? How do we know if we're overloaded?
Daniel Levitin: If you're making a bunch of little decisions, like do I read this email now or later? Do I file it? Do I forward it? Do I have to get more information? Do I put it in the Spam folder? That's a handful of decisions right there, and you haven't done anything meaningful.
It takes up almost as much energy and nutrients to process trivial decisions or important ones.
Paying attention obviously means being able to recognize first of all what is important and what is not. Is that one of the big challenges with information overload?
Daniel Levitin: You don't know what's irrelevant until you pay attention to it. Take shopping for example. The average supermarket had 9,000 distinct products just 25 years ago. That same supermarket today has 40,000 unique products. The average American gets all their shopping needs met in about 150 items. That means when you're trying to fill your shopping cart you've got to ignore 39,850 items just to get the shopping done. To ignore it you have to pay attention to it.
We need to exercise a little bit of self discipline and allocate our time. I'm a big fan of prioritizing tasks so that we don't end up going down a wormhole of irrelevant things and find out two hours later we haven't done anything.
What about recharging our brains?
Daniel Levitin: After a couple of hours of being engaged, we feel our attention start to lag and so we naturally reach for a cup of coffee to keep going. That feeling of the attention starting to lag is the brain's own way of organically and naturally trying to hit a reset button for us.
If we would just let it take over, stare out the window for 10 or 15 minutes, take a nap, and let our minds wander... That has the effect of hitting the neural reset button in the brain and getting us back to our task with a brand new sense of engagement and energy. A 15 minute nap is equivalent to an extra hour and a half sleep the night before. It can be equivalent to an effective increase of IQ of 10 points.
I'll be honest--if you don't believe (in some way, shape or form) you've been subjected to information overload I'd be shocked! You may even be asking yourself: How does anyone get through their day without fighting off the distractions, interruptions and time-suckers that come with being constantly "plugged in"? If so, then take it from me, you're not alone in your thoughts. It's become practically impossible to avoid the fast-paced digital world. At times, it may even feel like the only way to escape is by going off-the-grid!
Now if this sounds absurd to you, then congratulations! You're one of the rare few who go unaffected by the epidemic of information overload. But, for the rest of us . . . take heed. It's time to educate ourselves and take steps toward freeing the ties that bind and regaining control over what we actually want to accomplish in our personal and professional lives.
Here at The Methodology blog, we've talked about information overload as well as the adverse effects of multitasking. Why? Because we believe it's important to point out that societal norms aren't always geared to positively enhance our situations. At times what may seem normal, is in fact not. Take for example reading and replying to emails. With our smartphones constantly in tow, we check and reply to messages throughout the day (and night). Unfortunately, the standard for email has become such that people not only expect immediate answers, they demand them.
The problem is, we convince ourselves that always being connected and juggling multiple projects at a time is enhancing our performance at work. Here's a secret: it's not! In fact, if you're operating under such an assumption chances are you're probably dodging productivity landmines left and right. Believe us when we say, there are much better ways of working. The challenge isn't just finding them---but implementing them into your routine.
This problem is also evident in the trades. Fewer young people are looking for work as plumbers, electricians, and the like. It’s interesting, then, when I hear small business owners in those industries talk about the problems with hiring trained and experienced people. Yes, they have the skills, but they also have bad habits. And in particular, may have bad attitudes, expectations and a sense of entitlement.
To combat that, many owners of small businesses are hiring people solely if they don't have one those "problem" areas: attitude. When a candidate has the right attitude and displays aptitude, they are picked up out of the pool of applicants.
THESE PROFESSIONALS HAVE IT RIGHT. You can train someone with a good attitude who wants to learn and be successful. But you can't often mold and reshape someone with bad habits or a poor attitude. Trying to do the latter is less successful and definitely more stressful.
HIRING ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE TO APPLY THIS PHILOSOPHY. Smart managers will also apply it to developing strategic relationships and partnerships. Success breeds success. And as the expression says, you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with---so choose wisely.
Here are six elements of a good attitude you will want from all of the people around you:
One thing to remember here. Not only are you looking for staff and partners to have these attributes, it’s important that we as small business owners have them, too. So take a look in the mirror. Which are your strengths, which challenge you?
Ask the people you trust most to go through that exercise with you. Sometimes we are blind to what we portray to others. It’s like that old saying about intentions...we may work things out in our heads and see them one way when others don’t see the actions built on our thoughts.
A good attitude is among the most valuable resources you can have in your business. Cultivate it. Promote it. And ensure that you hire for it!
The site is called The Frugal Model, and it's run by a woman who is a full-time fashion model in New York City. But it's not all about clothes, makeup, and beauty. Ashley Stetts blogs about her tips for saving money, making healthy choices, and living in one of the most expensive places in the world on a shoestring budget.
She also wrote How to Work Smarter With These 10 Tips and makes a great point in her opening paragraph:
It’s easy for time and even days to get away from you when you’re not working efficiently.
All of her tips are excellent, but a handful are worth further review:
Declutter your desk: Disorder hurts your ability to focus. Since attention is programmed to pick up whats novel, visible files will remind you of unfinished tasks, while an unread book (or cookies, or bills or your cat) could tempt you to procrastinate.
We've covered the role of clutter in the workplace before. It may not seem surprising that a clear space will help you focus, but the act of cleaning is also cathartic. When you decide to organize your things and wipe down your desk, you are setting a short-term task that you know you can accomplish and that you will be able to see happen in front of you. Try it!
Give 90 minutes to priorities: No matter how crazy your days get, make sure you carve out 90 minutes (just 20% of your 8 hour day) for your most important tasks.
There are countless versions of this advice. Whether it's have one goal for the day or set a timer and work for a set period of time, it's worth considering. Having the ability to set objectives and then meet them is the very essence of being productive. Even if you get nothing else done, an hour or two of important tasks can make all the difference in your company and in your level of personal satisfaction.
Learn your HVA’s: These are “High Value Activities” – tasks that are within your mission, leverage your strengths, and create impact or change for you...these tend to be things that come more naturally and that you are more efficient at.
The old saying is that efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right things. Figure out what has the most impact and make sure you get that done.
And finally, the Frugal Model advises:
Pay attention to energy levels: You can’t operate at peak performance all day long. When you’re feeling your best, concentrate on the activities that are most important or intensive, like writing, brainstorming or important decision making. When you’re tired and feeling foggy, do your relatively mindless activities like dealing with routine emails.
Emotional state has a huge effect on how well we work. You already know if you prefer the morning, afternoon, or evening. You're almost certainly aware how coffee or other mild stimulants work for you. You probably know what is best to schedule on Monday and what is best to schedule on Friday. Why not use this information to your advantage?
And finally: remember that a good idea can come from anywhere. The Frugal Model has great advice for being more productive. Your employees, colleagues, vendors, or other associates may inspire something that could change your routine or your entire business. Always be open to different points of view. And although the source is worth considering, a great idea can be anywhere.
And no matter how hard you try to collaborate with this person, he’s not open to any new ideas. Because, after all, he already knows everything.
It can be very frustrating to work with someone like this---wouldn't you agree?
Have you ever caught yourself thinking or saying, “I know that” – whatever “that” is? Like the know-it-all person, you may think you know everything there is to know about a certain topic to the point that you’re not taking the opportunity to learn anything more. So you need to ask yourself, “Do you really know everything about “that”?
Of course, none of us know everything. In fact, research shows that the more we don't know, the more we think we know!. But there's also a question of how our expression of our knowledge impacts our relationships.
In the book, Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, he says there’s a big difference between “I know that!” and “How good am I at that?” After all, you may think you understand or know how to do something, but have you really become a master at it?
The simple truth is we can’t possibly know everything there is to know. And the things we think we know, we can always learn more and improve upon them.
Want to know how you can constantly seek to improve yourself and become even better? Here are some ways:
And furthermore, not knowing it all isn't a weakness. It's a way to show others you are human. Don't be the guy who always has an answer. Be the guy willing to say "I don't know...but I'll find out!"
We're up to the final article in our three-part series on the causes of high turnover. We've already covered problems in the hiring process and issues with your company culture. For this last piece, what pulls people away.
There is one final reason that employees will decide to stop working for you, and it doesn't have a lot to do with you or your hiring practices. You may lose your workers because of outside market forces beyond your control. Here are some examples:
That's really about it.
It's relatively straightforward to address the other two causes of employee turnover. If you're making poor hiring decisions, take a look at your recruiting and your interviewing. If you're losing people because your company is an unsatisfying place to work, seriously consider your workplace culture, policies, and environment.
But if people are leaving because your competitors are offering better salaries, there's not really anything you can do. Sure, you could have offered them more money in the first place or kept increasing their pay over time, but those are both aspects we've already covered. You can't prevent people from leaving if they are doing so because of market forces that you've already failed to address. And you certainly can't stop them from pursuing life goals outside of work. So what should you do?
Your best option as a manager is to ensure that work can continue even if people do not. A business or a non-profit organization must be bigger than the skills and knowledge of current staff. Document procedures and/or create visual maps of business processes. Cross-train so that different team members can accomplish critical work, instead of having it known by only one person.
Create a culture of sharing instead of privacy when it comes to workplace information and procedures. Hold regular brown bag lunches, where employees explain how they do what they do. Encourage departments to spend time getting to know what other departments do.
And most importantly, let people know that when they do decide it's time to leave, you want to have a transition plan in place. It means telling your employees not to be afraid to announce they are considering making a change. Wouldn't you rather have six weeks notice and a happy employee than two weeks and a feeling of tension at the office?
You can't control your employees, and wanting to is only going to make things worse. Accept that some will eventually leave through no fault of your own. Be happy for them, and ready to do what's best for your business---keep the system running, and find the right person to bring in next.
Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, recently divulged on Perq.com some secrets to selling cars on Facebook. And, before you ask---no, he does not own and operate a car dealership in his spare time. But, one thing is certain: Slaughter knows how to effectively network in business and has become quite a knowledgeable source in the subject matter. In fact he shares his expertise in one of his latest books, The Unbeatable Recipe for Networking Events.
In his latest article, Of Course Facebook is a Secret to Selling Cars, Slaughter covers some basics: how to properly connect with clients, what NOT to do on Facebook, how to establish a proper level of networking and ways you can become more than just the "sales person" to your contacts. But first, we'd like to highlight his general breakdown of what car sales professionals aim to accomplish each year. See below:
Given the breakdown of numbers above, it's easy to see that keeping connected with people on Facebook can help maintain your client list and give you better leverage when it comes to selling cars. After all, you're gathering contact information one way or another. Isn't it better to have more than just names and phone numbers? Slaughter points out:
Whether you’re a sales manager, a dealership owner, or you’re out there on the lot hustling, you can get organized and take advantage of modern technology in keeping track of the people you met and staying in touch. You can run contests, postcard campaigns, emails, or appreciation events. You can call people on their birthday or on the anniversary of their last purchase. But no matter what you do, you need the data.As long as you don’t use the platform to promote yourself incessantly, most people are happy to be your Facebook friend after meeting you. Once you’re there, you can usually find out their birthday. You can take a look at their profile to see if they are married, and often the name of their spouse. You can scroll through photos to see if they have children and usually figure out their age in school. They may have pictures of their car. This gives you tons of information about their likely buying habits.
What's important to keep in mind however is that utilizing social media for business can be tricky. Slaughter warns:
The worst use of Facebook as a car salesperson is to talk about specials, rates, and promotions. If you put these online too frequently, people will unfollow you. My advice is to never directly promote your dealership or your manufacturer on your personal profile page.
So if you're hoping to reach out to current and/or potential clients on Facebook, but follow the caution that using the site as a platform for business is a bad way to go, how then do you connect at a level that is not only appropriate but effective? After all, you don't want your efforts at communicating to appear fake or wrongly motivated.
The answer is simple. Don't be phony. Be genuine and sincere in your posts and messages. If you're friends with someone, then it shouldn't be weird for you to open up a bit about what you've got going on in your life. It brings people to a level of understanding with almost an "Aha" moment--as if it dawns on everyone that you aren't always just about your job. Slaughter encourages this fact:
Talk about your family and your vacations. Share what you’re working on and what you’re interested in. Post a photo of the concert you attended and the new baby in your life. Be social, so people can see you. And watch what they are doing and keep a record.Then when it’s time, act. Or better yet, react. Because people who know what you do, who see you online, you recognize that you are someone they know, like, and trust—those people will seek you out when they want to buy.
There is a plethora of advice out there about how to navigate social media when it comes to business. We don't doubt that some suggestions that come your way may be off-the-wall or even unobtainable, but Slaughter's perspective is simple and easy. If you are comfortable being yourself and connecting with people on a level that isn't cluttered with sales pitches and promotions, you will surely discover just how integral a part Facebook can be in your professional life.
I know a lot of companies that are very proud of their culture. They talk about perks like “beer Fridays” and fun company events that get everyone together for fun and camaraderie. From the outside, these perks can seem like great ways to keep team members happy and make your company a fun place to work.
In many cases, this does have the desired effect. There are plenty of companies that use food, events and other structured perks to create a great company culture.
Too often, however, I see these things overshadow the perks that team members actually want and in some cases, they can actually damage your company culture.
Structured events and pressure to conform to cultural expectations can sometimes have an effect that is opposite of what is intended. Too often I see organizations take a “top down” cultural approach rather than a “grassroots” approach. I can’t really blame them. After all, how many times have we been told that we have to intentionally create company culture (hint: a lot)?
In my experience from leading a team of people for two decades and from working with and studying hundreds of other organizations large and small, I’ve seen the truth about what employees really want and what really matters to them.
A top-down cultural approach tends to feel very forced to a lot of employees. Not everyone loves to go out to baseball games. Not everyone loves to drink beer on Fridays. Not everyone loves to play ping-pong. These things individually are not bad things. Some people love them. However, when they are sewn into the culture of the company in a way that pressures people into participating it can be detrimental to their happiness.
Too many organizations make their employees work long hours tied to an office and then attempt to make up for it with fun events and outings or happy hours that they are expected to participate in. This doesn’t make up for it. All it does is keep employees away from their families and friends for even longer.
So what do employees actually want? What truly makes them happy with their jobs?
One of the most important “perks” you can give a team member is respect. Respect means listening to their ideas. Respect means remembering to conduct consistent performance reviews to keep them in the loop on how they’re doing. It means asking them what they think.
It seems super basic but a lot of CEOs (including me sometimes) fall short in this area. They charge full steam ahead with their ideas and plans and forget to involve their team members in decisions.
While I’m not perfect, I make an effort to think about how every single decision I make will affect my team. I ask them for opinions. I listen to what they think. Team members value feeling respected a lot more than free beer.
This is the one that makes most CEOs heads explode. The best perk you can offer your team is freedom. Freedom means not imposing a work schedule on them. Freedom means letting them work wherever they want. Freedom means throwing PTO out the window and letting them use their own best judgement about time off.
Most companies require people to work in the office during business hours and they track time off against a bank of PTO hours. Just recently I heard someone talking about how he asked his boss if he could leave at 4:30pm one day a week so that he could attend a church-related function and was told “no” by his boss. Unfortunately this is the norm and it makes my heart sink.
If your team members are getting their work done then it doesn’t matter when they work. If they are meeting their goals then it doesn’t matter where they work. If they are keeping your customers happy then it doesn’t matter how much time off they take.
Many people have a hard time wrapping their heads around how this can work, but we’ve been doing it at SpinWeb for years. When you tell your team members when and where to work, you are failing to acknowledge that they are intelligent adults with common sense.
If you let go and trust your employees to make good decisions that keep the company’s best interests in mind, you don’t have to worry about schedules and PTO. Your team will manage themselves. And if you don’t trust them with this kind of responsibility then they probably should not be working for you.
Employees value freedom, trust and being treated like adults more than just about any other cultural perk you can think of.
Your team members need to know that you understand their priorities and that you share them. For most people, they want more time with their families.
If your culture relies on happy hours and outside work events, you may be in conflict with what your team members really want. They want to go to their kids’ basketball games. They want to be able to take care of personal errands during the day (see previous section: “Freedom”). They want to be able to take their kids to the doctor without having to ask permission and feel guilty about it. They want to be able to take a reasonable amount of time off when a new baby arrives.
It’s OK to expect that team members have loyalty to the company. It’s OK to expect them to work hard and make the success of the company a priority. But it’s also important to know where to draw the line.
Your employees have priorities just like you and their families come first. This is the way it should be. One of the best “perks” you can give them is demonstrating that you support their priorities. Asking them to put the company first (even inadvertently) is unrealistic and disrespectful.
If you focus on the things that team members truly value, you won’t have to worry about “creating” a great culture from the top down. Your company culture will be created by your team.
When team members feel respected, have complete freedom to work the way they want to work and feel that the company shares their personal priorities they will flourish in ways you never would have thought possible. They will innovate and produce like never before.
Try letting go of the top-down culture mentality and focus instead on creating an environment in which your team feels safe creating their own culture. They will work together to create the culture that they want, and that is the path to true employee happiness and loyalty.
Michael Reynolds is President/CEO of SpinWeb – a digital agency located in Indianapolis, IN. As an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, Michael regularly blogs, publishes educational industry content, and speaks at conferences around the country covering topics like business strategies, inbound marketing, and technology.
I don't care if you're using the best tool for the job.
Let me start from the beginning.
When we are developing a new skill or being taught by an expert, we are often encouraged to complete every step, piece by piece, without taking shortcuts. Doing everything by hand might be a great way to learn, but it's a terrible way to work.
You know this if you've been at your job for any amount of time. If you use the computer, you'll find that you're more facile with pointing and clicking, with typing and navigating than you once were. If your job requires looking through pages of documentation, you are now faster at finding the right spot and you've figured out all the tricks for jumping to the section you need.
If you work in the factory or the warehouse, you've determine the quickest routes, memorized the buttons for all the equipment, and know the meaning of every beep, bloop, and whir from the machinery. We get good at using the tools or even inventing our own.
But too often, people stick to doing things the old-fashioned way because that's all they know. Some common examples:
Failure to use any tool is the slowest, most awkward way to work, hands down.
Watching people use technology incorrectly is painful. It's bad to use no tools at all, but it's even worse using a tool that is counterproductive.
A great example is Microsoft Excel. It's so easy to think about your information in rows and columns. People use this software program for all kinds of things that Excel was never intended for. If you are keeping track of financial data or maybe dates and times, but it's not a program meant to store any kind of information imaginable.
Likewise, your email is not a filing cabinet, someone else's voicemail is no place to leave complicated instructions or a rambling idea, and a text message should never be used to fire an employee. Using the wrong tool for the job is pretty awful.
Once you start using a tool that works for you, it's pretty easy to see some fancier tool that's better. Consider these scenarios:
All of these systems might be better than the one you currently use. That's great! But getting fixated on what you're not using can become a hobby in itself.
This is a problem especially in non-profits. Being afraid to spend a little money is practically a disease. There are countless cases where a $50 tool would have saved hundreds of hours of work per year, but no one is willing to allocate the money.
The moral of the story? Remember this:
The tool you're actually using is far better than the superior tool you're not using at all.
Take advantage of those tools, and keep moving forward! Don't get stuck in neutral because you can't focus on what you have and make the decisions that make the most sense.
If you picked up your phone right now & asked one of your employees “Do you know what is expected of you?" what answer would you get? If you have even the slightest doubt what they would answer, stay tuned. As a leader, you’re busy and assume that everyone is doing his/her job. One of your most common frustrations probably is expectations not being met. To perform well, your employees need to know what is expected of them. In this busy world, how do you make conversations about expectations a part of your leadership?
As a manager, you need to have these conversations about expectations with your employees. Here are four questions to guide your conversations:
When you make the subject of expectations a regular part of your conversations with your employees, everyone will be less frustrated. This will ultimately lead to higher performance.
These days, people tend to blend their business lives with their personal lives. We are friends with our colleagues, we start companies with our buddies, and we often connect with everyone on a social and professional level.
At work, expectations are helpful because the relationship is one of employment. At it's core, this is transactional. You do work and the company responds with compensation and other opportunities. Expectations define the scope and pace of work, as well the details of how you are paid.
But outside of the office, relationships are characterized by shared values and experiences. In these cases, expectations are premeditated resentments. If you assume a friend will call you just because it is your birthday, you're going be frustrated or disappointed when it doesn't happen.
This expectation is not reasonable because there is no transaction or agreement. Your friend did not make a promise. You merely want them to behave in a way you have not discussed.
Navigating the gap between "I'm paying you, so this is the requirement" and "We're friends, whatever you need to do is fine" can be challenging. But knowing the role of expectations can help in all your relationships.
Best of luck!
Did he say that, yesterday? Well, no, in fact, he probably uttered that at least a generation or more ago when he was hitting his stride. Have things changed much? No and yes. A proverb says that "there is nothing new under the sun"; in other words, patterns are the same but the dress looks different.
Organizations were different a generation ago than they are today. But how they look on the outside may not reflect the same things going on in the inside that were similar to the great days of Drucker. How can I say that? Well, people are people and though our business climate has changed, intrinsic principles have not. Perhaps Drucker saw management as just that--keeping people in tow and driving them to get results to fuel the business; focusing on one or two directives and not capitalizing on the creative abilities that may have been hidden but needed in developing good leaders.
That is still largely an issue today. We may "say" we are developing our personnel but in reality, given the number of people who are not engaged at work, we are not giving people the room to grow. So that hasn't changed much in 30 years.
Is there a space for people to come alive, to thrive at work, given the focus on instant communication, instant everything? In many ways the issue has come full circle and it is growing; downsizing, restructuring and turnover has led companies to over manage and overwork their labor force. I have the privilege of helping people re-engage after being downsized from two very large reputable firms here in Indiana. One whole department was disseminated leaving the remaining few to take up the slack, finish the undone and ask a whole lot of questions. The ones left behind often are not given a good reason for why this happened, so they are left to wonder whether it was just the bean counters at play?
In her book, The Five Regrets of the Dying, Bonnie Ware shares the second regret: "I wish I hadn't worked so hard." On our deathbeds, we will scarcely have wished we had spent more time in the office. Some of my clients retired or took early leave, as it was offered. Remarkably, when I ask them about who they "want to be when they grow up", or "how do they want the next chapter of their book to be written", the questions are very difficult to answer. Their identity had been so wrapped up in who they were becoming for the organization, their work identity, their place in this world that the loss of all these things was overwhelming. They hadn't had the chance, or made it an imperative, to ask the deeper questions of themselves.
And even if their inner nudges were beckoning them to something deeper, they found the company landscape tougher to navigate---more work for less personal reward providing little time to reflect. Though some have been paid quite handsomely for their efforts, interestingly this wasn't enough to keep them doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results: lack of appreciation, lack of challenge, and oversight from graceless managers adopting different rules. It is a painful thing to watch someone--who has given a four decade commitment to a company--leave under less than joyful circumstances with little thanks.
Coincidentally, this is the same conundrum that Robert Greenleaf experienced while being a Training and Development manager at AT&T in the early sixties. People left a "marriage" to an organization with a plaque, a cake and a gold watch. He was troubled with the lack of significant contribution employees felt upon leaving. The same rules apply today, except that in our culture, few individuals get married to an organization---most professionals today will hop from one talent seeking venue to another at least 5-7 times in their career. Yet the company (lover) still wants the commitment of marriage without a dating period, and the promise often can be "fire at will".
Let us consider today what we are asking of those who give their best for our organizations. Let us create space for them to grow, to stretch, to offer themselves in true engagement so that should there be a parting, they do not resent the hand that fed them. I invite leaders to look beyond outcomes to envision a picture of a thriving workplace, so that on our deathbeds we can say our work played a role in who I became through my growth and development.
Robert Greenleaf left us his belief and best test of a true serving leader:
The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that the other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?
First: the fundamental cause of most email problems is a failure to use email correctly. This is a technology that has a clear structure. There is a subject line, a to/cc/bcc line, and a body. We know emails can be written, received, replied to, and forwarded. But too many people treat email like a magic box. They use it to bark orders, to keep a diary, or as their personal therapist.
This is not how you should use email.
An article from MakeUseOf gives some examples of typical issues:
You’re Not Stating Your Demand QuicklyWe all know that emails should be kept concise. But if yours are more than a few short paragraphs long, make sure your request is in the spotlight from the very beginning, else it may get overlooked.
This means politely getting across what you need in the first or second sentence. You can go into more detail later on, but the premise of what you’re after needs to come first.
Emails need to be short. This much is obvious, especially considering the prevalence of mobile devices. Not only should you avoid writing more than two or three paragraphs, you need to say what you want, right away.
Some good tips include these scripts:
All of these are great suggestions to have in your first or second sentence, and you should consider putting them in bold.
You’re Not Setting a DeadlineIf you need something, let the recipient know exactly when it’s needed by. Too often, we’re asked to provide a reply “ASAP”, or “soon”. This makes the deadline subjective. If you say “I really need an answer to this question by 4pm today”, however, there’s no room for ambiguity.
Deadlines can be problematic. But in the case of email, using a specific time can be helpful. However, be sure and use absolute dates instead of relative dates. Instead of saying "tomorrow by 2PM" consider writing "Tomorrow (Thursday, January 14th) by 2PM Eastern)." You may not need all of those details in every context, but it makes it absolutely clear to the reader when you require them to act.
You’re Not Providing Alternatives Continuing with the example above, it might be the case that the recipient just can’t get a reply to you by 4pm. You need to account for this possibility in your initial message by expanding the sentence:“I really need an answer to this question by 4pm today. If that’s not possible, please let me know by midday so I can make alternative arrangements.”
Human beings tend to panic if they don't know how to act, and that panic often leads to clamming up. Be sure and give someone an "out" if they can't do what you need done.
A good way to do this is to make the default response the one you want. "If I don't hear from you by the end of business today (Friday, Nov 15) I will assume that you are okay with our proposal and I'll send it out."
You’re Sending Too Many EmailsIf you’re known around the office as being a relentless emailer, your colleagues will quickly become blind to your inbox pleas.
Here's one where I think the advice is not quite right. The problem is the quality of your emails, not the quantity. If your messages are meandering and confusing, if you just reply to the latest thread in your inbox with a new topic, if you try to discuss policy over email or forward jokes all the time, you will be like the boy who cried wolf in the fable.
But: it's better to send three brief emails with one topic each than it is to send one email which wanders all over the place and tries to cover three topics. That's because the recipient can manage their responses individually, forwarding or replying as needed.
Remember: the fundamental cause of most email problems is a failure to use email correctly. Think about it carefully before you put it in an email! And if you want to learn more, check out my book The Battle For Your Email Inbox.
At a previous employer, one of the unwritten values we had was “work as if remote.” That phase means we always pretend that there are people working remotely, and behave accordingly. Even if everyone on the team is in the same room, or at the same meeting, we operate like there are people that are across the country. We do this by documenting:
There are usually people working remotely, even if you don't think they are. First, there may actually be remote people that you have just forgotten about. :) We had a designer working in San Francisco, and while he didn't chime in often, writing as much as we could likely gave him more context for his contributions.
You might think that everyone who cares about a given subject is in the current room, but often there are other people that would benefit from having conversations written down.
Working as if remote allows us to bring new people up to speed more quickly, because we document what we are doing and how we do it. Asking a question in a shared channel enables anyone to answer it without interrupting everyone. Everyone can search back through history for the discussion and resolution of problems.
Writing out what we are doing forces our thinking to be sharper and our decisions more explicit. We get a chance to look back at the decisions we make along the way and introspect when things go well or go poorly. We make it clearer what we are planning on doing and can hold ourselves accountable. Coworkers understand what we do on a daily basis and where they might be able to help.
In today's business environment, being able to work remotely some of the time is more and more common. I doubt that I will consider future work that isn't partially remote, and there are or will likely be more people like me. Most people expect to be able to run errands or take care of their kids or have a more flexible schedule, but our communication patterns need to change if we are to be successful and have this be a possibility. To this end, I would argue that working as if remote is one of the foundations of a healthy culture around taking vacations and traveling. In my opinion, it should not matter if I am across the street or across the country if we are getting work done effectively as a team.
Communicating in this way may seem like a lot of extra work. In reality, it doesn't take much more time than having the conversations that we are already having. Also, it can actually save us time. When I try to remember something I did yesterday and I wrote something about it, it saves time and effort.
Four people getting together in a room for two hours is an expensive thing. We have an obligation to make sure that meeting time is well spent and that we are clear on what comes out of the meeting. By typing up good notes, we give people who weren't in the meeting the benefit of being in the meeting without needing to devote the entire time to be there.
Be asynchronous - From progress reviews to formal meetings to quick conversations, there are many activities that can be made asynchronous or location-independent. You may start a process that works synchronously (perhaps a recurring meeting), but once the team understands the parameters, consider how can it be distributed over time and location.
Overcommunicate - This is probably a good principle in general, but write more and about more topics than seems necessary. If you feel like someone might say, "TMI" (too much information), then you are probably headed in the right direction.
Record synchronous communication - If you have a useful conversation with someone, post a summary so that others can learn from it. Also, this helps document what you talked about to ensure that you actually heard it right.
Embrace the firehose - Posting everything that happens can be a little overwhelming. Personally, I'd rather have more information than less, so I think this is worth it. But when everything is a priority, nothing is. It is useful to mark things as "FYI" or "important" so that others understand the priority and can effectively filter the onslaught of information. You also need to set up your channels and policies to be responsive but also not get overwhelmed.
"Work as if remote" is successful because it forces us to be productive and collaborative on purpose, rather than having it mostly happen by accident. If your company has a remote work policy, consider this approach!
Anthony Panozzo is an entrepeneurially-minded software developer living in Indianapolis and working anywhere. He has worked in the software industry for close to a decade, and most enjoys making an impact at small companies. Anthony currently works at HealthPro, which is trying to make healthcare pricing more understandable. He writes weekly on software development, business, and productivity topics at his blog, panozzaj.com.
If you've ever worked in a manufacturing facility, you're probably aware that LOTO stands for lockout-tagout. The idea is that when a technician needs to service a piece of equipment, they need to ensure that it is disconnected from the power source so there is no risk of injury.
But just unplugging a giant machine is not enough. What if you're still working on it when someone comes along later? What if multiple different subcontractors need to work on different parts? And how will anyone know when all the work is done?
Lockout-tagout is a safety program designed to protect workers and is coordinated by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It's a complicated regulation, but it boils down to three steps:
It's hard to estimate the number of injuries that this procedure has prevented or the number of lives that it has saved. But there's a big problem with LOTO: lost productivity.
It's easy to see why a safety procedure results in reduced efficiency. You can't use a machine while it's locked out and tagged out. And since many places have a policy that only the person who performed the tagout can remove that tag, it could be a long time before the equipment is up and running again.
In a high volume manufacturing facility, every minute of downtime could be thousands of dollars of lost revenue or more.
What's the answer? In a piece for EHS Today, Travis Hessman explains that an exception called Alternative Protective Measures (APMs) could be the solution:
The trick to this...is to think of your equipment not as single, solid parts, but as a collection of individual serviceable components.If, for example, a machine mostly jams in one particular area or one particular function, there is not necessarily a need to power down and lock out the entire machine to free it.
Rather, crews can design an alternative safety system that effectively protects workers in an isolated area of the machine, which allows them – protected by guards and triggered e-stops, for example – to quickly free the blockage, correct the errors, and restart the machine with minimal downtime.
There's a message both in LOTO and in APM for everyone, even if you don't work in safety planning or floor logistics in a factory. Even if you're in a traditional office where the greatest safety risk is spilling hot coffee on yourself, you can learn something from these ideas.
Corrections and productivity are polar opposites. Whether you are shutting down a machine for maintenance or fixing errors that were made in a spreadsheet, you're doing something now which is not productive so that you can get back to being productive later on.
That means that in addition to locking out power (or stopping the workflow) you need to tagout the system (let people know that you are addressing the issue.)
Smaller corrections have less impact than larger corrections.. When you can break everything into parts, you're more likely to be able to deal with challenges without stopping the whole process. For example, if you're preparing a large document, consider breaking it into separate files so that people can work on it at the same time rather than stepping on top of each other.
Even if you're not worried about employee safety, the end result must be the same. As the article notes:
But what isn't allowed is an increased risk to employees by using alternative protective measure procedures. In other words, any APM developed must provide the same or greater level of protection as LOTO.
Try it in your organization. Develop a plan for locking out and tagging out work when there's a side path you need to take. And try breaking it into smaller pieces so the impact is less.
And if you need help, reach out to our consultants! We'd love to chat.
I don’t have enough room here to explain it all, but I challenge you to look at the f-word from a different point of view. Let’s explore that for a few minutes.
First, failing at something does not mean you are a failure. Just like a person with a chronic disease or condition is not defined by the affliction, people who have a list of failures are not failures themselves. In fact, many of them are quite successful.
Part of the reason successful people are actually successful comes from their willingness to fail---and fail often. How better to learn what doesn’t work, where not to go, how to make money, than to take a stab at something and fail? When you make mistakes, you narrow the options and find the success.
I think it is possible to find success through a series of failures. In fact, the faster you try things that fail and get on to the next, the faster you get to success.
Like Thomas Edison said when presented with another failure (I paraphrase) “I have successfully found 10,000 ways it does not work.” Of course, he found the one (or several) that did work eventually. Did you know he brought in a team of researchers and developers so they could fail faster?
The other point is that failure is demonized--and it shouldn’t be. It’s not that people are bad when they fail. I see them as courageous, innovative and smart. Yes, smart. Because they know. They know that failure is something to be proud of and is only one step on a greater path.
We have all heard “failure is not an option.” That’s wrong. It is always an option and, in many cases, an opportunity.
People who fail are taking the chance, making action their friend. They are not frozen in fear and indecision. They have a different mindset when it comes to failing. Perhaps we would all be in a better place if we adopted some of the beliefs they hold:
When we change our perspective about failure, we don’t have to be afraid of it. We won’t be embarrassed, shamed or devastated by it. We can accept it, learn from it and quickly move on to the next stab at success. People who embrace failure as a passage are proud of their failure record. They aren’t placidly sitting on the sidelines. They are making waves and take pride in their efforts. Failure can teach us things that success never will.
Plus, people who embrace failure with a smile are more fun to be around! It's the people who are afraid of ever doing anything wrong that make for poor partners and coworkers. We often say "we'll laugh when we look back on this." Why not start laughing now, and then move on to whatever is next?
So, reconsider what you plan to do today. Take away the fear of failure and think about all the opportunities you would chase, places you would dare to go and people you would seek out. Go ahead, chase those opportunities. Dare to take that trip and meet the people you admire.
Isn’t it worth it to get you closer to your ideal vision of success?
Maybe you are like me, and towards the end of each year, you reflect back and then set some goals for the next year. I was preparing myself for that annual activity, and decided that I wanted to take a different approach this year. I am sharing this so that maybe I can provide you with some new ideas, or an incentive to refresh your annual planning process.
(Not that you need to wait until the calendar says it's okay to start planning. You can start now!)
One day last week, I was thinking about the goals I had achieved in the previous year, and where I fell short of my targets. I also wondered if this year would really have been better if I achieved all my goals. That may sound crazy, but I was thinking that even if I achieved my goals, would I be the person I wanted to be?
The question that stuck in my head was, "How can I become a better person?" It is a much different question than, "What goals do I want to achieve in the future?" My focus shifted from accomplishing a specific thing, to development. How can I grow my character? How can I improve my life? How can I become who I want to be?
Since that day of reflection, my attitude towards a plan has been very stimulating. I keep asking myself: What does it really mean to be a better person?
With those thoughts in mind, I have started compiling areas to explore for my plan. Here is the list I have so far.
I think through this approach I will be able to develop a plan for the future that is very rewarding, and probably more valuable than simply setting goals. I am excited about this approach and where it may lead me.
Some questions for you to think about:
This isn't the first time we've discussed goal setting here on The Methodology Blog. It's not even the first time we've talked about planning for the year ahead. But no matter what day it is, this is a point that may be new to many people: you should be thinking less about what you want to do and more about who you want to be.
Accomplishments are clearly an important part of our personal and professional lives. But our character is the one aspect of us that will have a greater impact than anything else we do. As you head into the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, remember to work on becoming the person you want to be. Remember to focus on transformation, not just activity. Remember to think about how the you and the world will be different, not just what else is on your list.
No matter what path you take in life, you'll be glad you thought about becoming a better version of yourself.
See you there.
Before the speaker gets on the stage, stands up in front of the room, or even begins to have the chance to say something, you are the gateway to their presentation. Far too many people playing the role of emcee practically ruin the experience by making one of these key mistakes.
A professional who has come to talk to your group will have provided a biography or other statement for you to read verbatim right before they come up. If for some reason you don't have it, ask the speaker exactly what they want you to say.
Here are a few terrible statements I've heard made by emcees:
Why are these all bad things to say before your speaker takes charge? Because they all fail to use your credibility to enhance the presenter!
If you say you don't think the audience will pay attention because of post-lunch lethargy, or that you've never heard of this person before, or that you don't have anything to say about them, you don't give the audience a reason to focus.
Read the bio!
One of the huge challenges of this business is that many individuals don't think that professional speakers need to be paid. We're constantly having conversations with customers about their budgets and the value of a transformative presentation.
What do you think happens when an event organizer says something like one of the following?
All of these discussions about price get the audience thinking about the transaction and not thinking about the presenter! As a professional speaker, we want everyone in the room to be primed for the conversation at hand.
Don't mention anything about price. Read the bio, and that's it!
Often the speaker and the event organizers have a chance to meet in a lounge or a dinner the night before. Then, they will get on stage and try to continue the conversation in front of everyone else.
Or, the people running the program will make jokes that are relevant to the audience (such as industry references) but not to the speaker. And again, this is distracting. It derails the start of the presentation.
You may be sensing a theme here. Stick to the script! Don't say anything else, don't do anything else. Introduce the speaker they way they want to be, and then make room.
You've brought in an outside professional speaker to create a real impact for your organization. Don't undermine them before they do their job. Set them up for success by introducing them appropriately, and watch as your audience has the experience they deserve!
We’ve all had experiences where someone says they’re going to do something and then they don’t. It could be that they’re going to call, but they don’t. Or, they’re going to finish a project by a certain date and time, but they don’t. Or, they’re going to send a referral, but they don’t. Missing appointments and leaving people hanging is not the way to build trust.
Think about how this makes you feel. Does it inspire confidence in that person? Are you likely to give them bigger, more critical, more expensive projects in the future?
As a business leader, follow-through is an important quality to develop. That's because of a simple but profound truth: what you are actually doing matters more than what you say you're going to do.
You might make all kinds of promises---to be on time, under budget, etc.---but if you don’t deliver on what you promise, how do think that will make others feel? Is it worse if you wrote it down and then failed to keep your promise? They may be mad, disappointed, or feel like they’ve been manipulated.
Here's what's worse: if you often don’t do the things that you say you’re going to do, you’re likely setting your business up for failure. Remember: People want to do business with people that they like and trust. And if they can’t trust you to do what you say you’re going to do, then do you think they will want to continue to do business with you? Probably not!
Relationships thrive on trust and respect. When others feel like they can’t trust you because you’re too unreliable, their respect for you will be diminished. And when that happens, they will likely go elsewhere.
A key to lasting success is the actual follow-through of doing what you say you're going to do. People will travel a long way for something that they know is reliable, and will pass by lots of cheaper, faster, unreliable options on the way. And as we all know, bad news travels more quickly than good news. Making and keeping your commitments is crucial.
Here are three steps to help you keep your word:
1. Only say "yes" when you're sure you can do it. Don’t agree or promise to do something unless you’re 100% sure you can do it. This is hard, because we love to please people! But remember that if you say "yes" and fail to complete the task, they will not be pleased.
2. Put the work on your calendar. Set reminders if needed! Make sure to include enough time in your schedule for setbacks and other things that can throw you off-course. No one knows when they will be ill or have an emergency, so plan ahead.
3. Break large projects into smaller projects, and set a completion date for each task. This is great for estimating as well as for keeping your word. By breaking down big projects into reasonable and doable pieces, you’ll be more likely to do them.
Of course, sometimes things can happen beyond your control. When that occurs, own up to it---don’t make excuses. Be honest and offer to make it right with the other person.
The next time you say you're going to do something, remember the Nike slogan: "Just Do It!" By doing what you say you’re going to do, you’re showing others that you respect their time and want to provide them value. And that can go a long way to building successful business relationships.
We all know the basic mechanics of alcohol and the human body. Although everyone is different, in general, as you consume your inhibitions are lowered, your coordination is decreased, and your judgment is impaired. The body does eventually process whatever you take in and you can function normally once you are sober---although there may be long term impacts if you drink heavily on a recurring basis.
So what about going to work the next day? According to the National Drug-Free Workplace Alliance
Light and moderate drinkers cause 60% of tardiness, absenteeism and poor quality work as a result of alcohol consumption. Heavy drinkers and alcoholics cause the remaining 40%.Up to 40% of industrial fatalities can be linked to alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, alcohol and drug abuse has been estimated to cost American businesses annually 37 billion due to premature death.
Of course, most of us aren't drinking that much, and most of us aren't going to work with whiskey-breath. But a study covered by Bloomberg presents a shocking figure:
The Centers for Disease Control has put a figure on how much it costs the American economy: $249 billion. That includes spending on health care as well as the economic toll of lost productivity, car crashes, crime, and deaths attributable to excessive alcohol consumption....
The total cost of excessive drinking to the economy is rising. The last time the CDC made a similar calculation, excess drinking was blamed for $224 billion in costs, estimated for 2006. The increase, about 2.7 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, outpaced inflation. Most of the costs are attributable to binge drinking, and 40 percent of the total is borne by the government.
Talking about the total economic cost of excess alcohol consumption is great for headlines, but it's hard for everyday people to grasp. A better framework might be to ask questions for yourself and try to answer them. Here are a few worth considering:
Why do I drink? There are lots of reasons that people decide to have a beer, a glass of wine, or a cocktail. Sometimes we just enjoy the taste. Or we are using the drug for a specific effect, the way people sometimes use caffeine to help them wake up or concentrate.
Is there a connection between my work stress and my alcohol consumption? We all experience levels of stress at work. If alcohol is being consistently used as a way to deal with that stress, that's not a good sign. Instead, relieve stress through exercise, or better yet, identify ways to produce less stress in the first place.
Do I ever go to work when I should stay in bed? This may be the most telling question about alcohol and work. We know that many professionals show up for work even when they are sick. If you're not feeling well---even if the problem is self-induced---it's best to stay home. And really, a strict requirement of working hours doesn't make sense for many companies anyway.
Productivity matters in every organization, but the only way we can sustainably improve productivity is if the people who are doing the work are happy and healthy. Pay attention to your alcohol intake, as well as the habits of those around you. Doing the right thing can not only save a company, it can save a life.
If you have questions, do not hesitate to visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. If you need help, get help.
Of course, it's an old idea that happy, healthy workers are less expensive than those who are unhappy and sick. But the details are fascinating, and the problem is widespread. A recent op-ed from the United Kingdom explains:
But if there’s no one simple solution, clearly a little happiness would help. A recent study by economists at the University of Warwick found that happiness in the workplace led to a 12 per cent spike in productivity, while unhappy workers proved 10 per cent less productive.As the research team put it: ‘We find that human happiness has large and positive causal effects on productivity’.
The writer, Simon Parke, goes on to complain that an emphasis on employee happiness should not be such a challenge nor should it be so rare:
It’s not rocket science. Yet how many companies regard a commitment to well-being as a reluctant doff of the cap to some passing fad – rather than a serious investment in the future?In my work I encounter stressed managers in the hospitality trade; despairing bankers who don’t see enough of their children; pressured recruitment consultants trying to seal the deal. Their emotional well-being is not a luxury, it’s the energy from which they’re able to perform – or not.
Why are businesses full of stressed out people? Why do managers and executives not work more diligently on employee satisfaction? I have a few theories.
At the top levels of a business, leaders may be able to see just how close the company is to shutting it's doors. They are talking to vendors and customers. They can see the cashflow. They know what deals are about to close and which ones are about to collapse.
And if leadership is worried that the company might have to lay people off or worse, that the company is shutting down, that means the last thing they are thinking about is making sure employees are feeling good about their work and their company.
Of course, the irony of this frame of mind is that one of the best ways to make the company healthier is to help the parts of that company be healthier.
Another reason why management may not be concerned about employee well-being is that technically, people can be replaced. IF you have someone who is unhappy, you can always dismiss them and hire someone else.
But this isn't really true. First of all: having a bad company culture will create more turnover. And second of all, it's very hard to transfer knowledge. So much of what we know about our jobs we learned by doing them, not in an official training class.
When you are stressed and trying to get things done on a deadline, it is easy to think of the other people in your organization just as resources, or as problems that are preventing your success.
Of course, employees are real, live human beings with hopes, dreams, and fears. They want to be engaged in the work and respected by their peers. But if managers treat workers as if they are just cogs in the machine, that machine will not run well.
Parke makes this argument:
How will companies hold on to the staff they want to retain? Simple – by looking after them. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence estimates that an average company with a thousand employees saves £250,000 per year [~$400,000] by engaging with employee wellbeing.So will the number crunchers now accept that it makes financial sense to care about employees’ happiness, and treat them with respect?
Be mindful of your employee's happiness. It does make a huge difference; not just in their productivity, but in whether or not they will be around in the future.
Before I express the usual doom-and-gloom of problems between labor and management, let's review what we know. First: exempt and non-exempt employees are thought of differently by many HR professionals, even though only about a quarter of all workers are "truly engaged" in their jobs. Second: people who work hourly are generally more satisfied, but at the same time tend to want to "move up" to salaried positions.
That's enough to get anyone thinking. In a piece for Inc Magazine on the woes of per-hour wage employees, Chad Holvorson notes:
All too often hourly employees feel like they're less valuable than salaried employees because, at many companies, they're seen as expendable and treated accordingly.Obviously, this doesn't create the kind of work environment that helps you attract high-quality hourly employees. Fortunately, you can make changes that make your workplace magnetic. Start by getting into the mindset of your hourly employees and pinpoint why they detest working for you.
Of Holvorson's seven points, two basically accuse the manager of being unprofessional and irresponsible. Those are #1 ("You Hand Out Schedules Less Than a Week in Advance") and #6 ("You Don't Accept Feedback.") Another three demonstrate pettiness---#3 ("You Don't Trust Your Employees"), #5 ("You Play Favorites"), and #7 ("You Make a Big Deal Out of Small Things.") The remaining pair show a lack of foresight. That is #2 ("You Pay Minimum Wage and Rarely Give Raises") and #4 ("You Don't Bother With Training Programs.")
These are all true in many environments, but there's a deeper problem. All of these examples involve treating employees like children rather than like adults.
We've covered this plenty of times here on The Methodology Blog. Michael Reynolds of SpinWeb gave us a fantastic guest post urging people to stop working so hard on their company culture. Lorraine Ball wrote a piece chronicling her efforts to make her firm the best place to work. And if you go deep into our archives, you can see we've been talking about the way to maximize productivity, which is to think less about incentives and more about human emotions and desires.
What do all of these posts have in common? They use words like respect and freedom. That's what matters most to all human beings, whether they are hourly or salary.
Want to know the worst way to measure work? It's called "using a stopwatch." If you're paid by the hour, there's not much reason to be efficient. But if you're paid because the company thinks you're valuable and you're supported by the team, you're going to contribute each and every day.
There are practical challenges to eliminating hourly positions. The Department of Labor outlines some of the key requirements. Check with an HR professional before making any changes in your company.
But more broadly: if you have employees, treat them like salaried employees. And that doesn't mean expecting them to work crazy hours or to check their email while on vacation. Rather, it means considering everyone as a person who deserves respect, who has values, who needs to balance their time and their health, whose opinions matter, and whose productivity is directly related to how valued they feel.
That shouldn't be revolutionary, but it is. And that's why we keep talking to employers about ways to improve their workplaces and their organizations.
Our first set of tips come straight from the blog post that inspired this one: 5 Event Registration Best Practices written by Stephanie Fisher at SpinWeb. Read the whole post, but in summary:
1. Create an event landing page - Have one place, one URL with all the key info.
2. Use an integrated online registration service Instead of saying "email us to register", use a form-based online tool to collect information.
3. Encourage social sharing - Ensure that people can use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other relevant networks easily to let their contacts know they are attending.
4. Follow up with your registrants - At the very least, send a reminder email! But also, consider sending a note after the event to thank them and solicit feedback.
5. Managing tickets and registrants at the door - Make certain to check in people who attend. That way you'll know who was there, as well as who intended to be there and did not show.
Those are all great tips, but here are five more to consider.
This is something we at AccelaWork have learned by trial and error. Suppose Bob Smith signs up to attend your event next month. Later you send out an email campaign to all your subscribers suggesting they sign up, but this list includes Bob Smith. What he might think is that you didn't get his registration or that you forgot, and he'll sign up again. Or, he'll get annoyed and decide not to attend!
Instead, put people who have already signed up into a different bucket so that they get reminder emails instead of marketing messages.
This is such an easy trick I'm amazed that more people don't do it. If you're on a phone call or in a meeting and someone says they want to go to your event, sign them up yourself. Just go to the online form and fill it out as if you were them.
This saves them the time and they will still get all of the reminders. But of course, do the signup as soon as possible after they commit to attending, so they aren't surprised by the messages.
If you look at online abandonment data---that is, when people get tired of a process and decide to quit---you'll see it often happens when it's time to enter the credit card info. This can be too onerous for many individuals.
Try to adjust your process or your online payment vendor to allow people to make payments at a later date. This can be through an invoice or just by returning to the form, or paying at the door. This will increase your signups and improve your customer service.
Many of your event attendees may have an administrative assistant taking care of their registration, or they may be coming as a team to your program. Your process should make this easy. A quick checkbox should let the end user add more names or clarify they are registering a person other than themselves.
Reminders are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, a professional should keep their calendar and not need to be told again when they are expected. On the other hand, if you don't remind people about their stated intent to attend, they are less likely to show up.
A powerful way to address this is by picking up the phone and calling each of the attendees before the event begins. This gives you the chance to address any questions as well as offer a personal touch. It's time consuming, but it works!
Consider these tips for your next program. And let us know if you need help with speakers or resources for an event or event series!
The idea comes from Eduardo Briceño, whose post Mistakes Are Not All Created Equal explains the concept. He lists the categories as follows:
Where does Briceño come up with this? He plots failures on a grid of learning opportunity vs. intentionality. And if you think about it, this is exactly why mistakes are crucial.
It's true that I wrote an entire book about the importance of failure, but it's worth mentioning that every time you screw up you have the capacity to learn something new.
The difference is that some errors represent bigger learning opportunities than others. That might be because the stakes are higher, but often it's because the consequences are greater.
There's a big difference between cutting yourself when shaving and cutting yourself on window glass when escaping a burning building. In both cases the physical harm is unfortunate. But in the case of saving your own life, the pain is a small price to pay.
Briceño makes a distinction between "low" and "high" intentionality because sometimes we are taking a bold action that we know may turn out poorly. When combined with "high" and even "higher" opportunities for learning, we have all four quadrants in the mistake matrix.
The writer Isaac Asimov is quoted as saying "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'." The same is true with our own work. We may not be planning something that we consider has high risks, but if we're paying attention we can learn a great deal. These aha-moment mistakes can be huge.
What should we do when this happens? Briceño notes:
We can gain more aha moments from mistakes by being reflective. We can ask ourselves What was unexpected? Why did that result occur? What went well and what didn't? Is there anything I could try differently next time? We can also ask people around us for information we may not be aware of, or for ideas for improvement.
There are times that we try something "so crazy, it just might work." These are stretch mistakes. Often we hear about these when they are not failures. If Dick Fosbury had not set an Olympic record, his technique would have been a joke. If that trip to Vegas didn't end up saving the company, FedEx would be a historical footnote at best.
This category of error is about trying your hardest and learning as much as you can from it.
These mistakes are the most common and usually seen as broadly negative. Whenever we rush, choose not to pay attention, or fail to double check our work, we run the risk of a careless error. Such sloppy mistakes can have huge consequences, or be totally forgotten.
In addition:
When we make too many of these mistakes, especially on a task that we intend to focus on at the time, it signals an opportunity to enhance our focus, processes, environment, or habits.
Good advice for all of us, since we are all human.
One last category of mistake are the situations when everything is on the line, but there's not much to be done except celebrate or mourn the outcome. This is the team that's been training for the big game, or the pilot trying to land the plane during a hurricane. These failures are not acceptable, but they happen. We do everything in our power to try and prevent them. And when they do occur, the postmortem won't probably tell us all that much.
It is important to remember this class of errors because everything in life involves some risk. We attempt to mitigate the chances something could go wrong through training, procedures, and processes, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes failure just happens.
Mistakes are essential to growth and inescapable in life. Pay attention to the types of errors you experience. Did you intend to do something bold, or was it by accident? And is this something where you can learn a little, or a lot?
Get out there and screw up once in a while. You will anyway. You might as well have a mindset that helps you when you do.
It's difficult to overestimate just how much it matters to arrive promptly for appointments at the time you've agreed to. This is one of the elements of getting people to trust you, and there is incredible power in keeping your word.
We've all experienced somebody else arriving late for one of our meetings. Even if we said "that's okay" when they apologized, we'd really have preferred they were there on time. And it's not as if this is a new problem. In Lewis Carroll's 1865 book, Alice in Wonderland, a white rabbit pulls a watch from his waistcoat and frantically squeals, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"
Are you a White Rabbit? Are you constantly late to business meetings and appointments with clients? While being late may seem "fashionable" to some, to the majority of people, it can be viewed as inconsiderate, disrespectful and sometimes, insulting.
If you have a serious time management problem that results in you being late or missing appointments, there's a good chance it can negatively impact your business. You and your business can suffer from:
There are also ripple effects beyond your immediate customer base. You probably know of people who are "habitually late" even if you've not had an appointment with them yourself in years. What to do?
One time management solution that can help you become more organized and be where you need to be (and of course, on time) is a digital reminder system. There are several electronic or digital reminder software programs available on the market. These programs or apps can be downloaded on to your computer and other electronic devices. You can use the one built into your electronic calendar, but if punctuality is a problem for you, consider an extra system just to help you stay on point.
When you schedule an appointment or task, you can set up an alert for a specific date and time. When the associated event approaches, the app can send you a reminder by email, text message or pop-up, on-screen notice. Some programs can even fire off an audible alarm or make your device vibrate.
The worst thing you can do besides not showing up at all---is to arrive late with no notice. The moment you realize you won't be on time is the moment you should reach out.
Be sure to give them an updated estimate, and include some extra buffer time. That way if there's another delay, you don't necessarily need to call them again.
By using a digital reminder app, you'll be able to manage your appointments more efficiently. This will save you from headaches, embarrassment and lost business in the long run. And by reaching out to apologize when you are running late, you'll help other people plan better. So don't be like the White Rabbit! Be seen as a reliable professional whom others want to do business with.
The place to begin is with a reminder about each idea. First up, the productivity paradox.
If you've survived a flaky computer or a hard drive crash, you may feel some sympathy with idea that technology may not always make us more efficient. But researchers who study productivity have noted that it's not just temporary setbacks that throw us off. Rather, there's a widespread phenomenon at work.
A faculty page hosted at Stanford University explains the idea well:
The productivity paradox is the peculiar observation made in business process analysis that, as more investment is made in information technology, worker productivity may go down instead of up. This observation has been firmly supported with empirical evidence from the 1970s to the early 1990s. This is highly counter intuitive. Before investment in IT became widespread, the expected return on investment in terms of productivity was 3-4%. This average rate developed from the mechanization/automation of the farm and factory sectors. With IT though, the normal return on investment was only 1% from the 1970s to the early 1990s.
In short: technology is supposed to help us get a lot more done, but in reality it doesn't.
This is a fact you certainly already know. The tablet/laptop/cellphone of today is clearly smaller and more powerful than the device of yesteryear. But the reason for this is that the underlying technology---the integrated circuit---is increasing in density exponentially.
Named for Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, this is often expressed as "Moore's Law." Computing power doubles about every 18 months. It's a fact that keeps getting proven over again, ever since it was first proposed back in the 1960s.
That's the question raised by Bret Swanson at the American Enterprise Institute. He quotes few different people and offers some different explanations, most of which are economic.
My theory is completely different. I think the reason that technology hasn't made us dramatically more productive is that it hasn't been accompanied by a revolution in individual respect.
Here's some examples of things that advanced technology allows us to do now:
All technology gives us power. The question is how we use that power. What we've decided to do with technology is not to give people more freedom and opportunity, but all too often to limit their freedom and opportunity. We don't trust people.
Here's how we regain the incredible advances promised by modern technology: step away and let people excel. This is hard in the modern business, where we think everything needs to be always-on, and everyone needs to respond immediately.
Here's some tips for making this happen:
If you want technology to help people become more productive, work on helping the people to feel more respected. That's the secret to making a difference.
In this high-speed modern world, it's easy to think that we've moved past the need for little words like "please" and "thank you." In an effort to be more efficient, our emails tend to skip right past the greeting and rarely include much of a closing beyond the automated signature. We ignore what we don't want to hear and insist we are right. We talk over others and interrupt them. Frankly, we're not as nice at work as we know we should be.
This concern isn't just a wistful argument for days gone by. A piece in the New York Times carries the subtitle "We’re rude at work, and it’s hurting profits, health and happiness." Christine Porath, an associate professor at Georgetown University, reports on some of the science:
Incivility also hijacks workplace focus. According to a survey of more than 4,500 doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel, 71 percent tied disruptive behavior, such as abusive, condescending or insulting personal conduct, to medical errors, and 27 percent tied such behavior to patient deaths.[And] intermittent stressors — like experiencing or witnessing uncivil incidents or even replaying one in your head — elevate levels of hormones called glucocorticoids throughout the day, potentially leading to a host of health problems, including increased appetite and obesity. A study published in 2012 that tracked women for 10 years concluded that stressful jobs increased the risk of a cardiovascular event by 38 percent.
Being mean at work can have serious impacts on the lives of others. So why is it that people are uncivil? Or to put it another way, what's so hard about being nice? I've got a few theories.
If you want to be kind to another person, you must engage the part of your brain that allows you to understand the world from another person's perspective. Another word for this is emotional intelligence. You can only be happy for someone or sad for someone if you're actively listening to what they are saying and being human with them.
If you want to be mean, however, you have to consciously disengage that part of your brain. You have to not let yourself see another person as an emotional, complete human being. Instead, they are either an obstacle or a resource, and you are treating them as such.
This one is obvious. Affirmations and compliments are not efficient. It takes a moment to say "Excuse me." It takes a minute to wait for the other person to finish talking. It might take a day or two to wait for someone to get back from vacation or being sick to answer your question, instead of calling them when they are out of the office.
Being mean however, is quick. You get what you want when you want it.
I'll quote directly from the New York Times:
Many are skeptical about the returns of civility. A quarter believe that they will be less leader-like, and nearly 40 percent are afraid that they’ll be taken advantage of if they are nice at work. Nearly half think that it is better to flex one’s muscles to garner power. They are jockeying for position in a competitive workplace and don’t want to put themselves at a disadvantage.
Indeed.
Of all the reasons people choose not to be kind, this may be the most insidious. We often think that being nice to someone means hiding the truth. Logically, therefore, the raw facts can be brutal.
But that distinction isn't quite right. The word "courteous" means "polite behavior that shows respect for other people." The only way to be respectful of a person is to give them the truth.
Do things differently. Try being kind to others at work. Take a moment to type "Hi Bob" in your email before getting right to your request. Stop to listen to a story instead of cutting someone off.
Do what your parents and teachers suggested. You'll be surprised just how valuable that advice really is.
We live by a lot of numbers:
And, of course, we won’t even mention all those numbers we get from the doctor!
One of my favorite speakers, John Maxwell, uses numbers in many of his books. There's The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, The 360° Leader, Teamwork 101, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, and well, I only just got started. Recently, I heard him discuss an idea called the Rule of Five. Now five is not my favorite number, but after hearing him explain the Rule of Five, it probably should be, because five can change our lives.
It’s really simple. Just do one thing five times every day. He explains it with a story:
If you have a tree that you want down, step up to it and take five whacks every day. Eventually that tree will fall.
The important thing to remember is that not only do you have to be consistent in taking five whacks every day---you have to be putting your axe to work on the same tree.. If you go out and give five whacks to a different tree every day, all you will have in the end is an entire forest of slightly damaged trees with no real progress.
This story serves as an analogy for working on your business or making sales. You must be consistent and work on the same efforts every day. If you are trying to launch a new product or service, you have to put time into it every day. Likewise if you are calling on different contacts every day, you never develop the relationship you need to have for a consistent, on-going relationship with one client.
However: the Rule of Five is not just for tasks or sales. Maxwell says that the number five can create significance and impact. Five can apply to lots of things, such as how we value people. Consider these five actions:
If you stop and think, the Rule of Five can add value to what you think, what you do, how you build a business, a life, and even a better community. It goes to being intentional about what you do---each and every day.
Now, back to your favorite number. Maybe five doesn’t work for you. (Five is an "odd" number after all.) But say your favorite number is 3 or 4 or 6. Why not build on the "magic" of your favorite number---the one that speaks to you or brings you luck? Make your own Rule of Three or Rule of Seven? Compound the good.
The "Rule of Five" is really "the rule of consistency." The best way to do anything is to focus on it for a sustained period of time without distraction. And when you do take a break, be sure and come back to it later.
No matter what, be on target and apply it every day. Make your special number your friend and watch how that changes the numbers that rule your world!
A post titled The Lost Art of Apprenticeship gives a great summary of the concept:
Apprenticeship has a long history, with roots going back to the Middle Ages and earlier. Craftsmen often employed young people as laborers who, in addition to living arrangements, received training in their craft. Starting as young as 10, apprentices would live with their master craftsmen teachers for years, learning their trade and honing their skills before eventually striking out on their own, and continuing the cycle by taking on an apprentice of their own.
That same piece highlights the problem using some pretty raw numbers. In the next five years:
In short, young people especially need to be trained, and the people best equipped to that training are the experts already working in those areas.
Here in the United States, we usually use a different term to describe a program designed to help people develop on-the-job skills. That word is internship. But there's a big difference between the two, as outlined in a piece on Glassdoor. For example:
When it comes to an internship, most people either do it for a semester or summer and then move on to the next one or get hired full-time. With an apprenticeship, it can take years to complete and requires a full-time commitment. While there are programs that last only a year, many are multi-year in length. “Internships are generally shorter and don’t have any classroom instruction attached to it,” says John Ladd, administrator, Office of Apprenticeship, U.S. Department of Labor. “An intern gets work experience and an apprentice gets more than just work experience.”
There's another key distinction between these two types of programs: job prospects. That same article explains:
In a perfect world, you would complete an internship in your senior year of college and then get a full time offer from the employer you have been working for, but that’s not always the case. In many cases, your internship won’t get you that foot in the door. However, an apprenticeship will. Since the employer is sponsoring you and spending the time to teach and train you, you are almost guaranteed to have a good paying job once you complete the program.
In fact, the benefits to apprenticeship are so significant, one might wonder why internships exist at all? One common accusation is that companies use them as a mechanism to get inexpensive labor, rather than their stated benefit of benefiting the student.
Studies show that perhaps half of all interns are unpaid, but many if not most of these arrangements may be illegal. Plus, it's become practically a necessity for college students to have at least one paid internship to graduate, and even in many cases to be offered a job.
By bringing on apprentices rather than interns, organizations benefit from the employee's labor while investing in their future. They don't need to worry about losing them after a month or a semester, but instead can design supervised, hands-on curriculum that lasts as long as in-house experts believe is necessary. And the individuals who are in those roles can be assured that they will be paid a reasonable wage. Everyone wins.
The big opportunity is to create apprenticeship programs beyond the traditional areas such as carpentry, metal fabrication, plumbing, electrical work, and so on. There's no reason we can't have software developers, engineers, attorneys, accountants, marketing professionals, educators, journalists, or virtually any other profession supporting apprentices. And if those fields want candidates with practical experience, shouldn't they open their doors to young people who are ready to work?
Let's bring back apprenticeship! It has all the power to be the solution to the coming skills gap.
To address this challenge, we've got to start with the words we're using. The most important step in handling difficult employees is to stop using the word "handle."
That's a term that chemical engineers use for hazardous material, not what people in an organization should use to describe their interactions with other human beings. Likewise, we should avoid phrases like "deal with" and "put up with."
Thinking of everyone else as a person first will help dramatically in finding ways to engage and connect productively---even if their behavior is upsetting to you.
A slideshow from Inc. Magazine lists ten types of coworker personalities and makes recommendations. Their list includes people like "The Undecider" (who can't choose what he wants no matter how much time he has), "The Drama Queen" (who thrive on conflict), and "The Procrastinator" (who overcommits and misses deadlines). All of these people may be in your work place, but in all cases the advice is about the same: set boundaries. Or as we've noted before: define meaningful expectations for yourself and your colleagues.
That's not the only advice out there, of course. A Business Insider piece lists 23 suggestions for obnoxious coworkers and another article from Business News Daily offers six solid ideas.
But there's a better way to think about pet peeves with your fellow workers at the office, factory, warehouse, or jobsite. Instead of focusing on what's bugging you, focus on why they are doing what they do. Here is a story along those lines:
Allison the Clock-WatcherIn one office, a middle manager seemed to be obsessed with time. You had to arrive by 8:00am. You couldn't leave for lunch before noon, and couldn't return before 1pm. And if you headed out of the office before the clock struck five, she gave you a stern look. People couldn't stand Allison.
"We're all salaried, so why does it matter?" they would ask. "I've got small children, so it's impossible to be on time every single day without fail!" Others pointed out that meetings didn't begin until after nine, and that many people preferred to work later to avoid rush hour. And just about everyone talked about Allison behind her back.
Finally, someone asked Allison about her focus on the time. They did so with appreciation rather than suspicion. "I've noticed that it's really important to you that everyone keeps to a strict schedule. Why do you feel that way?"
"I grew up in a military family," she explained. "Time has always been important to me."
The questioner paused. "We're not a military operation. It's okay if it's important to you, but it's contrary to the rest of us---how we think about our work here."
Allison was surprised, but she suddenly understood. "Oh. I never thought about that." And everything changed from that day forward.
It won't always be the case that a conversation will lead people to stop acting in ways that annoy you. But the reason Fred plays loud music might just be because the noise of the air conditioning drives him crazy, and could be fixed (or you can get him some headphones.) Paula might always eat at her desk because her last job didn't have a break room and she never thought about doing anything else. Jamal could be a complainer because of problems at home and work is his only outlet. And Elaine might be a perfectionist because she was unfairly punished for a past mistake.
Most people don't want to annoy other people. Trying to find out why they do what they do is the best path forward. Don't put others in a box, don't stereotype or classify them. Ask questions and listen.
And then once you understand, everyone can get back to work.
An article from Bloomberg Business describes some key examples:
"Employees are sometimes siloed in their business units and don't see the breadth and depth of our portfolio," says Tom Varney, head of marketing communications at Siemens Industry. The company joins a growing roster of enterprises as diverse as Hilton Worldwide's Embassy Suites hotel chain and German software maker SAP, which are using technologies that make games interesting in order to interact more effectively with customers and employees. The trend, known as gamification, lets businesses weave elements of games into applications that otherwise have little to do with playing....
Hilton's Embassy Suites is using game techniques in a customer loyalty campaign. Created with a marketing company called Maritz, the campaign targeted 50,000 of Embassy Suites' most loyal guests, then solicited their participation with 10 different approaches, including direct mail, e-mail, and asking customers to play a game. The game option proved most effective, says Christian Kuhn, director of brand marketing for Embassy Suites.
...
Software maker SAP is turning to gamification to help corporate board members prepare for meetings. Directors typically must slog through thick binders full of documents or dashboards that feature key performance metrics. SAP is developing an application for Apple's iPad that boasts game elements such as progress bars and leader boards to get directors "more engaged in consuming various pieces of data," says Reuven Gorsht, senior director of strategy and global pre-sales at SAP.
Gamification sounds like an incredible way to get more productivity and more engagement out of employees. But does it really work? A classic post from Joel on Software says that often, this is a terrible idea:
It seems like any time you try to measure the performance of knowledge workers, things rapidly disintegrate, and you get what Robert D. Austin calls measurement dysfunction. His book Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations is an excellent and thorough survey of the subject. Managers like to implement measurement systems, and they like to tie compensation to performance based on these measurement systems. But in the absence of 100% supervision, workers have an incentive to "work to the measurement," concerning themselves solely with the measurement and not with the actual value or quality of their work.
This phenomenon is so common we've got a bunch of other phrases for it:
Does this mean that games at work are always a bad idea? No; but they are hard to do well. Remember that if you put a game into place, you are asking people to understand the rules so that they can figure out how to win.
The more imprecise the rules and the greater the prize, the more people will try to find a workaround. And remember: the game you're really playing is not the one in the office, but the one in the marketplace. Games inside the company may help people to focus, but they can't become more important than the mission of your organization to serve customers and provide value.
It's hard to imagine that something so routine as being seated could have such a major effect on our lives, but research is proving exactly that. An article in CNN explains:
A new study that's running in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that this kind of sedentary behavior increases our chances of getting a disease or a condition that will kill us prematurely, even if we exercise.Researchers from Toronto came to this conclusion after analyzing 47 studies of sedentary behavior.
They adjusted their data to incorporate the amount someone exercises and found that the sitting we typically do in a day still outweighs the benefit we get from exercise. Of course, the more you exercise, the lower the impact of sedentary behavior.
The studies showed sedentary behavior can lead to death from cardiovascular issues and cancer as well as cause chronic conditions ...prolonged sitting, meaning sitting for eight to 12 hours or more a day, increased your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 90%.
That should make anyone stand up and take notice. And if you're not already standing up, do so right now.
In addition to getting up on your feet once in a while, a helpful infographic from the Washington Post gives lots of other advice. This includes switching out your chair for a exercise ball, or doing some yoga stretches. You may get funny looks from your coworkers, but you'll also live longer.
What else can you do? Here are some techniques that will improve your health and your productivity.
When you're talking to another person, there's usually no reason to be sitting down. You don't often need to be reading or writing. You don't usually need to be typing on a computer. Usually, you want to be engaged in the conversation. And if you do have something to capture, consider using a whiteboard. That way, it's large and clear and you can stay active.
To get yourself to do take phone calls standing up, try moving your phone. Place it on a shelf or mount it high on the wall. Then you'll have to stand to answer it or to dial, and you'll automatically be in the right place.
Ever notice how people tend to droop while sitting around the conference table? A standing meeting can make a huge difference. You can also go for a walk, which is especially effective for a one-on-one conversation or a brainstorming discussion.
Standing and walking meetings also tend to be more productive, because there is a sense of forward motion. People want to get back to their desks more quickly, so they are more likely to speak up and get issues resolved.
Although still fairly unusual as far as office furniture goes, desks that are designed for standing or walking are readily available. But even if you aren't ready to get one in the budget, the difference between standing and sitting is usually between 14" and 17". You can often find a cardboard box or a stack of books that are about the right size, and move your keyboard up and down accordingly.
Typically we hang shelves, artwork, or other knickknacks on the vertical spaces around us. Instead, try turning these into workspaces. A whiteboard is just the beginning. Use a corkboard, a magnetic surface, or scotch tape on a window. The more you can spread out your work, the better. And don't be afraid to write on a vertical surface to take notes or edit documents. Changing your perspective can improve your productivity and your health!
In the print edition of the October-November issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine, Robby Slaughter, productivity expert and a principal of AccelaWork, discusses the reasons why people partake in casual drug use and asks a very valid question:
A left over saying from Just-Say-No era insists: “I’m not high on drugs, I’m high on life.” While many of us may cringe when hear this statement, most of us can also silently acknowledge its allure. Everyone wants to be happy. Don’t we all—at one time or another—partake in caffeine, alcohol or cigarettes as a way to make life easier? Would we really be better off if we were completely, 100% drug-free?
There's no denying the fact that, at times, we may ask ourselves this very question and wonder--as Slaughter does--are we truly better off abstaining from outlets like drugs, alcohol, caffeine and tobacco? For obvious reasons, there's no question that doing so is the wisest and healthiest choice to make. We're no longer strangers to the long-term effects that excessive drug use can have on our overall health. But, we're talking even just a little indulgence here and there--can that really be a problem?
In the short term, having a cup of coffee, smoking a cigarette or drinking a glass of wine can be perceived as harmless. But, as Slaughter cautions, stepping over the line isn't always easy to define and can have lasting effects on our health:
Although about half of adult Americans consume beer, wine and liquor at least monthly, the vast majority of those who drink do so safely and without any serious health risks. Yet according to a 2010 study from the Centers for Disease Control, a record 15% of all Americans “regularly binge” on alcohol. Most people don’t have a drinking problem, but those who do put themselves at a serious threat of injury, disease, or death.
In an interesting twist, Slaughter adds some insight on how we can find alternatives to caffeine, smoking, alcohol and drugs. His solution? It's a topic we often cover here on The Methodology Blog. It's called Productivity. He highlights why productivity can help combat our need for particularly dangerous outlets by conveying a very important message: our ability at getting things done can simulate natural "highs" that not only bring us satisfaction, but provides us reason to relax and enjoy life.
Conducting and completing tasks generates a sense of accomplishment. Finishing your work on schedule gives you the time to relax. Knowing that you’ve fulfilled your promises may be the greatest drug of all. Best of all, getting hooked on being productive will only make your healthier and happier!
Productivity, paired with a healthy work/life balance, is important to adopt in life; particularly if and when stress begins to take over an otherwise calm lifestyle. It's so easy to fall victim to "fixes" like recreational drugs because their effects are quick, easy and temporarily rewarding. But, as cliche as it may sound, it's a slippery slope. You may not even recognize a problem until you're so deep into one that it's difficult to climb out.
Don't allow yourself to get this to point. Instead, be proactive by investing in your productivity. And if your stress and unhappiness at work is deep rooted, consider some action steps that can help you reach a more fulfilling and satisfying place in your job:
If your sights are set high for 2016 now is the time to act! Invest in your health. Invest in your mental well-being. Invest in yourself!
The "Pomodoro technique" is all over the Internet now, but a nice explanation appears on the website of an Indianapolis-based business coach, Deseri Garcia. She writes:
The technique has 5 simple steps:Simple, right? Simple but not easy. You have to be motivated enough to actually DO it.
- Choose a task to be accomplished
- Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer. I use the timer on my cell phone)
- Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
- Take a short break (5 minutes is OK- or, give yourself a reward)
- Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break
She's right, of course, especially with that last line. Every approach you could use to better manage your time requires a degree of discipline. But one of the key benefits of this concept is that the timer is there to remind you to work, and also to remind you to relax.
There are lots of theories about why the Pomodoro technique is effective. But it may be especially powerful because we need it more than ever. A BBC article about focus outlines the problem:
Professor Gloria Mark of the Department of Informatics at the University of California says email, social media, notifications and countless other digital distractions are eroding our ability to concentrate on individual tasks in the 21st Century."Back in 2004 we followed American information workers around with stopwatches and timed every action," she says. "They switched their attention every three minutes on average. In 2012, we found that the time spent on one computer screen before switching to another computer screen was one minute 15 seconds.
"By the summer of 2014 it was an average of 59.5 seconds."
A longer piece titled Driven to distraction: Have we lost the ability to focus on a single task? notes that the phenomenon may be even more profound:
After not checking her mobile for a while, a publishing executive confesses she gets "a jangly feeling. You miss that hit you get when there's a text. You know it's not right to check your phone when you're with someone, but it's addictive." So she and her husband have a pact: "When we get home from work we put our phones in a drawer. If it's in front of me I get anxious; I've just got to check it. But now we try to be more present for each other. We talk."Our focus continually fights distractions, both inner and outer. The question is, what are they costing us? An executive at a financial firm tells me, "When I notice that my mind has been somewhere else during a meeting, I wonder what opportunities I've been missing right here."
Patients are telling a doctor I know that they are "self-medicating" with drugs for attention deficit disorder or narcolepsy to keep up with their work. A lawyer tells him, "If I didn't take this, I couldn't read contracts". Once patients needed a diagnosis for such prescriptions; now, for many, those medications have become routine performance enhancers.
Perhaps the reason that the tomato timer can help us be more productive is that it winds back the clock to a simpler time. Our ancestors worked by candlelight, reading or writing for hours at a time with nothing to draw them away. The quiet promise of a stopwatch means that we know we're going to be stopped when the time is right. The pomodoro says "go ahead and work, I'll let you know when it's time to take a break."
Try it yourself. Finish reading this article and close your eyes to think about whatever is on your mind. Then, get back to work.
A great piece on career advice from Monster.com lists four broad categories of annoyances:
Whether it's their wedding, their weekend, their pets, their kids, the big game, the popular movie, or their vacation, people love to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with work at work.
While a little socializing can be fine, the purpose of work is to get things done. Talk too much about your personal life and you'll make people crazy.
It's always the season for something: cookies, popcorn, raffle tickets, discount books, walk-a-thons, or a local non-profit. Of course it makes sense to reach out to people you know for these needs, but getting too pushy can push people over the edge.
As we've covered before, there's nothing quite like having the level of sound you prefer in your workspace. The opposite is being out of control of that noise---and it's worse when someone else has the power to decide how much noise there is, but ignores your existence.
I'll quote directly from Monster.com:
[They] require constant attention, assistance, praise or all three. This particular breed of annoying employee will tell you what they had for dinner and then what they watched on TV last night. They ask questions that you know they know the answer to. They pout when you ignore them or don't invite them to lunch.
All awful, indeed.
Another fantastic piece on the topic features 8 Annoying Things That Coworkers Do. Here are a few favorites:
2. Coffee offendersThe coffee at work is sacred. Almost everyone in the office needs that coffee to get through the work day. The coffee should be respected, and there has to be a coffee-making system or the entire office will go into complete chaos (excuse the dramatics).
If you take the last cup of coffee, make some more. Don’t leave an empty pot sitting there on the burner, waiting for some other coworker to come along. The next person then has to walk to the pot, make the coffee, sit back down, go back up to the machine and prepare a cup — when you could have done it in one fell swoop.
4. Know-it-alls and one uppers
We’ve all worked with a person like this. If we have success in our career, this person immediately share’s a bigger, better success story. If something cool happens to us, they tell us about something cooler that happened to them. They’re ready to one up everyone in the office, no matter what. This type of coworker is rarely (if ever) willing to let someone else have the spotlight, even if only for a moment.
And there are even more. Here's an impressive list of nearly fifty annoying traits, and an old Reddit discussion thread with countless more coworker complaints. We're all frustrated with our colleagues: what should we do about it?
Virtually every one of these crazy-making behavior patterns has the same two elements: acting self-important and focusing on something other than work.. That doesn't mean you can't occasionally brag about the amazing concert you saw. But it means the more you talk about yourself and the more you talk about stuff outside of your job, the more likely you are to be annoying.
When people start talking about stuff that annoys you, listen for a little bit. And then draw the line, gently. Here are some things you can say:
Show what people should do by doing it yourself, and make sure it's clear that you're doing it. If you take the last glass of water from the dispenser, ask someone else for help in getting that five gallon jug loaded. If you're going to play music, check with everyone in the nearby cubicles. And if you're going to tell a story from your personal life, start by asking folks if they are headed to a meeting or working on an essential deadline.
Do your best to curb annoyances from your coworkers. And remember: if nothing else, you can always look for another job.
That's not to say that you can't give a workshop about something related to your business. If you're a credit union, you might hire a expert on personal finance education. If you're a marketing company, you might teach seminars on marketing techniques. And we offer our own Indianapolis productivity training courses.
While these can be helpful, they are also entirely predictable. Of course the law firm is going to give a seminar about updates to federal law. Of course the accounting firm is going to bring in a speaker to talk about the latest changes in the tax code. If you're interested in these topics, you will attend.
However, no one expects a speaker to talk about something that has nothing to do with the sponsor. That's one of the factors in the great success of Sparks, a monthly speaking event that we've been sponsoring and supporting here at AccelaWork since it first started in 2012. But there are a couple of key reasons why having unexpected topics for speakers will benefit your business.
Even though we know that expectations are problematic for our psychology, they are still a part of everyday life. We think we know what's going to happen, and when an event is advertised as sponsored by a particular company, we assume that company is going to want to talk about their industry.
Expectations tend to put us into a box where we assume we know, and breaking out of that box with a bit of surprise can get people engaged.
Normally, there's a range of expertise in any room. Some people have some knowledge about the topic at hand, and others are hearing about it for the first time. But if it's a sponsored event, employees of that company are likely confident they already know everything that's being covered.
However, if the topic doesn't align to the industry of the firm that is hosting, then even the people who work there are probably paying attention and taking notes. That helps everyone to focus because everyone is looking to the speaker.
This may be the biggest reason why people decide to pass on corporate events. If they believe it's going to be a sales pitch, they don't want to be there. Most people like to buy, not many people like to be sold to. And if it's a corporate VP who is giving the presentation, that is what is expected.
Therefore, inviting someone from outside the company to speak can help increase both your credibility and your attendance. And if that expert has a following of their own, you may get people in the room who you wouldn't see otherwise. Everyone wins!
Presentations are a form of theater. In fact, they may be the oldest art form: people by the light of a campfire, telling their histories or their mythologies. In all good stories, not knowing everything that is going to happen is what keeps us engaged.
That doesn't mean everything can be totally new and unexpected. You have to get some details to get people interested initially. But working with a presenter that is unfamiliar to your audience who is bringing a topic they did not anticipate will be more likely to draw them in.
"Story is a yearning meeting an obstacle. " --Robert Olen Butler
Need help finding a speaker for your next marketing event? Contact AccelaWork to help. We'd love to be of service!
Recently, a colleague of mine divulged a crazy tale of junk email that even I couldn't believe. He utilized an example of sorts to explain his situation, which left me speechless. I've included the email below, but before you scroll down to see it, allow me to first explain my colleague's daily battle with email.
Michael works in sales. His job is fast-paced, high stress and, to be quite sure, apparently filled with useless communication along the way. He conducts business by phone and email, which can be wearing on any person, but particularly in his case since most of his conversations deal with financial negotiations. Besides constantly catering to his ringing phone, he is simultaneously managing several hundred emails an hour that are filtering in and out of his inbox. And while multitasking isn't necessarily the most productive way of working, the nature of his work simply forces him to do so on a continuous basis. He spends most days stressed and overloaded by email, which only enhances his annoyance when junk find its way into his inbox.
Then comes the junk mail that piles up. Despite Michael's company server, there are still dozens of tricky emails that slip through the cracks of the filter and wind up in his inbox--ready and waiting to interrupt his day and prolong his battle with maintaining email. Suffice it to say, he deals with these types of emails on a regular basis, which is maddening!
Below is one such message that he received from one of his customers just recently:
TODAY IS NATIONAL HUGGING DAY
Yes. That is it. An email with a funky picture of a cute little kitten announcing an obscure (clearly made up) celebratory day that, in the large scheme of things, is beyond insignificant. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why this email is absolutely ridiculous. Allow me to give you a few seconds to process this email and attempt to justify its existence.
HINT : You'll run in circles contemplating this one because the only argument I can possibly conjure on why it's okay to send to someone at work is that it might cheer them up. But frankly, such a reason isn't enough in my mind to make up for the utter annoyance it presents to the recipient(s).
In any case, I've created a list of reasons why emails like these need not be passed on (particularly during work hours).
2. It diminishes how you're perceived at work. Whether you're entry level, mid-management, a CEO or even an entrepreneur, your work says a lot about how you manage your job. Sending this type of useless email puts into question what you're doing with your time. Those receiving it may wonder not only how you're getting your work done, but the quality with which it's being completed.
3. It can create an awkward environment. Chances are, an email like the one above is generally innocent with little innuendo attached to it, but the recipient may not feel that way. Michael received the email from someone whom he works with daily, but has never met. He found it bizarre and inappropriate.
4. It interrupts workflow. Email can easily become a time sucker if you allow it to be. If you don't believe me, just read a few chapters from Robby Slaughter's book, The Battle For Your Email Inbox. If you choose to allow it to dictate your work, it will. And that's why sending junk email is a frivolous action. Not only are you interrupting your own workflow, but you're forcing someone else to do the same.
Be kind to others. Stop forwarding senseless emails at work. And if you simply can't resist the urge to pass along a picture of a fuzzy cat, do so through your personal email account.
These people are the stakeholders who are directly affected by the work itself.
That might sound simple, but it's rarely done. How often does some new edict come down from management? It's a frequent topic here on The Methodology Blog, from the story of the nuclear launch codes to issues with telephony and document management software. And a piece from the Harvard Business Review, titled Don’t Set Process Without Input from Frontline Workers, suggests that we should "bring thinkers and doers together.":
You know those guys with the clipboards and checklists? Those annoying folks who drone on about compliance and procedure? Those sticklers who find reasons why things can’t be done? Every large institution has them. They are the process nerds. And within many companies, a tribal war is raging between these nerds and everyone else. But the world’s best organizations are calling a truce: They are learning how to turn the potentially destructive power of process and procedure to everyone’s benefit....
The guys with the clipboards are an easy target for mockery and disdain, but there are great opportunities buried in those flowcharts and manuals. There’s no arguing with the onward march of process. The challenge is to bring the nerds back to the front line and to make process design a distributed activity. Only then can we get systems that work properly and intelligent compliance.
That article shares a couple of examples of how frontline employees were excluded from decision-making procedures that directly impacted them. But a broader question might be: why don't we talk to the people doing the work when we're defining the work?
I think there are handful of reasons why this happens:
The saying goes that "everybody has a boss." But in many companies, there are layers upon layers of management. Each person reports to someone, who reports to someone else, and so on. According to Forbes contributor Steve Denning:
The opposite of top-down is not bottom-up, but outside-in. GE's Jack Welch once defined hierarchical organizations as places in which 'everyone has their face toward the CEO and their ass toward the customer'... The focal point is the customer who defines the organization’s purpose and thus the value work that it exists to carry out.
We want to treat every customer like they are special and unique and important, but we tend to treat lower level employees as, well, "low level." Therefore, upper level people tend to define processes and procedures for lower level people, thus reinforcing the problem.
That phrase "thinkers" and "doers" comes from the subtitle of the article in the Harvard Business Review. While this might seem like another way to represent hierarchy, it goes deeper. Businesses have "exempt" and "non-exempt" workers. There are employees and contractors, or labor vs. management, or temps and permanent team members.
Everyone has to think at work, and everyone has to do at work as well. When managers roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work themselves it helps people feel more connected. And when front-line workers are asked their opinion, that's a key step in the advancement of their careers.
We teach children to have respect for others, we hold doors for strangers, and we announce that "people are our greatest asset," but too often it seems that we don't actually respect our employees. You can tell this in the tone of signs hanging on the wall. You can see it when employees rush out when the clock strikes five or are afraid to head home early. A lack of respect is everywhere.
Since we apparently don't have much respect for the people who work for us, why would we ask their opinion? But of course, we should find out what everyone thinks. Because, we should respect everyone who is part of the business. Changing that will change everything else.
Of all the companies known for taking good care of their customers, Disney is certainly near or at the top. In fact, the organization refuses to use the word "customer." Instead, they call visitors to their theme parks "guests."
In a post on the Refresh Leadership blog called Lessons in Creating a Magical Customer Service Experience, the company is heralded for making the experience just as critical as what is being purchased:
When you consider that emotionally engaged customers are three times more likely to recommend a product to others and return to make another purchase – finding a way to delight customers on an emotional level can be as important as the product you sell.
They also list Disney's Seven Service Guidelines:
- Make eye contact and smile
- Greet and welcome every guest
- Seek out guest contact
- Provide immediate service recovery
- Always display appropriate body language
- Create dreams and preserve the “magical guest experience”
- Thank each and every guest
It's no wonder the place is called the "magic kingdom."
To understand why so many businesses have trouble providing good customer service, simply reverse the guidelines:
Ignore and do not welcome customers. If people enter your business but you don't acknowledge them, they won't feel like you care if they are even there.
Avoid making contact with customers. Picking up the phone or sending a note to a customer is a great way to enrich a relationship; so doing the opposite will help the relationship stagnate.
Take a long time to correct problems, if ever. Life is not perfect. Mistakes will happen, and good customer service involves finding and fixing them quickly. Bad customer service is taking too long to address problems, or doing too little.
Use standoffish and unapproachable body language. Cross your arms, slouch, and roll your eyes. Doing so will communicate to other people that you don't want to talk to them.
Crush people's hopes and explain how you can't help them. Customers usually want something. If you can't provide it immediately, you should still try to help them. But if you don't, they will feel annoyed or angry and go elsewhere.
Never say thank you. This is the simplest way to turn a customer against you. If you don't appreciate their business or their feedback, they will assume you don't need them. And worse, they will tell everyone they know.
The secret to great customer service is that there is no secret. It's being humane, gentle, and appreciative. It's acting as if they are a guest in your home, helping them with whatever you can. It's being honest and direct, while at the same time being kind and supportive. All of the behaviors that we all learned in kindergarten form the basics of good customer service.
What's really important to understand is the impact of your customer service---good or bad. A happy customer will tell a few of their friends about your business. An unhappy customer will tell a dozen people, plus countless strangers on social media. That means you must always be ready to answer a question, address a concern, or simply listen to a complaint.
Remember that if people could do it for themselves as easily as you do it, they wouldn't need your business. So put a little magic into your interactions with customers to help them enjoy the experience. The returns will be worth it!
This is a well-known phenomenon to people who are competent. When it comes time to assign new work, everyone knows the hardest workers will do it so they are the ones who get those tasks. It is kind of like always passing the ball to your star players: it might help win games but it doesn't develop the rest of the team. Plus, you're putting the top contributors at risk of exhaustion.
A paper by researchers from Duke University, University of Georgia, and University of Colorado provides a compelling summary of the problem (even if it's in dry academic language):
Results from these studies provide novel evidence that individuals’ self-control affects others’ attitudes and behaviors toward them, and suggest that these interpersonal dynamics can have negative consequences for high self-control individuals.
Translated: people who are known for their discipline tend to suffer at the hands of people who are not known for their discipline. Or more loosely: no good deed goes unpunished.
In a piece for The Atlantic, journalist Bourree Lam quotes one of the researchers:
“People ask high self-control people to do more for perfectly logical reasons---because they think that those who successfully demonstrate high (vs. low) self-control will perform better and accomplish more. So it is a reasonable thing to do, from the perspective of the partner, the manager, the coworker,” says Christy Zhou Koval, a Ph.D student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and lead author of the study. “But for the actor, it can feel like a burden. Why should you do more work for the same reward, while your less capable coworker coasts along with lower expectations and work?”
There is a connection between desirable traits in the workplace. People who have more self-control tend to be more competent. They tend to be more aware of what's going on. They tend to be more detail-oriented. And they tend to have full schedules with plenty to do.
The Science of Us section of New York Magazine quotes productivity expert Laura Vanderkam on this last bit:
I agree that the phrase "if you want something done, ask a busy person" is true in my experience as well. I think it's because people with full lives have a good sense of exactly how long things take, how much can fit in any given day or week, and how much they've currently got on their plates. If they take something on, it's because they've thought about how long it will take, they've looked at the amount of available time, and have calculated if it will work.
Also, people who are busy are more likely to say "no" than to say "yes" and then flake on you. That makes them a more attractive choice for any work you need done.
Failure is the secret to success. If you want something done, consider giving the task to someone who needs to grow and learn to be more disciplined. That will help your team to improve overall, rather than continuing to overburden the most productive and competent people.
Ask for help. Reach out to those who can contribute even though you may not perceive them as self-disciplined, and see if they are willing to step up. The best (and only way) to become more professional and more effective is by doing the work. Ask them to be part of the process and eventually, you won't be the one who is seemingly responsible for everything.
To start, just the title of “annual” performance appraisal suggests a flaw in itself. If you have ever had a performance appraisal at the year’s end, can you remember how you felt? Probably pretty nervous, even if you were sure that you had nothing to worry about. There was still that sense of urgency with a long list of “what-ifs” running through your mind only because you had no idea what was in store for you.
Let’s face it; a whole work year had passed since your last performance appraisal--a lot has certainly happened. This type of appraisal system creates an awkward dynamic between managers and employees. Managers are burdened with the time consuming process of setting the meetings well ahead of time. You, on the other hand, have to take time out of your day to meet for 30 minutes to an hour to discuss a whole year’s worth of performance. Is that really enough time to recap a whole year? It may not seem like it, but meeting on a more regular basis, once a month or even every other month, may increase the employee / manager engagement.
In an article from the Society for Human Resource Management Kris Duggan writes:
More frequent check-ins with employees saves time. It takes three weeks a year to do an annual performance review, or it can be done in small segments regularly, making it more relevant to the employee and less burdensome to the manager. Imagine waiting until the end of the year to get a summary of your Fitbit step count. The information obtained wouldn’t be as timely or relevant, and it certainly wouldn’t change much behavior.
For many individuals, good data is required for them to buy-in to something. This is exactly the angle that businesses and their executives are taking about the performance appraisal process. Currently, data that businesses are using to do performance appraisals on their employees consists of number scales that compare co-workers to each other. This often fosters unhealthy competition between employees. Duggan also notes:
. . . forced rankings, which typically require managers to rate each worker’s performance using a number that compares him or her with peers, don’t foster productivity but actually create antagonism between managers and workers.
To add to the author’s statements, David Brennan, who is with an employee recognition company says, “Ultimately, an employee’s performance should not be judged and compared to others, but judged against the metrics that are set for success for that role.”
Throw out your old and outdated annual performance appraisal process and adapt a new and improved system that fosters more engagement on both the manager and employee’s behalf. Brennan states: “Leaders must be taught how to engage in conversations with employees that raise performance – not blood pressure.” More frequent check-ins result in employees feeling more relaxed about contacting and communicating with their managers. This also is true for managers feeling more comfortable with discussing performance, or potential roadblocks keeping employees from reaching their goals.
This leads to training your managers. They have to be able to have these conversations and have access to the data (mentioned earlier in this article) to coach employees to the level of success that all managers are looking for. Always be consistent with your practices so that employees know what to expect and when to expect these conversations. Whether it be once a week, or once a month, make sure that your employees are aware of these timelines and that they are consistent.
If you are able to master all of these things, your outcomes will include: positive feedback that will engage employees to work towards individual goals which increase productivity; an increase in the level of engagement between managers and employees; an increase in overall performance; a reduction in turnover; and finally, trust from your employees that you are there to help them do better.
Patrick McKenna graduated from St. Mary’s University, Winona, Minnesota in May of 2015. He is currently employed as an HR Assistant with New Focus HR, LLC in Indianapolis, IN. He assists in the areas of compensation, HR compliance, HR policies and procedures, background checks, to name a few.
Okay: I am not really talking about a page not found on your web searches, which is the common place most would expect to see a 404 error. No, I’m talking about a 404 error on your plans, your goals, your day, and your expectations for “how this will go.”
In short, how do you handle a setback or failure? I know from experience that there are several ways to respond. Some lead you to a better outcome while others take you to dark and dangerous places. Those places are mostly in your mind and consequently your self image. I know this all too well. But maybe you’re one of the fortunate few that every seed you plant yields a bountiful harvest. Lucky you!
I'll get down and out too. Maybe you don’t and if that’s true, please count your blessings. I remember talking to a dear friend of mine and we were discussing a common friend who was suffering from being down, you know depression. My friend, the one I admire, said something like, “why doesn’t he just get off the couch and get a job.” Oh if only it were that simple. I work hard not to judge or condemn but rather to ask more questions. In short, to try to understand. It’s one of those things I’ve been working on.
I once learned a phrase---called a "presupposition" that has helped me become curious:
"Behind every behavior there is a positive intention."
I’m sure some will argue. Every behavior? The short answer is yes. Even if you set out to hurt someone else, you are probably doing so to try and set something right. You probably think that some injustice has been done and you need to fix it. And doesn't every success start with a form of failure?
I think one of the reasons I start to feel bad is that, from my point of view, I work very hard to bring value to all those I encounter. Yet, if I’m working to get a new client and they fail to see that, or a friend or an existing client don't see it, that really gets too me. Perhaps people just think there are so many frauds out there.
It’s something I’m working on for sure. This past fall I noticed a dear friend post something on social media that was a call for help. I immediately reached out. Sure enough, she was in a very, very bad place. We met and we talked. I encouraged her to seek professional help---someone qualified to work with such things---and I stayed in touch. Every day or two, checking in to make sure everything was getting better. That person has risen above where she was and is getting better day by day.
We all need to be aware of those around us. I don’t ask for help much. But these past couple of months, I’ve tried reaching out, asking for help but not getting much back. I find it strange, how could I not be heard? Now recently a couple of people have reached out and have become closer to me by doing so. I am appreciative of their friendship and I do my best to tell them frequently.
For those who read this and make the decision to learn and grow together: Let the adventure begin! Share what you need, what you’re struggling with and where you are. A true friend will be as open and as honest as they know how. This means sharing what is working and certainly, what isn’t. As John Maxwell says, “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.”
While this may occasionally happen if you have a really strong referral or a great relationship, for the most part you’re going to have to ask for the business. This is the norm each time you approach someone to sell your products and services. It’s just part of the process. But for many salespeople (small business owners and entrepreneurs are salespeople, too), closing is the hardest part of the sale.
Our discomfort comes in many varieties, but when we don't want to do something because it seems scary, that's fear. Here are some of the more common types of fear when closing the sale.
AFRAID THEY WILL BE PERCEIVED AS PUSHY. Many salespeople don’t like being in a situation where someone is closing the sale on them. Therefore, they think their prospects probably feel the same way toward them.
Yes, there are some folks who don’t like to be sold to. But for the most part, people understand that’s part of the sales process. You don’t have to be pushy or aggressive in order to close the sale. If you’ve done a good job of identifying the problems the prospect has, presenting solutions that your products or services can provide, and addressing potential concerns, then the close is the next logical step to take in the process.
It's not pushy to follow a logical step! So don't be afraid.
FEAR OF REJECTION. Many salespeople don’t like to ask for the sale because they’re afraid the prospect will say “NO.” Getting turned down is an inevitable part of the sales process. You should expect to fail as much as you succeed, if not more. But you shouldn’t take it personally. Look at “NO” has an opportunity to perfect your sales skills. The more “NO’s” you get and successfully turn into “YESes,” the better salesperson you’ll become.
Plus, if you're only getting a "YES" then you might be doing something wrong. Maybe your price is too low, or maybe you're not going after big enough orders. If you're not getting rejected you're not growing.
FEAR OF MAKING A MISTAKE. Closing the sale can feel awkward at first, especially if you’re a new salesperson. So instead, they may hesitate, waiting until it’s too late. Then, the meeting is over or the prospect already hung up the phone. The problem is, they still don’t know if the prospect is going to buy or not.
When you’re having sales conversations on the phone, try posting a sign with your favorite closing question near the phone. It’ll remind you to ask the question. For in-person sales meetings, stick a reminder note on your note pad, laptop. or tablet.
There is a secret to working through your apprehension about asking for the sale. But it's the same secret of getting past any fear: to face it through practice! You can overcome the fear and become more comfortable with asking for the sale by working it through on your own time. Get together with a friend and practice asking closing questions. Or, better yet, give me a call. I can help you perfect your technique.
I don’t know who said this quote, but it really is true when comes to sales: “To become really good at anything, you have to practice and repeat, practice and repeat, until the technique becomes intuitive.” Trust me, the more you practice, the more confident you’ll become and the better you’ll get – which, ultimately means, the more sales you’ll close.
Now, get out there and make some deals happen!
In television shows and on the big screen, characters who need to do something illicit will often try to distract everyone else so they can do their deed unnoticed. This is so common that the website TVTropes has page after page devoted to the concept.
Social psychologists have a term for it too. It's called the decoy effect, and it's the last in our list of essential cognitive biases every professional should know.
This distraction is about getting in the middle of an existing choice. Blogger Jeremy Smith gives a great explanation:
Here’s how it works. When you have two options, users are forced to make a decision. They can choose the small option for less money, or the big option for more money. It’s a tough decision. They want more awesome, but don’t want to spend more money. So what do they do? They generally spend less money.Ah, but now enter the decoy effect. The decoy effect involves adding a third option — the decoy. The decoy is priced close to the more expensive option, suggesting that the more expensive option is actually better. It’s kind of like a middle option, but it’s so skewed that it makes it seem stupid not to go for the higher-priced option.
One of the most famous examples of the effect was first popularized by university professor Dan Ariely who noted the prices for The Economist magazine:
Why would anyone pick the second option? In studies of consumer behavior, no one does. People are more likely to pick the "web and print subscription" because it looks like a better deal. But if you remove the print-only choice, customers tend to gravitate toward the cheaper end.
There are a million examples of this in consumer behavior. Next time you consider buying an online service, take a look at the pricing options. You're also probably seeing versions of this technique at the grocery store. Do you notice how products come in a variety of sizes, and they are often structured to get you to spend more money?
But the decoy effect is really about something more fundamental: an irrelevant option isn't actually irrelevant. Think about the magazine subscription example. There should be no effect by adding that other choice---it's obviously a bad deal. So why is it so effective?
The reason is that having other options forces us to evaluate them, and we start out thinking all options have equal weight. Even after one can be discarded, it's hard for it not to impact those that remain.
This means you can influence people's behavior by adding decoys. However, you can also improve decision making by removing decoys. A few examples:
There are tons of decoys in our professional lives. Most of them aren't put there maliciously. But if we can find a way to cut them out and focus on what's really important we will be more satisfied and more productive.
Watch out for those distractions!
This is a key question: How do you stop the blame game and start getting accountability?
One of the questions I often hear from leaders is “How do we build a culture of accountability in our organization”? First I want to define accountability—to personally take ownership or accept responsibility for one’s actions, work, and results. It’s not assigning fault and handing out punishment, instead it’s propelling your employees to great success.
Have you really thought about where this starts? It starts with you, the leader. If you genuinely want your employees to take ownership, then YOU must take ownership first. Why is this? Because if you’re in a position of authority, others will copy your behavior. If you keep your promises, they are more likely to do the same. And if you don’t, well, why would they?
Believe it or not, the potential for accountability lies within each of us. As leaders, we have the opportunity to help others unleash it by rewarding behaviors that demonstrate accountability and removing anything that stifles it. How, as a leader, do you lead so that personal accountability is accepted and embraced? Here are three steps to ensure accountability becomes a part of your company culture:
Step #2 PEOPLE HAVE TO OWN IT---A leader helps others to be personally invested in the organization’s desired outcomes or results. It’s done by linking their specific tasks and responsibilities first with the key priorities of the team, then the department or division, and finally up the line to the organization.
Step #3 PEOPLE HAVE TO SOLVE IT---Obstacles can always get in the way of achieving results. Yes, as a leader, the “buck does stop with you”. However, you don’t always need to be the one to find the solution. When employees ask you for a solution, don’t immediately offer one. Instead ask them “What do you think you/we should do?“ Or “What else can we do so this gets resolved?” Tapping into their wisdom and participation creates personal responsibility for the implementation of the solution.
The bottom line is that no organization can grow and prosper until the leaders are willing to step up and take responsibility. And being accountable goes back to that definition of “personally taking ownership and accepting responsibility for one’s actions, work, and results.”
What you do matters. If you do it right, take credit. If others do it, give credit. And if you make a mistake, accept blame.
That is the secret to creating a culture of accountability: being an accountable person. Showing others that you do what you say you’re going to do and own it when things don’t go well. Encouraging others to take ownership of their work and encourage them even if they fail. And finally, allow others to be involved in the problem-solving process---or even suggesting they work to solve problems on their own.
Want more accountable employees? Take a look at yourself and the rest of your management team. If they care, your employees will care. And that will make all the difference.
Whether your a professional or an entrepreneur, you may be a little unclear as to why you need to set goals. I think Brian Tracey explains it the best: “The establishment of a clear and central purpose or goal in life is the starting point of all success.” The same idea applies in business too.
A goal states your intention or what you want and plan to accomplish. Once you have clearly defined what your goals are, you can make a step-by-step action plan for achieving each goal. These plans provide your business with a direction toward building long-term success. And they guide you and your employees in making business-related decisions every day.
For example, when you’re planning a road trip, do you just get in your car and start driving in the general direction of where you’re headed? No! You pull out a map and plan your journey--deciding which roads you’ll take in order to reach your destination. (Or these days, you use your phone!)
You don’t meander along and decide at every crossroad whether you’re going to turn left or right -– hoping you eventually reach where you want to go. That would be inefficient and you might never get there! But too often, business people work exactly like this. They don't set clear, specific goals, and worse they don't plan out their path to meet those goals.
When you set goals for your business, you determine the direction your business will go in the next year, three to five years, ten years or longer. Your goals may define:
Once you know the overall direction of your business you can use this information to help you plan the steps you need to take to achieve each specific goal. For example, if you want to increase your sales by 20% during the next year, you may realize you don’t have enough salespeople to reach this goal. Therefore, you may include an action step to hire four new salespeople within the next 60 days.
Other benefits that goal setting can provide to you and your employees are:
Now that doesn't mean that you can just write down a goal and expect it to happen. You need to break it down into reasonable chunks and be able to measure it along the way. And of course, you need to be ready to adapt to changes---because the future isn't going to go exactly as you like.
Just remember: Goals are a road map for your success. So what are you waiting for? Grab a pen and some paper, and make a list of your business’s goals today!
That term, of course, is C-H-A-N-G-E.
You’d think that six letters would be nice and even – you know, balanced, but oh no, not these six. They throw everything and everyone OUT OF BALANCE.
Well, almost everyone. True leaders are the exception. They may feel a bit wobbly, but when faced with change, true leaders embrace and excel! They know how to create it, face it, push, pull and grind through it, and use it to make things better. And, when they make it work, they are flush with satisfaction and pride. Working through change is a reward for them.
And of course there's another exception: people hate change except when it benefits them! It would be a big change to win the lottery, after all, but that doesn't sound too bad...
Back to more common changes. How do leaders make it work when CHANGE throws so many into a vortex of turmoil? They start at the very beginning with these five steps to introduce change---by being champions of the process of transformation.
(Source: Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry)
Now, have you ever noticed that truly successful small business owners are change-makers? They have to be. They have got to embrace change and manage it well in order to grow. As a solopreneur or a start-up, growth is all about change and in those initial stages, change happens every day and you, as the leader of the organization, have to roll with it. If you don’t, well, THIS happens:
Recently I met the owner of a small business in one of the towns just outside Indy. He was the only business of his kind for at least a 50 mile radius from his office – and he’d been in business for nearly 20 years. He was doing “ok.”He was paying his bills and getting by. But wanted more. So what was the problem? He didn’t really like to deal with new things – the Internet, social media, he didn’t even have a website. He wasn’t keen on networking, either. He relied on word-of-mouth to generate new customers. That would be okay, I guess, if his business was one that was a consumable that people came back to regularly to restock. But his business was one where once he installed his product, you wouldn’t need him for another 25 or 30 years unless you moved to a new residence.
He had developed a status quo and nestled himself---and his business---into it. No ripples, no change, no growth.
Where do you fall on the change and growth continuum? You don’t have to let C-H-A-N-G-E throw you in a tizzy or under the bus---you CAN manage it and USE it to GROW---yourself and your business. It’s your decision.
So the next time something new comes along, don't shake your fists or put your head in the sand. Change is coming. It always does. And people who are ready for it are those that have most success.
Now: go and deal with something new!
I have reflected on all the major turning points in my career. In each case, I saw and took an opportunity that others did not. In some cases, maybe several people saw the opportunity, but I was prepared to take action.
This of course wasn't the case every single time. On many occasions, I completely failed to see the opportunity. Sometimes I walked past the door. Other times I saw the door, but another person got there first----or I was afraid. And a few times I was the one who got the opportunity, but that is certainly rare.
It is interesting that we can often be surprised by the unexpected opportunities we discover. If you examine your life, I am sure you will agree that things don't turn out as planned. There are twists and turns, there are failures and successes. We must adjust continuously as we go.
Being prepared for opportunities, and seeking opportunities are keys to building success over a lifetime. Here are some questions that can help us explore this idea:
1. Are you waiting for someone to bring you an opportunity? Stop waiting. If we stand around anticipating the perfect opportunity, we will be waiting for a long time. Most of our opportunities come in a different form than we expect. Sometimes we have to take an opportunity that is available, and then it may lead to a bigger and better opportunity. And sometimes we have to make things happen.
2. Are you actively seeking opportunity? If not, start looking. Opportunities appear every day. We may not see them if we don't have open eyes. A year ago, I would never have predicted that I would be certified to provide temperament assessments, or that I would learn how to trade stock options. I saw opportunities, and I took them. Some of our opportunities will occur in areas in which we are not even aware.
3. How well do you know the opportunity you desire? Some opportunities appear as a next logical step. Some opportunities appear because you see the potential outcome. When you are aware of what you want to achieve, you will begin to see links between these opportunities. Some will reveal how, and some will reveal why.
4. Where do you go to seek for opportunity? My first thought was that you need to look where your interests lie, but the truth is you need to look everywhere. That means getting out of your house, your job, and your routines. You have to decide if events in your life are coincidences or if they are relevant. Some people would say everything is relevant. If we treat it as such, then we will see more opportunities.
If you want opportunity, you have to participate. There are a lot of opportunities that I did not act upon. More than I can recall. These missed opportunities did not shape my life. The opportunities that I took are what changed my life. Overcoming the fear of an opportunity may be the most difficult step.
In your life, the chance to move forward may be something small or something enormous. But I can promise you if you look back, the times you acted and were wrong are almost always more formative than the times you were afraid to act.
Take that risk. Step out of your comfort zone. Try something you haven't tried. Sometimes you win, and sometimes, you learn.
Good luck!
Maria is a waitress my husband and I had several months back at a local steakhouse. Her timing was perfect. The drinks remained filled, but she wasn’t bothersome. She was just perky enough without seeming fake. Her effortless interaction would have made it easy to miss how spectacular she really was. Maria was perfectly forgettable, and it blew me away.
This service was, in a word, magical. The magic behind Maria was how she completely got rid of herself. She was almost an extra in our dinner scene. The night wasn’t about her, or about empty drinks, or cold food; it was about my husband and I sharing our day and enjoying each other’s time.
What are the common, everyday requests from your customers? In Maria’s case she knew that her customers ask for refills, so she’d bring them a new drink before they ever had to raise an empty glass. This is obvious when you think about it, but how often has your beverage been wanting even at your favorite restaurant?
Let’s pretend you’re in a manufacturing or distribution role. How many times a day are you asked for shipping confirmation or tracking? Could you anticipate the needs ahead of time and give them the information before it’s requested? You’re taking away a to-do item before it ever makes the list.
You might be "just a customer" in a restaurant but you can still think of the kinds of things that your server can do to be invisible but make your experience better. Here are some more examples for other industries:
When the shoe is on the other foot and we’re doing the servicing we often try to get our needs met. We just want to be liked, what’s the harm in that? The problem lies in our ego. Ego keeps us from seeing the perspective of others clearly. It keeps us caught up in the “what’s in it for me” mentality, and we can lose sight of why those clients chose us in the first place. Here’s a hint: it was for their reasons, not yours.
Everyone is important, but sometimes we need to look in the mirror and realize that humility is both highly elusive and incredibly valuable. When we put ourselves first, others take notice and don't want to be around us. But when we put others first, they appreciate our sacrifice---even if it ends up being invisible!
When we can get rid of ourselves we’re able to anticipate the needs of others and tend to them before they ever realize the need is there. Become the equivalent of background noise. The experience you provide should be so spectacular that no one sees it coming, or going.
Be like Maria. Anticipate the needs of your customers, and do your best to be invisible. You'll be almost forgettable, but not quite. And that will keep people engaged and coming back. Bon appetit!
As budget time approaches, there's no shortage of us who are thinking about our financial forecasts. But no matter what time of year or industry we’re in, budget concerns are a fact of life.
For marketers, budget time can be more stressful than ever. But not to worry — even if your available marketing funds are shrinking, you can still make an impression without breaking the bank.
Here are a couple of ways that we recommend (especially for those of you at budget-conscious start-ups) to save a little money on your marketing efforts.
You’ll want to give handwritten cards and notes on many occasions, but how can you do it without spending a ton of money on stationery? Enter: the branded notecard.
A simple, well-designed notecard with your logo and website can be the multi-purpose tool of your marketing dreams. From birthday cards to thank you notes to quick follow-ups, it’s an all-purpose way to get in touch that’s on-brand and on-budget.
When it comes to thank you gifts or drop-in goodies, it’s almost impossible not to blow your budget on customized goodies, right?
Wrong—but you have to do it the right way. Spend some of that marketing budget on logo stickers (simply your logo in a sticker format) and you’ll have instant branding on anything with room for a sticker.
For example, let’s say that you bought a jar of trail mix as a thank you gift for a referral source. Why not use your new stickers to place your logo on a prominent spot on the jar? Every time your client enjoys your gift, they’ll be reminded of you.
We all know it costs much more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain one. So, despite all of the good intentions of the budget-savvy marketer, it all falls to the wayside without the appropriate follow-up and ongoing communication with referral sources and customers.
This is where your CRM tool comes in.
Most organizations have Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, so if you have it, make sure you update it regularly. (You’d be surprised how often information can be missing or inaccurate just because it hasn’t been updated promptly.)
Once your CRM is current, explore ways you can expand its uses beyond your normal habits. For example, don’t just record your outreach efforts; use the software for personal reminders, too. You can add someone’s birthday or job anniversary, then send them a quick email or note (using your branded notecards) to congratulate them when the time comes.
Even if your budget doesn’t allow for a formal CRM tool, you can fashion an Excel workbook and some calendar reminders to accomplish many of the same things. Whether you’re using Excel or a more established system, your CRM tool can do wonders to help you create (and maintain) lasting relationships with referral sources and customers.
Maybe you met a new referral source at a networking event. Great! You send them a quick follow-up note on your branded notecard, which leads to a one-on-one meeting. Not long after that, your referral source generates a new customer for you.
To thank your referral source, you stop by their office with some kind of treat — with a big logo sticker on the front to remember you by. While you’re there, your referral source mentions that their child is graduating from college soon.
In tough economic times, it’s imperative that businesses of all types find a way not only to satisfy, but engage, their employees. When consumers have a tendency to show support and patronage to a business through their wallets, it’s the engaged employees who show up and provide the customer service that keeps consumers coming back.
You add this tidbit to your CRM system, so a few weeks later you remember to send another note to congratulate them on their child’s graduation.
Nicely done! You’ve started the process of creating a long-lasting relationship – without over-spending on marketing.
Marketing budgets keep fluctuating, and it can become challenging to start (and maintain) relationships with referral sources and customers. That’s why it’s even more important to get some budget-friendly tools and tactics to keep you visible and relevant. What budget-savvy tips have worked well for you?
The numbers are brutal. In fact, every New Year, about 87% of adults create New Year’s resolutions, but by the end of January, two-thirds of those more than 206 million people have failed to stick to their convictions.
This is profound. People set out to transform their lives, but it doesn't take long for them to decide it's not worth the effort.
One reason people give up on their well-intentioned goals is they often set “to-do” goals instead of “to-be” goals. A “to-do” goals is something like "to lose 30 lbs. in 3 months," or "exercise for 30 minutes every day," or "eat more fruits and vegetables." It might be a business goal, like "get a promotion" or "increase sales by 20%."
A “to-be” goal, on the other hand, may be to set out to be healthier. That's because these objectives describe the person you want to become, not the tasks you want to complete. The language is slightly different, but powerful. It's "be a healthy person who makes healthy food and exercise choices" or "be admired and respected by my colleagues."
Part of the problem is “to-do” goals put the focus on changing the thinking in your heads, which in turn, you use to develop action plans to change your habits. But in order for a resolution to really work, you need to change what’s in your heart first.
This reminds me of an old quote first popularized by the author Rita Mae Brown:
Insanity: Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions for this year or any year, I recommend you try a radical new approach. Choose “One Word” for your vision for everything in your life during the New Year. (And don't be afraid to start, now. Any day is a good day to set a goal!)
Now I know what you may be thinking, “One word? How’s that going to help me?” Well, believe me, it does work. One word helps you narrow your focus. It helps you find a renewed sense of purpose. It creates clarity in your life. It gives you power to do what needs to be done. One word for 365 days CAN change your life.
How do you figure out what word is the right word for you in the year ahead?
Authors Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page have developed three steps in their book, “One Word that Will Change Your Life,” to help you find that one powerful word for you.
Stop being weighed down with unrealistic resolutions each year and feeling like a failure because of unmet goals. Choose your word for the year and experience a transformation!
That's the findings of a group of studies reported in Health IT Analytics. They write:
Researchers found that simple behavioral interventions for clinical staff (providers) could slash the number of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.The providers experienced one or more behavioral interventions that either suggested alternatives to antibiotic use through the electronic order set, prompted providers to enter free-text justifications for their antibiotic prescriptions in the electronic health record, or sent emails to participants comparing their prescribing rates with top-performing peers.
These “nudges” helped reduce antibiotic prescribing rates significantly. The control group decreased antibiotic prescriptions from 21.1 percent to 13.1 percent. Providers who received alternative suggestions reduced prescription rates from 22.1 percent to 6.1 percent, while those asked to provide justification for their actions slashed their antibiotic use from 23.2 percent to just 5.2 percent at the end of the study period.
Let's break down how this works. Usually, hospital staff give prescriptions for antibiotics in an attempt to prevent or slow the growth of infections. But this method can be a little scattershot. To quote the press release from the University of Southern California:
Nationally, there are over 22 million inappropriate prescriptions for acute respiratory infections each year. This means many doctors are prescribing antibiotics to patients who have the common cold, even though antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.“Antibiotics are overprescribed in the United States, which has made antibiotic-resistant infections a huge concern,” said Jeffrey A. Linder, the lead study physician at General Medicine and Primary Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who is also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “There is an urgent need for interventions that safely decrease inappropriate prescribing.”
How did the studies generate better results? They tried three techniques:
As a provider, you have options besides prescribing antibiotics. There are a variety of tests you can do to determine the type of problem---including whether or not antibiotics will even be effective. The best course of action might be increased fluids, an over-the-counter medication, or simply rest. Sometimes these take additional time or require additional diagnostic work. But given the general overprescription of antibiotics, alternatives are worth considering.
The study tried communicating to the provider that they consider alternatives whenever they made the prescription. In effect the automated computer system said: "Before you order antibiotics for this patient, have you considered these other ideas?" That question alone had an impact on the results.
A second experiment that improved antibiotic prescription rates was to ask the medical professional to type up their reasons for ordering this drug. As they place the order in the computer system, a pop-up window asks them to justify why they want it.
Just like asking if they had thought about alternatives, requiring providers to write out a few opinions gives them pause. And as a result, they are less likely to overprescribe.
The final technique came in the form of emails regularly sent to providers. These would indicate the prescription rates of their colleagues, thus encouraging them to be more conservative. When you know what other people are doing, you may feel a sense of competition. In the end, that may cause you to take a moment and make a better choice.
This experiment proves what we've been saying about workflow: a little bit of thinking goes a long way. And in the case of medicine, it can help to save lives.
In the case of antibiotics, the link is complex. That's because overprescription is contributing to antibiotic resistant bacteria rather than hurting patients directly. But in all areas of business, reviewing what we do and how we do it is worthwhile. There are smarter ways to work. We need to be smart, however, to find them.
If you'd rather listen then read, you can enjoy the 20-minute piece online. Or, jump down for the word-for-word transcript.
Caroline: I'm Caroline Dowd-Higgins, thank you for listening to "Your Working Life", my podcast series featuring thought leaders in the career and personal growth arena. You spend a significant portion of your life at work so my goal is to provide you with tools, inspiration, and resources so you can enjoy your career and love your life. I am delighted to welcome my very special guest to the show today, Marcia Newman. Marcia, welcome to the show.
Marcia: Thank you so much, Caroline, it's lovely to be here.
Caroline: I'm psyched for our wonderful conversation. We became fast friends when we met only a few months ago and I want to tell our listening audience all about you. Marcia Newman is Principal of Marcia Newman and Associates and she brings over 20 years of experience in strategically maximizing performance and growing leaders through professional coaching, consulting, training, and inspirational speaking. She's a woman after my own heart. She's interested in finding solutions to issues facing organizations and people, and asks the essential questions to lead people to find answers of intention and choice. Now, Marcia clarified and aligns every aspect of business, personal, and organizational life through congruence of spirit, voice, and the purpose of her clients whether they be corporate or individual.
We're going to learn so much more about Marcia throughout the show but I want to start our juicy conversation, because you really are someone who cultivates leaders, Marcia. I'd love to start the conversation, what are the critical aspects for leaders today? Because the world of work is changing.
Marcia: It is definitely changing. I have the privilege of working with people in every aspect of their domains. For me, you can't get into leadership in an organization without getting into leadership of the person. I think, for leaders today, they have to be as aware of who they are individually, as who they are in their organization. I think critical aspects for them are self awareness. It's hugely critical that people evaluate themselves continually and see where they're going and where they're taking others.
Courage. We're facing into the unknown in unprecedented ways today. I think courage is a virtue of great leaders who are willing to step out and take risks, but with that they must be humble. Humility is something that is highly under valued and it allows itself to express the virtue in others by calling forth the greatness of others while you're together on the journey. I think the other thing is intention. I think we must be intentionally authentic about what we want, who we are, and who we want to cultivate others to be.
Caroline: So beautifully put, Marcia, I couldn't agree more. As a fellow coach that really resonates with me and I'm sure a lot of our audience is nodding as well. Now, here's something that the audience doesn't know about you. They may know this about me, but we share this in common in that we are also professional singers who have for many years been singing and have that part of our livelihood. We as musicians are used to coaches, that's just part of the world of music. Why is coaching also important to those who are outside of the arts?
Marcia: Well, as you so aptly put it, my introduction to coaching was the phenomenal voice teachers I had who acted more in the world of looking at life than they did just looking at your voice. Because your voice is who you are and it's how you live your life and express it, and I got into coaching for the same reasons. I think coaching is important because, ... Especially with the arts. Artistic people bring a lens to organizations that have often been shut down by people who have not been able to develop that gift.
When we look at organizations today, it takes an increasing amount of creativity to think outside that box. Artistic people tend to look at the whole picture and not just see what's in the weeds and they're working on today. I think ... I was thinking about it this morning. We were raised to be creative as children. We got our fingers messy in finger paint. We play acted with our friends. We were spontaneous and we had that joie de vivre that is often shut down in organizations. To bring that back, that aspect to bear of allowing someone to express creatively what is needful for the organization is such a gift.
Paintings are not just things we hang on the wall to look like we're cultured, paintings are expressions of moments in life. People who have that expressive personality whether it's visual arts or vocal arts or acting whatever, they see in organizations because of holistic relationships, what often is missing that just in day-to-day getting done the urgent, not the necessary, takes place.
Caroline: I love that, it just makes me smile. Not only as a fellow artist but someone who has committed her life to helping other succeed. I think you would agree with me that in the sports fields and in the artistic endeavors, coaching has been the norm for decades. It's lovely to see it catching fire and becoming the norm in businesses and non-profit and even government organizations. Because it's coaching for success, it's not just corrective behavior. Would you agree, and to add?
Marcia: Absolutely. Well for me, the neatest thing about being a coach is being able to call forth someone's greatness. I can see what's in them that they often don't know is lying there dormant. The other thing is too, accompany someone on that journey to have the pleasure of watching that person grow in every aspect of their life. Yes, I agree that everybody needs a coach in their corner and how great it is in organizations we kind of latched onto this idea.
Caroline: Yes.
Marcia: I think coaching is important too because it's good to have a sounding board. Even though or intentions may be great, we don't often express ourselves the way we think we do. To hear someone else kind of reflect back what they're hearing and seeing is very needful if you're intentional about self awareness and how you're growing and what you're choosing to become.
Caroline: Goodness knows, it's always a journey even if you are at that top level, C-suite executive role, you're not done.
Marcia: Absolutely. It's daily, daily.
Caroline: Yes. Marcia, you write so eloquently about person-ship and I've heard you speak on this as well. Describe for the audience that leadership is person-ship and what you mean by that.
Marcia: Well, for me, as someone who's been in leadership circles for many, many years, I think it's becoming attractive to adopt other people's versions of leadership and not necessarily our own. As I mentioned earlier in the conversation, who we are as individuals, authentically, intentionally, what we choose to become is the pair of pants that we put on. It's not someone else's pair of pants. I think what I'm seeing today is that information alone ... We can read about leadership. If you Google leadership there's millions and millions of titles. That alone does not make a leader. Who you are and who you become in and through your practice of leadership is what I call person-ship.
It's the person that people see, whether you know it or not. It's the person you're carrying and it's the person that other people will choose to follow. I am not negating that there's amazing information about leadership. Certainly, I have been a part of writing in the conversation as well. I think if we think more about who we are and the I that needs be changed first, and then think about we need others, for me that is what is truly important.
Caroline: Beautifully put. What I see with so many individuals is that ah-ha moment, that awakening, that awareness of, "I had no idea that this might have been a blind spot," and I think a coach can help identify that. I would love for you to share, with your incredible wisdom and expertise, some very common things that hold people back today.
Marcia: Well, the first thing I'm going to share is that I think we have inflammation of the brain. What I mean by that is I think there is so much interference and intrusion in our lives that all this information congeals in our brain and causes us, like it would in the body ... The energy goes to the brain when there's inflammation in order to heal it. I think often this inflammation keeps us from doing what's necessary and pulls us to the urgent. There's so much interference and so much intrusion today. I think necessarily people need to get back to simplicity, to mindfulness, and to gratefulness, and to reclaim the present moment.
A lot of us are letting life slip by. The other thing that I think holds people back is ... And this is a very large thing. It's how they view themselves. I think we're in a society that is largely bent towards comparing, and we often compared ourselves to others instead of magnifying the uniqueness that we bring to the table. I think people often are concentrating on developing things they think other people want of them, not necessarily ... And it goes back to the whole idea congruence ... The things that they know that may take more work and focus within themselves but not trying to be something somebody else wants them to be but being who they naturally are.
Caroline: That's great. We talk a lot in career development about the importance of values and how values can really predict our career and our life satisfaction. Speak to me a little bit more about values and how you might work with someone in a coaching capacity to identify theirs.
Marcia: Well, we all live by values whether we're aware of what we're living by or not. Typically, what happens is if you come to me and we start talking, I'll ask you what you want and what you think is important and what matters to you. Then we'll begin looking at, do the things that you are currently doing or have done in the past or say you want to do in the future. Line up with what it is you say you want. It's very interesting something other than they truly believe they want themselves or they, as we just said, they feel like there's a limitation. They don't think they're worthy of it, they don't think they can have it.
Self limiting beliefs hold people back. I think people truly want what is essential in life but, again, this being pulled away into the other that they think society tells them they should be or the workplace tells them they should be. Recently, I had a client that I'd been working with for three months, she was a physician. She was changing roles and she was launched into ... With a new practice, an opportunity for great leadership potential outside of just her own day-to-day seeing her patients. When she came to me she said, "Oh, that's what I want. I know that I want to be this leader. I want to be valued and I want to be respected in my practice."
Three months later she actually did not want those things because we uncovered underneath who she really was and what she truly valued. When she sought those things herself she said, "Well, that's not what I want, that's just adding more of what I already have. She came to a place of resonance, alignment, and balance. It was really beautiful to see because it was not ... It really didn't take that much time. In her mind she thought she needed X but when she came down to really honoring the time with herself she said, "No, it's why, which is what I've always been and that's who I choose to be."
Caroline: I think it's important to dove tail on that, Marcia, and also say that our values change depending upon where we are in our lives. It might be a life stage, whether you're a new professional in the job market or maybe you're growing your family or you're considering retirement. Would you agree that our values change over time?
Marcia: Oh, absolutely. I had the privilege of working with some clients from Dow AgroScience this year. Several of them retired and the company's gone through much transition. The ones who retired I had such fun with because many of them had never asked the essential questions. Back when they first started their career, they were in a time warp that said you are pretty much your job and if you get an excellent job and stay with the company the company will marry you and you will marry the company. Then they find out, oops, that's not really all there is. At the end of their life, or their work life, they're saying, "Hmm, who do I want to be when I grow up? How can I pull together and marry all that I am and bring that to bear, to the fore."
Yes, I think absolutely, crisis precipitates change and we are in a culture of change. I think for people who are absolutely trying to navigate the work life balance, career decisions, they absolutely would benefit from someone guiding them, helping them, listening to them as a coach would.
Caroline: I loved hearing you talk about simplicity and authenticity and taking that time to really listen to yourself. As our listeners appreciate you wisdom in the podcast, what do you think are the few most important things for one to focus on during the day, if you could distill it down to just a few?
Marcia: Well, it's funny but I think the most important thing is gratefulness because you cannot be anxious or worry and be grateful at the same time. There is wisdom that says to give thanks in all things, even for the things that are not well at the time. You could be ill, you could be suffering, you could have a work crisis, you could have ... Feel anxiety over a family issue. You could be pulled and stretched at work.
If you stop and give thanks for that moment it clears it away and it helps you re-energize and re-focus on matters at hand. I tell people that gratefulness is like a vitamin pill. You don't need a prescription, you can take it as many times a day as you need it, and it always re-centers you to what you have now. We don't know what the future holds. We all want to move forward but we can't until we own where we are in the present. I think one thing that gratefulness, even in difficult situations helps you to do, is own wherever you are.
One of the moving things to me about Victor Frankel who wrote ... Oh, I'm sorry, I can't think of his book. Something about suffering. Anyway, he wrote that when he was in concentration camp he realized that no one could take away from him the power to choose. He chose to be grateful even in the midst of suffering and death. When we get to that point where no matter what situation we're in, we can choose to be grateful. It's very empowering and it just brings the day into greater meaning.
Caroline: What a beautiful place to end. Marcia, I'm so grateful for you today, but I would love for you to share how we can get in touch with you. Because I know so many of the listeners would benefit from your wisdom as a speaker, an author, and a coach. How can we engage with you?
Marcia: Well, thank you very much, Caroline. They can contact me through my website, www.marcianewmanassociates.com. They can find me on LinkedIn and my office cell number is 317-432-4204. I would welcome their call and would love to know how I can serve and encourage them today.
Caroline: Marcia, you're a joy. Thank you so much. I know our paths will continue to ... To cross, I should say. I'm so grateful that you shared your time and wisdom with us today.
Marcia: Thank you, Caroline, it was a joy and a pleasure for me as well.
Caroline: I want to thank all of you for tuning in to "Your Working Life", where my goal is to help you design our career destiny so it doesn't happen by default. Career and life satisfaction is possible and it's time to embrace what you love doing so you can do more of it. Now, my show is available on iTunes, You Tube, Pod Bean, and Stitcher. Leave a comment, as I always appreciate hearing from my listeners. I'm Caroline Dowd-Higgins, take care.
An article from the Washington Post describes this type of unsavory character:
These employees are the bane of American enterprise and they're everywhere. Not only are they detrimental to a company's morale, they are extremely costly to its bottom line and can do far more harm to an organization than outliers at the other extreme — the superstar employees — do good. But who are these people exactly? And how are they different from the rest of us?
Disagreeable people at the office are a big problem, and one we've covered before here on The Methodology Blog. I wrote a post on what to do if your boss is a jerk and another one about how you might be driving your coworkers nuts. But as the Washington Post piece explains, a Harvard University study points out a multitude of characteristics of bad employees---many of which are surprising. When combined with some other elements from our own research, it's easy to see why terrible, terrible people tend to survive and thrive in organizations.
People who are a problem at work are like anyone else----they fall somewhere on the spectrum of productivity. It turns out, however, that unpopular, difficult individuals also tend to be extremely effective at their work: getting more done, closing more deals, negotiating more quickly, and solving more problems. This makes them valuable, even if they are downright frustrating.
Annoying people who are incompetent don't tend to stick around. Therefore, those that remain tend to be disgustingly good at their jobs. Plus, there's the problem of insulation. If you're a jerk, people around you know. But if you're highly productive, people several layers removed will see your numbers. That keeps unwanted characters around.
This statement is only in an aside from the Washington Post article, but it's supported by past studies. People who are willing to commit fraud tend to last longer. That's because---contrary to the expression---crime does pay. You've probably experienced this in your own career: coming across an old-timer who you don't really like but has been around too long to be questioned. Or you may have even seen it in your community: a business that has been operating forever but doesn't seem to be all that good at what they do.
This may not be all that surprising, given how many maxims there are in our culture. We are told to be "career-minded" to "take care of ourselves first." But that also means that we may end up "watching our back" and "thinking of others last." From the article:
"All things equal, those that are less other-regarding should be more predisposed to toxicity as they do not fully internalize the cost that their behavior imposes on others," the researchers wrote.
Here's one we've covered before: people who talk first are perceived as leaders. If you're willing to stand up and speak often, others will tend to think of you as the person who knows what's happening. But irony is that people who are the real experts tend to be thinking rather than talking.
And in the same way that incompetent jerks tend to lose their jobs, leaving only the annoyingly productive jerks, people who take big risks that don't pan out tend to lose their jobs as well---leaving the people who gamble and win.
(And: This may remind you of one of the most famous psychological findings in recent years.)
This does not seem to make any sense. Don't we want people who follow the rules all the time?
The reason is revealed by two statements. Consider "we should always follow the rules no matter what" versus "sometimes you have to break the rules to do a good job." People who give the first answer are probably trying to impress the boss. People who give the second answer know that rules are a good idea, but they don't work perfectly in every situation.
And interestingly, the study says that rule-followers are more likely to be fired for breaking the rules!
The article explains that the costs are huge:
The consequences of employing such people can be enormous for a company. The researchers calculated that these workers can cost $12,489 due to the need to replace other workers who leave due to their behavior. That's an almost two-to-one return as compared to their estimates for what a company gains from a superstar employee in the 1 percent of productivity — an increase in $5,303 in value.
But when you're interviewing people, ask them questions. Find out how they feel about taking care of others and taking care of themselves. And ask them how they feel about rules. You may just discover they aren't the kind of person you want in your organization. Or you may find out you want to give them a try.
We've all been there. You're swamped at work, busy trying to stick to your schedule and get all your work done efficiently, but need to eat. Suddenly you realize, oops! It's lunchtime and you have less than 20 minutes before you need to be back in the office for a meeting. You didn't pack a lunch and grabbing a meal at a sit-down restaurant is out of the question. The next best thing? Fast food time. And since you're cutting it close, you decide that heading to the drive-thru is the most efficient way possible to get your food, eat it and be ready for you meeting with maybe a minute or two to spare. Right?
Recently, a former McDonald's drive-thru employee educated msn.com readers about the 10 Things Your McDonald's Drive-Thru Worker Really Wants You To Know. It's an intriguing perspective to say the very least. After all, when was the last time you thought about what the people behind the microphone are feeling? Sad as it is to admit, we drive through the drive-thru because we're busy and hope to satisfy our hunger quickly. But the brutal truth is: we're mainly concerned with ourselves in fast food scenarios. But isn't that why the drive-thru exists?
In any case, while there are many valid points for consumers to take away in regards to the tips provided in this piece, there are definitely some inefficiencies that can easily be remedied on behalf of fast food restaurants across America. I've highlighted a few tips below with some of my thoughts following. So, let's take a look shall we?
A 10-piece McNugget meal comes with two sauces for free and at some McDonald's you'll be charged for any additional sauces. So if you pull forward to the window and ask for a third barbecue sauce, I will have to take your extra money, run over to the closest register, wait for the person who's actually assigned to that register to finish with their customer, ring in your sauce, get your change, grab the sauce, and then bring them to you. This whole drawn-out process can just be avoided if you order your extra sauce at the speaker box with your meal.
While it's not shocking that additional sauce incurs additional costs (extra is extra after all), it is a bit naive in part of the restaurant to assume consumers recognize this fact. So, perhaps it is wise to train drive-thru employees to ask patrons if they'd like extra sauce upon ordering? By asking during the order, not only will the consumer be satisfied with their service, but the restaurant will have efficiently fulfilled the order with less of a headache.
3. "Regular" is not a size. McDonald's doesn't have some fancy lingo for the sizes of its meals, like Starbucks. There's just small, medium, and large sizes for most meals. So when I ask you what size Filet-O-Fish meal you want, don't order a "regular." If you do I'll be forced to guess whether you mean small or medium, and on most occasions my guess is wrong.
I'm not a fast food expert, nor do I order it all that often, but I wouldn't categorize the word "regular" as a fancy lingo for sizes. That being said, this confusing language can all be remedied with a simple change in the script:
Standard script: "What size Filet-O-Fish meal do you want?" Efficient alternative: "Would you like a small, medium or large Filet-O-Fish meal?"
I get it – it's super annoying to have someone mess up your lunch order, but please don't bring the sass with me. I entered your order into the computer correctly, but whoever made your burger in the kitchen (ie: not me) must have slipped up and given you no pickles when you asked for extra. I'd be happy to get you a new burger, but please don't tell me "you messed up my order," because I didn't.
First, I do NOT condone treating any service provider poorly; particularly when it comes to food management. It's a stressful job that no doubt takes a thick skin to persevere in! That being said, I find this tip troublesome for two reasons:
1. Mistakes do happen. We all know this. And while Joe Shmo at drive-thru may not be "okay" with his messed up order, it's a way to help you learn and grow in your job. Whether the mistake was yours or not, take it in stride and use the scenario to assist in creating a better process moving forward.
2. One of the best ways to create a disgruntled working environment is to point fingers in blame. When a rift occurs on the job, it's not a reason to make your co-worker the scapegoat. Instead, it should be a great opportunity to combine forces and work toward an even better, stronger process. Sidenote: in most cases, throwing colleagues under the bus is a problem, not a solution.
To learn more about how you can improve efficiency in your office, contact us today!
An article from Pacific Standard quotes one expert, a licensed clinical social worker that specializes in this behavior:
There's no single cause. Chronic lateness is a kind of end-product phenomena. People can have very different sorts of motives and patterns that lead them to be chronically late.
Possible causes of tardiness, the piece explains, come from all kinds of sources:
What's worse is that because the problem is complex the answer isn't easy:
Because there isn't one root cause for lateness, there isn't one solution either. If you are constantly late, you have to figure out why. If it's distractions, remove them. If it's being overly polite, toughen up. If it's optimism, take a cold, hard look at how the world really runs. It's a person-by-person problem, without a universal remedy.
This is bad news for people who are late, but it's even worse for those of us who are waiting on everyone else. A scathing essay attacking the chronically tardy doesn't mince words:
And it is not that we lead ‘busy lives’. That’s a given, we all do, and it’s a cop out to use that as an excuse. It’s simply that some people no longer even pretend that they think your time is as important as theirs. And technology makes it worse. It seems texting or emailing that you are late somehow means you are no longer late.Rubbish.
You are rude. And inconsiderate.
This post is not an outlier. Another blogger writes that being late is unacceptable. A Forbes contributor insists that On Time is Late. And while people will say "it's fine" when you apologize for the lateness of your arrival, they are not telling you the truth. It's not fine. They would rather have you been on time.
What should be done? Here are some tips:
Always intend to be early to every appointment. A good rule of thumb is to be as early as the half travel time required to get there. If it's a 10 minute walk; leave fifteen minutes early. If it's a 20 minute taxi ride, plan to arrive by ten minutes till. If you think you need an hour to drive to the client's office, structure your day so you can be in their parking lot thirty minutes before you get there.
And, have something to do while waiting. Bring a book. Be ready to catch up on emails. Hand write a few thank you cards. Be busy, and if the other person is running behind you can still do the work while you're waiting.
Just because someone else is running late doesn't mean you should give them extra time at the end of your appointment. Wrap up when it's time to wrap up. And make sure that they know how much time you have.
There's no one secret to being on time, but being late impacts your reputation. It's better to be twenty minutes early than one minute late. Do everything in your power to keep that promise.
Maybe you send a bill right away, or you try to wait a few days so that you don’t look frantic. Either way, you keep going to the mailbox looking for a check.
But that's not what we want. Wouldn’t it be nice to be paid sooner?
I’m going to tell you how. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelancer, run a consulting firm, act as a reseller or even represent a network marketing company. But first---let me ask you a question:
How many times have you had a detailed conversation about what you do with someone who was not a serious buyer?
It’s at least once. And if you’re actively marketing your business, it’s probably happened at least once this week. Why does this happen? Why do we talk to people who don’t really want to buy from us? The answer may not be what you think...
Part of the reason is that it that we are afraid of seeming like we’re always selling. We like spending time with friends and family, and so we try to make business conversations more personal. We don’t want to talk nuts and bolts, prices and terms. We just want to have a friendly interaction.
But in most places where commerce happens, people are far more serious about doing business. Sure, you can be “just looking” at a department store. But it’s much harder to go into a grocery store, glance at a few prices and leave.
An even better example is a restaurant. Once you are seated at your table, you are certain to have a transaction. The prices are on the menu. The server is going to try to sell you the special. They are going to try to upsell you on drinks. They are going to try to add-on dessert. And they are going to invite you back for another visit, possibly with a coupon.
This is the first and most crucial step. You’re always selling. You aren’t necessarily selling the product yet, but you are selling the chance to have an appointment to talk about the product. So how do you to this?
You can go to networking meetings, call up prospects, go to fundraisers or visit with colleagues all day long. None of these activities are necessarily doing business. Instead, they are ways to have a casual conversation in a business environment.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do them. It just means that the next step is to have a serious business conversation. And people who are serious about business are serious about paying.
What would happen if you were to ask a prospect if you should bring your standard contract to the first meeting?
They might say, “No, I am not ready to see your contract.” In which case, you might want to send them some marketing material instead of taking time to drive to their offices.
What if you’re a freelance writer and you structure your fees so that they include one meeting a month? If so, shouldn’t you bill the client for the first meeting? In that case, you probably want to make sure to explain this information before you meet with prospects. People who don’t like the idea of paying for your time won’t waste your time by meeting with you.
This brings me to another lesson about valuing your time and expertise...
It might seem funny to bring up negotiation. Most people hope they won’t ever have to negotiate. But really, negotiation is something you want to happen. It gets you closer and closer to understanding the real needs of your customers.
Think of it this way. You probably know the old rule that says “never have all your eggs in one basket.” It’s important for prospects and salespeople to be able to walk away. If you absolutely have to make a deal, then you have no room to negotiate. On the other hand, if you have lots of options then you have a great deal of interest in negotiation.
It’s the people who aren’t serious that aren’t interested in negotiating or in closing a deal. That means you can find out who really wants to buy your products by making an offer. For example, you can trade delaying your work for a cheaper price. “Want to reserve our team for next month? We can offer you a discount if you pre-pay.”
You can also do what professional service providers do: expect the money to be on the table. That’s a painful lesson for anyone who has ever done work that never received payment.
What's next? Come back next time for the second half of this post, in which I explain why seeing the money is essential in the sales process.
You probably started by observing your parents or others driving. Then you may have taken Driver’s Ed in school. You read the text book and the official driver’s manual for your state. You took your test for your learner’s permit. You watched videos in class. Then you actually got into the car with your instructor and started driving. You practiced driving in town and on the highway. You learned how to parallel park. Then you went to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) branch and took the written and driving tests to obtain your license.
What do you think would have happened if you went to the DMV and took the written and driving tests first before you ever picked up a manual or practiced driving? You probably wouldn’t have passed the tests and gotten your license. That’s why studying and doing work are best when they're brought together.
If you know anything about me, you know I’m passionate about the power of continuous learning. It is the most important thing you can do to accelerate your path to success. But in order to be successful, you can’t just acquire the knowledge and not do anything with it. You have to apply what you learn in your personal and professional lives.
Do the thing, and you shall have the power. ---Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sure, you can attempt to learn everything you can about a particular topic, but if you don’t apply that knowledge in real life, you’re not going to really achieve what you set out to learn in the first place. For example, you could learn how to get more clients from reading a book or taking a workshop, but you have to actually DO SOMETHING--like make sales calls, send emails to potential customers or attend networking events---to get a sale. You can’t just wait and hope someone will come to you and want to buy what you’re selling. (Granted, that does happen sometimes, but if you want your business to really be successful, you have to take control and do something.)
It's great to learn, but action is what makes learning valuable. There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” What that means is, you can’t make the journey just by learning everything there is to know about the journey. You have to actually take that first step on the journey.
We’ve all seen a baby learning to walk. First, the baby watches others crawling and walking. Then the baby starts rocking back and forth on all fours. Then the baby makes that first crawling motion, and pretty soon, he’s on the move, getting into everything. Then the baby learns to stand, holding on to furniture or someone’s hand. Finally, the baby takes his first step. That step turns into a few steps, and the next thing you know, the baby is off and running.
Everything you learn in life is like when you learned to crawl and walk. You gather the knowledge by observing and/or reading. Then you apply that knowledge by doing the actions you learned.
Knowledge without practice is useless, and practice without knowledge is dangerous. ---Confucius
Sure, you can learn things for the sake of knowledge but when you put that knowledge into practice that’s when it becomes USEFUL knowledge. And you can try to do things without learning what you need to know first---but you may end up hurting yourself or others in the process. That’s why we really learn best by studying and then doing. The two things work best together.
Therefore, I challenge you: The next time you read a self-improvement or business-related book, watch a webinar, or attend a workshop---put what you learn into practice!
The snarky writers at Deadspin reported on yet another round of this insanity. This incident was at a huge corporation you've definitely heard of:
There is almost never a good reason to hit “reply all.” Especially not when “all” includes a listserv that goes out to thousands of employees at Time Inc., the country’s largest magazine publisher.It’s going how these things usually go: with some genuinely baffled folks, some angry that it’s 2016 and no one knows how email works, and some trolls just content to sow chaos.
This isn't the first time this has happened. It's not even the first time it's been covered by Deadspin! They lambasted a 2014 incident at the Columbia School of Journalism and even admitted their own reply-all calamity in connection with an internal NCAA basketball office pool.
And it's not just them.
In 2015, employees at Reuters went through a reply-all horror show. It happened at Microsoft in 1997. It happened at the US State Department. And even when messages don't go to thousands of people, reply-all can still be a source of embarrassment. A Business Insider slideshow reviews nearly a dozen cringe-worthy moments in the history of email.
What can be done?
This advice is getting a bit tired, but apparently it still needs to be shared. When it comes to reply-all, just don't do it. Although there may be some cases in which everyone who received a message needs to read your response, those incidents are extremely rare.
This is for a lot of reasons, not of all which are entirely encouraging:
Take control of a wild reply-all thread as soon as you can by moving everyone to BCC and replying. Insert the words "Meeting forthcoming" or "THREAD CLOSED" to the front of the subject, but leave what remains. Write a reply to kill the response and add a bunch of blank lines to the bottom of your note so that people have to scroll a while to see the context.
You may need to do this more than once, but since most people keep the newest message at the top of their inbox they are likely to see your reply-all-ending message first.
Pick up the phone and reach out to someone on the thread that hasn't replied yet or hasn't replied lately. Tell them not to reply. Send them this article. Suggest a meeting or a conference call. End the threads.
We expect people to be able to use email technology without any training, but the replyallpocalypse proves otherwise. Establish a training program for email for your company. Ask everyone to attend. After all, if we use a technology for hours throughout the day, why wouldn't we take the time to learn to use it well?
Robby Slaughter, speaker, consultant, and a principal of AccelaWork, recently shared his thoughts on communication with Inside Indiana Business in his article Better Communication Through Less Communication. This piece focuses in on points to consider when communicating in your office, with your colleagues, and even during meetings. It highlights seemingly innocent communication blunders that many of us commit unknowingly each and every day. According to Slaughter:
. . . too many modern business professionals attempt to run their careers through overcommunicating. They deliver soliloquies better suited for the stage than for the conference room. They write epistles instead of emails. They talk when they should be listening, and worst of all, call meetings when what the business needs most is for people to be working.
We all aim to become more efficient, less stressed and more focused in our work. This comes as no surprise to many of us. Unfortunately, we cannot control every single factor and/or interruption that occurs outside of our own little bubble. What we can do, however, is take steps to improve our communication to enhance not only our own productivity but also the productivity of those around us. If we lead by example and utilize the ideas that Slaughter provides in his article, we can show others that talking less doesn't mean we lose connection with one another or fall short of achieving great discussions. Consider the following suggestions:
No more “so to says” or “it’s one of those things.” Eliminate “this, that, and the other” and destroy every “way, shape, or form.” Drop “very” and “I mean” and “you know.” These strings of words dull the minds of listeners. They occupy space without providing value. They lessen your impact, and therefore undermine your credibility. Stop.
It's incredibly easy to utilize these phrases constantly as "fillers". No doubt, you will have to remind yourself to not repeat, repeat, repeat these words. But, the more conscientious you are that they exist at the forefront of your vocabulary, the less you'll rely on them moving forward.
Dropping in on a colleague to discuss an idle curiosity is rude and wasteful. Impromptu meetings with no agenda derail productivity and incite resentment . . . Before talking to a coworker, plan what you will say. Before presenting a new initiative in a meeting, work out your script. The more people who will receive your message, the more time you should spend crafting your words and visuals. It is easy to annoyingly over-communicate if you are woefully underprepared.
Slaughter encourages us to consider utilizing visual aids such as:
When explaining a situation, use a name, tell the details in the order they happened, and describe the resolution. The arc of a good story lives forever in the mind of a listener.
Slaughter does caution readers however, to be careful about being silly, boastful, or overly clever. When we attempt to unnecessarily impress others or force laughter, it can often times have an adverse effect. Instead, be intentional in your communication. If you end up conjuring laughs or compliments through genuine remarks, that is certainly great! The point is, find balance. If you do, you will end up being someone those around you consider a pleasurable conversationalist.
If you use a number, make sure it is exactly precise. If you quote experts, check your sources. Provide references and be transparent about the origins of your ideas. If you become known as someone who pays little attention to the truth, you’ll also become known as someone who pays the most attention to the sound of their own voice . . . Follow the rules of grammar and spelling. Treat all people equally. If you must criticize, do so in private to that person, out of earshot of others. Check and double check. Admit when you are wrong, and apologize. Correctness and humility breed respect.
Slaughter's points above speak volumes to so many of us. It's hard to deny just how much our communication choices can make or break our day. That being said, it's in our best interest to always be cognizant of the way in which we are relaying information and interacting with each other. Doing so will help us succeed not only in our business relationships, but in our personal productivity.
Let's all strive to achieve better communication through less communication. Let's be the trendsetters!
In part one of this post I explained that getting paid sooner is first and foremost about having serious business conversations. Don't be afraid of "always selling." Find out if they are just looking free advice or want to really buy something. And finally, see if negotiation is on their mind. What's next?
Real estate professionals figured this out a long time ago. You can’t put an offer into a house without a pre-approval letter from a lender or from a bank. That ensures that only people who have the ability to buy can tie up people’s time. But they also do something else: require the payment of earnest money. This proves you are serious.
Lawyers do this too. But instead of earnest money, they call it a retainer. You pay up front into the retainer and the attorney bills that account at their usual hourly rate.
Likewise, people who rent equipment charge a deposit. Event planners sell advance tickets and charge more at the door. All of these are variations on the same theme, which is...
If your prospects want to become customers, they should be able to put cash on the table. Not just wave it in front of you, but actually pay you. Here’s what you can say:
"It sounds like you’re serious about working with someone on this project. If you’d like to reserve my time in the next week, let’s get a deposit payment so that we can focus our full attention."
Doing so separates people who are serious from those who aren’t. People who are serious may want to know about contracts and whether the deposit is refundable. People who aren’t serious will say that they don’t make down payments. Which of course they do, they just aren’t ready to do so with you. (And if you’re feeling serious, remind them that they have done so when buying houses, renting apartments, opening checking accounts, establishing utilities, and so on.)
That means that they aren’t having a serious business conversation. And you can politely move on to the next opportunity to do the work you love for the price that you feel is fair.
Here’s an example of how to get paid sooner. Suppose you’re a plumber and you find yourself at a party with some friends. You’re talking to a new person and they ask you what you do. You might be tempted to say, “I’m a plumber.” Sure, that’s accurate. But remember the first step: Don’t be afraid of always selling. Instead, say:
“I repair leaks, install bath fixtures, and replace water heaters. I’m a plumber.”
There’s not much of a difference in these two statements at first glance. But the latter one is selling. If that person has a problem in their own home, they are probably going to say so. And if they have a need in the near future, they may well remember you.
Suppose they respond with, “It’s funny you mention that, because there’s a banging noise in my pipes. Any ideas?”
Again, the temptation might be to respond with some technical speculation. But recall the second step: confirm they are serious about paying. Instead, say:
“Oh yeah, I see that all the time. Could be any number of things. I only charge $75 for the first hour, and often that’s enough to solve the problem.”
By now you should be getting the hang of it. Instead of asking for an appointment or letting the conversation linger, confirm they are serious about negotiating. Another phrase to consider:
“Have you paid a plumber to work on this problem before?”
If the answer is yes, you can imply that your work is of higher quality which is represented by your up-front pricing. That’s negotiating, which proves they are serious. And if the answer is no, you can ask them if they think the quoted price would be worth paying to address their issue. That’s also negotiating, which again proves they are serious.
Now suppose it’s time to schedule the visit. You call to arrange a time, but as any business person knows, all appointments are tentative. Remember step four: ask to see the money. Add this to your phone call:
“Before we select a time and date let me go ahead and get your credit card information. That way if you get pulled away you can leave a key or have a neighbor open the door to address the issue.”
Now, you know that you’re going to get paid. In fact, there’s no way for the customer to avoid paying a bill and long invoice cycles. But there’s still a chance that you could encounter problems.
What happens if they decide they don’t need you after all?
To ensure that doesn’t happen, use Step 5: Get The Money Before You Do the Work.
I don’t mean that you should always charge them in advance. But rather, you should make it clear that a transaction is going to occur. Try adding this to your phone call:
“By the way, I just want to make sure that you know about our no show/cancellation policy. If you let us know 24 hours in advance, there is no additional charge. Otherwise we charge a $50 missed appointment fee. But I’m sure that won’t be an issue for you.”
Get paid sooner. The easiest way to improve your cashflow is to change the date when the money arrives. Use these steps to improve the relationship. Have serious conversations with serious customers and make more money.
And, good luck!
Okay, okay, settle down. Take a deep breath. After my last blog post all about change, I got some feedback. Oh boy, did you folks have some thoughts on the matter. Most of them went along these lines:
I know I should get with the program and generate and champion change. You helped me figure that out very clearly. But you didn’t give me the ways to do it. I WANT TACTICS. I WANT STEPS.
If you've been following my writing here or elsewhere, you should know by now that I’m not ever going to leave you hanging. I wanted to give everyone time to think about change and their role with making it happen, but I didn’t think you’d jump in with both feet. I’m really, really glad you did and are eager to use change to truly grow your business.
So without further delay, here are nine specific Tactics you can use to champion change in any group, in your business, in your home, or just about anywhere.
This list of tactics comes from Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry. You will find that it is sometimes better and easier to share the brilliance of others and give credit when due than it is to recreate something that is so similar it’s silly.
Now that you know, put it work. Make change happen!
By now, pretty much everyone has heard of the idea that a company should have a "vision statement" that is printed on marketing material and maybe emblazoned on the wall in a training room. But what does this mean?
A fantastic definition of a vision statement comes from the website BusinessDictionary.com:
An aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serves as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action.
There's some good writing here:
But are vision statements a good idea? Do they help people get on board and make things happen?
The better question to ask is not "what is your vision statement?" but "what is your company culture?" In too many organizations, people can't stand going to work. In those cases, putting something up on the wall is probably a de-motivational poster.
In short: if you have to tell your own people how great your company is, it's probably not that great.
We've got a ton of material about organizational culture here on The Methodology Blog. A few highlights:
Here it is:
To transform the American perspective on work.
They say that explaining a joke ruins it, but hopefully that's not the case with something which is serious:
What needs to be transformed about our perspective? Almost everything. Instead of trying to monitor and control behavior, we should be focused on results. Instead of assuming that people are lazy, unmotivated, unreliable, and dishonest, we should presume they are competent, creative, and interested in getting things done. We need to find ways to get out of the way, to have fewer meetings and less time wasted. We need to be less obsessed with when and where people are and more obsessed with providing resources so they can be more productive.
In short, we need a whole new perspective. And that is why AccelaWork is here.
Duhigg is talking about physical habits---what we do, how we act and react and when we do things. I want to shift that a little bit in connection with a section of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book, Your Erroneous Zones. The message here is that not only can you change your physical patterns, you can change your thinking too!
Dyer writes:
"It's not easy to think in new ways. You are accustomed to a certain set of thoughts and the debilitating thoughts that follow."
And since everything follows your thoughts, thinking and thoughts are the first area we should prioritize when considering personal development, don’t you think? It may be a challenge, but that is certainly no reason to avoid doing it.
He gives us three steps to follow to make the change occur:
STEP 1 – AWARENESS. You have to become cognizant of your thinking and adjust it so that it suits your purpose and builds success and happiness. That means to eliminate the negativity putting yourself and things around you down. Disrupt the pattern. Create new habits of thinking and more positive mental patterns.
STEP 2 – PRACTICE. Think about this: You already developed the patterns and habits you have over thousands of hours and, probably, thousands of days. You can’t change them instantly. It reminds me of a comment I heard recently: Belly fat doesn’t show up overnight, why do you expect it to leave that way? Just like losing weight takes commitment, practice, and perseverance, so will losing your bad mental habits.
STEP 3 – BELIEVE. Perhaps you’re skeptical. Think back to learning to ride a bike. Once you sort of accomplished it, all of a sudden you started to believe you could and then, after a few successful attempts, you knew you could.
Dyer talks about achieving happiness. But when you step back, you can see that this “change of mental habit” can be used in all aspects of life and even business, which is why I am sharing it with you.
Change your habit or routine way of thinking to change your business and life. You have heard things like this before, I know. Theory and concept are both great, but I like true application.
Imagine you are going to the dentist, and you know you have a cavity. Picture the drill. You can hear it in your head and you can feel that churning in your stomach. After all, you have been taught that going to the dentist is a nasty experience, and one that is associated with pain. You dread it. You always have and you probably always will, right?
Well, maybe not.
Dyer states that reactions are learned, which means you can change them. You could make the whole experience work for you instead by choosing to make it a pleasant, exciting procedure. You could, if you really decided to use your brain, make the drill signal a beautiful experience you have had. You could think something different about what you used to call pain and choose to feel something new and pleasurable.
Imagine if you could use that same process to adjust your thinking about everything. Imagine what would be possible if we used more of our brains, and made it a habit to use more. What kind of a business would you have, besides exceedingly successful? Take some time and think about what that could mean for you and everyone around you.
Change your habits and change your life!
That's the premise of a piece from Inc. Magazine, which concludes with:
Managers need to be careful about the way they monitor employees. Whether they do it themselves, or use bots, or use software that uses bots, there is a serious risk that you will hamper employee joy and productivity--and hinder employee honesty--if the employees know they are always being monitored. Life's most enjoyable, creative moments--in and out of the workplace--come when you know you're not being supervised or scrutinized.
At first glance, this might seem to clash directly with another finding in research on employee behavior: the Hawthorne effect. That's the idea that people who know they are being observed tend to improve some aspect of their behavior.
So which is it? Does monitoring people's behavior increase or decrease productivity? The answer is simply: it depends on why they believe they are being watched.
When we're doing any task for another person, there's two ways we can think about that relationship. Either we feel empowered by the work and we enjoy the challenge and opportunity, or we believe we are suspected by others as lazy, incompetent, or untrustworthy, and we're afraid they will misinterpret anything we do in a negative light.
If you take the radical philosophy of trusting your employees, you'll find they are likely to want to be productive. And if they don't, they will demonstrate this by breaking your trust---and you can find someone else.
But if you don't trust your employees and need to check on them all the time, you need to spend a significant amount of resources on supervision. That may include spot checks, security cameras, time clocks, or reports. If we are fearful that people may cheat and we put controls into place to ensure that they don't, those restrictions become the hallmarks of the workplace.
If you want to give your employees the chance to work without fear of interruption or supervision, and to have the chance to be creative and come up with new ideas, your main course of action is letting go. You can't define a process for trust or a checklist for innovation. It happens because you're not trying to make it happen.
But if you distrust people, it's relatively straightforward to build mechanisms to check up on your staff. You can watch them via closed-circuit television or have them fill out excessive documentation.
In an era of instant messaging and email, the next obvious step is write software that nags people on your behalf. And if that's a valid idea, why not software that manages your hiring process. Via Fortune magazine:
“People analytics” is fast emerging as a tool in the perpetual war to retain and attract talent. Companies have started hiring data scientists and building or buying software that predicts who will leave and who will make the best senior vice president.
And computer systems aren't just becoming responsible for making suggestions about who to bring into the company, but also who to show to the door. One algorithm knows you're a bad employee:
JPMorgan Chase & Co...is rolling out a program to identify rogue employees before they go astray, according to Sally Dewar, head of regulatory affairs for Europe, who’s overseeing the effort. Dozens of inputs, including whether workers skip compliance classes, violate personal trading rules or breach market-risk limits, will be fed into the software.“It’s very difficult for a business head to take what could be hundreds of data points and start to draw any themes about a particular desk or trader,” Dewar said last month in an interview. “The idea is to refine those data points to help predict patterns of behavior.”
But that pinball-playing-robot would be highly tuned to one particular machine. And even if it could adapt, work is not pinball. People are far more complex than the algorithms that people create.
Sometimes, people can surprise you. It's the unexpected that can't be predicted, and it's the unpredictable that we often need to move forward.
Perhaps it sounds a bit harsh -- "colleagues wasting our time." But, if we ignore the choice of words for a brief second, we can truthfully admit: that is exactly what's happening right? Inside Indiana Business highlighted this exact topic recently by sharing Robby Slaughter's article: Three Ways to Get Co-Workers to Stop Wasting Your time. According to Slaughter, the problem with co-worker interruption is twofold: xplain
First, there are a million different ways people can waste your time. And secondly, pushing back seems rude and is sure to have long-term effects on your relationships at work.
This couldn't be more true. After all, how many times have you dealt with interruptions (behind a gritting smile) despite the knowledge that such situations are completely and utterly unnecessary in nature. Slaughter highlights interruptions that occur weekly and perhaps daily in many offices:
These interruptions may seem harmless or even short-lived in nature, but when you stop to review the time with which they suck from personal productivity in the office, the tune suddenly changes. Because, let us not forget that a short fifteen-minute meeting isn't just a quarter of an hour ordeal. Add in the minutes lost before and after the meeting just getting to and from the conference room, the minutes of "small talk" that often take place, not to mention the set-backs taken from interrupting personal workflow, and suddenly the short interruption becomes a plethora of wasted time on your behalf.
All of this can be infuriating; especially when the delays are due to a meeting or conversation not even pertaining to you whatsoever. But, what about the work that's been completed and squandered? In Slaughter's article, he mentions the frustration that arises in this regard as well:
Worse still is work that ends up being wasted. It’s the report your boss requested and then never read; it’s the scenario that someone thought the customer needed but turned out to be a miscommunication. It’s driving across town for a meeting that no one told you was canceled. When we’ve done something we thought was valuable—but later find out that it wasn’t—we may be facing rage or despair. Wasted time is bad, but wasted effort and time is worse.
Being proactive in our efforts toward reducing co-worker interruption is the best way we can manage our time effectively. It's also the strongest guarantee we have in regaining the time we so desperately need and want to be respected. Yet, to some, taking action may be a daunting task. The question becomes: where do we even start? How do we get co-workers to stop wasting the precious few moments we have to get work done? Slaughter's resolve:
The key revelation is to engage them in the world in which you live.
So what exactly does this mean? Below are some of Slaughter's tips for reclaiming your time.
Explain what’s on your plate. When approached by others in the office to work on an unexpected project, help with problem-solving, or join in a meeting, speak up. Tell them what you're working on and ask them whether the interruption is valid enough to take time away from the project currently at hand. This puts into perspective the true scope of your work and what's at stake.
If a colleague is empowered to help you decide where to focus, you are not an untapped resource of free effort.
Remember that non-work conversation isn't always meaningless fluff. Personal connection between co-workers is important. Not only does it create a better, more cohesive environment, but it breeds trust and confidence among the staff. Yet, it's important to remember that there is a time and place to have these kinds of conversations. When a co-worker begins to interrupt you in the midst of working, don't be afraid to redirect the conversation to a more appropriate and convenient time and place.
. . . the best thing to do is to get people to that spot. Bring them to the break room, walk back to their office, or ask them to schedule a lunch
Buy-in for level of effort required. When asked to work on an unexpected project that will interrupt current expectations on your behalf, be direct in your communications about the inevitable effects it will have on your work.
Put in writing in an email how much time it’s going to take and when you’re going to finish it, and provide regular updates whether you’re on schedule or not. That way, people who need you to devote your time are accountability for how you spent it. The effort is measured and understood, and can be better allocated next time.
To learn more about decreasing interruption in the workplace, consider reaching out to the experts at AccelaWork. We're here to help you regain control of your workflow and increase your productivity and satisfaction in the office!
A good place to begin is on the official Microsoft Office blog, which states:
How people work has changed dramatically. But one constant is that everyone wants to get more out of every moment of their life — after all, our time is the scarcest commodity. That’s why Microsoft has set a bold ambition to reinvent productivity and business process in this mobile-first, cloud-first world.
What are the big features of Office 2016? There are a ton, but here are a few highlights:
Real-time co-authoring - Although the idea of collaborative document editing has been around for a ridiculously long time, it's not the way most people create content. We are used to making a spreadsheet, a document, or a slideshow on our own computer, and emailing it to others for their feedback. This creates an enormous mess of revisions, of overlapping edits, and general inefficiency.
In Office 2016, Microsoft is putting real-time document editing at the forefront. And part of this emphasis on collaboration is Skype for Business, which will allow users to screenshare, video conference, and talk to eachother in real-time inside the applications. While you can do all of these things now through other tools, integrating the service together will hopefully catch on with customers.
The Office 365 Planner is another new feature that takes existing concepts and combines them to create a more streamlined experience. You could have been doing team and project scheduling with tools like Asana, Basecamp, Podio, or Huddle. But again, Microsoft is likely betting that the integration will bring people over to them.
And what happens if you can't find any of the zillion features built into Office 2016? Tell Me is available to help you find whatever it is you want to do.
My advice is that before you upgrade to new versions of software, ensure that you're really using the software you currently have to it's full potential. If that's Microsoft Office, look around for an online quiz to see what you know and don't know. Or, watch some videos on advanced features of the product.
Also, keep in mind that your biggest productivity barriers might not be software, but hardware. Are you waiting on your computer or is it waiting on you? Do you have a large enough display screen---or better yet, multiple displays? Typically, new versions of software will run slower than current applications. You may do better to upgrade your computer first and your software second.
Lastly, are you considering the competition? Most people barely use the features of tools like Microsoft Office. If you're just typing documents and don't need much in the way of layout, or creating spreadsheets that don't need some of the more advanced visual features of Excel, you should consider switching to Google Docs. And even if you do want a computer-based program, there are other alternatives to Microsoft Office that are often less expensive.
Computers are supposed to help us get more done. New ways to use them can help, but usually the biggest problem is that users don't understand what these machines were meant to do. The best investment in your technology is often not technology, but training. The most efficient people aren't necessarily those with the best tools, but those best at using whatever tools they have.
Whatever you decide to do, it's worth taking a look at Microsoft Office 2016. And, it's always worth your time to spend a few minutes reviewing the options that are available to you. The most competitive organizations are those willing to consider what's out there before making a decision. It's those corporations (and individuals) that refuse to think about their options that face the greatest risk of becoming obsolete.
Probably not.
Sure, a quick gift like a baked good will help people feel better. In just a few moments, you can make your employee really, really happy. But that's not a long-term change.
By themselves, perks can bring employees temporary happiness, but that’s not enough for engagement. Happiness is fun, flashy, and often instantaneous, but when it comes down to it, employee engagement is never just about making employees happy.
Instead, let’s consider some other factors that will create the deep commitment and personal investment that you want your employees to have – all without spending a dime.
Do employees feel like their jobs have an extraordinary purpose? In healthcare, for example, it seems like this should be easy. Most team members know that their job duties (no matter what their role) have the ultimate purpose of helping heal the sick.
However, with the daily stresses involved, even the most dedicated care professional can wonder if they’re truly doing something worthwhile. And what about engaging those employees who rarely (if ever) interact with patients? They, too, play a critical part in helping heal the sick, whether they realize it or not.
It may be harder to find purpose in other industries. But in all cases, our purpose is to serve customers. Make sure your employees know why even routine tasks (like drawing blood, answering the phone promptly, or keeping a squeaky clean facility) can make a huge difference in the customer experience.
Do your employees feel like they can speak with you honestly?
Sometimes, it’s hard to keep an open mind when faced with honest (and perhaps unwanted) feedback, but if an employee cares enough about an issue to discuss it with you, then it’s worth considering his or her point of view. For some of us, lending a sympathetic ear is easy, but don’t stop there: make sure your employees feel like the feedback they give you will be put to good use.
It’s true that you may not be able to change policies or procedures, but your staff should know that when they speak with you, it isn’t in one ear, then out the other.
Employees need to feel like you’ll use what you’ve just learned to actually make some positive changes when possible. If you listen attentively but do nothing to address their problems (even if it’s just acknowledging the problem as valid), then their trust in you will diminish.
Who would you rather work for: someone who encourages you to stick to your usual routine and never grow out of it, or an employer who actively seeks to help you develop your skills?
While the first scenario may be less challenging, most of us would pick Door #2. If you’ve hired the right guy or gal, then you’ll want them to stick with you. One great way to make that happen is to show them you’ve got their back when it comes to professional development. If your company already offers tuition reimbursement or other educational benefits, encourage your employees to take advantage. If not, try to offer flexible scheduling so employees can undergo new training.
Either way, you’ll show your staff that you think of them as individuals with loads of potential, not just cogs in a corporate machine.
Remember: happiness is a result, not a goal. Once employees are engaged with their work, happiness won’t be a problem.
Likely, you probably have thought to yourself I don’t have time to be talking with people. We are all extremely busy and we usually think work is about working, not about talking to coworkers.
But it doesn’t matter what level you are in an organization, getting along with others is critical to your success. Knowledge, hard work, and intelligence are important, but real success is impossible without building great relationships. As a leader, you have to treat people with respect and kindness. This builds trust and lays the groundwork for open communication.
Building relationships is important for leaders for three reasons:
For many of us, building relationships isn’t easy to do. Maybe we don't feel like natural extroverts. Or, maybe we just prefer to spend time talking with friends and family. Here are six tips for building professional relationships for leaders everywhere:
Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. Why does he or she react a certain way? This enables you to pick up on what’s going on in their personal or professional lives. Then, you'll have a better idea knowing what to say to inspire and motivate others.
Go to your calendar and schedule time to build relationships. This might seem strange. But you probably already know that if you schedule an important appointment, you're more likely to keep it. If building a relationship with someone is important, then put it on your calendar. And if you don't have a person in mind, reserve time on your calendar to give them a call, send them a note, or find some other way to reach out.
Next up is to focus on your own emotions and situations. Think about times where interactions with others have gone well and ones that haven’t gone that well. What was your part in these situations? What did say or do? How did that affect the other person? Taking a moment to reinforce your better choices will help you do a better job next time!
All emotions are contagious. Being positive is attractive and it will help strengthen your relationship with others. Who wants to be around someone who is negative all the time?
It's always wise to avoid office politics and gossip. Both of these behaviors can kill relationships. If you hear someone gossiping, walk away. If you’re having a conflict with someone, talk directly to that person. There's no room for side chatter about other people in a quality relationship. Be direct and honest, and don't be a part of anything shady.
Finally, practice the art of active listening. In short: focus on listening more than talking. Take the time to truly hear what is being said, what isn’t being said, and reading people's non-verbals.
The most successful people know how to build relationships at all different levels of business. But be warned: it does take time, effort, and thought.
Your relationships will make the difference in your future!
Usually, the only connection between work and our individual well being is stated in legalese. Employers may provide health insurance, short term disability, contribute to workers compensation, or help us save for retirement. There’s something else that can help us to stay healthy while continuing to advance our career, but it’s not a complicated financial instrument or a miracle drug. Instead, it’s just a simple phrase: “Every job is a part-time job.”
That mantra serves many functions. First, it should remind us that we cannot and should not live all of lives at work. The body needs sleep to recharge and the mind needs rest to focus. Our emotional well-being is also influenced by those who love us unconditionally, not just those who need the client report finished by the deadline. To work effectively, we have to also spend time not working.
Second, if every job is a part-time job, your colleagues are also part-time workers. They have lives too. Their friends and family, their health and their personal needs may be supported by their salary, but will and should always take precedence over their duties at the workplace. You can ask people to turn off their cellphones while serving customers, but you cannot ask them to turn off their mind and forget their own lives. You may punch a clock or arrive at work, but you do not stop being a parent, sibling or friend.
The words “part-time” also imply transience, as if at any moment someone might decide to leave the firm and focus entirely on their own needs. Of course, this is the case with everyone. Any of us might, for any number of reasons, chose to discontinue our relationship with our current employer. “Part-time” should remind us that we will eventually lose a valued team member. If we are not prepared to transition their duties the departure will always happen at the worst possible time.
Finally, the part-time nature of all work should put the act of work itself into perspective. We might spend more time at our jobs than we do with our families, but that’s not a sign that we love our jobs more. Rather, employment is a way to use our skills and knowledge part-time to enable the lifestyle we want and need full-time. To quote Fight Club: “You are not your job.” Your job merely enables you to be who you are.
Acknowledging the reality that all jobs are part-time presents the opportunity to design workflow more intelligently. If we assume that an employee will routinely be out of the office during regular business hours, we can make job descriptions, instructional diagrams, and operating procedures more robust. If we recognize that life is unpredictable and work hours often need to be flexible, we can rebuild our expectations about effort around results rather than face time. Individually, we can create checklists and projects plans with the expectation that someone else might need to finish the task without us.
This has become the tyranny of overtime. If anyone can be expected to be available at anytime, then how can we be ready for the reality that they aren't? Employees are not robots. They are creative and excitable, but also exhaustible.
Work can be a source of tremendous stress. Our physical, emotional and mental well-being is often dominated by the demands of our jobs. Remember, however, that no matter how many weekends you work and how infrequent your vacations, your job is still a part-time job. Design your work flow and set your expectations accordingly, so that you can enjoy your full-time life.
Like many professions, lots of people have preconceptions about the business of being a professional speaker that just aren't true. In fact, you probably know Twain as a writer, but in his lifetime he was practically as famous for his presentations:
Mark Twain did not read from his writings when he gave a lecture or speech. He spoke from memory. His hundreds of public performances from stages, podiums, and banquet tables were carefully crafted pieces, timed and rehearsed to fit the needs of a specific audience. They were designed to entertain.In his lifetime Mark Twain was almost as well-known a public speaker as he was a writer, and lecture tours were a major source of his income. From early in his career, he could fill a lecture hall wherever he went. While he joked in 1868 that he was staying on in San Francisco an extra day “in order to lecture and so persecute the public for their lasting benefit and my profit,” by 1872 he was frustrated and exhausted by the demands of touring, and he hoped he could soon retire from lecturing.
Here are seven facts you probably thought you "knew for sure but just ain't so" about professional speakers.
This isn't true, and even if it were it would not matter. First: lots of people have talked about how humility is engaging. In fact, embracing vulnerability is the a centerpiece of world-famous speaker Brené Brown. It's what Jim Collins discusses as key in the highest level of leadership.
But it also doesn't matter. Because speaking is a form of performance, like acting. A great speaker tells a story and makes an argument that moves the audience to action. Maybe they are a jerk on their own time, but you're not hiring them for their home life. You're hiring them to deliver a presentation that will have an impact on the people who are in the room.
This suggestion might have been true a few decades ago, but is rapidly becoming outdated. Modern speakers are driven by hard data and facts. Many of them are PhD researchers and accomplished journalists. Take for example Carol Dweck, champion of the 'mindset' concept. She did her doctoral work at Yale, and has taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Illinois. Dweck joined the faculty at Stanford in 2004.
Or, look at Gary Vaynerchuk, whose speaking style is to tell his story and explain what worked and hasn't worked for him. He gives the honest truth, not a carefully presented version of ideas that could apply to anyone.
This one is too easy. You should pay for the change you want to happen. We already covered how much you should pay speakers in a blog post before, so go read that one.
It would be truly amazing if the problems you have in your organization were completely different in every way than every other company. But just like a doctor studies the human body and a psychiatrist studies the human mind, good speakers study the corporate organism and look for patterns, trends, and common ailments. And although the work is done for individuals, it is done based on the collective knowledge of the industry.
What makes us able to help you is what you have in common with others. Be grateful for this moment of conformity.
As with many professions, modern technology is a threat to the speaking industry. However, there's an electric connection that happens with an audience who is in the same room as a person delivering a powerful message.
Plus, you have the opportunity to ask questions live, and even do so privately. That's something a passive technology can never replicate.
Admittedly, there are some in the industry who have been giving the same speech, word for word, for years. In part that's because what people need. Just like we are all reading the same books and watching the same films and experiencing the same newscasts to shape our culture, we need to hear the same message across different audiences to have its intended impact.
But, a great speaker customizes. They tweak and adjust. They write something that is appropriate for the audience, and refine it with the people who hired them. You're not "pressing play," you're engaging an expert.
There are some people who are cynics and will never believe anyone with a microphone. But most of us were raised on oratory. We heard it in our churches, mosques, and synagogues. We listened to politicians and coaches and teachers. We have been to poetry readings and classrooms.
If speakers are not effective, than everywhere you've ever sat and listened was not effective. Great presenters move the world. They change hearts and open minds.
How about yours?
What is all-consuming, progress-delaying issue? It's called the interoperability problem. Or at least, it should be called that. Really, this embarrassing shortfall is so mindbogglingly widespread that it doesn't have a name.
A good place to see this problem is at your doctor's office. You know how you walk in and have to fill out a zillion forms, even though you've filled them out before? Shouldn't these offices be communicating with each other?
Or you head into the hospital and they ask you what you are allergic to. Shouldn't they know?
According to a recent piece from Meg Bryant at Healthcare Dive:
Patient identification is key to enabling true interoperability, said Mark Hollis, CEO of MacPractice, a medical management software firm. Currently, there’s duplication of medical record and account numbers across the healthcare system and there’s no way of easily determining which Jane Doe is the right one in a medical emergency. “Identifying every system and database that a patient is in … that number is unique in that database,” he said.As for interoperability, “most of us [vendors] think it’s never going to happen," said Hollis. Why, he asked, would the government require EHRs before creating a national identifier system for patients?
That makes sense. Once there is a unique patient identifier, interoperability can start to happen in healthcare. But wait, this isn't a new solution or a new problem. A 2014 Medical Economics article reports:
All of the 62 [Accountable Care Organizations] said that accessing data from external organizations is a challenge. In addition, half of the ACOs surveyed said that access to data even within their own organization is challenging.“While accountable care organizations are providing quality care for many patients, even more could be accomplished if interoperability issues were addressed,” said Jennifer Corvich Bordenick, chief executive officer of the eHealth Intiative, in a news release
And here's a great quote from an old article by the American Health Information Management Association. (And by "great", I mean "discouraging")
Every health information story in 2006 will circle back to one word. In one way or another, every story this year will relate to interoperability.
Of course, interoperability isn't just a problem in healthcare. Text messages go to your phone, not your computer, where emails go. Every electronic device you have uses a different charger and plug, even though they all run on electricity. The TV remote does not work with the DVD player. Hot dogs come in sets of ten and hot dog buns in packs of eight.
As that AHIMA article notes:
Interoperability is a common challenge throughout business. “One thing I think people in healthcare are unaware of is that that this problem of data interoperability is a ubiquitous problem,” Wallace says. “It is not a unique issue to healthcare. Business struggles with it in all manner of communication.”
Of course, there is some interoperability in the world. You can use a telephone to dial any other telephone anywhere in the world---even if they are in different countries, span different networks, and provided by a different telephone company. You can mail a letter anywhere in the world---using only the postage from your home country. And pretty much any ATM card works in any ATM, any credit card at any merchant. What's the difference between systems that have achieved interoperability and those that haven't?
The short answer is this: incentive. If you want your departments to work together, if you want your customer or vendors to use a standardized system, or if you just want people to get along better in meetings, consider the incentives.
Are you doing anything that makes it better for them to collaborate? Or, do they benefit the most from being apart?
Answer that question, and you've taken the first step to solving your interoperability problem. Good luck.
There is so much, isn’t there? More than I can put into one blog post. And of course, you can’t do everything all at once. In fact, being successful means you have to understand how to set priorities and follow through on them. Your dreams depend on it.
And while you may not dream in figures, the simple truth is that the numbers will make your dream happen or cause it to fizzle.
Let’s talk about the numbers that go with a successful small business. What are the numbers you need to know? It’s all about finance and money. There are some basics that you need to understand and know where you stand at all times. They create the road map for where you are going and are the basis for the decisions you need to make.
Business development keeps the doors open in your business. You need to constantly be actively engaging new customers in addition to servicing existing customers and nurturing prospects. You must know what is in the pipeline and keep filling it up: the number of clients and the number of prospects.
Without getting too technical, cash flow is the actual money coming in and going out of your business. If you run out of cash, the company will cease to operate. Many variables impact cash flow such as sales, collections, and expenses. Maintaining a good cash flow can be a challenge, but it is the lifeblood of your operation.
A P&L is the summary of the revenue and expenses in a company over a specific time frame. It will tell you if you made money or (drat) lost money. Evaluating each month will guide your direction and help you make informed decisions. You may “think” things are good, but a profit and loss statement will illuminate the reality of sales and expenses.
Don't confuse the P&L with your Balance Sheet. This document is a statement that shows what the business is worth at any point in time. There are three parts to a balance sheet: assets, liabilities and ownership equity / capital. Again, reviewing the balance sheet on a regular basis shows you the direction your company is taking.
Working capital is a measure of a company’s efficiency and overall health. It is the difference between current assets and current liabilities, adding in accounts receivables (what you are owed) and deducting pending liabilities (what you owe others). Monitor this number monthly and you will see the direction your business is heading.
This may all sound very “corporate.” Perhaps a desire to avoid the big business grind might be one of the things that drove you to become a small business owner. However, knowing your numbers is essential to know not only where you are, but to start building the road to the success you want to achieve.
So let's review: at all times, someone should be able to quiz you and you'll know:
And if you've got an accountant who knows these, that's even better!
If you really want success and want to build a profitable business, you’ve got to know your numbers, set goals and develop strategies to grow. You can do it!
Let's take a step back and make a list of everything that impacts people's productivity at work:
That's it. But when it comes to employee productivity, we don't typically spend much time on either. Rather, we expect people to be highly engaged and efficient at their jobs without even a moment's thought about their work environment or their non-work environment.
We do know that people tend to create workplace stress by worrying. And one of those problems, according to a Reuters piece, is fear about managing money:
It is a cause of what workplace gurus call "presenteeism" - where you are at work but not fully functioning due to illness or severe stress - which accounts for more lost time than actual sick days, when people are fully absent from their jobs.Workers who say money concerns keep them from doing their jobs lost 12.4 days due to presenteeism in 2015, and just 3.5 days to absence, according to a new study on financial worries from Willis Towers Watson, a leading benefits firm.
It might seem like the easy answer to this problem is just to pay people more. After all, if people are stressed about their finances, shouldn't bumping their salaries address the issue?
No. Although broadly speaking, you'll make more if you pay people , it's also true that employee productivity is not purely a function of salary.
Instead, we need to realize something about individuals which may be hard for us to accept. Specialization is good. In other words, just because someone is great at their job doesn't mean they are automatically great at managing the income they receive from that job.
Likewise, they may not really understand their other benefits, nor will they necessarily know how to network and build relationships to best support their career, nor will they be a stellar volunteer, amazing parent, or loving spouse.
We employ people to provide value to the organization. While we want them to be well-rounded individuals in every aspect of their lives, that's not something most employers think about. However, if our goal is to have highly engaged, loyal workers who are extremely productive, we must support their personal lives.
This can be achieved through a variety of benefits and services, including:
Of course, not every company can offer these programs. But all organizations can place the highest emphasis on the most important workplace value: dignity. We can respect individuals and ask them what they need. We can communicate that their contributions at work only matter if they are sustainable, and that they can only be sustainable if their life outside of work is stable.
And while companies can't solve everyone's problems, they can be places that accept that no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. Everyone has made a bad financial decision or an mistake at work.
The challenge is helping people to help themselves, so they can do what is needed to empower the company and it's customers to succeed.
In her book, Freeing the Natural Voice, author Kristin Linklater describes stresses the need to learn to get in sync with the body's "natural wiring" to free up body function and thus your voice. As a singer, I know this well, and find our demanding, "microwavable instant potatoes" culture often antithetical to what is needed in singing one's best: simplicity and rest.
Linklater wrote the book primarily for actors to get in touch with their bodies, but the same is true for any medium in which someone is using their voice. That could be speaking to an audience, working in business development or sales, leading or participating in team meetings, or simply someone who needs to communicate more freely. What is interesting to note is the scientific reality of the body and voice:
The central nervous system is connected to every point of the body by nerves, which are bundles of axons originating in the cell body of neurons. The collection of all nerves connecting the central nervous systems, (brain, for short) with the periphery and vice versa constitutes the peripheral nervous system. Nerves transmit impulses from brain to body and from body to brain. The brain and the body are also interconnected chemically by substances such as hormones which course in the bloodstream.
Isn't it curious that organizations are supposed to function like a body, yet are made up of individual bodies whose nervous systems and hormones are all getting input from other stimuli? It begs the question: whose nervous systems are influence in your culture and people, and are they getting the messages your leaders want them to receive? Who is the central point of your nervous system in your organization, and is their voice free to speak? Is there permission in your organization for you to "sing" freely?
In my coaching practice, I have found the obvious tension of personal life, work, and leadership to be central to how an individual thrives in their work and adds value to the workplace. Their joy is unhindered by the free space of a place where there is room to bring the whole person to the table and make an offering of talent and gift.
Too often, sadly, this is encumbered by either no central nervous system stimuli (guidance) at the top to make communication clear, or a very limited nervous system that makes every one else anxious by sending messages full of fear, pressure, and dissatisfaction.
As a coach and consultant, I believe there is powerful merit in building a case for an attitude of trust and joy to be at the center of one's organization. Bringing our mutual gifts to serve, not only to the individuals with whom we have direct contact, but also to the organization, suggests that "the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts"
No one's voice is the same as another. Haven't you often been able to distinguish a person---without seeing them---but rather by just hearing their voice? It is our voice that reflects our distinctiveness, our personalities, our spirit.
In their book The Leadership Style>, authors James Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner say it this way:
[Voices] are unique. They set us apart from everyone else. They tell insiders and outsiders what is different about our group or our company....only when people understand how we are truly distinctive, how we stand out in the crowd, will they want to sign up with us.
If you want to lead your company, your group or team, in a way which frees up their voices, take time to get to know them as individuals, not just talent or as a human resource. They are individual contributors with passions and dreams and interests and yes, talent. Their creative and artistic talents may surprise you shared as only one facet of their being. Their total potential, however, could actually be unharnessed and unlocked by the neurons of your nervous system. This encourages them to unharness their bodies and voices to become the unique persons that they are meant to be as well as what they are meant to give to your organization.
The best advice for managers and coaches alike? Focus on freedom. Help people lift their voices and sing.
The story of overtime changed recently, with an update to the Fair Labor Standards Act. As reported by the New York Times:
The change will raise the salary threshold for overtime. Currently, if you are a salaried employee and make less than $23,660 per year, you are eligible for time and a half pay for any hours over 40 per week. The update, which is likely to at least double that threshold, will affect millions of salaried employees.In 1975, the last year the threshold was significantly raised, 60 percent of salaried workers fell within the requirement for overtime pay. Today, only 8 percent do, according to statistics compiled by the Economic Policy Institute. Under the new rule, millions of workers will be reclassified.
The story of the word overtime is a little boring. It's just a combination of the words "over" and "time" and first appeared somewhere in the middle of the 16th century---back when it was in fashion to smush two words together to make a new one.
It's not as interesting as the history of the word deadline (which comes from the U.S. Civil War) or as maddening as the huge assortment of meaningless workplace jargon that seems to be everywhere.
So why is "overtime" such a fascinating concept? Because it implies that there is a pre-arranged and appropriate amount of time you are supposed to work, and any work done past that time should be treated differently.
The Department of Labor has a fascinating webpage about the definition of overtime.. Here are a few quotes, with some emphasis added:
Thus, under the FLSA overtime rules, "nothing happens" unless and until a nonexempt employee has actually worked more than 40 hours in a work week. Stated another way, if an employee's total hours actually worked in a work week are not more than 40, the FLSA overtime rules are not triggered at all. No FLSA overtime pay is due. If, and only if, total hours actually worked exceed 40 in a work week, then the FLSA overtime rules may come into play. FLSA overtime pay for nonexempt employees is computed based on all the time the employee has actually worked in a work week. All time actually worked counts, but only time "actually" worked counts. Therefore, the first step in the FLSA overtime formula is to determine how much time a nonexempt employee has actually worked in a work week.
You're probably scratching your head or rolling your eyes at the complexity of government bureaucracy. What is the difference between "time actually worked" and "time 'actually' worked?"
Time for some labor law trivia questions:
1. An employee works as a receptionist and their only duty is to answer the phone when it rings. If they spend 4 hours in a day answering the phone and 4 hours reading a novel while waiting for the phone to ring, how many hours have they worked?
2. An employee works from 8AM to noon and takes a one hour lunch break, and then works from 1PM to 5PM, five days a week. On Friday, the employee decides to work through lunch. Are they owed one hour of overtime?
3. An employee decides to put in an extra five hours of overtime to complete a special project, but does not have permission from their supervisor to do so. If the supervisor does not accept the special project, do they still have to pay the overtime?
If you're a labor law nerd, the answers are as follows. (1) Eight hours, because being available to work is the same as working. (2) Yes, they are owed one hour of overtime. (3) No. If an supervisor accepts overtime work, they have to pay for it. If they reject the work, they don't have to pay for it.
But the bigger answer is to move away from hourly wages and overtime, and instead try to instill a culture of balance in your organization. But just like the word "overtime" is easy to say but difficult to understand, it is hard to change the way your company thinks about your employees' time when they aren't "at" work or "doing" work.
All jobs are part-time jobs. The key question is whether or not we respect the individual to have a life outside of work.
After several thousands of dollars in dental bills we've made, we created this edict. No sweet beverages, no teeth-rotting drinks. We're pushing back against candy and dessert as well, except in moderation.
I know: we're terrible un-indulging parents. No doubt we'll be on the Dr. Phil show answering to our sugar banning ways in the future. I asked for the unthinkable one day while at a drive-through: a kids meal with water. The poor gal on the other end of the speaker acted as if I had asked for the meaning of life.
Apparently, there was no button for water with a kids meal, so she told me I couldn't order it. The register was her script and if it wasn't written, it obviously couldn't be done. Thankfully my negotiation skills (or sarcasm) helped solve the issue and we were given the water as requested.
Here's my message to you:
Scripts. Don't use them. Ever!
They're a terrible, insincere, ineffective way to communicate with your customers. They're a one-sized fits all approach to unique situations, problems and people. Not only do they send a message of generic intent, but they cripple your people in customer service/inside sales roles. Scripts become a crutch in which employees hobble around, and use in place of strategic problem solving and meaningful conversation.
Here's what I really want to tell people reading from a script:
Scripts drive me crazy. It's not that you can't have a few guidelines for things to say or not to say. But if I'm calling about a problem with my account and you respond with "How can I exceed your expectations today" I'm probably going to respond with "You can exceed my expectations by not having this problem in the first place."
Instead: empower your people to be proactive problem solvers. Give them tools and invest in their people knowledge. Allow them to screw up, break their noses, and learn from their mistakes. When you encourage your front line to use their own ideas, words, and data you're laying a foundation for trust and trust fosters results. Teaching tactics will always trump teaching scripts.
But times have changed. Businesses are now seeing the value human resource leaders can bring to the table. Today’s HR professionals act as strategic business partners, helping to set company goals and establish partnerships to achieve them. As the field has changed, so have the people who work in it. Look at one data point: women now hold 70 percent of the human resource jobs, but research from the United States Office of Personnel Management showed that, in 1969, women occupied 30 percent of the jobs in human resources.
In my experience working with large companies and organizations, there have always been more women than men in human resources. And in my experience in teaching at the university level, I’ve seen more women than men in my classrooms. I think the reason could be the competencies that are required of today’s human resource professionals. While HR is no longer just a tactical “hire and fire” field that administers benefits and payroll, it often requires skills such as nurturing and developing talent, collaboration, building teams and a high degree of emotional intelligence that often thought of as occurring more naturally in women. But there are other competencies required for the future that people in human resource need to have. These include strategic positioner, change champion, credible activist, capacity builder and integrator and innovator. These will be the qualities that make great human resource leaders in the years ahead. Human resource and diversity leaders are important to the health of an organization, because they help build a culture that supports inclusion of differing people, viewpoints, and perspectives. This leads to healthier, more innovative strategy development and progress that supports company growth. After all, if everyone is the same and has the same ideas, there is no energy to fuel change. That is not how a company grows, changes and becomes more successful.
Companies also need to make sure their workforce reflects their customer base. In other words, an organization needs to look like its customers, to the extent that is possible. If a company sells shoes to a certain demographic, then the company should have employees who are similar to that demographic. The customers are then more likely to see the company as credible and believe it is walking the “diversity” talk.
Continuous improvement in the human resource department requires a strong diversity commitment from top leadership to attract, retain and promote the best. So it’s critical that human resource and diversity leaders are engaged in developing, recruiting and selection strategies to attract diverse talent. And doing so might include using a wide range of resources that haven’t been tried. But again, it will take commitment from that company. In the end, it could also help increase the population of men in human resources, bringing even more balance to the team.
There has never been a better time to work in human resources. The challenges are high. Organizations face a shortage of skilled workers, an aging baby boomer population, an increasing number of millennials, and generation Z entering the workforce, as well as the high cost of health care. Yet smart companies recognize that HR professionals can help with those challenges through strategic planning, change leadership and leadership and talent development strategies.
Individuals who want to be that human resource leader with the competencies required today should consider the opportunities that exist in human resources. They will definitely have the chance to use them, develop professionally and, therefore, advance at faster rates. And at the same time, human resource professionals should not wait to be asked to the table. They should take the initiative to ask other leaders in the organization what it is they need from them. The future of organizations is diversity: both in the backgrounds of employees and the perspectives of leaders. Step up. Help craft the business world of tomorrow.
Listen, everyone enjoys some garlic and onion from time to time. No problem, right? Just avoid them like the plague for the rest of the day. We're talking about those special few who either don't own deodorant or seem to visit the shower only once a week.
Lancashire Business View, based out of the UK, published an interesting article by Metis HR about this issue with some surprising stats to back up their information.
The stats from the research by the University of Bristol into body odour helps us work out that 0.5% of the working population of the UK smell and that 109,500 UK employees should use deodorants but don’t.
That doesn't sound too bad, right? 109,500 people seems pretty low. But try to imagine each and every one of those numbers spread out across different companies and the issue becomes more than a nuisance but a real problem.
One in every 200 British employees has a body odour problem which means that 6% of UK employers are likely to have an employee who smells. That’s 1 in every 17 workplaces!
This is a nightmare. I can tell you from experience that working with someone who stinks is the utmost sort of unpleasant way to spend your workday. It's not just passing by their cubicle, it's the trail of smell they leave behind them as they traverse the office, like some sort of nauseating maze you have to get through just to make it to the kitchen. So why do some people stink so bad? You may be surprised to find that men sweat twice as much as women. Also, Fish Odor Syndrome is a legit genetic problem some people face in which their sweat smells fishy. And the biggest smelly sweat of them all comes from stress, so it's not so surprising to find that stinky problem in the workplace. What's the solution, then? The article went on to give some great tips on how to broach this touchy subject:
- Talk to the employee in private.
- Start with a soft approach.li>
- Do not say that people are talking about the smell or that people are complaining. Own the problem yourself and say that you’ve noticed the problem.
- Tell the employee what the problem is as you see it.
- Try to attach the problem to a business issue eg the impact on customers or colleagues.
- Ask the employee if they have any medical problem that you need to be aware of; there are medical conditions which can affect how much a person sweats (hyperhidrosis) and what their sweat smells like (Fish Odour Syndrome).
- Ask the employee if there is anything in their personal life which could be causing the problem (finding out an employee has lost their home or is living somewhere with no washing facilities is likely to provoke a different reaction from most employers than someone just not bothering to shower).
- Set out your expectations for improvement and a date when you will meet again to review the situation.
- Ask if there is anything you can do to help the employee achieve the improvements.
- Reassure the employee that this informal conversation with them will remain a private matter between the two of you.
- Make a diary note of the conversation.
- Monitor the situation discreetly and hold your review meeting.
Basically, what it comes down to is handling this problem with care. Your employees are people with feelings and insecurities all their own, so take into account that this is something that could be out of their control or maybe an issue they need help with. Discretion and compassion are key!
A piece from Bloomberg titled Office Perks Are Dumb argues exactly what's implied by that headline:
The office ping-pong table is insulting to the intelligence of employees. We all want to be happy at work, where Americans spend a large chunk of their lives, but employees aren't dumb. We know ping-pong tables and kegarators don't make work fun or fulfilling. It's certainly not a replacement for a decent paycheck.
Before we get into this, a quick review on the nature of compensation. If you do some work, there's an implicit agreement that you'll be paid for that work. Maybe it's a crumpled $20 bill from the old man down the street in exchange for mowing his lawn. Maybe it's all the pizza you can eat from your brother's new roommate who needs help moving in. Or maybe it's, you know, a biweekly paycheck. We expect to be compensated when we work.
Sometimes it makes more sense for the company to spend some of that money on your behalf---because it's a lot more sensible and efficient to do so as an organization for your employer may divert some of your paycheck to cover your health insurance. Perhaps instead of being paid your full rate for 52 weeks out of the year, you agree to slightly less with the understanding that you won't work for two weeks of vacation. The same might be the case for any other benefit, ranging from short term disability to dental coverage.
So when does something go from being a valuable benefit to an insult? Often, it's because we're missing something more fundamental. Writing for US News and World Report, Alison Green advises employers:
Forget the foosball table in the break room and the gourmet snacks in the kitchen. The benefits employees really want from their employers are much more basic – and in many cases they center around being treated like trustworthy adults capable of getting work done without so much oversight.
And it's not as if many of these unusual perks actually have the effect we want. Take for example a casual dress code. A piece from The New Yorker explains:
Modern research has borne this idea out, suggesting that clothes indeed influence self-perception. People who feel dressed-up are more likely to think of themselves as competent and rational; in contrast, those who are dressed casually tend to describe their personality accordingly, as friendly and laid-back. Recently, a team of researchers from Columbia University and California State University, Northridge, took this idea a step further and conducted a series of five experiments that suggest the clothes we wear don’t just influence the way we think about ourselves; they also seem to influence the way we think, period.Specifically, they found that people who felt more formally dressed than the people around them were more likely to think abstractly. “And by that we mean, basically, holistic or big-picture thinking — so not focusing on the details but seeing bigger ideas, seeing how things connect from a more high-level perspective,” said Michael Slepian, first author on the new paper, which was recently published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.
What do employees really want at work? The answer is simple: respect and dignity. And as we've said before, you should stop working so hard on your company culture.
The best benefit you can offer is a fair wage for fair work. Don't worry about controlling when, where, or how people get their job done. Focus on freedom and respect. That's what employees need, because employees are people.
Personally, I've become quite the podcast nerd over the last few months. I cut my teeth on Serial, and graduated to other notable recordings including NPR's The TED Radio Hour. One episode in particular, "From Curiosity To Discovery", really struck a chord with me. How different would our lives be if Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, or Steve Jobs never questioned the world around them?
Which got me thinking...(I know, dangerous!) Most of us are terrible at being curious. It stops somewhere between childhood and our teen years. I don't know about you, but I've never been smarter than I was at sixteen. I've gotten gradually dumber each day since. Today, technology robs us of curiosity. If you have a question ask your phone or type into a search engine and BOOM there it is. So many answers both right and wrong are always in front of us. Why question anything?
After a sub-par experience at a hotel last week it was apparent that we've gotten lazy. Companies have taken for granted that they may NOT have all the answers. Operating from a place of assumption is costing businesses all over the world lots of freaking money.
During our check-in the desk clerk was professional. He asked the required questions: "May I see your ID" and "How would you like to pay for your stay." There were no other guests in line. We stood in silence while my card processed. He handed over a packet with a room number written on it, and pointed in the direction of our room. Easy. For the sake of argument let’s see what his lack of curiosity potentially cost this unnamed hotel/water park:
Food/Beverage Est. Loss $100: During the several minutes of silence the cordial gentlemen failed to mention there were several restaurants onsite. I suppose he assumed we would look through the material handed to us without explanation, but we didn't. Had he been curious enough to ask why we were staying he would have known we were there for baseball and convenience was our top priority. We spent an average of $100 per day on food and beverage offsite and an average of $0 onsite.
Additional Activities Est. Loss $50-$150: As we walked to our room we noticed little activity stations placed around the hotel. I still have no idea how we could have partaken in those activities. Did they have an additional fee; where do we sign up, etc? No one mentioned it. Not even the cordial tight lipped gentleman in the lobby. Attached to the hotel was a building with some sort of interactive magic quest type thingy. Clearly the entire concept was well explained....or not. I'm a sucker for handing my kids cash for arcades and extra fun stuff when they beg for it. Their negotiating skills are much stronger than mine, but I didn't know where/how to spend my money......and so I didn't.
Spa Services. Est loss, $150. I'm a mother of two boys. TWO. While they are my world, this mama could use a little R&R. Some spa time would have been perfect! A massage would have been nice, pedicure, facial or all three. I know I could have talked several other baseball moms into joining me (That's $150 times three). But no one said a word. I stumbled upon the spa as we were packing up our car. Too little, too late.
Now my measly $300 doesn't seem like much, but that 467 room hotel was nearly sold out, so multiply me by hundreds. I'm sure many took the time to read through material or happened up the restaurants/spas, or maybe they asked directly. I can safely presume many did not.
After spending a pretty penny on rooms for a hotel stay that was just OK, we've decided we'll check out their competition across the street next time we're in town. I hope they ask better questions.
It's not uncommon for different personalities to clash in the workplace. We're all different people with different interests, so it would make sense that not all of us will get along on a personal level. When it comes to management, you would assume they would be trained well enough to avoid these sort of complications with their employees. Unfortunately, many people find themselves face-to-face with probably the most unpleasant situation - your boss hates you.
You will find no shortage of articles detailing the wide rift between employees and their bosses. Sheiresa Ngo, writer for CheatSheet, went into detail about just how difficult it can be when your manager doesn't like you, pointing out signs and ways to deal with it. Check out her list below and some of our thoughts as well!
1. You’re given impossible assignments
Take a second to think if you're exaggerating before you note this one. Sometimes, it can feel like your superiors are stacking on more work than you can handle simply due to miscommunication, or maybe you just honestly hate your job. If you can't handle the load, talk to them about it. Otherwise, if they insist you perform miracles without enough time to complete the tasks, or hammer on you for mistakes that are out of your control, it may be time to think about finding another job. It isn't your responsibility to do one job that would normally need a second set of hands.
2. You’re being micromanaged
Do you feel like your boss is watching you like a hawk, waiting for you to make a mistake? And if you do, does it seem as if it's the end of the world? Some people are incapable of giving up control and tend to micromanage their employees, but at what point do you begin to wonder if they trust you at all? Why were you even hired? Communicate your desire to be given a little bit of legroom. If the micromanaging continues, then you have your answer.
3. Lack of eye contact
Making eye contact can be hard for a lot of people, not just your boss. But if you find an exasperated expression or even an eye roll in your direction, it's being made pretty clear that you're disliked. Childish behavior like this will keep coming back to haunt you and it's definitely hard to prove if you wanted to bring this issue to upper management. You should never be made to feel uncomfortable or worthless.
4. Avoidance of small talk
There really isn't a way to make this sort of situation right. You can't force someone to like you or even talk to you. We all know we won't absolutely love every single person we work with, but if you can't even manage a casual conversation about the weather with your own boss, how can you form any type of working relationship? The ball is in your court, here. How willing are you to deal with not being able to have a normal conversation with the person you report to? You decide.
5. Nothing you do is ever right
It's common knowledge, at least it should be, that employees thrive on affirmation as well as constructive criticism. If all your manager does is come down on you rather than spend any amount of time building you up, then you should consider searching for employment elsewhere. But give some thought to his or her words. Is it possible you aren't being the most amazing employee? Maybe it's time to do some work on yourself as well.
An article from the The Washington Post---which includes a subtitle referencing "the astonishing human potential wasted on commutes"---sums it up as follows:
According to the Census, there were a little over 139 million workers commuting in 2014. At an average of 26 minutes each way to work, five days a week, 50 weeks a year, that works out to something like a total of 1.8 trillion minutes Americans spent commuting in 2014. Or, if you prefer, call it 29.6 billion hours, 1.2 billion days, or a collective 3.4 million years. With that amount of time, we could have built nearly 300 Wikipedias, or built the Great Pyramid of Giza 26 times -- all in 2014 alone.Instead, we spent those hours sitting in cars and waiting for the bus.
The same article lists a bunch of other downsides to commutes, all with sources:
There's a massive body of social science and public health research on the negative effects of commuting on personal and societal well-being. Longer commutes are linked with increased rates of obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, back and neck pain, divorce, depression and death.At the societal level, people who commute more are less likely to vote. They're more likely to be absent from work. They're less likely to escape poverty. They have kids who are more likely to have emotional problems.
There's an easy answer to the problem of commuting, which is so obvious it almost seems glib. That answer is telecommuting. And as we've covered here on The Methodology Blog over and over again, remote work just makes sense. Sure, there are some jobs where it will be difficult to work from home, such as being a hairstylist or a picking up garbage. The United States government announced years ago that one-third of all federal employees were eligible to telework years ago.
In short: lots of people could telecommute. Why don't they?
It's as simple as that. When we hire people, we expect them to be dishonest. Nearly three-fifths of hiring managers have caught applicants in a lie. And for ongoing performance management, Dan Pontefract writes that we've been flat for 15 years. And in that same time period, we've seem a marked rise in employee monitoring. We don't trust each other at work.
The trend shows that commutes are likely to continue to get longer, trust is likely to continue to decrease, and working hours are going to continue to increase. None of this is a recipe for anything positive in our society, our environment, our businesses, or our personal lives.
But the answer is staring us right in the face. Trusting people to work addresses all of these issues. And most beautifully, people who can't be trusted to produce work on their own time away from the office will demonstrate they are untrustworthy by not turning in work.
To put it another way, you can't look busy if no one can see you. If you're getting things done from the beach or from the coffee shop or from your kitchen table, you're still getting things done. And getting things done, after all, is what really matters.
But our challenge is that all employment starts from a place of distrust. Instead of assuming people will steal, cheat, and lie, why not give them a work assignment and let them show you what they can do? That way, we're establishing trust from the beginning, not waiting for it to be broken.
That, and the commute to their living room is better for everyone.
Finding out that you're expecting should be a joyful time. It should be full of exciting thoughts about the new life you're creating, what names are on or off the table, what color you hope their eyes are. What shouldn't be on your mind is losing your job or having your hours cut. The Guardian released an article, sourcing the UK website, Citizens Advice. They say that not only are women facing discrimination, there has actually been an increase in these sort of situations.
"Citizens Advice warned of a growing problem of new and expectant mothers facing discrimination. The charity said there had been a 25% increase in people seeking workplace advice on pregnancy and maternity issues in the past year, with more than 22,000 visits to its website."
Citizens Advice is a website created for people to have a resource when it comes to needing advice about a range of issues. Need help budgeting? Have a legal question about your rights or responsibilities? This website has all of that and more to aid people. They reported some hard to swallow issues their users have experienced:
"One woman turned to Citizens Advice for help when her employer cut her weekly hours by more than half after she told them she was pregnant. Her boss claimed there was not enough work available to keep her on her previous hours, despite taking on new staff at the same time. Another woman contacted her employer to find out why she had not received any maternity pay, to be told they had ended her contract while she was on maternity leave."
You may be wondering how it is that companies are getting away with this. It's illegal isn't it? Why aren't more of these companies being hunted down and brought to justice? It's sad to say that many are sneaky in the way they go about it. On top of that, a lot of women don't speak up and accuse their employers. Luckily, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has had enough. Even though they have already called for numerous reforms to give women who are pregnant more protection at work, they're still working on bringing awareness of this issue.
"The report is the latest suggestion that pregnancy discrimination, which is illegal, is on the rise. In March, government-commissioned research warned that three-quarters of pregnant women and new mothers experience discrimination at work and one in nine lose their job as a result. The study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) suggests that discrimination has risen significantly since 2005, when 45% of women said they had experienced such discrimination.
Unfortunately, this issue is something I am all too familiar with. I have been trying desperately to find a part time job and have decided to be forthcoming about my pregnancy. Why hide it, who needs that stress, right? I have a lot to offer as an employee, surely companies will recognize that. I've had several messages exclaiming what a good fit I'll be for the position and to tell them a bit more about myself. That's the point I'll usually lay it on them that I'm expecting which is also the point in which I stop hearing from them.
We have published an article detailing your rights as a pregnant woman previously here on The Methodology Blog. Check that out for more information on how to protect yourself and learn what your rights are.
Do you use words in the best way possible to build your business? Not too long ago I facilitated a Speaking Excellence workshop. I was proud of what attendees said they got out of it:
I have a full notebook of not just ideas, but actionable items that are going to make me money the moment I go home. Jack and this program were excellent! It’s one of the best investments you could ever make. –Crista Tharp
This workshop pulled it all together! It’s two days of very, very intensive information on how to speak and how to market your talks. The program was very well organized and a great opportunity to hone speaking skills. –Tommy Richardson
We’ve been given the context to use speaking to call people to action. It’s been great! I think it’s going to make a big difference in the conversion of listeners to prospects to clients. – David Yearwood
Within the first two hours of this event, I already had a list of more than 10 different organizations I could immediately start contacting. I know I can use the skills I’ve learned here over and over again to continue connecting with my ideal clients. Thanks, Jack! –Alyssa Johnson
We worked on basic speaking skills as well as why-to give a speech, but we also worked on what is said and how it is said. Your goal, after all, is to give the most effective talk you can give.
But that's not all. Another topic we chatted about was that the skills were not just to be used on a dais in front of an audience. The choice of words should be incorporated into your elevator speech, your introduction and into every meeting you have with clients. That's why I call it "Speaking Excellence" and we all do it every day in front of individuals and groups. Every word that we let fly lands and creates a ripple. Potential customers either buy, walk away, run away or feel ho-hum. I find there are four steps in making your speaking excel:
Find and put into practice new and unique ways to uncover groups to talk to. Don't just do this alone, do it "live" on the spot with fellow business professionals. You will leave the room with many potential groups to market to.n Moreover you will never wonder again, how or where to find groups to book.
Just because you want to speak doesn't mean people want to hear you. You've got to plan out what to send, to whom, when and how often. Just like any other sale, you should role play making calls, leaving messages, and following-up to improve your booking rate.
Having an audience is key, but having something to say is essential. There's a process to a good title, structure, and writing out your talks. You need a system that you can model for each and every talk or workshop you do from here on out!
This is the final step in having a speech---presenting it to others. But a good speaker doesn't just talk to audiences, they also seek feedback from fellow speakers and professionals. The hard part isn't just asking the perspectives of others. The challenge is taking it to heart and putting it to use.
Think about what you say and how you say it. And if you need help, consider a Speaking Excellence workshop or mastermind group! I would love to help you or your organization be more effective in crafting and delivering your message.
You've certainly heard of the Myers-Briggs personality test. Or to be more precise, the last two letters in MBTI stand for type indicator, not "test." But here's what a scathing Vox piece says about it:
About 2 million people take it annually, at the behest of corporate HR departments, colleges, and even government agencies. The company that produces and markets the test makes around $20 million off it each year.The only problem? The test is completely meaningless.
"There's just no evidence behind it," says Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who's written about the shortcomings of the Myers-Briggs previously. "The characteristics measured by the test have almost no predictive power on how happy you'll be in a situation, how you'll perform at your job, or how happy you'll be in your marriage."
It's so bad that a Psychology Today piece by that same Adam Grant notes:
Research shows “that as many as three-quarters of test takers achieve a different personality type when tested again,” writes Annie Murphy Paul in The Cult of Personality Testing, “and the sixteen distinctive types described by the Myers-Briggs have no scientific basis whatsoever.” In a recent article, Roman Krznaric adds that “if you retake the test after only a five-week gap, there's around a 50% chance that you will fall into a different personality category.”
Your personality is supposed to be fairly constant. This test is junk.
If the Myers-Briggs is so worthless, why is it so popular? Part of the reason is because the company that is pushing it insists it's valuable. Rich Thompson, Director of Research for that organization, claims: "If it didn't do what it's supposed to do, or if it lacked a solid research-based foundation, it wouldn't be used by the world's top organizations."
That is circular logic. Thompson is saying "If it didn't work, people wouldn't be using it!" Isn't this the same thing that quack "doctors", peddlers of magic elixirs and miracle cures, and proponents of every now-dismissed social, psuedoscientific, or political policy have always said? Myers-Briggs is junk.
Actually, it's worse than junk. A long piece from the Atlantic asks why people love it anyway:
Stereotyping people using the test seems risky at best and harmful at worst. In particular, screening potential employees through the MBTI is probably a mistake, since there’s no proof that you can link MBTI to how effective people will be at their jobs.But even if the test isn't perfect, people's infatuation with it shows that it’s quenching some kind of thirst they have for understanding themselves and others.
If Myers-Briggs is garbage, what should you use instead? What tool is the right tool to give to candidates during the hiring process? How should we sort our colleagues by personality type so we know how to deal with people? If not MBTI, what should we use?
Nothing. The biggest problem with personality tests is that they are used inappropriately. You cannot classify the way people think. Personality isn't like height, weight, and eye color, which stay relatively consistent and are easy to measure. Stereotyping is always a bad idea: if we prejudge people we can't imagine them doing anything beyond what we've already assumed.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to understand ourselves and others. It doesn't mean there isn't good science about personality that business can draw upon to help improve communication and collaboration.
The name of that model that is well-supported by research is five factor. But instead of telling you all about it, take some time to think about why you want to use it. If it's to increase understanding, start researching. But if it's to divide people, step away.
We don't need more help stepping apart from each other. We need help finding ways to work together, at the office and everywhere.
Achieving promotions at work may, at times, seem impossible for you. It can lead to a whole mix of negative emotions: frustration, anger, confusion, envy. Frankly, waiting for the words "you're promoted" can be a roller coaster of self-deprecation. But, as we all know: you are your own best advocate. These, my friends, are words to live by.
Instead of dwelling on the why, perhaps it's time to become an active player in your own career aspirations. In a recent issue of Inside INdiana Business, AccelaWork's founder Robby Slaughter's article Eight Tips For Landing Your Next Promotion highlights this exact topic. Below are his 8 tips with some further commentary. Read on to learn more about what you're doing right and what, possibly, you may be doing wrong when it comes to achieving the next level.
Take note of your accomplishments, challenges, and frustrations. Record your active projects and unexpected interruptions. Keep an eye on what you’re doing each and every day.
Include goals such as major initiatives you want to start or existing projects you want to complete. List skills you aim to develop. Insert deadlines which have already been scheduled, and add any new deadlines that align with your planned achievements.
Sign up for courses available in internal training programs, attend public seminars, or enroll in a college class. Register for an online study program. Set yourself up with new knowledge or skills you know you can use.
This first piece of advice comes from your parents, your kindergarten teacher, and maybe even your coworkers. Everyone appreciates someone who is truly kind and thoughtful.
Talk up yourself and your employer in the public sphere. Send in letters to the editor to your local newspaper. Write an article for an industry trade magazine. Seek out a blog or website where you can contribute a guest post. Make sure to reference your company in your byline, or perhaps in the content itself. And also, ensure that your colleagues have a chance to read the piece, so they know you’re working to advance the organization.
Networking has been long heralded as one of the best ways to advance yourself, but for the busy professional it can seem like too much work. Luckily, everyone has to eat. Take more lunches with people you don’t know, and work your way through your department and the company.
If you want to get promoted, call the most fashionable, best-dressed friend you know and go on a shopping spree. Your primary objective is to look taller and slimmer.
The nature of modern organizations is to see new talent as more attractive and valuable than the old standby. If you want a promotion, you may need to find a better job at a different employer.
Achieving a promotion may not come easy, but it's all the sweeter once you've attained it. Remind yourself everyday what you're ultimately working towards and assess whether you're putting in all that you're getting out. If one side is heavier than the other, reassess and make adjustments. And remember, despite the treacherous navigating you may have along the way, happiness and job satisfaction is key. If you've got that, then the rest will fall into place. Best of luck climbing that ladder!
Looking into the subject matter of new hire training, there is a surprising lack of standardized agreement in companies across the board. Where one company values training to the utmost extent and works tirelessly towards its improvement, others consider it wasteful, annoying and completely lacking in substance. In truth, I find this completely baffling. I've walked down both paths in my career. I've witnessed organized training at its best. I've struggled to understand training that contained little more than a tour of the office and direction to my desk. And, no matter what I've seen, heard and learned, my opinion about onsite training will never change: It is crucial.
I've talked with so many different individuals who work in different industries and never, in all of these conversations, have I ever heard from a single person that they wish they had less training. Typically, it's just the opposite. In his latest article seen in INdiana Business, Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, weighs the pros and cons to training new employees. According to Slaughter, "untrained employees may damage equipment, destroy customer relationships, or create unexpected legal exposures and liabilities."
Given Slaughter's thoughts above, of which I believe are quite reasonable and expertly thought-provoking, why then do companies continue to justify their failing training programs or lack thereof? Below is a continuation of Slaughter's point of view on training and the benefits reaped upon the investment.
Unfortunately, alongside distraction comes unproductive tendencies. To those of you avid readers of The Methodology Blog, you may recall the dozens upon dozens of blogs we've written that discusses the correlation between productivity and success.
Boy, do I know a bit about this factor. Back in the day (a decade ago), I began a new job with a small event planning company. They had zero training in place for new hires, which meant that I spent the first six months twiddling my thumbs. Not only was I accomplishing nothing, no one would trust me enough to give me work! I was bored and quite discouraged. Luckily, I was unexpectedly thrown into a project at the last minute and, by ways of my previous experience, was able to prove I was in fact capable of my job. But, not every new hire gets that opportunity. In the end, if I didn't get that break I probably would have left.
"Work arounds" may suffice in the short term, but ultimately, to improve productivity and provide an avenue for efficient project management, it's imperative that new hires learn all there is to know. It may extend training time and be an absolute nuisance to those teaching, but digging deeper into information will lessen the learning curve and increase positive results straight out the gate.
When I hear the word "training", I often think about the military. My brother-in-law is a marine and I know just how hard he trained and worked toward his job. He had two tours of duty in Afghanistan and I'm certain that his preparation for such work was beyond extensive. This thought may be useful to companies that do not have a defined process for new-hire preparation. Perhaps not. But the question I'd like to pose is this:
How comfortable are you leaving a new employee without crucial knowledge which better prepares him for the job at hand? If you're unsure or have a tinge of worry, perhaps now is the time to improve your company's process.
Sometimes, though, you need to pause and think. In reality, more businesses would be more successful if the owners and leaders took more time to consider what they are doing and why.
This should be no surprise. When we were in school, we were told to check our work before turning it in. Our parents advised us to think before we speak. And how many times would have waiting just a moment longer been of value to us, had we only been patient?
The writer, speaker, and business coach John Maxwell suggests that there are four basic directions your thinking should go in the moments you pause:
1. INVESTIGATION. (I have to include the story about two guys cleaning out a stable. Up to their ankles in manure, one turns to the other and says, “There must be a horse around here somewhere.”) Some things are so obvious and don’t require reflection, but others require a little detective work. A pause gives you time to figure out what the problem really is so you can find the appropriate solution. Continual growth only occurs when we discover insights and truths within them and that comes from investigation.
2. INCUBATION. Maxwell says incubation is “taking an experience of life and putting it into the slow cooker of your mind to simmer it for a while. Give ideas enough time to simmer until you have an insight. That can take minutes, or even years. The best ideas are often the best because they came at the right time.
3. ILLUMINATION. These are the “aha!” moments. Jim Rohn said, “At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you.” That’s illumination. Such moments are the reward for committing time and effort to pausing and reflecting, according to Maxwell.
4. ILLUSTRATION. An idea is great, but usually it’s like a skeleton---doesn’t have a lot of meat on it. And, until it gets that meat, it isn’t very useful. Add the substance to the idea and all of a sudden the idea comes to life. That could mean your final idea doesn't look too much like your original one, but that is ok! Illustration brings out the color and the substance.
In this action-packed, always-on world, it can be tough to stop and reflect. But pausing is essential to growth. We need to take our time rather than hurry up. We need to stop and smell the---well, you know the expressions.
Try it right now. Close your eyes and take a moment to think about an idea. Investigate why it seems intriguing. Incubate on how the idea might change and grow. Illuminate the idea from different points of view. And finally, illustrate the idea by fleshing it out.
The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas, said Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling. You can do the same, but first: be intentional about pausing to reflect and learning what catches up with you. Use the above four I’s to make a pause worthwhile and fruitful. Take your time and make it worth your time to have an idea: for a business, for a product, or for a way to help a friend.
Because if you have ideas but never stop and think about how you can use them, what good is it have ideas at all?
In this two part series, we dive into Slaughter's interview with Michael Reynolds on the Digital Exec in regards to the common ways people can unknowingly kill productivity and workplace culture. Today, we will cover the first of the productivity and culture killers that Slaughter feels can actively be fixed if 1.) we begin to recognize they exist and 2.) take responsibility for remedying them.
So, without further ado, below is a summary of the first five on the list of the Top 10 ways to kill business productivity and workplace culture. [To view the video interview in full, visit the link above].
The word mandatory is a fantastic way to make someone unproductive because if I require you to do something, if I say, "We're having a mandatory meeting. We're having a mandatory practice," then what I'm saying is that whatever else you were doing, obviously wasn't that important ...Really, it's pretty demoralizing to use that word mandatory. I think that word ought to be banned from business environments because this is about creating value. It's not about control.
So much of our organizations, we try to add a little bit of what we think is fun but really, it's a false veneer, it's like that nice Formica on top of that cheap table.You can't take an organization which is upsetting or demoralizing or one in which people feel like they don't have opportunities to move forward and fix it instantly by adding some of these incentives. In fact, they tend to have the opposite effect.
The thing about interruptions is that we know from social psychology is the way people work is that they get into we often call the zone, what psychologists call flow. Flow is that state where you're working at a high challenge, high skill task, you're humming along, you feel great, you're making great progress, you may even lose track of time but an interruption when you're in the zone, when you're in flow can knock you out completely, it can take you as long as literally 30 minutes to get back into that stage again.
I'm sure you've heard the expression before that poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part. That expression comes from the fact that many times people will simply forget to tell you about what they need from you, and it'll sit on their desks for weeks or months. They'll come for you right before the deadline and give you the piece that you need to do, which you could have taken your time to do ages ago. That's simply poor organization.
Sometimes people who are in a management position, or in a leadership role of some kind, feel like they can use that role to make demands of others that are unreasonable. They can reach out and say, "Hey, you need to handle this right away, even though I could have asked you weeks ago and because I'm the boss, I can ask you for that. I can use that urgency, that's my right as your manager. I'm not really as unfair or inappropriate." Not only leads to a negative work culture because those people feel upset but it reduced the quality of the work because you have to rush.
Ready for more? Check out the second part of this series where we cover productivity and workplace culture killers six through ten.
In the meantime, if the wait is unbearable and you need to seek some further advice immediately, reach out to us today!
The process of customer service hasn't really changed much. Either you're stuck on the phone for a half an hour, listening to elevator music while your rage slowly intensifies or you're expected to send an email which can take days to receive a response. With all the technology our modern world has provided us, you would think that some mind bending new way to handle these issues would already be in place. Luckily, the brains over at Zendesk have been changing the game. TechCrunch posted an article revealing how Zendesk is planning to make our lives so much easier.
So what's their grand plan? Using SMS as a new channel of customer support. They already had an SMS integration function that allowed for the notification to help desk members who could then send texts. Usually, they would use this when an urgent support matter would arise or if a valuable customer was requesting their aid. With this new launch, the text messaging won't be available only to the help desk workers, but for the customers needing support as well.
“The rise of on-demand services and an increasingly mobile customer base makes this channel important for businesses,” said Ryan Nichols, general manager of Zendesk Voice. “SMS lets businesses connect with their customers wherever they are in an extremely personal way.”
So who does this benefit already? The 75,000 and growing companies who are currently using Zendesk. We expect that number to explode. An added benefit to these companies would be that customer information can be tethered to their current accounts, meaning the customer can use whatever channel they want that fits their time frame. according to Investor's Business Daily, their stock has jumped.
“Zendesk finished Q4 with over 75,600 customer accounts, up from 69,000 last quarter, representing a record 6,600 customer additions,” said Pacific Crest analyst Brendan Barnicle in a research report late Tuesday. “As a result, customer acquisition costs and return on acquisition costs improved in Q1 over Q4.”
Not only that, but their forecast revenue for 2016 is pretty impressive.
"For 2016, Zendesk forecast revenue of $302.5 million at the midpoint of its guidance range, which would be up 45%, and is $7.5 million above its earlier guidance of $295 million."
You're probably thinking at this point that it can't really differ that much from emailing, right? For a lot of businesses, email is just too slow when it comes to their customer's needs. Many on-demand industries can't allow for technicians or customers to wait 20 minutes for an email reply.
“Our customers and Runners prefer to interact via SMS,” said Evan Aldrich, head of customer support at delivery business Favor. “Using Zendesk to provide SMS support is easy to set up and fits perfectly into our existing workflows.”
We write a lot about the customer experience here at The Methodology Blog. Mostly because it's something all of us are sick of experiencing. Could you imagine how beautiful the customer service experience would be if internet or delivery providers would put this to use? You wouldn't have to wait in your house during that 9 AM to 5 PM window they provide for the cable guy to show up. What about those packages that supposedly left the warehouse a week ago and have been "in transit" for what seems like an eternity that will hopefully arrive at some point this morning? All of this would change if you could simply receive a text or get an immediate response on wait time. Here's hoping this finds more traction across numerous industries!
Interviewing for a position is easily one of the most stressful events in our lives. You want to give them the old razzle dazzle and really shine, but you know they have a stack of other equally qualified candidates waiting to be seen. What makes you more special than them? It wouldn't be surprising if you decided to fib a little on your resume. It's only an embellishment, right? You're not alone. Hloom has discussed this common practice and states that 58% of hiring managers have spotted lies on resumes. They polled 2,000 people in the U.S. to share their thoughts on the topic. They measured severity on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being not at all and 5 being extremely serious. Here is their first image, showing us what people view as a small lie compared to a big, bold lie.
Which lies are harmless and which are harmful? It's hard to tell. Communication skills aren't that big of a deal, right? Your college major is way more important than that. It's all a matter of opinion. So what is the main reason people lie on their resumes? Would it be embarrassment? Or maybe we just want to look better on paper? Check out this graph from the study:
I'm not going to lie. I have found myself in a position to fudge some of the facts on my resume in the past. My main reason was to hide a huge, glaring employment gap. The reason I was unemployed for such a large chunk of time was because I was dealing with a lot of medical issues and found myself laid up on the couch for 3 whole years. Once I was ready to get back out onto the job market, I was honest...at first.
I explained to employers that I was ill but I had received the go ahead to work again. The looks on their faces was obvious. They didn't want to risk hiring someone who was sick for so long before. What if I became ill again? That would surely be a pain for them. After failing out of numerous interviews and potential jobs, I decided to lie.
What I did was expand my years worked at two previous companies to cover the gap and also to avoid prospective employers calling to confirm. That sounds terrible, doesn't it? About a month after I wrote the lie on my resume, I found a job. That doesn't make it right, but it is the truth. Hloom's study found a lot of surprising insights into how people feel about lying on these matters.
"People find lies about education fairly serious, while fabrications about specific skills are deemed more harmless. The top reason for lying on a resume is to appear better suited to a desired position. Which demographics are likeliest to lie? Unemployed people, applicants aged 55 to 64, and people with no high school diploma. Men are more likely to lie than women."
Not only that, but they have resources for you. Are you in the market for a new job? No need to lie on your resume, just use one of their 800 free resume templates. Did we mention they do this for free? You're going to do what's right for you, and if embellishing some facts gives you more confidence, then that's what you will end up doing. But think about how good it would feel to get that position on your own merits and not little lies.
A feature from CIO magazine not only insists this is necessary, but provides three steps to digitizing your work:
The elusive concept of the so-called paperless office may finally be taking shape, if anecdotal evidence is anything to go by. A growing number of small businesses and startups, unencumbered by legacy processes, are quietly ditching printouts for an all-digital ecosystem, buoyed by soaring bring-your-own-device ownership and growing familiarity with a plethora of cloud services.
It certainly seems like the wave of the future. The writer, Paul Mah, cites three reasons for this shift:
Convenience is a hallmark of modern life, both at the office and at home. As the piece says:
Digital data is both highly searchable, and is also easily transferrable. What’s more, the mature state of cloud services today means that you can expect the information you store online to be available across whatever devices you may own -- be it a smartphone, tablet, PC laptop, Mac computer – or even a Web browser at a cybercafé or hotel lobby when on a vacation.
It's beyond question that getting access to your information from anywhere is much better than wondering where you left your notebook or having to lug that briefcase around. But that's not the only advantage.
What about information loss? Those of us who lived before the information age remember fireproof file cabinets and constant worry. In fact, some companies kept multiple physical copies just in case. Lah notes:
Digital documents are also clearly suited to data backup. Despite the calibration required to get things set up in a way that works for you, it’s infinitely easier to make a copy of digital data versus photocopying stacks of printed invoices or bills.
The final justification for an all-digital workflow is working better with others. When it's just you at your desk, it takes more work to call meetings to get things done together. You could write a document with other people by dividing up the sections, but it's a lot easier with modern document collaboration tools. Or, as the editorial suggests:
On this front, an entire generation of online tools are available for a diverse range of tasks such as time tracking (Toggl), project management (Asana) and collaboration (Yammer) – of which all are captured digitally without printing out a single piece of paper.
The article continues with three steps for making the switch: 1. choosing a digital notebook system, 2. taking a digital-first approach to new data, and 3. effortlessly digitizing legacy data. But it doesn't ask the question: should we go all-paperless?
In my view, digital data is good, but analog processes have value. Consider the following examples:
And there's a larger problem than the social elements of digital technology: truly using them. The tool you actually use is better than the better tool you don't use. It doesn't matter how incredible these resources are if you sign up, download, or purchase them---and they collect virtual dust.
Yes: you should be making your workflow more digital. But don't forget about the people who are involved in the data you consume and create, including yourself.
I remember going to interview for a job after I had moved to a new state a few years ago. It was my first interview in a long while so naturally I was sweaty and terrified. It probably didn't help that I had to walk a half mile in the snow to get there. When I entered into the building, I immediately took note of how dingy it was. The place probably hadn't seen a renovation since the early 70's. It was then that a big, lanky dog walked around the corner and greeted me, tail wagging and whipping at the walls.
I was pumped. I'm an animal lover and this just about made my day. Not only that, but my nerves about the interview totally vanished. The only issue is that I'm allergic to animals (which is the bane of an animal lover's existence.) It doesn't stop me from rolling around on the ground with animals, but working with one? Not so much. I was offered the position but had to turn it down. Are offices really willing to lose a prospective employee over an animal?
It seems so. The Huffington Post reported that a lot of startups are allowing pets in their offices as a way to attract younger employees. Besides that, having an animal around has been proven to help lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides and actually combat loneliness. Basically animals are good for the heart. So it would make sense that having a pet in the office would bring down stress levels and make for a better work environment.
Also, the benefits from being on your feet more while at work increase when you have a pet. We here at The Methodology Blog have discussed how getting up and standing at work instead of sitting all day is literally extending lives. Peter Li over at Atlas Wearables couldn't agree more:
Movement during breaks throughout the workday has been proven to reduce back pain from sitting. It’s no surprise that Atlas Wearables, the developer of a digital trainer and heart rate band, praises the wellness benefits of pets at work. Based in Austin, Texas, CEO Peter Li notes one benefit of having a dog around is its need to be walked. Having Bluto the dog around created an opportunity to have walking meetings. “Standup meetings emphasize knowledge sharing. It helps keep the whole team on the same page running towards the same goal.”
If you need more proof, check out what Zac Felsenstein has to say about Libby the Havanese pup who visits the Bond Street office:
She adds another personality to the office. “ I see Libby and instantly my day is better,” remarked Felsenstein. She comes in 2-3 times a week and has created a culture of her own: the team sets aside time to walk her and feed her. It creates camaraderie, as everyone a the office shares responsibility caring for the office animals.
It used to be that being able to bring your dog to work was just a matter of convenience. Maybe they had a veterinarian appointment and it would be easier, so you got the go ahead from managers or HR and brought your pooch in. Now, many companies are jumping on board with the happiness and wellness that pets can bring and allowing them to stay. Would you like an office pet or do you think it would be more of a hindrance?
Word spreads quickly in this day and age because social media is such a big part of everyone's daily lives. No only is it used to update how your day went but also includes finding a job. Graham Allgood can testify to how useful of a tool it can be. Fast Company spoke with Allgood who wanted nothing more than to get an internship at Horizon Media, in the social media department. So how was he going to catch their eye? How could he find a way to not end up at the bottom of the resume pile we all dread so much? He created his own ad campaign targeting the company by using a geofilter on SnapChat. It works by featuring a specific location or an event that you can then use to tag your pictures. It doesn't come at too steep of a price at $29.65. It caught the eye of vice president Maikel O’Hanlon at Horizon Media. Allgood received an email that same day with an interview request and is beginning a paid internship on June 6th. So is this now becoming the norm?
Social media has become standard practice in the quest to snag a coveted position. The latest research from Jobvite found that 48% used social to search for their most recent job – of those, 67% used Facebook, only 35% used Twitter. Fifty-nine percent have used social media to assess the company culture of a potential employer. One reason more people may be turning to social media to stand out is that competition for open positions is tight: found that, on average, each corporate job posting attracts 250 resumes.
So has this actually worked for people besides Allgood? Fast Company shared some other stories about people who have used social media to land their dream job. Taylor Aldredge used Twitter to connect with people that he thought could help him on his path. He landed some interviews with these individuals to learn their tricks and tips. After some time, he finally nabbed a position at Grasshopper. None of that would have been possible without using social media.
We live in a time where it's pretty common to Facebook stalk everyone, including managers, coworkers, and employees. So why not start using it to our advantage? There is a way to go about it, though. You don't want to end up becoming that creepy person who just won't back off, constantly tagging companies in your posts or commenting on theirs, begging for a chance to show them what you can do. One recruiter, Hannah Barfield, had something to say on the issue:
"If you're aiming to stand apart from the crowd and approach an employer in a nontraditional way, make sure your plan is unique, memorable, and professional," advises Hannah Barfield, a recruiter with Godshall Professional Recruiting. "A Twitter campaign #pleasehireme is desperate and sad," she points out.
We're pretty big supporters of using social media. In fact, it has been shown that using forms of social media while at work actually will increase productivity. Most companies just aren't utilizing these platforms that could really propel them, front and center in the public. It' okay to dive in and get your feet wet, you won't regret it!
In her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware shares the poignant lessons that she has gleaned as a nurse caring for people in their final days. It may come as a surprise to some that she suggests the number one regret is, “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
As a certified coach, this seems to be a major struggle for the people I see as well---although it's not always one they can verbalize that easily. The questions, “who am I” and “what do I want” seem to be a distant thought to “what is expected of me” and “what must I do.” After all, it is these latter questions that drive our working lives, even if it is the former questions that define ourselves.
We are all compelled to act out of the suggestions of others, whether noble or not, who have been markers of influence. It is patterns and behaviors that now reside in our subconscious often leading us to “become those people” and not the people we truly want to be. Our “do’s” often precede our “be’s” when it might be the other way around. Or could it?
Is there a truer life for yourself than you have made time to honor? Do you inwardly desire a chance to courageously say “yes” to something that you are not doing now? What holds you back? What are practical ways you can put honoring of self into your life? Have you ever given yourself a chance to step back and ask, what if I ...??
In the Butler University MBA program, we offer a unique and different kind of leadership initiative than is common in many collegiate business programs. We challenge our students the chance to step back and ask those poignant questions, to take a breath, with permission, to think about who they are becoming in and through their leadership. As a coach, my students---many of whom are already well into their careers---remark that the leadership development plan is a surprise; a gift, not something they would have expected nor done on their own. They are invited to ask, “what steps can they take to help them be the person they desire to be?” and “what do they want to do and do well?”
Not only does this surprise and delight my students, the same feelings often occur with other clients and individuals who are asked not "what do you do" but "who do you want to be?" Moving forward with our lives requires deeper reflection than simply the daily actions of work. True leadership requires true contemplation.
Leadership can be a lonely place both personally and professionally: it demands that you become courageous in facing difficult and challenging things about yourself first. What if you honored yourself today and made the decision to say, “I will choose to begin to tap into my courage to live the truest life that I want, not what others expect me to be?"
Not only will you be on the path to become a more authentic person and leader, but you will also have the opportunity to share with someone in your final hours the joyful note that you chose to live into who you wanted to become!
To be or not to become, that is the courageous question! Do it!
How many of you would raise your hand right now if we asked this: "Do you need a reset button for your brain?" Metro agrees that we are too stressed out and stands behind the idea that workplaces need to provide employees with the ability to shut off and reset. One company named Mindfresh has made this their goal. Their entire reason for being is to boost productivity in the office and help people learn how to de-stress. So how does Mindfresh work?
Chiyoko Osborne and Jen Kluczkowski founded the company back in 2013. They both worked for big name companies and know how high stress workplaces can be, causing you to easily burn out. Kluczkowski stated:
As a last ditch effort to find relief, I started a daily yoga + meditation practice in 2008. Sometimes that meant sneaking out of the office mid-day, but it felt justified because my performance at work was improving. With less physical pain + mental distraction, there was space for the good stuff, like inspiration + creativity, to come through again.I became fascinated with the mind-body connection + how it influences our work. In 2012, I spent a year studying at the Jivamukti Yoga School in NYC for my 800-hour certification. I also traveled to India four times in four years to study yoga philosophy + asana with masters.
The goal was to develop the most effective mindfulness experience to bring into the office, since that’s where many of us spend most of our time. Our belief is: if we feel great at work, we’ll do great work. When we feel great at work, we’re more engaged + our time spent at the office is more meaningful.
Their 30 minute sessions have seen a lot of success. After all, their 750 onsite mindful movement sessions in New York and San Francisco have received glowing reviews. Kluczkowski is a firm believer that multitasking is truly at the heart of what's putting a stopper in achieving our goals.
“People will put ‘I’m a great multitasker’ on resumes. But there’s a lot of different research showing that if you do five or six different things at one time, you make so many errors, it’s done carelessly, you have to go back and redo things, other people have to correct you," says Kluczkowksi. "So now there’s more of a shift towards ‘How do we train our brains to do one thing at a time again with total attention?'”
Meditation has been around for years. The earliest records we have relation to meditating are from as far back as 1500 BCE, sprouting up from Hindu traditions of Vedantism. Yet many historians believe that the practice began way before this time, going as far back as 3000 BCE. A monk named Dosho, who had discovered Zen during a visit to China in 653, brought the practice of meditation to Japan upon his return to the country. After that, meditation exploded among the populace. The actual term "meditate" was introduced by Monk Guigo II in 12th century AD. It comes from the Latin word "meditatum" which means "to ponder." The practice took on its own life, spreading among the continents. It didn't become a hit in the Western population until the 18th century and in 1927, after “Tibetan Book of the Dead” was published, Westerners became infatuated with the idea. Now, many startups are recognizing the benefits of being mindful and including meditation sessions in their workdays.
I'm not going to lie and say that I never ate lunch at my desk. In fact, the last place I worked, I didn't even get a lunch break. If I had wanted one, I would have had to come in an hour earlier, so really that was my choice. More sleep or a legit lunchtime? Sort of a no-brainer, for me at least. But at all of my previous jobs, I would usually end up just sitting at my desk, eating my sandwich, and watching dogs meeting kittens for the first time on YouTube. Captain Time has some pretty convincing thoughts on why settling in to munch your lunch at your workstation is a terrible idea. Check out their top 10 reasons to back up their claim and also some of my own thoughts as well!
1. YOUR BOSS WILL FIND YOU
How ominous does that sound? Yet totally true. So, when chaos erupts in the office and everyone else is out getting a bite to eat, there you'll be, just ripe for the picking. It won't matter that you're supposed to be on your break. Duty calls!
2. MENTAL BREAK
We have written here on The Methodology Blog about how important it is to take a break from your work. In fact, the only way I would be able to survive my workdays were those minutes I could spend swooning over kitten videos. But if you want to fully disconnect and take a breather, you need to actually take your body out of your workplace. Get some air!
3. EXERCISE
Another topic of discussion on our blog would be getting exercise while you're working and how it actually improves your productivity. Sitting in a chair for hours on end does terrible things, not only to your posture, but your mindset as well. Get up and move around!
4. OFFICE SOCIAL CONNECTIONS
Networking is important, even if you already have landed your job, you want to keep making and growing your connections. Taking a break to go out to lunch with colleagues is a great way to form bonds with the people you work with. Take advantage of this opportunity!
5. KEYBOARD CRUMBS AND SPILLS
This is pretty self explanatory. Do you really want to be that employee who ruined their keyboard from a spill? Not only that, but leaving crumbs around where you work gives an air that you don't really care. Not very professional at all!
6. STRENGTHEN FRIENDSHIPS
Even if you don't use your lunchtime to kick your networking into gear, use it to connect with your friends. Work takes away from our home lives and can end up putting a damper on a lot of relationships. Haven't seen one of your friends in a while? Go to lunch!
7. COMMUNITY
There are a million things going on in every city across every state. Taking a stroll around town will help you keep up with what's going on around you. Plus, you may find out about an event you could talk about with your coworkers at your next lunch break.
8. FOOD TRUCKS
Food trucks are now a staple in most cities across America. This growing trend means you don't necessarily have to run around trying to find a restaurant that suits your needs or make reservations. You can hang out outside and eat!
9. BETTER DIGESTION
Having lunch and plopping back down at your desk isn't going to leave you feeling very fresh. In fact, you'll probably feel full and sleepy. Actually going out for lunch means walking, and walking means better digestion.
10. ERRAND EFFICIENCY
This is what I would use my lunch break for (when I wasn't on YouTube.) There's never enough time in the day. Running out and doing some returns or grabbing products you need so you don't have to swing by on your way home is a pretty awesome way to get out of the office, get some exercise, and chop that to-do list in half!
Yes. For lots of employees, the "company mission statement" is something which makes them roll their eyes.
In a post for Unreasonable, Cheryl Heller writes:
One common misconception among entrepreneurs is the belief (because they’re told repeatedly) that they need to capture their business idea – however radical – in the structured and declarative statements called mission, vision and values. I know this, because I used to tell clients the same thing.
Or, as a somewhat ironic pull-quote with a "tweet this" header says from her post:
You don’t need to capture your business idea in a single declarative statement.
But that doesn't mean it's a bad idea to spend time trying to define what you want from your business. Phrases like "vision statement" and "mission statement" and even words like "values" can help generate meaningful discussion about what is most important.
Because even though "delivering amazing customer service" and "providing the best quality products" and "having a great work culture" are all important, they are not all equally important to everyone---even in the same company.
And a mission statement is different: it's a description of what a company is trying to do day-to-day. It's the how more than the why.
So just like with our discussion about our vision statement: here is our mission statement:
to help people experience the joy of being more productive, more efficient, more engaged and more satisfied at work
We're proud of that. But at the same time, it might cause some people to roll their eyes. That's because work is such an uncomfortable, frustrating experience for so many people, any official statement just seems to be propaganda rather than an earnest expression of intentions.
Let's break it down our mission.
In the book Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun on the Job author Dennis W. Bakke writes:
A joy-filled workplace gives people the freedom to use their talents and skills for the benefit of society, without being crushed or controlled by autocratic supervisors.
This is something that we aspire to at AccelaWork. We avoid work assignments that don't align well to a team member's talents and skills. And we use their feedback rather than deciding what's best.
This is part of being non-autocratic. That's not to say that people don't need to make decisions, but that we're not interested in controlling others.
You don't have to read much here on The Methodology Blog to know how much we love productivity. We of course want everyone on our team to be more productive too; but not just so that the business can get more done.
That's because there is a direct connection between getting things done and feeling good about yourself. We all enjoy checking items off our lists or completing projects. Productivity is important at AccelaWork because we care about helping people feel accomplished.
This might be the part of our mission statement that raises the most eyebrows. Who cares if employees are satisfied? Happiness, as many of the managers of yesteryear might say, is overrated. People are supposed to do their job and get paid. If you want to have fun, take a vacation.
And yet, research proves that employee satisfaction is connected to everything for performance to attendance to retention. We want our people to be happy so they feel challenged and engaged. We want them feeling good so they keep coming back!
Just because you have one of these emblazoned on your HR paperwork doesn't mean it's any good. The folks at Inc. magazine put together a lit of the nine worst mission statements of all time.
What's the difference? How much you actually care about living out your mission.
Despreneur recently sat down with Sten Tamkivi, co-founder and CEO of Teleport, looking to dish on the brand new startup. Craving tips for brand new entrepreneurs, the interview started with a pretty important question - how did the idea of Teleport come to exist? Tamkivi explained that while he was working for Skype in their early days, he realized that he had been on 72 business trips in one year. His family was uprooted and followed him around from Estonia to London and Singapore, then finally in the US. After he left Skype, he had begun brainstorming ideas for his own business venture, and what he wrote down was a very simple statement: "human migration needs fixing." So what exactly does Teleport do?
"Teleport moves you to the best place to live and work. Our core product, Teleport Cities, helps knowledge workers pick the right city for what they need to do: reduce cost to extend their startup’s runway, find like-minded people to build with, be closer to clients, land in a tax and regulatory environment with least friction, seek for best healthcare or education for their families and so forth."
Some other pretty neat functions are Teleport Runway and Teleport Flock. Runway assists entrepreneurs who are looking to compare the burn rate of constructing their engineering teams in new cities. Flock will choose the best place for your scattered team to meet up. This sounds amazing, but we all know nothing is perfect, so what are their biggest challenges?
"The biggest constraint is probably in people’s heads. There are some macro trends that are supporting human mobility (from technology to changing nature of work and income becoming independent of location) which today are already available to up to half of the working population, those dealing with knowledge work and information processing. Yet, most people don’t consider if they are at the right place often enough, and don’t understand their possible upside. This is where we hope to help with very accessible location search."
So what makes them any different than their competitors? Well, to be frank, there aren't very many out there at this point. Can you think of a single site that boasts the ability to help you transplant your life? As Tamkivi said:
"The only real paid help you can get today when moving around is called corporate relocation, and is expensive, impersonal and accessible to organizations who have thousands or tens of thousands of employees, and are moving around hundreds a year. Also, all software that helps businesses figure out things like where to set up shop is built for the likes of Walmart to optimize their stores or Shell to place their gas pumps near highways."
The most promising aspect is that Teleport isn't anywhere complete with expanding their software and services. I sincerely wish I had this website to turn to when I figured out that the odds of finding decent housing and steady work in Illinois were about as good as finding a leprechaun with a pot of gold. I had reached the end of my rope and felt stuck; living with my sister and her husband at 27 years old was sort of embarrassing. I decided enough was enough, packed up my 2001 Acura TL, and headed for South Carolina. I'm lucky enough to have met and fallen in love with my husband down here, but my career prospects aren't that much brighter. If I had something like Teleport to turn to, I may have made different choices.
The website, Inc., published an article that every employer (and employee) should read. The difference between a messy and confused workspace versus something airy and open can easily be seen in the kind of work we yield. More companies are beginning to realize how huge of an effect this has and want to do something about it, but are hitting some roadblocks:
Real estate projections estimate the average for all companies for square feet per worker will be as low under 151 square feet in 2017. And in cities like Chicago, a 9% increase in office rents downtown are forcing businesses to downsize their space and to start thinking about space efficiency.
Allowing workers to telecommute never seemed like a better idea! If you're not in a position where you can work from home, then maybe it's time to spruce up the office. Even if it's not a company-wide mandatory fix, you can still use some of these tips while taking a look at your own personal space at work, and making some much needed changes. Check out Inc's suggestions below and our thoughts as well!
1. Purge Everything for a Fresh Start
Let's get back to the bare bones, before all the graphs and spreadsheets cluttered every surface and all the hand-me-down furnishings and enormous office machinery took over. You really need to see the space with new eyes and it's likely you either forgot what it even looked like at the start or maybe you came in after everything was already in place. Start downsizing. Empty desks rarely used or awkwardly large tables need to go. You only need to accommodate your employee's current needs. Think of it like all of those redecorating shows you see on TV; they yank everything out before they start to put it back together.
2. Don't Forget About Light
We here at The Methodology Blog are big fans of natural light as it actually has been proven to increase productivity. Now, if it's not in the budget to install more windows, you can still brighten up your spot with better lighting. Maybe it's time to finally realize that most people would prefer to work in the dark than under flickering, fluorescent lighting. Also, if you're looking to add color, try to avoid any heavy or dark shades, as lighter colors can improve focus.
3. Provide More Opportunities to Telecommute
As we march further and farther into modern technology, it would make sense to recognize the benefits of having employees work from home. Not only will it open up the office, it will also cut a lot of overhead costs. As a telecommuter myself, I can say that having the ability to work from home has done wonders for my efficiency. Not only do I avoid dumping money into my vehicle for gas and maintenance, I also spare my sanity the hellish traffic jams and rush hours. I am much more productive and satisfied with my job.
4. Share Your Building Space
Inc. really hit the nail on the head with this idea:
If rent is a concern, consider sharing an office space with another small business. With so many incubators and coworking spaces available, small businesses have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to finding a low-cost work space.
In this day and age, with all the startups looking to hit the ground running, this could be a really fantastic solution.
5. Create Zones in the Workplace
Each office should have zones. A little separation does wonders to the mind and soul. Have a sitting area, grab some different sized tables for employees to use. Not every team needs to use a table to seat 8, plus it frees up space! Allow for personal zones where workers can go to have some alone time to get work done. Each zone should have a different feel to it, so the difference is noticeable. Taking the time to implement these changes can truly change your outlook at work.
When you say "summer internship," often times you'll get one of two responses from those in charge of organizing the workload and schedule for them:
Does this sound at all familiar? If so, don't fret. You're not alone in these thoughts. But there are ways to create an internship program that is not just meaningful to interns, but productive for your office as well. The first step is to recognize the following: individuals looking for internships / apprenticeships are impressionable and eager to learn! This is true for two reasons:
In fact, according to an article from Orange County Breeze, college admission teams aren't just examining grades and test scores when it comes to student applications:
Colleges want students who take on a position of responsibility. Keeping assigned hours and being responsible for certain projects shows maturity. Colleges also look for students who are dedicated, committed and show a specific interest. It is better to have a few meaningful causes than a long list of organizations.
As a writer for The Methodology Blog, it's exciting for me to read words encouraging people and companies to provide meaningful work to their employees. After all, when employees are happy and engaged in their work, it's inevitable: productivity prospers! So, when it comes to making internships available at your company, consider that having a defined, meaningful program is beneficial on both sides of the equation--interns are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in a learning environment that aids in their experience level, while companies reach levels of productivity that may have otherwise been unreachable.
BONUS: companies may just discover valuable workmanship in their interns that could eventually lead to new team members!
If you're thinking about developing an internship program for your company, but are unsure as to where to start, consider the following suggestions posted by internships.com.
. . . gain a general understanding of the internship arena: What exactly is an internship? Who is Generation Y, and what should you know about hiring them? What are interns looking for in a host organization?
. . . conduct an internal assessment of your company's needs and resources.Some aspects to consider are whether you will pay interns, or how you can otherwise compensate intern efforts; whether your company can support multiple interns; the availability of meaningful work for interns; the type of projects that can be assigned;
. . . get a grasp on the legal ramifications of hosting interns in your state: minimum wage requirements, workers' compensation issues, safety and harassment policies, termination guidelines, and how other traditional employee benefits and business responsibilities do or don't apply to interns.
. . . an internship is a learning experience. But whether or not educational credit is obtained is strictly between the student and his or her school.
For an internship to succeed, it's necessary to get the entire business on board. From the CEO to senior and junior management, without big-picture buy-in, interns won't feel welcome, and it will be a constant struggle to allocate resources.
A comprehensive internship structure should include information on learning objectives, daily responsibilities, short- and long-term projects, supervisor assignments, evaluation procedures, policies and expectations, and orientation and off-boarding processes,
Having staff members take ownership of key roles and responsibilities ensures implementation will move forward and that the internship program will run smoothly once in place. But it doesn't end there. Make sure intern supervisors have the time and resources to effectively manage the participants and the program itself.
Looking back on the days of my own internship endeavors, I recall quite vividly the lack of work available for me to complete. I spent most my days searching for things to do. Fast forward fifteen years--my niece mentioned recently that she is already bored in her internship and it's only the second week on the job. She received a project assignment on the first day that was supposed to last her all summer long. She finished it on day five and is now scrambling to find things to occupy her time.
So here is my personal piece of advice: DON'T LEAVE YOUR INTERNS HANGING!
Make sure you have plenty of work for them to do. Not only is it miserable for the interns, but it's an incredible waste of resources for your company. Whether it's several large projects that can be overseen by a current employee or smaller projects that require upkeep on a daily basis, give your interns meaningful tasks that keep them occupied and, most importantly, contribute to the overall productiveness of your office.
Creating an internship program takes time and money there's no doubt about it. But if you have the resources and interest (both from current employees and potential interns), the development may just be worth your while!
In this two part series, we dive into Slaughter's interview with Michael Reynolds on the Digital Exec in regards to the common ways people can unknowingly kill productivity and workplace culture. In our first post, we revealed the first of Slaughter's 5 killers: Utilizing the Word Mandatory, The Veneer of Fun, Interruptions, Sense of False Urgency, and Abuse of Status.
Today we will cover the final five productivity and culture killers on the list of Top 10 ways to kill business productivity and workplace culture. [To view the video in full, visit the link provided].
As a leader, you need to make sure that you engender a culture where people should push back. Let people know that, "Hey, if I'm giving you too much work, you need to tell me," because you only have so many hours in the day, and you can't do everything that needs to be done in one of those days.Second thing I think is really important is whenever you give someone a task, "Michael, can you work on this for us?" If you say, "Yes, I can do it," and say, "Okay, Michael, what I need you to do for me, before you really accept this task is give me two pieces of information. One, I need you to estimate the duration, that's how much time you think it will take. And the second thing I need you to give me is I need you to give me a time frame based on all your other responsibilities, whether they're at work or with vacations your planning or your family or anything else, when you can expect to make progress and complete this project?"
One of the main reasons companies get into this stagnation in which nobody's going to take any risk is because they have an authoritarian culture in which you have to do what the boss says, and the boss has to do what their boss says and so on.I think, too, that people don't characterize failure very well ... We should be willing to make mistakes to fail fast as you say and find ways to move forward.
Instead of just issuing people devices or saying, "You have what you have," we [AccelaWork] give folks a budget to work with and we say, "Hey, here's some money we can allocate towards technology for you. Go and buy whatever it is you think you need, hardware, software, resources, just take care of it and we'll cover that cost."
A lot of people have a management style which they call management by walking around. They'll walk around the office and check on people and say, "Hey, how things going? What's happening on your project?"
You can see how this is appealing to a lot of managers because it feels like you're connecting with people, it feels like you're building a rapport, but what really happens very often is that people feel interrupted because they were working and now you've made them stop working. They also feel like they're being checked on as if they're not trusted.
... be conscious of how your personal relationships outside the office can influence inside the office, and this is really true in small businesses ...People can feel like, "Well, I'll never have a chance to be promoted because so and so's brother in law works for the company and they're going to get that job before I do."
The more transparent you can be with your decision making process [and the more your employees know] if I do A, B and C and have a chance to move ahead, the more they'll feel connected to their work and the less they'll be concerned that they're being treated unfairly.
AccelaWork prides itself on the successful collaborations we've had with our clients in regards to overall business improvement. We strive to bring as much information as we can to the forefront of business and hope to assist as many companies as we can along the way. From speaking engagements to company workshops, full-length books to consulting services, we are ready to utilize whichever resources are necessary to bring our clients results. To learn more about ways we can help your company, contact us today!
Many of us already have our own routines down. You wake up, eat, work, sleep, repeat. Sometimes that just isn't enough and you find yourself wanting to add something else in to spice up your life a bit. Maybe you want to start exercising after work or you want to tackle all of your emails within the first hour of the day. Starting a new habit takes diligence, focus, and willpower. In my case, kicking a nasty smoking habit took all three of those things and more because it really did come down to the fact that it was just a bad habit I was used to doing. So how can we make the good ones stick around? Unlimited Mastery takes us on a journey through the best ways to conquer new routines.
1. Use Your Environment to Your Advantage.
Being creatures of habit, it's important to stay in an environment that you're familiar with while you're trying to make new habits stick. Maybe you're using a specific pen and paper, or sitting at a specific spot in your house. Whatever it is, make it consistent. When you're creating a new behavior, it's much easier to make it work if you aren't making drastic changes to your current routine. Do everything the same, just add in your new steps for your new pattern.
2. Link habits to events or to other habits
One way to make a new habit easier to follow would be to combine it with cues. Maybe it's the thing you do right when you wake up or go to sleep. Or maybe it's something in combination with a routine you already have.
We need to know exactly how we are going to fit the new habit into our life. If we choose vague cues such as “I’ll write in the morning” we are more likely to be inconsistent. It’s easy to fill out our mornings with many other tasks and soon realize that the morning is long gone and we didn’t work on our new habit.
3. Work on few habits at a time.
Don't pile too much on your plate! It's easy to overwhelm yourself which is a good way to cause a mental rebellion. We know how hard it is to kick the procrastination habit, so don't take on too much and end up putting off creating new, better routines for future you to deal with. In all reality, it can take anywhere between 20 to 60 days to create new patterns for yourself, so you have to be patient and let your brain catch up!
4. First consistency then intensity.
It's really easy to burn yourself out if you're not careful, be it mentally, physically, or emotionally. Tackling too much from the start can end up in some severe exhaustion. The example provided in the article uses a really good comparison:
For many years I failed to build the habit of going to the gym consistently. I would always start with a lot of energy and work out everyday for almost an hour. But after a few weeks I would get overwhelmed and stop. Months later, I would try the same thing but ended up quitting again.The way I finally got to build the habit was by trying a different approach. Consistency first, intensity second. The strategy works by starting from a small habit and then building more layers to it.
Ah, perks on the job. If you follow The Methodology Blog, then you know, we talk about this subject quite a bit. And while I could go on and on about why certain benefits may actually achieve adverse effects--a lag in productivity to name one--I'd like to highlight a recent experience of mine that shows exactly what it means when a company genuinely invests in its employees.
In the early days of my career, I spent days and nights working in a very fast-paced, high stress job that, if truth be told, I never truly felt accomplished or valued for. Not only was I being paid very little, but I had fifteen bosses that rarely seemed satisfied with me and often times pushed me to do more than I could handle. Sadly, I knew my plate was overflowing and recognized that the company (and my bosses) knew it as well. But nothing was done to remedy the situation--neither on my part nor that of my superiors. Eventually, the only option I had was to leave. And so I did.
Reflecting back on this early portion of my career, I can easily recognize the following:
Had I recognized the factors above earlier, I'm fairly certain I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did. I convinced myself that the environment I was in was normal. As if every company operated as such and it was just something I had to learn to cope with on my own. I couldn't have been more wrong!
Turns out, I worked overtime not because I wanted a promotion or top of the line benefits. I did so because I desperately wanted to perform in a job I could be proud of and feel valued for the work I was doing. Frankly, neither was achieved.
I've worked with Robby Slaughter here at AccelaWork since 2008 and in this time, I've learned an enormous amount about how business is conducted vs. how it should be conducted. It's been an enlightening eight years to say the very least. And in a recent experience, I was shown what it feels like to feel valued.
My son is dyslexic. His language learning differences, paired with his ADHD, makes school very difficult indeed. Luckily, we enrolled him in Fortune Academy; a school specifically designed to provide an environment that nurtures each child's development, builds upon his/her individual strengths, and offers remediation in areas of weakness. Among many fantastic benefits to this school, my son thrives in his education in part to the smaller class sizes and specialized educational techniques such as The Orton-Gillingham Approach.
Each year, Fortune Academy hosts a fundraiser to help off set the cost of running the school. They have a silent and live auction that receives donations from both local and national businesses. This year, I approached Robby Slaughter to see whether AccelaWork would be willing to donate anything toward the auction (with the disclaimer that there was no obligation for participation). Within a day, I received a response from Robby that told me yes, AccelaWork would be honored to participate. And, beyond that, he would also like to advertise in the program. Best of all, Robby told me that he'd take care of all the arrangements so I could focus on all the other tasks I had on my plate.
In one email, my employer solidified three things:
There are so many different aspects of my current position with AccelaWork that proves all of the above, but this story simply paints the picture of what it means to support and invest in employees.
Being genuinely interested and supportive of those that work alongside you is more than just thoughtful and kind. It's incredibly smart. When you treat employees with respect and show them that they are more than just a cog in a machine, you are validating both their work and their value to the company. Investing in your employees the right way is a true gift and one that should be seen more often than not in business.
A special thanks to Robby Slaughter and AccelWork for the support and generosity!
If you're serious about interning and have the desire to begin a career with that company, then you really need to step up to the plate and dive into your internship fully prepared. Business Insider has provided some pretty amazing ideas on how you can actually snag that position you're lusting after once your internship ends.
Tell your boss you want the job
Be frank. Really, lay your cards on the table and tell your boss how much you want the position. CEO, Lauren Berger, stated:
"If a student is at an internship that's known for giving a large percentage of interns job offers, they should ask questions at the beginning of their internship to make sure they understand the process of getting a job offer from their internship," Berger says. "If they are at a smaller company, they should set a meeting with their supervisor halfway through the internship and clearly communicate that they'd be interested in an employment opportunity."
Put yourself out there
You want to leave a lasting impression? You need to network. As the article stated:
"Introduce yourself to those around you," Augustine says. Don't be afraid to invite a coworker for lunch or a cup of coffee. Remember, this is the start of your professional network. The people you meet during your internship may become valuable sources for references, job leads, or even mentors during your future job search."
Take it seriously
You may find that some people who are snagging internships aren't all that invested. Maybe they were forced into it by their parents or are just looking to note something on their resume without any real effort. An intern position is as big of a deal as working a permanent position because it very well could become your job...if you want it enough.
Be so good they can't ignore you
In the game of interning, it's easier to get noticed for bombing a task rather than really excelling at it. Climbing the ladder and knocking off your competition to claim bragging rights is important. You want to have done such an amazing job completing a task that they absolutely can't ignore you and have to give you some recognition.
Advocate for yourself
No one else is going to speak up for you. You are your #1 fan.
"This is where quantified impact statements — preferably in terms of dollars, hours or percentages — come into play," says Babbitt. "How much money or time did you save? How did you exceed expectations and by how much? Through humble brags, during feedback sessions and certainly on your LinkedIn page, let people know how you've directly contributed to the success of the organization."
Befriend the gatekeepers
As it is with everything in life, having connections makes your life ten times easier. Becoming buddies with those in charge of new hires or maybe past interns who have landed the full time gig would be great people to get to know. Plus, it always helps to have someone escape your office with during lunchtime.
Be easy to work with
Quick, think of the perfect coworker. What image pops up in your head? Someone easygoing, gets their work done right and on time, and leaves you with a positive vibe? This is the type of professional that you should be striving to become.
It’s all very innocent because many people decide to start a business because they are good at something. If you enjoy baking, you may open a bakery. If you've worked as an accountant, you might decide to go out on your own to do tax returns. And on occasion, someone will be good at business and then seek a business to own---of any kind that will be profitable.
But usually it doesn’t work that way. As a business coach, I see that the majority of small business owners are technicians learning to run a business.
Working with another person in a similar situation could be one of the best arrangements you establish for your business. As they meet and make friends with other business owners, they start trying to figure out how to work together to benefit both of their businesses. Some people call these joint ventures or partnerships. The Guerrilla Marketing guy (Jay Conrad Levinson) calls them Fusion Arrangements. And when businesses use those structures to mutually promote their businesses, he calls it Fusion Marketing.
Sometimes this can be fairly obvious. If you are a florist, you might want to connect with a wedding planner. After all, their customers are going to need flowers, and people may come into your shop to buy congratulatory arrangements when someone gets engaged. The same goes for a baker and a caterer, or an architect and a custom home builder.
Other arrangements might not be so apparent. For example: the family law attorney would benefit from knowing a great realtor, and vice versa. Why? Because when people split up, they often need to sell a house. And sometimes when people go looking for a house, it's because of changes in their family situation.
There are tons of potential benefits to these kinds of agreements, such as:
‘Arrangements’ like these have been in practice for a long, long time. They work very well if both owners share a handful of core elements:
When these elements are not aligned, problems usually arise and customers can get caught in the middle. When that happens, one or both of the businesses suffer as well.
What does that mean? Not all businesses are good candidates for a match! In fact, your very best friend may be in a business that will not relate or connect for a profitable fusion arrangement. Or, her business may be at a different level and she has to adjust for scalability and just isn’t ready to grow more right now. You know, that’s okay. Find another way to work together, perhaps in a civic organization.
Be on the lookout for businesses that complement yours and that also serve the clients you want to serve. It helps you get to that market faster than starting from scratch. Just be sure that the core elements are shared by both and you know you can rely on the performance of the other person and their business.
Another important aspect of developing a fusion arrangement is to have total clarity in actions and responsibilities. Simply, who will do what? Lay that out, and be clear about the plan and timelines, too.
Initially it might seem like more work, but as the arrangement starts rolling, it can produce great results. Do it right and it will certainly pay off.
I scour the internet daily to present the best resources possible for the productivity lovers and life hackers out there. The fact of the matter is that tips and tools of any trade keep changing and evolving. It seems nearly impossible to stay ahead of the curve. Just when you think you have something learned and implemented perfectly into your routine, a new system or technology pops up that changes the game. Luckily, Alexandra Samuel with Harvard Business Review, laid out a few tools we can use in this massive digital age we find ourselves in. I snagged her list and highlighted my favorites for you below!
Evernote
I have sung the praises of Evernote before and will continue to do so until I'm blue in the face. Being scatterbrained is unnecessary in this day and age. Using Evernote will clean up your life for good. All those notes, tips, ideas you scribble down will be in one place. Found an article that you know you will need for later? That's fine, just snap a picture and it will be searchable through text.
Twitter is a social media tool with multiple uses. You want to market to current and new clients? Or maybe you want to share posts and articles you find helpful or interesting. Or maybe you just want to share a funny picture of a cat in pajamas. Hashtags in the Twitterverse make all of this possible, all the while avoiding sending hundreds of emails that most people don't even read. By now, you all know how we feel about emails and their negative impact on productivity.
Doodle
If you're looking for a better way to schedule those conference calls, search no further than Doodle. Instead of emailing, texting, and calling everybody to figure out how or when to set time aside, Doodle polls people instead. It then takes your appointments and automatically syncs them to your calendar. You can send out reminders, see who's missing, and request information from attendees. This will give you an average time that works for everyone right off the bat. The less communication it takes to set up an event or call, the better.
Skitch
Are you a Photoshop pro? If so, you have been blessed. If like me you find yourself desperately trying to fumble with Paint to fiddle with pictures, then Skitch is your savior. It makes getting tech support for computer errors-- quickly saving and sharing images--an absolute dream. Unfortunately, the only way you will get to enjoy this product is if you are a Mac user. This is because Evernote purchased the app back in 2011 and promptly screwed it up.
TripIt
Do you travel for work? If you do, then you need to start using TripIt immediately. All you have to do is schedule your trip and forward all of your emails over to their specified email address. They take all of those emails and turn them into a master itinerary so everything is searchable and in one place, at your fingertips. Have you found yourself without WiFi or data? No problem, you can use it while offline. It's almost like having your own personal event manager!
To learn more about ways of increasing your productivity, both in the workplace and with all of your devices, consider reaching out to the experts at AccelaWork today!
As with almost everything, preparation is key. There's not a lot you can do on the fly once you have multiple presenters in the room, but if you have even an hour or two ahead and a few extra minutes, you can make a huge impact.
If you've got an audience there to hear your presentation, keep in mind that the more people there are, the more distractions there will be. Add that to the waiters delivering food, buzzing devices in pockets, and people's recollections of what else they have to do that day, and it's a wonder anyone is listening at all!
That means you need to make sure that every minute is planned. You can reserve 20 minutes of unstructured mingling time, but once you start the clock for the program, keep moving forward. Borrow an expression from the world of theater: the show must go on!
If you have a plan for a multi-presenter event, you must have an agenda. Here it is:
Host → Presenter 1 → Host → Presenter 2 → Host
It's the job of the event host to do the following:
The secret to finding a good host is to look for someone who is engaging, but not overly talkative. We've all been to programs where the person on stage tended to ramble or whose monotone voice put us to sleep. Look for a host that will keep things moving and maintain positive energy throughout.
Too often, the presenters each show up with their own laptop and there's a process of switching cables and resynchronizing the projector. This never goes as quickly as it's supposed to, and audience members are watching, waiting, and wondering.
Instead, get all of the slide decks in advance. Instead of just asking people to send you their PowerPoint or Keynote files, have them export them as images. That way, you don't have to have the same fonts installed, the slides will still look the same as they did on the original machine.
Then: combine all the slides together into one big presentation. Add a black slide between each presentation. And if someone doesn't have slides, just add a slide with their name, title, and employer in the corner to appear while they speak.
One of the best items to have in your presentation toolkit is a roll of masking tape. Place a bit on the floor and tell your presenters that's where to stand and not to move. This keeps them from tripping over one another, and also helps prevent one of my huge pet peeves: making shadows on the screen.
You'd be surprised how much people tend to respect a piece of tape on the ground if you tell them it's important. And if you happen to be recording the presentation on video, you're camera operator will appreciate you.
Of all of the problems that happen with multiple presenters the worst may be the impact of time on the audience. With more than one speaker everything is magnified. An extra few minutes of setup feels like an eternity if it's happening between speaker #2 and #3. Someone who goes into a long-winded answer to a question will drive people batty---because they know there is an entire Q&A session with another presenter yet to go!
To solve this problem, tell your speakers (and potentially your audience) that you will be using a timer and will be ruthless about cutting them off. Think of it like the Academy Awards: the music is going to start playing, so get it done in the timeframe!
Second: if you're going to take questions, consider announcing in advance that you'll take at most three questions per speaker, no more. Count off the questions as they are asked as a reminder. And you may even want to pass out index cards so people can write their questions down and pass them up instead of giving the floor to an audience member.
You can draw a bigger crowd with more speakers, but there's a greater danger of one of them causing a problem. It's worth it: but plan ahead and make your event a success!
I have written before about the benefits of how you should be sitting in your chair while you're working. I can't say enough about how important posture is and how beneficial it can be to the mind, body, and spirit. Business.com added their thoughts in on why this is such an important idea to implement in offices everywhere. Below is a list of their reasons why you should be striving to have an ergonomic workplace and some of my thoughts as well!
1. Ergonomic Workstations Greatly Reduce Injury-Related Absences
No one wants to lose time they could be working and making money due to a workplace injury. The fact is that the main reason injuries at work occur is due to out-dated equipment and repetitive daily tasks that strain your body.
In fact, more than 40 percent of workplace injuries come in the form of sprains and strains.
Not only are you down an employee for a while until they rest and recover, you're also out money due to compensation for a workplace injury. Nip it in the bud before it gets that far!
2. Employees Who Are Given Ergonomic Workstations Feel Cared About and Are Thus More Engaged
I can personally vouch for this. One of my previous places of employment decided to get rid of their old, ratty chairs and purchased new, ergonimic chairs for every single employee. They even went as far as to show us how to sit in them.
When you give an employee ergonomic equipment to work with, you say to him or her, “How you feel matters to me; I want you to be happy and comfortable and I want to protect you from harm.”
I have never felt more valued by a company than I did on that day.
3. Workers Who Are More Comfortable Have More Energy and a Higher Working Capacity
Who wouldn't have more energy if they felt more comfortable? Being in pain saps you of your energy. Not only will it make you feel physically exhausted, but it will impact you mentally and emotionally as well.
Physical pain negatively impacts mental energy, too; it's hard to feel inspired, solve problems, or generate new ideas when constantly distracted by physical discomfort.
Brainstorming is never harder than when you feel exhausted. Not to mention the constant need for breaks cutting into work output. All of it is a recipe for getting absolutely nothing done.
4. Workers With Ergonomic Equipment Can Work More Quickly
Time is money, as we all know. So why not invest in the equipment your employees have to use in order to be productive? Ergonomic keyboards can help you not only type faster but also avoid fatigue in your wrists.
Ergonomic equipment often makes an employee's work easier to do as it cuts down on repetitive motions and optimizes posture.
You know what else it can help you to avoid? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you're on your computer the majority of your day, it's a genuine issue you may have to face. Switching out your keyboard and even changing the position of your mouse and mouse pad can help.
5. Employees Using Ergonomic Equipment Make Fewer Errors
What's one of the most distracting things you can think of? Being in pain is probably at the top of that list. When you're in pain, you're bound to make more errors.
According to HR.BLR's article, How Business Benefits From Ergonomics, “At one business, a $400 mechanical device eliminated a $6,000 annual loss in scrap caused by employees who had been unable to consistently perform a demanding physical task. The Return on Investment was 1,500 percent.”
You can actually benefit from investing in ergonomics!
"You can't find good people" is a common refrain. Writing for Forbes, commentator Liz Ryan draw a curious comparison:
We hold our Purchasing folks responsible for finding the raw materials we need, at the best price and quality levels. They have to know the market. They have to know which suppliers produce the best parts and materials.If a Purchasing Manager came to a staff meeting and said “It’s too bad about the parts we need for that new product. They’re not available. They’re just not around,” we’d have a big problem. Nobody on your team would be satisfied with the excuse “We tried to find the parts we need, but we couldn’t find them.”
Although the comparison of "people" to "parts" may conjure up feelings of being a faceless cog in a corporate machine, the point is nonetheless solid. The difficulty in hiring people is often about making good specifications of what you want, and studying the market to know what that costs.
A typical story comes from Prezi founder Peter Arvai:
When it came time to hire our first employee from outside the inner circle, I posted an ad online and received a response from an enthusiastic, well-qualified candidate.I was thrilled and hired him after our initial interview. But by his third day on the job, I knew I’d made a mistake. Our personalities and work strategies did not mesh. On day four, I tried to make the best of it. By day five, I knew it would never work and fired him.
There are several factors at work that make the traditional hiring process totally insane:
What's the solution to this problem? The short answer is sample work. Don't interview people. Instead, ask them to do something. Pay them to come in for a day and join in on meetings. Offer them a contract for some freelance work. Get them to produce something so you can see what they can do, not just what they say they can do.
It's harder than it sounds, and more valuable than you might imagine.
The story begins back at the office of a company that sells and delivers materials to retail locations. Even if you're not in a business which sells directly to the consumer, you've seen these trucks all over the place. They are bringing flowers to florists, they are bringing produce to markets, they are bringing lightbulbs to hardware stores.
One day, just before the truck driver goes out on her run, the boss comes in to say something.
"You've got a pickup today instead of a delivery. XYZ is behind on their payments, so you need to get everything you left there last week and bring it back to the warehouse."
Because she knows from experience that asking questions is not a good idea, she nods and grumbles to herself. When the driver arrives at the shop and heads to the retail counter, she relays this same information, but with a little bit of attitude.
"No delivery today. I'm here to pick up everything and take it back. Of course if you were caught up on your bills, we wouldn't have this issue..."
The clerk shrugs and lets her in.
A few hours later, a well-dressed individual arrives at the shop. He walks up to the clerk with a business card. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes about our delivery service. Would you be interested in hearing more, or getting a quote from us?"
This is a typical experience for the cashier. People come up all the time, and he has the same thing to say: "I'm not in charge of these decisions, but I can pass your contact info along to my manager."
It's at that moment the cashier notices the business card. It's from the same company that sent the delivery driver earlier that day. They complained about being behind on payments, and now, they are trying to get a new sale.
This crazy story is completely true, and sadly, not all that uncommon. It's about three problems that plague the common workplace.
Doing work requires authority. You must be authorized to take actions. You must have the power to use tools, to speak to customers, to make decisions. Not everyone has total authority, of course. But at the very least, everyone should have the authority to ask questions and the authority to present their opinion.
In the first part of the story, the delivery driver didn't feel she had the authority to learn more about what it meant for the customer to be behind on making payments. She took out her frustration on the cashier, who in turn, had no authority to make a payment or discuss the details.
In part two, the salesperson arrives with their standard pitch. The clerk again has no authority, and gives a scripted response. Even when he realizes that the situation warrants some discussion, he doesn't feel like he's supposed to say anything.
We often think a job as an exchange of labor for payment. But it turns out that incentives are complicated. In the opening of the story, the delivery driver is supposed to make deliveries. They have no reason to be kind to the customer. And likewise, the cashier is supposed to help his customers. He has no reason to be kind to a vendor, especially someone who is making rude comments about something over which he has no control.
In the second part of the story, the salesperson is likely meeting a quota. They have to go on a certain number of appointments per week, and a certain number of those must be cold calls. Just like the story about the salesperson at the end of the month, it's easy for incentives to backfire.
The end result of this story is a bad experience for everyone. The cashier is likely to roll their eyes at the attitude and incompetence of the vendor. The salesperson is wasting their time trying to make a sale to a company that already has a delinquent account. The delivery driver is becoming more annoyed. And the manager at the vendor isn't getting the information they need to make better decisions.
Why does this happen? Can it be prevented?
The answer is complex, but the idea is simple: if people aren't truly engaged in their work and don't truly feel valued, they will suffer from a lack of authority, they will be plagued by broken incentives, and they will have bad experiences.
And eventually, your competitors will win. Start the conversation, and make a difference.
Of course, negativity has some benefits. In order to have a solution you must first have a problem. Much of the innovation in the world came from someone being annoyed by something that wasn't working right.
When your frustration is a reflection of your mental state, however, that is different. I often tell myself that being frustrated is selfish, and I try to let go of my frustration as quickly as possible. But there are times that I get overwhelmed with my commitments for the day or the week. My attitude becomes negative.
For me, I think the worst days are when I struggle giving my time to others. Some days I need to give my full attention to my deadlines. Then when things don’t go according to plan, my attitude really begins to suffer.
I guess we all have days like that. Here are some thoughts on how to fix those days.
Sharing my burdens help me get things in perspective. My self-imposed deadlines are usually not as important as I thought. Sharing frustrations is a great method to clear your mind and move forward. And you never know, they might see something you don't that can help you feel better!
Publishing your schedules and tasks with your team, your co-workers, and your family can open the door for shared responsibilities. On days when you have time, you can help others with their schedule and tasks. On days when you need help, maybe others will come to your rescue. Creating and sharing goals creates this opportunity. It can work great in all facets of life---from your work, to your home, to your community.
Sometimes the most obvious answer is in the hearts, minds, and labor of other people. Find your needed resources and enlist their help. This is best as a long term solution. It is difficult to recruit help when you have no time. It is hard to teach someone what you need done if you are behind yourself. But if you can strategically develop resources that can help you at critical times, this approach can pay dividends for a long time.
Everyone loves a reason to be happy. Celebrating a small win is just what you need to alter your attitude from negative to positive. Sometimes all you need is a small push to overcome those negative feelings. I find that I have to seek these opportunities.
Here are a few quotes that may make a difference:
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." ---Herm Albright
"There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes." ---William Bennett
"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose." ---Kahlil Gibran
"Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings." ---Helen Keller
Next time you are frustrated and overwhelmed, put a smile on your face, and give these ideas a try.
In need of expertise on how you can improve productivity in your job and/or business? Consider reaching out to AccelaWork to learn more about how we can help.
My opinion is this: I guess the answer to that depends on YOU.
Have you ever heard of the phrase “poverty consciousness?" It's a state of mind that too many people have and it's holding them back.
Poverty consciousness is a term used to define the idea or thought that “I don’t have enough.” Or, in a broader sense, “there isn’t enough for everyone, anyway.”
It’s a mindset of negative baggage we tend to lug behind us. It’s part of the litany of the little voice in our head that is repeated right along with:
All those things negatively impact our ability to achieve success and poverty consciousness is a hurdle to achieving financial success. In effect, it's a constant awareness of what we don't have.
One way you might know that someone is suffering from this phenomenon is that they say "I can't afford that." This means you're thinking about something you want, and it's beyond your reach. A person who has wealth consciousness would say: "That's not in the budget right now, but maybe it should be!" See the difference?
I’ve seen it happen over and over in my coaching experiences. When we don’t think we are deserving of financial rewards, or that there isn’t enough to go around, it just “proves” we won’t ever make it to the level we want financially.
All the numbers in the world won't bring success without the proper mindset.You can know all your numbers. You can work to increase sales. You can work yourself into exhaustion. If you keep the poverty consciousness, none of that will matter. It won’t work. Because, as Napoleon Hill said,
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
The inverse is true as well. Thoughts are things. Your thoughts become your reality. Think poverty; get poverty.
Again, the opposite is true. An abundance mindset can become an abundant life.
There are more than enough clients, customers and sales to go around. Believe that. See that. Plan for it. Reap it.
Since encouragement, support, and accountability are integral elements of positive relationships, there is always talk about all the self-doubt and negativity we keep inside us. Re-program that little voice in your head. Slap it around if you need to, but refuse to believe what it says and change its lines. Instead:
A great article on this topic by Lynn Kimble includes this fantastic quote:
“Prosperity is not just having things. It is the consciousness that attracts the things. Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things." —Eric Butterworth
If you want to talk more about how to overcome the negative voice in your head and set loose the power in your mind, let us know!
To Your Success!
Writing for the Harvard Business School, Carmel Nobel explains:
The World Health Organization released a groundbreaking study that established a definitive link between mental health and economic productivity. The findings were both depressing and hopeful. On the downside, depression and anxiety disorders cost the world nearly US$1 trillion annually. On the upside, every dollar invested in treating those disorders leads to a return of $4 in terms of the ability to work and thus contribute to the economy.
To quote behavioral economist Nava Ashraf:
“Imagine going to work where you feel a great sense of meaning, where you feel supported by others, where you feel a locus of control,” Ashraf says. “That improves mental health, and that improves productivity. So it’s a virtuous cycle.
It's not as if this is news. We've explained how health issues rob productivity at work, and how depression impacts productivity, and how healthy organizations start at the top. But it is nice to get a round number to work with: one trillion dollars.
So how do you get some of that lost money back? Here's an idea. Post this sign in your organization (here it is in PDF form.) Don't ask permission. Don't tell anyone you're doing it. Put it up in a few places and wait to see what happens.
We are a company.When you think of that word, think of us as your companions on this journey to make a difference to our customers and our community.
Here are some things you should know:
1. We’re glad you’re here. You were hired on purpose to be a part of this team. Always remember that.
2. None of us knows everything. It’s always okay to ask questions.
3. There will be good days. Celebrate them. There will be bad days. Accept them.
4. If you can’t work, it’s okay to go home. If you’re sick, go get help.
5. Take vacations. We won’t call you while you’re away, and don’t call us. Recharge and renew, and come back refreshed.
6. Experience elsewhere is just as valuable as experience here. All ideas are welcome, and the quality of the idea is what will be evaluated---not its source.
7. Time is the most precious resource. Respect our time, respect your own time, and help us to make good decisions about how we spend time together.
8. Having fun is not the opposite of being responsible. Enjoy your work, but do your work—even the parts you don’t enjoy.
9. If you’re unhappy, talk to someone. If it’s time for you to move on, let us know so we can help you find what’s next.
10. We’re a team. Let’s communicate, collaborate, and win!
Every one of those points is worth a blog post in itself. And at your organization, there might be a few more bullets based on elements that are unique to your culture.
But no matter where you work, these ten points should be true. And if they aren't, that might be something to bring up. That might be a reason to look for a new job. Or at the very least, an opportunity to change what it's like for the people who work with you directly.
Give it a try. Print out a copy and leave it on people's desks. See what happens. Start the conversation. Change the culture.
Let's make a dent in that trillion dollars and help everyone be more satisfied, more productive, and more engaged at work.
I have always found the early evening into the wee hours of the morning to be my most productive times. I could clean my house, wash all the laundry, prep meals for the week, and walk on the moon if I wanted to. The trouble is that every single job I have ever had was during the normal 9 to 5 hours. FastCompany created a list of tips with some experts, including Robert Matchock who is an associate professor of psychology at Penn State Altoona, about how to help night owls that find themselves in the same predicament as I do.
1. CREATE A WORK CHEATSHEET THE DAY BEFORE
Being a night owl means, as you guessed, late nights. So showing up to work early in the morning will probably leave you with a brain fog you can't seem to shake, at least not for the first few hours. Creating a cheat sheet the day before with all the tasks you have to complete will make it easier on your hazy mind. Write notes down next to each task so you know exactly what you have left to do and where to begin again.
2. STREAMLINE YOUR MORNING ROUTINE
You need to have a routine and have it down pat. If you're scattered, you're losing much needed time that could have gone to an extra hour of sleep at night. That hour can lead to some pretty surprising improvements that you can't ignore. You'll find yourself to be more alert, in a better mood, and a productivity machine!
3. DO AUTOPILOT PROJECTS FIRST
Maybe you have some mindless data entry to do, returning some phone calls or scheduling appointments for your week. These are things you could probably do in your sleep at this point which is why it's recommended to handle them first. You're less likely to make a mistake on these items than any others! Put these tasks behind you so when you start to really kick into gear later, you aren't wasting your energy on the minor duties.
4. SCHEDULE TOUGHER TASKS DURING PEAK PERFORMANCE TIMES
Matchock said it best:
"Even scheduling difficult tasks during the late morning hours is better than early morning for night owls. I recommend the late morning before lunch or the very late afternoon, since there can be a drop in alertness, body temperature, and glucose levels after eating a large meal—what we call the "postprandial dip"—making the early afternoon tricky."
5. BRING SOME WORK HOME (SORRY!)
You probably just glared at the computer screen after reading this. Unfortunately, most night owls find that they really do their best work after 7 pm. So if you want to turn in your best, that would be the time you should aim for. You don't have to take all of your work home, just the items that would bog you down during the day!
6. ASK FOR A LATER START TIME OR EVEN WORK-FROM-HOME DAYS
If you're lucky, you may be able to work something out with management to be able to start later in the day or even just telecommute. Matchock stated:
"Rather than fighting biology to match occupational time, we can change occupational time to match biology."
Don't be afraid to ask! A surprising amount of companies are starting to jump on board the telecommuting train.
Amazingly though, people don't seem to know this. You can walk into offices just about anywhere that have marble floors, well-dressed staff, and competitive salaries---and see people hunched over tiny screens.
Writing for PCMag.com, Tim Bajarin sings the praises of a larger desktop screen:
[My old] 24-inch monitor did its job, though it was difficult to have more than two documents on the screen simultaneously. So earlier this year I obtained what I consider to be a game-changer: a 34-inch curved Dell monitor. I could not believe what a difference it makes in the way I work.
This is a guy whose bio says he "is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts, and futurists covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology." I guess if he "could not believe what a difference" a bigger screen makes, the layman can be forgiven for not knowing.
But now you know. An industry expert told you. And we've already covered the incredible benefits of more screen real estate here on The Methodology Blog. But chances are you won't go out and buy a new screen (or a second monitor. Or a third one.) So, let's do a little math.
At press time, Bajarin reports that you can buy the 34-inch monitor from Dell for $899. PCMag's recommendation on the best 24-inch monitor of the year is $219. That's a difference of $680.
Suppose your hourly salary is a paltry $10 an hour, and your efficiency only improves by 10% with the bigger screen. That means it will take 680 hours (about four months of full time work) for your screen to pay for itself. After that you're getting more productivity for no additional cost.
Of course, you make more than that. And you'd better believe that Bajarin wouldn't be saying this is a "game changer" for only a 10% increase. It's a no-brainer to spend the extra few hundred dollars to increase your productivity. So why don't people do it?
It might seem like this is just about monitors, but upgrading to something better is a problem everywhere in technology. Think about the computer on your desk. Chances are that machine is about five and half years old. A new computer might cost the same as a week's salary, but it would have a dramatic impact on your productivity. Not only do new computers run faster, they also have fewer problems and don't require as much maintenance.
Likewise, chances are good your mobile phone is worn out. And it's not just information technology: newer cars are significantly more fuel efficient than their older counterparts. The same is true for virtually any other complex piece of tech you use every day.
The crisis is that we get accustomed to doing things the way we've always done them with the tools we're used to using. New resources are often better, but only if we take the time to acquire them and learn to use them. Remember: the tool you actually use is always better than the better one you don't use. But it's always worth at least considering investing in your productivity.
Go out and buy a bigger screen. Or, buy a second or third screen to add to your workstation. But more important: ask what would make you more productive. Do you need to work from somewhere else besides the office? Do you need fewer distractions? Do you need better support from colleagues? Or do you need to learn more about the tools you already have?
It's always a good time to think about better tools. Review what you have, and decide what to do. You'll either end up saving time, or planning for the future.
Despite the many fantastic benefits we reap from the telephone, it is also one of the greatest productivity killers in business. Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork and leading productivity expert, shares 5 tips for better conference calls with the patrons of the Remote Leadership Institute. Reprinted below are his tips that can change the way in which conference calls can be effectively utilized and conducted in business.
Every call ought to conform to upfront agreements about how the calls should operate. You can make these for yourself, but they should be designed to benefit everyone and communicated to every person you work with.
For example, ground rules might include that conference call invitations must include an agenda, or that invited parties should only reply if they cannot make it. Some companies have a rule that conference calls cannot exceed one hour except for emergencies, or that the host of the call has a special responsibility for follow-up. Another common rule is that if the organizer does not arrive within three minutes of the start time, the call is cancelled.
Given the prevalence of cellphones and the ability to plan our schedules, there’s practically no excuse for arriving late to a conference call. A good practice is to agree that the call will start at exactly three minutes after the start time, and to send an email to all parties at the start time as a reminder.
In any case, waiting around for people can be tremendously frustrating. Another tip: announce, “I’m going on mute, but I will be listening for when we start.”
A meeting without an agenda is sure to wander into a variety of random topics, many of which won’t be helpful. When you schedule the conference call, also tell people what will be discussed and consider including time stamps. Use this as a reminder to keep things moving along.
When a meeting is in person, it’s easy to tell who is speaking. But on a conference call, it can be hard to identify voices. At the top of the agenda, the organizer should name everyone on the call and explain their role in the meeting. If the person leading can’t say anything other than “they are here to listen,” that’s a good sign this person doesn’t need to be a part of this call, and can read the minutes later.
Likewise, each time a person speaks up they should identify themselves. “This is Bob; I agree, but I’m also thinking...” Using this approach is especially helpful for calls with more than five people, as well as when the participants are not well-acquainted.
Finally, consider ending any thoughts with a technique borrowed from radio operators: the word “over.” This way, people know you’re done speaking and can respond if needed.
At the top of the call, the organizer should take attendance and have each person say hello. This proves their line is working and allows them to be identified by their own unique voice. It also shows they are plugged into the conversation.
At the end of the call, the organizer should repeat this process, but instead of just a greeting each person should confirm their post-meeting action step. And if someone has nothing to do, that might indicate they shouldn’t have been invited in the first place.
If you're fed up with excessively long, non-productive conference calls, we urge you to consider utilizing Slaughter's tips above to help in your battle. After all, the best you can do is lead by example in hopes that your colleagues, clients, vendors, etc. will begin to follow suit and adopt such practices as well. Just imagine what your company will be able to accomplish in the future if you begin effectively managing the time spent in discussions on the phone.
To learn more useful productivity tips, contact the experts at AccelaWork today!
The source is commercial real estate giant CBRE (free registration required), who summarizes their findings as follows:
The shared workplace is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented transition. Co-working, a type of shared workplace, is an emerging model which provides many of the amenities of traditional serviced offices but places a much greater emphasis on designing space that creates a community and an experience for users. This model has proven to bring a unique energy and connectivity to the shared workplace that previously had not existed.
Let's get that into plain language: the way we work is changing. And if you read the rest of the report, the way we make things and buy things is changing. This is a big deal.
First, what is a co-working space? The website coworking.com offers a handy definition:
Coworking is redefining the way we do work. The idea is simple: that independent professionals and those with workplace flexibility work better together than they do alone. Coworking answers the question that so many face when working from home: “Why isn’t this as fun as I thought it would be?”
(They've also got a list of core values, tons of resources, and active blog, and more. It's a neat site.) But what do the data wonks at CBRE have to say about this trend? They write in their report:
To date, co-working spaces are largely occupied by independent workers who have sought a cost-effective place to work outside the home. However, large occupiers seeking flexible, lower-cost and attractive solutions are beginning to show interest in this emerging space. In fact, the CBRE 2015/2016 Americas Occupier Survey, which provides a consensus view on the strategies and priorities of 226 Americas-based corporate real estate (CRE) organizations, found that more than 40% of respondents are using or considering shared workplaces.
If two-fifths of the major commercial real estate brokers in the country are looking at coworking, then the industries they serve can't be far behind. CBRE offers the following figures for tenants/occupiers. These numbers come from surveys of the executive at companies responsible for real estate decisions:
That's a big deal considering the word co-working didn't exist until 2005. So what does all this mean?
We've said it before. We'll say it again. Work isn't a place you go, it's a thing you do. Having an office might have made sense when it was really hard to work from anywhere except an office. And lots of work---such as manufacturing, retail services, types of healthcare, and more---require specialized equipment and facilities. But more and more of us are doing more and more work with a screen and a telephone, which means it can be done from anywhere.
Here at AccelaWork, that's what we've always done. We don't tell our team members when and where they have to work. In fact we don't try to control much about their work at all. Our focus is on quality, not on being at the office.
One pull quote from the CBRE report stood out:
In this economy, there is a shift from valuing status to valuing performance...places and spaces need to reflect this. -Thom Mayne
Performance is what matters, not the corner office. If the real estate market is starting to realize this, imagine what is coming next.
Find out more in our coverage of part two of this report.
No one likes moments when they feel unappreciated or as if they are completely on their own, especially from a customer or client's point of view. That can mean bad news for your pockets. We here at AccelaWork are big supporters of finding ways to make sure that your consumers are satisfied with their customer service experience. One way to start this process is to get personal with it. Think about your own customer experiences that you have had in the past. Did you feel like your voice was heard? Was there a meaningful exchange between you and the staff? You can use these times to impact how you manage your own staff and the service they provide. Customer Think published an article that dives into the tips anyone in sales should have in their repertoire.
1. Pre-appointment
If you haven't started making use of the internet and online bookings, then you are sorely missing out. For many companies, this is the first point of contact and can be extremely important and helpful in the customer's purchasing journey. This will allow for better organization on your company's part as well as the consumer's. They then have the ability to start the process before they even physically enter the premises.
The information generated by an integrated web-based calendar and appointment system prepares appropriate staff members for customer volume and gives them the information to personalize each interaction.
2. In-person
After the pre-appointment comes the in-person contact which is always the most important part. If you're making use of your pre-appointment resources, then this should be a breeze. Your staff already knows exactly what the customer wants which makes everyone more comfortable and at ease. Making use of technology in the form of kiosks or virtual check-ins leave your employees more uninterrupted work time.
Everyone is more productive, and the environment works smoothly.
3. Mobile
If you go outside in a major city and look up and down the sidewalks, you'll probably notice almost everyone has their heads down as they read on their smartphones, even while they're walking! Mobile platforms are crucial in this day and age. There are multiple uses for any business today along with loads of apps that you can download for your own use or creating apps for your particular business interest.
Mobile solutions take two main forms. Mobile Workforce aligns customer needs with on-site resources to shape arrival and waiting experiences, alert staff members by qualifications and proximity, and enable instant communication and feedback.
4. Post-Service
Feedback is what will make or break your business. You will want to try to get a customer's feedback before they walk out the door. How many times have you received phone calls or emails asking for you to take a few minutes to complete a survey? Why not have that option while they're waiting to check out, in a waiting room, or in line? The experience will be fresh in their head and you're more likely to actually receive a review at all.
By asking direct questions, you can directly align feedback input with actual, measurable operations data.
Looking for more ways to increase productivity in your office or in your own job? Reach out to AccelaWork today to learn how our experts can help you.
AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter is a big proponent of having a team that feels free to work remotely. Why? Well besides the obvious cost-effectiveness that accompanies it (which in all honesty isn't necessarily the driving component here) working remotely creates a well-balanced environment that opens the door to increased productivity, greater innovation and happier employees. Consider this short list of benefits:
Recently, Slaughter shared his views on telecommuting: Why I Love Not Hearing From My Remote Team Often. I have to say, this was awesome to read for two main reasons. First, the title alone perks up curious ears. After all, when was the last time you heard a company principal announce he loves not hearing from his team? It's certainly unusual to say the very least, but that's why I think it's so great. Slaughter never fails to surprise in his unique point of view and always teaches us such new and exciting perspectives.
Second, as a member of AccelaWork's remote team, reading this article was a reaffirmation to me that the work I'm doing is successful and the results I'm providing are fulfilling expectations. Slaughter's perspective is so genuine and speaks directly from real-life experience, that it's hard not to pat ourselves on the back for accomplishing what he hopes to achieve here at AccelaWork. I suppose at this very moment, the old saying "no news is good news" may suitably revolve in my brain and keep me moving forward in my own triumph as a telecommuter.
In Slaughter's perspective, traditional work environments foster communication that can stall productivity:
Much of the communication we do in traditional work environments is out of convenience. It’s easier to yell over a cubicle wall than it is to look something up yourself. We can quickly pull people together for an impromptu meeting by grabbing them at their desks. Conversations or email threads can go on for days, covering the same topics repeatedly, because there’s no urge to be precise when you can just as easily get clarification.
And while there is easy access and convenience for communication in these types of traditional working environments, there is also a lot of opportunity for interruption, miscommunication, disruption, misinterpretation, etc. Slaughter points out that for the remote team at AccelaWork, such problems are nonexistent:
In our firm, remote workers get things done because they have exceptionally clear instructions. They know what’s expected of them, and they know what the company needs to move forward. That means I don’t hear from them unless there is a problem. Since we’ve been working together a long time, there is almost never a problem! Work gets completed, and the emails are few and far between.
Some reading this may say that working remotely, as I do, can be lonely. But, speaking from experience, it's truly not. I'm a mother of four and have found that, if not for the freedom I have with working from home, I'd never be able to balance work with the chaos that comes with a large family. My priorities are easily manageable because I can stay at home and accomplish all that I need to while still keeping my career. Slaughter puts it perfectly:
Since we don’t spend much of our social capital at work, they have more energy in their personal lives to be sociable with their friends and families. And that’s really how it should be, since these people selected us because they like the work and were selected by us because they are good at it. We didn’t choose them to be our friends, and while it’s fine if that happens, it’s fine if it doesn’t, too.
If you're looking for more specifics on working remotely, check out the Age of the Telecommuter Infographic we provided on The Methodology Blog previously. It's chock full of beneficial information that may help.
The first step to effective problem solving is to first identify and define the problem. This is simply a broad review of the current situation. The employee, or group of employees, working on finding a solution to the problem review and discuss the real “pains” of the problem, how widespread the “pains” are, and how quickly the employee, or group of employees should act in order to resolve the problem at hand. This step also allows the employee or employees to determine what happened, why it happened in order to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Tools that could potentially be used for this stage of problem solving are interviewing, completing questionnaires to gather information, or brainstorming. One may find that one of these tools may work better to gather more credible, unbiased data, or that all of them may be necessary. Depending on the amount of time that has been determined as needed to solve the problem, there may not be enough time for all of these data gathering techniques. All organizations are different, so each must figure out what works best for their team. Identifying the problem may seem like an obvious place to start. And while this is very important in figuring out the correct path to the solution, something else to think about is the employee, or the group of employees you charge with carrying out this problem solving process. These need to be individuals who really understand the organization and will take the initiative to solve the problem as if it were their own.
The second step to effective and efficient problem solving skills is proposing solutions. After the problem is defined and the root cause has been determined, the employee or employees should generally have enough knowledge essential to offer ideas for proposed solutions. This is where the “no idea is a bad idea” comes in to play. The employee or employees should come up with as many proposed solutions as possible. These proposed solutions should always be tied back to the main cause of the problem in order to ensure that the chances of the problem arising again are much lower, or not possible at all. This is not a solution selection step however; rather a time to eliminate any solutions that may be overlapping, or solutions that don’t address the initial cause of the problem that was defined in the first step.
The third step that should be included in your problem solving endeavors is to select the solution. This step takes the solutions that have been created in the previous step and delves deeper into the potential pros and cons of each. The employee or employees solving the problem should assess whether the solution is technically feasible, and whether or not it is acceptable to those who will have to implement the solution. Having the right employees implement the solution encourages trust in order to get the buy-in of other employees.
The fourth step is the implementation step of the problem solving process. Everything should be in place at this point to correctly and transparently communicate the implementation efforts. Communication is important in all of the steps of this process, but it is so important in this step as the problem solvers need everyone involved in the solution to understand the whole process. Also, this step requires action as to what will be done, who will do it, when it will be started. It's also a time to assess when key milestones will be completed, how necessary actions will be carried out, and questioning why these actions are the solution. These are also questions and answers that need to be communicated to the organization as well.
Lastly, after every solution is implemented, evaluation must always take place. This step must be seen as an opportunity to fine-tune the solution for possible shortcomings. Effective problem solvers will plan additional tools for feedback to detect these shortcomings and to make sure that the problem is solved without creating a new issue. Again, effective communication is key in order to ensure the success of the solution in all areas of the organization and that the appropriate follow-up is completed.
These are important steps to follow in order to ensure a successful problem solving process. Again, selecting the correct individuals in order to effectively carry out these steps is important. High-performing employees and an effective process combine to create a problem solving workplace that produces results.
Patrick McKenna graduated from St. Mary’s University, Winona, Minnesota in May of 2015. He is currently employed as an HR Assistant with New Focus HR, LLC in Indianapolis, IN. He assists in the areas of compensation, HR compliance, HR policies and procedures, background checks, to name a few.
You can (and should) read the article yourself but here they are:
To better understand these concepts, let's talk about what they are not.
Highly successful people are endlessly devoted to their work. They put in the time, they work harder than their competitors, and they believe in themselves and what they are doing. But there is a difference between having passion for your work, your industry, or your profession---and passion for your employer. We've covered employer loyalty before and the dangers of being a workplace hero.
Successful people are passionate, but successful people are also passionate about standing up for what is right. If you're more worried about keeping your job than doing what is best, you're going to always struggle to find your way.
We all have in our mind the image of a purely academic, who spends ages researching a topic without ever getting to the point of creating something new. Successful leaders know they are never "done" learning. There is always a new class to take, a new book to read, or a new insight to gain. (And you may even be able to gain knowledge while you're sleeping!)
But, that shouldn't be an excuse for getting things done. It's easy to feel like we don't know enough to act, and that we should learn more. Great leaders are always learning, but great leaders are always doing, too. At some point you have to close the books and do the work!
If there is anything that we lament about modern business, it is the supposed decline of business ethics. It seems like people don't have the integrity that they used to have. Our employees may goof off on the job. They might be guilty of fraud or abuse. They could make mistakes that impact customer satisfaction. One of our duties as leaders is to address these issues.
Having integrity means choosing do the right thing, not just with regard to our own behavior but when interacting with others. Catching someone in the act, however, is not a license to be cruel. Great leaders are always kind, even when they must be firm. They draw boundaries and they avoid making exceptions. They have integrity, but they don't force other people to bend to their will.
All leaders should know that people are their greatest asset. But all leaders should also know that "people our are greatest asset" is a painfully overused statement that often doesn't have any meaning. Because the experience of poor leadership is tragically common, phrases like "people are our greatest asset" or "open door policy" or "there is no 'I' in 'team'" or "think outside the box" have lost all meaning.
If you want to show people that you value them, take the time to say something to them that they haven't heard a million times before and didn't believe it then. Or better yet, don't say anything. Show them they are valuable.
The word "courage" means "not deterred by pain or danger." A great leader needs to be willing to accept discomfort and face possible negative outcomes. After all, taking risks is part of life. If you don't ever gamble, you can't ever win.
But leaders shouldn't be reckless. They shouldn't put people's lives or livelihoods at risk unnecessarily. It's important to have courage. It's foolish to run into danger without a plan.
It's probably not the case that there is a list of things you must do to be a great leader, without question. But there are plenty of good ideas. Study them. Review them. Think about them. And put them into practice.
These five suggestions are worthy of your consideration. No matter who you are leading---whether it's a team of hundreds or only yourself---be passionate, keep learning, have integrity, value people, and be courageous.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you accomplish.
Regardless of whether your company is big or small, every company’s sales process has one thing in common (or should have): goals. Businesses set annual sales targets to motivate and incentivize their salespeople to increase product sales. But you may be surprised to learn that many small business owners and sales managers don’t create effective sales goals. Therefore, the company’s sales results often fall short of the true potential of the company’s sales force.
So how do you set effective sales goals?
First, according to Jack Canfield in his book The Success Principles, you need to learn the distinction between a goal and a good idea. For example, let’s say your company is launching a new product. As part of your goal-setting process, you write down you want to prepare a sales presentation.
However, just deciding you want to create a presentation isn’t really a goal. It’s just a good idea – something you want to do. To turn that idea into an actual goal, it must be measurable by determining two criteria: how much (i.e., how long will the presentation be, such as the number of slides or the time length) and by when (i.e., a specific date and time it will be completed).
To take a good idea---such as preparing a sales presentation---and turn it into an actual goal, you might write:
I will create a 45-minute, PowerPoint sales presentation geared toward the health care industry that outlines specific needs physicians and nurses may have that our products can meet. This presentation will be finalized by 5 p.m., Friday, June 29.
It is key to be as specific as possible when defining your goals. Visualize every single detail – the size, weight, color, location, physical form, number of items, people who will help you accomplish your goal, etc. Then write these details down.
Also, make sure you write down how you’re going to achieve your goal. That is: what are the specific how-to steps or tasks you must complete in order to accomplish this goal? Be sure to set a specific by when date and time to each of these steps, too. These task-specific deadlines will help keep you on track to meet your ultimate end date.
You may wonder: Why do I need to write out my goals with such specific details and action steps? When you create clear, detailed goals, you engage your subconscious mind in the process. Your subconscious mind will know exactly what it needs to work on to help you reach your goal.
Or as Jack Canfield says: "Vague goals produce vague results."
As you create your goals, be sure to include some big, hairy, audacious ones, too. Why? It’s a good idea to pursue goals that cause you to stretch and grow, because you’ll gain new skills, expand your mind, overcome your fears and build new relationships during the process.
As motivational philosopher Jim Rohn advises:
“You should set a goal big enough that in the process of achieving it, you become someone worth becoming.”
Look at the people you admire: in business, sports, in history, and more. Haven't almost all of them been people who set goals, and then set out to achieve them? When it comes to sales in your small business, you must do the same. Write down your goals in great detail. Include the how much numbers and the by when dates. And then, put the steps into action to make them a success!
Make it happen! You have the greatest power to develop and realize your own potential.
Maybe it's because most people just assume that women have it all together when it comes to dressing themselves, or maybe it's because Kelsey Mulvey, writer of this CheatSheet article, has more knowledge in this area. Whatever the case, these are some pretty great tips. If you take out the gender completely, either sex could really benefit from these ideas on how to dress for work. I pulled a few of my favorite tips from her list and added some of my own thoughts as well!
1. Do your research
This can't be stressed enough. Each company will have their own set of rules when it comes to what you wear. Some like it business casual, others require formal attire. Before you stress yourself out with a call into HR about their rules and conduct, take a second to think about what you saw the first time you walked into the office. Was everyone else dressed up or did you see some khakis or even jeans floating around? Another great tip:
Use your boss as your style role model for the first day of work, but as a general rule of thumb, your outfit should be a smidge more formal than his or hers.
3. When in doubt, stick with neutrals
Of all the tips, this is the one that I will go down screaming at the top of my lungs until I'm blue in the face. I'm no fashionista, but I have had several friends come banging on my door, begging for advice on how to look more professional or put together. The easiest way to start down that path is to make sure you have a good base of neutrals to work with. That means having some blazers and slacks in beige, black, brown, etc. Once you have that base, you can change out shirt and shoe colors as you see fit. Anything will go with a neutral! Love your neutrals! Nurture and support them!
4. Add some pizzazz with your accessories
Pizzazz isn't in everyone's wheelhouse but it can definitely help you add a bit of your personality to attire you're not used to wearing. Do you like funky ties? Go for it. Maybe colorful socks, some spiffy new shades, whatever extra you want to add on that doesn't step on the toes of your color scheme is free game. By stepping on your color scheme, I mean don't go pulling on a pair of purple socks with your beige suit and black dress shirt with that cute penguin tie.
5. Find the perfect fit
There is really nothing more disappointing than seeing someone pull out all the stops with their wardrobe only to look like they're either busting out of or drowning in their new attire. I'll let the writer speak for this tip as she completely nails it:
To make matters worse, sloppy hand-me-downs can easily translate to unprofessional. On the opposite end of the spectrum, incorporating a tailored jacket or fitted shirt will show that you care about your appearance, and will leave onlookers convinced that you mean business.
Don't be discouraged if you head to the store and nothing fits just right. If that were the case, we'd all have the same body type. But don't settle for awkward fitting clothes. Take them to a tailor or seamstress, it's well worth the extra bucks!
You may remember Pokémon from when you or your children were younger. Even if you never watched the show or played the trading card game, chances are you ran across a Pikachu somewhere down the line. While it's definitely something that use to be marketed to a younger crowd, Niantic has totally changed the game by creating an app that allows you to walk around and catch little Pokémon creatures. Most people in their 20's have been hit with strong nostalgia and have immediately become obsessed with the game.
Even better, it gets you out and about since you have to walk around outside to find creatures to catch. This type of thing may not be your definition of fun, but it's a craze you can't deny, having already reached 100 million downloads since its launch in July. You could easily be capturing some of those millions of people as potential customers! Want to find out how? The BitBag published an article providing tips on how to cash in on the Pokémon GO trend. Check out their tips below!
PokéStops are a big part of this game. This is the place where players can get their hands on PokéBalls, Revives, Eggs, etc. Basically, they're all things players really need if they want to advance in the game. As such, most people who play are always on the lookout for a PokéStop. What's a better way to grab more customers than snagging those who are already looking to make a stop? You can easily set up your business to become a PokéStop by submitting a request to Niantic so your location will be shown on player's maps in game. Even better, you can create a small discount for each Pokémon GO player that visits your business. Word will spread like wildfire. Don't believe me? Newspapers are publishing articles dedicated to finding restaurants and bars that are offering Pokémon GO discounts. You should be, too!
A lure module is a part of the game that attracts Pokémon so players can catch 'em all. Each lure lasts for 30 minutes to players always quick to get to the closest one as soon as possible. This means great things for you as a business owner as well! The thing about Pokémon GO is that, even though you have a PokéStop, that doesn't ensure that any Pokémon will show up anywhere close to your business. The Lure does just that, luring the Pokémon to your vicinity. Players can purchase them and you can, too! There are even some unofficial sites dedicated to spotting lures and telling the masses where they're located.
We touched on this before but a small discount is definitely just a stepping stone. T-Mobile has stepped into the arena by being the only carrier to offer unlimited data for the Pokémon GO app because so many users complain of data overages. So making some of your products or services exclusively available to Pokémon GO players is an easy way to not only get a player's attention, but make them feel as though you're a part of their world now, too. Most people are looking for a connection of some kind, and giving a nod to the gamers who could be walking through your doors is a good way to get repeat customers.
A piece from Human Resource Executive Online explains what's been happening:
Although the Department of Labor issued informal guidance on trainees as part of its Field Operations Handbook back in 1967, some employers still push their luck by observing old practices that cross legal boundaries. More than 30 cases have been filed on behalf of unpaid interns in the past four years, according to the 2016 Employer's Guide to Developing a Successful Internship, published by Gonzaga University Career Center in Spokane, Wash. The fallout from this parade of legal action, according to some employment attorneys, is that employers are either scaling back their unpaid internships or replacing them with programs offering a minimum wage or stipend.
This isn't the first time we've covered internships here on The Methodology Blog. Ashley Lee wrote about questions of fairness. We've also talked about how unpaid workers impact workplace culture and even how the sports business gets a pass.
But given all the lawsuits that are happening---as well as the fact that university placement departments are pushing back---we might be seeing the demise of the unpaid internship. Certainly, we'll see more people following the rules if they do offer them. But as the HR Executive Online article notes:
Of the Department of Labor's six internship guidelines, employers are more likely to violate two specific rules: that unpaid interns cannot displace regular employees and the internship is supposed to benefit the intern more than the employer.
These criteria aren't easy to meet. If an intern does work that an employee could be doing, that intern is potentially displacing employees. You could be hiring more employees (or giving existing employees more work) but that unpaid intern is there. In order to show that you aren't displacing employees, than the work the intern is doing is likely to be stuff that wouldn't get done otherwise.
The second criteria is even tougher. The law specifies that the intern must benefit more than the employee. According to Kelly Scott, a partner at the Ervin Cohen & Jessup law firm in Beverly Hills, internships are supposed to be the "ultimate in education." But that means bringing on an unpaid intern means you're focused more on helping them than having them help you.
It's not as if this is anything new. A piece in the New York Times by The Ethicist indicates that internships may be a "rip-off." PayScale asks if internships are slave labor. And Forbes argues that having an unpaid internship makes you less employable.
The obvious solution to this problem is to pay interns and call them "employees." For the most part, interns are on a professional career path. Offering them the Federal minimum wage is far below what they would be paid when they graduate. And it's not as if one more year of college is going to make a dramatic difference in their knowledge.
The reason that we don't pay interns and we expect them to provide value to us is because we don't respect them as much as we respect full-time employees. A lack of respect also explains most other challenges we have in the workplace: keeping secrets, various types of harassment and discrimination, distrusting employees, and questioning loyalty.
Respect: Easy to talk about but hard to do. If you've got employees that are providing real value but you aren't paying them (or aren't paying them enough) and you know you're getting away with it, chances are they don't feel respected.
There's no substitute for dignity. Remember that with your interns, your vendors, your employees, and your customers.
As a coach, when I work with SBOs (some new, some not) this quote from Marc Allen’s Visionary Business rings true, especially when it comes to money matters:
“There are no bad businesses, there are only poor managers. A good manager can take any kind of business and turn it around and make it successful. A poor manager can take any kind of business and run it into the ground.”
Instead of talking about operations – which is equally important – when we talk about money matters the theory is CRITICAL. How much of your money is being wasted? Lead generation and finding new customers may be at the forefront of many conversations with my coaching clients as well as training and mastermind groups, it won't help you if you aren’t handling the financial side of your business appropriately. And you definitely don't want to try to find a solution by throwing more money at the problem. Be smart, you have to take care of your finances—it’s the bedrock of your business. Let me share some secrets to fuel your success. Before we dive in, keep in mind that this is only the tip of the financial iceberg in your business. Yet without these three in place, you will without a doubt struggle for a v-e-r-y long time.
3 Integral Tips For Making The Money Matters In Your Business Work Best
Cash flow, which is money that comes in less expenses, is what makes any operation work and if your cash flow is bottle-necked, then there is a problem you need to address. Staying on top of your books is the first way to catch any red flags that something is amiss. As I said, this is the very tip of the money iceberg that is your business, but these three tips are the beginnings of saving you unnecessary stress and sleepless nights!
A few weeks ago I read the article, Are You Lacking Focus? This Easy Week-Long Ritual Can Help. It suggested a method for keeping clutter from my mind and improving my focus. As this is essential to my life and business, I tried it.
Here is the suggested practice:
That's it. Sounds simple, right?
So I set the alarm on my phone for 8 am, noon, 4 pm, and 8 pm. After one day, I decided to adjust to more conducive times for my own schedule: 8:45 am, 12:45 pm, 4:45 pm, and 8:45 pm. I used blank 3x5 cards to capture my thoughts every time the alarm sounded.
Did it work? My result was mixed. Some alarms went off when I had no cards or a pen. Some alarms occurred when I was in a meeting. I even had an alarm sound when I was in the checkout lane of the grocery store. After a week, I had recorded only 60% of the scheduled times.
But, the information I captured was interesting. Sometimes it was whatever I was going to next. Other times the thoughts were completely extraneous. And at times there were larger projects or issues that I had been considering.
I found it strange that this exercise didn't give any guidance on what to do with your written thoughts. The article assumed that these thoughts didn't need attention and that they should be banished. But what if they were important? Some of my thoughts were important. I think a better practice would be to review the cards from the previous day, and add actions or projects as needed to your own planning system.
As a practitioner of David Allen's Getting Things Done for over 15 years, I already have a habit of capturing my thoughts. This exercise had some redundancy with the Getting Things Done system. But if you're not using that (or any other system of ubiquitous capture I can see how it will be valuable.
Did it help? I liked the alarms every four hours as a reminder about capturing ideas and staying focused. Going forward I plan to keep the 8:45 am, 12:45 pm, and 4:45 pm alarms on weekdays. This simple addition to my day will enhance the systems I already have in place.
Overall, this exercise was enjoyable. I did find it to be a learning experience. If you struggle with focus (squirrel!), maybe this exercise can give you insight into how you may improve.
But moreover, the issue of focus is one that all of us should take into serious consideration. We live in a world where we are often pulled in many directions. This may be ringing phones, distracting sounds, or the countless priorities we have. Knowing how to focus on just one task is crucial for Getting Things Done.
Perhaps one subtle lesson of the activity is that we all have a tendency to try and multitask. But, multitasking really doesn't work. Acknowledging thoughts we have and putting them aside is a skill, and it takes practice.
And, that may be a little like workplace meditation. While it may not be right for everyone, the principles are worth looking into. Pause to reflect. Then, clear your mind. And finally, move on with your day.
Good luck!
My friend Scott Armstrong was recently at a conference, where an exchange between the presenter and him went something like this:
Speaker: "What would be the steps to develop a strategy around attracting younger workers?"Participant: "Well, I suppose the first step would be to never say that out loud or write it down anywhere or you'll be sued into the Stone Age by every over-40 applicant you don't hire."
This might sound like a flippant response, and it is. But it's also true. And it happened at HP, leading to a huge lawsuit. Public statements made by the company were part of the filings:
[CEO Meg] Whitman was asked by an interviewer: “You did announce significant job cuts about a month or so ago.… Is that going to be it for HP?” (HP announced cuts of up to 30,000 jobs in September last year)Whitman responded: “That should be it. That will allow us to right-size our Enterprise Services business... to make sure that we’ve got a labor pyramid with lots of young people coming in right out of college and graduate school and early in their careers. That’s an important part of the future of the company....”
There are three factors here to understand:
You don't have to look far to see people promoting the idea of a diverse workforce. And it's easy to find examples of dialogue around the idea that diversity is more than making sure you did "that one thing." For example, the local Indianapolis firm LUNA Language Services blogged about diversity with this exact topic in mind. Or as another blogger wrote
“Checking a box” indicates that you don’t have to worry about something any more because the item is complete. Training: check. Recruit 3 women: check. Attend a supplier diversity fair: check. When we check boxes, however, genuine relationships, measurement and evaluation become difficult.
A comment like "What would be the steps to develop a strategy around attracting younger workers?" might indicate a stronger interest in having younger people, rather than having the best people---some of which should be younger. It's the box-checking that gets us into trouble.
If your goal is to attract more ________ workers, where _______ is any particular group that is a protected class, you're actions will likely be interpreted as exclusive and divisive. That's not to say you mean that, but if you're targeting certain groups, people will think you're, well, targeting certain groups.
Instead, workplace strategies should be inclusive and holistic. We should try to get more people engaged in the conversation and involve a wider range of opinions. That's often the difference between a happy workforce and a lawsuit.
There are lots of types of age discrimination. You've got adultism (adults are better than children), juenism (young people are better than older people), the adultocracy (people are mature or immature, and the mature ones should run the world), gerontocracy (old people should run the show because they are experienced) and chronocentrism (my generation is best.)
Of course, these sorts of nuances don't matter much if you feel like you're being discriminated against because of your age. If we want to avoid age discrimination as employers, we have to focus on ensuring that age is not a factor in hiring. We need to be only focused on people's skills and contributions, nothing else.
How should that interaction have gone between presenter and participant?
Speaker: "What would be the steps to develop a strategy around attracting younger workers?"Participant: "Well, I suppose the first step would be to never say that out loud or write it down anywhere or you'll be sued into the Stone Age by every over-40 applicant you don't hire."
Speaker: "You're right! It's actually a trick question. We should never focus on hiring younger workers, because that would be a violation of non-discrimination laws. Instead, we should develop mechanisms that reduce our bias toward older workers. Any ideas on how we could accomplish that?"
Now, we're talking about what can and should be done to improve workplace diversity.
SBOs are constantly being hounded about their target market. You can't even escape it when you're networking, or listening to speakers talk about marketing, which is when you will probably hear it the most. That doesn't make the question inconsequential. Everyone knows that in order to succeed, you have to know your audience. So what's the catch? Knowing exactly what you offer before you can begin identifying target prospects. Unfortunately, not every SBO knows this. If you have a chat with your SBO colleagues about it, you'll get a pretty long and vague laundry list. Finding your ideal customer means knowing exactly what to offer and that doesn't include anything in the world to whomever will buy it.
Step one in identifying your target market is figuring out exactly what you offer.
While we're on the topic of the primary focus of your business, there are many things you can probably do right now. There are loads of offshoot services from your primary product or service that you can offer. Be wary because making them part of your focus can turn them into distractions, not upsells. Do not dilute your focus!
The primary product or service that you offer is your main focus when finding the idea market.
In order to engage your primary target, the next step is personifying the ideal client to purchase it. Harvey Mackay talks about the use of the Mackay 66 in his book, Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. If you're in sales, you need to have a file with the answers to 66 questions about every single one of your customers if you want to actually get to know them.
Here are some details about what you'll want to know about your clients:
So this catch-22 is resolved. Great! But I want to take you one step further.
Alright, so now you know the target, but do they fit in your customer profile? Are they the right customer for you?
Don't worry, you already have what you need in order to figure this out. Imagine walking into a store and a salesperson greets you. They begin to talk to you, trying to figure out what you want and if they can meet your needs. Ask by Ryan Levesque illustrated this point quite well with a story of a man who was trying to find a purse to purchase for his wife. The salesperson rambles off a list of questions:
The salesperson is doing something very important here. They're taking a survey. Based on your experience with the customer, you can conjure up a survey filled with questions that can sort through the prospects that you meet so you you can identify your sales targets. Does this all take a lot of effort and loads of time? Definitely. You may also need an objective eye to assist you during this process (which is what I can do … just saying) and these results are critical to your success. If you try to offer everything to everyone, it’s similar to the saying about putting a dress on a pig. You end up making the pig very angry and you will end up getting frustrated, too. Stop dressing the pig. Be clear, be focused, BE SUCCESSFUL.
Stephan Aarstol is like most entrepreneurs. He wants success not only for himself, but his employees as well. Aarstol knew how to manage his own time almost perfectly, so much so that he was always working fewer hours than his friends who worked corporate jobs. When he started his business, Tower Paddle Boards, he decided to hire like-minded individuals. Those that could easily manage their workflow and get their duties done in a timely manner. At first, like any other company, he began with an eight-hour work day. It only made sense to Aarstol to free up his employees' afternoons for the bliss of being in the outdoors, which is exactly what his company promoted. It was decided then, on June 1st, 2015, to switch things up.
He implemented a five-hour workday as a three-month test. Everyone in the company gets to leave "early," working a shift of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's been months since the testing phase and they're still on that schedule. How is his company managing it? We all have to give our lives up 40 hours per week to a soul-sucking job in order to make ends meet, right? Apparently not. We here at The Methodology Blog have talked about standard work hours before and fully support doing what works best for you company, especially if that means working less hours or having the ability to telecommute. Aarstol went into some of the details on how he achieved this successful transition and why it works.
1. Apply the 80-20 rule.
Most of us have heard about the Pareto Principle. If you haven't, it goes like this:
80% of production comes from 20% of efforts.
Identifying that 20% is critical so you can cut out all the background nonsense that gets in the way.
2. Shift to a production mind-set.
We have been so conditioned to measure our work in hours that we have forgotten what the key end result to working actually is. The work you put out at the end of the day is more important than how many hours you can say you threw into it. Aarstol took it a step further:
"The 5% profit-sharing we began offering at the same time we shortened the workday was mean to help my team shift to a production mind-set. This way, employees are rewarded for how productive they are, not how long they're on the clock."
3. Nix the "always available" attitude.
Aarstol admitted that one of his biggest issues with cutting the workweek to 25 hours is that the customer service department wouldn't always be available. Wouldn't any company lose most of their business if they aren't there the moment a customer needs them? Turns out, customers will work around your schedule if you're offering a worthy product or service.
4. Use technology to boost efficiency.
Technology can be your best friend! There's no shame in automating parts of a job which will free up human beings to actually put their efforts elsewhere.
"To allow our warehouse and customer service employees to work 30% less (without growing our staff), we had to creatively figure out how to serve the same number of customers in less time."
Not only did they automate their warehouse, but even some of their customer service was offered via video tutorials.
5. Don’t restrict yourself to a 25-hour week.
By not restricting themselves to an absolute, they've become more productive. Every employee at Tower Paddle Boards knows they clock out at 1 p.m. every single day and not feel a single drop of guilt. Yet every single employee has and will put in extra time to get things done, which definitely doesn't leave a feeling of bitterness or resentment now that they have the freedom of a 25-hour workweek.
Reading articles about how to motivate yourself may be the most high-minded way to waste time. A piece from the Washington Post notes that:
For many people, procrastination is a strong and mysterious force that keeps them from completing the most urgent and important tasks in their lives with the same strength as when you try to bring like poles of a magnet together. It's also a potentially dangerous force, causing victims to fail out of school, perform poorly at work, put off medical treatment or delay saving for retirement.
Most psychologists see procrastination as a kind of avoidance behavior, a coping mechanism gone awry in which people “give in to feel good,” says Timothy Pychyl, a professor who studies procrastination at Carleton University, in Ottawa.It usually happens when people fear or dread, or have anxiety about, the important task awaiting them. To get rid of this negative feeling, people procrastinate — they open up a video game or Pinterest instead. That makes them feel better temporarily, but unfortunately, reality comes back to bite them in the end.
Concentration is hard. Discipline is a limited resource. We often put things off because it's more comforting to do something we know how to do than something we don't know how to do. And tasks that are fun---even tasks that are productive, but easy---are those we tend to do first.
In some respects, procrastination is about momentum. It's easier to keep doing things than it is to start doing something new. And if the new thing is a big, scary, difficult thing, we might put it off.
To summarize: we procrastinate because it's easier than working. That may not sound like an astonishing insight, but it does tell us something about the key question:
Here are four strategies to stop putting off what you know you shouldn't delay:
You read the article on why we procrastinate and how to stop. Now, go do something useful.
I had to admit: it was true.
Upon reflection, I realized my lack of urgency was due to the fact that I felt no responsibility towards achieving our goals. I was just working. I was following instructions, sure, but didn’t feel like my effort truly mattered.
If your team needs a boost of urgency, here are a few things to consider:
1. Empowerment. Have you enabled the team to achieve the results in a manner that lets them fully utilize their talents? Are you willing to stop managing the effort, and focus on leadership? These are different concepts. Recognize where you are, and adjust your style to match the situation.
2. Vision. Does your team know, understand, and share your view of the final result? How do you know? How often are you trying to paint the picture for them? What part do they play in creating what will exist in the end? Why is it important?
3. Recognition. People need recognition for their effort. The level of recognition varies by individual. Some people need public recognition. Others just need a quiet word of thanks. Some people don't want recognition at all. How well do you know the needs of the people on your team? Are you effectively keeping them engaged?
Several years ago, I led a team that thrived. We achieved our goals nearly every week. One of the highlights was a shared breakfast on Friday mornings. If we hit our targets for the week, we had breakfast delivered. It was a simple way to say thank you, and to motivate the team. The weekly attainment of goals along with our shared breakfast became a habit we all enjoyed.
It was simple. It worked. You don’t need to over complicate a sense of engagement with your team. I find that authentic, heartfelt, appreciation works best.
How do you show appreciation? Here are two principles:
Everything worthwhile is uphill. I’ve been pointing this out for a while now, but the more I think about it, the more I know it’s true. Whether you’re talking about personal growth, personal health, business, or some other aspect of life, nothing of value is easy. The precious things in life require something in exchange.
That's why appreciation often includes sacrifice. Maybe it's a small gift out of your own pocket. Maybe it's a kind word that decreases your own ego. Or maybe it's doing someone a favor that's out of your way.
We usually think leadership is about talking. But listening creates an environment of safety when done well. Several studies over the decades have estimated that we spend anywhere from a third to half our time listening--and yet we don’t retain very much.
Listening is a form a sacrifice. You're choosing to pay attention to someone else rather than insist they pay attention to you. And that, in itself, is appreciation.
So why not try listening to someone to show them you care and help get your team re-engaged?
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” —Leonardo da Vinci
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there "is" such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
“Because we believe that one moment is more or less like the next, we lose touch with the essential urgency of the present, the fact that each passing moment is the one moment for the practice of freedom.” —Robert Grudin
“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you've ever been on a sports team or even a play when you were in school, you know how much practice is put toward the main event. We practice because "practice makes perfect."
Right? Wrong. We can't practice for life.
Life is more similar to on-the-job training. It's like getting thrown into the front lines every day with barely enough experience to get you through. The trick is to learn as you go. So how can we make life all it can be? How do we turn our businesses into success stories? The answer is simple. We become the best we can be through growing and learning. Everything we do, try, read, discuss, and believe are milestones along the way if we embrace them and actually allow ourselves to grow through personal development. You don't get a dress rehearsal or time to practice. We live – or not.
This sentiment is especially true for small business owners (SBOs). Business and life are two entities that become deeply intertwined for SBOs. Trying to extricate which activities are personal, family, or professional is like picking the red out of a purple dress. Everything blends together into its own entity and we just call that "life." Getting your life to sync together is easily one of the hardest things most professionals face. We make promises that we'll do better at the work/life balance, and it's feasible if you can evolve.
It reminds me of the Jim Rohn quote:
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.”
In all things, be the best person you can be. The basis of all your successes will always begin with YOU. Your achievements, life, and ventures reflects back onYOU and the current place where your heart and head are coexisting.
Craving more success? Let it become part of you - mold yourself. Looking for more customers or productivity? It always begins with YOU.
One of my own mentors, and all around hero, is John Maxwell. I have learned so much from him that I was able to enforce in my own life which means I can provide more to my clients and associates. I became a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer and Speaker directly due to the personal development he teaches through his books and courses. These lessons, I felt, are the foundation for success in all aspects of life. Even though we're all at different levels on our personal development journeys, any and everyone can benefit from the Maxwell Study Group I offer. I have the knowledge that my Study Groups will give every person the ability to grow from where they are to the next level. Why? Because it is in our nature as human beings to take in and assimilate whatever it is we are craving or looking for and growth is a continuum that is on-going.
If you can start one habit that will truly change your life, it would be to devoting some of your time to personal development. Turn off the TV. Quit being passive. Don't wait anymore. Instead, take control. Commit to taking action every single day. Read more, take some classes, engage in discussions with the people who surround you. Stop trying to practice life. TREAT EVERY MOMENT AS THE MAIN EVENT. Remember, you are the star and in the spotlight for the performance of your lifetime. To Your Success!
Before we dive into the image, little background for you. The word "telecommuting" first appeared in print in 1976. But even in the 1980s, JCPenney was hiring home-based call center agents to take catalog orders. Amendments made to the Clean Air Act in 1990 specified that companies had the option to meet federal requirements through telecommuting programs. The idea of working remotely has been influencing the law for a long time.
There's a ton to read through in this image, provided courtesy of the Champlain College’s Masters of Law degree program. In addition to the growth in popularity of working remotely, they highlight some other key issues that relate to the law.
Let's begin with a quick reminder. If you're an employee, you have no privacy rights while at work. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has ever heard the words "this call may be monitored for quality-assurance purposes." Forget those last three words---the company can monitor any aspect of employee behavior at work for any reason they want.
Things get a little stickier when the workplace is also the home (or the coffee shop) and the equipment you're using is your own, instead of issued by the business. Working remotely carries the risk that you'll divulge confidential information, either by accident or on purpose. What if your home computer gets hacked or crashes? If you're a teleworker, you probably need to sign non-disclosure agreements as well as take preventative measures that protect confidential and propriety information.
That doesn't mean you should be afraid of using your own cellphone or your own laptop. Rather, be clear on policy and liability. Know where the lines of responsibility begin and end. After all, you represent your employer and they want you to help them succeed. That can't happen if there's a serious disconnect with regard to privacy and confidentiality.
One of the messiest issues in Federal employment law deals with the word "employment." To quote the IRS:
It is critical that business owners correctly determine whether the individuals providing services are employees or independent contractors.
The IRS goes on to say that "a worker is an employee when the business has the right to direct and control the worker", including "when and where to do the work." That makes it sound like telecommuters are contractors, but not employees. But then again, the phrase that the "business has the right" to tell the worker when and where to work, even if they don't exercise the work. It's complicated.
Plus: employees who have a right to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act are known as non-exempt employees. While it's less likely for this category of employees to work from home as compared with salaried employees, if they do, employers are obligated to pay any unexpected overtime wages. That can be tough to track since these employees aren't at the job site.
If you slip and fall in the warehouse, the company is probably responsible. If you slip and fall in your kitchen while working remotely, who is responsible? A clear policy is needed if you're an employee. And even if the employee was negligent in a particular situation, the business needs to specify what they cover and what they don't. Safe workplace practices matter---even if the workplace is your couch.
Sometimes people think of telecommuting as a benefit, which it isn't. But if employees do telecommute, the business must be careful not to show any form of bias. For example, a company that says "all moms can work from home" is discriminating against people who aren't moms.
If you're an employer with employees, you should make sure your telecommuting policy is thorough and covers all the bases. You can ask telecommuting employees to sign on and commit to questions regarding their work schedule, resources used to work remotely, injuries that are associated with the work environment, and setting up a designated and safe workplace.
If you're a business with contractors, you've got more leeway. But remember, if you're aware of unsafe or illegal practices by your vendors, you could be culpable. And, just calling your "employees" by the word "contractors" isn't enough. You have to meet the tests defined by the IRS.
The virtual workplace is changing constantly and it is essential to change with the times. Keep an eye on the news, watch the trends, and talk to your attorney. And if it makes sense to do so, feel free to do that work from the comfort of your own home.
If you pick up The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley, you'll find this quote which gives us all something to think about:
“You may be good. You may even be better than everyone else. But without outside input you will never be as good as you could be.”
Let's think on that for a moment. Athletes, actors and musicians have people who have dedicated their lives to training them. They're actually paid to do it. You'll find that all successful business people surround themselves with people who advise and coach them, too. That's where the need for business consultants come from and why they're in such high demand.
Stanley goes on to explain:
“We all do better when somebody is watching and evaluating … Self-evaluation is helpful, but evaluation from someone else is essential.”
This explanation of what a coach does is something that I use to remind myself daily about reflecting and really looking at your own self. It’s something that I believe in and do my best to practice in my role as a business coach. Coaches should bring objective perspective to personal development. Their main goal is caring for those they coach by observing their attitudes, behavior and performance. Only then can you align them with their strengths to reach their peak performance and even then, you should be communicating and providing feedback. Your role is helping them improve their lives and how they perform their job.
As a coach, one of the most productive strategies I have found that truly helps with personal speaking development is video recording a talk and then analyzing it with each participant. We view it together, critique it together, and talk about where there is room for improvement. This is one element of what a coach should be doing for their clients. I care for each and every client that walks through my door and want nothing but the best for them. I want every single client of mine to be their best and succeed. But I am able to be objective and bring my knowledge, experience and expertise to them in the situations and environments they face.
If you ask a massage therapist, they will explain that massages aren't a luxury, but a developmental tool. This also applies to business coaches. If you want to perform at optimal levels, professionals must invest in the resources and tools that will help them achieve that goal.
Unfortunately, as we all know, growth doesn’t just happen overnight. We all wish we could snap our fingers and immediately be different or better. Personal development comes in a variety of forms. The only important part to truly remember along the journey is that personal development must be treated with all the passion you can muster. The reason for that is simply because the basis of any success you will find in life and in business begins with an undying passion.
Here's something for you to ponder:
Are you trying all sorts of new things? Have you read a new book lately? Or have you taken a class? Have you thought about joining an association or organization? Immerse yourself in the world around you and you will find what works best for you and is most productive. Then all you have to do is go for it!
Whether we're striving to improve productivity at home or at the office, frankly it doesn't matter. Even the most productive people on the planet contend with distractions, interruptions, forgetfulness, procrastination, and all the other hiccups (infinite as they can be) that can mess with schedules, routines and deadlines. The question is, how easily can we control our productivity--a destiny we all dream of?
In an article published in Forbes, contributor Kevin Kruse revealed 15 surprising things productive people do differently. This exclusive list was compiled after interviews with some highly productive individuals. In fact, the article points out that his research was gathered from many reputable sources:
I recently interviewed over 200 ultra-productive people including seven billionaires, 13 Olympians, 20 straight-A students and over 200 successful entrepreneurs. I asked a simple, open-ended question, “What is your number one secret to productivity?” After analyzing all of their responses, I coded their answers into 15 unique ideas.
Highlighted below are five of the secrets revealed by Kruse along with our thoughts. Happy reading and best of luck in your conscientious decision-making when it comes to productivity improvement!
Highly productive people put everything on their calendar and then work and live from that calendar. Use a calendar and schedule your entire day into 15-minute blocks ...
Highly successful people know what they value in life. Yes, work, but also what else they value. There is no right answer, but for many, values include: family time, exercise, giving back. They consciously allocate their 1,440 minutes a day to each area they value (i.e., they put it on their calendar) and then they stick to the schedule.
Ultra-productive people don’t “check” email throughout the day. They don’t respond to each vibration or ding to see who has intruded their inbox. Instead, like everything else, they schedule time to process their email quickly and efficiently.
Meetings are notorious time killers. They start late, have the wrong people in them, meander in their topics and run long. You should get out of meetings whenever you can, hold fewer of them yourself, and if you do run a meeting, keep it short.
Billionaire Warren Buffet once said, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.”
We all have a long list of things we can lose that are extremely important to us:
These things are all integral to our lives and take up a great deal of our energy due to worry of losing it all. With all these things that you could lose your grip on, take solace in the fact that your knowledge can never be stolen from you. Once we learn something, no one can strip that from you. It is an asset that follows you everywhere you go and you can use it to re-build your list above if you ever needed.
There is a story I love about an old mechanic who is called to a ship because none of the technicians could mend the problem with the engine that would only make clunking and sputtering noises. Standing next to the machine, he listened for a few minutes, pulled out a little hammer and made two taps. Before their eyes, the machine clunking was transformed into a steady whir, humming along a perfect, smooth tune.
The old mechanic then presented an invoice for $10,000. The owner was irritated by this and argued that all the mechanic had done was make two tiny taps with his hammer.
“True,” said the mechanic. “The taps were only $1.00 each. The knowledge to know where to tap costs $9,998.00.”
The owner sighed and relented. Why? Because he knew exactly what he was paying for – the mechanic’s knowledge.
The school of hard knocks teaches us a lot and if we pay attention, we learn from our mistakes. The thing about that is that that learning is CIRCUMSTANTIAL. It happens like a fluke and is totally sporadic, meaning many people miss out on that learning. Instead, you have to be determined with your learning. Create habits and patterns that will result in a regular, focused and purposeful increase in your knowledge bank. Here are a few suggestions on how to do that:
Sometimes there are things you will learn by just being present, other things you will come to know because you seek out that knowledge. This point is the most important! Ask yourself these 4 questions:
This is how you will learn the best – when you are actively searching for an answer; when that knowledge you're looking for is relevant to your current business affairs or life. Ignorance is an issue we as humans face. We don't know what we don't know, so that's that, right? Yet we don't have to accept or settle for that. Create a plan to start your own “knowledge acquisition” today and start learning! Once you start down that path, you will see how amazing it is to have something you can never lose. You will feel empowered, resourceful, and unstoppable! Remember, your success is a reflection of your investment in learning, applying what it is you have learned, and growing.
I'm almost tired of writing about this topic. We've covered it about a zillion times here on The Methodology Blog. A sampling of our posts include:
And now, a piece from the New York Times titled The Incalculable Value of Finding a Job You Love. In effect, enjoying what you do is of immeasurable value. Probably because it's so rare. Or as the editorial summary says:
To be happy, research suggests, earning a high salary isn’t enough. Once you have met your basic needs, satisfaction comes from developing an expertise.
Since about three quarters of Americans don't enjoy their job, it might be hard for people to imagine what it is like to enjoy what you do for a living. Here are some key elements that make it different:
In short, a job that you love is wholly different than one you don't. It's exciting, it's filled with smart, interesting people, it's got challenging work that you can really focus on, and it pays well enough that you're not really worried about money.
So how do we find these opportunities?
There's a lot of advice out there about finding a great job that you love doing. But it boils down to three basic factors: attitude, expertise, and marketability..
You must have an approach toward your career that makes you attractive to others. If you're standoffish, if you don't shower before interviews, or if you're a conceited jerk—you're probably not going to find a job you love.
You've also got to develop knowledge in some area that excites you. But as that New York Times op-ed notes:
Becoming an expert is so challenging that you are unlikely to expend the necessary effort unless the task is one that you love for its own sake. If it is, the process will be rewarding apart from whether it leads to high pay.
And finally, you've got to have expertise in a field where there is money to be made. So when you're considering your many passions, pick something that the world wants right now.
It won't be easy. But if you have a great attitude, if you become a genuine expert, and if you're looking to apply your knowledge and your character to a sector of the economy that has opportunity, you have a fighting chance of finding a job you love.
And isn't that worth it, no matter what happens?
The good news is that you can use it on your personal page. The (sort of) bad news is that you might be able to use it for your business page, but that’s a really BIG MAYBE. The only pages that can use live audio need to have a blue check mark, a Verified Badge. Certain people, sports, media, entertainment and government pages could be eligible for verification only if they can prove their authenticity and also meet Facebook’s requirements.
There are only certain Pages that meet the eligibility for the blue check mark (their Verified Badge). They are:
They do not “support verification requests for other types of Pages (ex. Businesses, brands, organizations)." So, if you do qualify, here’s what you have to do:
Don't throw the towel in because you aren’t eligible for the blue check mark just yet. Remember that you still can use Live Audio on your personal page. Instead of going into all the details of how to actually create a video, let's take a look at some tips on how to get your business page a little more exposure and reach by getting a lower level verification from Facebook.
Verify Your Page With A Gray Check Mark
If you don't qualify for the coveted blue check mark, you can get a gray check mark which indicates that Facebook has verified your Page as an authentic entity. You can get a mark in two ways – and both are easy. First, there are just a few things that have to be included on your page first:
Here are the steps:
If you want to obtain the gray check mark by submitting documents, the only difference this makes will be what Facebook says right in your settings about “Verified Pages show up higher in search results.”
I know it's hard to stay on top of all the changes that come with social media. If you build it a little bit at a time, eventually it builds into something bigger than you expected. Social media is about making connections and building a loyal fan base. One way I contribute is by giving people links back to the Grow Your Business Coaching website and my blog where I consistently offer information and insights that anyone can begin using right away.
By giving your followers consistent valuable ideas, insights, fun and information, you will be well on your way to receiving the brand recognition you crave. It's very similar to making friends and connections when you're in person. In fact, it’s just like a lot of our parents told us when we went off to our first day of school: Be authentic, kind, respectful, helpful, and caring, and you will have lots of friends.
Maybe it's the work ethic of older generations mixed with the drive of the younger crowds who come after them to prove their worth. Whatever the case, it just doesn't work, not anymore. Luckily, Generation Z seems to be in on that knowledge, according to the UK based magazine, Campaign.
Jonathan Openshaw, editorial director at The Future Laboratory, says there is a power shift afoot in business. "Generation Z have new expectations in the workplace and millennials are already well-known as being professionally promiscuous. Talent is more about change management than ever before," he explains. According to The Future Laboratory, Generation Z, who will make up 20% of the industry’s talent pool by 2020, do not have faith in existing institutions to provide them with a road map for life. "The sense that burning yourself out is good and necessary to success is being fundamentally challenged," Openshaw explains.
This information doesn't come as a surprise to NABS, a service in the UK dedicated to public aid and advice. In fact, calls into NABS for emotional support during 2015 were up 67% and only increased during the first half of 2016. Mental health has always been a taboo topic, especially when it comes to discussing depression in the workplace. It's almost criminal to be depressed or stressed out. But isn't the state of your mind as important as the state of your body? We talk open and freely about exercise and how to trim down yet many people silently struggle to find the will to leave their bed every day. Diana Tickell of NABS stated:
"If the talent of our people really is our unique selling point, we need to think realistically about what kind of environment we are creating. What we haven’t got to in the UK is embracing our mental health in the same way we talk about exercise. We need to talk more about how we feel."
So how do you balance being open and honest about your emotional state in the world of business where it's mostly a dog-eat-dog world? Will we still throw each other under the bus to get that promotion and climb the ladder to success? Probably not. Companies like Glassdoor are busting the image that many industries portray by letting real employees, past or present, tell everyone how it really is at their job. Many businesses are starting to realize that if they want to attract and keep employees, they need to change the way their company works. You don't get to work and suddenly drop your baggage at the door. How much easier would life be if that were true! Patrick Watt at Bupa explained:
"Wellness is about organisations creating an open culture where staff can seek help when they need it. On a practical level, it is about asking colleagues ‘How are you?’ and being prepared when the answer is bad."
Hopefully, this will shine a spotlight and revolutionize the workplace. This shift in thinking is truly about many companies stepping out of their comfort zones where work is work and personal life is just personal. If your work demands you show up to work, then that includes bringing your whole self to work. Brandon Atkinson, chief people officer at AppNexus put it best:
"There isn’t a playbook for developing an inclusive culture like there is for bringing yoga and fitness into an organisation. But you cannot be a true advocate of bringing your whole self to work if you don’t address these issues."
Our friends at the office supply company Quill provided an infographic with a ton of information. Scroll through, and read our comments below.
While there's some great data in the infographic, workers should be aware that scientists have been studying lighting in the workplace for a century. Adjustments to light were one of the original variables in the Hawthorne experiments. And it's not even the first time we've covered lighting here on The Methodology Blog---we ran a guest post on the value of natural lighting a few years back.
The infographic mentions color temperature, but the research on this topic is fascinating. A blog post from UNC outlines the differences:
- Higher color temperatures (4,600K or more) appear blue-white and are called cool or daylight colors.
- Mid-range color temperatures (3,100K–4,600K) appear cool white.
- Lower color temperatures (up to 3,000K) range from red to yellowish-white in tone and are called warm colors.
In everyday life:
- The glow-from-the-fire lighting is about 2,000K and is considered a warm color.
- A sunset is about 4,000K and is considered a cool white color.
- A typical sunny day is about 5,000K or 5,500K and is considered a cool color.
- An overcast winter day is measured at about 7,000K and is considered a cool color.
And it's not just inside the office. UNC's posts references a PubMed study which offers evidence that "natural light from both the morning and evening has been found to decrease depression and improve mood, energy, alertness and productivity."
Plus, science has shown that blue light is bad for us at night. According to Harvard University:
Not all colors of light have the same effect. Blue wavelengths—which are beneficial during daylight hours because they boost attention, reaction times, and mood—seem to be the most disruptive at night. And the proliferation of electronics with screens, as well as energy-efficient lighting, is increasing our exposure to blue wavelengths, especially after sundown....
Study after study has linked working the night shift and exposure to light at night to several types of cancer (breast, prostate), diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. It's not exactly clear why nighttime light exposure seems to be so bad for us. But we do know that exposure to light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms, and there's some experimental evidence (it's very preliminary) that lower melatonin levels might explain the association with cancer.
Plus, lighting is also about how the light is created. The technology of fluorescent lighting has a flicker. A hands-on study done at Massey University in New Zealand produced several key findings:
Lighting matters, and science knows it.
Of course, the light in your workplace isn't the only environmental factor. Temperature matters. The way sound travels matters, as well as the ambient sound. Humidity is a factor. The scents that are in the air may also impact your ability to work and concentrate---especially if they come from stinky co-workers!
If you want be productive and happy wherever you work, what will have the biggest impact of all is control over your environment. Make smart choices and you'll get more done and be more satisfied! And if you don't have the power to make those choices, talk to your employer to find out what you can do!
If you've ever tried to sell a home, you've probably heard the phrase "curb appeal." That's the idea that a home should look attractive from the street, not just when you're roaming around the interior. If it's appealing on the outside, potential buyers are more likely to want to come inside and take a look around.
But of course, having an outwardly-attractive house isn't the only thing that's important. A building needs to be functional, it needs to be sturdy, and it needs to be priced appropriately. And if those things aren't done, the curb appeal probably doesn't matter at all.
This is a big issue in business as well. I hear statements all the time from employees and small business owners that show a focus on outward appearance without any awareness of the fundamentals. For example, imagine a company where people are saying things like:
"We should redesign our logo, it’s getting outdated.”
"We need to get business cards for more of our internal employees."
"Let's do competitive research to find out more about other providers in our market!"
Those might seem like exciting, forward-looking ideas. But imagine them at a company which also has people saying one of the following:
"We have cashflow problems and are constantly delaying paying our bills."
"We have high turnover; our employees keep leaving and we don't know why."
"We have no backups of our data or IT systems, and no security to protect our essential assets."
It might seem like it's important to balance these things. But in truth, it's more important to do the fundamentals.
Here are the the four tasks that every company should be doing, in their order of priority:
1. Maintain ongoing marketing efforts to communicate value to current and potential customers.2. Ensure adequate cashflow to pay current and immediate future expenses.
3. Have systems or resources in place to deliver on promises to customers (both current and those you'll have in the immediate future.)
4. Invest in growth through training, consulting, strategic planning, market research, or other speculative efforts.
All of these are important, and it should be no surprise that long-term, relatively high-cost investments should be the lowest on the list. Those aren't nearly as important as keeping the lights on. But the order of the tasks might surprise you. Why is "maintaining ongoing marketing efforts" right at the top?
The reason is that if you're not doing the type of work you have been doing to let current and potential customers know you are in business, you're not going to have customers for long. That's what marketing is: letting the marketplace know what you're up to as a business. This doesn't need to be expensive. It might be as simple as making sure the lighted sign is still working. It may be getting your email newsletter sent out on a regular basis. It might be consistent posts on social media. Or it might just be reaching out to your current clients to check in and see how they are doing.
If you don't do this, you might continue to make money for a little while. But you're going to go under eventually because you'll have no market presence and no customers, and you won't realize why until it's too late. Marketing takes time to have an effect, so you have to always, always, always keep doing it.
You've got to have cash on hand to pay your bills. Too many business owners don't watch their cashflow. This doesn't necessarily mean always having months or years of expenses saved up. Work with your accountant to see if you should use credit. But it means you have to have a plan, and you have to be in communication with your vendors, and you need to keep your promises. And if the problem is how quickly the money comes in, recognize that there are lots of ways to get paid sooner.
Every business provides different kinds of products and services, but all of them need to have systems and resources in place to deliver. If that's employees, you must be sufficiently staffed. You must ensure your team members are satisfied, qualified, and motivated. If it's vendors whose services you are reselling, make sure they are healthy. And don't be afraid to make a change if you must: everyone is replaceable, including you.
Learning new skills, developing new strategies and working with outside experts are all the kinds of things you should do once you get your house in order. Or, if you can't figure out how to do so, it might be time to ask for help from some outside experts. But in general, long term thinking needs to be addressed after you've got the foundation resolved. Then you can focus on curb appeal, adding value, and growing the business.
Good luck! And remember: right the ship before you chart the course.
If you're struggling with how to add some more humanness to your online world, try asking yourself these questions:
If you have no issues answering those four questions, then you can effectively use social media. All you have to remember is that the premise of social media is centered around those four questions. Next, let's consider this question:
"When you go into a business to make a purchase, do you appreciate a little humor, pleasant human conversation or even a discussion about something interesting or insightful?"
Of course you do, we all do. Friendly interactions while making purchases are big decisions in our lives that make buying an entirely pleasant experience. When the person behind the cash register engages you in some conversation, something inside of you reacts, making you feel welcomed and good about the experience. On the other side of the coin, if the cashier simple “does the job” and shoves the receipt in your general direction without any interaction, you walk away feeling a little empty inside, don’t you?
This type of scenario is always in play on social media. You really need to show up with the purpose of engaging others before you learn the tools necessary to thrive on social media. You can also ask people some sincere questions. Share things with your audience that make you laugh or pique your interest. Now, this is the part where it gets both tougher – and easier. You must tailor your content to the topics, interests and people you want as customers. You most likely will not “sell them” but you want to create a relationship so that when they learn what you do or can provide, this will open up the opportunity for you to make a sale. Also, you are more likely to “meet” these potential customers online if you have bonded over posts you both like, enjoy, or appreciate.
If you are a fan or follower of mine online, or even just read my blogs, you know that I love small business and everything about it. The programs and services you’ll find featured on the Grow Your Business Coaching website are all part of me and what I am interested in – you can’t help but see it – all the way down to the reason I wear red socks. I am who I am, online, in person or via my website. Every single sentence I write reflects me. The reason this is a good idea is because when someone has “met” me online and then meets me in person, there is always an instant level of comfort. Why? Because my online persona matches my offline reality and I think that’s extremely important. It’s makes our connections valid and valuable.
In the end, it comes down to who you like to do business with, right? We prefer people that we know, like and trust, right? Sure, but we also like to do business with people who have interests and knowledge about things that interest us, too. It’s like the egg or chicken question – which comes first, selling to someone and then developing common interests or developing common interests and then offering a sale? The relationship you create always wins. Keep that purpose in the back of your head while you develop your social media presence. As they teach in the old Girl Scout song, “Make new friends, but keep the old. Some are silver and some are gold!”
Since podcasting is the new normal, feel free to listen to this drill down that leverages the hot concept brought to us via Bloomberg news.
And if you're not feeling the synergy from this buzzword-rich content strategy, scroll down to find out why we hate jargon but why we keep doing it.
This isn't the first time we've discussed the obsession with office buzzwords here on The Methodology Blog. But this time, let's talk about where this comes from and why we use language this way. Plus, why it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Did you notice that subtitle? "A brief history of..." should remind you of countless published books. This is the basic notion of "jargon", which is shorthand. (Although technically, the word originally meant "gibberish", which is pretty funny.)
Within a particular industry or specialty, "jargon" is supposed to represent complex ideas more efficiently. Biologists rarely say "deoxyribonucleic acid" but instead say DNA. Attorneys might use the Latin phrase "pro se" instead of saying "a litigant who has chosen to represent themselves instead of working with an attorney." Jargon is supposed to save time, and in specialized fields, it can be incredibly helpful.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment where insider lingo created to save time shifted into the nonsense buzzwords we have today. A long piece from The Atlantic points the blame at professors in the middle of the last century:
British psychologist Raymond Cattell re-purposed the word synergy, which was originally a Protestant term for cooperation between the human will and divine grace. The UC Berkeley philosopher Thomas Kuhn popularized the term paradigm shift in his 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. And, much later, Harvard professor Clayton Christensen coined the term disrupt, which has become a favorite in today’s climate of start-up worship.
But the idea of an "-ese" (think, "legalese") goes back much farther. At least one set of references show it into the middle of the 19th century. There's lots of disdain for people who speak and write this way, as if to say they are intentionally trying to "sound smart" rather than be clear.
This is where jargon went wrong. Instead of using it to save time, we started using it to wield power.
In a brief but painful piece for Inc. Magazine, Jill Krasny explains the sad truth about business jargon.
According to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the more vague words you use, the more powerful you'll seem....
In an interview with New York Magazine, [lead author] Cheryl Wakslak explained this phenomenon: "People see the abstract communicator as a more 'big picture' kind of person," which makes them appear more powerful." So while you think it looks smart to drill down on specifics in meetings, chances are you're only putting your colleagues to sleep.
"Our findings suggest that if you want to seem powerful to onlookers, it is important to demonstrate abstraction, to use abstract language to communicate the gist of the situation, rather than concrete language that spells out the specific details," Wakslak added.
We love jargon because it makes us sound smart because we're speaking in generalities. We seem like "big picture" people.
But we hate jargon because if we know the details, those silly words seem like a waste of time. We don't need to refocus on core competencies and think outside the box. Rather, what we need to do is get back to work.
Jargon is here to stay. When Jack Welch took over at GE, he wrote that he wanted to create "a company where jargon and double-talk are ridiculed and candor is demanded" while at the same time promoting phrases like low-hanging fruit (tasks which are easy to tackle), rattlers (noisy, obvious problems), and pythons (major issues that stemmed from the bureaucracy.)
The best thing to do is probably to use jargon, and then make fun of it, and then get back to work. Details matter. If you want buy-in to gain traction, and you're seeking kudos for thinking outside the box, stop. Or at least, acknowledge that these things don't matter, after all.
Progress will march on, whether you're comfortable with it or not. An article by ITPro has delved into the depths of how this will affect the workplace of the future. With researchers dabbling in artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), they are sure to come up with some ways to save money or assist in productivity in the home and at the workplace. Does this mean we humans will have to fear losing our jobs to the machines? Maybe just a few of us, according to Dr. Ian Pearson.
"[AI] will eradicate a few jobs, but the biggest impact will be in upskilling people and improving productivity, in much the way that a few seconds on Google has already replaced a half day in a library. Less able employees, assisted by powerful AI, will be able to do work previously associated with higher level workers. It will therefore help in self-actualisation and make people happier at work."
Basically, put your torches down and don't call for the death of machines just yet. There is definitely a lot of good that AI will provide for the world and the more commonplace it becomes, the more attainable it is for us regular folk. If you don't think you'd be comfortable with those changes, just think about how far we have already come. As Ian Wilding, founder of 'digital disruption' agency Radical Company, pointed out:
"It's widely accepted technology has made the world a smaller place," he says. "The rise of instant messaging, video conferencing and mobile devices means UK professionals can connect with partners across the world at the click of a button. The office of the future will take this one step further, facilitating what will be known as holoportation."
Holoportation? What is that word that's clearly not even a word yet according to my spellcheck? Wilding cleared that up, too:
"3D capture technology will enable professionals anywhere in the world to be transmitted in a high quality holograph form. This will then allow international meetings to take place without the need for time-consuming travel, as virtual reality 3D teleportation wearables give the impression the meeting is happening before your eyes."
Okay, so that's pretty neat, you can't deny that. And what about virtual reality? What does that bring to the table? So very much, according to Christer Holloman, a former technology journalist and also founder of Divido.com. His thoughts are that VR will change the lives of many workers, mostly the Millenials, who couldn't dream of wasting precious time commuting.
"They want to work from anywhere, a VR solution can offer us a gateway to a shared virtual workplace. We already offer flexible hours, virtual offices could be next... VR will do to the cost of office space what 'open office plans' and 'hot desking' did 10 years ago."
The key to all of this is how technology will be there to help facilitate collaboration among coworkers, which will only help to improve technology. It won't matter what time you work or where you're located. Essentially, you will have the global workforce at your fingertips.
We at The Methodology Blog have spoken before about the benefits of working remotely and how it improves employee satisfaction. By using technology and not fearing or running away from it, we will all be better workers and provide better results, once we have the means for those ends, of course.
You might blame the meager growth in productivity on the recession. But that's been over for a while, and the numbers are still pretty poor. So what's going on?
First, a quick review. The economic definition of productivity is the relationship between improvements in inputs and outputs. As explained in this cute video from the BLS, if you get more done in less time without spending any more resources, productivity goes up.
The measurement process is complicated, but it certainly doesn't seem like we're less productive. As a TIME magazine article explains:
Most of us feel more productive than ever. Between wi-fi and mobile data, smartphones and apps that let us do everything from hail a ride to order groceries, we can get more done, in more places, more of the time—whether we want to or not. So why does the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) keep telling us that’s an illusion? Not only is productivity in America declining, but it’s been falling for over a decade.
There are lots of theories about this, and many of them are political. In past eras of significant productivity increases, large firms did not tend to hoard cash as is done more commonly today. Likewise, more government spending occurred on infrastructure and training. More manufacturing was done in the United States back then as well, where there's more apparent opportunity for research and development than in the service sector where most Americans work today. These could all be factors.
And furthermore, maybe the tools that the experts use are out of date. After all, we don't really work and live the same way as people did a generation ago. So perhaps that's the main reason: we're just measuring productivity poorly.
But to me, there's a more subtle and more powerful reason that productivity isn't really growing, and that has to do with the distribution of opportunities for enhancements. I'll explain.
In the 19th century, people started moving out of the fields and into the factories. The workers were making more money, but what really produced more was the machines that these workers were operating.
It didn't matter all that much which worker you were and which machine you were using. A weaving machine or a stamp press or anything else on the assembly line is fast mostly because the overall system is fast. That meant more value produced with less labor, which meant more productivity.
In the 20th century, productivity improved in part due to the automobile. While some people were certainly better drivers than others, basically everyone had the same productivity improvements from owning or having the ability to operate a vehicle. You could get places faster, but so could everybody else.
But in the 21st century, the situation is different. Sure, modern professionals all have access to basically the same technology: computers, smartphones, and the Internet. But what's important to note is how dramatically more productive some people are than others.
This hasn't been true in the past. You wouldn't see one worker running a sewing machine in a factory at five times the rate of the people next to them. The very best truck drivers, taxi drivers, and commuters are still limited by the speed limits and the capacities of their cars. A skilled computer user, however, is unbelievably more effective.
The research on computer programmers is especially compelling. According to noted software engineer Steve McConnell:
As I reviewed these citations once again in writing this article, I concluded again that they support the general finding that there are 10x productivity differences among programmers. The studies have collectively involved hundreds of professional programmers across a spectrum of programming activities. Specific differences range from about 5:1 to about 25:1, and in my judgment that collectively supports the 10x claim. Moreover, the research finding is consistent with my experience, in which I have personally observed 10x differences (or more) between different programmers. I think one reason the 10x claim resonates with many people is that many other software professionals have observed 10x differences among programmers too.
Great computer programmers are ten times more productive than their least-productive-but-still-employed colleagues. And these people know quite a bit about how computers work. It stands to reason that non-programmers who sit in front a screen every day have an even greater range than just 10x.
If you don't believe that the person in the next cubicle might be ten times more productive than you, ask them if you can watch them work.
And then once you see what they can do, ask them to teach you something.
Some of the traditional ways we look for jobs are a thing of the past, according to MarketWatch, which was adapted from “What Color Is Your Parachute? 2017 Edition” by Richard N. Bolles. Luckily, a few of the tried and true methods will still pull through for you but how do you know which will work and which will flop? Bolles listed his top 10 methods and I pulled my favorite from there. Check out the list below for recommendations and some stats to back up those claims, too.
1. Looking for employers’ job postings on the internet.
So, to start things off, let's look at how we all generally apply to jobs - looking at postings online. This has to have the highest success rate, right?
"This method apparently works just 4% of the time, on average."
Ouch. Apparently we've all been doing it wrong. Get off your computer and out into the world is probably the best first step to take!
2. Posting, or mailing out, your résumé to employers.
Remember the good ol' days when you could mass distribute your resume and get a dozen responses? This is no longer true.
"One study suggested that only 1 out of 1,470 résumés actually resulted in a job. Another found the figure to be even worse: 1 job offer for every 1,700 résumés floating around out there."
Basically, don't waste your time and especially don't waste all that paper, either!
3. Answering local newspaper ads.
What? Newspapers are still being printed? Apparently so and applying for a job through one of these ads works between 5% and 24% of the time. But if you're looking for a high-paying position, this may not be the best route for you, as it seems the lower-level salary bracket has better luck here.
6. “Job Clubs.”
This is something I haven't heard of before. A job club? What do you do, meet up and commiserate about your fruitless searches? Apparently it's much, much more.
"When the late Nathan Azrin coined the term, it meant that job hunting was a 9 to 5 job, Monday through Friday, every week, for group members. You met with other job hunters between 9 a.m. and noon each day. From 1 to 5, you went out and visited places individually, doing informational interviews or keeping appointments you’d set up. Before going out, you’d share with the group what kind of job you were looking for, so you had other eyes out looking for leads. These job clubs had success rate of 84%."
How can we make this a thing again?
9. Asking for job leads.
This seems to be one of your best bets out of these dismal percentages. Ask around, post statuses on Facebook or Twitter, reach out through LinkedIn. Ask people for leads! It works 33% of the time. Your odds are almost five times better doing this than just spamming employers with your résumé.
10. Knocking on the door of any employer, office or manufacturing plant.
If you're more of the type that is better at going at it alone than joining a job club, then this is easily your best bet, especially if it's a small business. 47% of the time, if you walk in and are face-to-face with owners, you will likely land a job.
I don't know why I seem to freeze up when I write a work-related email. I have been on the computer since AOL was a thing and your mom picking up the phone would disrupt your connection, making you have to sit through the screeching modem sounds over and over again. I was researching things on the internet before internet research was a common practice. I know my way around the web; I've been around that block more than a few times. We even got to sit down and have computer class in my super conservative parochial middle school! Granted, the most we did was check out The Oregon Trail and ball our fists up in tween rage during Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?
While those games were awesome and yes I will play those in the free browser game section any chance I get, they didn't really teach us how to master online professionalism. And why would they, it's middle school, right? That's definitely high school's job. Except high school was busy showing us how to make PowerPoint presentations, write professional outlines and drafts, and cite sources. It seems someone missed the memo that correspondence is just as important. Isabel McWhorter-Rosen over at Vogue has my back when I say, "Where was our guide to email etiquette?" Luckily, she sat down with Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick the founder of The Etiquette School of New York, to ask her for some pretty important emailing tips. I picked my favorites from her list and laid them out below!
Do be meticulous.
Write, review, repeat. Spelling and grammar are the backbone of formality and professionalism. If you don't use proper grammar or can't spell correctly, you'll look like a complete fool, which leads us to the next point...
Don’t spell names wrong.
The amount of cringe that I get when I don't review and edit my emails before sending, then spot an error when the receiver responds is something that can't be explained. Napier-Fitzpatrick provided an example using one of her friend's blunders:
Hi xxxxxx,Thanks so much for your email! It’s great that you’re so enthusiastic about the media industry, but if you can’t spell our editors’ names correctly, I’m not sure you’re ready to intern here yet. I’m not telling you this to be mean, but rather because once you fix that, your enthusiasm will surely get you an opportunity in the future.
Thanks,
xxxxxx
Don't put yourself in this situation!
Do pay attention to your tone.
You can't really portray tone of voice over an email. That's something that has gotten my sarcastic self in loads of trouble in the past. Just be straightforward and avoid loading up your sentences with exclamation marks. Also, avoid caps lock, it's not your friend in this situation.
Do respond.
I feel like this a given, that we shouldn't even have to list this as a tip, but I can honestly say that I am guilty of this.
Perhaps because we’re used to getting (and ignoring) emails from our parents, or maybe, muses Napier-Fitzpatrick, “millennials aren’t as empathic as other generations. They don’t consider what it would be like if they were on the receiving end of that email, or lack thereof.”
No response definitely comes across as ungrateful, or that the conversation never really mattered in the first place. Always respond, even just to give thanks!
A colleague, let's call him Sam, was lamenting about a disastrous sales call over a cup of coffee this week and I felt pretty bad for him. Sam had been trying to get a contact in a firm he had targeted as a prospect. He put the word out that he was looking for a warm introduction to Alan, the VP of the firm. A small business owner responded saying he knew Alan and gave him a contact number. Sam spent several days preparing all the information, tools, and materials he’d need. He planned out the call he’d make and the different directions the call might take. After about a week, he finally made the call. He found his way past Alan's gatekeeper by saying he’d been referred by “Ed,” a friend of Alan’s and that his call was expected. Once Alan got on the phone, he told Sam that he had no idea who “Ed” was and was not at all receptive to the call. Sam felt a fool. Then he was angry, because his chance was blown.
Where did it all go wrong?
Sam accepted Ed’s offer of a connection and a number in good faith. Unbeknownst to Sam, Ed didn’t really “know” Alan. Maybe they had met at some seminar, trade show, or networking event. Whatever the case, there wasn’t enough of a connection between them for Alan to even remember Ed’s face or name. There is a pretty big difference between a referral and a proffered contact number and here’s what it is:
When someone offers a referral, it is implied that the person has or will contact the person being referred and let them know that their name has been given as a referral and someone will be in touch with them soon.
Think of it like this. If Ed was actually providing a referral, he would have contacted Alan himself and let him know that Sam would be in touch in the near future. A good referral would have given some information about Sam and his business as well. This is what we call a warm introduction. This is the act of connecting two people who are both known by the middle man – the connector. If that doesn’t take place, what is being provided is essentially just a cold call. Just a name and a number, that’s it.
How valuable are your contacts?
I am extremely proud of my contact list. In fact, I call it the Grow Your Business Coaching ‘million-dollar rolodex’ even though no one has a rolodex anymore. I know that I can call anyone in my contact list and within moments, we're reconnected and remember each other. I can even tell you what their business is, where it is, and what they do. I give everything my all to my coaching, training and mastermind group clients which includes the benefit of years of rich relationships I have accumulated into that ‘rolodex.’ We all achieve great things when we work together and that’s why my list is so valuable.
Having a huge list of contacts that you don't even know is pretty useless. As shown above, a list of names and numbers won't get you anywhere. It’s similar to having your own phone book – it’s a reference, possibly, but not really an effective tool. And definitely not something you can confidently offer to others. It’s a shallow, wide pool. Instead, you should keep your contact list full of rich relationships. Refer those people you know and respect and you will keep your pool deep and rich. Remember that your referrals reflect back on you - good, bad and otherwise.
Being confident has never been something that came easy to me. In fact, I still struggle with it on a day-to-day basis. I wish I could ooze assertiveness and a sense of know-how in everything I do. There has to be some tricks, right? Carolyn Steber over at Bustle must have been wondering about the same thing because she put together a pretty awesome list of ways you can improve your confidence at work. I couldn't agree more with her ideas, so I listed my favorite below. Check it out!
1. Be All About That Work Outfit
Fashion can say a lot about who you are and what you're about, all in one glance. I've discussed some fashion tips for your working life before and how important it is, not only to those around you, but for your own self as well. You just feel more put together if you bother to put some effort into your work wardrobe!
3. Keep Your Desk Looking Top Notch
Messy people don't evoke a sense of control and organization to you, do they? Then why would it be okay to have a completely chaotic desk life? This positive image will do more than just make you look good; you'll probably notice an increase in your productivity, too!
4. Adopt A Professional Phone Voice
I can tell you from personal experience how important this is. In fact, I thought it was something that everyone did, but was quite surprised when I stepped into the working world that some people just had no clue how to sound professional over the phone. I grew up with a mother who worked in real estate so I would listen to her calls all the time and slowly adopted that professional persona. Because people obviously can't see you via the phone, the tone of your voice and the way you speak goes a long way!
5. Be Cool With Taking Risks
The idea of stepping into a new project or area of work that you have zero experience in can be pretty intimidating. Yet you took the risk to apply to your job and you nailed that, so why not try for some more? Taking risks at work can really pay off and make your managers notice you. Of course, be wary and don't take any unnecessary risks, but also don't be afraid to be the one the thinks way outside the box.
8. Ask For Some Constructive Feedback
This is something truly rare in our society. Actually asking for criticism isn't something you hear about. Why? Probably because most of us are afraid of losing our jobs if we stick our necks out and draw attention to ourselves. Except that's exactly what you need to do if you want to appear more confident. Taking feedback from your managers shows you're engaged and want to learn.
10. Have Some Good Posture
I've talked about posture before and I will continue to talk about how I actually practice what I preach. The way you sit in your chair at work not only affects you physically but emotionally and mentally as well. Slouchers don't want to get noticed. Throw your shoulders back and level your chin. You're now poised for success! It may surprise you how much better it feels, too, but don't be surprised if you're a little sore from the change at first.
This tip comes from an article in Forbes magazine and begins with this ominous statement:
On the day you read this article, 11 million meetings will be held in conference rooms across the United States. An average of nine people will be attending each meeting, and a third of the attendees will find the meeting unproductive.
Yuck, right? Here's the author's advice:
Start by drafting an agenda; it’ll force you to get clear on what you need to accomplish. And in doing so, you’ll be able to answer the one question everyone should ask him- or herself before scheduling a meeting:What is the intent of the meeting? Is it to inform, discuss or decide?
Personally, I think that most meetings aren't for any of these reasons. They are held because of meeting inertia (we've always had a meeting!) or because of ego (I'm the boss, we're having a meeting!) or because of disorganization (I don't know what's going on, we're having a meeting!)
If you're the one scheduling the meeting and it truly is to discuss or decide, it's possible a meeting is appropriate. (However, it may well be the case that an online poll is sufficient.) And if the goal is to inform, you probably should be sending an email.
But what if you're not the person who is calling everyone together? For most of the people in most of those millions of meetings per day, they are just expected to be there. What can you do if you're merely stuck in the room?
Go the person organizing and ask for a few minutes of their time. Review the list of attendees and make arguments for each of them (but not you) passing on this meeting to get key tasks done at their desk. If you can reduce the number of attendees, you're helping.
You can also see if they are interested in sending out a written update as a consent agenda. That way everyone can read the usual yadda yadda in advance and agree to it, instead of having to review it.
Lastly, you can offer to run the meeting as a favor. "I know you're really busy, and I thought this could help out." You can put together an agenda, keep things on task, and generally show good meeting practices.
A technique that is surprisingly effective is to ask everyone to stand for the course of the meeting. You don't have to be the organizer, just suggest that standing is healthier and it helps the conversation be more active---both of which are true. Also, standing meetings tend to finish more quickly.
Another effective way to keep meetings moving along is to apologize. That's right: say you're sorry that you're not keeping up. "Is there any way we can get this in a written form so we can review it more detail on our own time?" It works; try it!
Finally, you can make meetings better by asking to start the meeting by writing an agenda. That way everyone is more likely to keep on task and you can refer back to it later.
Once the meeting is over, it can be helpful to go to the leader to discuss the meeting. Ask them how it went. Find out if they think it could be improved. See if they are open to suggestions.
It's no surprise that most people can't stand meetings considering how poorly they are often run, and how frequently they never needed to happen. If there are problems with meetings in your organization, push back. And if you need help running better meetings and improving employee communication, let us know!
A good majority of us have probably been pulled into a meeting about this very issue. "We want creative solutions for our lack of creativity!" Alright, so how do you pull creativity out of people when U.S. productivity is seeing the lowest ratings in 35 years? Is it possible that your workers may be lacking motivation? But how is that possible with all the motivational posters hung on the walls! The truth is, a lot more goes into keeping people engaged in their work and it takes some effort to keep your employees' minds churning out the creative juices. Here at The Methodology Blog, we are constantly on the lookout for more ways to create positive work environments that allow for creativity to blossom. A recent article on YourStory details this very issue, giving us some tips and ideas that we can use to finally conquer this creative/productive drought.
1. Encouraging a positive work environment
So this is a pretty broad tip to start with but it really is the most important one. You can talk all you want about how much freedom you give your employees to be truly imaginative but it doesn't matter much if you don't actually back up those claims. Allow your employees to fail, in fact, you should encourage failure so they can learn from their mistakes. Give them space and room to collaborate and brainstorm.
By surfacing those ideas within your organisation, you simultaneously make your employees feel valued, thereby encouraging them to indulge in new and innovative thinking throughout their tenure.
Creativity breeds in open and honest relationships!
2. Have a credit and reward system in place
You may be surprised to find out that most large organizations have reward systems for their employees. Not just a pat on the back, actual rewards like gift cards that reflect their hobbies or interests and paid training opportunities. This gives people a goal and something to work for, rather than just hoping for a raise or bonus at the beginning of the year. Holiday related competitions are a fun way to start this off, like pumpkin carving or ugliest Christmas sweater contests.
More often than not, an employee who has received credit for his/her work will be motivated to come up with impressive solutions the next time too.
Once they see the praise that comes from receiving credit for their ideas, the entire office will also be more likely to jump on board with ideas, too!
3. Spark your employees’ creativity by encouraging them to own and nurture their own ideas
Think about something that you don't feel passionate about, like doing your laundry. You don't go above and beyond for your dirty clothes, you do what you have to do to just get it done, right? The same idea applies here. You need to have the right work environment and employee acknowledgement in order for anyone to feel passionate about their work. Sometimes, all we really need is a little shove and some motivation to reignite our passion.
Regardless of their present contribution and position in the company, employees who participate in the creative process should be encouraged to take ownership of the idea, nurture it from the beginning and prepare for execution.
Seeing your idea implemented and flourishing is, in a way, its own reward!
When one procrastinates, projects are put off, tasks are delayed, goals are redefined and readjusted. But, when we self-sabotage, we not only procrastinate, but we do so in a way that places blame anywhere else but on ourselves. On the Across The Board blog, Lauren Moon gives the skinny on what exactly self-sabotaging looks like. Her first goal with the post---define what it is:
The concept of self sabotage, or self-handicapping, is a term used for those times when you perform an action that intentionally impedes your progress. Put simply, self-sabotage is when part of your personality acts in conflict with another part of your personality.
After reading this definition, it's quite easy to see how certain activities can be dangerous to our productivity. In fact, so many of these self-sabotaging outlets can blend into our lives so easily that half the time we don't even recognize we're utilizing them! If you're wondering what they look like, consider these innocent impediments that The Methodology Blog has talked about on numerous occasions:
The short list above is just a small sampling of those self-sabotaging actions that can immediately become our scapegoat when loss of productivity comes to the forefront of our attention. Moon relays to her readers just how easy it is to place blame:
... when you do something directly in opposition to what you’re supposed to be doing, you have given yourself an external element with which to lay blame. Instead of blaming yourself for any “failure” you may incur, you now have another outlet, or excuse, for why something didn’t get done.
If we find ourselves self-sabotaging here and there, perhaps its effects won't be astronomical on the overall state of our productivity. However, the difficult part is recognizing when self-sabotaging is more than just an occasional indulgence. After all, given some of the examples above, it's easy to see how little routine changes and behaviors can morph into bigger problems as the aftermath unfolds. Problems that can develop from self-sabotaging could be things like lower quality of work, stress and an inability to focus. But continual self-sabotage can lead to even deeper issues like low self-esteem, loss of motivation, loss of trust and accountability, or even job loss.
In truth, allowing distractions to dictate what you do and don't do can end up spiraling out of control. One small self-sabotage leads to two, to a dozen, to far more than you'd like to admit or even recognize. In her post, Moon highlights how this domino effect can wreak havoc on personal productivity:
With every failed attempt, you are effectively “proving” to yourself that you are incapable of accomplishing the task. This type of behavior can have long term effects on your productivity.
From the blog post, below are five tips she suggests in helping with overcoming self-sabotage.
1. The Pomodoro Technique is a method of intense focus for 25 minutes at a time.2. Change your environment: Countless studies have shown that there are subtle ways in which your surroundings are affecting your ability to focus.
3. Document Highs and Lows. Take time to discover your most productive times of day. Get to know your habits and schedule.
4. The two-minute rule. If a task takes less than two minutes to accomplish, you should do it immediately.
5. Turn off notifications and limit browser tabs.
If you're striving to increase productivity but are finding your strategies unsuccessful, turn to the experts who can help. AccelaWork understands the complexities that arise when establishing proper workflow and streamlining faulty processes, so consider how much can be accomplished when you've got experts on hand. Our job is to help you make your job better!
Virtually every organization struggles within hiring, and fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies are at the biggest risk for screwing up the hiring process. You just might change the world if pick the right people to develop your software, design your product, or sell your services. But if you make a bad choice, that could sink the whole operation.
One common error is having one person make all the hiring decisions. Instead, you should use a team to review candidates, conduct interviews, and determine who should receive offers. This is called collaborative hiring. In a Forbes Magazine piece, writer William Vanderbloemen explains:
Every [healthy] organization is different in how they add new team members. The best teams and smartest leaders all tend to have some reflection of collaborative hiring. They use teams to interview. They include people above and below the candidate (on the org chart). By adding more voices and input to your interview process, you’ll get a higher level of involvement and a more thorough evaluation of potential candidates.
Vanderblomen goes on to explain five key benefits of working as a team. But of all these, the last one is the most powerful and the most readily dismissed:
5. Collaboration helps culture.Every time you hire collaboratively, it’s a culture win for your company. It reinforces unity and builds a culture of feedback, transparency, and everyone feeling valued. People on your team will know that they have a voice and are an important part of the vision you’re all working toward. Cultivating this sense of community will go a long way in attracting and retaining the best of the best. Who doesn’t want an awesome work culture?
Unfortunately, phrases like "everyone feeling valued" and "awesome work culture" are often purely lip-service. Having a great culture is really about a more fundamental perspective on work. And while these are great ideas, there are deeper issues in the hiring process that most organizations don't even consider. An interview from US News and World Report discussed unconscious bias when hiring:
Bias occurs during every stage of the hiring process, as it is implicit in every organization. From job descriptions to hiring decisions, conclusions are made based on the hiring official's experience and beliefs. In a job posting, wording is highly important. Certain words will draw female applicants instead of male applicants and vice versa. It is essential for organizations to use both types of wording to attract a wide array of candidates. For example, a posting that states "flexible hours" is more likely to attract a woman, as they handle the majority of child and elder care duties. According to an internal Hewlett-Packard survey, women tend to apply to a job when they meet 100 percent of a posting's stated qualifications, while men will generally apply when their experience is only a 60 percent match with the requirements.
That's a troubling statistic, and it's the kind of problem that's only further reinforced when your hiring is done by just one person. A collaborative approach is more likely to identify biases and eliminate them. So what should you do?
Almost every company is terrible at hiring. To be different, take more time, get more people involved, and think through the process.
Best of luck!
This situation happens more often than I want it to happen when I am coaching a small business owner. Yet more often than not, it HAS to happen in order for change to occur. What is IT? It is living on intention. You may have noticed that I specifically didn't say "living intentionally" – that is entirely something else.
If you're looking for proof that a business owner is living on intention, look no further than situations or comments like the following that seem to pop up:
So what good does this information do you? What will you use to pave the path to your future? One quote by Samuel Johnson sticks out to me when battling the issues, which is, “Hell is paved with good intentions.” I like to think that it is not just hell that is paved with good intentions, but so is a business and an owner that is muddling through, just barely getting by and barely paying the bills. You want to see success, that is why you opened a business, after all. So if you truly want your business to grow and thrive, good intentions have to become more than just thoughts and ideas, they have to be acted upon. And not just once in a while, but with consistency and zeal.
You have to cross the gap – and BE intentional with your ideas and practices. You have to decide what you want to be, what you want your business to achieve, and what you want to have. Then, you must purposefully live that. Let me give you a few examples:
Good intentions aren’t going to get you new customers. They won't give you authority or credibility, get you that new car or a thriving business. You have to have the will and want to make it happen. Statements like “I was going to...” or “I should have...” have no place in your head anymore. Chance and luck only happen when you set up the situation to unfold just how you want it to unfold. All it takes are intention and action.
Financial blogger Michael Kitches is a big believer. His post, titled Why I’ll Spend $100 On Tech To Save One Minute A Day, explains his philosophy:
Software that saves me a minute a day saves me five minutes a week, assuming a five day work week. Which is 20 minutes a month. Which is four hours a year. So spending $100 has saved four hours. And as a professional, that’s actually a really good investment in yourself and your time. Spending on software that saves just a minute a day can save you half a day of work all year!In other words, I’m basically freeing up my time at a cost of $25 an hour for the software, when I try to bill my time to clients or consulting or speaking at a couple hundred dollars an hour. So if I spend $100 to free up four hours, and I can bill out that time at $1,000, I’m generating a 900% ROI by spending $100 on software that literally saves me nothing more than one minute a day!
These are the kinds of calculations that are always worth making. We recently ran the math on whether or not you should add more screens to be more productive. (You should.) We've also talked about whether not the non-profit exec should take time off to cook for the annual event. (They shouldn't.)
Plus, there are many rules of thumb about these kinds of investments that should not be ignored. For example:
This is all good advice, but if you're working in a small business or trying to get ahead in your office or just feeling overwhelmed, how do you decide where to invest? Do you buy new software? Upgrade your computers? Go to that conference? Hire some contractors? Or even just clean your desk? Here's a simple three question test:
Everything you might do to increase your productivity has an up front cost. That might be financial, it might be purely the devotion of some time, or it might be emotional. Answer yourself honestly and figure out what you have to spend to make this happen.
If you take a nap, you will feel rested later and have more energy. If you hire that new employee, you'll have more capacity. Try and predict how advantageous this choice is going to be: financially, emotionally, and in terms of your time.
Most productivity gains require time to kick-in. If you're ready to move your small business from the kitchen table to an office, it will take time for the cost of moving and rent to be offset by the increases in productivity and sales. Balance this response against the first two questions.
This is the hardest question to answer because we don't always look at ourselves honestly. If you're a gadget junkie and and an optimist, it's easy to invest too much in your business and sink yourself. Make smart choices.
Think carefully, and good luck!
We all have our daily routines. You get up, have your coffee making down to a science, trip over the dog a few times, get the kids to school and drag yourself into work. So what habits do the rich and famous have? And can we possibly steal some of those ideas? You bet. Check out this article detailing some pretty interesting daily rituals coming from the world's top creatives and CEO's. I snagged a few of my favorites to share with you all below!
Ernest Hemingway: Set an exact quota for your work and NEVER stray from it
Did you know that Hemingway was a raging alcoholic? Most of those in the world of writing do, but the extent of his drinking was what helped him churn out those famous works of art we all read and cherish.
When he’d typed out his daily quota, he’d have ‘a few’ drinks, pass out, and wake up at sunrise the next day to do it all over again.
Now don't go and start drinking so you can be more productive. There's a reason why this creative soul died at the young age of 50!
Barack Obama: Value your time alone at midnight
Obama has been known for some pretty great ideas and strategies so it's no surprise that he had something to say about when and how to get your work done. So when does the President of the United States get down to business? Sometime around midnight. We've talked before about how night owls can be productive and still function during the day, and it seems Obama falls into that category!
Warren Buffett: Spend 80% of your day reading
Warren Buffett is easily one of the most successful people out there as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. What does he do every day to help him stay on top of work? He reads...a lot.
He spends 80% of his day reading — around 500 pages per day — because he says while reading your knowledge builds up “like compound interest”.
And he's not wrong. There have been studies that show how beneficial reading is, beyond immediate gratification, the accumulative affect it has on your cognitive functions is truly remarkable. So go ahead and pick up a book. If anyone asks what you're doing, tell them you're gradually getting smarter!
Steve Jobs: Live today like you’ll die tomorrow
So, this may seem super morbid, but it's actually a really good way to live. We all know Jobs was an intense guy with loads of ideas and creativity that seemed to just pour out of him. After his meetings, he would spend the afternoon in his design studio which was filled to the brim with future products he was working on. That was his way of living like that day was his last. What's your version?
Herman Melville: Do something monotonous every morning
Melville, author of Moby Dick was also a farmer. For some reason that made me do a double take while reading this part of the article. Such a great literary genius spent his mornings exerting his physical energy by working on the farm. After that, he would be able to pour his heart and soul into what he was writing. One way you could use this tip would be to take care of those things you hate first, like sifting through and responding to emails, then move onto your bigger projects.
I was recently coaching a client through the process of adding to his staff. He was disappointed with the last three people he had hired so he wanted to be very thoughtful about how to go about getting “just the right person” in the two positions that were available.
One of the positions was a key position because he would be relying on this person heavily through interaction between other workers and customers. The second position was more of an isolated job, completing tasks and making sure ticks were consistently marked off on their own individual to-do list. He had a list of the skills for each position that were requirements for the new employees. What surprised me is that he said that they had to be like-minded. When I asked what that meant, he said they had to be on the same page with what he was trying to achieve. They had to be hard workers and do their best – just like him. He wanted to set standards and demand they be met.
Taking Hiring One Step Further
I had two other objectives to cover with this client. The first was to investigate why the last employees didn't work out. To get to the bottom of this, I asked him to explain what was missing in their job performances. Surprisingly, he admitted that they had the skills he wanted and were hard workers. Although they weren't perfect, they could have eventually been very good for the company. So what was the issue? Did they not want to achieve as much as him or want the company to be successful?
I asked and he agreed that he thought they were ambitious and wanted to reach the company goals. Okay, so what was the problem? This led me to the other objective I had in mind – finding out what “ruffled” him enough to let them go. He admitted there was just something about them that just "rubbed him the wrong way." I can’t tell you how often I hear that sentiment expressed by small business owners.
The Difference-Maker: Values
If your values align with others, so do the resulting relationships. What it comes down to is that it is extremely important for all small businesses that the owner and staff share SIMILAR VALUES. A small business staff is very much like having another family. There are a lot of emotions involved with a small business and families and so having common values is extremely important. Achieving success is a common goal for many people. But what people are willing to do to reach that goal may be worlds apart. While some believe it's ethics or morals, I think that values go even deeper.
For instance:
Where you stand on issues like these impacts how you run your business and the day-to-day operations of your staff. Not only that but it will affect the partnerships you create and the relationships you build. On what do you build your reputation and credibility? It’s your values put in action.
Sounds pretty awful, eh?
And yet, that's basically what companies do when they rank their employees or conduct annual reviews. They are treating people like inventory, deciding which is good enough to keep, which is excellent enough to offer at a higher price, and which needs to be scrapped.
It might sound like sacrilege to question employee rating and annual reviews, but one of the largest companies in the world is doing exactly that. In a video interview for LinkedIn, GE CEO Jeff Immelt explains why his company General Electric is giving up on the practice.
It makes a lot more sense to provide continuous feedback instead of waiting for an anniversary to roll around. Imagine if a champion runner or a boxer only heard from his coach once a year about changes they could make to be more competitive. We need to hear what we are doing well and what we could do better at frequent opportunities.
But more importantly, what makes people valuable is that they are not predictable. Innovation comes not from doing the same thing, but from creativity and making mistakes.
Generally speaking, structured reviews create an adversarial relationship rather than a positive one, and don't benefit employees.
And it's not as if this is new. Microsoft abandoned their stacked ranking system years ago. From 2009 to 2011, more than two-thirds of companies dumped this approach. Lots of organizations are realizing that treating employees like parts on the assembly line is downright horrible. Not only does it fail to work, it drives people away.
People in your company are, well, people. We've already covered the awesomely useful knowledge available from the field of psychology. If you have people working in teams, it's practically criminal to do so without understanding the concept of social loafing. Before you start marketing your product, make sure you understand the decoy effect. And if you're thinking of giving out bonuses to get people to work harder, maybe read one of the most important papers, ever.
They can't stand it. With regard to performance reviews in particular, the data is grim. About 45% say the feedback they receive is a fair and accurate representation of their performance, and only 25% report they are given specific examples of their work to support the feedback they receive. That's like an athlete who thinks the ref is wrong more than half of the time, and their coach is yelling at them without providing any suggestions three-fourths of the time.
Start with a question for your team members: "How do you want me to relay to you my opinions on how you are doing?"
They are going to give you an answer. Some common responses are as follows:
"Let me know if I make a mistake so I can correct it. Otherwise, I'll keep plugging along."
"Maybe we can meet once a week to check in or so? For 10-15 minutes at the most?"
"Since I'm new here, I'd love to know if I'm doing things the right way or the wrong way, so let me know either way!
All of these are perfectly valid answers. For our team, we've established pretty clearly that no news is good news. But that's because of the culture of the organization and the relationship between the parties involved.
For you, talk with your employees, vendors, and contractors about how they want to receive feedback. Don't put them in an annual review process or a stacked ranking! Instead, find out what they need and figure out if that's something it makes sense to provide.
The first article in this series, The Shared Workplace in The Sharing Economy, provided a summary of a big report from the commercial real estate megacorp CBRE. It's a credit to that company's forward-thinking vision that they are doing research on a trend that doesn't involve buying or leasing expensive, full-service office space.
Part two of the report (available with a free registration) dives into how we should make decisions about these kinds of spaces:
This report focuses on three critical differentiators commercial real estate professionals and small business executives should consider when they evaluate the merits of a contemporary shared workplace: culture, connectivity and cost. We will explore the following questions for both start-ups and established companies:
- When can shared workplaces be used to reflect an organization’s culture?
- Why are the benefits of community and collaborative environments important?
- How does the shared workplace offer flexibility, agility and an innovative cost approach?
These are big questions, and the report provides some interesting data.
Organizations like to boast about what it's like to work for them. A quote attributed to the famed management consultant Peter Drucker reads: "culture eats strategy for breakfast." The idea here is that a company which has a positive, collaborative spirit with great people that care about each other will do better than one that has a well-defined strategy, but poor morale.
Unfortunately, culture is complicated and is not a silver bullet. A trio of life-long buddies may get along great but there is no guarantee they will bring anything home from a weekend fishing trip.
There is some good insight from CBRE, however. They write:
Serviced offices reflect a more formal, private and customary culture, whereas co-working facilities reflect a more progressive, transparent and modern culture. Although both models may serve primary drivers other than reflecting culture, choosing one model over the other is certainly a lens into the type of values a company employs.
That may be "we do things the way we've always done them" vs "we're open to trying something new." But the report also includes a single sentence that is packed with how our world is changing:
Co-working spaces offer a diversity of environments that give occupants options to choose where and how they want to work—and optionality is a key value for modern mobile employees.
Put more simply: people like having the freedom to choose when and where they work. As our friend and guest blogger Michael Reynolds likes to say: stop working so hard on your company culture and focus on freedom instead.
Working with other people is big in modern business. We're always trying to get people to team up, go to meetings, attend conferences, and collaborate. The irony is that working in groups doesn't really work. That's not to say that you can't accomplish more as a team, just that you're not at all guaranteed to do so. A big group of people are at work in a game of tug-of-war, but that doesn't mean it's productive.
So what are the benefits of shared workspaces? Once again, it comes down to choice. If you need to brainstorm, network, prototype, or discuss ideas, a collaborative, open-format location is a great place to do it. But if you need to concentrate, finding a quiet corner or a private office is also an option. CBRE's research indicates that nearly half of all co-working participants like the community and networking benefits of a shared workspace.
Here's where the authors of this report demonstrate their commitment to an honest reporting of trends rather than protecting the old ways of doing business. If you've ever leased commercial space, you know how complex and opaque the process can be. Instead, shared workspaces have huge advantages, including:
The negotiating process is removed, making it easier and faster to acquire space. Pricing is transparent and contracting for space is often reduced to a credit card swipe.
And also:
The shared workplace license agreement is usually considered an annual expense rather than a multiyear lease liability on the balance sheet.
It's hard to imagine every aspect of commercial real estate going in this direction, but the shift is undeniable. Ease of use and flexibility are of incredible value to today's businesses.
Tune in next time for part three of the report. And in the meantime, head to a coworking space in your community to see how things get done.
My friend was looking to reupholster her dining room chairs. After much research, she received a recommendation from a trusted interior designer for an upholsterer. Since the upholsterer's storefront was on the other side of the city, she discussed the work she needed done over the phone in hopes of a price quote prior to traveling the distance. Below is the breakdown of the work estimate she received directly from the upholsterer:
REUPHOLSTERING CHARGES
$180 (labor for 6 cushions at $30 each) $250 (Fabric and materials) $30.10 (7% sales tax) TOTAL: $460
Given the breakdown, she felt the quote was reasonable and fair. So, she decided to utilize his service. The next day she traveled thirty minutes to drop off her cushions at his store and signed off on the the fabric selection. He was very nice and appeared to be quite professional:
He took an interest in getting to know me a little. Asked if I had kids and where they went to school. Told me a bit about his kids. Talked a bit about other clients he worked with on my side of town. At one point he even made mention of my SUV in the parking lot, asking if I was happy with it. All in all, my impression of him was that he was simply friendly and was taking time to make me feel comfortable.
After a few weeks, she headed back to pick up the finished product. Happy with the result and the workmanship, she packed up her car and headed back inside to settle up the bill. As she handed him her credit card, he confirmed the final total: $650. Not surprisingly, she was taken aback.
I was absolutely confused. Immediately I told him that the final total was much higher--$210 higher in fact--than what I was originally quoted. He said that my original quote would never have been that low in price as the materials themselves are expensive. I reminded him of our conversation over the phone. His response was that I must have misheard what he said. I was so shocked at that point that I handed over my credit card and silently scolded myself for being mistaken.But as he was looking up a few details, I proceeded to run through the breakdown of his quote in my head. So, I reminded him about the different totals he gave me. He retorted and told me that each cushion was in fact $35 each in labor, not $30. He also said that the fabric ended up being $50 more than he expected. But even still, the math simply did not add up. The additional $5 per cushion and $50 in fabric only tacks on an additional $80. There was still $100 of unexplained charges. So, I asked him to run through his receipt again.
Sure enough, after looking through the breakdown, he discovered that his math was off. Apologizing, he re-figured the total and charged her card for the revised amount. She left the store with a less-than-positive attitude on his behavior and, despite his impeccable workmanship, vows never to return to him for further work.
Given how the events unfolded, my friend felt she was overcharged because of the assumptions made by the upholsterer's observations. In her eyes, having made particular mention of things, the upholsterer overcharged her because he believed he could get way with it based on his perceptions of her financial situation. Below is *her* perspective on things:
It's hard to say whether the upholsterer assumed my friend would either 1.) not recognize the discrepancy in price or 2.) simply not care about the discrepancy in price. Perhaps he truly did make an error in his math. If this is the case, it would be wise for him to double check his work before relaying to his customer that she is the one mistaken. Or, he could bring in an accountant who could help manage the financial realm of his business.
This being said, mistakes do happen. Human error is inevitable. But, the way in which the error is handled is vital. Customers should feel respected, happy and satisfied with the service rendered. Perhaps if the upholsterer's initial response to my friend's confusion was one of understanding and willingness to review and revise, the situation would never have escalated to where it did.
Hopefully this was a lesson learned by both parties. When services are sought after and/or provided, it should be the priority of both parties to have a written invoice prior to services rendered. As can be seen by this very example, a lack of documentation can result in trouble. Frankly, it's surprising that neither of them insisted on this during the face-to-face meeting. Clearly, having such a document would have ultimately prevented confusion and dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately for the upholsterer, whether he stepped over that fine line between observation and assumption or not, the situation cost him a great deal. He not only lost a customer, but he also lost her recommendation AND probably the recommendation from the interior designer. And truly it doesn't stop there. Word of mouth can be a fantastic business-booster, but it can also backfire royally. Frankly, if I am ever in need of a re-upholsterer, my first stop along the way will be to ask my friend who NOT to use.
Bottom Line: Providing a product or service means you do so in a clearly defined manner with integrity; otherwise you run the risk of tainting both the quality and reputation of your business. That's why having and following a detailed business plan that includes a failure model is important. In the end, if you can recognize that failure will inevitably occur, you can be ready to mend any and all problems immediately.
Pulling from my own experience, I would absolutely despise when the question of salary would pop up during an interview. Does anyone really enjoy talking about money with their employers? What's the best way to navigate negotiations for a higher salary? TIME published an article going over this with some much needed tips for those of us lacking in the negotiating department. The biggest mistake they pointed to was not negotiating for a higher starting salary, but instead just settling for what we think is "fair."
“Salary negotiation is about the value you bring to an organization — your talent, skills and contributions — not what’s ‘fair,’” said Lisa Skeete Tatum, CEO and co-founder of Landit, a career resource for women. “Aim high, and be rewarded for what you’re worth.”
We know job hunting can be super stressful and adding onto that pressure with salary talks doesn't really help ease the anxiety. I pulled a few of my favorites off of their list and added in my two cents below. Check out their steps to take control of the situation and be paid what you're worth!
Step 1: Know the Average Pay for the Position You Want
This is extremely important. Do your research! Use websites such as Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com, and Salary.com to find out what someone in your position should be making. Ask your friends or use your contacts on LinkedIn to send feelers out to others working in the same field. Having information to back you up will take a load off your mind.
Step 2: Deflect the Salary Requirement Question
This seems like a crazy bit of advice to me (especially because it's my most dreaded interview question.) My palms are already starting to sweat! Usually, I always answer that my salary is "negotiable" on applications. But what happens during a face-to-face meeting?
“Or, if you are asked the question in person, respond with something like, ‘I’m sure we can find a number that will be fair, but first I want to see whether this job is a fit on both sides.’”
This is a pretty smart way to avoid putting yourself in a box right away when it comes to the amount of your salary, especially if you plan on negotiating that later on.
Step 5: Be Ready to Make a Counter Offer
So you've received an offer of employment. That's fantastic! Until you see the salary and the number is less than pleasing. This means it's time to counteroffer. Now is the time to point to your research into average salary ranges and ask if there is room for an adjustment.
"Keep in mind, though, that employers might be offering a salary that’s lower than the average range because they see your potential but will have to invest in training you for the position."
Step 6: Consider the Whole Compensation Packet
Before you shoot down an offer, consider the whole package of what they're offering you. What does the insurance plan look like? Do they match 401K? These things could outweigh a higher starting salary if you break the numbers down.
“Some new hires negotiate for other valuable benefits — such as additional vacation time, flexible hours, a fully loaded new work laptop — or even unusual perks, [like] monthly dinners with the company CEO.”
Okay, to each their own, but that last one struck me as a bit odd. Either way, don't be afraid to ask!
Of course, for most of us, just getting to "competent" takes work. We need practice, we need training, and we often need to have the right tools. But competence isn't just about what we can do, but also how others perceive us.
People need to trust you before they care about you being capable. When you hire someone to do repairs at your house or on your car, you care that they are qualified. But you are most concerned that they are trustworthy. Character is more important than skill.
This might sound surprising. Don't want people who know what they are doing? But think about it for a moment: what would you rather have?
It's not a fun choice to make, but reliable, honest people are always the best. After all, you can learn new skills. But you can't teach somebody to be a good person if they aren't one already.
What about for ourselves? Here are three ways we can build our character:
Integrity - We can improve our integrity by being honest. There is no need to exaggerate or omit facts. People appreciate the truth even when they don't like the truth. Building integrity is a life long pursuit.
Authenticity- Being authentic is simply being yourself in all situations. If you want to be authentic, work on being the person you desire to be. Learn to be comfortable with yourself no matter the circumstances. Authenticity will overcome office politics.
Discipline - Develop the discipline to live your values, and daily habits. Follow your plan every day. Know that every day means every day.
Although these seem simple, I have found that most people enjoy growing their skill more than growing themselves. Success is not just about competency, it is about being a person that attracts success.
Remember: no matter how much you know, people have to trust you to want to work with you.
Remember: no matter how great your skills, people have to believe that you're doing the work for the reason you say you're doing it, or else they will be suspicious.
Remember: no matter how expansive your experience, if you're not consistent about your work, life, and values, other people won't perceive your experience as relevant.
We all start out incompetent and have to slowly build our skills up to become competent. But before we become an expert in anything, our first task should be to establish our character and reputation. Show up on time, keep promises, be honest, and be true to ourselves. With this foundation, we can learn to do anything---and others will respect us!
Here are a few of my favorite quotes about character:
"Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way." - Aristotle
"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." - Samuel Johnson
"If everyone were clothed with integrity, if every heart were just, frank, kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless." - Moliere
People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. -Eleanor Roosevelt
It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through. -Zig Ziglar
If you look at the TV shows about the back-of-the-house in the restaurant business, even the titles are unnerving. From Cutthroat Kitchen to Cupcake Wars, from Kitchen Nightmares to Hell's Kitchen, none of these sound like great places to work.
And according to world-famous executive chef Eric Ripert, yelling and screaming is practically in the DNA of these establishments. He explains this in a video produced by Entrepreneur Magazine.
To quote Ripert:
The cooks were scared. The kitchen staff was leaving. I realized it was all about me---about being angry.
Leading isn't a thing you do as much as it is a philosophy about group activity. People have beliefs about other people, and sometimes those beliefs depend on who they are thinking about. For example, you probably know people you deeply respect and people you think are friendly but unreliable. The leadership style that you use depends on how you feel about the people you are leading, about yourself, and about how you perceive the relationship.
There seven traditional styles of leadership:
It might seem like a few of the seven styles are positive and a few are negative, but the truth is each one is well-suited for particular situations, teams, and leaders. In a high-risk, high-stress environment where decisive action is needed at all times---such as the battlefield---an authoritarian style is often best. When working with skilled, independent consultants who mostly work on their own time, a laissez-faire method should be considered. And even the narcissistic leadership style can be useful in rare situations, for example when a personal brand is the product of an organization.
The lesson we should learn from Eric Ripert is that sometimes changing styles is what's needed. A kitchen can be a place that needs quick action and total authority during the dinner rush, but a more democratic or paternalistic model might be appropriate at other times.
Take a deep look at yourself. Decide which model you gravitate toward. And then ask yourself: is this what me and my team need, right now?
Posing the question---as with so many elements of self-improvement---is the first step.
Most new mothers around the world have a chance to meet their new baby and spend weeks with them before having to return to work. Yet in the US, most companies don't offer any kind of paid time off for childbirth. If you happen to work for a company that does offer paid maternity leave, count your blessings. If you don't, the best you can do is hope that you qualify for FMLA. It's unpaid but holds your job for 12 weeks, though you have to meet certain qualifications stated here on The Department of Labor's website:
Employee EligibilityTo be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must work for a covered employer and:
- have worked for that employer for at least 12 months; and
- have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of the FMLA leave; and,
- work at a location where at least 50 employees are employed at the location or within 75 miles of the location.
I won't even get started on a father's rights to spend time with his wife and new child because they don't exist. While there is some solace in having work to go back to, many families don't have the ability to go without their wife's income for 12 weeks. Some women will return to work just 3 weeks after giving birth. So how can companies and employees work together to make sure that returning from maternity leave goes off without a hitch? Do you know your rights as an employee? All of these things are important.
I'm currently sitting at 31 weeks pregnant and have been researching and reading everything pregnancy related since that fancy little digital window on my home test said "YES+". I'm now a font of random pre/postnatal information. Returning to work really piqued my interest because my husband and I both agreed I will need to find a job as soon as physically possible. Do I wish that I could be a stay at home mother? Sure, but I'm realistic like many other mothers out there. So here are some tips I've picked up along the way that can help you when returning to work after maternity leave.
1. You will have a new routine. Get used to it. Know it. Love it.
This is the thing that I'm most worried about. My current routine is rolling out of bed, down the stairs, and up to the coffee machine where I sit and wait for my morning to begin. With a baby, your mornings will begin with shrieks at unholy hours until they settle into a feeding routine (hopefully) after a few months. The best you can do is plan for your days as they are right now, including those feedings every 3 hours. Babies require schedules just as much as you do!
2. Stock up before you go back.
So you have loads of boxes of diapers for when baby is much bigger and are wondering if it was necessary to buy out the store when they were on sale? Maybe you have a stash of wipes worthy of a global disaster. It doesn't matter. All of that is stuff you won't have to get down the line, freeing up time for future you. Future you will love you for it. Stock up on everything you currently use and think you might use.
3. Meal prep is life.
Feeding yourself or your significant other will literally be the last thing on your mind, especially after returning to work. You'll be exhausted. Who wants to then stand at a stove for longer than it takes to make a package of Ramen? Except don't eat that stuff, it's horrible for you. Use Sundays to create meal plans and precook as much as you can. Not only will this combat some of your daily fatigue but can also help you if you're trying to lose some of the baby fat.
An article published in Science Nordic highlights key findings from the research:
Surprisingly, the study indicates that a heavy workload has no effect on whether or not employees become depressed. Instead, it is the work environment and the feeling of being treated unfairly by the management that has the greatest effect on an employee’s mood."We may have a tendency to associate depression and stress with work pressure and workload; however, our study shows that the workload actually has no effect on workplace depression," says one of the researchers.
The report continues with a curious note about the connection between mood, mental health, and the context of work:
"When high levels of work pressure and depression appear to be linked in people's consciousness, it is not because a heavy workload increases the risk of depression. Or that's not what we found in our study. Instead, depression can make work assignments appear insurmountable, even though the depression was not caused by the workload."
This isn't news, really. We already know about the bad boss syndrome. We already know that terrible supervisors measurably reduce work output by 10%. And we know that two-thirds of Americans would prefer a new boss instead of a pay raise.
So why do bosses cause workplace depression? There a four workload related reasons to consider right away:
We're all familiar with a team leader who has impossibly high expectations. It's easy to do this: just take reasonable deadlines and timeframes, and make them unreasonable.
This is depressing for the worker because not only will they never be able to get things done on time, but because it illustrates their boss doesn't really understand the work. If your supervisor is clueless, that's a cause for frustration.
This might sound like paradise at first. But there are only so many rounds of computer solitaire (or Facebook discussions) you can get into before not-working gets boring. People do want to do something productive and challenging. Bosses should make sure there's something to do.
The other downside of an undersized workload is that the employee begins to wonder if they are even needed. What's the value of having someone in that chair if they aren't doing anything? The worker may become fearful that they won't have a job soon, leading to more depression.
One of the worst kinds of bosses are those that dole out tasks and then never do anything themselves. They are at the golf course or chatting on the phone all day instead of digging in and helping out.
We resent these people because they are employees just like us that owe responses to customers, but just aren't getting things done. And they sometimes try and make us feel bad. No wonder a lazy boss leads to workplace depression!
The boss who refuses to delegate because they are handling everything is the boss that shows a lack of trust in their own employees. An old saying goes, "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." But that's no way to build a culture of leadership and commitment.
These overworked bosses also make employees who go home at 5PM seem a little lazy. An always-busy boss can make their workers feel depressed by association, since those team members can't seem to get as much done--even if they want to.
There are, of course, lots of non-workload related reasons the boss could be the cause of depression. They might be acting like a bully. Or, they could be wildly incompetent. Or, they could be such a stickler for the rules that it drives everyone bonkers.
The point is that if you oversee employees, there's a good chance they don't like what you're doing and it's negatively impacting their productivity. And if you've got a boss whose causing you to be depressed, you're not alone.
Get help. Talk to friends and colleagues. And if it's time, dust off your best interview suit and look for something new.
I'm sure most of us would like to pretend like we've never made any errors. It's easy to talk about success or just about the day-to-day. But of course, things go wrong.
I made one decision this week that cost me around $3,000. It was a mistake. In retrospect, I could say it was stupid. And no, I'm not going to tell you all the details: but I sure wish I could have the money back.
Not all bad decisions cost us money. We also pay through lost opportunities, lost time, or even lost friends. These bad decisions can weigh us down, affect our attitude, and make life more difficult. And of course mistakes can be demoralizing. We need self-confidence to face the challenges of the day, and errors erode away our feeling of purpose and drive.
But I have found that regardless of the decisions I have made, they are all in the past. Tomorrow arrives with new opportunities. I still wish I could minimize my errors. Here are five causes of most of my bad decisions, and some things I try to improve.
1. Lack of Knowledge. It is difficult to make a decision when you are not informed. Decisions become a coin toss. You win some. You lose some. I have made continuous study and education part of my normal day. And I try and ask questions if I don't know, and even if I think I do!
2. Lack of Experience. Practice counts. It is that simple. My results, decisions, performance, all improve when I put in the work. Experts don't become experts without real experience. Just because I feel like I know what I am doing doesn't mean I'm ready to operate without a net.
3. Overconfidence. When I become over confident I make mistakes. Humility helps me seek to become better. When we don't prepare because we are confident, we can get blindsided. My system is simple: always be open to learning and growing.
4. Lack of Discipline. I hope I am not the only person that struggles with this. There are times when I know I should be doing one thing, and I end up spending time doing something else. What works best for me is to change necessary tasks into habits. Do something every day for 21 days, and it will become easier to do. If it's not something you do consistently, it's not a habit. And if it's not a habit, you're more likely to make a mistake.
5. Not Knowing Myself. Sometimes decisions that go bad are because we don't like the place the decision leads us. Your gut sends you messages---listen to it! I know that when I can weigh my options against my values it brings a sense of clarity. My values will help me discern between short term desires and long term benefits. I need to know myself well.
We shouldn't be so afraid of making bad decisions that we refuse to do anything. Analysis paralysis is a real problem. But at the same time, there's a difference between being decisive and rushing into things. We need to strike a balance between the two.
Hopefully you can learn some lessons from your own bad decisions. As the old expression goes: "A fool never learns from mistakes. The average person learns from their own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others."
May you make enough mistakes to learn, but not so many mistakes you cannot move forward. Good luck!
This is a subject that hits pretty close to home for me. In one of my previous positions, gossiping was part of the job. Not only that, but it was often instigated by the owner of the company. Being that my desk was at the center of the office, I would have numerous people on a daily basis stop by to complain to me about our coworkers. If they weren't gossiping directly to me, they were leaning against my desk, talking about other people to each other. It felt wrong but at the same time, it also felt like if you wanted to fit in, you'd better start yapping away with them or you'll be the next target (though I'm sure everyone was a target anyway.) This type of work environment was a nightmare for me. I dreaded work and my productivity was obviously affected by all the chatter. So what steps can we take to finally destroy this tumor that grows in most office environments? How can workers and managers finally take down the gossip mill? Monster published an article that provided some amazing tips that everyone should put to use today!
Address the Instigator
“The employee should address the situation in a non-confrontational way with the person that is at the root of the gossiping. Talk to the gossiper about any potential issues and ask them to not talk any further about them.”
Trust me, I'm aware that this is a lot simpler than it really is to actually confront someone. If it makes you uncomfortable to say something face-to-face, write an email or a letter to stick in their office mailbox. It's really important to take this step because the gossiper needs to know that they've been found out and that their actions are directly affecting you.
Give the Gossiper a Way to Save Face
Another way to go about this in the least non-confrontational way is to give them a way out. Don't come on strong and start a riot in the kitchen, even though that would be super satisfying. Instead, try something like this:
“Maintain a sense of humor as you confront the gossiper. ‘I heard the craziest thing’” can be a lighthearted way of opening the confrontation. Or you can try asking “‘How do you think someone could get that impression?’” to see what the gossiper might have to say."
Think About It
Now is the time for some self-reflection. While I'm not condoning talking behind people's backs, sometimes there is a legit reason why people started the conversation at all.
“As we all know, perception is reality, and how others see you affects their desire to work with you and give you opportunities."
You may not have even been aware of it, but it's possible you were rubbing some of your coworkers the wrong way. While it's still hurtful to find this out, use this to your advantage!
Report It
There is absolutely zero shame in heading into HR to sit down and report someone you work with. I think a lot of people are almost afraid to, like no one will believe them or they don't want to seem like a tattletale. Look at it this way, if you don't speak up now, you'll end up having to just sit and deal with it. If you have a disappointing meeting with HR about it or something negative comes from it, at least you put the effort in to try.
“If you can dream it, you can achieve it!”
How wonderful is that thought? It doesn't feel realistic, though, does it? Well, I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but it’s not exactly true...sorry. Do you remember that movie, Angels in the Outfield, that promised us “if you build it, they will come”? Well, let me go ahead and burst that bubble, too. That’s not exactly true, either. Most marketers will tell you it is a flat-out UNTRUTH, a big old lie. In order for them to come, they need to know you’re there – and that takes marketing. Isn’t that especially true in business, no matter what kind of business you're in?
Let's go back to those beautiful, lofty dreams we all have. Start with that big, hairy, audacious dream! Those dreams where even you may roll your eyes at yourself for even having dared to dream it! DREAMS ARE FREE. However, according to John Maxwell, the journey to fulfill them isn’t. You have to work hard for your dream. That’s why the above statement isn’t completely honest and true. Besides having the dream, you have to fill it with promise. The way you fill something with promise is by making a commitment. This is the only way you will see your dreams become reality – when you are dedicated and committed to them instead of waiting for an opportunity to drop into your lap.
How can you make your dream a promise with commitment?
From my years coaching and working with small business owners, I want you to know one very important fact, which is reflected in the list above. That is the fact that you CANNOT do it alone. No one does. Everyone has a support system, even in business. In fact, some of the greatest corporate marketplace leaders such as IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Coke and others have collaborated and partnered with others, including their competitors to build their brands, products, and companies. Their leaders know that there is great strength and opportunity in cultivating relationships with others.
A real testament to this idea is the value and longevity of Mastermind Groups. Just about every leader and high achiever is in some way involved in a Mastermind Group – and has been for years. Lone wolves usually end up that way – alone. If you’re interested in finding out more about Masterminds, or joining one, contact me to talk. If you have a dream and want to make it real – make the commitment and do the real work, not alone, but with those who support and surround you.
I recently found myself catching up with a friend who was lamenting about how hard it can be to build thriving business relationships. As a small business owner, she’s noticed (and heard from other folks) that many people seem to view networking groups and events strictly through a “what’s in it for me” filter. In other words, they’re only there to promote their products and services, not to build long-term business relationships. After a few meetings, in which these people don’t make any sales from the members of that group, they’re never seen nor heard from again. This is understandably very frustrating, so I can understand her anger.
Unfortunately, what she needs to realize is people who approach networking in this manner aren’t the people that she would want to create and maintain long-term relationships with in the first place. Building strong, lasting business relationships takes time and effort. They don’t just happen over night. You have to consistently work at them to make them grow and flourish. As a business coach who has worked on creating and maintaining long-lasting business relationships myself, I want to share with you some ways you can build these successful relationships, too. By putting in the time and work to consistently apply these steps, you will be rewarded with long-lasting business relationships. Here are my 3 steps to building long-lasting business relationships.
STEP 1. Be A Friend
According to Brian Tracy in his book, “Change Your Thinking Change Your Life,” the best way to achieve things with people is by taking a more indirect route rather than a direct one. You should actually like them first. Don’t try to get them to like you by boasting about your accomplishments or trying hard to be clever. Admire and give your respect to them first. Give unexpected praise to help others feel better about themselves. Take the time every day to do something nice for someone else. Treat people in a friendly way without expecting anything in return.
STEP 2. Put Others First
As a member of John Maxwell’s Team, I’ve heard him say, “The measure of success is not the number of people who serve you, but the number of people you serve.” You have to learn how to focus not on receiving, but giving. You do this by constantly and consistently adding value to the lives of others. Refer business to them. Make introductions that would be beneficial to them. Send them articles and other information you know they would be interested in. Serving and helping others builds trust which is easily one of the most important steps in building strong business relationships.
STEP 3. Resist Relationship Decline
Once you create a relationship, you have to continually work at maintaining it. Everything in life takes effort. Don’t take your relationships for granted. Don’t assume that everything is fine. You need to take the time to communicate with the other person consistently. This is especially important if you’re working on building and maintaining customer relationships. Take the time to develop a customer relationship management (CRM) plan to help you continuously improve your client relationships. Otherwise, if you neglect your customers, they may decide to go to one of your competitors. Remember, it’s far easier to keep a current customer than it is to attract a new one. Therefore, make the time and effort to stay in touch.
In Liz Ryan's HR column for Forbes, a candidate says she's worried because her interview process is moving fast. This is what she writes:
I had my first interview with the company recruiter less than two weeks ago. Since then I’ve had a second interview with Beth, a third interview with the VP of Operations and two other managers, and a telephone interview with ABC Inc.’s Director of HR.Now Beth says they are preparing a job offer for me. Everything has happened in under ten days. Should I be wary? That is a very fast hiring process.
The response from the columnist is fairly standard. She advises the jobseeker to ask questions to determine if the company is stable and has good leadership, or if they are disorganized and might change their minds after a month.
Unfortunately, the candidate may not be able to ask those questions. And the deeper issues still remain: should I be wary? and is this a very fast hiring process?
The jobseeker asks if they "should be wary." That word implies suspicion of problems ahead. Step one in evaluating any business opportunity is the same as step one in approaching any situation in life: try to identify and suspend your biases.
Instead of "wary," be "prudent." Instead of "suspicious," be "conscientious." Instead "concerning", say "atypical."
That leads us to the second question.
One of the curiosities of life is that the process by which we make decisions is often artificially inflated by our need to please others. We usually know if we want a second date five minutes into the first date, but we'll stick around for the entirety of dinner "just to be polite." We will test drive a car that's out of our price range because that seems like the right thing to do. And we'll interview for jobs that don't really interest us "to get practice" interviewing.
The amount of time it takes to move from meeting a new candidate to offering them a job should be measured using two important yardsticks: duration and timeframe.
The duration is the total amount of time that is spent in the process. Perhaps that's an hour posting the job, two hours sorting through applicants, an hour setting up interviews, four hours face-to-face with candidates, and an hour to decide to offer you a job. In that example, we're talking about nine hours.
The timeframe is the difference between the start and end times of the process. The job might have been posted on the first of the month at noon and the offer made on the 21st of the month. That's a total timeframe of about three weeks.
The reason the timeframe and the duration are different is mostly because people have other things to do besides filling the position. The question you should ask yourself is not "is 10 days really fast" but "how long is the duration within that 10 day timeframe?"
Liz Ryan does make one excellent suggestion in her response:
If you are still feeling nervous after you’ve talked with Beth, you can suggest that you start the job as a consultant instead of an employee.In a consulting role you’ll have a written contract that governs your relationship with ABC Industries. As a consultant you can check out the company and they can check you out, too.
This idea is exceptionally wise. We have to wonder why it's not done for every new hire engagement.
Perhaps in the future everyone will start out as a contractor. Or perhaps, everyone will work that way, always. We will see!
One thing I can say I truly don't miss right now while I've been working remotely is having to work in an office with people. That sounds super antisocial but really if there was an empty office that I had to commute to every morning, I'd probably be more than okay with that. Unfortunately, we all can't have our own buildings to work in alone, which means a lot of different personalities are constantly being mashed together. This is such a common problem that many people face when they show up to work every day. In fact, it's so common that we here at The Methodology Blog have touched on how to deal with difficult employees in the past. Business Insider was kind enough to supply the public with a pretty great list of the most awful coworkers that we all can't stand to be around and some pretty helpful ways on how to actually deal with them. I picked my favorite from their list of 22. Check them out below!
3. Chompers, slurpers, and coughers
So not only is this gross, but it's actually really common. I'm not sure if some people weren't taught how to eat or maybe they just don't realize how loud they're being. Either way, it's best to be direct with them and let them know they're disrupting you.
4. Phone abusers
At my last job, I was the receptionist which meant I was front and center in the office. On top of that, cell service in the building was atrocious. So what did that mean for me? Every single person coming to the front to take phonecalls. There was nothing to be done about it for me unfortunately but the idea of putting up a "Quiet Zone" sign may help you.
6. Wannabe singers
I don't know where this trend started with listeing to music on your cellphone without headphones plugged in and singing loudly, but I've come across these people plenty while I'm trying to peacefully pick out some produce at the grocery store. No one cares, shut your mouth and put your earbuds in! Maybe let your manager know and they can send out a companywide email.
13. Bullies
You would think that after you left the schoolyard, you would have left the bullies behind, too. Well, those bullies have grown into adult bullies. And what do all bullies want but some attention? It's best to ignore these people or maybe have a private meeting with HR about it. Don't let it slide because if they're doing it to you, they're doing it to everyone, and someone has to take a stand.
15. Partiers
The amount that I don't care about hearing how drunk someone was over the weekend has skyrocketed the older I get. Yet for some reason, there's always one person in the office who can't wait to tell everyone how hungover they are or how crazy their weekend was, or maybe they keep trying to get you to join them. Be firm in your response that you're uninterested.
21. Debbie Downers and Negative Nancys
I could easily write an entire article about these types of people because for some reason, everywhere I've worked, I seem to have drawn them to me like moths to a flame. I guess the saying "misery loves company" is pretty accurate. The best way I've found to fight back is with positivity and keeping distance from them.
The reason that is so important is that you have to DISCOVER THE LIMIT OF YOUR OWN PERSONAL ENERGY. Your focus should always be on what you have to give and how far you can go. Once you know the cap on your energy, you have the first bit of information you need to know how to constructively spend your time. Work only on priorities and be intentional. Do that and it’s all good.
The Energy Drain To Overcome
Ah, if only it were that simple to get the important stuff done. As a business coach, I see it all the time. We don’t even realize it, but the “clutter” of life is just like the clutter on your desk or kitchen counter. When you get rid of it, suddenly work seems easier and gets done faster. The reason is that you have closed a bunch of “open loops.” Open loops are all those things that have been left undone but not unforgotten. In fact, they play over and over and over in your head. They take up loads of space in your mind and drain you of precious energy. Your brain was created to be a thinking machine. When you use it for storage, essentially hanging on to all those open loops, you’re wasting your energy on non-productive work.
Here are some examples of my own open loops, stored in my head and using up my energy:
Improve Your Business; Close The Drain
Open loops drag you down due to the fact that you will literally run out of energy before you can get to what matters. You're exhausted before you even truly begin! Simply put, to finally become truly productive, you’re going to have to close all of those open loops. Use the 4 Ds:
It really is that simple. Decide which D each loop falls into and then put it there. Spend your energy once and do it constructively. When you apply one of the D's, you eliminate the turmoil in your head. I do have one little suggestion to go along with this process. There are some things you would really like to do that are going to be put into the Delay it category. Create a folder so you can write out the details of your idea and store it there. Once it's down on paper in the file, you will have the comfort of knowing it is safely documented. That is what will relieve your mind of the responsibility of remembering the intricate details that made it such a great idea. Close your loops, get rid of the incompletes, and you will stop draining your energy so you can think creatively and productively!
If you've always wanted to learn a new language, perhaps now is the time. Speaking two or more languages presents quite an advantage in life. It's quite easy to see why. Speaking and understanding different languages not only brings about better communication, cultural awareness, cooperation and adaptation, it also creates a long-lasting versatility in your brain. The article For a Better Brain, Learn Another Language was recently published online by The Atlantic. It's a fascinating piece--one in which I think is definitely worth the time to read. But, in the meantime, allow me to provide a snapshot of the intriguing information.
Multilingualism brings about a multitude of benefits. According to the article:
Multi-linguals tend to score better on standardized tests, especially in math, reading, and vocabulary; they are better at remembering lists or sequences, likely from learning grammatical rules and vocabulary; they are more perceptive to their surroundings and therefore better at focusing in on important information while weeding out misleading information.
For aspiring students and scholars, it would seem that dedicating extra time and effort in language education is an investment worth making; particularly if standardized tests are a high priority. In fact, I still recall an influx of students in high school registering for Latin classes in preparation for the SATs and ACTs. The secret back then I suppose was that Latin would help us understand extensive vocabulary which in turn would greatly assist in navigating the vocabulary portion of the tests. Today, revisions to standardized tests have been implemented, but what hasn't changed is the need for a large range of understanding in vocabulary.
And while testing and memorization isn't everything to everyone, learning a second or third or fourth language can unlock particular brain waves that improve our ability to navigate everyday challenges like decision-making and finances:
Multi-linguals might also be better decision-makers . . . they are more resistant to conditioning and framing techniques, making them less likely to be swayed by such language in advertisements or political campaign speeches. Those who speak multiple languages have also been shown to be more self-aware spenders, viewing “hypothetical” and “real” money (the perceived difference between money on a credit card and money in cold, hard cash) more similarly than monolinguals.
When it comes to business, traits such as these are invaluable. Just check out a few samplings of the previous posts on The Methodology Blog that discuss the importance of fiscal responsibility, understanding differences between marketing and advertising, emotions and decision-making, and effective workflow through multiple tasks.
What's most surprising in this article however, is the idea that speaking multiple languages staves off dementia. According to a study done by Dr. Thomas Bak, a lecturer in the philosophy, psychology, and language sciences department at the University of Edinburgh, speaking and/or studying multiple languages boosts cognitive ability at any age:
The dementia-delaying effects of learning a second language are not contingent on becoming fluent; it just matters that a person tries to learn it. Even if you’re still confounding your sí’s and oui’s, as Bak says, “Just having the basics of those linguistic connections can delay dementia.”
In recent decades, Alzheimer's disease and dementia have come more readily to the forefront of our attention. Organizations such as The Alzheimer's Association are bringing forth both awareness and prevention to the everyday conversation. By educating ourselves and taking part in strengthening our brains, we not only sharpen our present minds, but combat future problems as well. So, pick up a crossword or sudoku puzzle from time to time. Become a member on a site like Lumosity. Check out your local community college for foreign language classes or spend some time learning more about Rosetta Stone. The hardest part to improvement is taking that first step toward your goal. Why not take that leap?
Bonne chance! Buena suerte! Bona fortuna! Good luck!
Here are some basic questions to consider:
If you answered, “Yes” to any or all of those, good. I’m proud of you. Intention is one of the initial steps in finding success. But intention isn’t going to make it happen for you. After all, you know what road is paved with good intentions...
So what's the secret?
Sitting in your office isn't getting you ahead. Get out there! Take action! Jack Canfield says, “The world doesn’t pay you for what you know; it pays you for what you do.”
When you stop contemplating, planning, organizing, and preparing---and take action---you will be headed down the road to success. That’s right: success is far more likely to happen once you start doing.
When you apply your sales cycle or sales objections knowledge in the actual sales event, the odds are with you then. Not so much if you are sitting in the coffee shop reading about it.
You have to get out and do it! You have to take action and pursue the sales. By studying and learning you are paying the price for the success you will find – you have earned it! You deserve it!
Remember when I asked you what you're willing to do? There is a flip side to that question: what are you not willing to do to get more sales? The usual answers here are about business ethics: deceiving customers and dropping your prices too low. But one thing you also shouldn't we willing to do is tremble with fear.
Fear is ugly and prevents achievement. Earning and deserving success is great, but you have to be willing to do something else, too. In the majority of my experiences as a business coach, the one thing that too often appears is fear.
Fear isn't technically an acronym, but sometimes people think of it as one for "False Expectations Appearing Real." That's a good way to understand why we are afraid: we are anticipating something happening which isn't actually likely to happen.
The story of Peter is a great example of how we let FEAR direct our actions. Peter lost the fine motor skills in both his hands. He was afraid to do anything, or go anywhere, by himself. When he finally decided to face his fears so that he could eliminate what was holding him back from living his life, he made the decision to travel on his own.
Here are some of the fears he faced, as well as the solutions:
FEAR: "I was afraid of the check-in at the airport. I didn’t know if I’d have enough strength to swipe my credit card at the check-in kiosk."SOLUTION: "I asked the people at the airlines to help, and they were more than happy to assist."
FEAR: "I didn’t know how I’d get things set up in my hotel room."SOLUTION: "Once I was in my room, the bell captain helped me unwrap the soap, set up the room, pull the curtains, unfold the covers, and unpack my luggage."
FEAR: "I didn’t know how I would get myself dressed flying solo. I still hadn’t been able to get any of my clothes buttoned on my own."SOLUTION: "My wife packed all my shirts prebuttoned, so I simply had to slip them on over my head. My pants had Velcro, so I could fasten them myself. My socks had loops that I could grab and pull. BUT . . . there were still two buttons on my shirt that needed to be buttoned. Again, I asked for help. The first time I asked a hostess to do it, she was taken aback. But now it’s amazing---if I am at a hotel for several days, the hostess will watch for me and step right up to help."
Peter realized that for every fear, there was a viable solution, and he could overcome the obstacle. In this way, he overcame his fears and went on to lead a much more fulfilling life, including the travel for his work. He faced his fears and moved past them.
The same concept applies to sales. You may be afraid of rejection. You may be afraid of hearing, “no.” You may have already talked yourself into the belief that everyone you approach will say no and you will become destitute.
There are ways to overcome all those fears. I’ve helped people move past the fear and become top salespeople. If they can do it, you can do it. Every person is different and has different thoughts, feelings, and fears. Take the action needed to overcome those fears and be successful. Make it happen!
We've all hit that rut in our workflow. You're chugging along, completing tasks like some sort of superhero when suddenly, the train derails into YouTube land. Someone sent you a cute video of a kid falling asleep in their birthday cake, then the next video automatically starts playing. Suddenly, somehow, hours have gone by and you're watching tutorials on Pinterest showing how to make a wreath with burlap and an old scarf. If that sounds oddly specific, well, it may or may not be a personal experience. Robby Slaughter has shed some light on the top of procrastinating by taking a good look at the problem - why we do it and what exactly it is. Now, the minds over at Medium have taken on the topic by creating a system that any of us can use to be procrastination. Check out their list with their actionable advice tips along with some of my own thoughts below!
Step 1: Brain
Let's start with the brain because really that's where all this mess begins. With most things in life, you start with training, and training the brain can be hard when it doesn't want to cooperate.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: Keep An Activity Log To Become More Effective
One way to really help you see where your time goes is to actively keep track of it! See where your time is going and focus on those bits that are less than impressive.
Step 2: Body
The brain and body are best buddies. If one is striving for greatness, then the other has to be on the same page. Don't let your body weigh you down.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: Get enough sleep, eat healthy food, and exercise daily.
It's easier said than done, but making small improvements every day will help you reap big rewards. Start by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or replacing one of your favorite junk foods with a piece of fruit!
Step 3: Procrastination
Your body and mind are on board, now. It's the right time to start focusing on your procrastinating issues, which usually rears its head when you don't have set goals.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: Create A Morning Ritual
When you get up to start your day without a plan, it's really easy to just follow one distraction after another down the rabbit hole of procrastination. Once you have a plan in place, you'll find you're less likely to procrastinate because you aren't just sitting around, waiting for direction!
Step 4: Productivity
There is a huge difference between efficiency and productivity. You can take care of responding to emails and making phone calls with top tier efficiency but that doesn't make you productive.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: Use The PZ 1 Page Productivity Sheet
Their idea of using the Product Zero Productivity Sheet is a great way to begin. You can use this link to download the PDF and get started right away!
Step 5: Persuasion
Understanding people and the reason why we all do things seems easy, since you're a person, too. It goes way deeper than that, though. To start with, you need to learn the basics of communication. You can check out some ways to communicate better here!
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: Start Your Email Subject Lines With “Your”
One way to start down the path of better communication skills is to use this tip while composing emails. It will immediately catch the receiver's eye by making it more personal!
Last year, there were roughly 1.9 billion smartphone users in the world, and the number is only expected to increase by the end this year. In fact, research done by eMarketer predicts that smartphone adaptation will continue its double-digit growth, and once we reach 2017, we'll have around 2.1 billion smartphone users across the globe. This means that more than a quarter of the global population (around 28.5%) will have a smartphone in their pocket.
The first true smartphone actually made its debut almost a quarter of a century ago. IBM's Simon was the first device that combined the functions of a cell phone and a PDA, and it was launched way back in 1992. Of course, the modern age of smartphones began around 15 years later, with the launch of the iPhone. Since then, technology has managed to completely change the way we conduct and manage business. Just think about it for a second - smartphones have managed to revolutionize the business world in less than a decade.
Clearly, a smartphone has become more than a simple tool in the last couple of years, it is now a portal to the entire world and something people believe they need to have in order to survive. As the capabilities of technology continue to soar, more and more leaders are starting to admit that they do the majority of their work from handheld, mobile devices. A recent Forbes Insights survey revealed that a staggering 90% of executives use smartphones for business – even while they are in the office. So, what does all of this mean for the future of business? Will managers say goodbye to regular desktop computers and just equip the members of their staff with new smartphones?
As we move towards a more tech-driven society, and as more executives start using smartphones in the office, it is vital to know how a smartphone can help you run your business operations more effectively.
We've established that a smartphone can fulfill most of your business needs (we haven't even mentioned operations like marketing and bookkeeping), however, does this mean that a smartphone does everything better than any other traditional business tool? Not necessarily. Look at it like this: just because you can do something on the go, it doesn't automatically mean it's the best way. On the other hand, it also doesn't mean it is a bad way, either.
According to GSMA Intelligence, by the end of this decade, we will definitely have 5G at our beck and call. What's more, with the arrival of IoT controlled via smartphones, business processes will be revolutionized once again, in just a short few years. And this raises a number of questions, but the biggest one is – are business leaders ready for the changes in corporate culture? Once every worker in the company is operating via mobile device, they will no longer be tied to their seats and desks, and in fact, will be free to go wherever and whenever needed.
Nate Vickery is a business consultant and a blogger mostly engaged in finding and implementation of the latest technology trends into SMB and startup management processes. Nate is also the editor at a business oriented blog- Bizzmarkblog.com.
It is not uncommon for the topic of to-do lists to come up in coaching or Mastermind Groups. Most of us have them, some of them reaching the length of our arms! Let’s take a look at typical items that show up:
Can you guess why these things don't get done? They are like speed bumps in the flow of forward progress in our heads. To-do lists can mangle your productivity and slow you down. It’s frustrating because there is always so much to be done. How can we pick and choose what to do in a day? Another difficulty is that we don’t know why we just can’t seem to get to these things. Instead of reaching the end of the list, it just grows and grows and grows.
I can tell you exactly why they never seem to go away and it’s the exact thing I tell everyone who comes to Grow Your Business Coaching:
Do you have albatrosses looking you straight in the eye that are weighing you down?
It’s because THEY ARE NOT JUST A SINGLE TASK WITH ONE SINGLE ACTION we need to do. You can't just do the one thing and cross it off, then be on your merry way. There are tons of steps included in all of them.
For instance, let’s look at Prep a press kit:
Those are just a few questions you might ask, which demonstrates that the item on your to-do list is not the “Next Action” you have to take to move you forward. When this scenario is compounded by several such problem tasks on your list, you find yourself with an ever-growing list of undones that feels like the proverbial albatross.
So what do you do?
First, I would suggest that those items on your to-do list that are really made up of several action steps be removed and put on a "Project List." For clarity, break each project down into the steps you can identify that are necessary to move the project forward. Any action that takes multiple steps should from now on, in your head, be defined as a project. It will help you to distinguish between the two.
Then, look at each of the steps through the following lenses:
By breaking down these “projects” into “Next Action Steps,” you are able to see the path to getting them done and off any of your lists. Sometimes all we need is a little vision in order to see the big picture. That means you’ll make progress, I promise.
Thinking consciously about how we are likely to express ourselves is the hallmark of emotional intelligence. In this situation, would you be exasperated? Angry? Or thankful that they remembered one more crucial detail?
Here’s a handy definition for Emotional Intelligence: the ability to express the appropriate emotions at the appropriate time. If IQ is your intelligence quotient, your EQ is your emotional quotient. And EQ involves four underlying sets of skills. Two of these relate to your own emotions, and the other two having to do with the emotions of others.
Let’s focus today on that first skill that has to do with you and what you see in yourself: self-awareness. This s knowing what you’re feeling in the moment and what is important to you. Self-awareness helps you make sense of your emotions so you can formulate the appropriate response.
Let’s go back to that email. What will you do? Stew over the email? Send an explosive response? Quit the project?
People with a low EQ tend to do something immediately without thinking. People with high EQ slow down (are self-aware) before reacting.
Clearly it’s better to take a moment first. But how do you do it? Here are four strategies for improving self-awareness.
We all experience sensations. Usually they happen before we realize it and we are screaming, laughing, crying, or just enjoying life. But your conscious, rational brain also has the ability to observe your own feelings and emotions to better understand them.
First: remember that a feeling is a personal impression. It’s a sensation that happens in the mind in response to a stimulus. But an emotion is how your whole body reacts to a feeling.
If you touch a hot stove, that will feel painful. You might then experience the emotion of foolishness, or anger at someone else for leaving the oven turned on.
There are five core emotions: Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Shame. Think about which feelings trigger each emotion. Contemplate what has happened to you and why you’ve felt that way in the past.
Feelings are perfectly natural, but many people judge their feelings as good or bad. People with high EQ should examine their emotions because they give important clues as to what is going on as far as your feelings. If you’re angry, what feeling triggered this? Likewise if you’re sad or happy, pay attention to what feelings triggered these emotions.
What do you feel like doing when you receive an email that might cause you to lose it? If you blow up at your co-worker, this will have an effect on that person as well as everyone else who is present. If you go to your office and stew, you might bring the anger home and take it out on your family. Spend some time reflecting on how your behavior affects others.
Because you may have a difficult time assessing the impact of your own behavior on others, solicit feedback from others about this. Ask for specific examples and situations and be sure to look for patterns. Yes, this takes courage, but this is how you grow.
Having high EQ is the way to get buy-in from the people with whom you’re dealing and inspire them to follow your lead. But first, you have to be aware of and make sense of your emotions.
It’s not easy. But it is worth it.
Different people have different personalities, obviously, that's what makes all of us unique. It would be entirely too boring if every single person in the world was exactly the same, wouldn't it? The problem is when two different personalities come together and clash horribly, like a sonic boom felt in a mile radius around the impact site. We start learning a bit about this as we go through school, with some angst and hormones at the wheel, much like everyone else your age at the time. So once we're old enough to have a steady and enter the workforce, it's on us to make a good impression. A UK independent job site, CV-Library, researched what traits we enjoy in others and which ones we absolutely despise, especially in the workplace. They surveyed 1200 workers and came up with some pretty interesting information.
Well, according to new research from the UK’s leading independent job site, CV-Library, the majority of employees (94.2%) believe there are key personality traits which make a person more likeable in the workplace...
This makes sense and I completely agree. I like to think of traits like a big tree, with little branches heading off toward other traits but all leading back to the major, defining ones. Thinking someone is haughty and self-centered would likely fall under "arrogant" and so forth.
The research, which surveyed 1,200 UK workers, also revealed that two-thirds of workers (66.8%) felt that people who aren’t liked struggle to get ahead at work...
We would all like to think that we get ahead based solely on our merits. You do your work well, get it done on time, clock in and clock out. Unfortunately, I believe we've all seen firsthand what someone who is more liked by management gets as opposed to one who is more under the radar or maybe not such a ray of sunshine at work. If you feel like you're being ignored or passed over at work, it may be time to do some reflecting. Below is the list of the best and worst traits reported by CV-Library.
It all seems like common sense once you see it laid out before you, doesn't it? The managing director and founder of CV-Library, Lee Biggins, had this to say:
“It’s only natural to want to be liked, especially at work when you’re dealing with a variety of people. But, it’s important not to get too caught up with the office politics. Instead, try and figure out the right balance that will help you to move forward with your career and ultimately, be respected by colleagues and senior management alike. Remaining true to yourself is key, especially as certain attributes will likely have landed you the job in the first place: listen carefully to feedback, be wary of coming across the wrong way and ultimately, don’t let your need to be ‘liked’ impact on your progression.”
We couldn't agree more about the effect office politics has on productivity. If you're worried about what everyone thinks of you, that's taking your focus off of what you're there for - to perform a service. That being said, I firmly believe there is always room for growth and improvement. Take some time to think about what you bring to the table!
What is a work order? It's basically a form that's designed to characterize a task to be done. If you need a wall painted, you fill out a work order. If you need some furniture moved, you fill out a work order. Usually we think of work orders as internal activities, but they are something done on behalf of customers. A work order is an order to do work. That's all it is.
You don't need anything fancy to create a work order management system other than a structure work order system (like a form) and a place to keep them (like a file cabinet or a shared drive.) It can be as low-tech as a photocopied forms stuck on a bulletin board, or as advanced as a web-based system with multiple levels of authentication, complex approval processes, and multi-step entry systems.
Our friends over at SalesForce have put together an infographic that discusses the upsides of a work order management system. Take a look:
Let's review each of these benefits in turn.
If you have a structured system to collect work order information and a consistent place to find work orders, it makes perfect sense that you're going to get the work done more quickly. This is because you don't have to second guess the process, but also because other people can help out. If there's one work order management system, anyone can jump in and help complete work orders.
One of the areas that businesses often fail to recognize are the efficiency gains provided by self-service. Fast food restaurants have taught us to bus our own tables. Grocery stores expect us to pick up our own carts and return them to the corral. And e-commerce sites ask us to go through the trouble of entering in our credit card number.
All of this reduces the amount of work that the business has to do, and those savings can be passed onto the customer.
One of the most essential parts of a work order system is the field which has the customer contact details. This allows you to cross reference with your customer relationship management system so that you know who you are helping.
If you don't have a work order management system, you may not know who made the request. And if you treat every customer the same without individual recognition, you may lose those customers in the future.
These days, customers aren't just going to call your 1-800 number for assistance. They may send a tweet, text their sales rep, use the chat feature on your website, or visit Facebook. All of these contact methods need to funnel to a common location. That's why it is so important to have a unified location to track all of the details of a work order. Otherwise, everyone will be managing each contact individually, which is chaos.
How does your company provide order to its various departments so that they coordinate effectively and efficiently? If you haven’t thought of it, then it might be important for you to figure out a work order management system. It can help you financially, from reduced equipment downtime to improved productivity. And it doesn’t take that long for that type of system to to pay for itself.
Whatever your system, try to get your work orders organized. Otherwise, everyone will be helping to solve problems in their own way with no collaboration. That's no way to run a business.
If you need help, reach out to the experts at AccelaWork. We'd love to help you build a work order management system, or improve the one you already have.
I love today's discussion for two reasons. First, it brings to the forefront thoughts and emotions that are often times left unspoken and which arise when reading email in an emotional state. And second, it combines two choice topics we highlight on The Methodology Blog with passion--failure and email. Except today, rather than talking about these important lessons individually, let's discuss what occurs when they are (deep breath) paired together.
Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, wrote an article for Inside Indiana Business recently on this subject. In fact, the title of his piece leaves no mystery as to the topic: Never Use Email to Discipline Someone. In his opening, Slaughter immediately addresses the reason why so many people turn to email as the outlet for reprimand in business:
In the modern workforce, it’s not always possible—nor is it considered it appropriate—to put people in the corner after they were disrespectful to a customer. HR pros everywhere have urged us not to yell and scream. Instead, it seems, we tend to discipline over email. That’s a form of being direct but it happens at a distance and is mostly private. That makes it easier to get away with, and enables people to be more aggressive than they would be in person.
Reading this excerpt, I immediately think about all the problems we've recently seen through social media in regards to bullying. On one hand, we can say that disciplining through email is simply quieter and less embarrassing to the individual on the receiving end of the "yelling" email. But I think if we're honest with ourselves, we can admit that, like cyber bullying, it's much easier to utilize harsh and hurtful words when you don't actually have to utter them directly to someone. When we don't have to speak the words aloud and watch reactions to them, we suddenly find an abundance of unproductive courage. Slaughter points out:
But email is a terrible way to communicate with anyone about sensitive topics. In person you have body language. You lose that on a phone call, but someone can still hear your tone of voice. At least over text or instant message you can clarify yourself or be asked questions. But email tends to be written and fired off. And email lives forever.Furthermore, if you’re disciplining someone over email, you’re not the only person whose emotions are running hot. You might create resentment rather than understanding. You might cause them to stew. And as easy as it is to send email, it’s equally easy to forward it to someone else. Your disciplinary note may get passed along to others, creating even more problems.
I think we all can agree that email and social media tend to be the easy way out of an uncomfortable few minutes. But it's those few minutes that really count. To look a colleague or employee in the eye and tell them you are disappointed, upset or angry is not easy nor fun. And having to watch their reaction, whether it's humiliation, anger or resentment, is just as difficult. But, tackling such a scenario face to face rather than over email is much more respectful and just as importantly, more productive.
In his article, Robby Slaughter points out ways in which email can be utilized productively when it comes to dealing with disciplinary actions at work. As he suggests, capitalize on the medium's powerful benefits:
Use email to:
Communication is not just a science, it's an art. It takes decades of practice and dozens upon dozens of lessons to improve. People can spend their whole lives trying to perfect the way in which they communicate with others, but the truth is, we always have room to grow. Consider how you conduct yourself when it comes to situations that are cause for discipline. Take time to discover how you can improve upon it and then teach others.
I've gone on missions to find great apps to help teams work together more efficiently and also hunted down some apps that help small business stay productive. I figured it was time to dive back into the world of technology and see what new, nifty things there were out there for all of us that work remotely. Luckily, FormAssembly pulled through with a big list of extensions that any worker based out of their home should be using on a daily basis. Even if you don't telecommute, these can still come in handy!
Buffer
If you have a company or work for one that utilizes social media, then you have no idea how much you've been missing this extension in your life--until now, that is. Working with social media posts on your own without an extension can end in major frustration and confusion.
Not only can you schedule your tweets and retweets, you can also get an insight into what tweets are getting the most traction and even rebuffer those to keep them bubbling up to the top.
You can easily post to all of your social media accounts, add content to a queue while browsing the web, and you can use it on both Android and iOS. You can try it for free forever or invest in upgraded plans for even more uses.
LastPass
LastPass is something that my husband uses and I always just rolled my eyes at because how hard is it to remember your password, right? Except when you start working from home and have multiple logins across multiple websites. This password manager is something you absolutely need to start using, especially if you are concerned about security.
The reason this is a better option that just ‘remember this password’ in Chrome is because it syncs cross-browser if you ever switch.
Not only does it save your butt on the PC, but it also works on mobile, too.
HTTPS Everywhere
If you don't know the difference between HTTP and HTTPS, it's pretty simple. The 'S' stands for secure, meaning it's doing its job in protecting you from all the nasty things out there on the world wide web that want to steal your information. This is the kind of extension that should be mandatory, especially if you're working with sensitive information.
Thus, it can protect you from a lot of threats such as frauds and various types of surveillance that are present almost anywhere.
Brought to you by The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, it's available across multiple browsers and is absolutely free to use.
StayFocused
If you couldn't tell already, we're pretty big on productivity on this blog. That means we know how easy it is to get distracted by all the tweets and posts that pop up throughout the day while you're working. Why not give StayFocused a try if you find that you're having a bad time managing your time?
For example, if you have accessed a particular site for the most time allowed, the site will no longer be accessible. It can increase your productivity in volumes.
So yes, it's basically parental controls for your adult self. Whatever works, right?
According to the Department of Labor, most employees last little more than five years at any one job. The statistics are even more staggering when it comes to the front line staff in places like healthcare, restaurants, and other direct service positions.
Their reasons for leaving are varied, but when an employee leaves by choice, an employer needs to understand why. It’s costly to replace an employee. However, you can manage your risks associated with turnover by understanding the root of the problem.
Most critically: Your strength as an employer lies in understanding your employees’ perceptions. While the grass may not actually be greener on a competitor’s turf, here are five reasons employees in healthcare settings might be looking around – and what you can do about it.
Chances are, if your employees don’t feel well trained for their jobs, they didn’t receive adequate training from Day 1. They might even think that they’re lacking opportunities for continuing education or believe they’re simply inadequate for their job. Find out where the perceived training gaps lie and then address them quickly, especially if training is a common concern among your team.
An employee who’s looking for a more receptive ear from management has likely shared feedback within your organization, but didn’t feel that his or her input was acknowledged or well-received. Another possible scenario: Management solicited feedback from employees but never acted upon it. And while not all employee feedback is created equal, it’s important to note that someone concerned about this is typically an employee that has some type of investment in the organizational culture—and one that you likely don’t want to lose.
If your business has a lot of activity, chances are that employees think there just isn't enough help to get everything done. If your employees are feeling understaffed, first consider: Is the root cause strictly a numbers issue? Or could it be intermingled with problems with efficiency, training, and/or resources available to staff? If your employees are feeling overwhelmed and unproductive, it’s time to take a closer look at these issues.
Everyone wants to earn a fair wage. When your employees are looking for better pay elsewhere, they probably believe they’re not being paid what they’re worth right now. An employee’s search for more money elsewhere is often rooted in the idea that another employer may recognize their value better than you. Make sure that, when possible, your organization is transparent on issues around wages. Consider if your benefits are competitive with others in the industry. What intangible benefits (such as flexible scheduling, high employee retention rates, or efforts to show real appreciation) do you offer? Consider these factors and make sure they’re communicated with your employees.
Ever heard the saying, “People don’t leave a job; they leave a manager”? When employees leave because of problems with management, you must determine whether this is an isolated incident or one that’s likely to replicate. Is one bad apple ruining the entire team? The impact of poor management can be toxic to an organization. Any point of concern about management — whether you think the employee is a squeaky wheel or not — deserves your attention. As an employer, you can’t control how your employees feel about working for you, but you can influence their perceptions by demonstrating that their satisfaction and resources on the job are important to you. If employees are leaving, find out why. And then address the issues to promote a culture of engagement.
Everyone wanted big houses and then when the house gets full, the next step is the family goes out to rent a storage unit. Look around town and you’ll find a plethora of storage facilities, most are probably nearly at capacity. It used to be that storage facilities were for people in transition – moving from one place to another and they only needed some temporary storage until they had permanent plans. Now, we all know people who have a storage unit to store things that won’t fit into their homes. So the opposite extreme would be a Tiny House, I guess. Is tiny house living worth it?
The Rule Of Living Big
Instead of collecting more and more, people who live in small spaces often have a rule: If something new comes in, something old has to leave. Reasonable, right? When you have too much stuff cluttering up your living space, not only is it hard to get around (think hoarders) but it’s also hard to make choices and decisions. All the stuff just starts piling up and will begin weighing you down. And in that lies a lesson for business owners.
Jack Canfield says:
“We can only pay attention to so many things at one time, and each promise, agreement, or item on your to-do list leaves fewer “attention units” to dedicate to completing present tasks and bringing new opportunities and abundance into your life.”
When the attention units in your brain are all used up, you miss out on ideas and opportunities that could totally change your life. An “Attention Unit” is a bit of information that goes into your memory bank and takes up space inside of your head. For example, when you start a project or make an agreement or identify a change you need to make, you add something into the storage area in your brain taking up an “attention unit.” Just like the sticky notes on your computer and the stacks of paper piled up on your desk distract you, the attention units stored in your head distract you, too. And with all that physical and mental clutter stealing your attention, the pile of “incompletes” gets bigger and grows higher too. The clutter in our minds distracts us and decreases our productivity.
Canfield admonishes us with this:
“The truth is that 20 things completed have more power than 50 things half completed.”
You know that all the half-completes are a distraction in and of themselves both mentally and in reality. For instance, two finished books are much more useful than 13 that you have started but not finished. The main reason this is so important, besides the obvious of divided attention and diluted efforts, is that in order to make space for something new, you have to make room for it. If there happens to be something new that you want in life, you have to make some room for it – both psychologically and physically. You need to start focusing on eliminating some of those things that are taking up your precious attention units. Set priorities about what is going to be your focus and act on those!
The writers at My Soul Temple have come out with some pretty interesting ideas on how you can wake you brain up and make it start doing some work. Before you begin perusing the list, let me warn you, some of these sound a bit strange. In fact, you may find yourself chuckling. We here at The Methodology Blog are big believers in feeding your brain so that you can get the best performance out of it. Just like a muscle, it needs to be exercised daily to keep it strong and healthy. Before long, you may find that you've plateaued and aren't making much progress. And just like anyone who exercises regularly knows, you have to switch up your routine so your body doesn't become complacent and bored. This is when these little hacks will help the most!
1. Start your Day with your non-dominant hand
This just makes me cringe a little. If I even attempt to open a door or do my makeup with my non-dominant hand, it feels like a stranger had taken control of my body. But it will definitely confuse your brain for a few moments and shake things up. Practice makes perfect!
2. Take the 7 Words Challenge
Want to pump up those creative juices? This challenge will do that. So what's so hard about it? You have to write a short story using only 7 words. They say it will boost your Twitter and Facebook posting skills but for a writer, it can be the difference between boredom and genius.
3. Wear your watch upside down
Don't look at me like that. I know what you're thinking. It sounds really sort of...stupid, right? Except every time you go to glance at your watch, which is normally such a passive action, it will take effort. Effort makes your brain kick into gear.
4. Turn off the GPS and take new routes
For someone who is direction-challenged such as myself, this sounds horrifying. But I can honestly tell you there are times I have driven to and from a destination and have no recollection of how I even got there thanks to my brain's autopilot mode. Make your mind work for it!
5. Count backwards
It's not just counting backwards but also some interesting exercises, too!
- Beginning at 100, count backward, subtracting 4 each time (96, 92, 88…).
- Beginning at 175, count backward, subtracting 3 each time (172, 169, 166…).
- Beginning at 250, count backward, subtracting 7 each time (243, 236, 229…).
6. Name the objects that start with ‘M’ and end with ‘R’
Sort of like playing games on long car rides, this falls into the same category. It makes your brain work. They say you should time yourself and see how many you can get without repeats. I'm sitting at a minute with "manager" so I'm guessing I already lose.
7. Rearrange names of days and months alphabetically
Similar to the last suggestion, this is a way to give your mind a little exercise to wake up. You could even do the alphabet backwards in your head. Little brain games will keep you on your toes!
Need more ideas on how to become sharper and more productive in your office? Reach out to AccelaWork today to learn more about how we can help.
The growth of the freelance sector is more apparent now than ever before. A recent report done by Freelancers Union shows that 32% of the self-employed workforce has seen an increase in demand for their work. Furthermore, The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 40% of the US workforce will be freelancers by 2020. The 9-5 appears to be slowly becoming a thing of the past. Are you ready to make the change?
Our friends at Invoice2go put together an infographic on the topic. It’s full of stats and tips from seasoned freelancers and is sure to help out anyone who is looking for a place to start. Take a look, and then scroll further for our commentary.
Generally speaking the infographic offers good advice. As much as the idea seems contrary to our nature, we need to always be networking. Managing your time is even more important when every second working gets you paid. And of course if you don't have a way to motivate yourself, you're not going to succeed by going it alone.
What is perhaps more interesting is the mechanism that was used to create this infographic. The data comes from a crowdsourcing effort. That in itself is great networking, smart time management, and a way to motivate those who contribute.
Ask any economist, and they will tell you that people tend to pick up more side work whenever they have less confidence in the future of the economy. The opposite is also the case: when people think everything is going great, they take more vacations, work less, and don't do a lot of freelancing work.
When we use the word "freelancing" we often think of people doing something extra on top of their regular job. Or, it may be a temporary arrangement between jobs. But that's not necessarily the case any more. In fact, there are millions of people whose sole income is independent contract work. Is that a quirk of the current state of the economy, or a feature that's here to stay?
In many respects, however, every job is a contract job. When you’re a full time employee, you work under an employment contract. This might be an implied contract or a written job description. It might be a verbal understanding that gets reiterated in periodic reviews. In the case of a sales role, your work contract might be your commission structure. In essence, the contract is: work and you get paid, don’t work and you need to get out.
To understand if this is a real change in the way our economy works, we have to ask the question: who is more productive: salaried employees or contract workers? The answer is not quite as simple as the question. It’s not the classification that forecasts individual productivity, but rather the clarity with which work is defined.
One thing that freelancers love is their freedom. But that's also appreciated by companies that hire freelancers: the freedom to specify exactly what they want and only pay for that. It's results that matter, not the face-time of employees sitting in chairs.
We will probably have traditional employees going to offices for many decades to come. But it does look like more and more people will be contractors. It looks like our economy is going to move away from the home-commute-work-commute-home pattern. Because, that was the structure that made sense when we didn't trust people to get things done on their own, and when they couldn't do much work outside of the workplace any way. Everything is changing. Pay attention, and adjust accordingly.
So what else do business owners rack their brains about while we all celebrate the new year? Usually, it's something along the lines of how well they will they change things to improve the bottom line, number of clients, or streamline processes. Maybe they also worry about what goals are appropriate, realistic, and yet pushing the limits. It’s all about the exciting potential of a fresh new year – a new starting point.
While we look at it that way, we bring lots of “old stuff” into the new space and end up with a lot of the same results and same challenges. Now, I am not trying to squash your excitement or enthusiasm at all. I just want to offer you, just like I do with many of my coaching clients, the opportunity to adjust perspective for different results, better results than you have ever gotten before.
Don't Do That, Do This!
Oftentimes, in order to get different results, we decide to change something we do. That's a good thing because we often get contrasting results when we do things differently. When we approach change that way, however, it takes a great deal of effort and conscious energy. For instance, if we decide to be more approachable, we try to be more engaging at networking events. We talk more, smile more, ask more and better questions. Now, if that is not our norm, it can be mentally exhausting.
You have to constantly re-engage the behavior every time you arrive at a networking event. But networking is probably something you don’t really do every single day, it never really becomes an automatic behavior – you have to actively think about it and employ the “tactic” every single time. Now while that will probably give you better results, it taps into your brain’s “attention units” and your physical energy. There’s another way – one that will get to the roots of your behavior and help you make changes that can become automatic and a new “norm” for you.
Every Behavior Is Rooted In Your Beliefs!
Everything you do, every reaction you have, and every decision you make is rooted firmly in your beliefs. So the only way to make real change that actually sticks is to identify the belief that drives the behavior you want to alter.
Let me share a story from Hyrum W. Smith, author of The 3 Gaps:
John walks into the yard of a friend, and is surprised to see a Doberman pinscher that has never been there before. At first he freezes in terror; then he runs out of the yard as fast as his legs can carry him without pausing to wonder how the dog got there or to notice if it is on a chain. Later, Susan walks into the same yard. She is just as surprised as John to be greeted by a Doberman. Her reaction, however, is to squeal with delight, “Oh! How cute!”
She runs toward the dog so she can pet it and scratch it behind its ears. Why such different reactions to the same dog? It’s all about what Smith calls the BELIEF WINDOW. Each person looks out at the world through their Belief Window and reacts to the environment based on the beliefs that they have. Obviously John and Susan have very different beliefs when it comes to the dog.
Next time, we take a look at why their beliefs differ so much from one another and where our beliefs come from!
I will never forget the first time. I was 16 years old, and working in the stock room of a drug store. I was scheduled to work, but I didn't want to go. I wanted to go out with my friends. At sixteen, fun seemed more important than work. So, that's what I did.
The next day when I went back to my job, my manager was not happy. He said, "If you decide to do that again, don't plan on coming back to work. You will be fired."
It was a lesson with a huge impact on me. It taught me about commitment. As an adult, there are very few times I commit to something and fail to follow through. However, there are still times I commit, follow through, but lack enthusiasm. It's good to keep your word, but if you don't care about what you're doing, that's worth noting as well.
Reflecting on this experience has helped me identify three things that keep me focused on dependability:
1. Understand why I decided to commit. What was my motive? Keeping the why clear in my mind helps me from wavering on a commitment. It also helps me say "no" to things that are not important.
Self-reflection is easy to talk about, but not always easy to do. Sometimes we say "yes" for reasons that might be obvious. Maybe we don't want to do the work, but we don't want to disappoint the person. Other times, we think that saying "yes" might help us get something else later. Analyzing our own motivation is always worthwhile.
2. Be accountable to someone. If I know someone will hold me accountable, then I will work harder to follow through. I value other people, and I don't want to let them down. Accomplishing something for someone else is much more rewarding emotionally.
This works in reverse too. When you're holding other people accountable, notice how committed they are. Be the kind of person that others don't want to disappoint.
3. Determine how I may grow. If I know the benefit to myself, I will be more determined about success. Every experience usually provides learning and growing if we look for it.
It's all too easy to walk away from an experience where we were not dependable without gaining any knowledge. But there is a lesson in everything.
If you sometimes struggle completing a commitment, maybe these three ideas can help.
For many people, the struggle with keeping commitments is related to perfectionism and goal setting. We want to do so much, but we can't do everything. Saying "yes" to just the right number of things that we want to do and need to do is the secret. What we typically do is over-commit, and that makes it impossible to give any one thing the attention it deserves.
Here are some quotes that I find inspiring that may help you in your journey to be better at making and keeping commitments. Take a look:
"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." - Anna Quindlen
"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dalí
"The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection." - George Orwell
"There is no perfection only life" - Milan Kundera
"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." -Vince Lombardi
Apple Macs are pretty awesome machines. They're known for their superior operating system, have the ability to say they generally have zero issues with viruses, and have pretty much all the software you might need pre-loaded. So why is it that most offices tend to use PC? Generally speaking, they're cheaper and a lot simpler to use. But that doesn't mean that many officers or telecommuters don't use Macs to work. Thankfully, Paul Minors has released a list of the 14 most useful menu bar apps that every Mac owner should be taking advantage of right now! He's even provided the cost of each item. I've pulled my favorites to shine a light on below.
TripMode – US$7.99
This app is for Mac users that tend to find themselves working on the go. If you are desperately trying to save on your data usage, you definitely need this one. What it does is restrict certain apps from accessing the internet while you use your Personal Hotspot. Don't waste your data on constant backups and syncing anymore!
Hazel – US$32.00
Since we all don't have the time to sit and watch our folders to make sure everything is running smoothly and organized, Hazel can step in and save you some time.
- Clear items from the downloads folder when they’re more than 7 days old.
- Rename statements, receipts and invoices and move them to a separate folder where you keep everything organised.
- Automatically convert images into PDFs.
- Tag or add a label to a file if it contains certain keywords.
Hence why there's a somewhat hefty price tag!
Evernote Clipper – Free
We've already discussed our love of Evernote in the past, but Apple has come up with a pretty great menu bar clipper that makes me love it even more.
"I use the menu bar note clipper (Cmd + ctrl + n) to quickly write notes and jot down key information (great for when I’m on the phone). Often I don’t even save these notes to Evernote, but this little menu bar clipper is great for using as a scratchpad."
We all tend to scribble notes down while we're working, especially while we're on the phone. Now, you can have access to a quick note-taking tool that will save your thoughts rather than seeing them get accidentally crumpled up and thrown away.
1Password – $64.99 (single license) or $2.99/month (includes premium features)
If you're like me and have dozens of logins for dozens of sites that you use on a daily basis, this one is an absolute must. No longer will you have to remember how many letters you capitalized or was if it your great grandmother's birthday you used in the hazy rage of creating a unique password. This mini app will even recognize what site you happen to be visiting and suggest a password for you. It also syncs with iCloud and Dropbox. You will literally never have to remember another password again as they will all be stored in your 1Password account.
Backblaze – $5.00/month
I always forget to backup my computer. I honestly can't tell you the last time I did it. Oh wait, that's right, it was when my laptop gave me the blue screen of death and decided to start ruining my life. Luckily, I was able to log in and save some much needed files to an external hard drive which, unfortunately, many folks don't seem to bother buying or using. Backblaze takes away the need to remember backing up your computer and simply just does it for you on the cloud.
According to Curtiss:
In all manufacturing companies there are many problems. If you think your company doesn't have any issues, you're kidding yourself! The work of leadership is to create an environment that enables and supports problem solving at the lowest level of the organization. Management's job is to solve big/systemic problems and to allow employees on the shop floor to solve many of the smaller problems that arise daily.Unfortunately, at most companies managers are working at least one level below their title, trying to solve problems that should be resolved at lower levels. Employees are allowed to push problems up to the next level for resolution. Human behavior shows that once someone has told you about a problem, they feel better and it then becomes your problem to solve.
One of the primary challenges is how you get your team to think, rather than just do their jobs, and more importantly how do you get them thinking about what you want (business problems) them to think about? The best way is to ask them questions, allow them to answer, and give them the resources and responsibility to implement the solution. This is easier said than done, but the positive result of this effort is at the heart of the Toyota Production System, where there are hundreds of problems being identified and solved by hundreds of people each day.
Most companies have limited resources to apply to problem solving both from the perspective of time and capital available to spend fixing them. Therefore, problem identification becomes key. How do you know where the problem is? How do you know which is the right problem to be solved? How do you know which is the right tool or process to fix it?
The best way to start is to create a visual work environment that makes problems very easy to see. This requires: the creation of a standard, making it visible, and then auditing the standard on a regular basis. Being able to monitor what is good, what is bad, abnormal vs. normal condition is the key to improving them. Sometimes there are too many metrics being measured, but in a manufacturing company the most important ones fall into four categories: Quality, Throughput, Cost, and your Business Model.
What can be helpful is a chart (direct link) that can help guide you to identifying a problem and then where to look for potential causes and solutions. Beneath each major attribute is a key indicator (metric). As you begin the diagnosis, it is best to start on the left side and move to the right. Once a problem is identified, the next step is to understand its boundaries and root cause.
Curtiss Quirin is the Chief Operating Officer of Easter Seals Crossroads Industrial Services. He is a highly motivated leader with years of experience in identifying opportunities for growth and building bottom line results. His emphasis on developing strong relationships with clients as well as external manufacturing partners is a valued business philosophy that resonates throughout the Crossroads organization. With a broad business background in directing a variety of operations on an international scale, Curtiss is an authority on positively managing safety, quality, productivity and inventory while helping clients to reduce lead time and boost revenue. He applies his Six Sigma lean manufacturing knowledge and focus on operational excellence to improve processes and reach target objectives that create growth for both Crossroads and its customers.
It’s not just the holidays, either. It’s everything. We have to work faster, think faster, and make decisions faster – or at least it seems that way. In my opinion, after coaching so many business owners and professionals, we need to be able to adapt, work differently and more efficiently. And, most importantly, we have to think differently as well. So what do I mean by that? Well, let’s just take one example to illustrate what I mean and how I think you can make a change that really makes a difference for you.
Branding – Then and Now
In the past, branding has meant:
Many of those branding elements were used to recall a business to the mind of the consumer. That’s great and it works – but it’s only the start. There is so much more needed to convert that initial thought into a buying customer. With the accelerated pace those in the marketing industry face in today’s world, who has the time to capture the customer with all those next steps? Not many businesses, that's for sure. This is why the idea of branding has a new meaning and use for all of us.
Branding Is More Today
Branding today encompasses everything about our company. When our customers see that LOGO or hear that tagline, our “message” must come along with it. For instance, they need to think:
I know you’re probably thinking something like: “OK, but how do I make THAT happen? I have limited time, control and budget.” Even though I know you want a quick and easy process to get it in place, I can’t give you that. What I can give you is this:
Build Relationships using the basics. Business relationships don’t just exist between peers and colleagues. The most important relationship is the one you have with your clients and prospects. And the basics of building and maintaining those relationships are RESPECT, TRUST, RELIABILITY AND HONESTY – just as it has always been. They are the foundation of past business and for all future business.
Like I tell all of my Grow Your Business Coaching clients, you have to realize that you can’t build close, intimate relationships with every single person you meet, and you don’t have to. However, if you create relationships that revolve around those four elements, you will have relationships that result in loyalty and long-term connections. When anyone hears your name, sees your logo or hears of your product, your brand will shine because there is some substance behind the image or words. They take on an actual meaning. It takes conscious effort every day to work and live a certain way based on the foundation of values you hold dear to your core. That’s your brand and it will shine through quickly and efficiently. It will be in tune with the pace of the world, no matter what speed it’s spinning.
Robby Slaughter, founder of AccelaWork and reoccurring contributor to Inside Indiana Business, discusses this exact topic in his latest piece: Real Professionals Don't Confirm Appointments. It's quite an interesting topic because, as so many of us can agree, confirming appointments often times is the norm. But, Slaughter points out some very obvious reasons why doing so can send the wrong message and, perhaps to some extent, hurt a working relationship.
Below are five reasons why confirming appointments can actually have an adverse effect rather than a positive one on the meeting in question.
One possible reason you are checking in is because you are nervous they won’t be there. You know they have value to provide and you’re concerned they will skip out.
I don't know about you, but the last message I want to send out is that I'm afraid I'm not important enough. It's essential to be aware of this fact as it can make or break what you've set out to accomplish with the meeting.
This isn't what you want to relay to another person who you consider a peer or a mentor. And even if you are technically more important, humility is still a virtue. Don't tell other people your time is more valuable than theirs. If you confirm an appointment, your confirmation might construed as checking to make sure you aren’t wasting time going to an appointment only to get blown off.
Arrogance (or giving off the false impression of it) can be a very dangerous trait to have in business. Besides the fact that it can turn people off and make them not want to do business with you, it can also come back to haunt you someday. The old adage, "never burn bridges", can be applied to more than just leaving a job. If you give off the impression of self-importance, one day the same individual (who was on the receiving end of your attitude), may end up being at a higher advantage than you. What will happen then? I would suspect nothing positive.
Maybe you're saying "I can't remember, are we meeting today?" or "I bet you've forgotten about us getting together." Either way, you’re insulting someone’s professionalism. If you can’t manage your own calendar, you shouldn’t be setting appointments. And if someone can’t manage theirs, you’ll find out when they no show, no call, and have no story.
Thanks to the advent of modern technology, we can now reach people almost anywhere at any time. A quick reminder text a few hours before you’re supposed to get together presents an easy opportunity to cancel.
If the meeting is super important, don't take the chance of reminding someone! Particularly if you plan to send a reminder via email or text. After all, as has been discussed previously on The Methodology Blog, utilizing technology, where we don't have to actually discuss sensitive issues face-to-face, makes it easier to relay bad news.
If you nudge someone who has forgotten about your upcoming meeting, that might inspire them to prepare. While it’s good to be ready, it’s not good to have to be reminded to be ready. You want people to treat you the way they treat you without prompting. Otherwise, you’re not meeting the real person.
To many of us, it may seem foreign to NOT confirm appointments. We are of a day and age where communication is so easy and immediate that a simple text or email can seem perfectly harmless. But, as you can see above, Slaughter's warnings have true consequences that make complete and utter sense. So, next time try as best you can to resist the urge to send a reminder. You'll thank us for it.
Whatever your current practice is, gratitude is a habit we should be practicing on a daily basis. Embracing gratefulness means we're making a lifestyle and mindset choice to acknowledge everything we have received as well as any future opportunities to come. Practicing daily gratitude can drastically change your life and business. Take a look at these 3 reasons why you need to express daily gratitude in your business!
1. Gratitude Opens Your Mind To Solutions
When business owners simply concentrate on the obstacles in their business, they tend to become complainers and exude negativity. Let’s face it, no one wants to be around whiners. As a coach, I’ve noticed when you practice gratitude, your thought process changes from being a “Debbie Downer” to a “Positive Patty,” who exudes optimism and confidence. You stop being a passive participant in your business. You no longer think of your problems as problems. Instead, they become opportunities for solutions and growth.
What You Need To Do: Keep a daily gratitude journal. Be cognizant of the words you choose and change them from those of negativity to optimism. Be grateful for the solutions and opportunities you receive.
“GRATITUDE AND ATTITUDE ARE NOT CHALLENGES; THEY ARE CHOICES.” – ROBERT BRAATHE
2. Gratitude Builds Positive Client Relationships
Your customers are your most important assets. Without customers, where would your business be? Likely, not in business for very long. Therefore, building positive customer relationships is essential for any company to thrive! The first step is to make your customers feel valued. When you express your gratitude for their business, your customers will begin to trust you, which can then lead to customer loyalty.
What You Need To Do: Say thank you in person, on the phone, and in writing. When you write a handwritten note, it shows you’ve taken the time to really think about your relationship with the customer and what it means to you.
“ALTHOUGH THANKS IS A RATHER SIMPLE ONE-SYLLABLE WORD THAT TOO OFTEN IS USED WITHOUT TRUE FEELING, WHEN USED WITH SINCERITY, NO COLLECTION OF WORDS CAN BE MORE MEANINGFUL OR EXPRESSIVE.” – JOHN WOODEN.
3. Gratitude Brings More Business Opportunities
When you thank customers for their business, you’re treating them with respect. Respect leads to the possibility of cultivating reciprocal generosity toward your business. Also, when customers feel respected, they’re more likely to refer your business to others, which can lead to new sales. Being thankful opens doors to abundance.
What You Need To Do: Continually thank your customers for their business and any referrals they may give you. Offer your customers a token of your gratitude, like free merchandise or services, a gift, or take them to lunch. Believe abundance will come to you and your business.
“GRATITUDE CAN TRANSFORM COMMON DAYS INTO THANKSGIVING, TURN ROUTINE JOBS INTO JOY, AND CHANGE ORDINARY OPPORTUNITIES INTO BLESSINGS.” – WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD
As a coach and mastermind facilitator in “Intentional Living,” I can tell you that being intentional through gratitude is not easy to do at first, but if you stick with it, it will become easier over time. Plan on just giving it a try for month. What have you got to lose? Eventually, an attitude of gratitude will become second nature, and you’ll start to see the positive difference it can make in your business.
It should be no surprise that we're interested in telework here at AccelaWork, considering we've covered just about every aspect imaginable on this topic. We featured a guest post explaining why you should always work as if you are remote. We've talked about telecommuting and employment law. I even wrote about how much I love not hearing from our remote workers, and one of our remote workers wrote about how much she appreciated it!
We're also really interested in happiness at work. And we've covered the relationship between morale and productivity, how much your commute is affecting your job satisfaction, and even why you should be wary of forced fun. That's why this infographic---provided by our friends at TimeDoctor---is a big deal to us. Take a look, and keep scrolling to hear our opinions:
Let's take a look at these findings bit by bit.
The first big number on the graphic is the claim that "91% of remote workers assert that they get more done outside of the office." Don't read too much into this. After all, it's a survey of 500 people who work remotely. You have to think that most of them would prefer their current arrangement, so they are going to say that they are more productive out of the office.
But at the same time, there's tremendous power in not having to go into work. You save the time of the commute, the cost of professional clothes, and you avoid the interruption factory that is the modern office. For lots of people and lots of reasons, working remotely just makes sense.
The next section of the infographic says of those surveyed, 41% say the reason they work remotely is they "enjoy the freedom of choosing when and where to work" and another 28% claim "it accommodates their family needs." This sounds an awful lot like these workers feel respected.
Of course, that highlights a bigger question. Who wouldn't prefer to have more freedom and options?
The next section is a bit harder to interpret. It lists five different styles of working hours and shows that the range of happiness on a 1 to 10 scale ranges from 7.67 to 8.49. You can learn more about this in the original report (PDF) provided by a company called TINYpulse. They ask and argue:
Another factor that impacts workplace happiness is a remote worker’s schedule. Are they working the same hours as their office counterparts, just from their couch? Or do they work nights or have to be on call?The happiest employees, it turns out, are those who typically work every day of the week.
The data is even tighter for pay ranges, where the numbers range between 7.62 and 8.36. For time zone shifts relative to other employees, the happiness figures range from only 7.69 to 8.33. Remote workers are pretty happy overall, and when they work, when others work whom they have to communicate with, and even how much they make is only a small factor.
According to the survey, about one in five remote workers want to talk to their direct supervisor multiple times per day. This is more consistent with what you do in an office environment. But two thirds would rather check in at most once a day and at least once a week.
Interestingly, the original survey also includes a question not about preferences, but reality. The numbers on actual contact with direct supervisors are almost exactly the same as what remote workers say they want. In that regard, things are likely going really well.
The final bit of data shows that while telecommuters are generally happier and feel more valuable as employees, they feel less connected to colleagues. This is really no surprise. If you last as a remote worker, you must be producing results. There's no "looking busy." But at the same time, it's harder to feel like you're part of the team. If that's important in your organization, you have to work even harder to keep telecommuters connected.
Thanks to TimeDoctor and TINYpulse for the graphic and the research!
Can we define customer service in one definition? According to CSM, the magazine for Customer Service Managers & Professionals, the answer is "no." The reason? Perhaps it's because the philosophy behind it is viewed in such varying degrees. On their website however, CSM provides several different definitions of the concept:
“Customer service is the ability to provide a service or product in the way that it has been promised”“Customer service is an organization’s ability to supply their customers’ wants and needs”
“Customer Service is a phrase that is used to describe the process of taking care of our customers in a positive manner”
“Customer Service is the commitment to providing value added services to external and internal customers, including attitude knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner”
“Customer service is a proactive attitude that can be summed up as: I care and I can do.”
Whether you agree with the different definitions provided above, what can be acknowledged is that excellent customer service is extremely valuable both to companies and their consumers. And on the flip side, poor or non-existent customer service can have lasting and damaging effects on companies.
There's no doubt we all have stories of customer service--the good, the bad and the ugly. I, for one, have a recent example of why great problem management and damage control is an incredibly important part in any business.
Recently, a contractor discovered mold hidden behind a wall in our basement. Naturally, I became hysterical. Having four kids, two of which are asthmatic, I couldn't stop worrying about the effects it could be having on our well-being. All I could focus on was getting the problem fixed immediately. So, out of sheer panic, I went against my better judgement. I didn't research much. I didn't get multiple quotes. I called the first company I came across, told them my problem and set up an appointment to have them tend to my house. Given reassurances over the phone and a detailed description of the process utilized to safely mitigate mold, I was comforted and relieved of the worry. Unfortunately, my relief was short-lived.
The service technician did not follow through on the described protocol. When asked, his response is that I spoke to a salesmen, not the person who performs the service. In other words, I was simply being "sold" to rather than guaranteed. I was also very unsettled by the technician's lack of knowledge and proposed resolution to our home's mold. He sprayed a disinfectant on the area in question and charged us an astronomical fee for doing so.
As soon as he left, I knew 2 things:
Immediately I called the company. Despite my best efforts at discussing my concerns with the company's GM, I was still highly dissatisfied. I demanded a field manager reinspect my home to confirm the mold was mitigated. In the meantime, I was building my case against the company--writing down notes about my experience, gathering paperwork, speaking to my attorney. I had no doubt we were dealing with a bait and switch situation and was prepared to report their business practices to the Better Business Bureau.
And, just as expected, within thirty seconds of re-inspection, the field manager admitted the mold had not been cleaned up to any extent. We still had a major problem. To rectify the situation he said he'd do the job properly, but to me it was too late. I told him we simply wanted a full refund.
SPOILER ALERT : Here is where good customer service is invaluable.
I was fully expecting the field manager to initially deny my request. I figured he would try to sell me more on what he can do. Instead, he simply nodded his head and told me he understood. He apologized profusely for the problems, explained exactly what he would have done had he been the technician on the job and simply validated our complaint. He even went as far as to close off the space surrounding the mold with plastic so that the air quality would improve until we could get another company to come in to mitigate it. He cooperated in every way possible and before leaving our home, asked me if I could give him feedback on the original technician so he could go back and address the problem so it never happens again.
Honestly, I can't come up with even one more thing he could have done to provide better customer service. He did exactly what we needed him to do: our complaint was validated, our money returned and our voices heard. We have decided not to follow through with a long string of complaints and reports specifically because of the field manager. His professionalism convinced us that what occurred was atypical and his customer service reassured us he would not stand for it to occur again. In fact, when the opportunity arises we will be writing a letter acknowledging him for the way in which he conducted and rectified our situation. We feel its important to make his company aware of how invaluable he is to their business.
When it comes to magical customer service, consider the advice of AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter:
What’s really important to understand is the impact of your customer service—good or bad. A happy customer will tell a few of their friends about your business. An unhappy customer will tell a dozen people, plus countless strangers on social media. That means you must always be ready to answer a question, address a concern, or simply listen to a complaint.
If you haven't had the chance to read the last post, you can find Transforming Your Life: Part One here. Beliefs are accumulated throughout life from what we have been told, have learned, and what we have experienced. Our beliefs are very often tinged with emotions, which are very strong drivers of behavior: fear, love, anger, desire. Our beliefs generally fall into one of three categories:
Some of these beliefs can be backed up scientifically, some cannot. But the thing is that it doesn’t matter, because if we believe them to be true, we will act as if they are true. In my opinion, our beliefs fall into one of three categories: correct, incorrect or debatable. Please note that these terms do not imply any judgment – good or bad, positive or negative.
Correct beliefs generally produce positive results and the inverse is that incorrect beliefs produce results we don’t want. With that in mind, the best way to change outcomes that you do not want is to change the belief that drives that outcome. When you change a belief, your behavior will change instantly to reflect your belief. Negative outcomes produce the stress and emotional pain we feel. Negative results produce relationship disruptions and employment disappointments we experience. While we can consciously change behaviors to get different results, in order to make long-lasting change that doesn’t produce those bad experiences, changing the root belief that drives the behavior is the way to go.
Why Do We Latch Onto Beliefs?
Let's take the story by Hyrum W. Smith from the last post and use it as an example. Smith says that all of our beliefs and behaviors are designed to meet basic needs that are common to us all; needs such as the need to live (survival), the need to love and be loved (relationship), the need to feel important (have value), and the need for variety. If we are not meeting those needs, we will feel pain in some way or another.
John’s reaction to the dog was meeting his need for survival; Susan’s was fulfilling her need to love and be loved. While our beliefs are based on meeting our needs, we don’t always adopt a correct belief to meet a need because we misinterpret events, believe something we have been told, or have had a bad experience. The only way to tell if a belief is correct or incorrect for us is to pay attention to the results and determine if the results of a behavior are what we do or don’t want and that takes time.
What could appear to meet your needs and make you happy once may not stand the test of time. For example, the use and abuse of alcohol. If you believe that having a beer or glass of wine relaxes you and makes you more social, you may try that a few times. But what works in a one-time situation takes on a whole different dimension when repeated over time. Smith sums it up concisely:
"You can choose to believe whatever you wish; just remember that your beliefs drive your behavior. A correct belief will lead to good results – results that are positive and beneficial to you…"
An incorrect belief will lead to bad results – results that are negative or damaging to you. It will not meet your needs over time. It is as simple as that. Adjusting your beliefs is the only true way to change behavior that will get you the results you want in your business and in your life!
Step one for being more efficient is to seek inspiration. The idea for this post comes from a piece by our friends at SpinWeb, 5 Examples of Projects You Should Streamline. Here's the question(s) they ask:
What are the routine projects that you and your team complete each week, month, quarter? Have you considered the most efficient ways to run them? Would you like to have more time marketing, and less time managing?
The answer to these are: "everything," "yes-but-I'm-busy," and "yes, obviously."
So, how do you streamline projects? Step 2: Checklists. It's the best way to make everything faster, because checklists mean doing what is said instead of thinking about it every time.
Checklists are one of those human inventions that are ridiculously effective and yet consistently undervalued. The benefit of a checklist is that it allows you to focus your brain on doing things that are important and difficult (like solving problems) rather than things that are unimportant and difficult (like remembering details.) That's why checklists are used in places such as:
And of course, lots more. If you do it over and over again, you need a checklist.
There are a million ways to create checklists. You can use fancy software or you can use paper and pencil. But the tool you actually use is always best. So whatever checklist system you put into place, as long as things get checked off lists, you're in good shape.
Once you've got a checklist, everything will start moving more quickly because you won't be second guessing yourself. But there's more involved in streamlining a process. If you want to make things even faster, the next step is dividing the work into sections.
This is how most people do a jigsaw puzzle. They start by finding all the edge pieces and assembling those. Then, they look for recognizable patterns in the image and try to assemble those. And then they fill in the gaps. This is dividing the work into sections.
We do that when we blog here at AccelaWork. I'm writing this post, but someone else will edit it. And someone else will make sure it gets scheduled. That way, no one person has to worry about multiple steps in the process. And even if they did, those steps are separated.
This has a effect that is comparable to checklists. Since you are only focused on part of the process, you don't have to think as much. Less thinking equals less time, which makes the whole process more streamlined.
The last step in streamlining anything is to automate the process. One of the reasons we find difficulty in that is we don't understand the word automation.
That term comes from "automatic" which means "having the capability of starting, operating, moving, etc., independently." That doesn't mean you have to build a robot or write some software. It means you just have to find one.
For example, if there's a way to do some work now and schedule it later, that's automation. If you can save a little time by copying and pasting, or by using some text replacement software, that's automation. If you have an Uber/Lyft driver take you to your next appointment so you can stay on task, that's automation too (even though the driver isn't actually a robot.)
So let's review.
Here you go:
That's it. Make it happen.
If you haven't read part one and part two about transformation, it's best to go back to those posts and read them so you can fully understand what we're jumping into now.
Basically, I want to begin by reminding you that:
In order to identify the beliefs you want to affect your Belief Window and what to adjust or change as incorrect beliefs, we will proceed with the following four steps!
STEP 1. ADMIT.
Yes, it always begins with awareness. You have to admit two things to yourself. You have to admit that there is something (a behavior) that is causing pain, stress, or chaos. Move beyond seeing the pain to seeing what is causing it. Be honest and you will find it. If you are prone to wallowing in your problems, I have to ask how that is working for you. I am hoping you will see the futility of that behavior, pull the plug on the pity party and try something new.
You have to admit – and agree – that you must change YOURSELF before you can experience a real change in your life. We can’t play the blame game or see outside forces as the impetus for our pain or discomfort. As John Maxwell says, “You aren’t a tree – change it!” The big thing to remember here is that until we change ourselves, the pain, discomfort, and problems will NOT go away!
STEP 2. ASK YOURSELF WHY.
You have to ask yourself WHY you are behaving in a way that leads you to the negative outcomes you don’t want. It takes being honest with yourself to find the answer, but until you do, productive change cannot happen. The important thing to know here is that the answer to this “why?” question will always be a belief on your Belief Window. (That’s why it is so important to be honest.) This is not easy. Smith gives a couple of examples that can help you work through this step. The examples helped me and I think they will help you, too.
This step might take some time, and it will definitely take some honest self-examination. But you will immediately know when you find the root belief. Bear in mind that this is a private exercise and that you don’t have to share any of it with anyone else. We will continue with the last steps in our next post. Until then, write down your own "why's" and try to answer them as honestly as you can!
Inside IUPUI, the web magazine for faculty and staff at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, ran an article in honor of the annual holiday "Boss's Day." They featured three sets of reader-submitted stories about managers: some good, some bad, and some ugly.
Most of the pieces in the first section are heartwarming. One notes:
About a week after the surgery, I received a card in the mail. I opened it thinking that it was a get-well card, which it was, but it was also so much more. In it, my boss had included a number of gift cards to all of the fast-food restaurants in my town. He said that this way I didn't have to worry about cooking, and I could just worry about healing and getting better. This was such a touching gesture that really showed what a caring individual he was, and it also made me feel appreciated for all of the effort that I put into my job.
Some of the others that are "good stories" illustrate the nature of office culture perhaps more than they are stories about good bosses. It's a well-known fact that we often spend more time with our colleagues than we do with our friends and family. People joke about having work spouses. The reason this happens is that many workplaces have a stronger emphasis on social dynamics than they do on productivity.
The piece includes some particularly awful examples of bosses behaving badly, such as:
Many bosses operate with a "carrot and stick" approach: reward good behaviors with the "carrot" and punish bad behaviors with the "stick." My old boss simply used the stick. Everyone knew that if she came to your office, you were getting yelled at. On one occasion, a younger new employee had created problems the day before. When the boss entered her office the next morning, the new employee immediately started crying, knowing she was in trouble.
It's amazing that people don't know that screaming at people is not effective in the long run. It's even more astounding that people like this get promoted to management. But it gets worse:
I worked in a dental office that was privately owned. The dentist was very adamant that no one was allowed to take off work unless he was off -- which meant if you were sick, you came to work and wore a mask the whole day.
We know that presenteeism is bad for business. And of course, it's bad for coworkers, vendors, and customers to come into the office when you're not feeling well. How could anyone suggest this?
What's even worse than that? This:
In one of my previous positions at another college, I had an EXTREME micromanager for a boss. He always wanted to know where I was at all times. Anytime he sent me an email to share some information with me, he would then come to my office to ask me if I got his email, and he would then recite the entire email to me, as if I couldn't read!!
There's a real risk that you might be a micromanager and not know it. Hopefully you realize that if you're making sure people got your email and then reading it out loud, you can recognize your behavior is over the line.
There are too many work environments out there that are openly hostile. But don't wait for the next National Boss's Day to address yours. If you're concerned about your workplace culture, please reach out to our consultants today.
At first that scared me a little bit, but then I realized that the state of the nation and the business arena are both suffering from uncertainty. This has people feeling off-center and it doesn’t sound like a productive way to move forward.
After pondering this dilemma for a few days, I’ve decided that it may be time to think about just getting back to basics and down to business. You can read numerous blogs or articles where people are saying, “Do this! Do that! Try this! Go here! Go there!” When I talk with my Mastermind group members and coaching clients, it's that which sometimes makes them feel like they are behind and always playing catch-up with their peers AND competitors. What most small business owners forget is that the basics you have in place have to be strong before anyone can start going after all the bells and whistles.
Yes, it’s nice to have the blogs, podcasts, videos and social media, but if you don’t have a solid service or product, good customer service and delivery, and a consistent relationship-building process, it just won’t matter – because you won’t be able keep the promises you make to customers. So, if you are feeling like a fish on a pier, struggling to breathe, take a step back and take a big breath. It’s time to review where you stand and refine and polish what you have already built. If you spend time on the following three elements of your business, you will find that they benefit you more than any other bells or whistles that can sometimes only serve to distract you!
REVIEW YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
Are your offerings still meeting client needs? Are there some that need to be eliminated or others that need to be added. This should be your No. 1 starting point. After you determine what needs to go, stay, and be developed, take action and do it. But don’t forget that your website and sales materials need to be updated, too. If you have a social media program, include the announcement of changes in your posts. In other words, be sure that everything that touches a customer is up to date and accurate.
REVIEW YOUR OPERATIONS.
Are people getting services fulfilled or products delivered on time and in an exemplary manner? It’s been proven that businesses that “go the extra mile” for clients grow bigger and faster. If there are hiccups in delivery, identify the problems and correct them. Maybe you need some extra quality control, a new hire, or a change in the process. Whatever it is, fix it.
REVIEW YOUR CUSTOMER RETENTION PROCESS.
Do you feel good that your clients feel loved and valued? If not, take time to determine how you can make them feel that way. Do you acknowledge special dates and achievements they make? A birthday card or a note congratulating them on a recent expansion, big client, or presentation will go a long way. Some business owners offer customer appreciation tokens or lunches. Even a stop in to say hello and check in with how they are doing makes a huge difference. Remember, business is about relationships – make sure you are building strong ones.
Get back to basics and make certain the foundation of your business is sound and strong. You will feel strong and confident once you do. Then you can select one bell or whistle to pursue – at your rate and in your own time. There is always going to be enough work and an abundance of customers so it is not a race. You don’t have to put yourself under constant pressure to do more, faster. Instead, do your best to provide the best you can and deliver on time – with a smile and kind word.
You’ve done everything you can to find the perfect candidate — which is why it can be so disappointing when a seemingly ideal hire just isn’t clicking with their new position. Over time, this employee may leave or become disengaged, but either way, the damage is done.
The candidate was perfect on paper and polished during their interviews. What happened, and is there any way to avoid this?
The answer: you probably didn't use assessment tools during the hiring process.
While there are right and wrong ways to use profile assessments, they’re an invaluable hiring tool if you use them correctly and legally. But let’s get one thing out of the way: Notice that we say “assessment” and not “test.” There’s a big difference between a test (which one can pass or fail) and an assessment (which exists to provide information).
A high-quality assessment test with a long history can help you look beyond a candidate’s surface qualities and get a sense of their daily patterns of behavior. This is especially helpful because many applicants know how to put on a good “dog and pony show” for their interview.
Not to mention that when you have a staffing need, everything in your body is working against you! You needed this person “yesterday” and every neuron in your brain is firing off signals urging you to like this person. After all, hiring them would solve your problem.
However, profile assessments should never be your sole decision-maker. Look at them as just another tool to help you create your best possible team.
No matter which tool you use, understand that this is not about judging a candidate’s personality or habits. Instead, you’re gathering additional information to help you decide whether their strengths and weaknesses will allow them to succeed in the role they are applying for.
For example, would you prefer someone more independent or someone who’s more team-oriented? These two qualities are not mutually exclusive, but most of us tend to display traits in one area more than the other
Performing assessments can be time-consuming and costly, depending on how you choose to administer these assessments and whether you’d like an in-depth, expert analysis. In fact, some industries are having every candidate take them.
But for a small business, it's almost certainly best to save your profile assessments until the end of the recruitment process when you’re evaluating your top two or three candidates.
And remember: These results don’t need to determine your decision. This applicant may still be a great fit for a position even if they’re not exactly what you expected. However, with this new knowledge, you’ll be able to manage them more efficiently. In virtually every field, finding the right candidate is about much more than someone’s on-paper licenses and certifications. It's not just what they have on their résumé or what they say in the interview. Every organization has distinct needs and goals, and you owe it to your customers (and the rest of your team) to make sure all new hires are a good fit for the job.
The fastest route to a great working experience is to develop a highly engaged team. And it all starts with the hiring process.
There are qualities that you can’t list on a resume and traits that you can’t demonstrate during a standard interview process. Consider assessment profiles another tool in your hiring arsenal.
The thing about success is that the target is always moving. The goals you set for yourself last year are not the same as the goals you’ve set for yourself this year. And the goals you set for next year, won’t be the same as this year’s.
Why is that? Because you should be continually improving your skills to make yourself better, which should be reflected in your goals for each year. Basketball coach Pat Riley said, “Anytime you stop striving to get better, you’re bound to get worse.” What he means is, it doesn’t matter how good your skills are today, if you don’t continually upgrade your knowledge and skills, you’ll still become obsolete. Almost every career field requires continuously learning and growing because everything eventually becomes outdated as people continue to develop the latest and greatest gadgets or services. Technology will always march on and can truly help to increase your productivity! So, if you don’t want to be passed by in your business, you need to keep your knowledge and skills sharp to compete with the up-and-comers.
“CONTINUOUS LEARNING IS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT FOR SUCCESS IN ANY FIELD.” – BRIAN TRACY
However, if you try to focus on improving too many skills at one time, you may become frustrated with your lack of progress. I see it many times as I coach business people. There are so many things they want to change and improve. Therefore, I suggest you ask yourself: “WHAT ONE SKILL, IF I DEVELOPED AND DID IT IN AN EXCELLENT FASHION, WOULD HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON MY BUSINESS?”
To identify that skill, consider all the skills you currently possess. You may be better in some and weaker in others. You might choose to focus on and improve a strong skill or concentrate on one of your weaker skills. Or, maybe there’s a skill you don’t possess currently, but you would like to have to take your business to the next level. If you need help sorting and prioritizing, Grow Your Business Coaching can help. We are committed to learning and growing, not only for ourselves, but for our clients, friends and everyone we can touch. Once you have identified your skill, you need to develop a continuous learning program to master this skill. Your learning program should include these four steps:
By following these steps, you can acquire the skills you need to make yourself – and your business – more valuable to your customers. The only thing standing in your way is you! If you truly want to see progress and profit, then you have to be sure that you are providing more and better service to your clients. That all starts with skill development and continuous learning. These are your keys to finding the success that you crave for your business!
That's the question raised in part three of the of a report (available with a free registration) from the commercial real estate firm CBRE. It's also what we're covering in our three part series reviewing that study. If you haven't had a chance, go back and read part one on shared workspaces and the sharing economy as well as part two on the culture, connectivity, and costs of these kinds of working arrangements.
The role of commercial landlords has been long established. Companies tend to sign leases of five or seven years or more, with additional fees for common areas. Organizations need to have good credit and a relatively long history to become tenants. Improvements to the space may be financed into the cost of the rent.
But coworking spaces are often completely different. According to the report, more than 1/3 of coworking tenants do not expect to "graduate" into a leased office of their own. Another third are unsure about their future plans. And since many of these agreements are month-to-month or even on a daily or hourly basis, the turnover can be high.
Furthermore, the report lists four perceived weaknesses:
- The limited track record and credit history of shared workplace startups and the memory of economic challenges operators faced in previous market cycles – especially those exposed to the dot-com bust in the early 2000s;
- The non-traditional business terms that these providers negotiate such as below-market rents, revenue sharing and increased tenant improvement allowance, which all transfer more risk to the landlord;
- The potentially negative dynamic created by mixing traditional incumbent corporate tenants with entrepreneurs and small businesses that populate the coworking space;
- The increased demand on building systems and cost of services associated with very dense occupancies and extended hours
These may sound like serious problems, but there are also some innovative ideas listed in the document.
Traditional office space is regular offices that mostly look the same. But to quote the report:
Michael Emory, President of Toronto-based developer Allied Properties REIT, notes that the esteem of “community buildings” is rising versus “corporate buildings,” adding that “more and more, people want diversity and variation in their workplace.” Diversity in a building or campus can also boost the creative potential of tenants.
In this sense, coworking is helping to drive innovation in architecture and interior design. Because a space may have dozens or hundreds of users instead of just one, there is a stronger need to be creative.
Although many coworking tenants will never graduate to a full lease, one proposal is to put coworking space on the first floor. This can "activate the street, make better use of palatial (and often empty) lobbies, give tenants greater flexibility in how they manage peak demand for workspace, and offer spaces and services that smaller tenants may not be able to invest in for themselves."
This increases overall interest and activity in the building, and there's nothing quite like bringing more people into a space to raise its profile. That can lead to traditional tenants, especially if they are doing business with the first-floor coworking individuals as freelancers or vendors, or if they just want the inspiration of their creativity.
The report also tells the story of a collaboration between Workbar and Staples. The concept is to combine the suburban convenience and ample parking of a retail office supply store with the quality shared workspaces provided by an experienced coworking landlord.
Although coworking spaces still comprise a tiny percentage of the overall commercial real estate market, they are growing at more than double digit rates on an annual basis. That means landlords, property managers, architects, and designers should not ignore the trend.
But more importantly, it shows just how rapidly the way work is changing. More and more people are spending less and less time at a cubicle. It's time for all of us to adapt.
If you're just joining us now, you may want to go back and read part one so you won't be confused. To summarize, our first two steps in getting what we want are to admit to yourself that you want something and then to ask yourself why it is that you want that thing. Let's proceed with our final two steps below!
STEP 3. ADOPT AN ALTERNATIVE BELIEF. Now that you know what the root belief that is causing you grief and problems is, Qyou now have the opportunity to do something about it. It might take a little creativity, but you have to create an alternative to that incorrect belief.
This might take a little time – and will take some thought. Once you identify a new belief, test various outcomes you could expect if you actually did take that new belief on.
It may seem an oversimplification, but let’s take an alternative belief in the dog situation described earlier. If your alternative belief became that most dogs are friendly, you would look forward to meeting dogs. In the case that you did meet the random mean dog, it still fits into your belief that MOST dogs are friendly. If that gives you a better result that better meets your needs over time, then you probably have found the belief that you need to include in your Belief Window.
Let me warn you that this is not easy because you are actually trying to change what you believe to be true. But don’t give up, move on to step 4 to see how well this can work for you.
STEP 4. ACT AS IF. You might be asking yourself how you can actually change something that you believe is a truth and replace it with something that you either aren’t sure is true or don’t even think is true. Step back and simply let yourself “act as if” the new belief IS true. You have already identified the problem belief and you know it is not working for you. You have already identified an alternative belief and have determined that the results of a behavior based on that new belief will probably give you the results you want. What do you have to lose? And what do you have to gain?
Scientists have proven that behavior creates neural pathways in our brains. It is by repeating those behaviors over and over that we create “habits” that feel normal. We have the capability to consciously create new behaviors that create new neural pathways to become habits and a new norm. Repeatedly acting “as if” the new belief is true establishes and reinforces new neural pathways.
IT’S ALL UP TO YOU.
Remember that your beliefs drive your behaviors. So when you change your beliefs, you actually change behaviors. So when a behavior doesn’t get you the outcomes that meet your needs, get to the root and change the belief that is the kernel the behavior grows from. The reason I think this is one of the most powerful skills or tools you can have is that once you see the power of it working once, you will see that you really are the captain of your destiny. You are not a victim of stormy waters. And that is one belief that every entrepreneur and small business owner who wants to be successful can use.
Why is it important to apologize? It's not just because your parents told you. Let's back up and understand the five part process where apologies come into play.
This is where you are before there's even the glimmer of a chance to apologize. You're going along doing your thing. You're working with colleagues, or your knocking out tasks for your boss, or you're doing stuff with your friends and family. In order for there to be an opportunity to apologize, there has to be an original situation that is "normal."
The next step is that something has to go wrong. While there are millions of ways to screw things up, there are only two kinds of errors that matter: accidental mistakes and intentional faults.
Why draw a distinction? Because an honest mistake is different than being dishonest. People are imperfect, and sometimes that manifests as carelessness. And sometimes, our imperfection appears as lying. Both are bad, but the latter is usually worse.
Now it's time for the apology. But in order to say "I'm sorry" you must accept responsibility for what happened. That means you admit you did things wrong, and whether you meant to or not.
(Note: An apology should have the words "I'm sorry." Not "I'm sorry that..." or "I'm sorry if..." Those aren't expressions of contrition, those are statements of sadness. Like, "I'm sorry that your goldfish died.")
This is when the other person (or people) thank you for apologizing. Or they at least shrug.
You want to know if your apology was heard and considered to be genuine? Everything will pretty much go back to normal. It might take a little while for people to be fully okay with everything, but for the most part accepting an apology means accepting that everyone wants to return to Phase 1.
While you're in Phase 3, you need to do more than give a frowny face and look pathetic. A tip from the news aggregator and discussion site Reddit explains:
A real, effective apology has three parts: (1) Acknowledge how your action affected the person; (2) say you're sorry; (3) describe what you're going to do to make it right or make sure it doesn't happen again. Don't excuse or explain.
Here are some examples:
Everybody knows the five phase process of normal life → mistake → apology → acceptance → normal life, even if they've never thought about it.
That means you can take control of pretty much any conversation by saying "I'm sorry." Our automatic reaction to those words is to say "That's okay." Some examples of when this works:
These are great stalling tactics to get out something. But don't overuse them! And remember, it's the genuine apologies that make the real difference. After all, don't you know people who never apologized for what they did wrong?
Dominique Rodgers, Monster contributor, wrote an article for Monster.com asking readers to Pick One Of These 7 Ways to Quit Your Job. Now, as a novice in the "quitting your job" realm, I am naturally intrigued by the subject matter of her article. Seven variations for quitting a job? At best, I can only conjure two or three ways of making an exit. If you are nodding your head in agreement, then I suggest you read the article in full. It's definitely enlightening.
In a unique twist, not only does Rodgers discuss the actual way in which departures are presented, she also includes how the effects of such an approach could have on your current and/or future situation. She also points out when and when not to utilize each approach. Bonus: our very own Robby Slaughter, a principal here a AccelaWork, contributed to her piece with some expert advice as well.
To keep this post from becoming a novel, I've narrowed down the list. Check out three of the seven ways to quit your job below:
What HBR says it is: You meet with your manager to explain why you’re leaving, and you give them a standard notice period.What it might sound like coming out of your mouth: “I’ve accepted a position with XYZ. It’s a step up for me, and I’m looking forward to a new challenge. My final day will be two weeks from now.”
When you should use it: “This should be your default approach,” says Robby Slaughter, principal consultant and workplace productivity expert with AccelaWork in Indianapolis. “It’s respectful, professional and provides room for the company to make the best choices to prepare for your departure. Use it when relationships are generally positive and when you have respect for your job.”
When you should not use it: Avoid this method if your time at the company was filled with negative experiences or if you fear retribution from your supervisors. (If that’s the case, see further down this list.)
What HBR says it is: You leave your manager a note or send them an email, or you tell HR or colleagues and let the message filter back to your manager. What it might sound like coming out of your mouth: Silence. (That’s the point.)When you should use it: Slaughter recommends this approach if your manager is unavailable or unresponsive. “You might have a boss who is on an extended sick leave, or who travels all the time and never responds to your calls,” he says.
When you should not use it: Don’t use this method just to avoid an awkward conversation. If you’re worried your supervisor will behave inappropriately, you can always tell HR first and ask for someone from that department to be present when you inform your manager, Slaughter says.
What HBR says it is: You haven’t planned or given notice, but instead just quit in a hurry and left your company to worry about filling your spot.What it might sound like coming out of your mouth: Nothing. You leave one day and never look back.
When you should use it: If your employer has a history of unethical behavior or has created a truly toxic or unsafe work environment, ghosting is acceptable, Borysenko says.
When you should not use it: If you’re on good terms with your employer and want to maintain that after you leave. Ghosting will definitely kill that. Also, if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you don’t want to leave on a whim. “Plan for it. Build security. Set yourself up with resources to live off of while you’re finding your next job,” Borysenko says.
Whether you are finding yourself ready to leave a job or not, understanding the techniques that come with quitting is always beneficial. With all hopes, you're in a career that you love, in a satisfying work environment and surrounded by colleagues you respect and appreciate. In a perfect world this would be the case for everyone. But, since we don't exist in a world with such guarantees, the next best thing is to be properly prepared for what comes next in our careers.
However, in my business and coaching experience, I can tell you that success is possible for everyone, from seasoned entrepreneurs and business people to students just starting out.
The problem with most people isn’t that they can’t achieve success; the real issue is they misunderstand what success is in the first place. I bet if I asked 100 people to tell me what it means to be a successful person, I would get a variety of answers – wealth, intelligence, athletic ability, business expertise, imagination. These answers are often based on someone that the individual believes is a successful person. However, this belief often traps them into thinking they must be like that person to be a success. In fact, we end up finding ourselves consumed by other people's success stories and end up trying to somehow replicate that. But, guess what? You can’t be like that person. You can only be you. So, you’re following the wrong picture of success. Just because someone took one path and found happiness doesn't mean that such a path with hold the same outcome for you. To understand what I mean by this, let’s look at what some of the common misconceptions of success are.
SUCCESS MISCONCEPTION 1: WEALTH
The accumulation of money is THE MOST COMMON misinterpretation of success. Many people assume when they make a lot of money, they’ll be successful. But, money doesn’t necessarily bring success or contentment. Sometimes, money can actually lead to other problems like jealousy, mistrust, materialism, and/or addiction. So, don’t measure your self-worth based upon your bank account.
SUCCESS MISCONCEPTION 2: A SPECIAL FEELING
Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ll know I’m successful when I’m happy”? Well, success and happiness aren’t synonymous. You don’t have to be successful to be happy. Happiness is an emotion; whereas, success is not.
SUCCESS MISCONCEPTION 3: SPECIFIC POSSESSIONS
Do you believe you’ll be successful when you own an expensive home, a fancy car, or designer goods? Well, there are plenty of people out there who already own these items and they’re far from a success. In fact, they’re in debt to the hilt because of these possessions.
SUCCESS MISCONCEPTION 4: POWER
Next to wealth, power is another big myth about success. Power may give you the appearance of success, but power is only temporary. Just ask any dictator or world leader.
SUCCESS MISCONCEPTION 5: ACHIEVEMENT
If you believe you’ll only be a success when you accomplish a certain goal or attain a certain position, you’ll soon come to realize once you reach that goal, there’s always something more to achieve. Success is a journey, one that is constantly changing and evolving. It’s not a specific destination.
So what is success? How can we define it at all? In his book, Your Road Map for Success, John Maxwell says:
“Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
I like this definition of success because it's something that anyone at any stage in life can really understand. Your capacity for growth is ongoing and the opportunities to help others is never-ending. Also, you can be a success starting today, so why not start right now?
The inspiration for this discussion comes from a piece from FastCompany on an architectural change at the campus of a well-known company. They describe the problem:
When the Philips Lighting headquarters was originally built in the 1950s, it was made up of a number of separate buildings, surrounding a large outdoor courtyard. At some point, the company decided to consolidate these buildings into one mega-structure by covering the courtyard with an enormous, 115,000 square foot ceiling, which let in sunlight through a scattering of skylights. But for a lighting company like Philips, the result was dreary—and it was an acoustic nightmare.
The solution? A enormous array consisting of 1,500 separate panels, overlaying one another like the canopy of a forest. The system is electronically controlled and moves gently according to programmed patterns. (To see some great photos, to head over ArchDaily.)
This isn't the first time we've covered the impact of lighting on productivity and happiness. Nor is it the first time we've talked about the importance of the office environment in general. But in this case, there is one twist the story that is entirely new.
Before Philips started down this road in mid-2012, their headquarters didn't utilize the latest and greatest of their own technology. How could that possibly be? Surely the company knew the value of their lighting systems to employee productivity and happiness. They obviously were touting these benefits in their marketing material and on their sales calls. What happened?
The problems they had are incredibly common. Here are three possible explanations.
If you are employed in making shoes for the local village and have plenty of work to do, it's possible you'll never find the time to make shoes for your own kids. This is the "cobblers children syndrome."
In an article for Psychology Today, Dr. Ben Dattner explains:
In many organizations I have encountered during my consulting career, people have complained about "Cobbler's Children Syndrome". Like the proverbial children of the shoemaker who go without shoes, I have consulted to technology companies that have outdated computer systems, marketing firms that don't market themselves in any way, and consulting firms that fail to put into practice for themselves a single theory or model upon which they have built their businesses.
Which of course, is incredibly foolish. But it happens everywhere.
Another reason that a lighting company wouldn't have good lighting in their office is another cognitive phenomenon:
Status Quo Bias "tells" you to keep the current state of affairs for two reasons:
- You won't have to make a decision.
- You can be sure there won't be any consequences of a bad decision.
By sticking with the current state of affairs, you are in fact making a decision. But, because it's a default of deciding nothing, you don't feel as though you are. As for avoiding the consequences of a bad decision, that could be a fair point. However, you might also be losing out on some benefits. Doing nothing might be a good option, but it's not always the safest or best course of action.
Organizations (or individuals) that do things the way they've always been done may feel like if it's not broken, don't fix it! But something which isn't broken isn't necessarily the best.
A classic piece from the computer magazine InfoWorld praises the practice of dogfooding
Want to put me to sleep? Show me a story about how company X used product Y to solve problem Z. Tales from early adopters often yield vicarious thrills for technologists at more conservative companies, but they never did anything for me. The photo of the confident-looking executive, standing in some hallway, is like an icon inspiring me to turn the page.There is, however, one approach to marketing that grabs me every time. When a vendor with a major online presence makes a bet on its own technology, I pay attention. In industry parlance, this is called eating your own dog food. It is strikingly effective when done in an honest and transparent way.
Companies need to "eat their own dogfood" wherever possible. And they should be aware of the status quo bias, as well as the cobblers children syndrome. These things matter. They delay progress and impede customer service. Think bigger, and be willing to make changes!
“The Three R’s” is a little ditty that we all run in our emotions from time to time. Some of us run the program almost constantly thinking we’re winning the race of growth when in truth just the opposite is happening. The end result of running the “The Three R’s” can do serious damage to you and your business. “The Three R’s” is just this, First there is Resentment, then Resistance and finally Revenge. The hard truth is when you’re running the “The Three R’s” which is an emotional program, you feel good. You feel like you’re justified and you feel like you’re winning. The “The Three R’s” is usually triggered to run when you feel you’ve been wronged in some way.
This emotional energy follows the laws of the universe. Energy can’t be created or destroyed if it’s snuffed out in one place it shows up in another. Energy gets expressed and in this case it shows up either in our physical body or in our results. As the author and speaker, Les Brown says, “Most people aren’t overweight because of what they’re eating. They’re over weight because of what’s eating them.” One of the areas that is, I think, most susceptible to running a “The Three R’s” is in pricing of your services. In your heart of hearts you want to make sure you’re affordable and at the same time you must generate enough income to make a living. If you charge too little for your services, at some point you will most likely begin to feel you’re providing more value than you’re being paid for from your client. Your client forgets “the deal” you made them in the beginning of your agreement.
When you run “The Three R’s” you begin to resent your client and as “The Three R’s” plays out, as it always does, you begin to cut back on your efforts, services, or deliverables. As this happens, your client begins to notice and feels slighted. You can see how this begins to spin out into a “not good” situation. When your “Three R’s” is running it is a clear indicator that you have assigned the responsibility of the process and repercussions of your thoughts, your actions and thereby your results to something other than yourself. When the “The Three R’s” is running in you it’s as if your creed is “whose the matter with me today.” As my friend and mentor, Paul Martinelli says, “If other people can make you sad, glad or mad… you’ve been had.”
Now that you’ve been introduced to “The Three R’s” let’s talk a little about another helpful concept called Relationship Balancing. Relationships are a powerful factor in contributing to an individual’s success. We all want to know the secrets of building healthy workplace relationships. Yet so many become involved in negative situations at the workplace which drain their energy, enthusiasm and success. Relationship balancing shows how to turn all this around.
Relationship Balancing: What Is It?
Relationship Balancing is the natural flow of energy, support and enthusiasm that develops between individuals who are interacting positively. When this flow is balanced individuals become able to fully tap their potential, inner resources become available and work proceeds optimally. When this flow is blocked an energy drain occurs, resentment develops and success is impeded on many levels.
Keep an eye out for part two where we will discuss your personal relationship balancing quotient!
For a team to work together well, they must trust each other. So if trust is such a big foundation for a productive workplace, why do people lie to their colleagues? Some may want to fit in and others may tell white lies to make their colleagues feel better. These lies aren't a huge deal, but when it comes to telling big lies to manipulate coworkers and undermine your team, that's an issue. Certain personalities are more prone to lying and telling certain types of lies. Creative people are better at rationalizing dishonesty and extroverts have been found to lie more than introverts. Women usually tell more kindhearted lies, while men tell more self-serving lies.
What's more, a study in Nature Neuroscience found that the more you lie, the easier it gets because brain becomes desensitized to lying and you feel less guilt. This makes it harder to spot compulsive liars. You may think you're familiar with typical signs of lying. Perhaps you picture someone that's sweaty, fidgety, and avoids eye contact. But these signs are actually misnomers. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that most courtroom liars actually made eye contact, and psychologists have noted that liars often tend to appear stiff likely because they are trying not to display unusual gestures. Though body language is a factor in communication, it's also essential to examine verbal cues, as liars often find ways to modify their speech to remove themselves from a lie and emphasize their innocence. Furthermore, although researchers have found trends in how liars present themselves, everyone lies differently. In order to tell if mannerisms are out of the ordinary, you should have a general understanding of how that particular person usually acts. Do they typically fidget a lot, or is that something they do when they're nervous? Do they talk in an animated fashion or are they more monotone? Knowing these things will help you determine when someone is acting different than normal. To help you recognize signs of lying, GetVoIP put together this visual based on scientific research and data from experienced psychologists. It also includes tips on how you can reduce lying:
Some key takeaways:
Lying requires effort. It's always easier to tell the truth. So people who are putting effort into their speech patterns are more likely to be dishonest.
Lying breaks patterns. If people behave in ways they don't usually behave, that's a sign they might be breaking the pattern of truth.
Lying is natural. That's right! We have to lie about surprise parties, and to our kids about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. But it's also commonplace to keep things under wraps to protect ourselves. Dishonesty isn't always a dealbreaker, but it's virtually always worth rooting out and bringing into the open.
Because communication and trust play such an important role in fostering a productive environment, it's important to weed out manipulative coworkers. Paying attention to body language and verbal cues can help. Next time you're in an environment where the truth might not be what you're hearing (or speaking), pay attention to these tips. And remember: a workplace where there is trust is one where there is productivity and satisfaction.
Reuben Yonatan is the founder of GetVoIP, a leading VoIP provider comparison resource. As an entrepreneur and tech enthusiast, Reuben's expertise is in helping small to mid-size business owners build, maintain, and scale their communication infrastructure.
Unfortunately, a lot of people aren’t living up to their full potential. According to John Maxwell, “To reach your potential you must grow. And to grow, you must be highly intentional about it.” Sadly, many people aren’t intentional when it comes to taking the necessary steps toward growth. Recently, I facilitated a mastermind based on John Maxwell’s book, 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. One of the things the participants learned is, we often harbor one or more mistaken beliefs that create a “growth gap” in our ability to grow and reach our potential. Below are three common misconceptions that I believe may be keeping you from being intentional about your growth.
ASSUMPTION AND KNOWLEDGE GAPS
As a child, our bodies grow automatically. Therefore, people assume the growth they need will happen naturally, too. But personal and professional growth doesn’t just automatically happen. That’s not how it works. You won't grow in the areas that you need to grow in unless you are intentional about it. You must make and stick to a plan to improve yourself! Decide how you want to grow because that is entirely up to you. Only you can choose what you’ll learn. Seek out opportunities to achieve your growth objectives. Follow through with your plan.
“A time comes when you need to stop waiting for the man you want to become and start being the man you want to be.” – Bruce Springsteen
TIMING GAP
How many times do you hear yourself say, “It’s not the right time to begin.”? Unfortunately, a lot of us are guilty of procrastinating. We don’t act on things as quickly as we should – and that includes our growth. We wait … and wait … and wait … for the right time to appear. But the Law of Diminishing Intent says, “The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it.” Therefore, you need to start making the effort to grow right now. Even if that means you're only able to take small steps toward your growth, you're still moving forward.
“Life lived for tomorrow will always be a day away from being realized.” – Leo Buscaglia
INSPIRATION GAP
When I coach people toward achieving their goals, and they haven’t been doing the tasks they know they need to do, one of the biggest excuses I hear people say – or sometimes not say – is, “I don’t feel like doing it.” Granted, we all have days where we don’t feel like doing something. But motivation is not going to strike you like a lightning bolt from the sky. No one but you can provide the motivation necessary to get going. Like the Nike company's slogan has said for years: JUST DO IT! Once you start doing whatever it is, the motivation will come, making it easier for you to continue. One trick I recommend people do is, every morning before you begin your day, say, out loud, 50 times: “Just Do It! Just Do It! Just Do It!” etc. That should give you the motivation you need to get up and at it.
If you need help creating your growth plan or just overcoming your assumptions toward your growth, contact me. I can help you work through these issues so you can become the person you were created to be. Remember that you can't reach your potential unless you make it your number one priority!
On the one hand it might seem like getting out of the office would be automatically better than going in every day. We save the time and stress of the commute, and we don't have to deal with coworkers as directly.
But on the other hand, there are resources and patterns at the workplace that help us to be good at our jobs. Here are six tips for how you can achieve the same productivity at your home office without having to call your boss all the time to remind him you're working.
Even though you're at home, the nature of work nature contains certain static routines: printing, filing of papers, etc. If you go into the office, it may be a little easier to keep your space clean since others see it. Instead, try reducing how much you print and convert your magazine subscriptions to electronic versions. Cutting down on paper will keep your area tidy and help you stay on task.
If you're working from home, you've got a unique opportunity to select furnishings that meet your personal tastes. But it's also a chance to try out ergonomic or space-saving furniture that would never fly in the office. Plus, you may be able to convince your employer to pitch in thanks to the savings of having you work from home.
It may seem obvious, but not everyone knows that lighting poses a direct impact on your physical and emotional well-being. A home office may be in a corner of your house that doesn't have the best possible mix of light. Make sure you can adjust for the seasons as well as the type of work. And don't forget to take breaks and go outside!
If you're among colleagues, it's a little easier to get a sense of what is happening each day and what you should be working on. But if you're home alone, you need your own daily plan. This may be a sequence of activities or a checklist that you always try and accomplish. It's easier to stay motivated if you have a regular pattern.
We all love our families, but spouses, children, and other relatives can be a tremendous challenge when working from home. Plus, the radio, TV, and other technology can pull you away. Set clear boundaries about your workspace and your working hours. And, try not to have any distractions that you wouldn't be willing to have if you went into work.
If you're working from a home office you're more likely to miss out on training opportunities, both formal and informal. That means you need to set aside time and resources for self-development. That could be as simple as watching TED videos while you eat lunch, or signing up for webinars or virtual coaching services. To become a better remote employee, take control of your own remote career.
Hopefully you're reading this from your home office. Or your work office. Or anywhere you prefer. Because what matters most is being somewhere that's comfortable but allows you to be as engaged as you want to be.
Sreejith Mullappilly has an MBA and is an aspiring content writer for OfficeRock.com. A square peg in a round hole, he likes to blog about cinema and sports in his free time. You can find him venting about his favorite films and teams across the Internet.
There's tons to say about this topic, but we'll save our commentary until after you've looked at their gigantic image. Scroll through and then see our thoughts below.
Let's review the highlights:
None of this is all that surprising. We've talked about the link between health and productivity before. We've explained why stress and health problems are costing a trillion dollars a year. And you already knew that you should eat less fast food, that smoking is not good for you, and that you shouldn't sit so much.
So why are we bringing this up? Because...
You know why there's a vending machine at your office? It's not because these usually contain great healthy choices. Rather, it's because this is a way employers can provide access to some calories with little to no direct cost. And of course, the vending machine prevents people from having to leave the office to get a bite to eat.
That's the same reason we have desks and cubicles. Employers aren't trying to make this a healthy place to live and work. They give people a place to sit so they can be there longer, and they crowd them into less real estate because that saves money.
And what about the office itself? Is a big building full of people where you have to commute to daily really something which is as healthy as possible? Driving to and from the office requires us to deal with the stress of traffic and the discomfort of sitting in the cramped space of our automobile. That, plus the general frustration that can occur when you're in a crowded room with noises and distractions. How is this healthy?
Why do people make the awful mistake of having lunch at their desks? It's because they are expected to be always available and because there isn't enough time for them to take a real break and still finish by the end of the day.
What if instead, we trusted employees to get their work done and gave them the freedom to do that work whenever they wanted and wherever they wanted? That way, they wouldn't be slamming energy drinks or racing through traffic to get to the office by 8:00am.
Furthermore, trusting employees means we don't need to worry about where they are and how to reach them at every moment of the day. If someone does need to take a nap, go for a walk, or enjoy a leisurely healthy meal, they can do that.
And that doesn't mean that we can't eat together as a team sometimes. After all, it may make sense to enjoy a meal together when working on an important project or when developing our working relationships.
So remember: health does improve productivity. But you can't force people to be healthy. Instead, you can empower them to have the freedom and trust to be able to make healthy choices, rather than limiting them so that unhealthy choices are the most available options.
Think about the next time you're eating a bag of buttered popcorn for lunch or making that fourth cup of coffee. Healthy choices are likely as much about workplace culture as they are about individual decisions.
You probably are very aware that cost and value are different. In fact, when examined closely they may not even be related. Perceived value and true value for any item is also different from person to person. I find it interesting to reflect on what I value, and why. Depending on the item I must consider usefulness, durability, and enjoyment. How would you compare the value of a prime rib-eye steak versus a brand new Ford F-150 truck? A rib-eye may cost you $15 per pound in a grocery store. A new Ford F-150 you can buy for about $5 per pound. Isn’t that amazing? A rib-eye you can enjoy for one meal. The truck will provide value for many years.
What is interesting to me is not comparing value of things, but understanding what I value, especially in people. My values include honesty, authenticity, and compassion. I value people that are able to put others first. We may share values, but I am sure our list of values would also be unique. What do you value? How would you differentiate between what you value, and what you appreciate. I appreciate people that are candid, but I value compassion. I appreciate people willing to voice their opinion, but I value peaceful solutions. I appreciate people willing to challenge my ideas, but I value debate, problem solving, and collaboration. If you create a list, challenge yourself to look at it as you make decisions throughout your day. I find that it helps me stay aligned with who I want to be.
Now that you've given thought about your values, you can use them going forward in your business or career. If you're looking to change the way things are going in either of those aspects, you need to start implementing some change. You need to be able to follow through in order to get what you want. A recent post by Jack Klemeyer sheds some light on this topic as well. Part one of his post about getting what you want tells us some interesting things about our beliefs:
Any belief that drives behavior that does not meet your basic needs over time is an incorrect belief.
No right or wrong, no good or bad – just correct and incorrect. Correct beliefs provide you with the results that are good and benefit you; incorrect beliefs result in outcomes that you do not want and are not beneficial to you or your life.
Part two of his post really drives this point home:
Remember that your beliefs drive your behaviors. So when you change your beliefs, you actually change behaviors. So when a behavior doesn’t get you the outcomes that meet your needs, get to the root and change the belief that is the kernel the behavior grows from. The reason I think this is one of the most powerful skills or tools you can have is that once you see the power of it working once, you will see that you really are the captain of your destiny. You are not a victim of stormy waters. And that is one belief that every entrepreneur and small business owner who wants to be successful can use.
Your values are important and should be at the forefront of your mind on a daily basis. Allow people to challenge your thoughts and views, it will help you grow as a person which will show in your productivity at work as well.
Adam Vinatieri has been a place kicker in the National Football League for 21 years. Vinatieri has been selected to play in the Pro Bowl on three occasions. Vinatieri spent the first 10 years of his NFL career with the New England Patriots, and he has been an Indianapolis Colt for the last 11 seasons. Vinatieri has been on four Super Bowl winning teams; three with the Patriots and one with the Colts. And he's an amazing player: Adam Vinatieri holds the NFL record for consecutive field goals with 44.
This is a family that has had good fortune as well as a tradition of hard work. Adam Vinatieri’s great, great grandfather, Felix Vinatieri, was General George Custer’s Bandmaster. Fortunately, General Custer told Felix Vinatieri “to stay back” and not accompany him to Little Bighorn!
Adam Vinatieri has a great work ethic, and he is very self confident. These two qualities are critical for sustained success. When Vinatieri came out of South Dakota State no NFL team drafted him! For many athletes, that would be the end of his professional career.
But he had this “belief in himself” and went over to Europe and kicked for a team in Amsterdam. After a year in Europe, the Patriots signed him as a non-drafted free agent. He had to prove himself to coach Bill Parcells. As any fan of the game knows, Parcells is a tough guy. He was not easy on Adam. But Vinatieri persevered and we can say with absolute certainty that the “rest is history.”
Vinatieri also is known as “Mr. Clutch” for his very important Post Season Field Goals---one of which won a Super Bowl. Furthermore, Adam Vinatieri is currently the oldest player in the NFL at age 44! He is so prolific that he has played in more winning games than any other player in NFL history! Vinatieri will join Jan Stenerud, as the only man who strictly was a place kicker to be inducted into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame. Kickers Lou Groza (tackle) and George Blanda (quarterback) are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame but each played other positions. Ray Guy is the only punter in the Hall of Fame.
Adam Vinatieri keeps himself in outstanding physical condition, and going back to his high school days in South Dakota, he always wanted to be “the man”. He is quoted as saying “There was a perception of kickers not being athletes. That’s in the past.” After 21 years in the NFL, we can absolutely say with great certainty that he is “the man!”
Success in football, like success in life, requires perseverance. You may need to work harder to get noticed or to have others respect your specialty. But you also have to be so good at what you do it doesn't appear like you're working. That's what it means to be on "automatic." And that's the reason they call him "Automatic Adam."
What are you trying to achieve in your life? Is your practice allowing you to run on automatic? Take a lesson from one of the best and longest lasting players in the game. Learn to do what you do so well that it becomes second nature. Never give up, even if there are roadblocks in your path. Don't let other people tell you that you aren't committed or a "real" player. Master your craft and become known as the person "on automatic" by your colleagues, peers, and friends.
Business2Community reported the change as it was announced from Twitter's customer service product lead, Ian Cairns.
According to research from Twitter, personalised experiences that foster a human connection have big benefits for businesses. Cairns says that 77 percent of people are likely to recommend a brand after personalised customer service contact. Customers talking to real people are also 19 percent more likely to feel like their problem has been resolved and 22 percent more likely to feel satisfied.
So how real will this be? Each customer service agent will have their own custom profile that will include their name, job title, and their picture. That's a pretty big change when it comes to online customer service, where many companies continue to use bots to field questions and concerns from their customers. So how do they actually work and why are they so popular? Mainly because they're pretty easy to include on your website and it gets rid of the need to actually hire people for the position. So not only can you cut costs, but you seem pretty tech-literate to the masses. Except for that issue that chatbots aren't always exactly accurate. According to Entrepreneur:
One issue with chatbots is that they aren’t 100% accurate when it comes to the responses that they give. In fact, they tend to max out at around an 85% accuracy rate. It is important to understand that even this number is under ideal conditions. The average customer service situation isn’t going to represent those conditions. Because of this, real world accuracy is going to be much lower.
So we can see why Twitter is starting to move away from using these services which, in turn, may cause others to do the same as well. Along with this change, Twitter has announced some other new ideas that they plan on implementing in the future. They'll be allowing brands to add a direct 'Messaging' button as well as a 'send a private message' button in their tweets. Obviously the goal is to make it easier for consumers to get in touch with their favorite companies. They will also be rolling out a new way to survey customers using Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) metrics. If you don't feel like waiting for these changes, there are some things you can be doing right now on your Twitter account to aid you in your customer satisfaction goals.
Speed. Quick responses on Twitter can mean the difference between a PR disaster and a very happy client. Planning. Based on previous experiences with customers, you should know what to expect from them. Make sure your customer service agents are always ready with the right responses. Sounding real. Until you’ve tried out Twitter’s new service, you can make sure it’s clear that your customers are talking to real people by avoiding stock responses. Keep agents’ tone on brand, but allow them some personality. You might want them to introduce themselves to customers on DM by sharing their name. Moving to DM when it’s necessary. If a customer is reluctant, explain that you’d like their personal details so that you can get in touch with them in the case of needing a refund or further responses at a later time. Resolving the query. Always follow up to let people know that their query has been resolved. If this is going to take time, let them know that it is and explain why. Never let a customer feel ignored.
If you didn't catch the first post about workplace relationships, now would be a good time to go back and give it a read! To start the process of relationship balancing take a close look at your workplace relationships. At times of pressure or difficulty most individuals “react” automatically to those they are working with. Automatic “reactions” are one of the greatest obstacles to positive energy flow. A response (as opposed to a reaction) is thoughtful, measured and constructive to what is going on. It is driven by goals and values, not by automatic impulses. It allows us to stop reacting and take charge of what is going on.
Examine each workplace relationship carefully. Assess exactly what you want from this person. What is the function of this relationship in your life? What effect is the relationship presently having? As you do this, you are putting a stop to automatic, knee jerk reactions and channeling your energy and resources.
Activity – Discover Your Personal Relationship Balancing Quotient
List each individual you interact with. Place a score next to each person’s name. Each person will be scored from 1-4.
(1 – not at all; 2 – somewhat; 3 – moderately; 4 a great deal)
SCORE
Be clear about how balanced or unbalanced a relationship is. This clarity is an important step to making the corrections needed.
Common Sources Of Relationship Imbalance
Source 1 – Casting Blame.
It is easy and often natural to blame others for our own difficulties, failures, mistakes or lack of self-esteem. Sometimes we feel the other is diminishing us, or trying to take something important away. However, by blaming another for your own difficulty, you are disempowering yourself. Take a look at your part in difficult situations. See new ways you could possibly respond.
Source 2 – Holding Onto Resentment.
When we refuse to let go of the wrongs we feel have been done to us, resentment builds and inevitably effects successful outcomes. Resentment cast upon another must also inevitably bounce back upon ourselves. This leads to an unwillingness to communicate and to generalized stress and anxiety. One of the greatest skills we can develop is to learn how to let go of resentment on the spot, the sooner, the better.
Source 3 – Holding onto unrealistic hopes and expectations of the relationship.
Expectations are an enormously important factor in obstructing workplace harmony. When the images, dreams or expectations we have of another are different from the reality of how they are behaving, we become hurt, angry and often withdrawn. The same happens in connection with expectations we hold of ourselves. Some are always failures in their own eyes and believe others feel that way as well. It is enormously important to determine what our expectations are, (both of others and ourselves) and whether they are congruent with our present situation and realistic.
Activity – Creating Your Own Relationship Blueprint
List the people you are in relationship with at work. Honestly list your expectations of them, what you hope for or imagine. Also write down what you expect of yourself in each relationship. Then write down what is actually going on now, and how you feel about it. So often we are responding to expectations we have that have nothing to do with the reality of the present situation. To overcome this, become very clear about the purpose of this relationship. Are your expectations appropriate? Are you projecting feelings from another time, person or situation onto this individual? Look at the picture with clear eyes. Discard expectations that are unrealistic. This immediately releases enormous tension and anxiety and permits balance to be restored. New lines of communication open naturally.
Now create your own relationship blueprint. Create a new vision for the relationship based upon what is happening now, and what is the best for both of you. Blueprints have power. They assist us in taking charge of what we are experiencing, correcting distortions and negativities and replacing it with what we want. In this way we keep track of where we are, who we are with, and what it is that is truly appropriate constructive in this time at this place for all concerned. Take the time to make sure your workplace relationships are functional. It’s worth it!
All high performing teams have a trait in common. Team members are willing to put team goals before individual goals. The team members work together for the good of the team. You can see this attitude reflected in very diverse high performing teams from an army unit, a research team, and even a community social group. This cohesion rarely happens without effort. As a team leader, getting team members to look past their own goals needs to be a top priority. This can be the most challenging part when it comes to teamwork. A leader can start the process by developing and communicating a shared vision for the team. But to be effective, here are the requirements for success.
2. Connect intellectually. Challenge them. Teach them. Listen to them.
3. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively. Conflicts can spiral out of control if not addressed immediately. Understand individual views but build cohesive views.
4. Support the individual but align effort in favor of the team. Recognize individual efforts individually, recognize and reward team accomplishments in the team environment.
In my career I have led many teams. Some effective, and some very ineffective. I have learned that when I did not take the time to work through these steps with individual team members, as well as with the complete team, I was heading towards failure. Regardless of how busy you are, if you want a high performing team, you must commit your time and effort to lead. So what are some other ways that we can build and maintain these relationships? Cindy Allen-Stuckey provided some insight into why building relationships is important to leadership:
People are more likely to go along with changes that you want to implement if you’ve had positive dealings with them. That’s because if they like you and trust you, they are going to be open to your ideas.
Position relationships give you more time and energy to focus on opportunities to grow your business. That might sound counterintuitive–shouldn’t spending time talking to people take away from getting things done? Instead, good relationships allow us to save time instead of later spending time overcoming problems associated with negative relationships.
If you have a good relationship with your managers, and with customers, suppliers, and stakeholders, those relationships will help you develop your career. This makes sense: if people know you and respect you, they are going to reach out when they have opportunities.
When you feel valued and respected, don't you end up wanting to put your best food forward? You want to give your all in order to make that positive outcome happen. Creating a positive work environment and good working relationships with those you want to work at a high level of performance is a necessity. There are no shortcuts when it comes to enhancing your own leadership skills. This means making the time to connect with and nurture your relationship with your employees. If you do the work, you will see a noticeable return on your investment.
Currently, the Celtics are in first place in the Atlantic Division, and they have the second best record in the Eastern Conference (40-22). Brad Stevens was the head coach at Butler University for six years, prior to joining the Celtics. His Butler team had two 30-win seasons and four 20-win seasons. The Bulldogs went to the NCAA Championship Game under Stevens in back to back seasons (2010 & 2011). Butler went 166-49 in Brad Stevens tenure there.
Brad Stevens is a terrific coach! Stevens turned down many other jobs to remain at Butler, but when the Boston Celtics came calling, he went to the Pros. The success the student athletes had while Stevens was at Butler was incredible! Those Butler teams were overachievers. Now, Brad Stevens is succeeding as an NBA coach.
There have been a number of terrific college basketball coaches who have not done well in the NBA. How does Stevens do it?
For starters, Brad Stevens is a very intelligent man. He brings tremendous focus and attention to detail to the job. All great coaches and managers hold players accountable. Even though Coach Stevens is calm and composed, he holds his players accountable. The even keeled disposition he posseses, has a very positive and settling effect on his players. He's had the honor of coaching the East Team in the recent NBA All-Star Game. Brad Stevens is a gentleman, a scholar, a man of integrity, and someone who has achieved so much, at the young age of 40.
“You earn the right to win with effort and togetherness.” Brad Stevens
Stevens can easily be considered Boston's greatest asset. And he has no plans of leaving! According to CBS Sports:
“Everybody has a pretty good idea of where I stand, and I think ultimately I’m going to be here. I think that’s pretty well known.”“I think it’s all flattering, but it’s certainly flattering to ever be considered, because there aren’t that many jobs out there,” he said. “But at the same time, I’m really flattered to be here and thankful to be here.”
“I feel like I lived a lifetime with just the 13 years in the college game,” Stevens said. “I’m happy for what I had a chance to experience. I don’t reminisce too much about it, but I relish the opportunities and certainly the people I did it with.”
Celtics general manager, Danny Ainge, had nothing but positive things to say as well. USA Today reported:
“It’s not like he has some secret formula,” Ainge said. “He’s a really hard worker, he’s a really smart guy, and he has great integrity. He has great communication skills and has a calming influence in a tense world. I’ve grown to appreciate that demeanor. He holds players accountable in a calm and consistent fashion.“He looks at the positives – the things players can do and doesn’t focus, dwell and whine about the things players can’t do. He tries to put them in a position where they can succeed.”
Looking at the positives is something necessary for anyone, in any career, to find success. We have found how much negativity not only reduces productivity, but can also have a major impact on your personal life, too. No one wants to work with a whiner! Stevens has proved time and time again that he is the right man for the job and will most likely be here to stay. His career is impressive and flourishing!
As a Millennial, I can tell you that a lot of the generalizations out there about us do have a lot of truth to them. Perusing my Facebook or Twitter accounts gives me a taste of what those my age are up to. Many of those views and opinions and selfies can be pretty cringe-worthy. You'll get updates of so-and-so going on some amazing vacation, smatterings of pictures with cocktails and short dresses. USA Today found that the reason behind these extravagant outings is thanks to the amount of stress Millennials face:
Millennials in the survey most often cited stress (21%) and excitement (20%) as the emotions that lead them to spend more than they can reasonably afford. According to the American Psychological Association, Millennials are the most stressed-out generation. People cope with stress in countless ways, from drinking a few extra cocktails to spending more than they can afford. Stress-driven spending may take the form of “throwing money at the problem” to solve it, buying something just to feel better or booking a vacation on impulse.
So why are Millennials stressed out? The Globe And Mail decided to get to the root of that problem and asked readers what their biggest financial fears are. They had over 1200 responses. Here are some of their troubling answers:
“Our wages are not going up, the world is falling apart and my family – child included – is stuck in a condo because housing prices are completely insane,” says JM, a mom in her thirties living in Toronto.“Where will I raise my child? How can I afford a home without bankrupting us all? How long can a family last in 600 square feet? How can anyone trying to raise a family afford a $600,000-plus mortgage? It keeps me up at night.”
“I have a post-graduate degree, six-plus years of professional experience, but can’t find a job that pays more than $13 an hour,” says AC from Thunder Bay, Ont. “How do you live off that? How do you pay off your student loan debt, buy a house, and start a family? I can barely pay my rent.”
“If one of us loses our jobs during a recession, how will we pay the mortgage on the house we just bought - which cleaned out our savings? Can we have another child while we’re still in low-physical-risk years, without putting ourselves at high fiscal risk?”
Honestly, reading those comments actually brought tears to my eyes because it's so easy to relate to them. Every single one of those fears is based in reality and are very real concerns for those of us in my generation. While we get pegged as whiners or lazy, the truth is that we got stuck with crappy leftovers from previous generations. The housing market, recessions, even down to climate change and dwindling social security benefits. For many of us, the future is looking pretty grim and that's exactly where all the stress stems from. So maybe all of those vacations and extra cocktail purchases are necessary for morale. In fact, taking vacations can increase productivity. The trick is balance and not overspending. Rather than looking down your nose, reach out and lend some advice. Writing off the concerns and fears of the generation following you is only going to create a dismal future for everyone. After all, there will come a time that Millennials will be leaders. Don't you want them to succeed?
One of the biggest privileges we have as humans is the ability to communicate with one another in deep and meaningful ways. No other living creatures have the ability to relate workplace conversation with one another on the level that humans do. While there are many ways that we experience depth in relationship, few things are as significant and powerful in our search for connection as good conversation.
If you think about it, it is quite amazing that humans have the ability to grow up in entirely separate households, cities and sometimes cultures and still be able to have intelligent and meaningful conversation with one another. A child born in the center of London and a child born in the middle of nowhere in Canada could meet and share a conversation because they both have the ability to communicate in the same language. It’s really amazing.
Because the ability to communicate in depth with other humans is one of our most distinguished privileges, we should never take that ability for granted. Instead, we should do all we can to increase our ability to have good conversation with the people around us. Think about all of the opportunities you have each day to engage another human being in conversation. You can talk to rocks, trees, or your favorite stuffed animal for as long as you want and you will never get a response. Saying something as simple as “hello” to another person can elicit a response.
One of the best ways to get good at conversation with other people is simply to practice. Take every opportunity that presents itself to learn the art of making good conversation with other people. I learned from taking a Dale Carnegie course years ago and simply reading Carnegie’s hallmark book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Start by saying hello to the people you pass on the street. Ask the person who is checking you out at the grocery store or the teller at the bank how they are doing and ask if they are enjoying their day. Better yet, ask a good open ended question, one that cannot be answered with one word or grunt. Learn to respond with more than just one word when someone asks you a question. You will be surprised at how quickly you learn about art of conversation by doing small things such as these.
One of the things that is necessary for getting good at conversation is to really care about people and the things that they care about. The late Jim Rohn said, “If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully you can work miracles.” It will be much easier to have a good conversation with someone if you are engaged and really caring about the things they are saying. Some people ask a question so they can respond. Don’t be like those kind of people. There is nothing worse than trying to carry on conversation with someone that is disinterested in it. So commit to asking people questions that you really want to know the answers to and you’ll be a step ahead when it comes to making great conversation. If you’re serious about becoming a masterful communicator, consider joining a Toastmasters Club. There is one in nearly every city and it’s the best and most economical way to enhance your communication (and leadership) skills I’ve ever seen.
The ability to have good conversation is valuable because it is unique to humans. Enjoy the privilege you have to learn from others and to share wisdom with them by getting good at conversation. I’ll close this post with another quote from Jim Rohn (he’s my personal favorite!) “Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”
If you are feeling stress because your team is not achieving to their potential, examine your level of delegation. Is one of these reasons holding you back? As Ronald Reagan said, "Surround yourself with great people; delegate authority; get out of the way." But at times, you may find this difficult to do. Here are three key reasons, I have found that people fail to delegate.
1. A desire to maintain control. If a leader tries to maintain control through involvement in all the details, the team will be limited in their success. A leader will be more likely to embrace delegation if they can develop their leadership knowledge and skills. Moving the focus from task success to team success can unleash amazing results.
2. A belief that the team does not have the required knowledge. This can be a valid reason to stay more involved with a team. But as a leader, you should be focused on getting your team the education they need to be successful. A leader's worth is not in the knowledge they hold, but in the knowledge they share.
3. A belief that the team does not share your values. This may be the hardest challenge for a leader to overcome. Teams need shared values. However, not all values will be shared. Individual values also play a part in the strength of a team. To overcome this delegation roadblock a leader must be able to identify the difference between key team values, and supporting individual values. A leader will be more successful if they embrace the diversity of individuals within a framework of strong team values.
Many entrepreneurs find themselves stuck when they realize that it's time to begin trusting coworkers and employees with duties they themselves would normally handle. Think you're the only control freak out there? Think again! Entrepreneur talked about this very issue in one of their articles and provided some really great insight:
If these considerations are too abstract for you, here’s a quick checklist to run down if you’re considering delegating a task:
- Is your task list too long? Do you have too much to do? Check your biases and stresses here, and if the answer is yes, continue.
- Can this be delegated right now? If you can delegate a particular task to someone who knows how to do it, excellent. That’s one less thing to worry about.
- Can this be delegated cost effectively? If you delegate the task to an employee, freelancer or management service, will it cost less than it would if you were the one taking care of it? Will you pay less than your relative hourly rate? If so, delegating it is worth it.
- Will this be a problem again; and if so, is it a problem worth preventing? If nobody knows how to do the necessary tasks, and your training or hiring will cost more than your hourly rate, consider the future value that training will have.
Using this quick checklist is a great way to begin the process of delegating. Trust that you have surrounded yourself with great, like-minded people who can help you achieve your goals.
Of course, delegating something is no guarantee it will be done correctly, on time, or even completed at all. But part of leadership is giving people the chance to fail and break your trust. And delegating is the only way you can grow your influence and your organization beyond what you can personally do. So reach out, ask for help, and work through what you get back.
It's worth it!
Do you feel that your direction is carried out clearly and efficiently or do you have to bang your head against the wall to get your point across?
We all know that a team is only as good as it's leader and your communication skills have a major impact on how effective a leader you are in business today. Remember, that the quality of your communication can be judged by the results you get. Luckily, even if you are not a born communicator you can begin to acquire these skills by following some fairly simple rules and pointers:
Really Know Your Audience:
Different people require different types of engagement so adjust your style accordingly. It is important to understand the people with whom you are communicating and speak their “language” based on how they like to receive information. This not only facilitates good communication but it also reflects your empathy and understanding of the other parties and their situation.
Hang With Your Team:
Leaders gain the confidence of their employees by building up a personal rapport. We all respond well to charm and humor if it is genuine. A feel good message, if delivered constructively, can be an effective way to get a point across, especially if that point also contains an element of correction or reprimand. Don’t forget to also listen, really listen to what the other person is saying. They are much more likely to absorb what you are saying if they also feel heard.
Keep The Message Simple:
A simple message without a lot of technical jargon easily grabs the attention of the intended audience. Less is definitely more. Decide what points are important and stick to them. (Of course, when the points are technical then definitely include the jargon).
Be An Effective Listener First:
Stephen Covey’s fifth of seven habits is “Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood,” meaning listen before you talk. According to Dale Carnegie’s timeless classic “How to win friends and influence people,” the golden rule of effective communication techniques is to listen first. Understanding the needs of your employees and listening to them with undivided attention will earn you loyal team players. This not only helps in getting the job done faster but it makes it a much more rewarding experience for all involved. This will never hurt your business.
Take responsibility for the message conveyed:
Don’t make the assumption that every person in a room will hear you in the same way. It is your responsibility as a leader to ensure that each person listening has a clear understanding of the message. We have all played enough “Broken Telephone” to know what can happen if a vague message gets passed down the line. The Gallup Organization tells us that employees want to “know what is expected of me.” If you’ve told them, tell them again and then check to make sure what you said is what they heard.
Circle Back and Follow Up:
One way to make sure the message is well understood is to reiterate and follow up the original message in writing. You can also ask individuals to repeat the message as they understand it. Ask questions like: “What was your take on that message?" or “Can I answer any questions you have?" I prefer to ask, “What questions do you have?” because it presupposes they have a question.
Motivate the listener:
Effective leaders are those that motivate their employees through their interactions. By speaking with clarity and authority, you can give your listeners confidence in your abilities and motivate your employees to respond positively to your message. This in turn will help to build their own confidence and enthusiasm around the role they are playing on your team. This is where initiative and ownership by the employee is born.
We all want to maximize the success and productivity of our business. Bad communication resulting in mixed messages, crossed wires and hard feelings is at best counter productive and can scuttle even the best laid plans. It quite simply is a luxury which no business can afford. Learning to communicate more effectively as a leader will have a profound impact on the growth of your business and is sure to help create a more dynamic and positive working environment.
Do It Now:
Make a plan and take action. Take a minute to write out what you want to have happen and what you will do to make that happen with your communication. Then… do it! One of the tools I use with a team to give their communication a “check-up” is the Leadership Game. Good ideas are easy but it is the leader who can get them across quickly and effectively. A leader will make things happen and the things that happen will be good things. After all, isn’t that what good leaders do?
But often, the workplace doesn't seem very intentional. This is frequently the case when it comes to hiring practices. We have an open position, we post a job ad, we do a cattle call to get candidates, and we pick someone.
Too often it seems work is mostly about filling up a hole to get the work done.
This is not how organizations should be. If there's anything that makes a company work, it's being intentional. To that end, a while back I wrote a ten point manifesto of sorts about what a great workplace is like. Message number one: We're Glad You're Here. You Were Hired on Purpose.
Let's break that down into two parts.
For some reason, American workplaces don't seem to focus much on appreciation. We're pretty good at the big brother of showing appreciation, aka recognition. Companies are filled with trophies, plaques, awards, and ceremonies. It's a $46 billion dollar industry, according to one source.
But there's a difference between recognizing a team member and appreciating one. Recognition is an action, and it's often public. When we name the employee of the month, give someone a performance bonus, or just say "you're doing a good job" we are doing something. In that sense, recognition is a lot like compensation. It's something you do to someone else because of what they did.
Appreciation, however, is a feeling. If you appreciated work done by the author of the last book you read, that's an emotion you had that the writer may never know about. And if you feel like your spouse or your children appreciate what you do for your family, that isn't necessarily triggered because they told you.
In fact, recognition can backfire. A manager could be saying "I really appreciate you" but the employee might be thinking "I don't believe you." But the feeling of appreciation is always true.
What does this mean? We're glad you're here. At AccelaWork, we genuinely appreciate everything our team members do for the organization, for our clients, and for each other. We don't do a lot of congratulating or recognizing. But we are happy for who we have and what they do. That matters.
On to part two of the first point. Everybody on our team was selected because they were right for the company. Everybody on the team selected the company because it was right for them.
This isn't meant to express a permanent, perfect bonding. Times will change. People will move on. But at the moment that everyone was invited and continuing to this day, there remains a purpose. That purpose is an exchange of value. It's good work for good pay. It's freedom tempered with personal accountability. We want people for whom this makes sense. And we want them to feel empowered to move on if it becomes the case that it doesn't.
Always remember that.
To continue the theme of intentionality, I'll be expanding on the ten points here on The Methodology Blog in the months ahead. That's because a company is more than just cashflow and customers. A company is more than an engine that can run on it's own, even if the drivers and the mechanics change. A company is a group of people organized around a culture.
And if we don't define what kind of culture we want, we'll end up by default with something we don't.
Let's begin.
According to the Department of Transportation 46,000 passengers were involuntarily bumped from their scheduled flight in 2015. It is an every day occurrence in the industry. So why the outrage? Normally an airlines offers an incentive for people to delay their departure to a future flight. In this case, United claims to have offered an $800 voucher, but had no volunteers. They decided to randomly select four people to remove from the flight. But they also revealed later that they needed the seats for their employees.
This is a prime example of poor leadership. Employees followed procedures blindly without regard to the consequences. This is not how empowered employees would have acted. There are a multitude of ways that United could have resolved the issue without violence. It is the company culture that allowed this situation to escalate to this level. Strong leadership would create a work environment that was built on values, that support the procedures in place. Strong leadership would encourage employees to solve problems and make tactical decisions based on the current situation. Procedures can rarely cover all situations that would arise in a work place. Strong leadership would want employees that know how to successfully resolve issues.
When we ask employees to blindly follow procedures, we remove all personal responsibility from those employees. United's actions reflect their lack of respect for their customers. This is poor leadership from the top that has permeated their organization. We can only wonder what company values really drive their actions and their procedures. If we knew, we would probably stop using their services.
This seems to be the tip of the iceberg for the airline giant. With this story, many more came pouring out. You can read about the woman who was sexually harassed on one of their flights after the obviously inebriated man was continually served alcohol by flight attendants. Or how, back in 2012, a disabled veteran was called a "retard" by United Airline employees and also abused his service dog. Really, just type in United Airlines in your search bar and hundreds of articles will likely pop up for you to read. Their stocks are taking a hit, too. Could we be seeing the downfall of this company in action?
One of our recent posts by Cindy Allen-Stuckey discussed some tips about our expectations of employees that may have saved United some time and bad press:
What do you (the leader) expect? Before you talk to your team members, you must be clear on this. A good leader reflects on themselves first, and then on others when assessing expectations. Ensure there is a clear definition of what success looks like for an employee in that position. Then, and only then, can you communicate clearly to your employee what the requirements are.
What does your employee think you expect? Ask him or her to tell you what success looks like. You want to make sure that they heard you and they really understands what you said. Listen carefully to ensure the two of you are talking about the same expectations.
How does your employee think they are doing? Ask this question before giving your feedback. The answer will give you great information about your employee’s perspective & understanding of the job. This is also the time for employees to talk about their work and to tell about their successes and struggles.
How is your employee really doing? Leader, this is where you get to talk and provide feedback on the job your employee is doing. Make sure you prepare before this conversation by asking yourself: What progress can the employee celebrate? And how is the best way to give feedback to this employee?
Gossage appeared in 1,002 games and led the American League in saves on three occasions. Not only did Gossage save 310 games, but he also compiled 124 wins. Gossage was a nine-time All-Star, who in a seven year period (1977-1983), never had an ERA above 2.62. Rich Gossage was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
“I was brought into situations God couldn’t get out of, and I got out of them.” Rich “Goose” Gossage
The “Goose” was a great pitcher, a tough guy, and a fierce competitor! Gossage is quite outspoken about the way baseball has changed over the years. He makes a valid point about his opposition to players who used steroids getting into the Hall of Fame. Gossage also is correct when he points out that it now takes two or three pitchers to get the same number of outs that Gossage got when he was a “closer.” Gossage frequently came into games in the 7th and 8th innings when there were two or three men on base. 125 of Gossage’s saves required six or more outs. The game has changed with “set up” men pitching and quite often dominating the 7th and 8th innings. Closers usually only pitch one inning these days. Gossage and his fellow Hall of Fame relief pitchers Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers were masters of the difficult multi inning saves. Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and others also were great with one-inning saves.
Gossage has also shown how humble he is in some of his interviews. New Haven Register discussed his desire to see George Steinbrenner and Marvin Miller in the Hall of Fame with him:
“He and Marvin Miller probably changed the game more than anybody the last 100 years,” Gossage said Friday. “George was amazing, in wanting to win, the free agency and the way he utilized it. Wow.”
Gossage admits that, even though he played for several other organizations, nothing really compares to the Yankees.
“I played for eight other organizations so I have a good sense of how those other organizations are operated, and it was nothing like the Yankees,” Gossage added. “They were great organizations. I’m not knocking them, but nobody demanded that excellence like George did.”
Gossage is “old school”. He is a tough guy, and when I share this next story, you will understand why I feel that he is a really good man. When Gossage joined the New York Yankees in 1978, his manager, Billy Martin, told him to hit Texas Rangers outfielder Billy Sample in the head, with a pitched ball. Many pitchers will not disobey a manager’s orders, especially when that pitcher has just joined the team. Gossage realized he could seriously hurt Billy Sample and told Billy Martin that he would not hit him with a pitched ball. Gossage realized it would adversely affect his relationship with Billy Martin, but in the end Gossage did the right thing and showed he was a man of principle.
Your relationships with coworkers and employees matter. Gossage realized this, too, and rather than risk another players' health, he chose to go against his manager's wishes. In any career path, be it baseball or even office work, sticking to your principles is important. Sometimes, you need to learn how to say no to others. You can't always be the "yes man" at work, nor should you be! You have to put up boundaries and those around you must learn to accept those lines and learn to not cross them. Gossage set an example we should all follow in our work and home lives.
Research by Gallup last year concluded that Millennials are the biggest job-hopping generation. At least 60% of us would jump ship if given the chance.
Gallup found that 60% of millennials say they are open to a different job opportunity -- 15 percentage points higher than the percentage of non-millennial workers who say the same. Millennials are also the most willing to act on better opportunities: 36% report that they will look for a job with a different organization in the next 12 months if the job market improves, compared with 21% of non-millennials who say the same.
So why is that number so high when most other generations tenure at companies would last years and years rather than months? It could come down to the fact that most Millennials just don't feel engaged in their work. The emotional connection to the work they're doing just isn't there.
Not engaging millennial workers is a big miss for organizations. The millennial workforce is predominantly "checked out" -- not putting energy or passion into their jobs. They are indifferent about work and show up just to put in their hours.
I can speak from experience on this topic. The 2008 recession hit around the time that I was really starting to make a long term commitment with a career. Up until then, I was working part time jobs and just figuring out what the heck I wanted to do with myself. Seeing as how I skipped college, I really needed to figure out what my goals would be. What used to happen would be that you could get your foot in the door with a company and work your way up through the ranks. I could apply to a job online and would be surprised if I didn't get a call or email back for an interview. Jobs were plenty. Once the recession hit, everything changed.
Those entry level jobs were inundated with resumes from people who had been laid off and were looking for anything just to survive. You would see men and women who worked in upper management taking these kinds of jobs. Times were desperate, especially for those of us who were just dipping into the workforce. Suddenly, you were competing against college graduates or career professionals with years of experience. You had better been on top of your job alerts because by the end of the day, a new job listing would easily have hundreds of resumes to go through.
So rather than taking the time to find a job within a company that was a good fit for you, you were going to interviews and nodding your head about how passionate you were about cold calling about carpet cleaning services, cashiering at toy stores, or becoming a dog washer. If that sounds oddly specific, well, those are just a few of the jobs I can say that I had. I hated every second that I worked in those positions and always had my eye on the next job that would hopefully make me feel less dread every morning that my alarm clock went off.
Sadly, most of us are still dealing with this struggle and are working jobs we took just because we had to. Luckily, things have started to turn around and the job market has looked better and better every year. As that happens, many organizations need to realize that in order to keep your employees happy, they need to start providing incentives to stay. Otherwise their employees will always be on the lookout for the next best thing.
Why does it seem that the norm has become lying, cheating, and stepping on backs of those who helped pave the way? We all were taught at a very young age about right and wrong. If you took something that wasn't yours, or lied and cheated, you were scolded. This is how many of us began our journey into the world of morals and ethics. Our parents, teachers, and elders mold us before we're unleashed into the world as adults. So when something like this story comes out about an attorney accepting luxury gifts in exchange for favors, you have to wonder where that breakdown in his moral code began. Even Mayor Jim Kenney spoke up about this violation of the law:
"At a time when our citizens' trust in government is at an all-time low, it is disheartening to see yet another elected official give the public a reason not to trust us," said Kenney, a fellow Democrat. "That this comes at the head of our justice system is even more troubling."
I do not know how this will be resolved, but whatever the outcome, it is clear that the prosecutor had a breakdown of ethics. This news stood out to me as an all too common example. The strength of our democracy relies on the values of its individuals. It was a strong sense of values that led the United States to declare independence. Every individual that is willing to ignore the human values that are within their heart, will ultimately destroy themselves and others. That is a strong statement. I believe it to be true. If you cannot live out your own values, you will have a negative effect on our society.
No one is perfect. We struggle against challenges, issues, and problems each day. It is easy to give in; to bend the rules. In the case of this prosecutor, he accepted inappropriate gifts. We become better by overcoming the challenges. We become stronger by solving the problems. It is not easy to stand by your values. But it will make you stand out in a society that at times seems to be crumbling at the edges.
Jack Klemeyer recently explored how important values are to us, especially during the hiring process.
For instance:
It may be ethically “right” to not steal from another. But is it stealing if you mark up a price significantly higher than usual and get a customer to pay that price?
Creating a piece of marketing that looks like one thing – a feature story in a magazine or an ebook with your name as author – but is really something else – a marketing sheet for a make-believe magazine that doesn’t exist or a generic book written by someone else and resold. This may not be “lying,” but does it mesh with your values of fairness, honesty and integrity?
It's hard to stick to your values when those in higher, more powerful positions don't seem to want to play by the same rules. The best you can do is to reflect upon your own values in your business and home life. Surround yourself with those that follow the same moral code as you and hold the same values in high regard because if not, you will feel the affects of differing views in every partnership you have. You will be able to stay productive and also be proud of the steps you took to success.
A piece from the website ITProPortal explains why you should design your workflow with clear communication in mind. To quote from the article:
There are many different ways to organize your team, but no matter which you choose, communication is key. By thoughtfully organizing the information flow, both within your team and between departments, you can ensure that your team is focusing their time and energy where it belongs—on design. Implementing tools and habits such as kanban, daily standups, simplified documentation, a dedicated design room, and encouraging regular interaction between improve the quality of your team’s work while freeing you from the burden of micromanaging every project.
In truth, that's not an exact quote. I pulled out the word "design" in a few places and made other small tweaks. Because although the author is talking about his work at a software startup, the concepts apply to any organization.
For example, consider the advice to thoughtfully organize the information flow within your team and between departments. This seems obvious, but chances are you don't have any organization to the information flow. Instead, it's just email. It's documents attached to email. Maybe somebody got tired of one particular process and made a form, which, insanely, is a downloadable document.
Good workflow is associated with good information flow. Imagine how much better your company would operate if there was less back-and-forth, especially with routine activities.
There's more good advice in the article. Here are the five tips, re-applied for any organization.
The word "kanban" is Japanese for "billboard." The concept here is that instead of keeping the status of projects under wraps, you put them up on the wall (or in an electronic system) for everyone to see. This doesn't need to be complicated, but it's surprisingly effective. Instead of having to ask how things are going, you can just look.
Of course, you can create a more sophisticated system. It might cover different pieces, various stages in the overall workflow, or track individual contributions. But the first step is to get the information out in public. Try a kanban in your company.
We've talked before about the value of having standing meetings. And yes, that means standing up during the meeting that reoccurs on a standing basis.. This is a great way to help people feel more connected to what's going on.
The suggestion to have documentation at all may lead to a few sarcastic laughs. Too many organizations have no instructions, no guidebooks, and no manuals whatsoever. Others have materials that are extremely outdated.
But, if you have documentation and you keep it up to date, you can dramatically reduce the learning curve for new people. You can also cut down on the time needed to talk about things which have already been resolved. And as always, make things as simple as possible.
This is a technique used by architects, coaches, therapists, doctors, and mechanics. Instead of just working anywhere, there is a particular space in which work is done. Sometimes, there are special tools there. In other cases, it's helpful to have privacy.
In your office, do you tend to do work by walking up to people's desks? Or do you have conference rooms available? Consider making use of a devoted space for collaboration.
The last piece of advice is the only one that causes me to raise an eyebrow. Chances are, you don't like all your coworkers. And as I've written before, the closer your workplace relationships, the harder it can be to tell what's best for the company.
But a little bit of socializing with the people you see every day isn't a bad thing. Get a bite to eat or a drink after work. Develop some rapport. It will help you to work more smoothly together if you see each other as people, not just colleagues.
Now, go design your workflow. And, good luck!
Making the switch from working in an office setting to working from home can be tough. It's easy to set routines for yourself when you leave the house every day for work. Have a shower, drink some coffee and eat breakfast, get ready and go. When you work from home, your commute can be as little as a few steps away from your coffee pot. You won't catch me complaining about that fact, but I will admit I have become much more easily distracted from my work while I'm at home as opposed to being in a workplace. Creative Boom knows all about this issue that many freelancers who work from home face on a daily basis.
Assign a section of your home specifically for working
This is something I didn't always manage to do. Before I was able to be out on my own. While I was living with family or renting rooms it was easy to quickly make my bed my workstation. But, the truth is, you need to have separate spaces.
Have a phone that’s specifically for work enquiries, so you can switch it off in the evenings and at weekends. And make sure you turn your computer off at the end of the working day to avoid quick email checks – this also helps to symbolise the end of work and the beginning of your downtime.
We know what checking your phone at night does to your sleep and productivity. It's best to turn off from all technology at night!
Shower and dress first thing every morning
This is a safe space where we can all share freely without fear of judgement so let me be completely honest with all of you. As I sit here and type this article, I can't really remember the last time I washed my hair. BUT! I do have a 4 month old daughter so I'm using that as an excuse. So there's no judgement passed from me if you're sitting in your pajamas and sporting a few days old shirt. Unfortunately, as Creative Boom tells us, this is a pretty awful idea. You'll end up blurring the lines between work and home life.
Although it’s important to be comfortable, failing to get dressed again blurs the boundaries between work and play – encouraging a lack of professionalism and making your downtime less enjoyable.
You tend to feel a bit more professional if your outside actually matches. I'm a visual learner so visibly seeing myself prepared and ready for the day would probably lend a hand in making me become more productive. Maybe tomorrow I'll shower and even put some makeup on before I begin my work...maybe.
Make sure you get fresh air and exercise regularly
Open your blinds and let some light in. I swear, if you walked into my home at any given moment, you would think that it was a lair for vampires. I still force myself to throw the drapes aside and open the window. I even strap my kid into the stroller and venture outside for some fresh air. Surprisingly, my skin did not boil in the sunlight. I used to hate the idea of getting up and away from the computer. Why not just power through it and get done with the work as fast as possible? Then I saw a remarkable difference in my focus and the quality of my work when I would take a break. The results will surprise you!
Complaints are just an inevitable part of doing business. As tempting as it may be to disregard it as a one-time occurrence, according to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, each customer who bothers to share their complaint with you represents 26 others who remain silent. That can create a massive roadblock in our quest to deliver strong customer experiences – but it doesn’t have to. When complaints are handled in a constructive manner, they can be fantastic opportunities for improvement.
The good news is, it’s easy when you have a solid response plan. But before we get started, let’s make one thing clear: There’s no room for evasion in this process. You must demonstrate a proactive, humble, and sincere response to make things right. Complaints may be inevitable, but a well-executed response to them can make the difference between regaining a customer’s confidence and losing them forever. Here are the concrete steps to managing the process.
1. Respond Quickly
Time is of the essence when handling customer complaints. An unsatisfied customer is likely an emotional one — and the negative emotions that can lead to lost business must be acknowledged as quickly as possible after a problem occurs. Reach out to the customer by contacting him or her as soon as you find out about the complaint. 2. Apologize
Try this: “I apologize that this has occurred.” The simplest way to address a complaint is to apologize that the problem happened in the first place. Especially in a stressful moment, it may be easier to avoid apologizing, but don’t beat around the bush. A simple, “I’m sorry” can be the best and easiest route to service recovery. 3. Acknowledge
Try this: “I know that this has caused an inconvenience…” An apology is just the start. To truly re-connect with your customer, you must acknowledge the difficulties you’ve caused them. It may be challenging but avoid the temptation to be defensive. A customer who complains is seeking not only resolution but an assurance that the problem won’t happen again. To let your customer know that you understand the gravity of the situation, acknowledge that you know this problem has made things more complicated for them. 4. Empathize
Try this: “…and I can understand why you’re unhappy.” A little empathy can go a long way in restoring any relationship. The best way to start mending a strained relationship with a customer is by demonstrating your compassion for their situation. By using words that validate the customer’s emotions, you can infuse a dose of humanity into your conversation. 5. Take Responsibility
Try this: “I will investigate this immediately.” You can go from potential adversary to trusted ally when you offer to be the customer’s representative. Assure them that as you strive to remedy the situation within your organization, you will keep their needs in mind. When you show your dedication to making the customer’s life better, you build the customer’s confidence in your organization’s ability to fix problems. 6. Check In and Keep the Customer Informed
Try this: “We are continuing to work on the issue.” Many problems cannot be resolved immediately. Demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction by staying in touch. Even if it takes some time to understand the situation behind the complaint, let your customer know you’re still working to make things right. 7. Solve the Problem
When you settle on a solution that resolves the customer’s negative experience and addresses any systemic issues that might have caused this situation (and others like it), then it’s time to close the loop. This may include a refund to the customer, a credit on their account, a letter of apology, or some other action that will help resolve the negative experience. 8. Thank the Customer
Try this: “We appreciate the opportunity you’ve given us to make it right.” As difficult as it may be to hear (and resolve) complaints, the value of this feedback cannot be overestimated. None of us like to receive customer complaints, but these perspectives can provide you with opportunities to fix problems that you may never have learned about otherwise. Be sure to acknowledge that your customer has done you a valuable service.
Customer service is a rapidly changing field. With the development of chatbots, most real life people started finding themselves out of a job. The problem is, they lost the human element of their customer's experience. A chatbot can't really have empathy for your situation or do much of anything other than give you some links to read, maybe redirect you. Cogito, a new startup, has decided to use AI in customer service a bit differently. This voice technology company has decided to use their AI (Artificial Intelligence) to ensure that representatives are "more charming." What? How does that even work? Well, their software is designed in such a way that it can examine speech, behavior, and even the speaker's emotional state through algorithms that analyze speech patterns and tone of voice. The reps can then use this information to improve the conversation in real time.
"We've built a way to numerically measure and understand how well a conversation between human beings is going," said Feast. "Conversations are a lot like a dance," he said. "But not everybody is as good at picking up on social cues and it isn't always easy to know if you're in sync with each other or not."
This can even help those who are negotiating or other high stakes conversations. They're essentially teaching people how to read social signals that they may be missing out on. Those cues can sometimes be the difference of a deal or no deal in business. We're not the only ones who are impressed with their work seeing as how the startup has already raised $22.5 million dollars. Currently, they're working on how to ensure the feedback isn't distracting to users during conversation.
"What we aspire to do is make this type of technology available much more broadly, through us and technology partners," Feast said. But before that happens the company needs to master the interaction between the technology and humans.
As Ashley Lee stated in a previous post, you have to be able to repair mistakes that are made through providing good customer service. It's not unreasonable to expect that there be equal value between what we purchase and how much we spend. Using CSM, the magazine for Customer Service Managers & Professionals, she provided us with some really useful philosophies:
“Customer service is the ability to provide a service or product in the way that it has been promised”“Customer service is an organization’s ability to supply their customers’ wants and needs”
“Customer Service is a phrase that is used to describe the process of taking care of our customers in a positive manner”
“Customer Service is the commitment to providing value added services to external and internal customers, including attitude knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner”
“Customer service is a proactive attitude that can be summed up as: I care and I can do.”
At the end of the day, what matters most is how your customer's view their journey with your company. Was your site easy to navigate? Were they placed on hold for an absurd amount of time when they called? Did the customer service representative care about their issues? What most people want is to be heard, not talked over or placated. I can tell you from experience that being spoken to like I'm a child or insignificant meant I wasn't a repeat customer. Maybe Cogito can help companies that struggle with that.
There are days when I feel time rushing by like the water in a river. In reality, time is always moving like the Earth is always moving. The Earth is traveling through space at 66,000 miles per hour. And at the same time, the Earth rotates on its axis faster than 1000 miles per hour. Maybe the fact that life moves so fast has made me love the times when I can just sit and think. I love being able to ignore all the outside activity and demands of daily life.
However, even though we can ignore it, the fast pace never goes away. I have discovered it is important to embrace the pace, the changes, and the obstacles that life throws at us. They are just as important as the quiet times. Instead of standing in the river, imagine being in a kayak. No longer are we trying to resist the current. Instead we strive to control our kayak. We paddle. We steer. We decide to guide our kayak. We cannot stand still. Doing nothing is not an option. Life is moving. We can make every day count. So how can we start making that change?
We here at The Methodology Blog truly believe that a positive mindset means everything when it comes to productivity. We all could do a bit more to try to lead less stressful lives. You need to have a healthy headspace if you want to get anywhere in life or business.
So what steps do we have to take to get there? Health.com published a great piece about how to become a more positive person and they promised you can do this in just 21 days! Check out their tips for week one below.
Week 1: Take noteThink of sinking your teeth into your favorite dessert or that moment in the shower when the hot water first touches your skin—“any fleeting moments of joy in life that are not super intense,” says Tan. This week, start picking up on them. “All you have to do is notice the joy and bring attention to the pleasantness,” he explains.
Be here now. Focus on the bite-size pleasures already in your day. “After a number of times, a habit will form,” says Tan.
Live out loud. Being vocal when something delights you will help you revel in the moment, says happiness researcher Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. Let out a “mmm” after your delicious first sip of coffee in the a.m., for instance. “My family makes fun of me because every time I get in bed, I involuntarily make this ‘ahhh’ noise, but it feels so good to slide between the sheets,” says Rubin.
Start a one-sentence journal. Every day, jot down a single cheery thought. “Your sentence can be about anything—something beautiful, hilarious, whatever,” says Rubin. “It keeps you accountable without making happiness feel like a chore.”
The whole article is full of ideas like this that can create change in your life. There is a plan set in place for a full 3 weeks so you can gradually see the light on positivity and how great of an effect it will have on your life and also those around you. Don't let time keep passing you by without doing anything to learn and grow. Embracing changes and obstacles will become possible once you gain a more positive point of view.
Buck Showalter has been the manager of the Baltimore Orioles since 2010. Showalter has been a Major League Manager for almost 20 years. He managed the New York Yankees from 1992 to 1995; the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998 to 2000; and the Texas Rangers from 2003 to 2006. Showalter has been named the American League Manager of the Year on three occasions: 1994, 2004, and 2014. Showalter managed in the Minor Leagues with the Yankees for five seasons. He played Minor League Baseball in the Yankees’ system for seven years.
Buck Showalter is one of the best managers in Major League Baseball. Showalter is very detail oriented and that is one of his strengths. I spoke with Don Wener, the Baltimore Orioles catching coordinator, about Showalter. Here is what Werner has to say about Showalter: "Buck is brilliant with the pitching staff. He has a great feel for match ups. Buck runs a great spring training. It is very organized. Buck is concerned about all of his players and treats every one of them with respect. Buck's work ethic is second to none." Well deserved praise for Buck from Don Werner. Quite often, managers are given more credit than they should be given when a team wins and conversely managers often are criticized more than they should be when a team loses. A manager must have talent to win; the great ones like Buck Showalter know how to maximize that talent and get their teams to overachieve and to play winning baseball.
For instance, after their recent game against Tampa Bay, Showalter talked about their comeback victory over the Rays:
“That’s one of our best wins this year,’’ manager Buck Showalter said. “Talking to the team before the game, you know the tough series over the weekend, you come in tonight and you know it’s going to be cold and nasty and a lot of people probably will look at the weather and not come and you’re going to really be ready to play, and our guys were. I was really proud of them tonight. Tough game to win and our guys figured out a way.”
One of the most important part of a team is a manager who can reach a company's goals and support their employees, nurturing their strengths and working on their weaknesses. As Mark Brown discussed in a recent post, if you want to build a high performance team, you have to put the work in. These are the requirements you must meet if wish to reach that goal:
1. Connect emotionally. Your team members need to know you truly care about them. It is easy to connect on the highs, but you must also connect at the lows.
2. Connect intellectually. Challenge them. Teach them. Listen to them.
3. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively. Conflicts can spiral out of control if not addressed immediately. Understand individual views but build cohesive views.
4. Support the individual but align effort in favor of the team. Recognize individual efforts individually, recognize and reward team accomplishments in the team environment.
Any manager could use these tips to make their teams function better and become more productive. Clearly, this is how Showalter was named the American League Manager of the Year so many times and why the teams he has managed are so successful. He builds a high performance team, connects with and supports them, and helps them on their way to success. Hats off to Buck for such a long and fruitful career!
Working on yourself allows relationships to deepen, doors to open, and you can gain a more positive outlook on life in general. As John Maxwell’s First Law of Growth, The Law of Intentionality says that growth doesn’t just happen. Follow these tips to develop yourself in a positive manner. A self-help strategy for overcoming anxiety is to notice your thinking. Work to stop thinking in absolutes, using words like “never,” “always,” “must,” and so on. This type of distorted thinking results in unrealistic expectations, which cause you to put additional, excessive pressure on yourself. By defeating these cognitive distortions and putting thoughts into more realistic terms, you are less likely to overwhelm yourself with stress and that’s a good thing.
Another great tip with regards to personal development is to make a plan and stick to it. Creating a plan to achieve a goal is great, but it is only half the battle. Understand that setting up goals and making plans is easy, executing them is the hard part. Excitement and motivation gets you going, but it’s the discipline that keeps you going which makes the Law of Consistency so important to your development. Look for inspiration all around you, every day there are plenty of examples you just have to be aware of it and to look for it. Choose something that pertains to your unique individual needs. A self-help video is an excellent way to get in tune with new ideas with minimal time commitment. Also, take the time to evaluate your work work/life balance to make sure you are keeping them separate.
Personal development means loving yourself. You should make sure that you take care of yourself as well as your character. Feed your body when it needs nourishment, and don’t shame yourself for things you cannot change about your situation. Acceptance is the key to being humble and overcoming adversity. Experiment with your options. Try on new passions, personality traits and other personal touches to see if they might be a source of enjoyment for you. You may come across new ways to express yourself that come naturally and communicate your values with ease. This is an excellent way to present yourself in new, honest ways to others and keeps your personality dynamic. One way that you can do that is to check out some Toastmasters club in your area.
Have a role model. It can be helpful to look up to someone whose behavior or life you admire. It can give you something to work toward and it can also provide you with help on your own journey. You might feel better to learn that your role model suffered with some of the things you suffer with. Help others whenever you can. Some of the most successful people in life are those who respect and help the people that surround them. Doing things that help to change people’s lives, even in the smallest ways, will make you feel good about yourself and cause you to be the kind of person that others want to be around.
As you can see, these tips are easily included in your everyday life. Learning them takes little time out of your day and just a bit of practice. As you progress, you will find that life seems a little brighter, relationships seem easier and the world around you will seem a little more inviting.
First and foremost, it takes a lot of guts to decide to jump into a new career and even more guts to put the work in to find a new job. We all know job hunting is the pits and is easily a job itself! So before you make a commitment, let's take a look at some of the recent recruiting trends for 2017 provided by LinkedIn.
Talent leaders feel confident that their department is helping define the future of their company. Over 83% of them say talent is the number one priority in their organization. 56% of leaders say that their team’s hiring volume will increase and in order to measure success they are focusing on how long a new hire stays at the company, hiring manager satisfaction, and time to fill. While nearly 70% of recruiting budgets are spent on job boards, recruiting tools, and staffing agencies, talent leaders identify employer branding as the #1 area where they wish they could invest more. Over 80% of leaders acknowledge that employer branding has a significant impact on their ability to hire talent.
Recruiters are going to be very busy this year it seems. One issue that can make recruiters a bit apprehensive is if you're on a "Career Break." What does that mean? It's basically just a fancy way of saying, "I hate the field I'm in and have no clue what I want to do for a living." I can attest to this having had numerous different types of jobs in the past myself. It doesn't look awesome on a resume, that's for sure. If you find yourself on a "Career Break" then BIGHRC.com has some tips for you.
Know yourself
They are definitely on point with this tip. First and most importantly, you need to know yourself before you head out in search of a job. You need to know what interests you, what tasks you're willing to take on, etc. A recruiter can't help you figure those things out so it's best to know it beforehand. Otherwise you'll probably find yourself in another position that you are just showing up to and not enjoying.
Up to the date
It helps to stay current with new technology or trends that are happening in fields that interest you as well as the area you left. You may end up wanting to rejoin the area of interest you're taking a break from and in that time, new ideas and processes could begin. As cliche as it sounds, you don't want to be "a day late and a dollar short." Stay on top of current and new topics!
Network
Networking is probably the most important aspect of staying and entering the workforce. It's easy to become complacent and hide behind your computer all day, emailing out resumes. Even if you're not working currently, you should be finding new ways to get in touch and stay in touch with those in the working world. You never know which introduction will lead to a new opportunity.
Attitude
"It is said attitudes are contagious – Make sure yours is worth catching. No matter what the reason behind the break, make sure you take the questions asked by a recruiter with a positive attitude."
Don't be a dark cloud. I like to think of it this way - would I want to hire or work with me? It really takes some serious self reflection sometimes and sometimes and attitude adjustment makes all the difference in the world.
I have been thinking about the pace of life. If you are like me, when things are moving too fast, you may feel stressed. But if things seem too slow, well you can also feel stress (or boredom, lack of accomplishment, etc). Life seems to have an appropriate pace. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." Even when we are pushed to go faster in this time of instant gratification, I find that a slower pace when constant usually pays bigger dividends. It is persistence and perseverance that makes a difference. Not only that, but many of us find that we've started to get bored at work which obviously hurts output. HuffPost talked about this issue in a recent article:
Stop denying that ambition. Name the feeling — say you are bored and go talk with your boss or a respected leader in your company. Get their perspective and guidance. You will be surprised how willing people are to help when asked.Perhaps they will agree that you are ready to take on tougher challenges at your current job. Or it could be that you are in a role that will never fulfill you — time for something entirely new. Focus on what it is you want to accomplish, then chart a course to get there. Sounds easy, but it takes work. And it may not happen quickly.
But keep in mind that a slower pace does not mean less work. The settlers that came to the United States over two hundred years ago found success through hard work. Imagine raising and growing your own food, making your own clothes, trading with your neighbors, and cutting wood for heat. The pace of life was much slower, but not easier. Each of us has a different pace that is right for us. We are forged by our environment, but our environment changes over time. If we are not aware of our own internal pace, we risk losing our sense of grounding that helps us through the stress caused by the pace around us. What pace is right for you? How do you maximize productivity without increasing stress? Jack Klemeyer had some pretty great tips (borrowed from the famous book The Four Agreements) about how to control your stress levels:
Be Impeccable With Your Word Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.Don’t Take Anything Personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Don’t Make Assumptions Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Always Do Your Best Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
We all need to take time to learn how to let go of things that are out of our control instead of letting it weigh us down! Take the slower pace if that means you can keep your sanity and produce better work.
Everyday at 3:30pm, my son walks through the front door, book bag in hand, and greets me hello. My response is always the same: "Hey buddy. How was your day?" He typically responds, "It was great mom. How was yours?" Simple. To the point. And then we move forward with our after school routine. For five years now this has been the standard and rarely does it stray.
Last week however, something did change. When my son walked through the door with his usual smile, I gave him my usual greeting, "Hey buddy. How was your day?" But he responded quite differently. Without a second to think he replied, "Mom, what's wrong?" I responded saying that I was fine. That nothing was wrong. But, he continued with his inquiry. "Mom, did you have a bad day?"
Interestingly enough, I did have a bad day. I was sad and frustrated about something entirely separate from my typical worries, but I hadn't shared this with anyone. Not to mention, I was painting a wall when my son entered the house, so my back was to him when I said hello. So, by the sheer sound of my voice, he knew something was up. What was most surprising however is the fact that I wasn't aware I sounded any different than usual. I certainly wasn't trying to sound different. But, apparently the subtle change occurred in my subconscious and projected outwardly enough to alert my son even as it eluded me!
When I mentioned this interaction between my son and I at dinnertime and raved about his unbelievable ability to recognize another's need for empathy and understanding, my husband brought up the concept of emotional intelligence. Here's a definition:
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the capability of individuals to recognize their own, and other people's emotions, to discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and to manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt environments or achieve one's goal(s).
Daniel Goleman, science journalist and author of the famed 1995 book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, presented the perspective that our emotional intuition can serve us incredibly well in life and in our careers. According to his research, Goleman indicated that "EI accounted for 67% of the abilities deemed necessary for superior performance in leaders, and mattered twice as much as technical expertise or IQ." In one small excerpt from his book, he brings awareness to this exact point:
As well all know from experience, when it comes to shaping our decisions and our actions, feeling counts every bit as much--and often more--than thought. We have gone too far in emphasizing the value and import of the purely rational--of what IQ measures--in human life. For better or worse, intelligence can come to nothing when the emotions hold sway.
What I find most interesting is the idea that EI (also called EQ) outweighs even something as important in our society as a person's IQ. Now mind you, this is not proven and like much in science, has its critics. But, for me, I find myself indulging in this concept and believing it wholeheartedly. And here's why.
My son has an abundance of emotional intelligence (as the example from above clearly demonstrates). He has always been "in tune" to other people's emotions and feelings. Since toddlerhood, this has always been an amazing strength for him. But, he also suffers academically. Since about the age of 3, we've known something was different. After years of painstaking tests, observations, integrations, and academic interventions, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. This combination is rough when it comes to learning. Tests? Forget about it. Writing? Cringe worthy. Reading and decoding? Difficult at best. Needless to say, his educational struggles are never-ending. Yet, for a child who has struggled with learning from the very start, it's pretty darn amazing at how successful he is. I attribute a large portion of this to his emotional intelligence.
As Cindy Allen-Stuckey previously stated on The Methodology Blog in her post Developing Self Awareness to Build Emotional Intelligence:
Having high EQ is the way to get buy-in from the people with whom you’re dealing and inspire them to follow your lead. But first, you have to be aware of and make sense of your emotions.
When it comes to our careers, we all want similar things: knowledge, experience, happiness, achievement, financial stability, success, growth. And while our IQs help us along the way, we all can't be Einstein. What we can do however, is tap into our emotional intelligence. Utilizing this important skill to understand and connect on an emotional level can elevate our leadership abilities to a whole new, exciting level.
There's so much information available today thanks to modern media it can be hard for any one person to stay focused, much less figure out what is true and false. Here at AccelaWork, one of our areas of interest is employee happiness and satisfaction. That's not just because we prefer being happy to the alternative. It's also because there is good science to show that people who feel good about work get more done.
So when the Philippines-based training company Guthrie Jensen sent over an infographic on warning signs of unhappy employees, I was happy to take a look. I let them know I disagreed with much of what it had to say, but they wanted us to run it anyway. Take a peek for yourself, and keep scrolling for some commentary:
Now that you've had a chance to see the ten items in the image, let's review them. Are any of these warning signs of unhappy employees?
If an employee is late to work, that means one thing above all else: you care about when they arrive at work. Arriving at meetings on time is of course a hallmark of good character. But being "tardy" means that a person has an arrival time. Once again, work is not about working hours, but about results produced. You can't be "tardy" to work if no one is watching the clock. And a good owner doesn't care about arrival and departure times: they care about what is being accomplished. Increased tardiness isn't a sign of employee unhappiness. It's a sign of management treating employees like children.
There's an extremely old principle called Occam's Razor, which states that the simplest explanation is usually the right one. If an employee is calling in sick more often, the most likely reason is that they are sick. Perhaps they are under stress from challenges in their personal life. Or maybe they have a chronic condition. Assuming they are calling in sick because they are unhappy means that you are assuming the employee is lying to you.
Plus, there's something even worse than absenteeism. That's presenteeism: when people come to work sick and tired. Yuck!
See "increased tardiness" above. If you care about when employees are working instead of what they get done, you don't trust them. And employees who finish in work at a high quality in less time are efficient.
This one might actually be a sign of reduced happiness at work if it weren't for the rest of the infographic. Yes, people who are producing less may well be unhappy. But if they work in an environment where supervisors watch their arrival and departure times closely and don't trust the employee to tell the truth about their illnesses, declining productivity is the least of their worries.
I'm combining these two together because they illustrate a common fallacy about work. We sometimes believe that everyone who is an employee needs to be like us, and like each other. In reality, forced fun is a gimmick. You don't have to like your colleagues. You have to respect them. And if you're trying to force them to be social, you aren't really showing them much respect.
To see why this is not a sign of declining happiness, take a look at the rest of the text on the image. It reads: "There's a sudden change in their attitude, ethics, or compliance with company rules." That doesn't sound like someone who is unhappy, it sounds like someone who has recognized that they are being treated unfairly. Plus, that's not the definition of a professional anyway. A professional does what is right for their profession, regardless of what their boss or their company says.
Working with other people is wonderful, but only if people want to work together. Saying "that employee refuses to collaborate" is like saying "that person refuses to volunteer." It's not collaboration if you're being required to do it.
Plus, there are lots of people and lots of kinds of work that are better suited to individual efforts. What matters is results. If you get more done working alone, why should you be forced to work with other people?
If an employee isn't interested in promotions, it doesn't mean they aren't happy. What it probably means is that they are happy with where they are. Not everyone is looking for career opportunities and chances to move up. Some people like having a steady job and taking care of their families. Other people find meaning outside of work. And some people don't want to be promoted because they will lose the relationships or the responsibilities they currently have.
...doesn't mean it's correct. If you think your employees might be unhappy, ask them about it. And if you see these things happening at your firm, look at yourself before you look to blame someone else!
Larry Bird, 60, stepped down last week as the Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations, a job he took over from Donnie Walsh when he left to get the Knicks back on track. Bird is the only man in NBA history to be the League's Most Valuable Player, the Coach of the Year and the Executive of the Year. Larry Bird was the National Player of the Year, his senior season at Indiana State (1979). The following season, he was the NBA Rookie of the Year. Larry Bird was named the NBA Most Valuable Player on three occasions. He was named MVP of the NBA Finals twice and was an All-Star in 12 of his 13 seasons. Larry Bird led the Celtics to three Championships in the 1980's.
I first saw Larry Bird play when he was a junior at Indiana State. I recognized how talented he was but I do not think anyone realized that he would go on to become one of the greatest players in NBA history. Larry Bird had incredible eye-hand coordination. Let's remember that not only was he a great scorer, but he also was a good rebounder and an excellent passer. Bird was a team player, one who would dive for loose balls.
Larry Bird was the head coach of the Pacers for three years; they went to the League Finals once and the Conference Finals the other two seasons. During Bird's time as President of the Pacers, they went to the Conference Finals on three occasions. Anyone in that position, will have his "hits and misses." The last couple of seasons were especially challenging and Bird felt it was time to "move on." For all of his successes, Larry Bird came close as a coach, but was unable to bring the Indiana Pacers a Championship as a coach or as an executive.
It was clear from the start, though, that Bird would only be there on a year-to-year basis. He made sure that owner, Herb Simon, knew that before he took the reins. Vigilant Sports wrote about the basketball legend and his decision to leave:
“I know last year after talking to Herb, I told him that this would be my last one, contract-wise, and the next day I brought Kevin and Peter Dinwiddie into my office and told them that this would be my last year, let’s do our best, let’s try to put the best team we possibly can together,” Bird explained. “There’s not a lot of people that knew it, at least four or five.”
Though he may be resigning, he will be staying on in an advisory role. So what does this mean for the team and their growth? How productive can Bird be as a part time adviser? Will he still gain respect and get things done that way or is it merely a title? Our very own Robby Slaughter posed a similar question and had this to say:
There may be more understanding at higher levels, but the question needs always be the same. What results are people actually producing, not what hours are they putting in. After all, who wouldn’t prefer to have two individuals sharing the work and meeting the deadlines, if the alternative is one person falling behind?
As long as your work and presence are having a positive impact, then it doesn't really matter how many hours you put in. What matters is that the work you do is productive and valuable!
In fact, a study reported by Global Workplace Analytics claims an owner could save as much as $6,500 per employee, per year. Where do these savings come from? Let’s explore.
Even if your employee works part-time from home, you can coordinate it so that your business needs less workspace. For example, if you had a company with 50 employees, you could have 25 people show up one day, while the other 25 show up the next. This, in turn, leads to a lower electric bill, less office space you need to rent, fewer desks, less electricity and so forth. Even commercial real estate brokerage firms are recognizing the telecommuting trend.
Even with the advances of modern medicine, illness is still a reality. Unscheduled absences cost the average employer close to $2,000 per year per employee, adding up to more than $300 billion for U.S. companies.
According to the American Management Association, those who work from home will call out sick 68 percent less often. And countless studies have shown that people who work from home are often more productive than those who work in the office.
Losing a valued employee can often cost businesses thousands of dollars, and according to some studies, two-thirds of employees are willing to take a pay cut for the right to telecommute.
Telecommuting programs can help retain your employees and even draw in new hires that may not have considered your job posting in the first place otherwise. In fact, 100% remote positions may be able to lure in some great talent hundreds of miles away, giving the opportunity to hire anyone in the world.
When your employees are networked online, there’s very little reason to visit another employee in person to solve a problem. This, in turn, will save your employee time driving to a destination or distractions while interacting with another employee trying to figure something out.
It also means employees won't have the luxury of interrupting one another by walking across the office to talk to someone else. They will have to learn to collaborate remotely, which means it will be more intentional and more efficient in the long run.
Encouraging your employees to telecommute will not only save your business money, but it can help save your employees money as well since they won't have to drive to work, put miles on their car or buy a lunch while on their one-hour work break. Why wouldn't you want your business to be more productive, keep your employees happy, and save everyone a few bucks?
Stephanie Lynch is a freelance writer who operates for HowMuchIsIt, a database created to help consumers discover what things cost in life. She loves to help consumers find out what unknown things cost in life, helping one person at a time pay a fair price. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, biking, jogging, scrapbooking and spending time with her family. You can follow her on Twitter @howmuchforit
If you take a look at the 2016 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement report from the Society for Human Resource Management, you'll see that about 55 percent of workers who were surveyed rated trust between employees and their management as important to their job satisfaction levels. Yet, only 27 percent could say they were actually satisfied in this area. Where is the lack of trust coming from and why are workers feeling so wary of their employers? Entrepreneur decided to dive deeper into this issue and reported back with some amazing ideas to increase morale in the workplace. Check them out below!
1. Keep communication open.
If you want your employees and coworkers to trust you, then you have to value transparency. If the company isn't handling the rumor mill and keeping an open door policy, then you're likely to get some suspicious glances thrown your way. Have suggestion boxes or open discussions regularly to address concerns. Don't give non-answers, people can tell when they're being fibbed to!
2. Remind them they’re valued.
I can honestly say that the biggest problem I came across throughout my years of employment at different companies was not feeling valued. I tend to blame that on the fact that a lot of employers see their workers as replaceable since the job market is so fierce. Don't like it? Well, there's hundreds behind you willing to deal with feeling undervalued in order to get a paycheck. If you want to keep your organization staffed with good workers, you have to recognize their value!
3. Emphasize the importance of fun.
We all tend to feel like our career path is out of our control at times which is easily one of the most stressful aspects of working. Combat that with fun. Not only does it make your employees feel like you care, but it eases stress levels, too!
Do this by surprising teams with half-days or long weekends off. Call an impromptu meeting on a Friday and share all the successes and accomplishments employees have recently earned. Then reveal that employees' "next project" is to take a long weekend off.
4. Work on team-building.
If your employees don't feel like a cohesive, comfortable unit, then productivity will surely suffer. Supporting the idea of collaboration among your teams is important in creating that feeling of unity.
Your staff should also be encouraged to share who they are individually, and to let their personalities shine. Start an "about me" wall, where employees recount stories on sticky notes and place them under categories on a white board. These topics could be “my first day,” “personal hobbies,” “most proud moment” or “biggest work project.”
If creativity and problem-solving are things you value in your workers, this is a surefire way to encourage that to grow.
5. Create more positive workplace energy.
This, to me, should be number one. I can't tell you how many times I would dread going to work simply because the environment wasn't happy. Coworkers dragging themselves and their big black cloud of energy over their heads into the office everyday is awful. If we're being realistic, most people would rather not have to go to work everyday. It's not usually the best part of your day. But if the job itself and the people you work with have good, positive energy, it makes work more enjoyable. Look into making the office more comfortable, upgrading office equipment, or having a 'relaxation room' for open use!
Is that really collaboration? Absolutely not! Despite all the hype in businesses about the importance of people and departments collaborating, the majority of them function using competition.
The problem is that competition has its limitations. It doesn't work well in today’s world of uncertainty, low trust, and dwindling resources. Today, people have to change how they work.
Here's my definition of the word:
Collaboration is when a shared interest or conflict that cannot be addressed by any single individual is addressed by team members in order to do, create, or invent something better or otherwise considered impossible. Collaboration is really looking at what is best for the organization.
The place to start? With leaders who don’t just support using collaboration but actively encourage it by collaborating themselves.
Leaders, here are 4 tips to effectively collaborate:
Tip 1 - Set Group Expectations. All of us are usually good at setting individual goals; but this is what “the group” (or the team) is going to achieve---not just individuals.
Of course, the word "expectation" can be a mixed bag. When we talk about expectations at work, what we mean is "this is what success looks like." Collaborating requires defining the meaning of victory, but it has to be defined together instead of just by the boss.
Tip 2 - Define Collaborative Behavior. Once expectations are set in Tip 1, what behavior are you looking for when you talk about collaborating? This word can have many meanings – so how will you and everyone know when they are collaborating?
For example, a good sign that collaboration is happening is that there is a division of labor. Another great sign is positive accountability. That means people are checking each other's work to ensure quality, and the review is appreciated. But if one person gets all the fun tasks and everyone else resents them, that's probably not collaborative behavior. Pay attention to what you want when specifying what everyone will do.
Tip 3 - Embrace Team Diversity. I’m not talking about what you usually think when you hear the words “diversity”. I’m talking about embracing personality differences. Are you aware that personality differences can make or break teams? You have to learn to understand and accept one another and what that person brings. Odds are that the guy that drives you and everyone else nuts is the person you need the most.
Once everyone understands and accepts his/her own personality and those of other team members, you can move closer to collaboration.
Tip 4 - Provide Accountability through Feedback. As a leader, you need to observe individual and group behavior. And then you must do something which is incredible difficult: provide good feedback. This helps guide team members through desired changes and help them enjoy the new culture.
But at the same time, leaders need to be open to feedback themselves. You need to be ready to hear from your team and you should be constantly asking "how can I improve?"
Many changes are happening in the modern workplace such as increased diversity, growing workloads, organization changes, and a global workforce. This is why you must invest time and energy in your team’s culture. While you can’t control external factors, you do have ability to directly influence how your team responds to these factors as you develop a positive team culture and help them enjoy the new culture.
And as more and more businesses realize that silos are creating problems, collaboration is becoming the standard practice. With everything from group projects in school to cross-functional teams at large companies, we are working together more and more to build our dreams.
Usually known as Generation Z, this generation includes anyone born after 2002, which makes up about 18 percent of the population. They've already been given a catchier name - the 'Linksters' - thanks to speaker and author Meagan Johnson. We're not sure if it will stick, but the reasoning behind the 'Linksters' name does make a lot of sense:
“We chose the term Linkster Generation because it is the first generation to be linked into technology from day one. Millennials brought technology into the cultural focus and have pushed other generations to use technology. However, there are Millennials that can remember using dial up or even a life before social media,” Johnson told The Independent.
These kids grew up with technology in their face. From social media, to apps for their smartphones, these kids didn't have to struggle with the cord on their telephone or wait an eternity for their dial up to connect to the internet (only to be interrupted when your mom needed to make a phone call.) If that doesn't make you feel old, keep in mind that these kids aren't really kids anymore - most of them are 15 years old and will be entering the workforce in a few years, if not already starting out with some part time jobs here and there. Our very own Robby Slaughter has spoken about generational conflicts and attracting younger generations to your business, which will always be a constant learning curve for workplaces.
That means that they will be looking up to Millennials for guidance and support. Millennials, the group that is already obsessed with technology and the easier pace it brings, are having children of their own now and passing on that love of technology. I have a 5 month old myself and let me tell you, Snapchat has been a lifesaver. Letting her look at herself (I call it "the baby in the phone") and all the eye-catching filters has helped me avoid some major meltdowns already. It's the new way to jingle a bright and shiny object in front of their faces to distract them like our parents used to do. And how does Generation X contribute to the changes in child rearing?
“In a response to the high divorce rate, many Gen X children experienced as kids, more and more Gen X parents are choosing to have one parent be at home with their children. The generational difference being it is no longer the traditional woman staying at home. More and more Gen X dads are choosing to stay home with their children,” says Johnson.
As I am entering the world of parenting, I can tell you that the amount of stay-at-home dads with mom as the main provider has drastically increased. When I was younger, I don't think I ever knew a dad who didn't work. Each generation changes and shifts with the times, seemingly becoming more tolerant and accepting. Sometimes, that just doesn't jive well with older generations. Johnson explained:
“We use the same negative words to describe every generation as it enters the workplace or the marketplace. I find it amusing to hear my peer group (Gen Xers) describe the younger generation as a group of people that do not want to pay their dues or expect a high salary within three months of starting their job. We were described the same way back in the 1990s and our Baby Boomer parents were described just as negatively twenty years earlier… When we use negative words to describe the younger generation what we really are describing is a frustration to identify or understand the skill set that younger people are bringing into the workplace.”
A lot can be said about conscientious and efficient shoppers. For one, they don't mess around. Whether its about saving money or time (or perhaps both), game faces are on and they are prepared. Likewise, those of us hoping to achieve productivity in the office are on the same page. It's about making a plan and tackling it with the utmost care and precision because frankly, the last thing we want is to have our efforts go in vain right?
Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork and productivity expert, draws our attention to this interesting and spot on comparison--the marriage between efficient shoppers and productivity. In a guest post on the Rainmakers Blog, Slaughter contends that "we’re all looking for ways to achieve more with less." He also points out that "Being frugal and being productive requires more than just following tips; both require changing behavior."
So, what are the behaviors that make super shoppers efficient and how does this translate into the office?
Slaughter shares three tips on shopping and productivity: Make a list, Know your enemy and Shop don't socialize. Each tip is listed below with a small excerpt from his blog post that explains why the suggestion can achieve both efficiency and productivity in the office, at the store and even with your bankbook. Read on super shoppers and productivity adventurers, and be ready to make some mental notes!
A key tip is to avoid tossing your list at the end of the trip. Instead, write it on an index card and laminate it (you can use packing tape.) Then use a dry erase marker to cross off items you don’t need before you leave home, and cross the rest off as you pick them up. That way you’re always buying the same items. Plus, it’s easier to respect a list that you’ve carried for months.
Don’t take part in the marketing. Skip the wheeled cart so you have to lug any impulse shopping. Bring headphones so that you can listen to your own tunes, not the slow muzak that makes you linger or the announcements that pique your interest. And as crazy as it sounds, try wearing sunglasses inside the store. It’s harder to read signs about irrelevant specials if you’re looking through dark shades just at the products that matter.
It’s can be fun to shop and fun to save money, but don’t confuse the difference between work and play. If you want to socialize with a friend, don’t use it an excuse to engage in conspicuous consumption.We might happen to become friends with our colleagues, but we didn’t take the job for the social benefits. You might happen be best buds with a great shopper, but hopefully your friendship is not based on owning matching credit cards.
Productivity in the workplace is always on the agenda isn't it? If you find yourself feeling this way perhaps its because you haven't quite ironed out all the kinks in your process management. Or maybe you're not fully in control of your day due to interruptions or faulty systems. But, stay on the lookout for better ways of working and peruse The Methodology Blog for further tips and suggestions. When in doubt, stay the course and keep striving for improvement. And, when in need, feel free to turn to AccelaWork for advice and help.
Mentoring is not a skill that was taught in any class I took. I never received training. I was just expected to know how. I scheduled the first meeting with my new mentee with no agenda. We were just going to meet each other and talk. My plan as a mentor was to share experiences and give advice. That is what a mentor does, right? After the first meeting I became discouraged. I felt inadequate and worthless. I had no sense of the direction to lead my mentee. I was not sure how I could help this person. We continued to meet, but the meetings were not productive. I struggled adding future meetings to my calendar because I had more important things to do. Activities in which I provided more value to the company than mentoring. After a few months we just stopped meeting. I had failed with my first mentee.
I am glad that over the next 25 years, I was able to develop world class mentoring skills. It would never have happened if I had not failed first. People that avoid failure, risk never experiencing the event that will positively change their life forever.
For some time, I avoided mentoring, but soon I was assigned another mentee. The second experience was better, but ultimately a failure. In fact, I continued to fail several more times. I learned from my mistakes. I sought out training. I learned more by doing than from books. I had to be willing to face my mistakes, and do the work required to improve.
Being a great mentor is not easy. There is not one single skill that automatically makes a good mentor. Instead, mentors have a long list of skills including listening, teaching, training, guiding, storytelling, coaching, and most importantly human personalities and motivations. You can be a world class mentor. It requires life skills that grow through experience, failure, improvement, and practice. What lessons have you learned that make you a better mentor? Have you learned more from a book, or by practice? What are you learning now, that will make you a better mentor?
There is, in fact, a big difference between mentoring and coaching. What makes them so different? Is it necessary to learn how to coach and mentor, or can you do well enough picking one of those areas to pursue? Thresette Briggs, one of our consultants and speakers here at AccelaWork, wrote a post that may shed some light on this topic and some helpful ways that you can differentiate between the two.
Differences Between Mentoring and CoachingThrough my experiences, I have learned that mentoring differs from coaching in that it’s generally for a longer period of time and focuses on developing the individual holistically for the future—professionally, personally, and often, spiritually. Mentoring is often about following someone through their path in life, learning from their lessons and mistakes. Mentoring is often a private, one-to-one relationship.
Coaching, on the other hand, may only be for a short period of time and focuses on helping the individual overcome a specific issue or performance challenge in the present. I’ve been fortunate to experience the power of coaching and mentoring.
While there are clear differences between coaching and mentoring, the differences complement each other, making both valuable and necessary. Together they are a powerful, unbeatable combination for developing future leaders. Their differences are summarized in the table below.
To learn more about developing and/or improving processes such as mentorship at work, be sure to reach out to AccelaWork.
Today's blog title is an intriguing one. After all, "Happiest Lie in Business" can certainly turn your head, twinge your ears and make your eyes bulge in total curiosity. Particularly because it's guaranteed that we've all been privy to the happiest lie in our workday at least once, but probably multiple times. Some may even discover, once reading this post in its entirety, that the happiest lie plagues their daily lives. So, what is it exactly?
In his article posted on Inside Indiana Business Robby Slaughter reveals the two words which comprise the happiest lie in business: "No Problem." According to Slaughter, "no problem" is code for something else:
Whenever someone says "no problem" what they mean is "there is a problem." They mean "I don't want to do that. I shouldn't have to do that. But I will." Or, they might mean "I know you think this is my job, but it's not." Maybe they mean you should have, or someone else should have, or it should be done automatically.But if they thought it should be done and it was their job, they would say "yes."
Honestly, it couldn't be any clearer. Slaughter's explanation of this "happiest lie" phenomenon is spot on. And what's more, he's right, these two words are used everyday by people in the exact manner with which he explains above. I will openly admit how quick I am to utilize this phrase despite my wrenching distaste for what I'm agreeing to do. More often than not, these words come out of my mouth moreso to please others. So, I suppose for me, "happiest lie" is for the other person. Not me.
Obviously, saying "no problem" to a task I feel I should not be doing, is a complexity in the English language that extends past the standard dictionary definition. "No problem" by ordinary terms, means you're okay with the statement and/or request directed toward you. Yet, it's also an incredibly passive aggressive tactic that purposefully misdirects communication. So, what can be done to make this happy lie in business deteriorate and phase out for good? Slaughter suggests the following:
The answer to any request should begin with the word “yes” or the word “no.” It’s okay to add clarifications or caveats: “Yes, but we need to adjust the budget and the schedule” or “No, unless we put another project on hold.” It’s okay to explain your answer. But “no problem” is a little bit suspicious.
Indeed, choosing more definitive words, ones in which represent how we truly feel, should be the way in which we begin to respond. It may be uncomfortable at first to say no at work or step up to the plate and actively volunteer to spearhead a task or project, but at least we're not settling for the raw end of the stick that sends our passive aggressiveness into a tailspin. Feeling confident in saying "yes" or "no" helps satisfy our right to be in full control of ourselves, our time and our jobs. As Slaughter points out, it's our responsibility to answer honestly because if we don't, we are ultimately the ones who end up suffering the consequences.
The deeper point here is not merely about these two words, or even being precise with our language. Rather, it’s about how much our communication involves bending the truth. When someone asks you if you can do something, it’s essential to answer honestly. If you don’t, you’re going to either disappoint them when you fail, or stretch yourself thin trying to meet the promise. And what’s worse is that in the long run you’re only going to set yourself up for more failure. You’ll be remembered as the person who broke their promise, or you’ll be expected to perform secret heroics in the future.
Do yourself a favor. The next time you are about to mutter the happiest lie at work bite your tongue. Take a moment to collect your thoughts and consider a thoughtful response that actively supports what you believe represents the best course of action for both you and your team. Good luck!
A piece from SystemsRock called Why You’ve Got To Get Addicted To Delegation makes some great points on the question. And while I'm not a fan of making the word "addict" a positive thing, one quote from the article sticks out:
The problem is that we don’t look at delegation from an investment point of view.We often say “no” to it because we mistakenly believe delegating has to be an expensive (almost a luxury), time-consuming, and possibly unmanageable situation.
This phenomenon happens all the time. I wrote a post a while back asking how much would you spend to save one minute a day? That post was about investing in technology, to help you be more efficient. I've also argued for getting additional screens as well as buying a newer, faster computer.
It's really, really hard to hand off work to somebody else. The reason is basic human psychology. Here are three of the biggest factors:
In short, we are bad at delegating because we think we know best, we are too optimistic about how long it will take us, and we find our own work to be more special. This is a bad, bad combination.
I'll include the original list from SystemRock:
What else is there to add to that? Maybe a few things about attitude:
It's not easy to hand off work to other people, but there are some strategies that can be effective. For example, its good to specify the results you seek rather than the method to be used. If you are telling people how to do the work, they may have trouble meeting your expectations. But if you state what it is you want done by describing the finished product, they can find their own tools and techniques.
Another element of delegation is to expect failure to be part of the process. It's not going to go right every time, and that's okay. People need to make mistakes on their own to learn. Communicate up front that you know there will be ups and downs. And maybe don't hand out tasks that are mission-critical to first timers.
Also: don't confuse training with delegation. When you train someone, you're showing them how to do to something in a specific way. When you delegate, you're giving someone responsibility. Compare the difference between teaching someone how to cook a specific recipe, and asking them if they will make sure there is dinner ready for everyone by 6pm.
Finally, remember that it's not easy being a delegate. When someone gives you the power and responsibility to complete certain tasks, it can be pretty scary! You want to do well and impress them, but also put your own stamp on the work. Have some sympathy for this person.
Have your own experiences with delegation? Leave them in the comments. (But please, don't ask someone to comment on your behalf!)
Knowledge and skill are very different. If you have a recipe for Chicken Marsala but have little cooking skill, your dish will be lacking. If you are put in a kitchen and possess good cooking skills, you probably would struggle making a new dish without a recipe. A recipe provides the proven formula for success. For a great dish you need both knowledge and skill.
Last week I wrote about my first experience of being an official mentor. I was not prepared, and I did not know I was not prepared until things went badly. I lacked both knowledge and skill. It made me reflect on how it is important to consider both when you want to learn something new. Sometimes I lean more towards gaining knowledge and at other times more towards building skill. It also depends on what I am learning. I am determined to be more focused on how I do both. It will accelerate the learning process.
People that don't know how to cook, do not spend time looking at recipes. Good cooks like to look at recipes and occasionally learn a new dish. A chef will spend time experimenting and developing something new, but they still get ideas from other recipes. I think this is a good analogy to think about. If we are learning a new process, a new language, a new system, or a new hobby, we should ask, "How are we gaining both knowledge and skill?" And if there is one thing that AccelaWork stands behind, it is continuous learning. There is always some new information or process out there that could drastically change your life. How can you hone your skills? Jack Klemeyer talked about how to become involved in continuous learning and how that will help you on your road to success. Check out the 4 steps he swears by below!
Using these tips will not only help you hone your skills but increase your knowledge, too! It's been proven time and time again that reading can help slow cognitive issues which will keep your brain at high performance levels. Many studies, including this one about being actively engaged in hobbies and reading books, have shown that exercising your brain through books and puzzles can actually help you avoid dementia at later stages in life. If you keep reading and keep learning, you are giving your brain a work out that it wouldn't get any other way. Even if you take one hour per day to learn something new or challenge yourself mentally, the outcome can be a huge plus for your future self. We all have the time to become a bit more productive and be able to proudly say not only do you have the knowledge but also the skills to match!
Despite the many talents I wish I had when it comes to fine arts, I do not possess many. Yet, I cannot deny my unending thirst for creativity. For the first twenty-five years of my life, I simply believed that because I lacked the natural ability in the fine arts, that I couldn't call myself an artist. On the contrary however, I have found that creativity can be found in all sorts of places (even ones as boring as an office) and be seen in areas outside the art studio and in work that doesn't require an easel and paint brush.
There are many different avenues for artistic expression. But, there is beauty and artistry in unexpected places that any one of us could easily overlook in a millisecond simply because it doesn't fit within the typical range of what we consider artistic. Yet, why is that? Why do we underestimate art at its finest simply because it isn't hanging in a gallery, featured in a magazine, paraded down a runway, or showcased on television?
Today, I'd like to highlight areas of artistry in the workplace that perhaps go unnoticed, but can be truly innovative and creative. Check them out below because chances are, you'll discover that you too are an artist.
It's not far fetched to assume many people see office spaces as generic and unplanned. We all know about ugly cubicle farms. But, did you know that designing a workplace specifically to inspire and encourage creativity does happen? These days office spaces can be seen flashing brighter colors, livelier patterns, warmer and welcoming touches. Have you taken notice to the pretty stone fireplaces, water features and winged-back chairs in medical offices? Or the hanging art pieces in conference rooms or couches in business entryways? These subtle touches are not only artistic expressions, they serve a purpose: to inspire and fuel innovation. Bravo to the individuals who lead the way in achieving such work environments.
Yes, this is a surprising example of artistic expression at work. After all, spreadsheets can be described through many unenthusiastic words. Boring. Flat. Numbers. Figures. Blah, blah, blah. But, that's why this project work is amazing. Because when it's done well, it becomes a cornerstone in many areas of operation. It takes an immense amount of creativity to relay crucial information in a way that can be understood universally throughout a company. When spreadsheets are easy to understand, to navigate and appear to be "simple", rest assured the creator is an artist.
Writing emails is an underestimated task. They may seem easy enough to write, but deep down, we know the challenges that come with electronic communication--or should I say miscommunication? When you are dealing with situations involving client communication, new prospect outreach, customer service, employee relations, and dozens of other areas that can be precarious at times, it takes a certain finesse to write clearly, concisely, and thoughtfully. I'm willing to bet that those of you reading this blog would be hard pressed to count on just one hand the number of times you've had to draft and redraft emails cautiously due to the finicky nature of the communication. The art in composing emails comes when the combination of your words and perspective achieve the goal set forth in your draft. If your message is received clearly and in the manner with which you hoped, then consider yourself an artist.
Not everyone can be great at communication. In fact, it's actually quite difficult to achieve because everyone is different in their understanding, perspective, and knowledge of a situation, subject matter, etc. So, to say that there are perfect communicators in the world is like saying North America is in the southern hemisphere. It's just not true. But, there are people who can master the art form of communication. If co-workers and colleagues turn to you for advice or as a sounding board, consider yourself an artist. If you are a mentor or sought out as one, consider yourself an artist. If you successfully maintain positive relationships in the office, you're an artist. If you're a leader who is received well and respected by both your team and your counterparts, you're an artist.
Maintaining a clean desk can be tricky. You may have stacks of paper in neat piles and files in a filing cabinet, but unless there is an organizational system in place, you may still find yourself in a disorganized, mangled heap of clutter. The true artists are those who have thoughtful, designated systems in place for office organization.
First a reminder: those paid by the hour can only work so much before overtime sets in, but in a salaried position employees often stay until the job is complete. Some 40% of adults work 50 hours or more each week. These extra hours make employees feel overworked and often create preventable mistakes.
Research suggests that the average worker is only productive for less than three hours in a typical workday. The 10 percent most productive workers don’t work a full eight hours, because they take a 15 minute break every 52 minutes. Here are four benefits to placing a six hour workday in your business schedule, plus a handy infographic from our friends at the Ohio University Online masters program.
In the study, the nurses with shorter hours took half as much sick time as those in the control group and they were two times less likely to take any time off in a two week period. This also allowed them to have more energy while at work. Employees experience depression when they are overworked, so shorter hours could result in improved mood and greater self-confidence. Healthy workers can lead to better relationships and rapport with clients or vendors, because they are not rescheduling meetings or missing important phone calls.
Often employees come to work as a means to an end, but what if those employees were more involved in the mission of the company? Shorter daily work hours could create a better environment for employees to learn about company goals and objectives. Employees who understand a company’s goals are more likely to help the company succeed in reaching them. Workers who learn more about the company’s goals are more likely to stay committed if some of their values are the same. This employee retention can foster better relationships with coworkers and management. Employee engagement can lead to increased knowledge about personal job expectations which can result in greater productivity.
While there are other factors businesses have to consider when thinking about switching to a six hour workday such as costs and hiring more employees, these benefits listed provide a positive start. Not only can companies boost productivity, but have more engaged employees as well as healthy and happier employees. A six hour workday is possible for American companies if they can forget about what has been typical for decades and look forward to the future.
Alyson Iuchs has been in leadership and management positions in multiple industries including hospitality tourism, journalism and sports media. Her passion revolves around reading, writing novels and adventure. Her favorite quote to live by is "The things you're afraid of are usually the most worthwhile.
My very first apartment was a one bedroom, one bath at 600 square feet. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were just one big room while the bedroom suffered with my queen sized bed and dresser set. I know small spaces pretty well, in fact, I generally thrive in them. Who wants a bigger place? That means you'll end up buying more stuff to fill up the space and more stuff you'll have to keep clean. When I first started working from home, I was renting a bedroom from the parents of my significant other. There was no way to create an office environment in a bedroom...except I totally did. Here are my three tips for working with small spaces!
Find That Awkward Spot
Every house everywhere (unless you're a hoarder maybe) has that awkward spot/area that just never got filled with anything. It could be just a small stretch of wall or maybe a closet that is just sadly bare. I'm a big fan of putting a small folding table or desk into a closet and creating your office space that way. What's nice about it is that you can close it up and it won't look weird or out of place. If you don't have a closet to spare, look for the empty stretch of wall and start there.
Don't Forget Organization
Once you've chosen your area, it's time to think storage, both above and below eye level. Every single inch of the area should be full of dividers, shelves, and drawers. You can sneak a filing system under the desk and still leave room for your legs. I love loads of shelving, personally, and you can get some cheap do-it-yourself kits at most stores in your area. You'll need to be on top of your organizational skills, especially in a smaller space, because it could end up looking pretty chaotic and messy. Label everything.
It Can Be Small And Pretty
Just because you have a tiny space to work with doesn't mean it should go without decor. That's one of the things that will make it feel complete. Barren walls and empty surfaces are sure to put your productive mindset in a rut. We've discussed how yellow paint can help increase productivity, which may sound crazy but is actually backed by studies. Ashley Lee also discussed how artwork encourages creativity:
Art affects the atmosphere of a roomHendricks suggests having photographs and paintings that generate a sense of calm. So consider hanging a beautiful landscape or black and white photo that depicts nature at its best. Doing so will help relax employees and clients alike.
Make Sure Your Workstation Works For You
If you have a big case, two huge monitors, and various other clunky office items that you're hoping to smush into this area, think again. Downsizing is the name of the game when it comes to small spots. You may be able to get away with two monitors if you're able to get them in smaller sizes. It may even be best to consider using a laptop instead of a desktop. I know one woman who was using a separate copier and printer. Technology has given us all-in-one faxing, printing, and scanning options. Make use of that! There are ergonomic chairs that can squeeze into smaller desks now, so you don't need a huge, eyesore of a chair. Consolidate your stuff!
Johnny Unitas won three NFL Championships and one Super Bowl. He was a 10-time Pro Bowl selection who was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player on three occasions. Joe Montana was a four-time Super Bowl Champion and a three-time Super Bowl MVP. Montana played in eight Pro Bowls and twice was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. Joe Namath led the New York Jets to a Super Bowl victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. Namath was a four-time AFL All-Star and two-time AFL MVP. Dan Marino was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who was the NFL's MVP in 1984. Jim Kelly was a five-time Pro Bowl selection who led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls. George Blanda played more seasons of Pro Football (26) than anyone else played. He was a four-time AFL All-Star who also won the AFL's MVP. Blanda made a name for himself as a place kicker, too.
These six men, all from Western Pennsylvania, are six of the 26 quarterbacks in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This one region in the Country is the cradle of quarterbacks and is truly incredible! Western Pennsylvania has produced other fine quarterbacks but these are the best of the best! I think, like most people, I would rank Tom Brady as the best quarterback of all-time with Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas neck and neck for second and third. Joe Namath was a great quarterback for a short period of time and Dan Marino and Jim Kelly were outstanding for many years. Western Pennsylvania had its foundation in coalmines, steel mills, and railroads. Many of the great athletes from this region were first and second generation sons of immigrants. The toughness, work ethic, and great attitude that they possessed made them really special!
When they were honored at the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2015, each quarterback reflected on his career and had some wise words of wisdom to share. Marino stated:
“Nothing against Mr. Rooney, but beating the Steelers to go to that Super Bowl,” Marino said. “Donnie Shell and Jack Lambert were on that team, and I grew up watching the Steelers and loving Franco and Terry and Mel Blount and Joe Greene and everybody else. To be a 23-year-old kid in that game and win that game was pretty special to me.”
Marino will always be a legend. Even if you never watched football or didn't follow the game much, if you grew up in America you heard the name Dan Marino. Kelly also took this time to comment:
“You always dream as a little boy of wanting to play in the NFL but never even thought about or dreamt about being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Kelly said. “The first time I walked into the Hall of Fame, I saw Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones, Gayle Sayers, Bob Griese — and I can go on and on.”
So what can we take away from these great men and their astounding accomplishments? They started young, with a dream, and grew up devoting their time and energy to making that dream come true. Dreaming can be very beneficial to your focus. In fact, daydreaming has been found to help you be more productive! Maybe that was part of their secret; all the time they spent daydreaming about getting out on that field, playing some amazing games of football, and receiving the honor of being in the Hall of Fame.
John Maxwell has said, “It’s easier to teach what’s right than to do what’s right.” So if we want to be a good example for those around us, we need to be as good as we think we are. Intentions alone do not set the example. Setting an example also requires being visible, and interacting with people. If you are the best you can be, but working alone, then who are you an example for?
Those two thoughts deserve some reflection time. We would all like to be good, and set a good example. Review your activity in the last week. Have you had opportunities to be visible, and be engaged, and yet you choose actions that isolated you? Have you chosen actions that were easier, and maybe not shown how good you can be? In my opinion, you can't start learning these things soon enough. Some schools seem to agree with this train of thought and are starting early with this idea, asking 6th graders to take a vow to do what's right as they graduate the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. Minnesota Youth DARE Adviser, Will Durie, had some powerful words for the students:
“Be yourself. Don’t do something you know is wrong just to fit in,” he said. “Good decisions will lead to endless opportunities and bad ones will close doors that you might regret in the future.”
Another man with a wealth of knowledge, Colin Powell, said, “You can issue all the memos and give all the motivational speeches you want, but if the rest of the people in your organization don’t see you putting forth your very best effort every single day, they won’t either.” People around you will only give their best if they see you giving your best. What are you going to do the next week that reflects your best? What are you going to do to make those actions more visible to those around you?
There is a big difference between intentions and actions. How can we cross that gap? Jack Klemeyer took that issue on in an article marking the difference between the two and how you can overcome those obstacles.
- If you want to learn and develop your thinking and skills, you might read books and articles, take time for webinars and workshops, participate in group studies or a mastermind group.
- If you want to be a conscious capitalist, you have to develop a way to support, nurture or contribute to a cause or program.
- If you want to get new customers, you have to find ways to meet and build relationships with those people and businesses that are your ideal customer. You have to put yourself in their path and interact with them.
- If you want to get a new car, or a new home, or a new whatever, you have to make a plan to consistently save for it or designate certain income or sales toward that goal.
Simply put, good intentions won't get you anywhere, with coworkers or with customers. Saying you will do something doesn't automatically give you respect or support. You have to follow through with getting it done in order for people to recognize that you are capable. Only then will you be able to truly set a good example for those around you. You will be able to become an example that people will actually want to follow!
Being great at any one thing takes steady effort and practice. It also takes knowledge, understanding and the desire to improve. But at times, we take for granted what we thinkwe know well when in actuality we may not. Take for instance, listening. Sure, it seems easy enough. All you have to do is open your ears and allow the words to enter your brain right? Wrong. We cannot expect to gather information if our brains are not fully tuned in and ready to interpret what is being said, both verbally and non-verbally. And here is where the good listeners are separated from the novice listeners. Being aware and prepared to listen is vital to becoming a better listener.
Research shows that typically people remember 25% - 40% of what is heard. This statistic sounds incredibly low given how much we think we're listening. Cindy Allen-Stuckey, one of AccelaWork's speakers and a senior consultant, draws our attention to this fact in her article Five Tips To Become a Better Listener. According to Stuckey, active listening has three basic steps to master:
- Hearing—just listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. If you can repeat what has been said, you have heard the message.
- Understanding—taking what you heard and understanding it in your own way. This is when you ask questions of yourself and others.
- Judging—thinking about whether the message makes sense. This is where you ask yourself if you believe what you heard.
But this is just the beginning when it comes to active listening. There are plenty of factors involved to ensure you are receiving the message fully, interpreting it accurately and responding to it appropriately. Below are five tips to active listening that Stuckey shares in her article in Inside Indiana Business. Take a look and make some mental notes as these tips are fantastic!
Look at the speaker directly and give him your undivided attention. Make a conscious effort to not only “listen” to the speaker’s body language, but to also “focus” your mind and put aside your distracting thoughts.
Non-verbals can encompass everything from facial expressions, to posture, and to where you sit at a table. Leaning forward, maintaining eye contact, and nodding are ways to show that you’re interested in the conversation. Your non-verbals are usually more telling than your verbals.
Interrupting frustrates a speaker and limits your full understanding of the message. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren’t listening, even if you are.
These are the most important points that the speaker want to get across. They may being with “My point is…” or “Here’s the most important part…’
Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing: “What I’m hearing is,” and “Sounds like you are saying…” Also, makes sure you ask questions of the speaker to clarify what he means.
Growing up, many of us heard something like this: "You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you talk." Despite its redundancy, this old saying strikes a chord in us as adults because it's so true. Let it be the inspiration needed to continue to practice the art of active listening.
Over the course of my life, I have held numerous assisting positions in numerous different fields. You can throw Receptionist gigs under the assisting title because they usually get tagged to help out with these duties, too. I'm not saying that there is a problem with assisting someone - the title of the job is literally the job. But what about when you're working for someone who is scatter brained, impulsive, disorganized, and generally makes you wonder how they even got their job in the first place? As Jack Klemeyer pointed out in a post about workplace relationships, “The Three R’s” can really get in the way of productivity:
The first R is RESENTMENT – which is any negative emotion towards any person, place, thing, condition, circumstance, thought or idea.
The second R is RESISTANCE – defined by the withholding or withdrawal of any of your resources, potential, gifts, talents or positive expressions.
The third R is REVENGE – the process or desire of making another person feel your pain in some way, in any way.
How can you be expected to help this person stay on track with their daily duties? You may feel like a nanny with an out-of-control toddler on the loose. It's not easy to talk to your manager about your issues that you face on the job - they ARE the issue. Before the "The Three R's" wreak havoc on your work life, check out some of my tips below!
Get Your Answers From Them In Writing
I am a huge fan of texting and emailing. Why? Because they leave a trail and that trail can save your butt. If you're working for someone who is forgetful and disorganized, you need to up your organizational game. Create folders in your email account that are specifically for conversations you have with your boss. You could even go so far as having folders for every week. If you had a conversation in person, just send an email to them as a follow-up, that you want to make sure you are on the right track with their requests.
Don't Give Them A Bunch Of Options
Try to think of this person as they are, and not what you wish they would be. They are easily distracted and hard to nail down for answers. So instead of presenting a plethora of options for things, give them a "this or that" to choose from. Two options, no more, no less. If they ask why there aren't more, you can tell them you went ahead and narrowed it down for them already. Not only does this make you look like you're ahead of the curve, you're also saving yourself loads of time waiting for an answer.
Rely On Your Co-Workers
Chances are that other people know how your boss is. They've likely had their own run-ins with them in the past or are even currently working with them. Don't resort to gossip, but keep your eyes open for who goes in and out of their office. Run your thoughts about something by those who have worked with your manager. Something as simple as having casual conversation in the break room and mentioning something you're working on. People like to feel needed. Turning to someone for advice is a good way to build relationships and also put your own mind at ease.
Don't Be Afraid To Throw In The Towel
Last but not least, if all else fails, start looking for a new job. There's nothing wrong with giving up on someone who can't be helped. Sometimes, especially in positions where you are assisting, the combination of personalities just doesn't work. They may find someone to work for them that has no issues with their style of work and that's great. That doesn't mean you've failed, it just means that someone else's skill set can handle that type of crazy. So keep your resume looking pretty!
In a recent interview, when asked what he does in his spare time, Elon Musk said, "usually it’s work more." Without a doubt, success is hard work. The head of SpaceX and Tesla is said to put in more than 80 hours of work each week. Most of us are not willing to put in the required work to reach the heights of success like Elon Musk. Not only that, but musk sings the praises of getting enough sleep every night.
“Sleep is really great. I find if I don’t get enough sleep I’m quite grumpy…I could drop below a certain threshold of sleep, although I would be awake more hours I would get less done because my mental acuity would be affected.”
Many people I coach have specific goals they want to achieve. Some are held back, contained within their comfort zone. Others never test their limits because they just aren't willing to put in the effort. Successful people tend to be very focused and intent on achieving their goal. When we look at someone that is highly successful, we sometimes don't see the sacrifice they have made. They may have sacrificed time, money, relationships, or hobbies.
Successful people still have those things. But along their journey they gave up something to stay focused on their goal. We all want success, but there is a limit to how much we are ready to sacrifice. Having a limit is fine and knowing that sacrifice is required, shouldn't we be able to make better decisions? What are you doing to reach those goals that you wish to achieve? A post by Jack Klemeyer talked about how to map your goals in order to find success.
When you set goals for your business, you determine the direction your business will go in the next year, three to five years, ten years or longer. Your goals may define:
- How much profit you want to make each year.
- How your business will grow in terms of your product offerings, sales territory, physical size, number of employees, etc.
- How you will market your business.
- When and what your exit strategy will be.
You must be able to have a set direction in which you are wanting to take your life. If you don't choose a road to follow, you will end up getting stuck at a crossroads. And these aren't the only benefits that come from figuring out your end game. Klemeyer went on to explain:
Other benefits that goal setting can provide to you and your employees are:
An improved focus. You and your employees will know exactly what needs to be done on a daily basis to achieve your business goals. And you and they will likely use time more efficiently to achieve each step.
Greater motivation. You can run a contest or incentive program to make it more fun to achieve your business goals.
Evidence of your progress. You’ll be able to measure your actual results to determine if you’re on track with your goals. If you’re not on track, then you can make changes to your plan if needed. Plus this evidence will let you know when you have actually achieved what you set out to do.
Setting goals can be daunting. It can feel like you're putting a deadline on your shoulders and adding more stress to your life. We have to be willing to make sacrifices if we want to become successful!
Public speaking can be difficult for anyone. Whether you are addressing crowds, small groups or even a handful of employees, it's important to have the skills necessary for keeping your audience's attention and engaging them as well. And as simple and easy as this may sound, it takes a certain amount of finesse to not only accomplish, but to do so successfully.
Below are 6 Steps to Becoming A Better Small Business Speaker published on The National Federation of Independent Business' website. These steps and the advice provided are from experts in the field, including one of AccelaWork's principals Robby Slaughter. Read thoroughly and thoughtfully; keeping in mind your own speaking engagements both past and present. Think about how you can utilize these tips in the future and how they will affect your overall goals. We're certain they will not only help you improve, but will contribute to you becoming a more effective speaker!
“Focus consistently on one topic and truly become an expert in that topic,” says Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute. “Become known for something. The more niche, the better, so that when people are looking for speakers on that topic, you stand out.”
“Get to know your audience—and their level of knowledge and interest—in advance,” says Timothy Wiedman, a retired associate professor of management and human resources at Doane University. “If most of them are novices, they will become bored and confused by a highly detailed, in-depth presentation—especially if you use industry jargon or unfamiliar terminology. Some folks will be perfectly happy with a broad overview, while other groups may want a great deal of detailed information. As an expert on your topic, you need to be flexible enough to deal with either extreme. Determine what the audience wants, and deliver it.”
Anyone can become a better public speaker by changing their mindset from relaying facts to telling stories, says Robby Slaughter, principal of AccelaWork, a firm offering insourced speaking, consulting, and coaching on business improvement.“The word ‘storytelling’ should inspire a business owner to think in terms of a beginning, a middle, and an end; about describing conflict and resolution; and about having characters and settings,” Slaughter says.
A “pre-game mindfulness routine” can get you in the zone for your speech, says Jennifer Davis, a leadership coach. “This could be a three-minute meditation where you just breathe and imagine a time when you had a big success, a power pose to allow you to feel confident and strong, or even a five-minute dance party in the bathroom to your favorite song.”
“Engaging your audience can mean telling stories with which they can identify, using stories that engage all their senses, asking reflective questions, using ‘you’ language rather than ‘I’ phrasing, polling the audience on opinion questions, telling hero stories about someone in the audience, and so forth,” says Dianna Booher, CEO of Booher Research Institute, member of the National Speakers Association’s Hall of Fame, and author of more than 45 books on leadership and communication.
If you’re serious about improving your speaking, consider hiring a coach and attending a Toastmasters event, says Callista Gould, a certified etiquette instructor. Toastmasters, a public speaking organization, allows you to practice your speaking skills, test new material, and receive peer feedback. Gould also says she thought she was a good speaker, but hiring a coach made her a better storyteller and a better writer.
An op-ed piece from Marketwatch runs the numbers:
The global construction industry has a chronic productivity problem. Over the past 20 years, productivity has grown at only 1% annually, only around one-third the rate of the world economy and only around one-quarter of the rate in manufacturing.While construction has appeared stuck in a time warp, other sectors have transformed themselves. Consider that in the United States between 1947 and 2010, agriculture achieved cumulative real growth in its productivity of 1,510% and manufacturing 760%. Construction managed only 6%. U.S. construction-sector productivity is lower today than it was in 1968, and investment has fallen over the past decade.
Those are troubling statistics. The authors go on to blame the usual concerns:
These are all serious problems. They affect not just the construction industry, but anyone who provides contract services to create a finished product---especially if it's going to be used by the public. But there's a bigger issue at work, and it's causing inefficiencies and frustrations across the board.
To understand the productivity problem in the construction industry in the United States, the first thing to do is to explain what isn't causing the issue. It's not a lack of investment in technology. It's not ignoring new trends in materials, project management, or resource allocation. Rather, it's failure to change mindsets to meet new market demands
A chief complaint about productivity in construction is that larger firms are able to run circles around smaller ones. But this shouldn't be the case. As the saying goes, "It's not the big that eat the small, it's the fast that eat the slow." Gigantic construction firms are often mired in red tape, internal politics, and complex bureaucracies. But a small organization can move nimbly and solve problems quickly. This is especially the case if many of the employees are also owners, and they see the value in acting fast and doing what's best.
That's not to say enormous businesses can't also thrive. Small, entrepreneurial teams inside enormous firms can make a huge difference, according to sources such as the Engineering News Record. The secret is to not be afraid of new ideas, and to empower employees to consider them.
The usual method to assemble a project in the construction business is, to be frank, completely insane. In many cases virtually all aspects of the proposal are done up front, ranging from blueprints to material lists to detailed quoting. An incredible amount of work is done in the hopes of getting the opportunity. And although there is some support for the idea that even losing bidders should be compensated, most people think that if you don't get the project, your firm should eat the cost.
There are several new approaches in construction that represent different ways of thinking. The most obvious is the design-build delivery system, where the client has a single point of contact for all work and the architectural and construction phases are integrated. This prevents architects and builders from fighting over the same pie, since their collaboration is established up front.
Likewise, the rise of the manager-developers shows a desire to move away from collaboration. These are firms that are creating value by being the designer, the general contractor, and ultimately the property manager. But even beyond merging the roles into a single firm, a new mentality of collaboration is the spirit of all of these approaches. Everyone wants to win, and when all players work together there is greater success and greater productivity.
The biggest contributor to the productivity issue in construction is the same one as in other industries; it's just worse in the building world. That's the difference between "also using technology" to "using technology first."
Some of this is certainly industry-specific. Moving your building information modeling (BIM) from 3D to 4D to 5D is essential. But much of it has to do with how we use technology in general: sending emails instead of using collaboration spaces, giving users outdated or insufficient computers, or getting distracted by instant messaging or other urgent, unimportant tools.
The secret is to think "technology first." How can we use tools throughout this process to maximize our productivity? And if we're not using a tool to it's full potential, why not?
Even if you're not concerned with joists, LEED standards, or fixed sum change orders, this is all advice to consider. The productivity problem you're facing is mostly about mindset. Change the way you think, and you'll change the way you operate, communicate, and succeed.
To win: think different.
“The more we narrow the definition of beauty, the more beauty we shut out of our lives.” - Jim C. Hines
That quote appears in a fantasy novel. In this particular section of the book, one of the main characters is thinking about the other characters in the book. This sentence intrigues me for several reasons. First, I think it is true. Second, it reflects a chicken or the egg puzzle. Did the author craft this part of the story to make this point, or did the author have this thought while crafting this part of the story?
We may never know, but just like the chicken and the egg, we get to enjoy both. We can appreciate the story, and we can appreciate the egg. The third reason this sentence intrigues me is because it gets at a very important point about our lives. We live day to day from our own perspective. Our view of the world is unique to ourselves. If we are not aware of the limits within our reality, then we are not aware of our potential. We limit ourselves. I find it important to always challenge our own thinking.
I did not expect to find this quote in this book. Many people probably have read that sentence and not spent time thinking about the implication. But it is a great example of what we can find when we take the time to pause, become aware, listen, and think. It also shows us that not all great ideas have to come from a textbook, or a professor. There are lessons all around us. As I have mentioned in the past, I have learned a lot from my bad decisions.
1. Lack of Knowledge. It is difficult to make a decision when you are not informed. Decisions become a coin toss. You win some. You lose some. I have made continuous study and education part of my normal day. And I try and ask questions if I don’t know, and even if I think I do!
2. Lack of Experience. Practice counts. It is that simple. My results, decisions, performance, all improve when I put in the work. Experts don’t become experts without real experience. Just because I feel like I know what I am doing doesn’t mean I’m ready to operate without a net.
3. Overconfidence. When I become over confident I make mistakes. Humility helps me seek to become better. When we don’t prepare because we are confident, we can get blindsided. My system is simple: always be open to learning and growing.
4. Lack of Discipline. I hope I am not the only person that struggles with this. There are times when I know I should be doing one thing, and I end up spending time doing something else. What works best for me is to change necessary tasks into habits. Do something every day for 21 days, and it will become easier to do. If it’s not something you do consistently, it’s not a habit. And if it’s not a habit, you’re more likely to make a mistake.
5. Not Knowing Myself. Sometimes decisions that go bad are because we don’t like the place the decision leads us. Your gut sends you messages—listen to it! I know that when I can weigh my options against my values it brings a sense of clarity. My values will help me discern between short term desires and long term benefits. I need to know myself well.
Not every choice we make will turn out bad but if it does, it will surely cost you. Maybe not monetarily but in other ways, such as time and energy. We must be willing to learn and adapt to new perspectives if we wish to succeed. Maybe mine will help you navigate through your own!
Aaron Judge is in his first full season in the Major Leagues. Judge played college baseball at Fresno State and was taken by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft. Aaron Judge made his Major League debut with the Yankees last August and homered in his first at bat. Judge batted only .179 with four homers in 84 at bats and he struck out 42 times. Aaron Judge has been sensational in 2017! A few others have taken notice of his incredible talent, too. Judge was invited to take part in the Home Run Derby that takes place in Miami on July 10, which is the night before the All-Star Game. Some team managers have discouraged taking part in the derby as it might have a negative affect on their swings. Judge's manager, Joe Girardi, said in a statement to The Associated Press that he doesn't believe that would be an issue for Judge. When Judge was asked if he would participate, he had this to say:
“I just got invited,” Judge said Tuesday before the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 8-3, at Yankee Stadium. “That’s all I know so far. Haven’t decided yet. I’ll think about it for a while and see what we do.”Asked what might compel him not to compete in the event, Judge said he had not given it any thought. “Just more focused on what I can do for the team right now,” he said.
“I’ve thought about it, but never really dreamed it would actually happen,” he said. “That was pretty surreal.”
This humble man is a great teammate to have! Judge is 6'7 282 pounds and his power to all fields is incredible. Aaron Judge is about much more than home runs. He sets a great example by playing hard and with passion. He runs well and gives you everything he has in right field. It is so important to note that since he is hitting home runs to all fields, he is not getting into bad habits at the plate. Many power hitters constantly try to pull the ball so it is much easier for pitchers to pitch to them. Aaron Judge cut down on his leg kick this season and the results have been astounding. He is batting over .300 with more than 20 homers. Aaron Judge is a fine young man with a terrific work ethic. Baseball is a game of adjustments, and Judge has made some that put him on the path to greatness!
So how can we be more like Judge? What qualities or tips are out there and what would it take to rise so swiftly to the top? The first step is learning how to become a great leader. Robby Slaughter talked about some "universal truths" in a recent post that can help guide you on the road to great leadership. These truths are what most successful leaders have learned:
- Successful leaders are driven by passion.
- Successful leaders are never finished learning.
- Successful leaders believe integrity is everything.
- Successful leaders believe people are their greatest asset.
- Successful leaders are courageous.
The article goes on to explain in detail how each of those characteristics are necessary if you want to be known as the front-runner in your field. Use those tips. Let them guide you on your road to success!
I found myself in this exact scenario just recently when I was getting my oil changed. Generally speaking, when I take my car to our dealership it is a several hour-long process. Besides just waiting in a long line to get your car checked in (first come first serve after all), the actual wait time can be an hour or more once they get started. But, to my elation, they recently changed this policy and now perform oil changes by appointment only. So, I chose the earliest appointment possible and planned to drop my car off the night before so I didn't have to wait the next morning. And while this was a perfect plan, naturally it stood to be foiled.
In a torrential downpour, I drove my car to the dealership only to find its parking lot under two feet of water. I couldn't get within a block of the establishment. To my utter dismay, the plan was derailed and an early morning drop off became a certainty. Not surprisingly, at 8am the next morning the line to get in to the service department was outrageous. In disbelief and worried that my appointment would be given away, I parked my car and walked into the service department to see if I could just leave my keys and go.
Here is where I recognized how so many of us are oblivious to the obvious (including me). Speaking to a technician, he pointed out the solution--get into the second lane and be the first to enter into the service entrance.
Yes, as I looked out at the line with ten cars deep, I saw the adjacent garage door with zero cars in front of it. All I had to do was drive my car into that lane and I could come right in. Sure enough, I did exactly this. Easy. And not surprisingly, as soon as I entered, I began to see other cars follow suit. By the time I got out, 4 cars had moved over to the lane behind me. I was taken care of immediately and had no more than a 30 minute wait, start to finish.
How is it possible that not a single driver in the multi-car build up recognized the second lane? It's certainly tough to narrow down the answer. Perhaps those in the beginning of the line simply didn't notice the second gate. Maybe others assumed that if the gate was available, one of the technicians would have alerted them to move over. It could have been assumed as well that the second gate was reserved for certain services. For me, the line was so far back that I couldn't even see that a second lane was even available.
In the end, this long line developed out of blind acceptance. It's easier to follow suit than step outside the norm. And why not? After all, if everyone is doing the same thing surely the alternative isn't allowed or acceptable, right? It's much more difficult to take a risk and head down a path that no one else is on. Believe it or not, asserting yourself confidently isn't as easy or natural as it may seem. Case and point, as I maneuvered my car around the line I couldn't help but be nervous. I was running the risk of upsetting everyone in front of me, and leaving them agitated with my attempts at bucking the system.
My move served me well though and was, in actuality, a solution that essentially helped the entire group. Interesting how quickly a sour situation can change in a matter of minutes just by making one swift decision. Imagine what else could be done if our perspectives began to blossom and the once not-so-obvious action became the all-too-obvious solution?
Taking risks and embracing failure is a subject matter we often discuss on The Methodology Blog. Consider this advice, direct from the mouths of AccelaWork consultants:
Trusting yourself enough to take risks and experience failure is a great method for achieving success. Thinking outside the box, and realizing that when you mess up it isn’t the end of the world is the only way to ensure you reach the heights you hope to ...Stop following the norm—make a mess, avoid recommended tools, operate out of order. Taking steps such as these can inevitably change perspective and help bring to light processes that may have been overlooked or underestimated.
We may not always see clear solutions to every process or problem, but when we do it's time to take action and embrace the obvious. Don't allow anxiety, worry or blind acceptance dictate how your decisions are made and your work is performed. Stand confident and you'll lead others to do the same.
The study by Virgin Media used 2,006 employees to come to these findings. Not only are there more people telecommuting, but the billions they bring to the UK economy is set to only grow and grow. More than half say they haven't had the opportunity to work from home but have expressed the desire to make the change and at least be able to telecommute once per week. If these individuals found themselves with the ability to work remotely, that would make the number of British that do so jump to 15.6 million.
From the study:
"More people than ever are spending some of their working week at home, and our research shows that homeworkers depend on having a good broadband connection," says Kerris Bright, chief marketing officer at Virgin Media."As it consults on more robust broadband advertising rules, the ASA must consider Britain’s growing army of homeworkers, and require companies to advertise average speeds across a full day."
So why are so many companies so slow to understand the benefits of remote workers? Why is there such a stigma about working from home? We already know that telecommuting can save companies loads of money. A study performed by Global Workplace Analytics states that employers could save as much as $6,500 per employee, per year! Stephanie Lynch explored this surprising information in a recent article for AccelaWork. The number one reason? Reduced office space:
Even if your employee works part-time from home, you can coordinate it so that your business needs less workspace. For example, if you had a company with 50 employees, you could have 25 people show up one day, while the other 25 show up the next. This, in turn, leads to a lower electric bill, less office space you need to rent, fewer desks, less electricity and so forth. Even commercial real estate brokerage firms are recognizing the telecommuting trend.
One reason that some companies fear flexible schedules could be the reports that state remote workers still experience burnout, maybe even more than those who have to go into the office on a daily basis. Mark Robinson, the co-founder of Kimble Applications which is a professional service automation firm based in Boston, had a lot to say on the topic. He agreed that most of America's billable workers are hardly ever in the office anymore. Most travel for work or are capable of working from home. Regardless of how you work, you still have billable hours that must be tracked and reported. Robinson's company found that many workers are putting in crazy amounts of hours at work that aren't reflected on their timesheets. Why are they underreporting their hours?
“Too many businesses have no idea how much they are pushing their employees, because many [workers] fudge their time to create the right optics for client bills,” says Robinson. As a result, businesses don’t know how much time it really takes to complete a task or project, and businesses don’t recognize burnout in employees when it happens, he adds.
Is it because the employee isn't in their face on a daily basis that companies tend to not recognize the work they're doing? These telecommuters not only recognize they work more hours than agreed upon, but state that is just what is necessary to get their work done.
"We talk about ensuring that employees are challenged, appreciated, and in sync with strategic objectives, said Mollie Lombardi, co-founder and CEO of Aptitude Research Partners, "but even when they have an intellectual or emotional engagement with their work they sometimes still feel overwhelmed."
Working from home and having flexible schedules is definitely not perfect right now. Companies need to be willing to work on it in order to give their employees the best possible work and home balance. Happy people become happy workers!
We use electronic calendars, to-do lists, email, text messages, and other tools to improve our personal productivity. But the ugly truth is that regardless of your level of organization, productivity is a result of your actions. When we look at productivity, we can divide our time into three areas: thinking about the work, organizing the work, and doing the work. All three are important, but productivity is based on what you actually do. Productivity is maximizing the work.
If you are like most people there are actions that are difficult. There are activities that would be very beneficial, but we shy away from them because they are outside our comfort zone. We fear rejection. We fear failure. We fear what others might think. As a coach, I recognize that we all have a barrier between what we want to achieve and where we currently are. Most people have a difficult time pushing themselves through the barrier without help or support. A coach plays a powerful role in the ability of a person to do more.
Think about some of the big goals you have for your career or your life. What actions are you not doing that are required to achieve these goals? Would a coach help you step out of your comfort zone, and move forward? Coaches can help you in many different ways. One of our other coaches, Jack Klemeyer, talked about how our beliefs shape our careers and choices in an AccleaWork post.
Our beliefs are very often tinged with emotions, which are very strong drivers of behavior: fear, love, anger, desire. Our beliefs generally fall into one of three categories:
- REFLECTIONS OF NATURAL LAW OR REALITY: vegetables are good for people; the earth revolves around the sun
- REFLECTIONS OF PERSONAL VALUES: financial stability and independence is important; It’s best to treat people with respect and kindness
- SUBJECTIVE JUDGMENT OR MATTER OF OPINION: hummus doesn’t taste good; Apple devices are best
So what is the right way to go about meeting change head on? How do we chase away that fear that causes us to shy away from change, be it good or bad? What it comes down to is that you have to be willing to change your beliefs. It sounds easy but it's a lot harder than it seems. Our core beliefs have shaped and molded us into who we are today.
Correct beliefs generally produce positive results and the inverse is that incorrect beliefs produce results we don’t want. With that in mind, the best way to change outcomes that you do not want is to change the belief that drives that outcome. When you change a belief, your behavior will change instantly to reflect your belief. Negative outcomes produce the stress and emotional pain we feel. Negative results produce relationship disruptions and employment disappointments we experience. While we can consciously change behaviors to get different results, in order to make long-lasting change that doesn’t produce those bad experiences, changing the root belief that drives the behavior is the way to go.
Instead of downloading more addons, apps, and self-help books, start looking at your root beliefs. What is holding you back? Is there something interfering with your desire to change? Taking the time to sit down with a coach can help you acknowledge these issues and start down the road to meaningful changes that will actually last.
Business process mapping, a part of Business Process Management (BPM), is a framework used to create visual representations of work processes. Business process maps show the relationship between the steps and inputs to produce an end-product or service, such as when a product goes through packaging or when an employee’s leave is approved. This process of documentation is concerned with what a business does, why it does what it does, what the standard is for success, who is responsible, and when and where different steps will occur.
There are many areas that are covered in this guide including: the scope, history, types, principles, framework, symbology, process and steps of Business Process Mapping. But, for the sake of time, we will not go through all these facets. So, we encourage you to read the guide in full to learn a vast amount of information on the subject matter. We would however, like to highlight the expert advice provided in the guide by one of AccelaWork's principals, Robby Slaughter.
In The Essential Guide to Business Process Mapping, Slaughter provides his knowledge and perspective on BPM and why it's incredibly important for businesses to focus upon its advantages. Specifically, he emphasizes why utilizing BPM when it comes to the technology piece in business can not only enhance your investment, but is vital to its success. Below is an excerpt from the guide in which Slaughter explains:
“The technical capacity of BPM has dramatically outpaced the level of adoption or even awareness of the field. Most companies have never done any process mapping -- not even informally -- and they suffer from poorly-defined procedures, minimal staff engagement, and significant rework and duplication.“Your time is the most important investment, and purchasing software or hiring consultants won’t help if your team isn’t truly committed to process mapping. Learn one or two of the UML forms. I suggest using case diagrams and activity diagrams. Practice these extensively with fun, non-work processes like planning a party or scoring a frame of bowling. Once you learn the technology of process mapping, you’ve got a fighting chance of implementing it in your organization.
“We’ve done process mapping for all kinds of organizations, from marketing firms to factories to logistics companies. In most cases, the experience requires sitting down with staff directly and watching them work to learn about the procedures. This is the only accurate method to document the as-is state of the organization. Training materials, manuals, and even what management says is usually outdated or flat wrong.
“It’s good to select a low-impact, high-visibility process to highlight the capacity and utility of mapping. From there, the next step is to develop a lexicon for the organization. This is the terminology that people use to describe activities and work product. Then, we’re most interested in processes that cross teams or departments. That’s usually the area where there is the biggest disconnect and the most challenges.”
Once you've read through the guide and have gotten familiar with the concept of mapping, consider reaching out to AccelaWork to learn more about Business Process Modeling and innovation. While mapping and modeling are separate, together they can elevate your business process management to a whole new, exciting level!
I was and always have been a very anxious person, even when I was a little girl. Going to bed at night ended in hysterical tears because I couldn't deal with the fact that I had to go to school the next day. It wasn't your average "Oh, she just doesn't like school," sort of dread. It was more like "I'm so terrified that my heart feels like it's going to beat right out of my chest." As time wore on and I got older, the anxiety only seemed to escalate with puberty and hormones. High school was a straight up nightmare for me and it was around this time that I started to get serious with counseling. Author, Ph.D., and professor of psychiatry, Reid Wilson, has a lot to say on the topic of social anxiety.
"When you start backing away from events that are important for your career, when your anticipatory dread starts interfering with your productivity, when you spend more time worrying about your performance than you do preparing, then it may be time to see a mental health professional," he said.
USA Today sat down with him and asked a lot of questions many people have probably been waiting to hear an answer about: where do you begin to fix this anxious way of life?
Q: What is the cost of skipping work events? Does it reinforce anxiety?
I can tell you that I've missed nearly 100% of every function outside of work that didn't require attendance. If I didn't absolutely have to be there, you could find me in bed with a book instead.
"If your goal is to avoid feeling anxious, awkward, insecure and embarrassed, then avoidance is your best strategy, and it is the biggest crutch that people use when they're socially anxious," he said.
Turns out, though, this does nothing to help, but only magnifies the situation. People will notice you never show up to events. They may bring it up in conversation. Also, as Dr. Wilson says, it will only make you avoid more and more functions because you'll be training yourself to think you really can't do it. We already know that it pays to be nice at work. Try forcing yourself out of your bubble and go to at least one to start!
Q: How can people with social anxiety identify their issues and work through them?
What's surprising is that many people have anxiety and even go through panic attacks, but they have no idea what those things actually are. I was lucky enough (or perhaps unlucky enough) to come from a long line of people in my family who deal with this type of anxiety, so I started getting help early. Most people, though, are afraid to admit there might be something wrong with them, so they avoid telling someone or lie to themselves. Take time to do some self-reflection and really recognize what is causing your fear.
"The position you need to move to is I can tolerate that potential criticism."
Q: What strategies can people use when they are anxious about navigating a social event at work?
Dr. Wilson has a great way to defeat your social event demons - have a game plan. Plan for the things that make you uncomfortable to and think about your responses ahead of time. Part of anxiety is feeling like you're backed in a corner, but you can overcome that aspect with formulating your answers. Also, you have to learn to accept that you need to desensitize yourself at some point. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations.
"Decide that you will tolerate whatever anxiety and distress that you encounter," Wilson said. "If you’re going to get stronger, you have to learn to perform with distress, not get rid of your distress."
What are the standards for measuring employee performance and productivity in your company? If it's through numbers and progress reports, don't fret. You're not alone. But according to Adam Toren, VIP Contributor at entrepreneur.com, "If you’re using a one-size-fits all approach, you’re making a mistake." Simply put, it stands to reason that individual productivity is exactly that: individualized. People work differently and approach projects with a perspective and plan uniquely their own. By having the freedom to control their own workflow, employees are happier and inevitably, more productive. So if you've noticed that employees in your work environment are being measured by the same standards when it comes to productivity, perhaps it's time to throw caution to the wind.
One of AccelaWork's principals, Robby Slaughter, reaffirms the point that measuring productivity should not be based solely on numerical standards:
Ultimately, if we want to improve productivity we need to look at objectives. We need to step out back and encourage stakeholders to take risks. We need to accept that some people will want to have upbeat conversations and others will want to have tense conversations and others will not want to have conversations at all.In summary: The secret to being more productive isn’t more measurement. It’s focusing on trust and results.
In his article, 7 Insights From Psychology Known to Boost Workplace Productivity, Adam Toren discusses how psychology and productivity go hand in hand. Below are his 7 insights (along with some additional AccelaWork dialogue) that bring to light the importance for individualized workflow.
Learn the differences across the various age groups and other groups within your organization. The reality is that what works for one group of employees probably isn’t going to work for another.
Millenial stereotypes in corporate America is a hot topic presently, which is a perfect example of Toren's suggestion for being conscientious of demographics. By taking the time to learn and understand the generational approach to work, we can open our minds to alternate ways of achieving productivity.
Accomplishments matter more to your employees rather than simply finishing daily tasks and assignments. These should matter to you, too. A 2013 survey showed 83 percent of respondents thought recognition for their contributions to the company was a more fulfilling reward than any other kind of gift. Think you pay your employees with a bonus and that’s enough? While it certainly helps, 70 percent of respondents said the most meaningful recognition has no monetary value.
We've talked all about employee productivity and rewards here on The Methodology Blog. Simply put, don't belittle employees' efforts through office gimmicks. Instead, place trust and respect into the equation and add in recognition for an extra confidence boost.
The idea here is that providing a mechanism to objectively measure (and share) accomplishments can empower employees through intrinsic motivation, instead of just focusing on finishing mundane tasks.
Monetary compensation is no longer the primary motivation among workers today. The human need for survival and for material possessions has been overtaken by the desire to make a difference in the world. Even workplace perks are no longer as important as the sense of achievement. This means you will have to foster a sense of mission, in order to motivate your team and keep them engaged.
Being engaged and invested in our work is a career goal so many of us share. Remember though that making work meaningful is more than just having an interesting project to complete. We must consider the three ways to inspire employee engagement: purpose, communication and growth.
Employee engagement is critical to productivity. Dale Carnegie research shows engagement matters – particularly the “emotional and functional commitment an employee has to his or her organization.” Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202 percent.
Telecommuting, remote working arrangements and even co-working are emerging as effective means of improving productivity while at the same time reducing the cost of running an office infrastructure.
To learn more about AccelaWork's views on telecommuting, feel free to read our 6 part series: Remote Work Week published on The Methodology Blog.
The brain can only do so much before continuing efforts becomes futile. Like working from home, taking breaks can sound counterintuitive, but it’s really the key to better productivity. Studies show the “perfect” formula is to work for 52 minutes and break for 17. You don’t have to set timers and become a stickler about the schedule – just get up and move, or move on to another task for a few minutes to “reset” the brain and come back to the original task refreshed.
To piggyback on the idea of taking breaks, it's also important to establish a healthy work/life balance. If you are married to your job and spend every waking minute working, eventually the bottom will fall out. Don't allow yourself or your employees to get to this point.
When I agree to something I really don't want to do, it can remain on my list of things to do for a long time. It can make me feel unproductive. It affects my attitude about my day. It's funny that most of these commitments are made with myself. Repairs around my house that I need to do. Emails that I intend to write. Books that I would like to read. You get the idea. All of these open commitments slow me down. The more I have open the less agile I am during my day.
The lesson learned for me is to not accept responsibility until I am ready to take action. Instead I keep a list of all the things I need to do, but not yet ready to start. Then I focus my priority on three to five areas that need my attention. This system makes me more effective. I accomplish more within a shorter period of time. As I complete one item, I add another from my list. Too simple? It is easy to manage on a daily basis. Aren't the best systems simple?
If you feel overwhelmed with all that is on your daily agenda, maybe a similar system will help you. With this approach, I am able to stop distractions and create a sharp focus. You can have all the best intentions in the world but they don't mean much unless you put action behind them. Jack Klemeyer talked about this issue with a fantastic article detailing how to differentiate between intention and action. Check out his examples below!
- When a colleague tries a marketing strategy that proves very successful for him and the business owner says, “I was going to do that, but…”
- When a deadline for registration or application passes without being completed and the business owner says, “I had that on my to-do list …”
- An event occurs that has significant impact on the community and the business owner says, “I really meant to be a part of that and contribute …”
I think all of us can say that we have said something similar to the above statements at some point in our lives, many of us maybe once per day! What it comes down to is recognizing that these thoughts are actionable. You can do something about them. The problem we usually have is feeling overwhelmed. Jack lays out some ways that we can move from wistfully thinking of all the things we can do and actually doing them:
- If you want to learn and develop your thinking and skills, you might read books and articles, take time for webinars and workshops, participate in group studies or a mastermind group.
- If you want to be a conscious capitalist, you have to develop a way to support, nurture or contribute to a cause or program.
- If you want to get new customers, you have to find ways to meet and build relationships with those people and businesses that are your ideal customer. You have to put yourself in their path and interact with them.
- If you want to get a new car, or a new home, or a new whatever, you have to make a plan to consistently save for it or designate certain income or sales toward that goal.
Don't let yourself say "I should have" or "I wanted to" anymore. Only take on tasks you know you can and want to complete!
The Muse posted 37 Ways to Be Happier at Work ASAP. I will admit, I was immediately intrigued with this article given the sheer number of ways they claimed to list. There are 37 suggestions, so I would encourage reading the article in full to see all the ideas you can put into action. But, for the sake of quick reading today, below are just a handful of the ideas, both good and bad, that I've handpicked out of the list to cover in a two-part series. Check them out along with further commentary.
. . . taking a few minutes to step away from your desk and play can seriously get you out of a rut. Doodling, playing with some clay, or keeping a small toy or puzzle on your desk to fiddle with for a few minutes can clear your head and spark your creativity in surprising ways.
There is a fine line when it comes to the benefits of office perks, but it is certainly healthy to give yourself a mental break for a few minutes off and on throughout the day if you feel you need it. So, if you are a CPA and crunching numbers for five hours at a time, perhaps pick up a coloring book and some crayons to give your left-side brain a bit of a workout. Intelligence and creativity come in all shapes and sizes, but even the greatest of minds need a time out to rest and regroup.
Note of caution: Be mindful. Ask yourself if your break is a mental rest or a rabbit hole that might lead to anxiety. It's easy for the lines to get blurred. After all, you don't want to fall victim to disrupting workflow with distractions.
#8. Walk Around the Block (Especially if it’s Sunny Out)
Sometimes all it takes to boost your mood at work is a quick walk around the block. Doctors at Mayo Clinic explain that walking is not only great for you physically, but it also lifts your mood.
When you're behind a screen all day long, walking away from your desk and getting some much needed sunshine is important. Even if you can't get outside, just heading out to the lobby or walking around the office by the windows can refresh you.
Research continues to show that altruism—helping others—actually makes us feel happier. When you prioritize lending a hand to a co-worker in need, you are actually creating a healthy mental reward system for yourself that promotes self-satisfaction.
This suggestion is two-fold. Not only can you reach out and help a co-worker in need, but you can also help yourself in the process! Whether its through suggestion, sharing tips or even walking through steps that you've taken to improve a project or process, you have the chance to help your colleague improve which will inevitably assist in the overall workflow of the office. Helping others with their productivity can help yours as well.
Not to be a killjoy, but buying yourself things may not be the answer to happiness. Here's the deal: if you believe that purchasing a new mug or some flowers will make you feel better then by all means, do it. But, don't delude yourself into thinking that doing so will bring about a lasting sense of euphoria in the office. It won't. And chances are, you'll begin to regret spending money on things that don't keep you happy for long. Instead, focus on saving and spending your money on things that will help your mood throughout the year like a much-needed vacation or activities that nurture your interests.
When you need a little boost, there’s no shame in turning to BuzzFeed for some laughs or cute animals. Try one of our favorite sites to get you through a rough day.
While social media is a fantastic tool in business, it can also be a major time suck. The minute you start perusing, is the minute you guarantee a 30 min. escapade ending with nothing more than the knowledge that of a friend of a friend's cousin has a new puppy.
Given the fact that I could only touch upon a few out of the 37 different ways to seek happiness, a second installation of this topic is now available. There's plenty to discuss about what is useful vs. disadvantageous in solidifying happiness in your job.
This is the first time I've ever heard of smart suitcases but it's become a booming industry. With integrated tech features like USB charging ports, built-in scales, and remote digital locks, suitcases have definitely entered into the modern world thanks to technology. But is all of that really necessary? Samsara luggage doesn't seem to agree. In fact, they believe that a lot of the tech features are pretty unnecessary. Instead, they're bringing us a design upgrade - aluminum alloy. Their kickstarter for this product is so overfunded, you almost have to worry about the fact that it may all just be hype. With a $690 price tag, it had better not be just hype. They may not be the first to make suitcases with this material, but they are definitely cheaper. Some of the other features seem pretty neat, too:
Tech aside, the design is where Samsara really shines. Two rubber stripes along the case’s sides are meant as a buffer against scratches, and its flat top means it can be used as a portable working surface. It also comes with six wheels that are integrated into the case instead of tacked on underneath, allowing the body to be extended by nearly two inches for extra pack space. Lastly, it has an LED light inside that will automatically turn on if the case is opened in dark conditions.
We all know that traveling can throw a few punches at your productivity. One tip from Eli Epstein of Mashable was turning your hotel room into a productivity den. This can really help you stay on top of your work.
You would be surprised how much the isolation of working out of your hotel room will help increase efficiency. Chatty coworkers, someone making 500 copies of a report, microwaves beeping, all of those distractions that can occur in the office are nonexistent. Epstein also suggests turning your thermostat up to 77 degrees, pointing to a Cornell University study that showed errors were less likely at this temperature. Follow your normal routine. If you normally get up, exercise, have breakfast, and then head into work, you can still do that while at a hotel!
Having a smart suitcase would definitely help you maximize your workflow. Alright, so what if you want all the bells and whistles. I mean, if you're dropping hundreds of dollars on a suitcase, I think there had better be some gold spun into the fabric. There are plenty of other options out there that will satisfy your need for the ultimate techy experience. Here are some of my favorites:
Bluesmart One Suitcase
This one comes with TSA-approved 10,000 mAh battery and digital lock. It also has a scale, spacious compartments, and the ability to recharge your gadgets. Best of all, in my opinion, is the location tracker that uses 3G and GPS to track. For those of us that can be forgetful (like me), this is a pretty great feature.
Raden A50 Set
This set comes with two, the A22 Carry and the A28 Check. These also have a built in scale in this which will always be helpful. It's super lightweight, weighing in around 13 and 8 pounds. What's really neat about these is that they're made with polycarbonate. This makes them super durable as well as extremely flexible. If you travel a lot, then that's definitely something you would want.
Néit
Okay, I'm not going to lie, this one is pretty nifty. This suitcase collapses to 3 inches. You can easily shove this bad boy under the couch and out of the way. It also has similar features in that it's waterproof, durable, and tracking enabled. Unfortunately it's not available just yet but the website proclaims they will be launching soon!
When I am putting away the clean dishes in my kitchen, I know where to place them. There is a shelf for plates, a shelf for drinking glasses, a drawer for silverware, a drawer for cooking utensils, a cabinet for cutting boards, etc. There are not two drawers where we keep forks.
But yet, when I am looking for a specific computer file, well let's just say that I know what directory it should be in! My computer directories are organized, at least compared to what I have seen from others. But yet, I can select any folder on my computer, look at the list of files, and I won't know what some are without opening them. I don't believe that I am the only person that has encountered this situation. I can do better at organizing and naming my files. Too many times I let programs automatically name my files. Maybe you too have a photo named CIMG3098.jpg.
Why am I even writing about this? Last week my hard drive crashed. I lost my most recent data. I did have a backup of most. Trying to recover has caused me to reconsider the amount of organization it takes to be efficient on a computer. I can put away the dishes in my kitchen quickly. Getting to the same level of efficiency in putting away files takes a bit more planning. The benefit comes from finding the file you need, at the time you need it. It should keep me from screaming, "Where is that file?" Hard drive crashes happen. My recovery plan will include better data backup, and better file organization. This event is an example of how to turn set backs into improvements. I have learned some lessons. Can you learn from my mistakes?
One of the main reasons you want to keep your files organized is to stay productive. How can you maximize your workflow if your thoughts and work are scattered? Is leaving your computer in a state of disarray a form of self-sabotage? It very will could fit into that category. Ashley Lee talked about the effects that self-sabotage has on productivity.
If we find ourselves self-sabotaging here and there, perhaps its effects won’t be astronomical on the overall state of our productivity. However, the difficult part is recognizing when self-sabotaging is more than just an occasional indulgence. After all, given some of the examples above, it’s easy to see how little routine changes and behaviors can morph into bigger problems as the aftermath unfolds. Problems that can develop from self-sabotaging could be things like lower quality of work, stress and an inability to focus. But continual self-sabotage can lead to even deeper issues like low self-esteem, loss of motivation, loss of trust and accountability, or even job loss.
It can be really overwhelming to look at what's slowing you down at work. Not only do you have to realize and accept it, but you also have to figure out how to change it. That can seem like a task far too big to handle sometimes. Ashley took away some of that anxiety by laying out some tips we can use to break free from the clutter and do it without losing our heads:
1. The Pomodoro Technique is a method of intense focus for 25 minutes at a time.
2. Change your environment: Countless studies have shown that there are subtle ways in which your surroundings are affecting your ability to focus.
3. Document Highs and Lows. Take time to discover your most productive times of day. Get to know your habits and schedule.
4. The two-minute rule. If a task takes less than two minutes to accomplish, you should do it immediately.
5. Turn off notifications and limit browser tabs.
As a mother of four, I'd like to say that I'm an expert in discovering the tiny facets of motivation in everyday life. Suffice it to say, I've been on a mission of nurturing for ten years now and my kids have not run away from home yet. Score! But, I must admit that, despite my best efforts, I still stumble upon roadblocks constantly in my daily efforts to get my children motivated. Chores, homework, after school activities, faith enrichment, meals, exercise--you name it, I've surely worked all the angles imaginable to get my kids on board. And yet, everyday I learn more and more about how NOT to try and motivate my kids because its the raw end of a losing battle.
The truth is, motivation morphs and changes day to day, month to month, year to year. What convinced my toddler to eat peas one day, doesn't work the next. The schemes to get my kids to practice vocabulary words get harder and harder to excite. Charts, lists, allowances, special privileges, and dozens of other tactics work here and there for a while, but end up backfiring or fading out. Rewards are finicky and never guarantee results. Consequences only frustrate. Acknowledgement and ego-boosting tend to help matters along quite nicely, but still I must confess that the motivation I seek for my family is as elusive as ever.
For me, motivation comes from self-competition. I have clear expectations and utilize this as my motivation in all that I do. My goal is to never fail (even though failure isn't bad) or lose ground in comparison to my past performance and that, beyond anything else, is what gets me to the point of success. My oldest son is very similar. For weeks I've been begging him to begin his training for cross-country. I've given him many motivators. I gave him an iPod and new music to listen to. I told him I'd make his bed on the mornings he ran. I've made his favorite breakfast afterwards. I even told him we'd get him new running shoes. None of it worked. Then one day it dawned on me: perhaps the biggest reward for him is personal achievement. So, I asked him if he'd like to time his runs. Immediately, he said yes. Now, he gets excited for his daily timed trials. He loves the fact that he has the chance to beat his best time and continues to work hard toward increasing his pace and stamina.
In business, employee motivation is met with virtually the same dilemma. What works for one employee, may not work for another. And so the guessing game begins right? Wrong. More often than not, motivation is presented through one of three areas: money, rewards, or recognition. And this is perhaps where the problem with motivation in business starts. In any company, for any job, the parameters for reaching personal goals and/or office expectations does not stray far from the usual promises of bonuses, commission, promotion or even awkward office gimmicks. So where's the motivation? How can we find what strikes the chord in employees? The answer is through communication.
To discover what sparks the drive in your employees, talk to them and learn what they want, what they strive for, what they need in order to be happy. As surprising as it may sound, not everyone is motivated by money. Sure, a raise is always nice, but a bigger paycheck doesn't necessarily put at bay an employee's desire for more. Talk to each of your team members and find out what their short-term and long-term goals are. What you'll soon discover is that each of your employees has a different perspective and perhaps other ideas on how they can find happiness, satisfaction and ultimately, motivation in their job.
Credit Union Times released a fantastic article by Tahira Hayes that is full of information every owner, manager, or someone entering a new career in management should take the time to read. Most of us spend at least 40 hours per week at work and that can spell trouble for some people. How do we go about resolving conflicts before they cause an office meltdown? Check out their tips and some of my thoughts below!
1. Listen.
Think of a time that you have had an issue with someone, either a coworker or family member. Is it safe to say that the issue came about because of miscommunication? In fact, that's a pretty common theme when it comes to conflict.
Dr. Paul White, a psychologist, author, speaker and consultant who specializes in coaching in the workplace, says that most conflict happens because of a misunderstanding.
Taking time to listen before responding is key!
2. Allow employees to solve their own problems.
It is far more likely that people with resolve their issues together rather than when their manager gets involved. Not only is it probably a bit embarrassing for both parties, most people tend to follow through on their own ideas rather than ones from outside sources. Give them time to figure it out before you step in!
3. Provide immediate feedback.
Can you remember something you did a week ago that may have had a negative impact on someone? Something you may not have even been aware of? Of course not. This is why immediate feedback is so important. We all have busy lives, schedules, and things taking up space in our brains.
Dr. White says if you’re trying to help people improve or change their behavior, immediate feedback with specifics is far more effective than waiting until an annual review. “Research is showing that the annual review is a waste of time in terms of showing good results because people are trying to pack too much into it and people do best with immediate feedback,” he said.
4. Separate encouragement from constructive criticism.
Constructive criticism is still criticism. Yes, it's done with a positive twist, but at the very center, it is still a critique. For this reason, never encourage and criticize at the same time. It can lead to confusion and, most importantly, they likely will not have heard much positive around what they perceive as negative.
5. Build strong relationships with the people you manage.
This is very important. If you don't have good relationships with your employees, how can you expect them to listen to you?
So, when thinking about growing/developing your employees, it's important to make as many emotional deposits as you can in order to build a bank of trust. Providing positive feedback and naming things that people are doing well is one way to do that.
6. Feedback should be growth-producing and specific
This is something that I feel should be in the number 1 spot. It's mind boggling how many workers feel under appreciated and overworked. So many people in the workforce are wondering if the grass is greener at another job and, more often than not, it is better. Feedback should never be negative. It's meant to give the employee the ability to learn and grown!
7. Take advantage of training opportunities.
This is the time to try out some conflict resolution scenarios or other ideas you have had. Employees expect training at this time and are often very willing to learn new skills.
Previously on The Methodology Blog, we discussed 37 Ways to Be Happier at Work. The original article posted by The Muse provides suggestions on areas of work that can be improved by utilizing specific tips and techniques. I've touched upon several different suggestions the article makes in part one of this series, so today I'd like to cover a few more. Below are another handful of the ideas, both good and bad, that I'd like to highlight for specific reasons. Check them out along with further commentary.
#17. Set Aside 20 Minutes a Day for Personal Tasks
We all have personal responsibilities to attend to. But sometimes, those pressing thoughts gnaw away at your brain, and anxiety soon follows. So, consider taking just 20 minutes per day to accomplish a couple of pressing personal tasks.
Establishing a work/life balance is vital to our mental and emotional state. No matter how important work is in your life, it should not interfere in your personal affairs. By taking time out each day to focus in on your personal and/or your family's needs, you are apt to find satisfaction and comfort in how you are managing and balancing your active and complicated world.
Former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief and career expert Kate White suggests : “When you’re burnt out, it’s hard to remember why you’re doing what you do. Take some time to step back and think about past projects and achievements you’re proud of and how they’ve changed the company in a positive way. Then, map out a plan to take those accomplishments to the next level by developing a new set of goals you can get excited about. You should always have a goal (or three) to keep you motivated about how you can bring more value to your employer—and your resume.”
Feeling valued and respected at work is especially important, not only for the employee but for the office as well. So, if you are experiencing a cycle of negativity that devalues the work you're doing, perhaps it's time you have a conversation with you boss. And if that doesn't work, consider the next tip below.
Leaving a job that makes you unhappy can be crucially important for your mental and emotional well-being. If you feel truly disengaged and unfulfilled from your work, chances are it’s time to move on.
If your job is simply not the right fit and despite your efforts, your dissatisfaction never improves, it's time to go elsewhere. Don't just settle because you think there is nothing else out there. Explore your options and soon you will find that happiness at work can and does exist.
If you don’t want to disconnect completely, consider taking a workcation. Workcations involve working remotely from another place, whether that’s Hawaii, Iceland, Russia, or your backyard. You still stay connected to the office and get work done, you just do so while basking in the sun. How could that not make you happy?
This tip is troublesome for two reasons. First, the suggestion makes it sound as if those who telecommute (aka work remotely) are on vacation. To clarify a bit, people who are logged in and working from home (or wherever else) are in fact working. And no matter the destination, when you're checking emails, partaking in conference calls or updating project work, enjoying your "getaway" is pretty much impossible. When you choose to take a vacation, it's to rest, relax and rejuvenate. How are you supposed to do this if you're always logged on? Think about it.
Side projects give you the opportunity to explore a new interest that you don’t have time for while at work. They can make all the difference when it comes to feeling happy and productive—or bored and disinterested. Brainstorm the side project you want to take up this weekend—and get going!
I'm a project hound so don't get me wrong, the last thing I would do is discourage people from picking up a new hobby or project on their free time. But, if you're unhappy at work, chances are you are also stressed. Perhaps you are overwhelmed with your workload or find that your need for multitasking is creating a massive amount of exhaustion. If this sounds about right, maybe rather than starting a side project, you wrap-up ones you've been wanting to finish but haven't had a chance to. Whether you have a written or mental "To Do" list, alleviating outstanding projects from your mind can bring even more elation than adding another cool one to your plate.
Job hopping has become more and more common, especially with Millennial workers. The Chicago Tribune sat down with a few local workers to get their take on the growing trend.
"You take the best offer," says Jake Bolton, a 27-year-old programmer who has worked for five different employers since graduating from the University of Florida in 2011. "I'll have loyalty to a company if they keep paying me what I'm worth, but as soon as I see my salary start to sag compared to other people, especially new hires, I'm gone."
Why is that so strange to hear? Why would anyone question that choice? Earning a salary that reflects your work and experience should just be the norm by now, right? Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case in today's day and age. So what benefits are there to hopping from job to job? It's got to be exhausting having to start over, be the newbie constantly, always making sure your resume is looking perfect. What's the upside?
One of the dirty little secrets of the job-hopping trend is that employees are gaming the system when it comes to salaries, according to Shadd Weber, a former job analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor. "Let's say you stick with the same firm for five or 10 years. In today's economy, you're getting anywhere from a 1 to 5 percent raise each year," says Weber. "If you're accepting a new job every year or even every other year, it's doubtful that you're leaving for 1 to 5 percent. Most people want at least a 10 percent increase in salary if they're going to switch jobs."
Okay, so you have a huge chunk of the workforce willing to bounce around from company to company. Company loyalty is sadly becoming a thing of the past. What are employers doing to stay ahead of this issue? How are they making sure that what they're offering is enticing enough to keep their turnover rate as low as possible? Emily Tisdale wrote an article for AccelaWork about this very issue. Are companies inspiring their workers and, if not, what can they do to remedy that? One way is by giving your employees a sense of purpose.
Do employees feel like their jobs have an extraordinary purpose? In healthcare, for example, it seems like this should be easy. Most team members know that their job duties (no matter what their role) have the ultimate purpose of helping heal the sick.However, with the daily stresses involved, even the most dedicated care professional can wonder if they’re truly doing something worthwhile. And what about engaging those employees who rarely (if ever) interact with patients? They, too, play a critical part in helping heal the sick, whether they realize it or not.
It may be harder to find purpose in other industries. But in all cases, our purpose is to serve customers. Make sure your employees know why even routine tasks (like drawing blood, answering the phone promptly, or keeping a squeaky clean facility) can make a huge difference in the customer experience.
This information goes for any field, not just healthcare. Giving your employees a reason to show up, not just for the paycheck, can be vital to keeping your organization going. Make the environment in your office welcoming and desirable. Company loyalty may be going out the window in the way it was years ago, by working your hands to the bone until retirement. But who's to say you can't create a more modern version instead?
Every professional needs to keep this phrase at the top of their mind: It's not the big that eat the small, it's the fast that eat the slow. This is easy to show through examples. There was a nationally known brand with 80,000 employees at its peak. But it was called Blockbuster, and it was defeated by a scrappy little Internet startup called Netflix. Or if you prefer history, consider the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532. In this massacre, a group of Spaniards were outnumbered 45 to 1---but won because of tremendous technological and tactical superiority.
And in your organization, process is a huge differentiator. If you can respond to customer needs more quickly, avoid entering data multiple times, and generally have good procedures, you will be more successful.
But it's likely that's not happening. Why?
An article from HR Technologist on the topic of Business Process Management (BPM) software details the results of a recent study:
While only 6% revealed that they had an exceptional process post BPM, a whopping 73% were experiencing below average results from their BPM initiatives. The major challenge that organizations faced in their BPM initiatives was user adoption. Though the employees may not have been directly opposed to any kind of change, their actions and/or lack of acceptance was a clear indicator of their apathy towards automation. According to the study, organizations should take a more holistic approach to their process automation initiative, which includes addressing this apathy in employees, through training, education, and communication.
What may be most surprising is that the author of this piece seems surprised. Perhaps she is unfamiliar with the computerization campfire story. In any case, yes, organizational process improvements are often hard. And the reason is because almost everyone is not engaged in their work.
What else does this article have to say? More information that doesn't address the real issue:
While 57% of the respondents said that they are focusing on imparting education and training to foster change, 54% were improving the communications sent to the employees that highlighted the reasons for change, and 50% were sharing details about their vision along with the expected benefits with their employees.
Let's review the key issues:
Certainly, your organization should be looking at business process improvement. Absolutely, BPM software suites are becoming more mature all the time. But if people don't care about their work, you're never going to get very far.
The secret to employee engagement isn't a secret. It is trust, dignity, and respect. But too often, we try to control employees. We tell them when and where to do their jobs. We belittle their expertise and experience. We keep information from them and pit them against each other. We create tools for performance management that are adversarial and counterproductive.
We need process improvement. But first, we need to change our perspective from trying to force change to working to understand another first. Because once we have shared values and can communicate about our differences, only then we will have a foundation to build and transform process effectively.
President Thomas Jefferson said, "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." Keeping a positive attitude can be challenging in certain situations. Here are some lessons I have learned that help me.
2. Focus on tomorrow's possibilities rather than yesterday's results. When I find my attitude slipping away from the positive, it is usually because I am too focused on what has happened rather than the opportunities of tomorrow. Walt Whitman said it best, "Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you."
3. Learn more about myself. Carl Jung said, "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." When I find myself getting irritated, it affects my attitude. The aggravation however is within me, not with the other person. If I spend time understanding myself, then I am better prepared to turn negative situations into positive situations.
Another thing to consider when faced with differing attitudes is to recognize: My attitude is mine. The attitudes of others are owned by them. I am not better, just because my attitude may be more positive at the moment. As Ziad K. Abdelnour said, "Don't judge someone's attitude until you've felt their pain." Jack Klemeyer also provided the elements of a good attitude that you will want in employees if you want your business to grow:
A good attitude will affect nearly every aspect of your life, be it at home or at work. If you use these lessons, you may be able to avoid the inevitable bits of negativity that will come your way. Having a positive outlook will only help keep you on your path to success!
Cody Bellinger is in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bellinger was taken out of high school (Chandler, Arizona) by the Dodgers in the fourth round of Baseball's Amateur Draft in 2013. In 2007, Cody Bellinger played in the Little League World Series. Cody's father, Clay, was a utility player in the Major Leagues and played on a couple of World Championship New York Yankee teams. Cody Bellinger rose through the Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League System very quickly and got to the Major Leagues in late April of 2017, at age 21.
Cody Bellinger was being very modest when he made this statement about getting lucky hits! Cody Bellinger is the Dodgers answer to Aaron Judge! Both are rookies, All-Stars and MVP candidates. Bellinger, who turned 22 on July 13, is three years younger than Judge. Bellinger was promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City to the Dodgers on April 25th and has been "tearing up" Major League pitching. He belted nine homers in May and became the first rookie ever to hit 10 home runs in a stretch of 10 games! Bellinger already has five multi-homer games and has hit more than 20 home runs this season. Cody Bellinger runs well but when you hit home runs you trot around the bases! It is a joy to watch him swing the bat. He has terrific wrists and an explosive swing. Whether it is Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve, and many others, it is great to see so many excellent, young players in Major League Baseball!
It almost seems like a player like this is made up, because skills like this feel like you're dreaming, as one Los Angeles Times writer reported. His manager, Dave Roberts, has nothing but positive things to say about this rookie.
“Every time he steps on the field,” manager Dave Roberts said, “something special can happen.”
Bellinger is always humble in every interview he gives. Recently, he spoke about being invited to the Home Run Derby:
“This week has definitely been the top of everything,” Bellinger said. “To start hearing my name at the [Home Run] Derby, and then the All-Star game, it’s definitely something I’ll never forget.”
The road to success is different for everyone, with numerous unexpected twists and turns that you can't always plan for. What can you do to make sure that you stay on the road toward fulfilling your dreams? How can we hope to become so successful? What would it require? Continuous learning and key skills are definitely at the top of that list. Jack Klemeyer discussed how to step up and take the time to develop the skills necessary for success. These tips can help anyone, from a small business owner to a famous baseball star!
Read about your skill (or your field) for at least one hour a day, every day. Get up earlier than normal if you need to fit in the time to read.
Take courses on your skill. Attend seminars and workshops. Sit upfront and take notes.
Purchase educational audio programs on your skill. Listen to them in your car. Did you know that the average driver is in their car 500 to 1,000 hours a year? That’s a lot of time you can put to good use by turning your drive time into learning time.
Put your skill into practice. The more you use your skill, the better you will become at it.
To be honest, this is the first time I have ever heard of lifestyle businesses. Fizzle.co writer, Corbett Barr, laid out the definitions for us:
A startup’s job is to grow big enough to provide a return to investors. A lifestyle business’s job is to provide a great quality of life to its owners.
What does that even mean? Well, startups are considered risky. You're throwing a whole bunch of money at something and hoping that it will take off quickly, usually so you can sell it off to the highest bidder. Most entrepreneurs will jump right back into the next opportunity and try again, over and over until they have reached their goals. If this doesn't sound super appealing to you, then you may be interested in what a lifestyle business can offer you. Forbes counted down the top 10 reasons why Millennials should be interested in starting one. Check out some of their reasons why you should start to build your own below. Would you be willing to take the first step?
5. Opportunities to continue growing
Career progression is something that most workers are after. If you're working for a company, it can sometimes be really difficult to climb that ladder. You end up feeling stagnant and stuck in your position. When you own a lifestyle business, the progression of the company is entirely up to you. Every decision is made by you and your own terms. Rather than being stuck in one position, you can take on whatever aspects of your company that you want, which helps in keeping you engaged with your work.
7. It’s risky not to…
This reason sort of feels like fear-mongering, but they do have a point.
When people feel unfilled in their work, they’re more likely to develop a resentment towards their job, and ultimately hate it. It can lead to increased stress levels and mental health issues. Furthermore, when people stay in a job they hate, the likelihood of becoming ill increases, including serious illnesses like heart disease.
They're not wrong. I can say from experience that past jobs I've had felt soul-sucking, which lead to dread and stress. The idea that I had to get up the next day and go into said workplace was enough to get my anxiety levels raging. If you are working for yourself and your own business, it's no longer an issue. You're doing something that you love (hopefully) and that will make you feel fulfilled. Instead of feeling dread while you're lying in bed trying to sleep, you'll feel relief and excitement. That's a pretty high selling point.
10. Improved work-life balance
Since I became a mother, I've been looking at career opportunities with a more critical eye than before. Work hours or distance didn't matter as much before but now, those things moved to the top of the list.
Unlike a traditional 9-5, a lifestyle business allows the person more flexibility and freedom to work towards work-life balance. Furthermore, since millennials definitions of work-life balance vary from person to person, it gives the business owner an opportunity to create a career and life that suits him.
If you can't afford to make the switch right now, work on creating your business with your free time. Maybe in a few years, you'll find that you can step out of traditional jobs and take up the mantle at your very own company. These reasons are starting to convince me as well!
Imagine walking into a bakery to buy a loaf of bread. The scent invades your nose as soon as you enter. You notice that none of the loaves have any prices. There are at least a dozen different types but no prices. The person checking out has a loaf of whole wheat, and you notice the charge of only $0.79 on the register. That is a great price. You grab a loaf of the whole wheat bread, and get in line.
The person in front of you has a loaf of whole wheat too. But when his purchase appears on the register it is $4.59. That's strange. The person pays and leaves. The cashier takes your loaf of bread to scan, and the register shows $28.99. You ask the cashier, "How can it be so much? It was much cheaper for those other customers." He responds, "I am sorry sir, this is the price for you. Some customers are on a bread plan. Others have discounted prices based on their employer. Some of our customers actually get their bread for free from a government program. But it looks like your price is $28.99."
Can this actually happen? You would think in today's global and competitive marketplace you would not experience this. But this is exactly the system we have for prescription drugs in the United States. I don't want to start a political debate, but want to encourage you to think about the consequences of our current system for healthcare. It does not matter if you believe in a free market based system or a government subsidized system. What we have now is a mess and neither of those. Two people can be on the same medication, one paying $20 a month, the other paying $1200. The prices are not market based or subsidized.
Before you respond about the need for companies to recover their development costs, consider this. Other countries are buying the same drug for less. In effect, we are subsidizing the whole world for the development costs of prescription drugs, because companies are able to charge more in the US, than elsewhere. Whatever your views, I encourage you to think for yourself, not just listen to the political rhetoric. For me, I would just like to know what bread costs before I pick up a loaf.
WFMYNews2 had some suggestions on how to cut costs. One that caught my eye was to not use your insurance to get prescriptions.
Also, some chain pharmacies offer such low prices on common generics that they are actually cheaper to buy without insurance, since the pharmacy's price may be lower than your insurance plan's co-pay. Keep in mind, though, that if you buy a prescription without using your health insurance, the purchase won't count toward your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum for the year.
What is the purpose of having insurance if you can't even use it? The costs seem to continue to spiral out of control. In the end, the most important thing you can do is read and learn. As Jack Klemeyer said, knowledge is your greatest asset.
Sometimes there are things you will learn by just being present, other things you will come to know because you seek out that knowledge. This point is the most important! Ask yourself these 4 questions:
What is it that you want to know?
What is it that you want to do better?
What is it that is constantly dogging and impeding your efforts?
What do you want to avoid or vanquish in your life?
I am here, as I usually am, to talk about productivity. I'm writing about how to get more done in less time, how to feel better about your work, and how to make sure that you take time off to truly recharge.
Today, however, I'm here to discuss secrecy. So let's be upfront about it: secrets are terrible for productivity. And in the workplace, ideas that are kept from others fall into precisely two categories.
The first category of stuff we don't say sounds like it should be an acronym. It's intentional (meaning it is on purpose), it's institutional (essential to the organization) and deception (lied about if necessary.) That is, an "IID."
There are many examples of secrets we keep in the workplace:
For the most part, it's pretty obvious why "intentional institutional deceptions" hurt productivity. If your controlling boss told you the deadline months in advance instead of springing it on you in the last week, you'd be able to plan your time better. If you knew your coworker Bobby was struggling with issues at home, you'd might decide to step up and help out rather than let the whole organization suffer.
But even items that seem like they ought to be kept under wraps are going to get out eventually. Not telling is really just delaying when people are told. And we all know we would rather find out sooner instead of later!
Besides the occasional IID, you've also got the more common UIS. This is when information isn't particularly sensitive but you just haven't gotten around to sharing it, either because you're busy or because you feel ashamed.
Here are a few examples:
Having this information makes you more productive. We keep secrets without meaning to, because we are busy. So what is the impact?
Now that we know that we shouldn't keep so many secrets, we know what to do. Right? Unfortunately, the problem is much more complicated. According to an article in Entrepreneur:
92 percent of employees surveyed said they would work harder if their co-workers could see their goals -- which tells us that the large majority of organizations are failing to make even their quarterly or annual goals public. When goal-setting becomes open and collaborative, managers can better recognize employees for their work, and employees are motivated to work harder.
There's so much wrong here. First, it's no surprise that this number is this high, because it's a leading question. A better way to ask this is to do it in two parts, and do it both on a scale:
1. To what degree are your coworkers aware of your goals?(not at all) 1...2...3...4...5...6...7 (fully aware)
2. Do you believe your coworkers' have awareness of your goals impacts your level of effort?
(no impact) 1...2...3...4...5...6...7 (significant impact)
That way, you find out if there is transparency, and then you find out if competition is even a motivator. (Usually, it's not a good one.)
And second: there's the assumption that people want recognition (many don't) and that working hard is related to motivation (it's not, at least not for long.)
And there's more. But that's enough for now. In short: don't keep secrets. They rarely help, and they usually hurt.
And now that you know something that was hidden before---onward!
If there's one thing I wish I had done (and maybe will get around to doing) it would have to be starting my own business. I've had so many ideas over the years, but I would always kick them to the curb. Why? I always assumed someone else had already done it and probably was already doing it better than I ever could. I'm not only my own worst critic but also my biggest roadblock. I had to stop putting myself in a bubble, assuming I would have to become the next Thomas Edison if I wanted to make it. Recode spoke with authors of "Built For Growth," Chris Kuenne and John Danner, about this very issue.
“As we got into it, we realized that who you are actually shapes how you build your company,” Kuenne said on the latest episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher. “There’s a lot of research out there that separates from entrepreneurs to non-entrepreneurs; we think that’s a lot of hooey.”“Anybody can be an entrepreneur,” Kuenne added. “There’s also an assumption that all the most successful entrepreneurs are the same; they’re all like Steve Jobs. We went out and proved that there are actually four distinct types of entrepreneurs.”
What exactly are those four types of entrepreneurs? Do you fall into one of their categories? Check them out below!
The Driver:
I'm pretty sure we've all worked for someone like this. These are the people who have such an intense level of focus on their business, they can end up forgetting that not everyone is going to be just as passionate as they are.
They tend to not brook too much dissent; they tend to expect the same level of intensity from the people around them; [and] they tend to value talents very much like themselves, so they’re hiring ‘mini-mes,’ when in fact they need to be hiring a broader, more diverse set of folks.”
The Crusader:
Many people have started a business not only because they saw something was lacking but also because they may have found that they needed something that no one else could provide, which in turn gave them a mission. They woke up and decided they would provide this service or product for the world and fell in love with the idea of making it happen, but not necessarily how they would go about actually making it work.
Because they fly at such a high level of abstraction, they love the idea and its solution; they’re not very good operationally.
The Explorer:
Explorers like to look for different solutions. They see what other people are already doing and figure out a way to do it in a completely different fashion. They pride themselves on their ability to think outside of the box which is always a good trait to have when you're starting a business. They just have to remember the human side of things, too.
Explorers have that analytical capability, which is quite impressive; they start to struggle because they sometimes view the other resources around them — specifically, people — as inputs into an equation in their mind.
The Captain:
The Captain is not your best friend but they will support you and your work in order to tap into your productivity. This type of businessperson cares only about where you belong within an organization and if you even actually belong there.
Sometimes people mistake the Captain for being compassionate. The Captain is actually pretty calculating in putting you in the right job.
Ara Parseghian was the head football coach at Miami (five seasons), Northwestern (eight seasons) and Notre Dame (11 seasons). Parseghian led Notre Dame to National Championships in 1966 and 1973. Ara Parseghian was inducted into the College football Hall of Fame in 1980. He retired from coaching at age 51 and then embarked on a broadcasting career.
Ara Parseghian was a great man and an outstanding coach! At Miami, the cradle of coaches, Ara had success and raised his profile Nationally. Ara then went to Northwestern at age 32 and brought the Wildcats back to respectability. Notre Dame was Parseghian's next stop and he returned the Fighting Irish to prominence! Ara Parseghian was fiercely determined and also paid great attention to details. Another of Ara's strengths was that he moved players to other positions where they flourished. One example was he moved Jack Snow from running back to wide receiver. Parseghian gave Quarterback John Huarte an opportunity, and Huarte went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
Ara Parseghian was a "down to earth" guy whose Notre Dame teams never lost consecutive games during his tenure. I met Ara at a Notre Dame game in South Bend that he was broadcasting. I spoke to him at length and Ara could not have been nicer.
When Ara Parseghian got the Notre Dame job, he realized he had to reinstill confidence in his players. He did just that and as Jack Snow said, "He made us believe in ourselves." The "Era of Ara" ended after the 1974 season when Parseghian resigned saying, "He was physically exhausted and emotionally drained." Ara Parseghian started the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation in 1974. Three of his grandchildren died of Niemann-Pick disease. Ara Parseghian will be missed. But the wisdom he left behind will remain as lessons for all of us. Notre Dame President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, spoke out about how important Parseghian was to them:
“Notre Dame mourns the loss of a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family and good man — Ara Parseghian,” Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, said in a statement. “Among his many accomplishments, we will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field.”
A good mentor with great leadership skills can be hard to find. It's not something that most of us are just born with, it takes years of constant learning and growth to become a successful mentor. Mentoring in itself is a skill like any other, it takes time and you must be willing to continue learning and growing every day. As Mark Brown said, being a great mentor isn't easy.
There is not one single skill that automatically makes a good mentor. Instead, mentors have a long list of skills including listening, teaching, training, guiding, storytelling, coaching, and most importantly human personalities and motivations. You can be a world class mentor. It requires life skills that grow through experience, failure, improvement, and practice. What lessons have you learned that make you a better mentor? Have you learned more from a book, or by practice? What are you learning now, that will make you a better mentor?
Never stop learning or practicing. The skills that are required to be a great mentor should be molded and honed daily. That's something that Ara Parseghian knew and proved day in and day out as a coach.
Most of us are slaves to our smartphones. Who knows how much time you spend mindlessly scrolling and tapping all day. In case you were wondering, there's an app for that, too. An app called Moment will tell you just how much of your life you're wasting on your phone. CNBC's Todd Haselton used it for a week and got a pretty big dose of reality.
This screen shows how much time you spend on your phone per day. Anything over 3 hours turns the bar red, which means you're using it too much. Oops.
Okay, so we know that you don't want to waste precious time and energy that you're probably already spending being on your phone. So what are the apps that we really need? The Guardian posted an article claiming to have 15 applications you can download to see an increase in your productivity. From their list, I've chosen 5 because really that's just super overwhelming. The apps I've chosen are good to go for both Android and iOS. Check them out below!
Boomerang
Boomerang is probably the most necessary app on this list. Have you found yourself working away on your phone only to be completely distracted by a new email? Then, you figure you'd better hurry up and check it out before you forget to go back to it later, only to lose track of what you were working on in the first place. Boomerang let's you temporarily dismiss messages so that they'll pop up later at a more convenient time.
You can also pause your inbox entirely, to suspend the torrent of interruptions while you’re busy, and schedule outgoing messages to be sent at specified times.
FocusList
To-Do lists are great and all, but in today's technology-driven world, there has to be something better out there than pen and paper, right? FocusList will do that and more. It plans your day by dividing your tasks into timed slots, encouraging the use of the Pomodoro Technique, which we're pretty big fans of here at AccelaWork.
At the end of the day, you can review how much time you spent on each task and track your productivity over weeks and months.
join.me
Teleconferences are becoming more and more common as many companies are beginning to see the benefits of having remote workers. A good portion of big organizations have workers all around the globe so having a way to speak to one another is a pretty big deal. Join.me lets you bypass downloading a bunch of software and instead hosts meetings directly on their website.
And as well as video and audio, the service supports virtual whiteboard and screen-sharing features.
Genius Scan
How many times have you been out and about and wished you had a scanner? Maybe the one you use is broken? Or maybe, like me, you've still not found the funds to set aside to buy a fancy printer or scanner (though they're usually combined now) so you have no way of getting important information to people when they need it. Genius Scan turns your phone into a personal document scanner.
Perspective and colour correction are automatically applied and a batch mode helps you quickly capture multi-page documents.
Trello
Managing a team and their workflow can seem pretty daunting because it really is hard to manage other people's time and your own. Trello steps in and takes the reins. Each task is made into a card which is then grouped into boards that can be assigned to individuals or teams.
Cards can be updated with comments, links, attachments and other relevant information and automatic notifications ensure you’re kept in the loop.
"Tomorrow we will become what we choose today. To change means to choose to change." - John C. Maxwell
I love this quote because there is so much wisdom in just fifteen words.
2. Change is a choice. It will not occur without intent. We have the opportunity to decide what we wish to change.
3. Change is never ending. Every day we can work towards tomorrow's goals. Incremental change has a huge impact over a lifetime of effort.
Often we stumble on these points, and we don't change as much as we expect. We can choose to change to meet our goals in our professional life, our personal life, in our diet, our exercise, or our habits. Can we change? Each day we can strive to make ourselves better tomorrow. You just have to decide and stick to a plan. After all, isn't the end goal to get what you want? What can we do to reach that end goal? Jack Klemeyer noted an interesting difference between intention and action.
- When a colleague tries a marketing strategy that proves very successful for him and the business owner says, “I was going to do that, but…”
- When a deadline for registration or application passes without being completed and the business owner says, “I had that on my to-do list …”
- An event occurs that has significant impact on the community and the business owner says, “I really meant to be a part of that and contribute …”
I'm sure some of you have run into this issue at some point in your lives. We always mean to finish that project or knock out that to-do list. We wanted to go to that networking event to meet prospective clients. Those are just words though, aren't they? Unless you follow up with an action, they're just empty words without any follow-up. Jack's suggestions to overcome this are very helpful to many of us who are stuck in this never-ending cycle of wanting yet not taking the necessary steps to make the change.
- If you want to learn and develop your thinking and skills, you might read books and articles, take time for webinars and workshops, participate in group studies or a mastermind group.
- If you want to be a conscious capitalist, you have to develop a way to support, nurture or contribute to a cause or program.
- If you want to get new customers, you have to find ways to meet and build relationships with those people and businesses that are your ideal customer. You have to put yourself in their path and interact with them.
- If you want to get a new car, or a new home, or a new whatever, you have to make a plan to consistently save for it or designate certain income or sales toward that goal.
Take it slow. Change doesn't happen overnight or even within a few days. In fact, research has shown that it takes at least 66 days to form a new habit. Now don't give yourself slack thinking "Well, I have over two months to change, then!" There is no ending to reach, you're striving for a better life, to meet your daily goals. Put the effort in every day to become a master at change!
It seems like with so many questions in business and in life, getting back to definitions helps us to see things more clearly. What is an event? It's a time and place where people come together for a shared purpose.
Simply putting those words together might illustrate why your events have struggled. Did you pick a good time for your attendees? Did you select a great place for your audience? Did you effectively communicate the reason in advance?
That might be enough for you to revisit past challenges. But if you still want to get more people to your program and you want them to be more engaged, consider these principles. We've found them by trial and error after years and years of putting on programs:
It's no surprise: people love to get together to express their joy at something positive happening in their community. Ironically, much of the time this is about arbitrary tradition more than it is about a significant moment in time. For example, if you go to a wedding, didn't those people already know they were in love and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together? And if you go to a birthday party, how often is it on the actual day that the person was born?
Often, we're just looking for an excuse to celebrate. But people enjoy it, so it works. If your event is tied to a special occasion that other people want to acknowledge and share in your joy, they are more likely to attend. That's why it's good to have an open house when you move to a new office or a launch party for a new product, book, or service. As the expression says, "Let the good times roll!"
Guess what else people like? Free stuff! This technique for bringing people to your door goes back to antiquity. The Romans gave people "bread and circuses" and citizens showed up. How many times have you heard about a free lunch along with a seminar, or even a chance to win a raffle if you attend a program? There are giveaways, goodie bags, free parking, complimentary drink tickets, and more. In short, incentives work.
Naturally, there's a downside to giving things away: you create expectations, and expectations are almost always problematic. And of course everyone knows that you're providing something because you're hoping for reciprocity. In fact, it's often better to have people pay to attend rather than you, in effect, paying them.
Which brings me to my final point...
When your favorite band comes to town for one night only, you can bet you will do everything in your power to be there. That's because this is your chance to see them. If it's their farewell tour, you'll never have another chance.
Events that you can go to any time are therefore, less appealing. "Don't worry if you can't make it, we offer this program every month" is practically an invitation to sleep in. Likewise, telling potential prospects that they can "catch it later on video" tells them to not make the drive.
When designing your offering, try to do more than just setting up a celebration, giving people an incentive, or putting together a rare experience. Instead, try to do two or perhaps all three.
For example, don't just have a customer appreciation picnic---also reach out to a local microbrewery about a special, one-time only batch just for you.
Or, don't just invite a well-known athlete to speak at your company retreat. Tell employees they will receive a jersey which they can have autographed.
AccelaWork provides speakers and consultants to companies. We love to help with brainstorming for events, especially for marketing or employee development.
Give us a call. We'd love to chat. Help us to help you make your moment one that shines!
"Maybe this is like wandering around the stacks in the library and pulling the book next to the one you were looking for, and discovering there was something interesting there." Cerf says.
Of course, a reference to an old-fashioned library with paper books (gasp!) might seem out of date in these modern times. But most of us remember what it means to browse and discover delightful treats on accident.
I’ve pondered the same phenomenon about Internet search myself. As I and my Say It For You writers work on blogging strategy with our business owner and professional practitioner clients, we’re looking to use as many key words and phrases as possible that specifically relate to the audience each business is trying to attract. Actually, we’re trying to satisfy two “masters”, the search engines and the searchers. We know both of those are looking for the same thing--fresh, frequently changing, and very relevant content that has to do with the subject.
The way I picture it, there’s a boxing competition with two rings and two matches going on at the same time. There’s the PPC (Pay Per Click) and Sponsored Link side, which is where businesses have bought space. In PPC, every time someone clicks on the link, the business owner pays a fee to the search engine company.
The other “ring”, organic search, is where I and all the other bloggers and writers operate. We’ve chosen organic search, my clients and I (although some businesses also employ PPC as part of their marketing strategy), not only because it offers free placement, but because more than 90% of the action (the clicks) take place on the organic portion of the search engine results page.
Every once in a while, though, just as Cerf pointed out, there’s a “disconnect” between what the searcher wanted and what he or she actually finds. If this happens with your blog, even though it’s not one of your target customers that clicks on the blog link, it’s not necessarily bad news. That kind of “mistake” on the part of a reader (like pulling the book next to the one you were looking for in the library) can even result in you converting a searcher-gone-astray into a buyer. I call this “accidental organic donating."
So, I tell blog content writers and clients, don’t for a moment worry that head of yours about accidental organic donations---just murmur a quiet "Thank you” to the search engine for the miscue!
Most of the time, however, you're going to be writing content that you intend for people to find because of the keywords in the content. That's not just helpful for the searcher, it's also good practice for the writer and the company they represent. Organizing our thoughts around the phrases that matter is much of what helps us to stay on task.
But in any case, a sale is a sale. A new client is a new client. The process of blogging isn't an exact science. But sometimes, mistakes can be sweet and bring us new connections and opportunities. So, don't be afraid to click one more link. And don't be shy if your search engine logs don't quite match up with what you were expecting. The accident may lead to new business!
Life can be a lot like that. Sometimes we sing. Sometimes we don’t know the words, so we hum. Sometimes we whistle, and sometimes we just listen. When I find myself in a situation I am not familiar with, I spend time observing. When I find myself in a situation that is familiar, but I am not sure how to proceed, I do my best to follow along. When I am in a familiar situation, it is fun to just jump in.
Even though I strive for productivity, and continuous improvement, life is not about being perfect. Life is about participation on whatever level we are able to contribute at the moment. Next time you find yourself struggling to make progress, instead of searching for the perfect next step, just hum. Being a perfectionist isn't something to strive for. In fact, recent studies have shown that those who are always striving to be perfect are prone to suicidal thoughts. The study comes from the University of Ontario where a team of researchers analyzed 45 various studies which included over 11,700 people.
"Perfectionists are their own worst critics, good enough is never enough. Consequently, the typical perfectionist is locked in an endless loop of self-defeating over-striving in which each new task is another opportunity for harsh self-rebuke, disappointment and failure."
The Sun provided a list of traits that perfectionists are known for having. Maybe they might sound familiar to some of us. Maybe your boss is putting pressure on you and you're having a hard time coping. Or, maybe you're the one stressing yourself out the most.
- Putting excessively high expectations on yourself.
- Feeling pressure from others, including parents, friends, colleagues and society in general.
- Expecting excessively high standards from others.
There is a big difference between striving to do the best you can do and pushing yourself over the edge to be the best. Your body is your temple and it all starts with your mental state. Suicidal thoughts and depression will hurt not only yourself but your productivity as well. Alyssa Shea took a deeper look into this in an AccelaWork article about how depression affects productivity.
Depression is a common problem challenging millions. Its effects vary from person to person. Some are able to manage through their own means like a exercise, diets and relationships, while others need the help of medication and therapy. Not only does feeling depressed affect your personal life but it can also have a big impact on your workplace productivity. An EU study estimates that 9 in 10 people who suffer from depression are of working age, meaning the effects of depression impact the workplace. This brings about economic costs for employers.
What sort of costs could come from depressed workers? Besides their own health? The survey mentioned from the UK found some surprising results:
Workers who struggle to cope at work are also workers who struggle to be productive at work, costing their employers dearly. The effects of depression in the workplace can be seen in increased absenteeism, lack of effective cooperation resulting in decreased efficiency, and general low quality of work brought about by distractions.
Don't be afraid to speak up if you're struggling. Take a mental health day, talk to your managers, reach out to coworkers. In the end, what most companies want is to see results and having unhappy workers who are having a hard time reaching their goals is counterproductive. But most importantly, take the time to participate and just hum along.
In case you're reading this article a hundred years from now, back in the twenty-first century almost everyone who got paid a salary was expected to keep that amount a secret. The rationale behind this might be divided into tactics and strategy, for both personal and competitive reasons.
For the employer: keeping pay a secret helps reduce the chance of unrest among employees, and gives less information to your competitors.
For the employee: not telling your coworkers your salary means they are less likely to resent you. Plus, if no one knows what you make, you can more easily demand a higher wage when you interview elsewhere.
All of this is pretty foolish thinking. People are going to find out. They are going to compare paystubs. They are going to bring it up in interviews. And certainly, it's not a secret from everyone. Management and the payroll department and your banker all know what you make. It's extremely hard to keep a secret, and most secrets at work are toxic anyway.
This isn't just some wacky idea. Business Insider reports that many companies have opened up salaries, including Whole Foods. A New York Magazine piece explains the promising scientific research on the topic. Ditto for The Wall Street Journal.
Even the arguments against pay transparency seem to be of the form "it's a good idea in theory, but we're not ready for it yet." Writing for Harvard Business Review, Todd Zengler summarizes his perspective as:
The real problem with pay transparency is that it focuses individuals on comparing pay rather than on elevating performance.
That sounds like a problem with the individuals you hired, which again, is a short term problem.
Take a look at the the HR Compensation Best Practices Report from PayScale. On Page 43 they write:
Nearly a third (31 percent) of organizations agree that they have a transparent pay process. Where it gets interesting is how differently each company defines transparency. Transparency isn’t all or nothing. In fact, there’s a whole range of choices that organizations make about how much information to share with employees...Level one is the least transparent; companies tell employees what and when they’re paid. Level five is the most transparent – some call this radical transparency – where either everyone’s pay, or the formula for all pay decisions, is shared openly with all employees, up to the executive level.Nearly half of organizations described their level of transparency as a level one. At the other end, 6 percent of organizations believe they’re at level five transparency. The rest fell somewhere in the middle.
It's hard to imagine any private company at a level five if you wind the clock back a generation or two. Clearly, pay transparency is coming.
The modern history of employment might best be characterized as a group of paradigm shifts. We've seen a steady decline in job tenure: people don't stay at the same company for as long as they used to. Also, the scope and diversity of the labor force is changing. New employees receive less on-the-job training, which is correlated with trends in educational attainment.
What will happen to companies that adopt salary transparency? Consider Gravity Payments, who famously reset their minimum wage to $70,000 a year. The result was chaos. They received thousands of applications, watched employees cry tears of joy at their desks, and fielded a media firestorm. But years later, they have even more customers.
Or, check out what happened at the University of California system. When they announced that all employee salaries would be public, a study conducted by researchers showed that only low-wage workers weren't pleased with the transparency. But that dissatisfaction may lead to a good outcome: those individuals decide to move on.
Here's the bottom line: if you don't know you're being underpaid, it's harder to take action. If you do know you're being underpaid, you have more leverage and more incentive to find something else. In the long run, that's good for everyone.
We're not going to be keeping this a secret in the future. We're already on the way.
This scenario isn't difficult to picture. Budget cuts seen through layoffs, salary reductions, resource eliminations, benefit changes and many more can really impact an establishment and all the moving parts therein. Whether you've had personal experience with this or not, you surely have heard and/or seen what these changes can do to stakeholders.
In early August, news wide coverage on the Muncie school district cluttered the air waves. Due to immense budget cuts, the school district opted to change transportation companies to help off-set the $11.5 million dollar deficit. Unfortunately, what they found on the first day of school was anything but good. Buses were extremely late picking up students while some never made it to the stops at all. Bus drivers didn't have correct route information and turned to students to give directions. And all the while, parents were left in the dark wondering why the transportation system was totally out of whack. In one news report on RTV6, a parent recounted the ordeal she was put through:
"We hardly knew anything walking into school,” said parent Jessica Morrow. “It’s just really not an environment I want my kids in. We really considered pulling them out of the school system this year, or home school.”Morrow and other parents expressed frustration with the district’s new busing system, which includes a new busing company Auxilio.
"We waited until 7:20 and they never showed up and school starts at 7:10 so I ended up going back home and bringing the kids to school," said Morrow. "They couldn’t tell me what bus she’s riding and then they told me to contact the day care, then they told me to contact the school, and the school said they don’t know."
Turns out, after one day of school, Muncie had to close, district-wide, for the next two days in order to sort out the utter mess. This disaster was preceded by other drastic cuts and problems for Muncie. Back in March, teachers and parents were outraged at the new proposal to reduce teaching salaries to help in budget costs:
Teachers and parents protested Tuesday night against a proposal to cut teacher salaries as a way for Muncie Community Schools to dig out of a $11.5 million budget shortfall.There would be a 20 percent salary decrease this year for teachers and a ten percent retroactive decrease going back as far as 2015.
One teacher who's been with the school district for 26 years says she would be making about $21,000 a year.
It's undeniable: balancing budgets and staying fiscally sound is a hard job and one that takes a lot of knowledge, strategy and finesse. Yet no matter how you slice it, budget cuts drastically affect everyone. Perhaps though there are ways to help lead toward commonality when making the tough, painful decisions.
In Chicago alone, the number of people working from home has doubled since 2005. Those are pretty significant numbers. The Chicago Tribune pulled data from Global Workplace Analytics which stated that nearly 3.1 percent of the workforce, which is roughly 131,000 workers, are working from home. About 3.7 million people work remotely in the US, which doesn't count those who are self-employed. It's obvious that this trend is only growing. The Tribune interviewed a CEO by the name of Joe Hagan who has been instituting a work-from-home policy for three years.
"You're always concerned people will not work as hard if they're outside the office, which has proven here, at least, to be a fallacy," said Hagan, who can see when people are logged in and active on the company's work system.
So the biggest fear, which is employees becoming distracted while working from home, can be dispelled. However, if you are planning on switching to allow employees to work remotely, you may want to keep in mind that sometimes, moderation is key.
Studies have shown working remotely increases employee engagement, but in moderation, because there is still value in the relationships nurtured when colleagues are face to face. The most engaged employees are those who work off-site three to four days out of a five-day workweek, according to a report this year from Gallup.
This is great news, right? Why can't every position be done remotely! Increased employee engagement is a goal any company should have. Not only that, but some studies have shown that companies that hire remote workers are actually helping to close the very pronounced gender gap we see in the tech industry. TechRepublic reviewed data from Remote.co which analyzed 53 remote companies and found that women made up 42% of leadership when compared to other S&P 500 companies with only a dismal 14% of female leadership.
"Particularly among tech firms, the freedom to work remotely is becoming increasingly popular with professionals," said Dawn May, manager at Robert Walters, in a statement about the findings. "The flexibility these policies afford staff is a powerful draw for top talent and employers should consider whether they can introduce or expand these policies within their own organisation to secure the best professionals."
How else does remote work help women? Flexibility, especially for working mothers. When you have a child, your priorities shift. Maternity leave in the US is disappointing to say the least. Most women can't afford to be on maternity leave, which is really just 12 weeks off with no pay. If companies do offer remote work, they're finding that new mothers are actually returning to work and a lot faster, too.
A Pew Research Center study found that 51% of women said being a working mother made it more difficult to advance their careers, while only 15% of working fathers said the same. It also found that 42% of mothers reduced their work hours to care for a child or family member, compared to 28% of fathers. Further, 27% of mothers said they quit their job to care for their family, while only 10% of fathers did the same.
Offering flexibility in the work environment is attractive to nearly everyone and obviously will help new parents transition back to work easily. In general, interest in working from home is at an all time high. It will be interesting to see what changes occur to the workforce when more companies move toward hiring remote workers.
Theodore Roosevelt said, "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
The sweet joy of triumph! When we succeed at a challenging task, solve a complicated problem, or reach a goal, we rejoice. We are elated. Failures fade away because we have achieved a milestone. Would we know the feeling of triumph without the awareness of defeat? Isn't our recognition of a win enhanced by the missteps we made along the way? Every day I must remind myself that it is imperative to risk failure in order to find success. If I wait for the best opportunity, then I will miss many openings for progress. So many of our daily decisions are affected by timing. Yet rarely is our timing perfect.
If we want success and to experience triumph, then we must act. Nelson Mandela said, "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Today was made for challenges. Today was made for triumph. We can take the leap of faith that is needed to overcome.
So how do you handle a setback? Do you let it rule your day or even your whole week? Does it ruin all of the progress you have made already? Many of us have to learn how to handle failures better and reap the lessons learned from failed businesses as Ashley Lee told us in an AccelaWork article.
Being afraid of failure is a natural, human instinct. It’s not something that we can necessarily control. Yet, interestingly enough, the best way to fight this particular fear is by embracing it! We must say to ourselves, failure is not a weakness but a starting off point for even sweeter success. After all, mistakes are what we use to anticipate and prevent future problems. Without them, processes could never improve, products rarely enhanced. When something appears perfect from the start, we would never dare to rethink and reinvent. Instead, we would find ourselves at a standstill. Where then would our creativity and need for innovation lead us? Nowhere I suspect.
It won't happen over night. As Ashley stated, it's sort of ingrained in us to be afraid of failing. The stress that comes along with that fear is enough to knock any of us flat on our backs. What can you do to counteract this? Try writing down what you're grateful for in your life. No, really! A study out of the University of Miami by Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough has proven that giving thanks instead of counting your burdens can ease your stress.
One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.
I think it's time to start taking on the positive mindset and give thanks for all of your achievements!
We do this because we like to try to make sense of people and situations. The problem with this is that most of the time our story is incorrect which causes all kinds of complications. The fact is, we don’t know what the truth is unless we ask. As much as we would like to think we know what others are thinking, we simply can’t read minds. Sometimes we think we have the super power to know the reasons why people do the things they do (without asking them), which is pretty presumptuous. Remember, not everyone sees the world the same as you do (shocker, I know, but it is easy to forget).
Need another reason to stop making assumptions? Try turning it around. Do you believe that other people can read your mind? Would you rather someone make up a story (an assumption) about what you are thinking and feeling? Or, would you prefer if they ask you? When you ask instead of assume, you may not always get an answer you like or expect. Still, asking is much better than making up your own story because then you are in the position to make an informed next step.
Asking questions seems like an easy thing to do, so why don’t we do it more often? Why do we sometimes become paralyzed or face social anxiety when it comes time to:
It goes something like this. Let’s say you see a prospective client at a networking event, he sees you too but when you try to approach him for a chat he leaves abruptly. That is all that happened, you don’t know why he had to leave and yet your mind starts making up a story, an assumption. You might think he doesn’t like you or that he isn’t interested in your business. This may or may not be true, but why bother thinking negative thoughts when you don’t really know the reason he left?
In his book, The Four Agreements, author Don Miguel Ruiz shares insights on the detriments of making assumptions. If you want to know the reason, ask! You may find out that he just went outside to put money in a parking meter, that he had a family emergency, or something else which was not related to you at all.
So how do you do it? When asking questions, do so in a non-judgmental way with the intention to discover the truth. It’s important to stick to the facts and use a neutral tone when asking questions. If you’re still not convinced, here are seven reasons why you and your business, may be suffering because of assumptions. Making assumptions is bad for business because doing so can:
Hopefully it is clear why assumptions are not good for your business and you are willing to stop making them. Making assumptions isn’t good for any relationship which means you can apply this to your personal life as well. After all, you do have a life outside of your business right?
My challenge to you: start paying attention to your thoughts and become aware of when you are making assumptions. Once you've got this handled, get into action and ask the right questions. Asking questions is simple, and not always easy. Find the courage to do what may feel difficult and just ask. Ending assumptions is like any skill, it takes practice. The more you do it the easier it will become!
Teamwork is a subject matter that gets introduced very early in life. From the time we enter school, we are learning how important it is to work with others, to build in cooperation, to utilize the various strengths in the group to achieve maximum results. We are presented this way of working so early on because, in many ways, teamwork can be difficult. When you consider the facts, it's easy to see how working in a team setting can get complicated.
For one, we all have our own perspective. What one sees as a benefit, another may see as a downfall. It's hard to find common ground when conflicting opinions are strong in conviction. Secondly, we all have our own way of doing things and our own knowledge-base that gives us the drive to follow-through in the way we think is best. So even when we are able to seek compromise, we are faced with the difficulty of how to enact the steps necessary to achieve the overall goal.
Teamwork is about finding the middle ground between perspectives without diverting from the ultimate goal of success. It involves the humbling of oneself; to step outside personal opinion, look at the greater picture and if necessary, admit that a different suggestion or action is in fact a better option for the project at hand. Yet, embracing collaboration isn't simply about compromise. We can and should still work on designated portions of a system or project the way we feel is best aligned with our goals and expectations as contributors. It's a balancing act no doubt and a precarious one at that.
Smartsheet, a product aimed to facilitate teams, training, work groups, etc., published The Ultimate Guide to Team Assessments. This article is rather large, but it is chock full of great information and tips on how to assess, improve and/or build strong teams in your office. Topics include:
All in all, this piece is definitely worth the read. The information is beneficial and eye-opening and there's even a bonus. The last section is: The Pros’ Top Tips on Using Team Assessments. Why is this a bonus you ask? Well, like anything nowadays---whether it's buying a product, utilizing a service or visiting a destination---reviews and expert opinions matter. We value other people's perspectives, particularly those well-versed in the industry, because we get a wider picture of what it is we're trying to accomplish and whether the avenue we are researching will fulfill our expectations. Among the professionals listed in this section is our very own Robby Slaughter, a principal here at AccelaWork. Below are his thoughts on the most common problem seen in teams:
The assumption that a project needs to be handled by a team. We use the word team to describe a group of individuals who are all collaborating simultaneously to accomplish a specific task - even if they have different roles . . .But often, we're better off if the workflow is designed by an individual and then delegated to a series of individuals. In this sense, it's more like an assembly line than a sports team. Each person has their area of expertise, but people aren't constantly waiting for the ball or frustrated by someone else's performance.
To learn more about AccelaWork's perspective on teams, consider reading a few of our posts on The Methodology Blog regarding team building, team reward misconceptions, and remote teamwork.
If you're anything like me, buying a beautiful watermelon at the store only to find that it's tasteless and mealy can be highly disappointing. Frustratingly enough, this has happened to me countless times. Until of course, I decided to get wiser about how I go about selecting the fruit. I figure that educating myself on specific characteristics (good and bad) will help me navigate the selection better. And sure enough, after a bit of research and reading, I discovered one article in particular that provides some really good information on watermelon ripeness.
Bright Side shared tips and tricks on how to pick a perfect watermelon. What I found useful about this information was it provided concrete tips rather than subjective ones. For instance:
Clear and concise, now you know how to pick out the best watermelon. So let's get on to the actual purpose of this blog post (if you haven't figured it out already). What does a ripe melon have to do with business anyway?
Besides the obvious reward where sweet fruit is the prize, investing in areas that need improvement can elevate your happiness, productivity and success as well as open doors for continuous innovation and growth. The key to it all is simply taking the first step. We at AccelaWork are strong advocates for business improvement because we believe that jobs and the responsibilities therein should constantly be evolving to reflect upon the changing patterns in business, technology and communication. Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, also points out that taking on this type of perspective positively influences employees and their contentment at work:
. . . companies that are more efficient are more engaging for their employees. The less we have to do that we’ve always done, the more we get to do something new and exciting. Anytime there is the opportunity for positive change, that means people can grow. And that’s something every organization should work to offer to its stakeholders.
Take a moment to think about your work and your daily actions. Are things expected to always stay the same? Do you ever face bumps in the road or changes in direction? If not, perhaps you're simply ignoring these opportunities. And yes, before you re-read the last sentence, I did say opportunities because dealing with the unexpected can be a good thing! Without the need for change, nothing would ever evolve or be improved.
Just imagine if your job description involved words like never change or do not stray or always follow instructions. What would that mean for our jobs? What would it mean for our ability to create and problem solve? What would it mean for our sanity and happiness? There's no doubt that it would be hard. Whether its brain power, time, money or a combination of such efforts, seeking improvement at work to achieve greater results can make all the difference when it comes to productivity and happiness.
Do me a favor. Take some time to consider areas of your job that could use a real boost. Research ways for improvement. Take action and see what happens. I'm willing to bet you'll begin to see positive change that allows for some well-deserved and sweet benefits!
A writer for Fast Company's Co.Design seems very excited about process improvement techniques from ages past:
Why Designers Are Reviving This 30-Year-Old Japanese Productivity TheoryToyota’s 5S principles, which ushered in lean manufacturing in the 1980s, are experiencing a renaissance.
Decades before Marie Kondo became the go-to Japanese organizational guru—transforming her name into a verb and selling more than 6 million copies of her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up—another declutter philosophy became one of Japan’s biggest exports.
Called 5S after its alliterative core tenets—sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain—the methodology originated on the Toyota assembly line, then went on to become a foundational element of the lean manufacturing wave that swept the world in the 1980s. Its underpinning idea is as simple as its steps: Namely, that a well-organized workplace yields a safer, more efficient, and more productive system.
Sounds like pretty obvious stuff, doesn't it? But if that's the case, why are we still talking about productivity?
It's not as if this stuff was all invented in the 1980s. That article references the Just-In-Time system from the decade before and the Toyota innovations that followed World War II. And if you've read The Methodology Blog for a while, we've talked before about the Hawthorne productivity experiments and about the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor at the turn of the last century. And if you want to go even deeper, the idea of being more efficient was studied by the philosophers John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832).
So why are we still talking about productivity? Because the key tenets of getting more done are at often at direct odds with human nature and social systems.
Let's run through a few examples:
How do we resolve these age-old conundrums? It's simple to describe, but nearly impossible to implement. The solution to almost every productivity problem is trust and respect.
Think of what happens if you trust people to do their work and respect them enough not to interrupt them unless it's necessary. They are either going to find a way to succeed, or they are going to lack the internal motivation to move forward. There's not a lot of room for anything else.
But as easy as it is to say "trust and respect" it's hard to do in practice. We want our employees to come into the office at certain times and we want to see them getting things done. We worry about fraud and abuse, because it does happen.
And that is what much of the history of productivity shows anyway. It is a slow and plodding progression of increasing respect for individual contribution. In the past, almost everyone was being supervised. Now, much of the world's work is happening independently without direct oversight, and increasingly we see individuals coming up with ideas to do that work better.
Productivity is not a new idea. It's an old one. And what makes it difficult is embedded into who we are. That's a painful truth, but discomfort often leads to change, and change often leads to growth.
Eric Barker of The Week, wrote a dazzling piece on productivity. The title alone makes your nerves jump straight out of your fingertips: "How to be the most productive person in your office -- and still get home by 5:30p.m." Enticing right? Is it possible to get home by dinnertime feeling good about our daily productivity?
According to Barker, it's possible and proven by a very reputable man named Cal Newport; a full-time professor who writes 6 peer-reviewed academic journal papers per year, is an author of four books, is married with a young child, and blogs regularly about productivity and expert. And despite this rap sheet, he finishes work at 5:30 p.m. every day and rarely works weekends. So here's how he accomplishes it all (along with some notations and expertise by the AccelaWork team):
Here's what Barker has to say:
To-do lists by themselves are useless. They're just the first step. You have to assign them time on your schedule . . . It allows you to do tasks when it's efficient, not just because it's #4.
Robby Slaughter suggests utilizing the power of our calendar to help not only our productivity, but our understanding of the progress we're making. In a previous post on The Methodology Blog, he advises:
Again from Eric Barker:
You need boundaries if you want work/life balance. But this also helps you work better because it forces you to be efficient.
Alyssa Shea, one of our tech gurus here at AccelaWork, encourages readers to not only utilize technology to improve productivity, but to keep our boundaries between work and personal time clearly defined:
The important thing to remember is that technology ideally exists to help us, not control us. Our phones and tablets can be a means to great efficiency and productivity. But when we utilize them obsessively and without any boundaries, they can quickly become the tail wagging the dog. Setting up boundaries and technology “blackout” times when we’re at home helps to establish that critical work/life balance.
It may sound overwhelming to at look days, weeks or even months in advance to plan your calendar. But, preparing your commitments ahead of time is providing you with an extreme advantage. No longer will you be the one bogged down with last minute requests and projects. The reply is simple: "I've checked my calendar and the earliest availability I have is ..." Now you're in control and are able to define when a project can be completed.
You hate to live and die by your calendar, but by doing so, you'll find achieving maximum productivity is as easy as ever.
You need to do fewer things. Everything is not essential. You say "yes" to more than you need to.
We've talked about the biggest, happiest lie in business. As Slaughter puts it:
Whenever someone says “no problem” what they mean is “there is a problem.” They mean “I don’t want to do that. I shouldn’t have to do that. But I will.” Or, they might mean “I know you think this is my job, but it’s not.”
For so many of us, our need to "people please" can overtake our workday. We say yes (or "no problem") to way more than we need to. Focus on that and remember, saying no at work isn't a crime.
Shallow work stops you from getting fired — but deep work is what gets you promoted.
The idea that a project being done can positively affect the company and it's overall mission, brings employees an enormous amount of satisfaction. Compare this feeling to that of an employee who is pigeonholed to the mindless, mundane tasks that have little to no effect on the overall performance of a company. Could you honestly say they'd be just as happy?
Of course, there is no way of avoiding maintenance in a job. Despite the boredom it produces, we all have upkeep that needs to be done. But, we should strive to streamline this portion of our time (and not give in to it) so our minds can gear towards the meaningful, innovative work we desire.
Got it? Okay, time to head home for dinner!
Unfortunately, too many of us have come to believe that our job is no place to be curious. Or, as the poet Robert Frost once quipped:
"The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office."
Work should be more than labor. It should require some level of thinking, or skill, or technical facility. At some point in your job you should feel free to think to yourself, "hmm...I wonder..."
From our ten point manifesto of what makes for a great workplace, here's point #2: None of Us Knows Everything. It’s Always Okay to Ask Questions.
As an organizational tenet, this one sounds fairly clear. It's mostly about ego. One of our speakers, Amy Woodall, explained why being humble makes for amazing customer service:
Everyone is important, but sometimes we need to look in the mirror and realize that humility is both highly elusive and incredibly valuable. When we put ourselves first, others take notice and don’t want to be around us. But when we put others first, they appreciate our sacrifice---even if it ends up being invisible!
That's what it means to say "none of us knows everything." No one is the ultimate expert on all topics, no matter how long they've been with the company or how much they might they might seem to be knowledgable.
It's the second part that is a bit more complicated. "It's always okay to questions." Do we really mean that?
It's an old adage, but it's broadly correct. If you're willing to ask, somebody should be willing to answer. The form of the question may not be reasonable, or it may contain hidden assumptions, or it may be hard even to parse. But putting yourself out there to say "I don't know" is worth applause all by itself. We should never silence those who have questions just because the question wasn't flawless.
You can ask any question you want. But if you're asking a question that you could have found the answer to yourself in a few minutes of research, you're being disrespectful of others. If you're asking because you are trying to prove that someone else doesn't know, you're being disrespectful.
In essence: asking questions means being curious, not being needy. When you want to know, seek to understand on your own. And if you can't, seek guidance and support.
The worst part about not asking questions is this: people often do so because they are afraid to interrupt others or think they will look foolish. I remember a few years ago, an employee spent several hours doing a task incorrectly. When I saw them working I asked "why did you decide to do it that way?" Their response: "I wasn't sure what was best, so I decided to do it this way."
If you're not sure, ask. Because the worst failure isn't doing something wrong, it's being too fearful to find out that you're doing it wrong.
They say that silence is golden. But if you have a question and you've tried to find out yourself, speak up. We want to hear from you.
And be ready. Because soon people are going to be asking you for advice and information. That's because none of us knows everything, and, it’s always okay to ask questions.
What's yours?
Being able to sacrifice short term goals for long term goals can be a tough lesson to learn. Many times a new manager will struggle implementing a change that will lead to an improvement tomorrow. If you believe the change will result in better performance in the future, are you willing to miss today’s target? In manufacturing when a piece of equipment is not running optimally, you may need to add additional people or supplies to keep production running. This increases the cost of every piece manufactured.
Making the decision to stop and fix the problem can be relatively easy. On the other hand, if you are implementing an improvement and the future results are only theoretical, it is harder to make the decision to change. You need to have the courage to sacrifice the known for the untested. Preparation, study, experience, and research can help move you forward. My experience has taught me that once a decision is reached, it is critical to implement as quickly as possible. If you have decided, today is the time to act. Tomorrow cannot be better without action today. As I've stated before, there is power in sacrifice:
Everything worthwhile is uphill. I’ve been pointing this out for a while now, but the more I think about it, the more I know it’s true. Whether you’re talking about personal growth, personal health, business, or some other aspect of life, nothing of value is easy. The precious things in life require something in exchange.That’s why appreciation often includes sacrifice. Maybe it’s a small gift out of your own pocket. Maybe it’s a kind word that decreases your own ego. Or maybe it’s doing someone a favor that’s out of your way.
There are sacrifices to be made everywhere and in every aspect of business. But the big changes can be pretty scary. Where should you even begin? It seems like a monumental task and you're already busy enough with life and work. The Ladders recognizes how big of an issue this can become and have some pretty interesting thoughts on how you can overcome making sacrifices and big changes in your daily routine. I picked a couple of my favorites and added some thoughts below; although you should really take the time to read the full list!
Put your mental and physical health first
I really like this one, mainly because so many of us are so consumed with work and to-do lists that we lose sight of what's most important - self. Making sure that you are physically and mentally in shape is the most important thing in your life and should always be that way. If you aren't in tip top shape, how can you deliver your best at work?
If you’re concerned that your stress is affecting your work, be proactive about scheduling time with your manager to address your concerns and come up with a plan, so you can keep moving forward.
Focus on what you can control
It's really easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle of worry and fear. You worry about the thing that might happen because you're afraid of what the outcome might be and these thoughts keep revolving round and round until the thing finally comes and passes. I like to ask myself this - Can I do something about this issue right this second? If yes, put work into it. If not, then I move onto a different task.
One town in Canada can attest to how young entrepreneurs are giving a major facelift to economies. Revelstoke in British Columbia saw a lot of changes starting 10 years ago with the opening of their ski resort called Mount Revelstoke. The entire town was basically living off of their winters when skiing enthusiasts would come for vacations. Yet some younger workers had zero interest in working at the resort. I couldn't really see the appeal myself, either. So what else was there for them to do? How could they stay in the town they loved yet still make a living doing something they loved, too? Well, they had to make their own opportunities.
“There are a lot of younger people coming here who love the lifestyle and want to stay but maybe they don’t want to work at the mill or at the resort. If they want to stay, they have to make their own opportunities, and they tend to be pretty well educated and capable so it’s completely possible to do exactly that.”
As we all know, networking is key when it comes to starting up a business. The only problem that Revelstoke’s young businesspeople faced was the lack of time they had to put toward making contacts and growing connections that would last. But they found a way around that, too.
“So we don’t ever formally get together, but we have a different kind of networking that happens during after work bike rides or having a pint in the evening. It’s not formal, but it’s effective and we do discuss what’s happening with our businesses and what’s happening in town. It’s not like the Chamber of Commerce, which we belong to, by the way; it’s a lot less formal and it works because we all have similar lifestyles and concerns.”
It's so important to follow your dreams, even if that means starting at a young age. Some of us know exactly what we want to do for the rest of our lives from a very young age. There's a place for that younger crowd who find themselves interested in starting up businesses of their own one day. Young entrepreneurs may not know this, but there is a school that was built back in 2004 at the University of Rochester just for them. It's called The Young Entrepreneurs Academy and it, quite literally, makes your dreams come true. How does it work? Any student in grades 6th through 12th can enter into the year-long program. There, they'll learn how to generate ideas for businesses, how to write and pitch business plans, and ways to launch their own companies. Check out their mission plan:
Develop and deliver experience-based entrepreneurship programs to young people to:
- Enable them to transition successfully to adulthood;
- Help them to pursue their dreams by harnessing their creativity and energy;
- Help them transform their ideas into tangible enterprises that create economic and social value for a better world;
- Develop the character of tomorrow’s leaders based on personal principles and values;
- Enable educational institutions and Chambers of Commerce to provide successful and effective entrepreneurship programs for middle and high school students;
- Create a culture of innovation in schools and communities across the nation; and
- Foster the entrepreneurial mindset in young people, educators, and community members.
I wish I knew about this program back when I was in school! Can't they make an exception and let a 30-year-old stay-at-home mom join? Even though it would likely be incredibly awkward for everyone involved? Probably not, but a girl can dream, right?
Desire is a very strong key towards your mind power. You must not only know “what you want”, but you must also “want it bad enough” and be willing to make an effort towards attaining it. The late Jim Rohn put it this way, “When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.” In order to do this, you simply need to create a strong and intense desire towards whatever it is you want to accomplish or attain. The key is, you need to develop a desire so strong it will cause you to use every ounce of your power, energy, and creativity toward the accomplishment of your objective or goal.
Desire is said to be like a goal-striving energy, a sort of built-in magnet which has the means to pull whatever is needed to you. Now this can work two ways for you, both as a “success magnet” or a “failure magnet”. It all depends on how you, the controller, controls it and also the goals you set for it. Very few people know how to create and hold a strong dedicated desire, they satisfy themselves with simply “wishing” or even a mild “wanting”, and fail to put into action a strong, intense and continuing desire. Napoleon Hill in his classic, Think and Grow Rich, discovered this vital secret to success almost 100 years ago. Join me on an 8 week journey through Think and Grow Rich, it kicks off in October.
If you take a look at the progress of any person who has accomplished famous and wonderful things, you will find a strong and continuing desire for success within them all. Most of the time, people who are successful only become successful at what they do after trying many, many times and after never giving up!
ALL GREAT PEOPLE HAVE THE 3 KEYS…
It is these 3 things, which separate the men and women who have a strong sense of purpose, determination and desire, from the rest of us who merely “wish for things.” A strong desire can have a tremendous influence on all of your mental faculties, causing them to put all of their power and energies to work for you. In fact, without desire you would not do much thinking at all, because there would be very little motive to do so. You would also do very few actions, because there would be no reason for you to take action. Desire is the “mover of action” – both mental as well as physical action. The strength of your work, whether it is mental or physical, will be determined by the amount of desire that you have for the goal, object or end result of such work. Join me on an 8 week journey through Think and Grow Rich, and see how to get this burning desire. The journey kicks off in October. You can get more info here.
The more you desire a specific thing, the harder you will work for it and the easier this work will seem to you. You see any task you perform under the influence or incentive of a strong desire will seem much easier – than the very same task performed without desire as an influence, incentive or encouragement. Desire and affection are the two main reasons we are influenced or compelled to “do things.” If our desire or affection was somehow absent or missing, then there would be no action – because there would be no motive, reason or cause for such action or to do anything. It is true that most of the time we act solely because we “want” or “like” to. Without desire or affection we would be unable to make any choices or decisions – this means we wouldn’t perform any actions or very few. Now maybe you can begin to see that desire is the motive-power behind action. Take away this motive-power and there will be no activity or movement. Without this “want” and “want to” there would be no “will to do” and this would lead to “not doing” anything.
Everything we do is prompted by desire in some shape or form. It would be impossible for us to remain without desire, and still act in one way or another – or in any way at all. Desire is the motive-power behind all action; it is the breathing force behind all natural activities, processes and events. We can easily learn how to become masters of our own desire, instead of being mastered by it. One of the four traits of highly successful people is Strong Goal Clarity which once you have that in place your Achievement Drive kicks into high gear. It’s Achievement Drive that is the magic multiplier to get you to success.
I don’t mean anything fancy either. Nothing earth-shattering. Just a plain old-fashioned good idea which would have made you more money. But you didn’t get moving on it. Oh well… c’est la vie. I have a friend I’ll call James. James is an independent management consultant and a deep, creative thinker. I have great respect for his abilities to understand his clients and develop unique solutions for them, but he has always struggled with a work/life balance.
His business is ok, but I wouldn’t describe it as booming–and certainly not where he says he’d like it to be. He works with interesting people–just never enough of them. And aside from occasionally soliciting referrals, he does nothing to increase his overall business. The funny thing is, this guy has more brilliant ideas about how to build his business than anyone I know. The problem is he doesn’t implement any of them. James is just one of those people who stops before he ever gets started.
Does James’ behavior sound familiar? Do you have more ideas than action steps? Why don’t you just get going? I encounter this issue often with people who have tons of great ideas about what to do next, but never gets implemented. They want to know why. Have you thought about what stops you from acting on ideas or programs which could bring grand rewards? I have, and I think there are five or six simple reasons.
1. LACK OF AN INSPIRING, MOTIVATING PURPOSE
Why should we do anything? Why indeed! That missing why is called purpose. Without a strong purpose, the urgent things take over. The ringing telephone takes over. “You’ve Got Mail” takes over. The knock at the door takes over. Inertia takes over. I remember in physics I learned that it takes additional energy to break free of inertia. A powerful purpose adds that energy. Energy that organizes your actions, and brings the important things to the fore. To break free of the inertia of your current routine, you need an inspiring purpose.
2. NO CLEAR VISION
Imagine yourself at a six-way intersection in a fog so thick you can’t see a single landmark. You can’t even read the road signs. Which way will you go? If you do pick a direction, will you be confident about setting out, or will you proceed slowly, hoping for the fog to clear a bit before you pick up the pace? Everybody wants to go somewhere–at least everybody in business does. But without a clear vision you can’t see where you want to go. And if you don’t see it, you won’t proceed aggressively and confidently on a course toward it– whatever it is–will you? So even if you craft a plan to take you somewhere, you aren’t likely to execute it. At least not anytime soon.
3. NOT WILLING TO MAKE SACRIFICES OR DO THE WORK
You already have more than enough to do, and whatever else you take on means something has to be set aside. Sacrifice means giving up something of value for something of even greater value. Which means there is something more valuable to sacrifice for. And you haven’t clarified what that ‘something’ is. Or maybe you aren’t sure that it is worth it. In this same category I put: giving up free time, relaxation time, play time, or whatever. But it always comes down to sacrifice, and the big question is, is it worth it? (By the way, I plead guilty to this one. There are times when I feel I have something important to accomplish, I just don’t feel it’s important enough to get off the couch for. What gets me moving is reciting the litany of purpose: “Why did I feel it was important? And what will happen because of that? And why is THAT important? And so on.)
Check in later for part two of this post!
Bob Kurz Newhouse was the Sports Information Director at Miami University, who coined the phrase “Cradle of Coaches” in 1959. Miami University then unofficially was known as the “Cradle of Coaches” until 2012 when it was officially trademarked. The number of college and professional football coaches with roots to Miami University is incredible! Some of these men played football at Miami; some were assistant coaches there; and others were the head coach at Miami and then went on to more prestigious jobs. Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh played at Miami and was recently inducted into the Cradle of Coaches and given a statue in his honor. Paul Brown was one of the greatest football coaches of all-time; not only did he attend Miami University, but he also succeeded Weeb Ewbank at quarterback there. Ewbank led the Baltimore Colts to two NFL titles and was the New York Jets Head Coach when they defeated the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.
Among the “greats” who coached at Miami and then had a great deal of success elsewhere, was Sid Gillman. Gillman popularized the “deep downfield pass”. I well remember that from his days of coaching the San Diego Chargers of the AFL. Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian and Bo Schembechler are three of the greatest College Football Coaches of all-time. All three were the head coach at Miami before moving on to bigger programs. John Pont coached at Miami and then led Indiana University to its only Rose Bowl appearance (1968). There are others, too. A tip of the cap to not only Miami University but also to the great State of Ohio for its rich football heritage.
The skills and knowledge it takes to be a great mentor or coach are very much the same across all fields, be it a football field or other careers. It takes a lot of dedication to find success in your home life and work. What is the key to finding such success? Jack Klemeyer believes the answer is continuous learning and I couldn't agree more. There is always room for growth in life, either in your ideals or the way you think about certain topics, even how you handle work issues could probably use some improvement. Just because we do things a certain way doesn't mean it's the best way. So what steps can you take to lift yourself up into the category of one of the greats? Jack listed these steps:
These greats coaches didn't become the best overnight. They took the time to learn their craft inside and out. You must be willing to put the time and effort into your work. Not only that, but you must also be passionate about what you're doing. If you don't care enough about what you're doing, why should anyone else?
If you’ve ever traveled to London and ridden on the subway system, called The Tube, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Mind the gap.” The phrase is blared over the P.A. system as people get on and off the subway train cars. What it means is, you need to be mindful that there is a gap between the train car and the station platform. This warning ensures that you don’t accidentally misstep and get your foot caught in the gap – which could lead to an injury or worse.
The important lesson here you ask? (That is of course, besides the obvious take-away of ensuring personal safety.) See where you are and determine where you want to go and how to get there.
In business, you need to remember to mind the gap, too – if not on a daily basis, at least on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. You may wonder, “What’s the gap in my business?” The gap is the difference between where your company is currently and where you want it to be. The way to be mindful of this gap is to conduct a gap analysis – also called a needs analysis or assessment.
A gap analysis is a business assessment tool that looks at specific factors, such as sales, customer service, employee performance, etc., to determine the business’ current performance in each of those factors compared to where you want it to be. Once you’ve identified the difference between where you are and where you want to be – the gap – you can make important decisions on how your business needs to change in order to close the gap and reach your desired goal.
For example, you may survey your customers to determine their satisfaction level and then compare it to where you want their satisfaction level to be. Perhaps the analysis shows that a gap exists between the level of customer service your clients actually receive compared to the level you want them to receive. You could then develop an employee training program focused on improving customer service, which would raise your customers’ satisfaction levels, hopefully, to your desired, future performance level.
There are several gap analysis methods you can use to conduct your analysis. If you need help identifying the right tool for your business, give me a call. I can also help you identify specific actions that may be needed to close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
When you mind the gap in your business, you can quickly diagnose problems in your company and develop ways to solve those problems, so your company doesn’t continue to misstep.
Discovering gaps in your business is quite important not only for future success, but for future improvements as well. On your journey, you may very well find that gaps are present in business processes (even those you believe to be seamless). After all, with the ever-changing developments that arise in technology, this should not come as much of a surprise. To learn more ways about bridging the business process gap and streamlining it, consider reaching out to the experts at AccelaWork.
Describing an office, factory, jobsite, store, or other place of employment this way is a powerful turn of phrase. The word "toxic" comes from the Latin word toxicum, meaning "poisoned." This is a workplace where things started out healthy, then some agent was applied (possibly by a nefarious villain or a disgruntled coworker), and then people started to get sick.
Writing for Inc magazine, Marcel Schawntes outlines 7 Sure Signs That Your Workplace Is Toxic. While there are some good ideas, many of the suggestions contradict research findings. Plus there's an x-factor---what individual people want.
Here's a few items Schwantes claims are the hallmarks of toxicity:
1. All sticks and no carrotsManagement focuses solely on what employees are doing wrong or correcting problems, and rarely give positive feedback for what is going right. Or mostly carrots for the best performers, sticks for the rest.
This sounds correct. We want to be rewarded instead of punished. Right?
Not exactly. The notion of direct incentives (giving a raise / giving some praise) or direct disincentives (cutting pay or cutting people down) is not how human psychology works. In fact, incentive pay may be the worst idea in the history of modern business. And when mistakes happen, forgiveness is more effective than shame.
So yes, "sticks" are a sign of a toxic workplace. But carrots are a sign of a dumb, outdated workplace that treats employees like children.
2. The creeping bureaucracyThere are too many levels of approval and management to get things done and a singular focus on micromanaging employees.
No...and yes. On the one hand, some amount of bureaucracy is a good thing. Yes, it is! Imagine if anyone in a company could do anything they want, whenever they wanted. If a lightbulb in the breakroom went out, five people would order replacements. If an employee wanted to go on vacation, they might not coordinate to see who else is going on vacation at the same time. The right amount of structure empowers progress.
But usually bureaucracy is uneven. We lack good process in some areas of the organizations and in other places it is stifling. Often this manifests in a culture of micromanagement. Marcel Schawntes is right: this is awful.
3. The gigantic bottom lineProfits, beating the competition, and cost cutting are solely focused on without consideration of other bottom lines.
It's unclear. If a company is focused on profits, or on beating the competition, or on cost cutting, that might simply be culture. And that's okay, because culture is both practice and principles. And what about those three examples?
Just because your company is laser-focused on a particular objective doesn't mean your company is toxic. But if there's a disconnect among employees, that could be a sign of a trouble.
4. Bullies rule the roostManagement bullies employees, or tolerates bullying when it occurs among employees.
No argument here. When bosses behave like bullies, everyone suffers.
6. Internal competitionEmployees must compete internally, which is enforced by a performance assessment system that focuses on individual performance rather than team performance.
Another mixed bag. A little friendly competition can be good for business. But employee performance reviews are just plain dumb. Team reviews are marginally better, but they still have same basic issues: namely, you can't fix what happened in the past.
7. Little or no concern for work-life balance People's personal or family lives must be sacrificed for the job; overwork or workaholism is common.
Agreed. Of the three main causes of overwork, toxic workplaces have unreasonable expectations. And if you ever have to choose between your family and your job, something is wrong.
"Toxic" means poison. But it's safe to consume arsenic (in small amounts) and water can kill you (if you drink too much). The only person who can decide if the place you work is unhealthy is you.
But if you are thinking it might be, that's a sign there are real problems. Perhaps it's time to get help, or to move on. Let us know if you want to talk.
An effective hiring process means a better rate of success and retention for new employees. A short hiring process means you or your HR team can free up time to work on new projects. You should be aiming to tick both of these boxes to make your recruitment operations more streamlined and productive.
If you feel your recruitment strategy is in need of improvement, here are six tips:
Finding someone with the right qualifications and experience doesn’t necessarily mean finding someone who will thrive and succeed at your company. Company culture plays a role in determining whether a new employee will stick around. The tone of your job advertisement can help to communicate your company and management style. However, the best place to establish cultural fit is during interview. Be sure to ask plenty of questions that reveal the kind of company culture best suited to your candidate and whether you can see them fitting in at your company.
The hiring process can become lengthy when you’re inundated with applications. You can reduce the number of applications you get by making your requirements and the scope of the job clear when you advertise a job. While you don’t want to write an essay, you need to find a way to concisely express what the job entails. Including a salary range can also help you to find the right applicants.
The right recruitment software can speed up your hiring process and improve it at the same time. Software can filter applications for certain keywords. Therefore, if you’re looking for someone with specific qualifications or a particular skill, you can search for it and filter out any applications that don’t match. Software can also help you organize your recruitment process. It can send out automated emails upon receipt of an application, digitally file applications, and archive applicants who you may want to contact for a future role.
Some companies conduct interviews in multiple stages. Whilst this allows them to meet a candidate a number of times before making a decision, a long process can be off-putting to the best applicants who may already have other options in the pipeline. The best approach is developing an effective interview style that gets the most important information and impression of your candidates over one or two meetings.
If you’re looking for the best talent, you need to move quickly once you’ve found someone you feel is a good fit with your company. If they have the best skills and experience, chances are another company are hot on your heels. You need to keep in touch with your favorite candidates and move quickly to make them an offer to avoid losing them and starting the process from scratch.
After each new recruitment project, you need to conduct a thorough evaluation of the successes and failures that took place. Did you lose a candidate through low-balling them on salary? Did the process take longer than hoped? Or did you find the perfect person for the position you needed to fill? Learn from mistakes and repeat your successes to keep improving and shortening the hiring process.
When you have a well-oiled hiring process that works efficiently and produces results, forging ahead towards future objectives of your company becomes that much easier. You can be confident of finding the right person for the job at the right time without spending too much of your own time embroiled in recruiting.
Sophia Beirne is passionate about providing helpful content and sharing her tips. She’s been featured in a number of online publications. She has a background in business administration, manages NYBizdb.com, and follows the latest trends in in entrepreneurship and the job market.
There are days that I can honestly say that nothing I did was productive. Balancing working from home and being a stay-at-home mom doesn't leave much time to waste. And since we definitely can't afford a nanny or maid, that means I've got to up my game. So I started poking around the internet and came across this article that stated there are several apps out there that will remember everything for you. Sounds too good to be true, right? That's what I thought until I dove into the article. Bonus: they've even included helpful reminders for your desktop, too. Here is there list and some of my thoughts, too!
1. Google Assistant (Android, iOS): The Best “Remember” Voice Command
We all know how to set reminders on our phones at this point, right? You just go in, select the time, the ringtone, etc. Half the time, I end up swiping away the reminder and then completely forgetting to do the thing anyway. If you're like me, you should probably download Google Assistant to avoid that problem. Using the “OK Google” followed by “Remember” commands, you can then speak freely about whatever you're trying to remember. So, for example, you can ask Google to remember that your bill is due on the 15th. Later, you can ask, " Ok Google, what date is my bill due?" And it will tell you!
2. Wonder (Messenger, Google Home, Amazon Echo): The Anti-Google Antidote
Wonder is a "search engine for your personal life." Have you ever had a memory right on the tip of your tongue but can't recall it? That's where Wonder will step in. It's a bot that works with Facebook Messenger. You activate it with a command so it's not just recording your entire conversation (which would be super creepy).
3. Reminder Team (Web): When You Don’t Want to Sign In
Say you don't have your phone or your to-do list in front of you, what do you do? If you're in front of your PC, you can use the Reminder Team. It's basically a really quick way to shoot yourself an email with a little note including that important thing you don't want to forget. You can even choose to have the email sent to you one time, monthly, quarterly, or yearly!
4. WorldBrain (Chrome, Firefox): Full-Text Search of Your Browser
Maybe you're like me and you spend the majority of your time on the internet just reading different articles. Internet research can be loads of fun and also extremely frustrating when you can't recall a website that you'd like to revisit. WorldBrain runs quietly in the background of your computer, storing your data locally so that it can remember everything you do. It also stores the entire text on that page, not just the title!
5. Cozi and Process Street: Premade Checklists for Anything
Everyone knows how much we love a good to-do list here at AccelaWork. They're the best way to stay on top of tasks. Except when you forget to add those tasks to your list. Or maybe you didn't think it was important enough to write down because you fooled yourself into thinking that you'd totally remember to do it and then definitely forgot. So what should you do? By combining the use of Cozi and Process Sheet, you'll master your to-do lists with their pre-made templates that can help you and also your entire company!
How often do you see or hear the following words and messages?
“DON’T QUIT!” “NEVER GIVE UP!” “YOU CAN DO IT!” “HANG IN THERE!”
In many situations--on the ball field, during piano practice, preparing for a spelling test--these words have been stationed in the back of our brains screaming at us, urging us on for a long, long time. But is that ALWAYS the best advice? In many instances, persistence does pay off. We can all agree on that. But there are times, according to John Maxwell, that we should simply quit.
If you read those statements carefully, you will see he shows us that it comes down to the reason we are doing something. If there is a benefit that is significant to you or others, by all means persist. But if what you are doing is an exercise in stubborn determination just to let it go, give it up!
For instance, a friend who is a prolific reader recently told me how she had given herself permission to not finish a book. She loves reading and learning, but a book she didn’t like had turned her enjoyment and curiosity into a battle of will. So she decided to simply let go. It took a little toll on her pride she said, but not for long. That little catch was replaced with a new feeling of power and freedom. She has since “quit” several books and never looked back.
Sometimes, just sometimes, we DO know what is best for us.
Other times, as I have learned as a business coach, we need someone else to point out to us that we would be better off quitting something. We, like my friend, need to be given permission to stop doing something that really is not going to be a win in the end anyway. All too often we run our lives according to the rules forced upon us by others such as parents, teachers, society, etc.
In one of my favorite books, The Four Agreements, by don Miguel Ruiz, he clearly shows how we create and/or accept the rules of our lives according to what others say and set forth. We AGREE to them. We acquiesce in full faith that they are right. But maybe those rules are not accurate or correct. He provides four rules we can agree to that would create the framework for a well-lived life:
They seem very simple and straightforward, but if you adopt them, you will see how complex and difficult it can sometimes be to live by these four, short rules.
I am not going to tell you to quit or shut your business down. No, far from it! There is something really special about successful entrepreneurs. You may call it rebelliousness or individualism, but I simply believe they think for themselves. They take in information by reading, watching and talking and then they THINK about it. Then they decide what and how to apply the result of their thinking.
They pull inspiration and knowledge from the experiences and examples of others, but then they make it their own. Successful entrepreneurs are not simply copycats. They are trailblazers! That’s why their mission, their passion, and their purpose are so clear. It is all their own. Today, listen, think and decide what’s best for you. Even if it involves a quit or two. You will, no doubt, be ahead!
When I was 9, my older brother was responsible for shoveling snow from the driveway after a snowfall. To me, shoveling snow looked like fun. There he was, looking important while playing outside. When I asked to help, of course he said yes. But after shoveling snow for only a few minutes, I didn't want to continue. It wasn't fun. It was work.
I think of all of us as we go through this discovery process in our lives. We realize that something that looks like fun is actually work. And while we might later learn to enjoy working, most of us prefer to be having fun.
If you are like me, some of the goals you have set for yourself feel just as difficult as shoveling snow. We discover that some of them require a lot more work then we are willing to give. Furthermore, it may only take a few minutes before we realize just how hard it is really going to be.
I know that to accomplish a difficult goal, I must be willing to do the work. It can't be any simpler. To accomplish something, I need to take action.
Last winter, I was shoveling the snow from my driveway. The process was mostly the same as it was 45 years previously. It is still hard work---but I did not perceive that it would be fun before I started! The difference now is I did not give up. I continued shoveling until I had cleared the the driveway, the sidewalk, and the steps to the front door. Why? Because it needed to be done.
This simple exercise has made me reflect on my goals. Am I really doing the work required? Am I focusing on things because they are fun, or because they need to be done to meet larger objectives? And am I going to quit after a few minutes or am I willing to see it through?
Sometimes we just need to get started. Sometimes we need to be reminded that it is not easy. Next time you feel stuck, remember what it is like to shovel snow for a few hours. Chances are, what you have to do is difficult, but not quite as labor-intensive as you perceive it to be. By ripping off the bandaid of your own misconceptions, you can move past the fear, anxiety, frustration, annoyance, monotony, etc and then simply get to work.
To learn more about ways of getting started on your task list, consider reading up on The Methodology Blog. For nearly a decade, we’ve written posts to cover all arenas on personal productivity and motivation including: reasons not to multitask, how to say no at work, unique methods for productivity, and unusual methods for meeting goals.
When it comes to achieving goals, the simple fact is that it all starts with you. YOU should be responsible for what is ahead. YOU should be accountable to what’s in front of you. What YOU act upon and complete, is YOURS to own. Don’t be afraid to start and don’t drag your feet at the finish line. Have faith in your abilities and push forward despite the task(s) at hand. What you’ll find is more than just a completed to-do list, trust me. You’ll soon discover personal strengths that perhaps you never thought existed within you in the first place.
So what are you waiting for? Go tackle that task list and show it who’s boss!
Think And Grow Rich would be the thoughts of a king filled with determination and an idea so ingrained inside of him that it could be called a burning desire. As he made his way from the railroad tracks to the Thomas A. Edison office, his mind was racing. He saw himself standing in the presence of the great Thomas Alva Edison, a true legend even in his own time. Barnes heard himself asking Mr. Edison for an opportunity to carry out the one consuming obsession of his life, a burning desire to become the business associate of the great inventor. He felt the feelings flooding over him when the great inventor gave him the chance to prove himself.
Barnes desire was not a hope! It was not a wish! It was a keen, pulsating, passionate desire which transcended everything else. It was definite. The author, Henry David Thoreau said:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Young Barnes was doing just that, join me to explore this concept for yourself. It’s no doubt, Edwin Barnes had The Think And Grow Rich philosophy, albeit he didn’t know it at the time. Barnes' passionate desire compelled him to take action. The desire was not new when he approached Edison. It had been Barnes dominating desire for a long time. In the beginning, when the desire first appeared in his mind, it may have been, probably was, only a wish, but it was no mere wish when he appeared before Edison with it.
FAST FORWARD
A few years later, Edwin C. Barnes again stood before Edison, in the same office where he first met the inventor. This time his desire had been translated into reality. He was in business with Edison. The dominating dream of his life had become a reality. The Think And Grow Rich philosophy was being put into practice. Many people who knew Barnes envied him because of the break life yielded him. They saw him in the days of his triumph, without taking the trouble to investigate the cause and tireless effort of his success. Barnes succeeded because he chose a definite goal. He placed all his energy, all his willpower, and all his effort into his goal. He did not become the partner of Edison the day he arrived. He was content to start in the most menial work, as long as it provided an opportunity to take even one step toward his cherished goal.
Five years passed before the chance he had been seeking made its appearance. During all those years, not one ray of hope, not one promise of attainment of his desire had been held out to him. To everyone, except himself, he appeared only another cog in the Edison business wheel, but in his own mind, he was the partner of Edison every minute of the time, from the very day that he first went to work there. How does one keep that focus? Let’s explore it together. As you can imagine from this story, the determination and desire to work with Edison remained a constant flame in the heart and mind of Barnes. The Think And Grow Rich philosophy was just as much a part of Barnes as his own arms or legs.
Standing alone in a crowd can seem difficult to do if you have not made a personal commitment to yourself regarding what and where you want to go in life. Take a personal journey that begins with a positive attitude. The reward will come to you as it did for young Barnes if you keep the faith and the belief alive within yourself.
Jose Altuve is the Houston Astros second baseman. Altuve is 27 years old and in 2017 he made the All Star team for the fifth time. Altuve won his third batting title this season. He also led the American League in hits for the fourth consecutive season. Altuve has won a Gold Glove and is a three-time Silver Slugger award winner. The American League MVP will be announced in the next few weeks, and Altuve is a strong candidate to win it. Jose Altuve also has led the American League in stolen bases on two occasions. This success hasn't come easy for him, either. Altuve sat down with ESPN to talk about his career thus far and he was very open and candid during the interview:
Believe it or not, I have had to battle for every single hit. To even be considered for an MVP award is fairly awesome for me. I've realized pitchers are making more adjustments this year; they have more of a plan. They don't throw just any pitch over home plate. I'll keep getting pitched in the same way, and when I make them change the way they're pitching when I start hitting them well, they will change it up. I've had to work pretty hard for every single hit I've had this year.
Jose Altuve is 5'6" tall and the size of his heart is incredible! Altuve is from Venezuela and teams shied away from signing him because he is so small. Finally, the Houston Astros gave him $15,000 to sign with them. Once Jose Altuve signed a professional contract there was no stopping him! Altuve is the shortest active player in Major League Baseball and he is one of the game's best players. Jose Altuve has added power to his game; he has hit more than 20 home runs in each of the last two seasons. He started off the 2017 Post Season by belting three home runs in Game One of the Divisional Series vs. Boston. Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto stood 5'6". The lesson here is that in baseball you can still succeed even if you are a little guy.
If someone like Altuve can persevere and follow his dreams, why can't you? What's holding you back from achieving your goals? Jack Klemeyer sees a lot of this in his coaching business and he spoke about it in this article about misconceptions that hold back your growth. He says there are three total that may be keeping you from seeing the success and growth that you have been craving. They are called "growth gaps." The one that really caught my eye that I'm sure we've all faced was about inspiration.
INSPIRATION GAPWhen I coach people toward achieving their goals, and they haven’t been doing the tasks they know they need to do, one of the biggest excuses I hear people say – or sometimes not say – is, “I don’t feel like doing it.” Granted, we all have days where we don’t feel like doing something. But motivation is not going to strike you like a lightning bolt from the sky. No one but you can provide the motivation necessary to get going. Like the Nike company’s slogan has said for years: JUST DO IT! Once you start doing whatever it is, the motivation will come, making it easier for you to continue. One trick I recommend people do is, every morning before you begin your day, say, out loud, 50 times: “Just Do It! Just Do It! Just Do It!” etc. That should give you the motivation you need to get up and at it.
If you're having trouble feeling inspired, maybe keep Altuve in mind. He surpassed everyone's opinions and has become a force to be reckoned with, even though he may be short for a baseball player!
Some days, when I wake up for the meeting, it’s a hassle to get up early in order to be there and alert at 7:00 am. But when I’m in town, I make the effort. Call me crazy, but I actually pay to go there on Monday mornings. I don’t pay much, but I do pay to go and every time without fail, after I attend the meeting, I am in a better, more optimistic, more ready to make that week a great week place. I go to Brownsburg Toastmasters on Monday mornings.
Take this past Monday for example. I learned about two brothers, hoarders, recluses who were buried alive in their own hoarded garbage in the confines of their own home. The brothers were the Collyer brothers from Manhattan, New York. My new friend and fellow Brownsburg Toastmasters member, Jeremy Bard, in his 5 to 7 minute talk shared the fascinating story of the Collyer Brothers.
Jeremy told us that the Collyer brothers had actually dug tunnels though their hoarded garbage which was piled from floor to ceiling so they could navigate through their Harlem brownstone at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 128th Street. Then Jeremy said something that hit me like a ton of bricks, he said, “…they were literally buried alive by their own garbage.” The reason Jeremy’s statement made an impact on me is because I am preparing to share an eight week journey through Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich. Jeremy’s statement, I realized many of us are “buried alive by our own garbage.” That metaphor fits perfectly with the very reason to learn from the classic Think and Grow Rich.
Let me explain by sharing the words of Henry David Thoreau from his work; Life in the Woods, where he said:
...if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
You see, it’s that “advances confidently,” piece that hangs most of us up. We’re buried in our own garbage of doubt, negative thinking and drama. Yes, some of us haven’t set our dreams or goals that we may have imagined to be able to walk in the correct direction. We’re walkin alright, but to what? Where?
So what's so important about meetings? Is it necessary to gather up people, stick them in a room, and talk at their faces for an hour? Are people actually paying attention? I can promise you that not every meeting that goes on is productive. Robby Slaughter can help you if you're looking for tips on scheduling meetings and escaping them alive.
At the meetingA technique that is surprisingly effective is to ask everyone to stand for the course of the meeting. You don’t have to be the organizer, just suggest that standing is healthier and it helps the conversation be more active—both of which are true. Also, standing meetings tend to finish more quickly.
Another effective way to keep meetings moving along is to apologize. That’s right: say you’re sorry that you’re not keeping up. “Is there any way we can get this in a written form so we can review it more detail on our own time?” It works; try it!
Finally, you can make meetings better by asking to start the meeting by writing an agenda. That way everyone is more likely to keep on task and you can refer back to it later.
What happens when an employee has something to say, but feels unheard or too insignificant to be listened to? Chances are, they're going to be upset. They'll feel under-valued. They'll feel cheated. They'll be dissatisfied. They'll start looking for another job.
For leaders, listening to their employees should be high on the priority list. Not just for the sake of the company at large, but for the sake of its employees and their satisfaction and job security. We all want to be heard and reassured that our thoughts, worries and ideas are taken seriously. Otherwise, how can we be fully committed to our work? It's a two-way street. We give our best effort, the company gives the best support. Anything outside of that should be considered "not a good fit." This is especially true for companies on the brink of disaster.
For instance, there is a company right here in the Midwest experiencing a rocky transition. The CEO, COO and CFO all were terminated. Its stock plummeted and barely recovering. Vice Presidents and Directors are putting in their resignations. Pieces of the company are being sold off. Employees are fearful of losing their jobs. And while for many the future for the company is hopeful, there is still dysfunction that is leaving employees unsure of their value to the company and position therein. Why? It's plain and simple. They feel unheard.
So what should company leaders be keeping an ear out for from their employees? Below are just a few examples:
2. Compensation
Money isn't everything. In fact, we've talked extensively about why perks on the job aren't always the answer. But, when a company is going through drastic changes, it's nice for employees to know that their livelihoods are still intact. Even if compensation projections have already been made and recounted to employees, don't discount the potential for uneasiness in the ranks. If an employee questions his/her compensation, take it seriously and give them a chance to plead their case. You may or may not have the ability to remedy the situation entirely, but listening to their concerns is a start in the right direction.
3. Employee Value and Recognition
When an employee works hard and achieves success, it's important to recognize and praise their efforts. Listen to their journey and consider any requests, ideas or concerns they may have. But tread carefully: don't make promises you can't keep. Promises of recognition, compensation, promotion, etc. are dangerous if the follow-through is lacking. Employees may be lead to think they are valued by the company by these standards, but if they're let down by broken promises, they'll believe otherwise and begin feeling resentment. That, and they'll probably start looking for employment elsewhere.
4. Employee Innovation
One of the greatest ways to show true leadership is embracing employee innovation. Listen to ideas. Fuel creativity. Allow reinvention. Encourage employees to come to you with improvements, suggestions, new ways of thinking, new systems. A happy staff is one where employees are thoroughly engaged in their work and reassured in the notion that their thoughts are worthy of consideration and follow-through.
It's hard to imagine a situation in which a company in trouble could ignore such an important factor in its survival such as listening. After all, without the dedicated, well-versed employees who have the experience with the inter-workings of the business, the company's demise seems inevitable. It stands to reason then that leaders would be going above and beyond to keep their remaining employees happy and confident in their position. So, if you're finding the security of your company is compromised, and it's left up to you to lead current employees through the fire storm, consider the above suggestions. And remind yourself that listening is twice as important as talking. That's why you have two ears and only one mouth.
What dreams have you not fulfilled due to a lack of action? Have you ever thought about what's stopping you from attending that program you've had your eye on or that one idea that could yield huge success for you if you tried? We all have let our dreams fall to the wayside, but why do we do it? What example does this set for young entrepreneurs? If you didn't have a chance to catch the last post about why we end up with all these ideas yet zero action, you should do so before reading this post. Let's carry on now with the last 3 reasons in our list!
4. LACK OF BELIEF
If you are certain something will work, there is no risk and you will likely take action. On the other hand, if you are uncertain–and most things are uncertain to some degree–you wonder if it the risk is worth it. So what do you believe? Do you believe your actions will pay off or not? If you aren’t sure, how much effort will you put into it? Will you hesitate? Postpone? Procrastinate? Go at half-speed?
Or maybe ‘it’ will work, in someone’s hands, but you don’t believe it will work in yours. In other words, you lack the confidence you need to get it done, and the risk is too great. Each of these issues can be addressed by having a powerful purpose–and an inspiring set of goals to achieve. When these are strong enough, they make the potential reward that much bigger and alter the risk-reward ratio in favor of action.
5. FEAR
Sometimes it comes down to fear. You have a vision and a purpose, and you think the risks are acceptable. But what if it doesn’t work out. Then what? That’s fear. It won’t work out the way you want it to. What will you be left with then? Or even worse, not only will it not work out, but something bad will come as a result of it.
6. EVERYTHING ELSE
You just have other things to do. Like what? Like the day to day stuff of running your business or doing your job. You can’t just keep piling it on, can you? The question is, are the things you are already doing all worthwhile? Are they taking you closer to your goal or farther away from it? Should some of it be delegated? Should some of it be dumped, or put on the back burner? To move forward you must weigh what you are already doing against where you want to go (your purpose and goals.) If your existing action set is effectively driving you towards your goals, there’s no need to do more. But if you aren’t moving sure-footedly in that direction, then you need to shift things around and make room for what will.
You may have to realign your priorities, and reevaluate your options so that your available time and energy is dedicated to moving in the right direction. What about you? What stops you? Any one of these six things can hold you back, or it may be a combination of things. Once you identify what stops you, it is much easier to address and get moving. Now you can transform your ideas into an action plan. We do this and more here on the Think and Grow Rich journey. Maybe you will join us to realize your goals!
Could it be true that suppressing our intuition is best in certain situations? This is an interesting question in and of itself. After all, many of us have spent our lives reminding ourselves that "following our gut" is usually the way to go when it comes to making decisions. So many of us have been told since childhood that if something doesn't feel right, chances are it's probably not. We utilize this lesson in so many aspects of our lives when determining right from wrong, good from bad, truth from lie, fair from unfair, fight or flight and so on. In the end, it seems only natural that we navigate choices and situations through knowledge, reason and personal intuition.
Yet, according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, CEO of Hogan Assessments and Lewis Garrad, a chartered organizational psychologist, trusting your instincts when it comes to employee motivation is not a very good thing. In their article published in the Harvard Business Review, the biases and blindness present within personal intuition can hurt rather than improve motivation in the workplace. In fact, according to a study highlighted by Chamorro-Premuzic and Garrad, employee motivation drops rapidly when under poor management:
A global survey of more than 50 Fortune 1000 companies and 1.2 million employees showed that in a whopping 85% of organizations — remember, these are some of the best companies in the world — employee motivation declines sharply after people have spent six months with their managers. In other words, most employees are enthusiastic and engaged when they start their new jobs, but it takes only a few months for managers to destroy their morale.
This study is quite compelling and deserves reflection on behalf of any manager and/or company hoping to increase motivation and productivity in the workplace. What this study is telling us is that managers play a vital role in the happiness, contentment and success of their employees. So what is the solution? Which path should we choose and in what circumstance? To Chamorro-Premuzic and Garrad, managers must ignore their instincts and begin adopting an objective perspective on how to motivate employees. By utilizing data-driven information, the unfair, unexplained and unreasonable interpretations of yesterday can be replaced by numbers that lay down clear, non-subjective results.
Chamorro-Premuzic and Garrad's article goes on to define the four major reasons the typical motivational practices fail. They are highlighted below.
. . . research shows that stretch goals (ambitious targets) work well when the job is transactional and inputs and outcomes can be precisely defined. In contrast, when motivating someone who is working on a complex, intellectual, or creative task, asking people to “do their best” will produce better results.
Most managers seem to have a natural proclivity to reward employees who are like them, perhaps as an indirect and legitimate way to admire themselves (a sort of narcissism by proxy). This leads to distorted evaluations of performance, harms diversity, and creates an unfair and highly political climate.
. . . research tells us that extrinsic rewards (like money) do little to help buffer against demoralizing or dull tasks, and psychologists have shown that while challenging work can be exciting and motivating, demanding or boring work is draining no matter what. So, while many managers see their role as motivating people through pep talks, inspirational speeches, or pizza parties, the reality is that the best way a leader can drive motivation is by designing jobs well and putting people in the right roles.
There is an astonishing gap between the vast academic evidence for the importance of accurate, constructive feedback as a critical driver of motivation and performance and the poor quality of feedback most employees receive at work.
Trusting personal instinct is still an incredibly important tool to utilize in our lives. This article certainly shouldn't diminish that. Instead, what we can derive from this information is the importance for distinguishing between the benefits our perceptions bring versus what they may derail. Perhaps it's a gentle reminder that, while at times intuition can blind us, we also have the ability to navigate the path in a less subjective and more scientific manner.
As a leader, defining organizational values and culture is part of your responsibility. How do you define values to your team? Do they understand the expectations of their work? The controversy this week between the President and the NFL has captured many headlines. Reflecting on this issue, how do you feel leadership in the NFL has responded? As a leader, would you want your employees to publicly protest in their workplace? What steps would you take to resolve the issue?
I admit, I do not know enough to help negotiate through the NFL issue. But it is a great case study. I believe that defining the culture and the values that you expect of your organization is the first step. The more difficult step is being a living example of the culture you define every single day. Isn't it true that your leadership is tested the most, when you least expect it. Are you ready?
In case you don't know the whole story, it began with Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem. He did it to protest the amount of black men who lose their lives to police brutality. The effect this has had has been enormous, whether you support his reasons or not. There have been videos made by fans tearing up their season passes and jerseys. There have been videos of fans kneeling along with the players in their own homes. A resounding theme recently heard is "stick to sports" as Andrew Brandt from Sports Illustrated pointed out.
In my class at Villanova last week, professor Glenn Bracey, a scholar in social movements and race, said this of “stick to sports”: “‘Stick to sports’ is particularly offensive when you’re talking about a group of people who are among the wealthiest and known people of color in the country. What you’re basically saying is, ‘Dance for me boy.’ I consider it a form of co-optation.”
So what's the answer? It's a really difficult area to navigate. Should employees be able to protest while they're working? What we all need right now is the right type of leadership to see us through this, and that includes leadership at work. Let's turn to a post by our own business consultant, Robby Slaughter, to help shed some light. He listed 5 great ideas leaders should embrace if they wish to be successful:
- Successful leaders are driven by passion.
- Successful leaders are never finished learning.
- Successful leaders believe integrity is everything.
- Successful leaders believe people are their greatest asset.
- Successful leaders are courageous.
Do you possess these traits and are you embracing them in your leadership role? If not, why not start now? Take the time to address each one of those ideas and try to implement them into your life. Robby ended the article with something that I find very important, that anyone who finds themselves heading a department at work, leading your household, or owning a football team should take to heart.
The Universal Truth of Leadership: There Are No Universal TruthsIt’s probably not the case that there is a list of things you must do to be a great leader, without question. But there are plenty of good ideas. Study them. Review them. Think about them. And put them into practice.
These five suggestions are worthy of your consideration. No matter who you are leading—whether it’s a team of hundreds or only yourself—be passionate, keep learning, have integrity, value people, and be courageous.
One step to building this credibility is taking on any project given to us and attempting to execute it flawlessly. Time and time again you say "yes," until eventually you are the dependable member of the staff that people can count on.
But always volunteering can easily become a slippery slope. Eventually, the papers pile up on our desk and our calendar has more events in it than time slots available. We rush to complete the assignments and aren’t able to be as detail-oriented, causing our quality and productivity drastically decrease while our stress increases.
If this has happened to you, then you're not alone. Studies claim that 53% of Americans report feeling burned out or overworked. How do we find a balance between proving our worth and taking on too many projects?
Sometimes the only solution is to say no.
Although it may seem like a negative resolution at first glance, saying no can lead to many positive outcomes. It can enable us to produce higher quality work because we can focus on specific projects and take the time to catch and fix any problems. It can also allow us to hit our deadlines and not end up behind schedule, which reduces burnout in the workplace.
But if we determine a situation warrants saying no, how do we know the right way to decline without causing any backlash? If it is handled poorly, more conflicts can come from it. GetVoIP has compiled a list of tips to help guide you through awkward or nerve-wracking situations when saying no. Some of their ideas include:
Check out their infographic below (with more commentary afterward):
Saying no at work is hard.
However, to set the correct boundaries and allow yourself to succeed at what you do, it’s necessary. Luckily, it’s possible to say no in a way in which you can still maintain positive relationships with your managers and co-workers.
In fact, there are many times where it’s in the best interest of both you and the company for you to say no. Some other benefits of saying no are:
Following this advice will prevent you from feeling guilty and help you balance the projects you have in a more productive way. And more importantly, it will help to establish clear boundaries about what you can (and should) do and not do. All of us need to have these defined in order to stay healthy and productive.
So go out and try it: say no at work. As the old American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw once wrote: "Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough."
Reuben Yonatan is the founder of GetVoIP, a leading VoIP provider comparison resource. As an entrepreneur and tech enthusiast, Reuben's expertise is in helping small to mid-size business owners build, maintain, and scale their communication infrastructure.
I remember when I was a newly promoted sales manager at a computer store in Evansville, IN, and a newer sales rep named Jeff was telling me about his first really big sale. Sadly, I have to report that I didn’t take my eyes off my work as I listened (I thought I was listening) to Jeff go on and on about the details of his sale and the great margin he was able to achieve on the sale. The margin was just over 30%, which was really incredible. When Jeff was finished, before I said anything else and without making eye contact, I asked one question… “Did you sell them a box of paper?” There was a moment of silence and then I heard Jeff start to cry.
Luckily, Jeff overcame that moment of my leadership ignorance and I pray I’ve learn much since that day to be a better, a more co-worker friendly and inclusive leader. Jeff became a really good sales person, one of the best in the store. I’ve learned it’s better to have fun while leading. Additionally, having fun is a key ingredient of keeping employee morale up, and inspiring people to continue to work aggressively toward a common set of goals and objectives.
There is a type of leadership called inspirational leadership. Having FUN in the workplace. As a leader, you might be thinking that “FUN” is important, but it cannot be paramount in terms of achieving results. I’ll challenge you on that train of thought with one caveat. It’s important to not just think of having fun in terms of the “webster” definition. As a leader, YOU need to define fun, and communicate YOUR definition of fun to your team.
First, let us lay the foundation with a bit of “FUN – philosophy” as we work toward our own definition of “Leadership Fun in the Workplace”. There is a huge difference between highly successful leaders and those leaders who are working incredibly hard, but not quite achieving the same level of results. The difference is in leadership styles. What do I mean? The highly successful leader today facilitates, leads by example, encourages and participates with their team members to achieve TEAM results. John Maxwell says it this way, “A leader knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way.” When the entire team feels fully engaged and a part of the process, then every team member takes personal pride in achieving the results.
Having FUN along the way supports engagement of each team member. Try thinking about it this way, being “engaged” is fun. Let’s be frank, the days where the leader is a strong authoritative director and where all employees simply wait to see what the manager tells everyone to do does NOT produce the results that are recognized by a fully engaged team. The leader may be having fun, but his/her subordinates certainly are not. Managers who want to micro-manage all the details are finding that it is virtually impossible to do. The marketplace simply demands too much for one person to micro-manage their team. We all have incredible people working for us, and if we are effective leaders we need to create an environment where every employee feels like they are empowered, and understand they are expected to proactively contribute.
Okay, let’s get to our definition of Leadership Fun in the Workplace. FUN is NOT always laughing, being light-hearted, having low stress, and being comfortable. Quite the contrary – FUN is: Working in an environment where people are challenged, they learn new skills, they grow, they seek opportunity and advancement, they take risks, they ask forgiveness – not always permission.
People with these traits make an organization grow and thrive – these people succeed more often than fail – and ultimately reap the rewards and recognition of one who consistently achieves results. They stay motivated with the knowledge that they are the exception to the common rule of human behavior. All told, they are having FUN because they make a difference and a contribution – they simply do not allow themselves to settle for the status quo. They would rather experience “engagement” – because being engaged – is FUN! Good luck, and have fun.
Think of it this way...
If you are like me, we always have to weigh short-term needs and goals, with longer-term growth. It is not easy. Spending fifteen minutes a day on that long-term goal can pay high dividends. It is a matter of thinking about your goals versus your growth. Growing continuously over a long period of time leads to the ability to accomplish great lifetime achievements.
However, it can be a struggle to bypass short-term gratification for the longer-term goal realization. I find it useful to think about goals in various timeframes, for example, one-year, three-year, and ten-year goals. Once these are defined, then ask yourself two questions. One, how must I grow in order to achieve these goals? And two, how can I allocate some of my time daily or weekly to this growth, and these goals?
If we don’t utilize today to make tomorrow great, then we lose the opportunity to attain something that may be very important to us. As John Maxwell has said, “The great men and women of history were not great because of what they earned and owned, but rather for what they gave their lives to accomplish.” So what can we do to truly begin the work that it takes to meet and surpass your goals? Jack Klemeyer had some pretty great advice on this very topic in a recent AccelaWork article that looked into how to map your goals and success.
You don’t meander along and decide at every crossroad whether you’re going to turn left or right -– hoping you eventually reach where you want to go. That would be inefficient and you might never get there! But too often, business people work exactly like this. They don’t set clear, specific goals, and worse they don’t plan out their path to meet those goals.When you set goals for your business, you determine the direction your business will go in the next year, three to five years, ten years or longer. Your goals may define:
- How much profit you want to make each year.
- How your business will grow in terms of your product offerings, sales territory, physical size, number of employees, etc.
- How you will market your business.
- When and what your exit strategy will be.
Maybe your problem doesn't lie in figuring out how to map your goals. Maybe you already have a plan in place and are working diligently at learning and growing so you can meet your goals but, for some reason, you find yourself distracted. I know how hard it can be to become distracted when completing tasks, especially if you're working off of a to-do list. As I've stated before, maybe it's time to make some cuts to that to-do list!
The lesson learned for me is to not accept responsibility until I am ready to take action. Instead I keep a list of all the things I need to do, but not yet ready to start. Then I focus my priority on three to five areas that need my attention. This system makes me more effective. I accomplish more within a shorter period of time. As I complete one item, I add another from my list. Too simple? It is easy to manage on a daily basis. Aren’t the best systems simple?
Simple systems truly are your best friend! Use this simplicity when working on your long-term goals by dedicating short bursts of time to that goal. You will be surprised at how much you accomplish!
Being productive isn't easy but it's a word that is definitely tossed around with ease. You'll hear it in meetings at work or see it on spreadsheets and graphs. It sounds good, doesn't it? Yet many companies or even just you at home don't have all the tools you need in order to succeed. You may think you do, with your calendars and to-do lists or apps, but it really starts with something even more special - you. Mind For Life posted an article that caught my eye. The writer says that there is a 5 minute routine that will double your productivity. Those are some pretty bold words, don't you think? I've read dozens of these articles before, there probably isn't anything new in this one. Except there definitely is and it's really exciting! I won't promise that you'll suddenly become this lean, mean, productivity machine after reading this, that would be insane. I can tell you that I've taken these tips to heart and will implement them in my own daily routine. What the writer suggests is, every night before you go to sleep, take 5 minutes to answer a few questions while you're lying in bed.
Question 1: “What did I do well today?"
Let's start with the positive. It always helps to give yourself a dose of feel good. What things did you check off of your to-do list? Did you finish a project you've been putting off? Or maybe you just managed to make it through the day. Whatever the case, that's a win and you should feel good about that.
It gives me confidence. When I see and reflect upon the important things that I accomplish in my life, it gives me confidence that I can do more — that I can try things that are more difficult.
Question 2: “What did I screw up today?"
We're fans of failing. Our founder, Robby Slaughter, wrote a whole book about it. Failure teaches you how to succeed. Don't shy away from what you've done, look at it right in the face and own it.
It forces me to own my failures. Sometimes, we justify our failures or weaknesses by blaming them on circumstances or other people. When we see our shortcomings, we can take an honest examination of the reasons behind why we didn’t live up to our own expectations.
Question 3: “What are the top 3 things I want to do tomorrow?"
We all already have our to-do lists going, either mentally or written down. You don't need to sit in bed and go over everything you missed in your head, cycling over and over until your anxiety levels explode. Instead, take a second to think about what 3 things you want to complete by the end of the next day. That seems a lot less overwhelming, don't you think?
It decreases my stress. For me, it’s too much to write down an unrealistic list of 10–20 things I need to do. That type of list can be overwhelming and usually causes me difficulty in sleeping because I’m stressing about all the things I need to do tomorrow.
Lastly, the writer insists that you must write down these answers. Maybe keep a journal next to your bed. Take time, maybe on the weekends, to go back and reflect on your answers throughout the week. You can find room for improvement easier when it's staring back at you. Make your choices, failures, things you need to do something physical that you can touch rather than taking up room in your head!
Justin Turner is the 32 year-old third baseman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He attended Cal State Fullerton and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft. He was traded from the Reds to the Baltimore Orioles. Turner has played in the Major Leagues with the Orioles, New York Mets, and Dodgers. Justin Turner became an All-Star for the first time in 2017.
You may also know Turner for his legendary beard which he started to grow after the Mets dumped him. Kevin Kernan from the New York Post wrote a really great piece on him in a recent article about how he's turned into a folk hero. One quote by the charismatic player caught my eye:
"It’s more about not being satisfied," Turner said. "Trying to continue to grow."
Justin Turner was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 National League Championship Series. He held his own with the Mets, but they released him. Turner met Marlon Byrd at the end of his final season (2013) with the Mets. Their conversations helped change Turner's career! Byrd pushed Turner to change his approach to hitting. Turner ultimately "bought in" and added a leg kick, lowered his hands, and started to drive the ball instead of just trying to make contact. He got more "loft" into his swing and the results were incredible! Turner, who never had double digit home run totals, has hit 16, 27, and 21 home runs the last three seasons! Launch angle!
Keep in mind:
So what motivates you to become bigger, better, greater? Is it the promise of a raise or promotion at work? Or are you looking to set an example and leave behind a legacy? Maybe you want to be a trailblazer and create new ways and methods for people to use. AccelaWork’s Ashley Lee talked about motivation and what drives employees to be more productive. Maybe it's not always about the money; maybe employees need more than that to shine like Turner does in nearly every ball game he's in.
To discover what sparks the drive in your employees, talk to them and learn what they want, what they strive for, what they need in order to be happy. As surprising as it may sound, not everyone is motivated by money. Sure, a raise is always nice, but a bigger paycheck doesn’t necessarily put at bay an employee’s desire for more. Talk to each of your team members and find out what their short-term and long-term goals are. What you’ll soon discover is that each of your employees has a different perspective and perhaps other ideas on how they can find happiness, satisfaction and ultimately, motivation in their job.
Find your thing, your spark, and let it grow. Encourage your coworkers, employees, family members to figure out what their goals are. There may be ways you can lend a hand while they're on their own path in life. And don't be ashamed to ask for help, too. As Turner said in a recent quote, "To go what I went through in NY, made me a better player and better person." We all will hit bumps on the road to success!
Loyalty is defined as giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. A pet dog is a great example of loyalty. Your dog always greets you when you arrive in your home. It happily displays its love and loyalty. We can be loyal to a person, an idea, a custom, a cause, or a duty. We would like to believe that loyalty does not waver regardless of the situation. We cannot be partially loyal to something, can we? How should we handle loyalties that are in conflict with each other? The truth is a situation can affect your loyalty.
In my experience, I find it useful to always step back and view things from the perspective of my values. Loyalties develop based on external factors and experiences. But values are more basic, they have already been internalized and built into your daily actions. If you find yourself in a situation where your loyalty is being tested, be sure to reflect on your values before you decide your next action. Be authentic. It helps, especially in a situation such as a job search. Forbes wrote an article that explored how company loyalty carries weight while searching for a job. They discuss how you should prepare for job hunting after a long stint with one company. This comment below caught my eye.
Demonstrate Ability To Lead ChangeFocus on the aspects of the job that demonstrate a direct influence on driving change, since it is a highly coveted and transferable skill set. That can mean how you:
• Led your team and organization through significant periods of growth, ownership changes, corporate restructuring and strategic business shifts
• Reinvented the business as a response to changing market conditions, consumer demands or the competitive landscape
• Shepherded a new business start-up or turnaround
In today’s business environment, change is one of the few givens, and a candidate’s ability to lead through and effectively navigate change is critical.
Being able to change, learn, and grow is an important aspect of any position you may be in, whether you're a lower-level employee or all the way up the chain in management. As they stated, change is a given. So what does this mean for company loyalty? Does anyone begin a career with a company where they will end up retiring at that same company? It doesn't seem to be the trend anymore, according this recent AccelaWork post that details how the younger generation has been job hopping. Is that our future?
One of the dirty little secrets of the job-hopping trend is that employees are gaming the system when it comes to salaries, according to Shadd Weber, a former job analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor. “Let’s say you stick with the same firm for five or 10 years. In today’s economy, you’re getting anywhere from a 1 to 5 percent raise each year,” says Weber. “If you’re accepting a new job every year or even every other year, it’s doubtful that you’re leaving for 1 to 5 percent. Most people want at least a 10 percent increase in salary if they’re going to switch jobs.”
What it comes down to is whether loyalty is an important trait to you? If so, use it to your advantage. Go against the grain where you can to showcase this trait. Above all else, don't compromise your own integrity. Be loyal at work and in everyday life, but also, don't become a doormat. Know your worth!
Has your office been feeling the squeeze lately? Maybe you hired on more people or got new equipment. Your work environment is important to your success. The Ladders came up with a really great plan you should follow if you're looking to improve your office and, in turn, how everyone functions in it. They list a few major areas to focus on and I picked a few that really stuck out to me if I were on a designing journey. Check them out below!
Start with a design philosophy
This is a pretty basic first step that anyone should take when designing a space. The piece from The Ladders used a method by Herman Miller’s called “Living Office":
The Living Office begins with the human element. Miller identified six fundamental needs that all people share — security, autonomy, belonging, achievement, status and purpose. Living Office is designed to fulfill these needs.
This will lead you to how you decide to arrange your furnishings to create an environment that fulfills the "Living Office" ideal.
Conduct research
If you're taking on a redesign of your company's office, where is the best place to start gathering information? The employees! Who else would know more about the space?
Open by asking, “What is one thing you like about office? This could be the location, layout or even the lighting. Anything goes!”
You could even put up a suggestion box or designate a special email address people can send their ideas to. Get everyone involved!
Develop multiple plans
This may seem counterproductive to do but it's extremely important. I mean who really has the time to create several different layouts and design choices? You definitely need to make the time.
Either you or your designer should come up with at least two plans: Plan A and Plan B. The more dramatic and different, the better, as you will want to be able to show the extremes and possibilities.
Showing different extremes will give you a final plan that includes the best of all the other plans!
Setting a timeline
To me, this is one of the most important parts of a renovation. If you're taking apart an office and displacing people, that will certainly interrupt productivity.
A helpful framework we used, and that you and your team can too, breaks down the work to be completed in the next 0-30 days, 30-90, 90-180 or 180-365.
Try to keep in touch with everyone the redesign is affecting. Let them know your progress and if there are any delays as soon as possible so they don't feel forgotten or ignored.
Taking on a big renovation can be really challenging. We here at AccelaWork know that how an office works is near the very core of productivity. We've already talked about how open plan offices can affect how productive you are.
So, what are the opposing arguments? Below is a summary of what the article states for each side of the case.
Make sure that you have gotten everyone's opinions and have created the best, finalized plan before digging in. With most designs, you will definitely hit snags along the way that may interfere with your plan. Be ready to think on your feet and change various components if the need arises!
Sometimes we are so busy, we forget to pay attention to the basics of teamwork. From my experience, here are three things you should be doing consistently and constantly to maintain a high-performance team.
2. Provide feedback to individual team members at least weekly. We improve when we take time to reflect and adjust our actions. Your team is no different. Feedback will trigger reflection and help them improve. Work to provide feedback that is supportive and challenging.
3. Help your team achieve the goals. Be a part of the team. Do not isolate yourself as a leader. You can help with the required tasks or you can help by removing problems and roadblocks for others. Contribute as much as you ask others to contribute.
Even if you feel you are busy, these activities should be on your agenda. They seem very basic, but I have seen leaders that drift away from these basics many times. Try to boost your focus on these actions, and watch your team overachieve! Ashley Lee wrote a great piece about teamwork recently and how to acknowledge and work with your teams to avoid any sort of dysfunction that may occur. Because there will be dysfunction at some point - we're only human after all. We all make mistakes that we can learn from and that's a natural part of this process, too! She expressed how important it is to think about teamwork as finding the middle ground of each team members' perspectives in a way that won't divert focus from the ultimate goal - success.
It involves the humbling of oneself; to step outside personal opinion, look at the greater picture and if necessary, admit that a different suggestion or action is in fact a better option for the project at hand. Yet, embracing collaboration isn’t simply about compromise. We can and should still work on designated portions of a system or project the way we feel is best aligned with our goals and expectations as contributors. It’s a balancing act no doubt and a precarious one at that.
Phew, that's a lot of information to absorb, don't you think? So how can we start that change? It seems pretty overwhelming and the starting point is going to be different from person to person. We can't fit all of us into one tidy little box, can we? There is so much advice everywhere you look, on the internet and from other people, it can feel like you're drowning in tips! Ashley looked to SmartSheet for some guidance.
Smartsheet, a product aimed to facilitate teams, training, work groups, etc., published The Ultimate Guide to Team Assessments. This article is rather large, but it is chock full of great information and tips on how to assess, improve and/or build strong teams in your office. Topics include:
- Teams vs. Groups and Why Teamwork Rules
- Assessments and the Stages of Team Development
- The “Five Dysfunctions” Team Assessment Model
- The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team
- Choosing an Assessment For Your Team
- DIY Team Assessment Tools
Employees who are disengaged are putting in time at their jobs, but lack passion and motivation. Approximately 52 percent of U.S. workers are present, but not engaged or inspired at work which causes businesses to lose money and even fail. For instance, a poll by Gallup estimates that actively disengaged employees cost companies $450-$550 billion in lost productivity per year. Luckily, an organization’s culture and employee collaboration can help keep employees engaged and improve productivity.
Companies are currently spending $720 million annually on employee engagement programs which is expected to increase rapidly to about $1.5 billion in the next 10 years. Businesses are finding that engaged employees are 38 percent more likely to have above average productivity. These companies also receive 2.5 times more revenue growth than places with fewer engaged employees. In fact, if a business increases their employee engagement budget by just 10 percent it can increase the profits by $2,400 per employee each year.
Employees who work in a positive environment with a company who expresses similar values to their own are more likely to be engaged at work. A company’s culture is not always defined, because it develops over time from the different traits of employees hired. Ninety-two percent of CEOs believe improving the corporate culture would improve the value of the company, because they believe the culture influences productivity, creativity, profitability and growth rates. An example of creating better company culture is reducing the level of workplace stress. This can contribute to happier employees and less absenteeism which is to blame for 26 percent of health-related lost productivity.
In many cases, an employee’s number one reason for going the extra mile is their peers and camaraderie. Teamwork and collaboration are very important in keeping employees engaged at work. Around 39 percent of employees said others in their organization don’t collaborate enough which leads to ineffective communication and workplace failures. Most employees and executives agree that a lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of the project or task.
There are many benefits to having employees who feel connected to their work. Organizations that report an above average employee engagement rate are 70 percent more likely to be successful than companies that report lower engagement numbers. Businesses also report having a 22 percent higher productivity rate. Engaged employees are safer employees resulting in 48 percent fewer safety accidents and 41 percent fewer work quality incidents.
At the MD Anderson Cancer Center, mentoring is an important step in keeping employees engaged. Their formal mentoring programs help employees develop professional goals and connect with colleagues showing their commitment to the staff’s future growth. DHL Express uses rewards and acknowledgement to keep employees engaged. They thank employees through monetary rewards, honoring top performers at company events and posting notes of appreciation to bulletin boards. (Of course, financial incentives aren't a magic bullet.)
To learn more about how engaged employees can benefit your organization check out the infographic below from Villanova University’s Online Master of Business Administration program.
Alyson Iuchs has been in leadership and management positions in multiple industries including hospitality tourism, journalism and sports media. Her passion revolves around reading, writing novels and adventure. Her favorite quote to live by is "The things you're afraid of are usually the most worthwhile.
Recognize that when we stay in the past we become stranded. For reflection to be effective, it must allow us to move forward rather than to be stuck in yesterday. The power of reflection materializes when we determine a more valuable plan for tomorrow. The mistake I have made is failing to act on the improved plan. When I spend time in reflection, I may find many alternatives or options for moving forward. Without an effective process, you may lose sight of these options in the coming days.
Upon reflection, the path forward may seem strikingly clear. But when you fast forward a day, a week, or even months, how do you remember the new plan? Under the stress of day to day challenges, it may be difficult to implement the ideas you developed. Faced with the realities of the moment to moment changes in real life, it may be hard to implement the changes that you thought would be effective. Capturing lessons learned is one method that helps me. I write them in a journal or in a spreadsheet. I document the actions and options that I need to pursue. This reflection, capturing, and remembering cycle helps me grow from yesterday, and move to the future.
I have been stranded before, it does not feel great. And the longer you stay stranded, the harder it is to move forward. You have heard it said. We are best defined by our future rather than our past. Keep moving. Find a process that works for you, and keep moving. Our future lies in what can happen, not what has happened. Each day becomes an opportunity to improve and move forward. One of the ways that you can accomplish this is by learning how to communicate skillfully. Jack Klemeyer talked to us about this in an AccelaWork article that really gets down to the finer details of communication. So where can you start? Well, you do that by doing what we all do when we come across something new - we practice!
One of the best ways to get good at conversation with other people is simply to practice. Take every opportunity that presents itself to learn the art of making good conversation with other people. I learned from taking a Dale Carnegie course years ago and simply reading Carnegie’s hallmark book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Start by saying hello to the people you pass on the street. Ask the person who is checking you out at the grocery store or the teller at the bank how they are doing and ask if they are enjoying their day. Better yet, ask a good open ended question, one that cannot be answered with one word or grunt. Learn to respond with more than just one word when someone asks you a question. You will be surprised at how quickly you learn about art of conversation by doing small things such as these.
If you want to be constantly looking forward and moving onto bigger and better things, you have to be able to reflect on the past, not stay there. Communicate your needs to others and also yourself. Have an open dialogue with your coworkers, managers, and your inner voice. Great things happen to those who don't sit on their hands and wait for it to come! By knowing yourself and your goals, and speaking skillfully about them to others, you will be on the right path toward success.
I'm a smartphone junkie, much like the rest of us, I usually have the thing glued to my hand. I'm always on the lookout for a new app that will totally rock my world. I've written an article before on how writers can try to become more productive. My favorite tip from that article is one that I still use to this day:
When you get the chance to write, seize it.Most writers don’t only sit and write all day. Plenty of us have other duties to attend to. Maybe you’re freelancing and need to keep your eye on other opportunities. Or you not only write but help manage a website. Those other tasks will take up parts of your day as well. So as soon as you get a chance to jot some words down, take it! You never know how busy you will be tomorrow or the day after. Every moment of time is precious for writers!
As you read these words, I have a baby with a 102 degree fever that is demanding the majority of my attention. So, I split my time. I come back to the computer, type out the next sentence, maybe even more if I'm lucky! So when The Writing Cooperative put out a list of their favorite apps to help improve your workflow as a writer, naturally I was super excited. They didn't let me down, either! I picked a few of my favorites below!
4. Writefull — Mac OS / Windows / Linux / Google Chrome Extension
I'm a big fan of apps that you can use across multiple platforms. Writefull is definitely one of those apps. As a writer, it can sometimes be hard to recall words or expressions. They're right on the tip of your tongue but you're drawing a blank. Writefull can help with that!
The free to use app helps you whenever you are insecure about certain phrases or words. It lets you search for the frequency of use, synonyms and will even find words which fit into a specific context.
Writefull will give you feedback on your writing by comparing your text to its database of correct language. No more wracking your brain for those words that got away!
3. Noisli — Web App / Google Chrome Extension
Are you one of those people that can't work in dead, deafening silence? Many times, I would put music on in order to get stuff done in my pre-baby life. Now, I get to listen to her TV shows in the background. Is it better? Nope. Does it work? Kind of. That's why Noisli is super appealing to me.
Briefly described, it lets you set up a productive sound environment by using ambient sounds and combining them. Therefore Noisli offers a large variety of sounds and different presets which can be customized in any way.
1. Notion — Mac OS / Windows / IOS / Web App
If you're toiling away on some intense and difficult articles, this may be an app you want to download right now! All that research you've been compiling can get messy and confusing. Notion can step in and easily help you keep track of everything.
Using blocks and combining them to a page, you can do pretty much everything you want and embed Maps, Tweets, Files, Videos, Images or even InVision Projects.
Not only that, but several authors can easily collaborate on a single project without causing massive dysfunction and confusion.
Besides gracing the silver screen as an actor and producer, Ashton Kutcher prides himself as a venture capitalist, philanthropist, and father. Like so many of us, he is split in many directions when it comes to his work and has to manage his time (and his priorities) the best that he can. So when it comes to email, it's no surprise he feels the same way as so many of us do: email is a time suck and stalls productivity. In a recent interview on The Thrive Global podcast, he admitted wholeheartedly his views on the medium: "I consider email to be everyone else’s to-do list for you."
This admission, so simple in its concept, is just so terribly true that all you can do is shake your head in agreement. It makes so much sense. The moment you login and open that first email, your agenda changes. What was once a simple act of read, reply and close conversation, has now become a full time job that takes hours rather than a few minutes. And more often than not, when you finally close out your email, you inevitably suffer the defeat that your day has been lost and your productivity has been shattered yet again. It's a never-ending cycle that is incredibly difficult to combat and overcome.
As AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter acknowledges, the email epidemic is self-inflicting in a way:
Here’s the terrible secret to the email productivity crisis. Reducing the amount off email—or getting of email entirely—will only make the problem worse.That’s because we all have a need to communicate, we are just using the available channels inefficiently. It’s easy to write an email (just type, from anywhere) and easy to read it (just scroll, from anywhere), so we don’t take any effort to respect the medium.
We don’t try to use email intelligently or write emails in a way that’s respectful to our audience. Instead, we just dump our thoughts onto the screen and scramble to deal with the next message.
Of course, so long as the motivation to get email management under control is present, you can take back control of your day. Ashton Kutcher shared his newfound email strategy with Arrianna Huffington on the podcast:
When I wake up...I spend the first hour of my work not looking at email, and actually just writing out what it is that I want to accomplish in a given day. And then before I go through my emails, I'll do all my outgoing, outbound stuff, which is what I want everyone else to do for me. And then I'll go and get reactive to whatever's going on.
But he doesn't stop there. When it comes to his venture capital firm, Sound Ventures, he has defined strict guidelines not only for his clients, but for his employees as well.
When they bring a new company into their portfolio, they send a mailer to every founder that says, “Here are the team members. If you want X, go to this person. If you want Y, go to that person. If you want Z, go to this person." “If you go to me, the likelihood of my responding within 24 to 48 hours is very, very low, so go to these individuals who are responsible for these things. And it actually creates efficiency inside of our organization.”
If you're hoping to regain control over your inbox, but have no idea where to start. Consider the following tips we've shared on The Methodology Blog over the years:
Whether or not you're a fan of Kutcher's movies, it's hard not to be a fan of his philosophy on email. Perhaps he'll consider including some of this advice in an upcoming blockbuster!
Let me state a working assumption, that is, people who choose to work in sales have been through a selection process to identify competencies and the individual has a realistic understanding of the sales role, responsibilities, and challenges. When starting a sales career, sales training plays a critical role. Development usually focuses on three key areas: technique, process, and product. Layered over these are marketing components that address networking, prospecting and promotion. Together they form the technical components of sales training. Once mastered, they only improve with practice and repetition.
Arguably, the technical learning described in the preceding paragraph is not difficult. Product knowledge may be the exception as the product can be complex. The topics have been studied and presented over many years. They have evolved and adapted but there have been few changes to the fundamental concepts of selling. Perhaps the last major change was the shift to needs based selling and the impact of a more informed consumer due to greater access to information on the Internet. So then has the art of selling been perfected?
Perhaps, although sadly it’s all for naught if you haven’t first tackled the way you think! In fact my experience suggests that how we think should be an “up-front” consideration. Very few individuals and companies are interested in talking about “how you think” training. That is too bad because it’s the “how you think” that fuels the sales (or any) process.
Before getting on the road to technical development, there are real advantages for individuals and their organizations if both appreciated the impact that effective thinking has on learning. Imagine an individual who is negative, pessimistic, lacks self-esteem, and procrastinates. Compare that person to a positive, self-starting optimist who is full of confidence and believes in himself or herself. How you think, or your mindset, sets the tone for what follows in your career. It sets the tone for how you learn, how you interact with peers, prospects and clients.
In the perfect world, we would only hire those with a positive and optimistic attitude. We attempt to avoid recruiting those with a negative mindset who don’t have a strong belief in self and who are not achievement oriented. In reality, we encounter individuals all along the spectrum. The good news is someone with a negative or neutral mindset can learn to be an effective thinker. In fact, even those with a positive mindset can find ways to improve.
If one consciously understands their personal thinking style, and is able to recognize such things as negative self-talk and counter-productive behaviors, they are well on the way to affecting their mindset. Similar to learning, practice and repetition will enable and adjust the thought process. In time, the conscious re-framing, positive self-talk, and awareness becomes the new mindset. I have actually met people who knew that the training (any training) wouldn’t work. You know what, they were right too! Remember it was Henry Ford who said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
The impact a positive mindset can have during the training event should not be underestimated. The outcome can be significant. The right kind of thinking permits an organization to better leverage its training investment – and ultimately the individual benefits from increased likelihood of personal success.
This positive mindset is not just for the participants. The leadership of the organization must, yes must, employ a positive, success mindset toward the training and the outcomes it can deliver. I’ve seen companies invest, thousands, even millions of dollars in a training initiative only to have it fall to failure because top leadership didn’t really believe in the process. They couldn’t see that the training would create better results once the learning was implemented.
The Four Keys to success for a person in sales (and we’re all in sales):
I’ll close with a last thought on mindset from Confucius:
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
I read constantly, both fiction and non-fiction. When I am reading a fictional tale, I enjoy finding a life lesson revealed within the context of the story. In an excerpt from Mad Ship by Robin Hobb, the character Wintrow is depressed because his life is way off the course he had planned. Mostly due to unfortunate events that were out of his control.
He shook his head sadly, “I do not know. Perhaps it is, for other folk, I only know it was not what I was accustomed to, nor what I expected. I keep trying to think of a way to get back to where I was and restore my life to what it is supposed to be, but—“You can’t go back,” she told him bluntly. Her voice was neither kind or unkind. “That part of your life is over. Set it aside as something you have finished. Complete, or no, it is done with you. No being gets to decide what his life is ‘supposed to be.’” She lifted her eyes and her gaze stabbed him. “Be a man. Discover where you are now, and go on from there, making the best of things. Accept your life, and you might survive it. If you hold back from it, insisting this is not your life, not where you are meant to be, life will pass you by. You may not die from such foolishness, but you might as well be dead for all the good your life will do you or anyone else.”
Do you ever find yourself trying to go back in time? It is only natural to think that we can fix things by putting them back to the way they were before. Life just doesn’t work that way! I find that when I am facing a difficult situation, it is important to remember not to try to undo the past, but to chart a new future. I must evaluate the current situation, learn from the past, but move forward. This may seem easy as you read this example, but subconsciously we want to go back to a time when we were comfortable. I try to recognize when I fall into this trap. It is true. We cannot go back.
What do you do when you make a mistake? How do you choose to handle it? Robby Slaughter explained in an AccelaWork article that there are four types of mistakes.
The idea comes from Eduardo Briceño, whose post Mistakes Are Not All Created Equal explains the concept. He lists the categories as follows:
- A-Ha Moment Mistakes
- Stretch Mistakes
- Sloppy Mistakes
- High-Stakes Mistakes
Where does Briceño come up with this? He plots failures on a grid of learning opportunity vs. intentionality. And if you think about it, this is exactly why mistakes are crucial.
Why is it so important to make a mistake? Because we learn from our errors! It's so important to take different paths toward one goal to see which one is the best. Use these situations to say to yourself, "Okay, so that's not the outcome I wanted. Let's try that again a different way." Keep your eye on the goal and get right back up on that horse. Look to the future and what you want to achieve, don't stay in the past with your mistakes. The best of you isn't hanging around a moment that already happened, it's waiting for you up ahead!
Halladay pitched in the Major Leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays (1998-2009) and the Philadelphia Phillies (2010-2013). He is one of six pitchers to win the Cy Young award in both Major Leagues (2003 A.L., 2010 N.L.). He was the Toronto Blue Jays first round selection in Major League Baseball’s 1995 Amateur Draft. Halladay reached the Major Leagues in 1998; became an eight-time All-Star and won 20 games in a season on three occasions. Sadly, Roy Halladay died on November 7, 2017, when the plane he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
Roy Halladay was a terrific pitcher, a great competitor, a fine man, and I feel he earned his way into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. After more than a year in the Major Leagues, Halladay struggled so much that not only did he go back to the Minor Leagues, but he had to go all the way back to Class A Ball. With the help of Mel Queen, Halladay made some major adjustments to his style of pitching. He dropped his arm angle a bit (over the top to three quarters) and that gave him some deception. His four-seam fastball was straight so he changed to a two-seam fastball, which gave his ball sink. With those changes, in a few years Halladay became a great pitcher. He threw a perfect game and then pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in the Post-Season in 2010.
Roy Halladay was such a fine competitor that he led his League in complete games on seven occasions. He was so dedicated to his craft that he attributed a lot of his confidence to preparation. Roy Halladay was giving of his time and dedicated himself to helping underprivileged children. He won over 200 games, died much too young, and always will be remembered for what he stood for both on and off the field. ESPN followed the story closely and reached out to Halladay's friends, family, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
"All of us at Baseball are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic passing of former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "A well-respected figure throughout the game, Roy was a fierce competitor during his 16-year career, which included eight All-Star selections, two Cy Young Awards, a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter."On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, including his wife, Brandy, and two sons, Ryan and Braden, his friends and countless fans, as well as the Blue Jays and Phillies organizations."
By all accounts, Halladay was a great man. What makes a man great? Is it his skillset? Maybe it's his knowledge and determination. Jack Klemeyer took an in depth look at what all great people have in common and there are 3 keys that they all share.
ALL GREAT PEOPLE HAVE THE 3 KEYS...
- Know just what they want = (Belief, Enthusiasm)
- Want it hard enough = (Desire)
- Are determined to get it = (Will)
It is these 3 things, which separate the men and women who have a strong sense of purpose, determination and desire, from the rest of us who merely “wish for things.”
Halladay most definitely proved that he possessed all three of these keys. He believed in himself enough to make it to the Major Leagues. He desired to learn how to become a better pitcher and perfected his technique. He was so determined to change his pitching style and inevitably reaped the rewards of his labor. The world has lost a great man and a great pitcher!
Despite the underlying urge to convince yourself that labeling your boss as a psychopath is childish, there is real truth behind certain aspects of his or her behavior that can truly put them into such a drastic category. And as far-fetched as it sounds, paying attention to all their actions and observing their day-to-day behavior will lend a hand in your assessment as to whether you need to seek assistance in dealing with them.
The difficult part however, is being able to distinguish between someone who is mean and someone who has a severe personality imbalance. Because let's face it, no one wants to report a superior by claiming mental instability, when in truth he or she is simply unhappy, frustrated and/or unfulfilled. So how can you tell the difference?
An article published on CheatSheet.com, provides detailed information on some serious warning signs. Several are listed below along with some useful tips quoted directly from the piece.
Psychopathic bosses often exhibit an extreme lack of empathy. They’re unable to put themselves in your shoes and imagine how a situation might affect you.
They will attempt to confuse you, maybe even making you feel as if you’re crazy. They distort the truth and may resort to lying if it serves their end
Psychopaths tend to think they are special and deserve better treatment than others.
They might habitually shirk responsibility and look for others to take the blame when something goes wrong.
Psychopaths don’t really care about rules, especially when they are in a position of authority.
If your boss makes significant decisions without giving them much thought, this could be a red flag. You might think your boss flying by the seat of his pants is just a sign of creativity, but his impulsive nature could be a deeper problem.
Thinking about the red flags above in conjunction with individual(s) in your workplace is certainly scary. But the truth is, if you're suffering on a daily basis due to a volatile, problematic boss, then intervention may be necessary. By observing their behavior, you'll have a better understanding of how to cope and take appropriate action.
It is important to separate your emotional brain from your rational brain and use what we call your wise mind. Your boss is not moved by tears nor emotional appeals and will likely view you as weak and easy prey
If your boss is irritable, disorganized, carefree, distracted, or plain annoying, don’t call HR. Work through the issues yourself. But [antisocial personality disorder] is a serious diagnosis. If you’re concerned that might be a possibility, get help.
Hopefully your boss and all your colleagues are mentally healthy and stable. But there are people who are antisocial out there---so keep watch!
I woke up one morning intrigued about the level of gratification I felt from being involved. I have helped with this program for a few years, and I will help again next year. Why? Because I am motivated to do so. I have been contemplating what factors have led me to this level of commitment. If I can define them, will I be able to apply them to other activities? Can I use them to increase my motivation for another goal? I have discovered many factors that have impacted my inspiration, my commitment, and my gratification.
2. Personal impact - I am emotionally impacted by the gratitude expressed by those we serve. It drives me to want to do the best I can to meet their needs.
3. Supports my core values - We all have gaps between who we want to be and who we actually are. Just like we have differences between our intentions and our actions. The role with Angel Tree helps me close my gap.
4. Sense of urgency - Each year the time between receiving information on the children in the program and delivering gifts is short. It creates urgency, and a fixed timeline to which we are committed.
5. Effort - The amount of effort I need to invest to support the program is known in advance. Each year, I know approximately the number of hours and days to schedule.
6. Supported by others - The program is supported by a team of volunteers. I would never be able to achieve the goal by myself.
7. Accountability - People are counting on me. My assigned tasks are only going to be done by me. My actions affect the team. My actions affect our success.
8. Clear Goal - We must deliver gifts to the assigned children before Christmas. Our goal is clear. There are hundreds of obstacles, but the desired outcome is unmistakable.
9. Personal growth - I grow from being involved. Each year the challenges we face are different. Usually unique to a family we are serving. Overcoming challenges is the basis for growth.
The next step for me is to discover how I can connect these factors to a different goal. For the last couple of years, I have wanted to exercise more. I go through periods of success and then allow myself to drift away. It has been clear as I reflected this week, that these factors are not linked to my goal for exercising. If I can establish the links, I think my outcome would be very different. That is my challenge.
What challenge do you have that can benefit from discovering your inspiration? Maybe your challenge is actually putting yourself first for once. As Jack Klemeyer said, you must put yourself first if you wish to grow.
Personal development means loving yourself. You should make sure that you take care of yourself as well as your character. Feed your body when it needs nourishment, and don’t shame yourself for things you cannot change about your situation. Acceptance is the key to being humble and overcoming adversity. Experiment with your options. Try on new passions, personality traits and other personal touches to see if they might be a source of enjoyment for you.
I've seen a few ads and posts in forums now about emotional intelligence and how it affects not only your work life but your home life, too. I decided to Google it and the first site to pop up was Psychology Today. Here's their definition of the term:
Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. It is generally said to include three skills: emotional awareness; the ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving; and the ability to manage emotions, which includes regulating your own emotions and cheering up or calming down other people.
That is definitely a big deal. Many managers out there right now are probably raising their hands and saying, "I do this with my employees on a daily basis!" Maybe you also are constantly talking a co-worker off the anxiety ledge while simultaneously trying to keep your head above water with your own workload. Even typing those sentences stressed me out a little. If we can increase our emotional intelligence, then count me in! Mind For Life claims that all it takes is 5 questions to double your emotional intelligence. Seem too good to be true? Below are their questions, let's talk them through together.
1. What emotions and feelings am I experiencing right now?
I think it's really important to be in tune with your thoughts and how you're feeling. The older generation in my family has always dealt with these things by bottling them up and letting their feelings fester. It's easy to confuse feelings of anger and sadness or anxiety and anticipation. Being clear on exactly what you're feeling is the the first step!
2. What emotion is the other person feeling right now?
We'll use their list to explore this question. Taking a moment to think about how someone else is feeling is called 'empathy.' Empathy has been defined by scholars in these ways:
- as a cognitive mechanism through which people have the ability to imagine the internal state of someone else,[1]
- as a range of emotional responses that people have to what others feel or experience,[2]
- as a manifestation of sympathy toward another person,[3]
- as the tendency to react to other people’s observed experiences,[4]
- as an emotion of “feeling for” another person.
3. What can I do to control my emotions and reactions right now?
Once we understand the emotion we're experiencing, we have to figure out how to control it. Don't get stuck in a downward spiral of emotions. This leads to lashing out at others and possibly burning bridges that could be beneficial to you in the future. We should want to become proactive in this issue as opposed to sitting back and allowing whatever to happen, happen!
4. How can I show genuine interest in this person right now?
Putting yourself in another person's shoes is a great social skill to develop. By starting with our empathy for others, we can ask this question with sincerity and focus our thought process on this person. This is the path to building meaningful relationships with those around us.
5. How am I interpreting this specific task – as easy or difficult – and why?
When we begin a new assignment, it's easy to get lost in the newness of it and become stressed. We'll then interpret the task as too hard or maybe too easy because we didn't take the time to chat with ourselves about it. We are more motivated to complete tasks that we feel capable of doing, so make sure you are interpreting it in a beneficial way.
Peter Lerangis wrote, “Trust is a fragile thing – difficult to build, easy to break. It cannot be bargained for. Only if it is freely given it can be expected in return.” When someone doesn’t follow through with a commitment, any trust you had with them will be reduced, maybe even broken. What about when you break a commitment with yourself?
All of us probably fall short when it comes to completing the things we wish we could do every day. What is the impact on the next day? Do you find that it is easier to fall short again? As soon as we miss a day, it becomes easier to miss the next day. Suddenly, it becomes quite obvious that we have broken our own trust.
Whatever we want to achieve is easier when we trust in our commitments to ourself. When viewed from this perspective, the goals we set each day are critically important. We must stretch ourselves to achieve, but we can’t allow ourselves to overcommit. What a difficult balance! Try it. Whatever goal you are working on right now, think of it in terms of building trust.
What do you need to do to build the trust within yourself? What can you do that will prove you are committed to achieving the goal? If you never break your own trust, you will continue to grow and achieve great things. Building trust with yourself is important. Who should trust you, if you don’t trust yourself?
Trust plays an important role in nearly every aspect of our lives, but it takes on an especially important role at work. How many of you can say that you truly believe in your manager or the company as a whole? Alyssa Shea explored this topic in an article where she asked a very important question: Do your employees trust you? The answer was surprising.
If you’re in management, we highly suggest you take a seat and break out some paper to take notes. American Psychologist’s Association (APA) ran a survey that produced some pretty surprising findings. According to their survey, 25% of Americans don’t trust their employers. If that doesn’t rattle you a bit, think of it this way. It means 1 in 4 of your employees don’t trust you. Taking it a step further, the survey found that only half of those surveyed believe that their employer is being open and up front with them. That’s frightening. But you can take some solace in the fact that 64% believe that their employers are treating them fairly. They just don’t trust you. David Ballard, PsyD, MBA, and head of APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence, had a lot to say on this topic:“This lack of trust should serve as a wake-up call for employers. Trust plays an important role in the workplace and affects employees’ well-being and job performance. The layoffs, benefit cuts and job insecurity that accompanied the recession put a strain on the employee-employer relationship and people aren’t quick to forget.”
In the end, there really is only one person you can count on the most - yourself. You will always have your best interests at heart. Don't break promises to yourself. Take mental health days. Pick up a new book or start a new series. Indulge in cravings. Learn about that new item you've had your eye on. That thing you wanted to do on a whim but didn't have the guts? Do it! Most importantly, make sure you take care of yourself first!
Given how easy and efficient the process is now to give and receive information, it’s actually quite difficult imagining what life was like before we had blogs, online resources, and up-to-the-minute news alerts. Thinking about some recent presidential inaugural addresses in fact, I found it interesting to recall some facts about the inaugural addresses of some of our early presidents. Were I able to go back in time, before each uttered the first word of his speech, I would share some good ”new-fashioned” content creation principles.
George Washington’s inaugural address took only two minutes, but must have seemed to listeners to last two hours. Consider the following excerpt from his speech and ask yourself how long you’d be able to listen before you'd start tuning him out.
Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month,” he began.
Let’s be honest, blog readers would have clicked off that page long before that interminable sentence had been completed. Whether it’s a generational thing where our attention is less cooperative or perhaps back then people were used to the formality of such words. Regardless, in this day and age, we must be truly mindful of the techniques we utilize to achieve a better sense of engagement. We want to captivate our audience, not bore them to death.
President William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural speech in history. With a talk consisting of no fewer than 8,443 words, he could have benefited from “blog editing”. To put it into perspective, Reagan used 2,400 words in his address, JFK 1,300 words in his, and Obama just under 2,000.
When it comes to blog editing, Robby Slaughter, a seasoned and effective blogger and speaker here at AccelaWork, has one of the most profound techniques called the Double Audience, Double Editing Rule. In a previous post on The Methodology Blog, Slaughter explains this incredibly effective rule of thumb:
It means that for each time you increase the size of your audience by 100%, you need to make an extra pass at your editing process. So if you have a report completed by you and a colleague that is going to be reviewed by your boss and the company president, you should have another person edit the work. That’s because you’re doubling your audience from two people up to four people total.. . .
Remember that productivity is not about working harder, but working smarter. Efficient, effective communication is judicious and thoughtful. Take time to produce great marketing copy, and take more time as you have more customers. You’ll be glad you made the investment.
While some of us may have the natural ability to share information concisely, don’t be too hard on yourself if you are long winded. Believe me, it’s fairly easy to fall victim to lengthy explanations; particularly when you’re passionate on the topic(s) at hand. That’s why utilizing techniques such as the Double Audience, Double Editing rule is super helpful. Inevitably, it comes down to editing and practice. Yes, it takes practice and a lot of mindfulness to effectively engage your readers without losing them. Get to know your audience. Discover what reels them in, what turns them off and what keeps them coming back. And above all, edit, edit, edit!
When I see an organization or a team with rules that are not being followed, it usually reflects a weakness in leadership. Not just because the rules are not being followed, but because the rules exist in the first place. Unfortunately this is too common.
Rules are created to keep people safe, to provide guidance for actions, and prevent mistakes. In many cases, broad rules are created in reaction to specific incidents. For example, if an employee spills a beverage affecting their workplace, a rule may be created to prevent employees from drinking beverages. There may be locations in the workplace or types of work where the presence of beverages is not a potential accident, or using beverage containers with lids would be effective. Yet a rule is created covering the entire workplace.
This occurs because an ineffective leader views the new rule as the easiest to manage. A stronger leader would create a rule that supports the employees drinking beverages but at the same time protects the workplace. This rule would be more difficult to define and manage. But it also becomes a rule that people will actually follow.
Ineffective rules result in an unhappy workforce, or a workforce that ignores the rules. This is not an employee problem, it is a leadership problem. As a leader, you must enforce the rules. If you don’t think the rule should be enforced, then work to change the rule. All of this takes more effort. That is why we continue to see broad, ineffective rules in many workplaces and organizations. If you want effective rules, you need to be an effective leader.
So what does it take to make a happy workplace? One where workers enjoy showing up and listen to management? Jack Klemeyer shared some tips in an AccelaWork article about having effective communication with employees. A couple of his tips caught my eye and really reflect what a leader needs to do in order to enforce rules:
Take responsibility for the message conveyed:Don’t make the assumption that every person in a room will hear you in the same way. It is your responsibility as a leader to ensure that each person listening has a clear understanding of the message. We have all played enough “Broken Telephone” to know what can happen if a vague message gets passed down the line. The Gallup Organization tells us that employees want to “know what is expected of me.” If you’ve told them, tell them again and then check to make sure what you said is what they heard.
Do It Now:
Make a plan and take action. Take a minute to write out what you want to have happen and what you will do to make that happen with your communication. Then do it! One of the tools I use with a team to give their communication a “check-up” is the Leadership Game. Good ideas are easy, but it is the leader who can get them across quickly and effectively. A leader will make things happen and the things that happen will be good things. After all, isn’t that what good leaders do?
It helps to put yourself in other people's shoes. Would you listen to rules set by someone who doesn't communicate well? Keep your employees in the loop. Include them on new information as it comes along and ask for other people's input. People who feel valued in the workplace tend to give their best!
It's that time of year where many companies are executing plans for their holiday parties and festivities. Some have them before the new year, some plan for after. Maybe your party already passed and you're looking for some tips for next year. Many parties truly hit the mark and are loads of fun. Others will be total duds and might even turn employees away from the company. If you really want to blow your employees away, take a second to really think about how you want to do that. We've taken a look beyond the holiday party in order to pay it forward and truly express our gratitude toward our business associates. Here are ten simple ideas to bring some fun and joy to your holidays.
If there's one thing I'm good at, it's worrying about everything and analyzing the fact that I'm so worried which only makes me more anxious. Medication and therapy have helped me rein myself in but that's not enough. People who face similar issues should be on the lookout for ways to combat this problem. Hindustan Times reported that if you keep your brain busy with things such as memory games or puzzles, you're less likely to develop an anxiety disorder.
“These findings help reinforce a strategy whereby individuals may be able to improve their emotional functioning – their mood, anxiety, experience of depression – not only by directly addressing those phenomena, but also by indirectly improving their general cognitive functioning,” said Ahmad Hariri, professor at the Duke University in North Carolina, US.
This is fantastic news and an easy thing to add into your daily routine. Maybe instead of browsing social media or other forums, take that time to really challenge your brain. Make it work hard and you might just see improvement. On the topic of improvement and ways to combat anxiety, I think it's worth noting that this should be at the very top of your list. You, your mind and your well-being should be your biggest priority. You may be rolling your eyes at the thought of self-love because, let's face it, there's so many other important things to cross off on your to-do list, right? Change starts with you. Inc.com contributor, Rebekah Iliff, laid down some truth in a recent article about how to make yourself your number one priority by using positive affirmations. Check out a few of my favorites below!
#1 - I will never again over give as a way to prove my value to someone.
I really wish I had learned this one sooner. It's easy to give yourself, your time, your energy to work or people. It's especially easy to over give. Taking on all that extra work to prove how good you are and to get noticed won't work in the end. You'll be tired, mentally depleted, and incapable of doing the main job you were hired for. Do the tasks as assigned to you, and do them perfectly rather than piling more on your plate. That will get you noticed!
#2 - I will never again disregard my own feelings and needs for the perceived feelings and needs of others.
This is another big one, maybe in the top spot for many of you. I've felt uncomfortable in many situations in various different jobs that I've held, mostly due to someone else overstepping the boundaries. This includes sexual harassment, gossiping coworkers spreading rumors, and having someone ask me to do something I’m not comfortable with. Don't disregard yourself and your own comfort level. Talk to your manager or HR department and discuss solutions to these problems.
#5 - I will never again love someone else more than I love myself.
Oh boy, talking about top spots, this one takes the #1 spot for me. This includes your work life as well as your personal life. You can easily get swept up in your responsibilities at work or at home and forget how import self-care is to your well-being. It's okay to become enamored with a project, but don't let it control your life.
"I make consistent plans to do things with friends and family who keep me grounded, cook delicious meals for myself and others, maintain commitments to volunteer work through organizations to which I belong, and attend my regular yoga class at least three times a week. I also make sure to build in time for my creative passion projects, which tend to pull me out of work mode and into a place of gratitude and fun!"
When was the last time you met someone out for coffee to talk business? Have you struck up a conversation with the person sitting next to you at a training seminar lately? Who was the last person to receive your business card? How often do you take the time to update your contact list and reach out to those you've not heard from in awhile?
These are just a few questions you should ask yourself when it comes to gauging just how much and how often you are actively networking. Of course, not networking isn't a crime. But, the benefits from it are incredible. According to Robby Slaughter, whose recent article in Inside Indiana Business discusses this exact topic, face-to-face meetings are invaluable and bring much more success to those who partake in them.
It is tempting to dismiss the advice that we should “always be networking.” If companies have jobs, shouldn’t they announce those opportunities publicly so they get the best possible candidates? Shouldn’t jobseekers be evaluated on the basis of their experience and their ability, not how chummy they are with decision makers? Since we can control the quality of our work, we want to be judged solely on our efforts. Networking feels like the opposite of working; it seems like meeting new people is more about currying favor than enhancing our ability to contribute.Although this rationale is attractive, networking isn’t just about your own career. It’s also about how you promote the brand of your association. Networking is the most cost-effective marketing tool you have, because it’s based on the perception others have of you and your work. And although it costs very little to do, the results are priceless. Your reputation reflects on your organization, and vice versa. People are talking about you when you are not there.
When we network, we are making an impression. This is an important factor to recognize given the amount of communication shared electronically on a daily basis. When we meet in person one thing is certain: our knowledge, skills, intentions and professionalism are seen rather than read. And while this may seem a trivial point, let us take a moment to remind ourselves of the difference between personal perception and interpretation. When information is conveyed electronically, it's easy to misunderstand or be misunderstood by others. And sadly, it's also much easier to forget the conversation altogether. And this last point is an especially important one to remember.
Slaughter highlights this particular scientific aspect in his article:
There’s actually a scientific reason that “pressing the flesh” is so powerful. Psychologists have studied the way we interact in person, and unsurprisingly, it turns out we have a much stronger memory for faces than we do for names, professions or other factoids. Shake hands with someone today, and chances are good they will seem eerily familiar if you spot them at a shopping mall months or even years later. Almost all of us feel that we easily forget names but quickly recognize faces. You may not remember who they are or what was said, but you’re likely to know for the rest of your life that you’ve seen that face before. Leverage that science in your favor.
The importance for networking is a subject matter we have discussed on The Methodology Blog many times. If you're looking for ways to integrate more networking into your office, consider reading posts that discuss networking before you need it, the etiquette of networking, making your contacts count, or even how to become a networking pro.
Of all the elements of working---no matter the size of the organization or the industry---nothing may be more universal than the rollercoaster of emotions we all experience. One day you close a big deal or solve a customer's problem and you're feeling pretty great. And another day everything falls apart.
Which brings me to #3 from our ten-point guide to great workplace culture:
There will be good days. Celebrate them. There will be bad days. Accept them.
This assignment sounds easy. When things go well, we want to throw a party. We're happy to eat cake or have a glass of champagne. Sometimes, it's about having the right level of celebration for the accomplishment at hand. It's all too easy for a major accomplishment to merely get a word of thanks, or to embarrass someone with your enthusiasm over their minor victory.
One option is to show appreciation through a special event or giving people gifts. But research shows that parties aren't always wanted and presents can backfire. So what does it mean to celebrate a good day? Acknowledge that it happened to yourself. And once in a while, acknowledge it with the rest of your team.
When things aren't going well, there is a chance they are going poorly. Failure is part of business, and as much as I personally want to encourage everyone to recognize the critical role of making mistakes in finding success, screwing up can be pretty upsetting.
Wallowing in the bad news can be toxic. Instead, try and practice self-forgiveness. And if it's someone else who made the mistake, tell them you appreciate them and understand that mistakes are part of the process.
So what does it mean to accept a bad day? Acknowledge that it happened to yourself. And once in a while, acknowledge it with the rest of your team.
It doesn't seem too hard to "celebrate good days" and surely it's not a huge stretch to "acknowledge bad days." But what all too many organizations and individuals do is hang out in the lukewarm middle.
Once again, you know how it goes:
"How's work?" "Eh, it's fine."
Wouldn't you rather talk to someone who had a great day, or even a terrible day---with the understanding that each day was different? The emotional range shows their capacity. People whose jobs are "just okay" aren't likely to take big risks or put in extra effort. They aren't likely to speak up with new ideas or take the blame when they make an error.
In short, the reason we want people to "celebrate good days" and "acknowledge bad days" is because those are the only kinds of days we want you to have.
If you're reading along as we expand on each of the ten points in the original list, you may start to see a theme. You can't have a great organization unless you make specific decisions about what you want. What do you want to encourage or discourage? What do you want to control or choose not to control?
Here's one final line you've heard before: "You can't choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you react to what happens to you."
Organizations are the sum of the choices made by everyone in them, every day. And when good days happen, those organizations should celebrate. When bad days happen, they should acknowledge them.
Culture is choices. What will you decide to do with what happens tomorrow?
A group of us---thirty-one all together---are going through the classic book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Recently, we’ve been talking about faith: what the book describes as an "emotion" and "the second step toward riches." The question was asked, “How is faith an emotion?”
Faith is believing in something. It is a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, concept or idea. It is the mental acceptance of the truth or actuality of something. In its positive aspect, it is a belief in the favorable outcome of anything undertaken.
Another way to think about faith is to think “absolute confidence.” When a person has faith in their beliefs then half of the battle to acquire success is won. It works like this: when faith is combined with the intention, then the subconscious picks up those ideas translates it into part of our identity. Ultimately, this becomes part of our intelligence. As I've said before, if you want to find success, it will come down to controlling how you think:
This positive mindset is not just for the participants, the leadership of the organization must, yes must, employ a positive, success mindset toward the training and the outcomes it can deliver. I’ve seen companies invest, thousands, even millions of dollars in a training initiative only to have it fall to failure because top leadership didn’t “really” believe that because of the training, better results would follow as the learning was implemented.
The method by which one acquires faith (where it does not already exist) is very difficult to describe. Hill says, “Faith is a state of mind, which may be developed at will.” This feat can be accomplished after the thirteen principles which are listed in Think and Grow Rich. All thoughts, which have been given feeling and mixed with faith, begin immediately to translate themselves into their physical counterpart. The emotions or the feeling portions of thoughts are the factors, which give thoughts vitality, life, and action.
Unfortunately, there are way too many people who lack faith in themselves; these people believe that they are doomed to poverty and failure because of some strange force over which they have no control. It might help to remember what the famous psychologist, Carl Jung said:
Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
These people are prey to their own misfortunes because of this negative belief which, picked up by the subconscious mind, translates into its physical equivalent. It matters not the type of thought, positive or negative, as either will surely be translated to its physical equivalent. In short: be careful what you say to yourself because you’re listening.
Any order given to the subconscious mind with belief or faith will be met with success. Be a student of this fact and practice how to give your subconscious an order and how to have that order mixed with faith. Your ability to do this successfully will come through practice. It cannot come by simply reading instructions. The lessons are learned by the experience of doing.
Your aspirations, goals, and dreams begin in the form of thought! The size of your goals are only limited by your mind where the thought was put into motion. Faith removes limitations! Be wise, move forward and work on this ability to develop faith where it doesn’t already exist. Do this and take a few minutes each day to read the classic, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This book has helped guide many wayward entrepreneurs and business owners.
The words of 50-kilometer running champion Josh Cox, “Remember, your worst run is always 100 percent better than the person who never tries,” are words I wish everyone blogging for business would tack up on their computer. As Runners’ World Magazine points out, “You’ll never regret going for a run, but you’ll always regret not going." One of the most satisfying aspects of corporate blog writing is that the content you post remains online, continuing to build your presence as each new batch of content is added. While 95% of corporate blog readers will be first-time visitors to your blog, the odds of those online first-timers finding you increases with each new blog you post. In essence, the way the “matching” process works on the Web, blog content writing means never having to say you’re sorry about the time and effort you put in. I can honestly assure newbie Indianapolis blog writers: Each time you post and your competition doesn’t, it’s a win!
Perhaps part of the problem some may have with blogging consistently is content generation. It's not always easy to gather fresh ideas; particularly when your goal is to publish multiple times a week. But as Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork and productivity expert points out, the benefits to what is often called the "divide and conquer strategy" are invaluable.
The divide and conquer strategy is sometimes known as a business process methodology called explicit parallelization. Instead of trying to do all the work yourself one step at a time, you scatter the tasks among multiple resources. In the case of writing a persuasive column, you can save hours of labor by spreading it out across thirty different people. Best of all, you are helping other people while reducing your own costs.This may seem a bit selfish, but doing a good thing doesn’t have to be selfless. You really are helping others get publicity while helping yourself get content. It’s truly an example of a win-win situation. This doesn’t mean you should never write your own posts, but don’t ignore the possibilities that networking provides you. And then, after you’ve curated a post of wisdom from others in the industry, feel free to encourage them to do a similar post which you can then contribute to. Not only are you paying it forward, but you’re more than likely going to be driving traffic back to your own blog.
It's not always about reinventing the wheel when it comes to writing blogs. Even if you choose to reuse content or highlight information from other sources, the important thing to remember is that you're getting the conversation started! All it takes is one reader to begin a discussion. And one discussion can open the door to networking, marketing and business opportunity.
At times, while I'm in corporate blogging training sessions, I recall the “Cathy” comic strip I used to enjoy so much in The Indianapolis Star. One series of panels in particular helps me explain why, out of all the different online communication tools we use on behalf of our clients at Say it For You, I am personally so into blog content writing. Cathy and her boyfriend Irving are opening mail – she’s sorting through envelopes, he’s reading email. “Who sends paper mail any more?” Irving jeers. “People,” answers Cathy defiantly. When Irving rather tactlessly points out that most of her mail consists of ads and magazine subscription companies, Cathy’s retort says it all for me: “Yes, people. My mail is way closer to an actual human than you’ll get any time soon!” “Way closer?” Not the most perfect syntax, but so “on the money” about blogging for business! Business blogs are where you meet the humans, the people running the business, the professionals providing the service, “way more” than brochures, billboards, or even corporate websites. Blogs are where you have people telling you not only what they have to offer but who they are. As a professional ghost blogger, I can tell you this: Josh Cox was absolutely right about the worst run. The worst blog post writing is way better, in fact 100% better, than all the companies that never tried!
You have probably read a lot of tips on how developing the right habits will help you increase your productivity and effectiveness. But when do your habits just become routine? When do you know if you are in a rut? I had a mentor that taught me that we improve our effectiveness by solving problems, or challenges we face. In fact, he said that we sometimes need to create a problem just so we can see opportunity that we wouldn't otherwise recognize. That is why I think it is important to occasionally take a break from our habits. We will be able to evaluate from a different perspective what our day could become.
For some of you this may sound crazy. We spend our life building habits. But when you look closely, habits sometimes morph into routine actions. We begin to separate the reason for the habit from the habit itself. If we can step back and reconnect with the why, we may see better opportunities. For example, the way we use technology drives many of our habits. But as technology advances, we may not be able to take advantage of the change, if we are not able to break our habits.
Another example is not taking advantage of the variety of ways to achieve our purpose. There are unlimited methods that can be employed in exercise, diet, project implementation, relationship building, etc. But if we are stuck in certain habits, our results will never reach our potential. Good habits lead to good results. Don't throw away habits for a life of chaos. But to see more opportunity, occasionally we need a break.
Jack Klemeyer, a contributor here at AccelaWork, took a look at what it takes to change our thinking habits. He explains that habits do truly rule our lives, be it physical or thinking patterns. It can be really hard to make a change in the way you think. It's really hard to change those thoughts! Thankfully, Jack provided us with some steps we can take.
STEP 1 – AWARENESS. You have to become cognizant of your thinking and adjust it so that it suits your purpose and builds success and happiness. That means to eliminate the negativity putting yourself and things around you down. Disrupt the pattern. Create new habits of thinking and more positive mental patterns.STEP 2 – PRACTICE. Think about this: You already developed the patterns and habits you have over thousands of hours and, probably, thousands of days. You can’t change them instantly. It reminds me of a comment I heard recently: Belly fat doesn’t show up overnight, why do you expect it to leave that way? Just like losing weight takes commitment, practice, and perseverance, so will losing your bad mental habits.
STEP 3 – BELIEVE. Perhaps you’re skeptical. Think back to learning to ride a bike. Once you sort of accomplished it, all of a sudden you started to believe you could and then, after a few successful attempts, you knew you could.
Sometimes, just because you have a routine doesn't mean that it's the best way to handle that situation. You get to choose how you feel about things that happen be it at work or at home. You can take a negative experience and decide that you only want to see the positive in it, no matter how little of it there actually was. Use your break from creating habits to focus on you and the way you think. Relax and find yourself again in the mess of daily life.
Making things right with dissatisfied customers can often feel like an exercise in futility. Often, the source of their dissatisfaction can be hard to pin down, and worst of all, these customers can create a significant drain on your team’s morale.
Unfortunately, problematic customers are just an inevitable part of doing business, and every industry has their fair share. But while you can’t avoid difficult customers, working with them doesn’t have to be damaging.
Here are a few questions to consider that may make the process easier and benefit your team in the long run.
When talking with a customer who voices a myriad of complaints, it’s often our first instinct to write them off as not our target audience. Or, we say they are innately a difficult person. While this is certainly a valid course of action in certain situations, take a moment to consider whether the customer’s complaints are actually feedback.
Before dismissing a customer as simply impossible to deal with, ask yourself what you might learn from them. For example, do they have a legitimate issue with the service they received? If so, this might point to training issues that you hadn’t previously considered.
Taking a hard look at the substance of the issue might just open your eyes to some gaps in your processes.
It’s often said that you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. This is true in business as in life.
Likewise, there will always be customers that you can’t please – but in some cases, there may be a simple remedy. By practicing a little empathy, you may find that their needs may not be so difficult to meet after all.
Take the time to mentally take a step back and reassess the situation. (This is a time where it’s helpful to put yourself in their shoes.) What does the customer truly want from you? Often, customers simply want to feel valued and heard. For example, if a customer is unhappy about a wait time or poor service, then a sincere apology can be just as effective as a refund.
It’s often the case that your difficult customers are the most vocal about their displeasure. And when a customer’s complaints are getting in the way of your day-to-day operations, your first instinct may be to simply sever ties. Before you cut your losses though, take a moment to consider other recent customer complaints.
While not all of your customers will express their unhappiness in the same way, it’s possible that other complaints share a common denominator. This is a chance for you to identify what could potentially be a larger problem in your organization.
If there’s a recurring theme in your customer complaints, it’s time to make some changes.
When it comes to dealing with difficult customers, it can be easy to forget the tried and true mantra that “the customer is always right.” However, despite how unpleasant these interactions can be, they may actually provide an opportunity to gain new, useful perspectives.
And don't pretend that this is a problem that everyone has to face. In fact, I wrote a list of steps for managing customer complaints.
The next time you’re faced with a difficult customer, take a deep breath and keep an open mind. How might you use this as an opportunity for growth? Taking on this mindset may not be easy, but it may just turn difficult customers into your organization’s best assets.
The inspiration for this post comes from our friends at the Kevin Eikenberry Group, who provided an infographic of 8 Things Not to Say During a Presentation. Rather than restate theirs, we've organized them into categories.
Brace yourself. Some of these are bad. Worse, it's probable that you have done a few of them without realizing it.
Far too often a speaker will glance at the tiny writing on the screen, and then say: "You probably can't read this."
That's code for "I didn't make time to prepare for this presentation" which in truth is "You're not that important to me."
It might sound harsh to claim that speakers don't care that much about their audiences, but showing up with slides that are illegible from even the front row is a lack of preparation. The same is the case for many other statements you've probably heard from speakers before:
It's not possible to anticipate every conceivable issue. But in most cases when a speaker is saying "I apologize for the technical difficulties" they also didn't try setting up their system a few hours in advance to work out the bugs.
And this isn't just amateur hour. I once went to a presentation by a world-famous author (whose books you would definitely recognize if I mentioned them.) His slides contained references to the bank he presented to the week before. He apologized and said "Sorry, that was for my last customer---I forgot to take it off."
Speakers also make decisions about their audiences without asking. Assumptions are dangerous. Here's what you might hear, or be tempted to say:
The most apparent example comes straight from the post by the Kevin Eikenberry Group. A presenter ends with the phrase: "Any questions?" It's usually followed by an uncomfortable silence.
Instead, when you make your final point, say "thank you" so the audience knows to applaud. Then you can follow up with: "I know many of you may have questions. We do have a few minutes for public Q&A, but I will also be available after the presentation if you want to ask me anything individually."
Another trick is to plant a couple of questions in the audience.
Besides the dreaded "any questions" there are lots of other awkward things that can come out of a presenter's mouth. From foul language to stumbling over words, anything which demonstrates a lack of control is going to make the audience uneasy.
Practice. And then, practice some more.
It's easy to find articles on this topic, such as this list of 10 things from LinkedIn Pulse, or what LifeHack says not to say or this Entrepreneur Magazine list of six don'ts.
But what's most important to note is that we all keep making these mistakes. So pay attention to what you don't like in the next speech you attend, and make sure that you don't do that.
See you in the audience. See you on stage.
Carson Wentz starred at North Dakota State before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the second overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Wentz, who recently turned 25, moved to North Dakota at age 3 and was valedictorian of his High School class in Bismarck, in 2011. Wentz set multiple NFL rookie passing records in 2016, among them, most pass completions. Wentz was having a magnificent season in 2017, when in week 14, he tore his ACL. He led the Eagles to an 11-2 record and despite the injury, still is a candidate to be the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
There is no doubt that Carson Wentz has talent; however being an elite quarterback requires much more than talent. Wentz exudes confidence but he does not do it in an arrogant manner. He possesses the leadership skills that are necessary for a quarterback. He has a terrific work ethic and is able to make good decisions quickly, which is an absolute must at the quarterback position. Carson Wentz also can run with the football – when needed. He gives of himself with his charity work, and the manner in which he conducts himself is conducive to being a good role model. Though he is very young, 25, he already has shown that he is a winner both on and off the football field.
Wentz hasn't been far from his fans; he uses and posts to his Twitter account pretty regularly. Though he usually receives much more adoration than catching flack for what he posts, this time was quite different. Wentz posted a picture of his adorable dog, Henley, when she was just a pup next to a picture of her from one of their hunting trips. In that picture, Henley is standing proudly over a large number of downed geese. Some followers were offended by this and told Wentz. His response was pretty impressive:
"Appreciate that, but offensive and controversial? Two of the main things I tweet about are Jesus and hunting. That's what I'm passionate about and that won't ever change! When you love something, you talk about it! Stay convicted about it and don't worry what others think!"
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission released conservation order regulations stating that Light Geese are in fact considered nuisance birds. After they destroyed their nesting grounds in the Arctic Tundra, the Snow, Blue, and Ross geese have found themselves in Arkansas where there is plenty of food thanks to the number of farms. They're actually ruining harvests! In fact, there really isn't a limit on how many of these birds you can take down. I'm sure most farmers in Arkansas would gladly tell you to take them all!
This isn't the first time Wentz has shared his passion for hunting on social media. He even put together a short video last year, showing what it's like to hunt during conservation season. In it, you can see how much respect and love he has for hunting. It's just another example of something that Wentz is passionate about. He loves hunting and does so legally and within the rules. It's a passion of his and he backs it up with a strong stance. Hunting can be a really difficult issue to broach with anyone let alone someone who has many adoring fans from different backgrounds. He handled himself perfectly in this situation. Wentz is someone that many young people aspire to be like when they grow up. He definitely is a role model to all of us!
Similar to Wentz, we as leaders need to have confidence, passion and courage of conviction if we hope to make an impact in our jobs, with our teams and in our company. We must acknowledge there is a divide between poor and great leadership and recognize exactly what we should stand by, what we should change and how we move forward ethically. Most of all, we must possess the confidence to stand by what we believe and make decisions based on those values we hold.
You might even spend a lot of time reading motivational books and articles in search for the elusive secret of what’s required for real success. When we read about the tools required to achieve success, very often we are told that if we really want to be successful, we must have persistence.
Persistence is the quality of not giving up when we encounter challenges. Of holding on to our dream as my friend Paul Martinelli says to “hold our image.” It’s about carrying on and refusing to be discouraged no matter what the odds and no matter what happens. It’s about learning from and adjusting to circumstances, but never ever quitting. When you read the life stories of very successful people, they will often tell you about all the hardships they encountered along the way. They will tell you about the discouragement they occasionally felt when they experienced failure, and about all the people who laughed at them along the way. They will often tell you that the reason they are successful today is because they were persistent. They persevered in chasing their dream, no matter what happened.
So if you have been facing a bit of discouragement while you pursue your dream, reading about these success gurus can give you the boost you need to keep on doing what you’ve been doing. After all, persistence is the key to success right? Almost everyone says so. Yet, in a way, all those people who encourage you to be persistent are wrong! Now before you scoff at this statement, consider this: when not applied in the right manner, persistence can lead to certain failure.
Allow me to explain. What successful people leave out when talking about persistence is a factor too important to ignore. To better explain this, let’s get a visual from the following story.
For several years there had been a middle-aged blonde woman pacing back and forth on the sidewalk in front of a big building in the heart of the city. She always carried a large sign protesting something. She smiled and waved at all the cars that pass. Yet, none of the passers-by were sure exactly what her sign said because the words don’t really make any sense. There seemed to be something about an injustice that happened to her when her husband’s pension was divided up during their divorce. And there were a few comments about a government conspiracy to cover up the injustice that was done to her. Perhaps what she was trying to accomplish with her protest was an attempt to get her divorce decision changed.
Every day, no matter what the weather, this woman came out to walk back and forth for a couple of hours in front of this large building in the heart of the city and wave at all the people. Ironically her smile never failed. After the first couple of hours of protesting were up, she went to another place downtown. She spent another two hours walking back and forth, smiling and waving, in front of a different building a few blocks away. She has been doing this every day for at least seventeen (17) years. This lady is most certainly persistent.
All that persistence and pride in her work for so many years does not seem to be having any effect, but she does not seem to notice. Here’s the lesson: If seventeen years of her walking back and forth carrying this sign hasn’t had any effect, I don’t think that one more day of walking with this sign is going to change the outcome of her divorce. But she is persistent in continuing her protest.
Probably every big city has a few people like this woman, people you can see standing on the sidewalk. People who spend years holding some sign that doesn’t make sense. These people can teach us all about the real value of perseverance and persistence. These people are certainly very persistent, but usually they are not successful. When success gurus tell us that persistence is an important quality on the road to success, they are often leaving out something important:
They fail to tell you that before they were persistent, they had a goal and a plan on how to get where they wanted to go.
Intrigued? Go on to part two.
In essence: what does it mean to have a mental illness? This is a great question, because mental health is a highly stigmatized field, and often misconceptions are drawn; especially by filmmakers in movies that attempt to depict those suffering from any number of diagnoses. In order to define mental illness with clarity and not use a textbook method, it’s important to note that at various times we all experience symptoms that are consistent with mental health disorders. The key is not to self-diagnose or be too concerned with the diagnosis itself. Instead, lean into the understanding that you are not whichever symptom or diagnosis you are labeled.
Mental illnesses are psychological conditions that cause dysfunctions in the areas of thinking, emotions, mood and daily life. When experiencing a mental illness, it is difficult to have access to healthy ways of coping or making rational decisions. Common mental illnesses are depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and social anxiety disorders. More severe diagnoses are Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, bipolar disorders, schizophrenias and personality disorders.
Diagnosis and Recovery
It can feel scary to be diagnosed with a mental illness, as it can with any medical condition. However, that scary feeling tends to dissipate after you have been properly educated on the diagnosis given. Typically, the first thought for clients is whether or not the diagnosis will be a lifelong issue or if there is a quick way to rid yourself of the symptoms.
The answer is that it depends. In large part, it is contingent upon on a number of factors: age, pervasiveness, diagnosis, client’s level of insight, education, treatment, etc. Most clients diagnosed with mental illnesses are able to recover and live functional lives. For the most part, once treatment is sought and completed, there is a significant possibility of overcoming the symptoms without them ever returning.
For some, however, if the treatment approach is ineffective, if clients are afraid of change or if the motivation to change does not exist, symptoms tend to cycle and continue to cause significant problems for clients. The key is to do as much research as possible on the diagnosis given, seek treatment sooner rather than later, find a practitioner who specializes in that area of treatment and diagnosis, and then complete the treatment process.
The Prevalence of Mental Health
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 43 million adults in America experience mental illness each year. That’s about 1 in 5 of all adult Americans. Furthermore, 1 in 25 adults are living with a serious mental illness. But more than half did not receive any treatment in the previous year.
In the workplace, mental health challenges can affect productivity, culture, safety, and employee satisfaction. As organizations become more and more aware of the importance of good mental health options, companies are offering health plans that include treatment options for talk therapy, and special services like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). If you experience stress at work (even if it’s caused by factors outside of work), consider taking advantage of these programs.
Working Healthy
Most of us would prefer that our coworkers stay home if they are ill and take care of themselves. But just as we want people who have the flu to seek care, we should also want for anyone who feels mentally unwell to get the assistance they need.
And even if a mental health condition is chronic and ongoing, it can often be managed. The only wrong answer is pretending you don’t have a problem! Help yourself and your colleagues by destigmatizing mental health. Talk to your doctor. Make an appointment with a therapist. Work healthy in body, mind, and spirit.
The amazing thing about the future is that if you wait, it will always come to you. No doubt you sat down and created your share of New Year’s resolutions to conquer this year. The unfortunate truth, however, is that most people’s resolutions fizzle and die before the first quarter is even over. It doesn’t have to be this way – with a few key steps, you can be well on your way to goal-getting instead of just goal-setting and turn your resolutions into real solutions.
Goals aren’t enough – know your reasons
It’s great to have goals, but by itself, a goal is not much. Have you ever shared with someone else that you would “try” to accomplish a goal? Try is a very weak word. When do you think you’ll be ready to commit to actually doing it, instead of just talking about it?
The main reason most goals don’t stick is because there is not a big enough reason to follow through with them. For example, losing weight is a great goal. However, why do you want to lose weight? See, if the goal is just “lose weight” then when that surprise birthday party happens, it’s easy to talk yourself into letting loose and stuffing your face because that goal can be pushed aside, delayed, or even forgotten.
On the other hand, if your reason for losing fat is to avoid health problems or gain confidence, now you have a reason. That reason is your passion, your fire, your spark and your fuel to keep going. When you identify the true reason behind wanting to change, write it down. Keep it with you. Read it when you wake up and before you go to sleep. Let your mind know what the reward will be, because most people focus on the process when it is the reward that keeps you going.
A real goal is about a vision. You must have a vision bigger than the obstacles you may face. Goals are stepping stones towards turning the vision from a dream into reality. Remember, goals are simply dreams with deadlines. So commit to your goal, know the reason, visualize the change, and it will stick with you despite the challenges you may face.
Hold Yourself Accountable
A goal is not much if you don’t share it with others or create accountability. Without accountability, it’s easy to make the goal simply disappear when things turn sour. Then you are simply a great goal-setter, but have nothing to show for the goal-getting department.
Accountability can take many different forms. If you’re not ready to share it with the world, then simply write it down in a journal. Each day, spend five or ten minutes to reflect upon the steps you took that day that are taking you closer to your goal, and what choices you may have made that have you headed in the wrong direction. This will allow you to decide what changes you must make to keep moving closer to your goal.
For example, if your goal is to complete your first triathlon, one of the daily actions you can take towards that goal is to eat healthy. This will fuel your body, improve recovery, and provide the nutrients necessary to have the energy to succeed. If you decided to blow your nutrition program, then this is a habit that is taking you farther from your goal. Identify it and decide what is more important – the short-term satisfaction of eating a treat, or the reward of finishing your first triathlon event. Stay in focus, and you’ll go far. And now, part 2 of this post.
The 18th century French philosopher Voltaire put it perfectly, “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking”. Thinking is a skill. It can be practiced. Creativity, innovation, intuition, and problem solving are all forms of thinking. The more you use them, the stronger they grow. Thinking is a talent that can be developed.
Early in my career, I had a colleague that struggled with “being strategic”. Stan had received his annual performance review and his supervisor told him he needed to be more strategic. He was lost because he did not know how to be strategic. Thinking strategically is not something normally taught. The only way Stan could become more strategic is to practice thinking strategically. I think Stan’s obstacle is a lesson for all of us. Taking time to think is not time wasted—-it develops our ability to think. Our thoughts drive our actions, our results, and our very being. If we have a desire to improve ourselves, our ability to think is probably a good place to start. As Lifehacker stated, if you want to become a better leader, you have to improve your self awareness.
But it turns out that being self-aware is actually a pretty critical trait in an effective leader. According to new research by Tasha Eurich, increasing one’s self-awareness is both possible and desirable for those who wish to become better managers.
So what can we do? How do we begin down the path of self-awareness and improving our thought processes? Set aside ten to twenty minutes a day for focused thinking. Then use that time to think. Don’t do anything else. Just think. Think about your challenges, your projects, your dreams, your ideas, your successes, your relationships, your goals, or your life. Think about whatever is important to you at the moment. Not only will you discover new ideas, you will improve your ability to think. As humans, we get better at what we practice, and this world could use better thinkers. Thinking is actually a habit, with different patterns of thought, and it's one that you may not realize is so habitual.
Jack Klemeyer talked about how important your thought process is, especially when it comes to sales. Does your company provide a positive mindset for you and your coworkers?
This positive mindset is not just for the participants. The leadership of the organization must, yes must, employ a positive, success mindset toward the training and the outcomes it can deliver. I’ve seen companies invest, thousands, even millions of dollars in a training initiative only to have it fall to failure because top leadership didn’t really believe in the process. They couldn’t see that the training would create better results once the learning was implemented.The Four Keys to success for a person in sales (and we’re all in sales):
- STRONG GOAL CLARITY – You gotta have goals!
- HIGH ACHIEVEMENT DRIVE – You gotta believe that your goals are attainable. This acts as a multiplier to success!
- HEALTHY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – Understand how your behavior, driven by your beliefs, impacts the environment.
- EXCELLENT SOCIAL SKILLS – Understand how to recognize other behavior styles and how to adapt and flex your style for rapport and influence.
Every ability we have takes practice, honing it until we're the best we can be. Thinking is no different. If you set aside time every single day to have a meaningful, thought-session, you will definitely see improvement to your memory skills and mindset.
People talk about loving their job, loving a favorite book or film, loving the actions that others have taken, and of course loving individual people. So what about receiving love? It should be as simple as opening your arms and welcoming it, right? Unfortunately, it’s not. If your version of love is based on idealism or conditions, or if you come from a dysfunctional household, receiving love can be quite difficult. As a therapist, I can tell you that nearly all couples attend therapy because they have difficulty receiving love, especially if they rely on certain behaviors and allow those to dictate what love is or should be. How can we build successful relationships?
Plus, the same goes for individuals in therapy struggling with relationships at work. The belief is that love is meant to be selfless and unconditional. But rather than focusing on what love is or should be, perhaps the focus needs to shift to what makes receiving love so difficult. Are you receiving love openly in your relationships? Relationships are not only spousal—they include friendships and co-workers. Ask yourself what the primary role is that you play in relationships and why. Once you have the answer, you will know if you are able to give and receive love openly. Other questions to ask are:
Answering these questions can lend way to helpful insight on how you have learned to interpret love and, therefore, function in relationships. They also help identify if there has been difficulty developing emotional connections over time. What you’ll hear yourself say if you have emotional difficulties is, “For Pete’s sake, please love me!” These thoughts and feelings are typically formed in your early childhood years when you are constantly seeking approval from the significant people in your life.
If your parents only show approval when you do things right, you grow up believing that you only deserve love when you’re good. When you’re not good, you’re not loveable. This becomes part of your subconscious, so as an adult you hear, “You have to live up to my expectations to win my love.” This renders love conditional and unhealthy. People are their own worst enemies at times. Do you look on with disdain when you see a couple whose love appears to come without a struggle? Or when you see someone who is happy at work despite serious difficulties around them?
Some individuals, especially those who cannot welcome love openly, harshly criticize these people. This, by nature, is a reflection of the inner struggle of receiving love. What about if your partner, boss, or colleague practices giving gifts to display their feelings for you? Do you find it difficult to accept that praise? Do you assume it’s insincere? Do you criticize them for not getting something right or for not doing it enough? Keeping your guard up, as in these situations, is a guaranteed way to keep love out. Your inability to let love in could also indicate a form of self-rejection, which will consume you.
So how do you let love in?
Consider loving unconditionally, with no limits. Open yourself to the risks involved with loving and being loved by others. Life is about living, and living involves taking risks. Learn to give yourself loving kindness and gratitude, which helps you feel less painful emptiness and isolation. Create opportunities to be vulnerable with those you love. Vulnerability is a gateway to acceptance and resilience. Your partner or friend will learn to love those idiosyncrasies and appreciate them more than the “good” things about you. End all forms of self-rejection, denial, and hatred. These are common wisdom relationship and love killers. There is life-changing power in unconditional love. At home, at work, and everywhere in life.
Last time, we left off taking a look at how persistent successful people are. All along the way, after every step they took, they evaluated their results to see if they were getting what they wanted. And if they weren’t, then they would change the steps they took and try something different until they found a method that worked for them.
These successful people did have persistence, but only in regards to holding on to their vision. They were never persistent about the method they took to get to their goal, only about achieving it. All along the way, they were prepared to be very flexible and experiment to see what techniques and strategies worked best to get where they wanted to go. John Maxwell says that when the results don’t come they way you intend or expect to ask yourself two very important questions: “What did I learn?” and “How can I grow?”
Why do so many successful people leave out this important detail when they tell us the secrets to their success? Why do they so often neglect to mention that if a strategy isn’t working, they abandon it quickly and move on to another one? It’s not that successful people deliberately leave out this key information trying to throw us off the track to success. Perhaps it’s simply because they assume it’s very obvious to everyone already.
Successful people may assume that everyone already knows about testing each step of what you are doing to see whether it’s working or not. If it’s not working, you change it. You keep trying new approaches until you get something that works, something that gets you closer to the result you want. Then you make that part of your process.
People who admire persistence often use the example of Thomas Edison who kept trying to produce an electrical light bulb even after ten thousand failed attempts. But people often forget that while Thomas Edison was persistent in believing in his goal, he was not persistent in the way he tried to achieve it. Thomas Edison did not repeat the same experiment over and over again ten thousand times. That would have put him in the crazy books instead of the history books. Instead, he performed about ten thousand different experiments on his way to trying to find a practical electrical light bulb. Every time he tried to produce a light bulb, he then stepped back and took some time to evaluate the results.
Another key to success is taking the time to reflect and evaluate your activity and your results. Edison figured out what was working and what wasn’t working. Then he would try something different, incorporating the elements (pun intended) that worked the next time. Additionally, he kept track of the results of his efforts.
So, remember this crucial difference the next time someone tries to tell you that persistence is the key to success. Without taking some time to evaluate whether or not what you do is actually working, you can be persistent for years and never achieve the goals you want. For any of us to be successful, we need to be sure to hold on to our dream, “hold our image” and remember to notice and check frequently whether the actions we are taking are getting us closer to achieving our goals.
Chipotle is a niche in a huge market. American fast food is dominated by burger joints. Fast casual emerged in the 1990s as a refinement of conventional fast food. Instead of frozen fare processed elsewhere, dishes are made from scratch.The Fortune article reports that Chipotle’s high margins can be explained by other efficiencies. “Throughput” refers to the rate of customer service, a Chipotle obsession, moving 300 customers an hour through the system. Their stated goal is to offer "Slow food fast:"
Chipotle’s (CMG, -2.84%) growth has been remarkable. Revenue for the 12 months ending June 30 was more than $2 billion, up 23.5% from the prior year. Since 2006, revenue has nearly tripled; in the same period the number of restaurants in the chain doubled. In restaurants open at least a year, sales were up 11% in the first half of 2011. Profit margins in Chipotle restaurants have been in the 25% to 26% range — among the highest in the fast-food industry.
Similar to Chipotle’s outlook on quality, many businesses pride themselves on spending more time preparing and devoting more care to their mission and service. Why? Because ultimately, investing the time and being meticulous in our jobs and in the overall work we do is what creates success across the board. At Say It For You, we strive to create and produce high quality business blog writing and it certainly pays off.
So, in what way can the Chipotle’s example be instructive in blogging for business?
Consider a piece from Michael Schnieder at Inc. Magazine, which shockingly gives away the premise in the title: Google Employees Weighed In on What Makes a Highly Effective Manager (Technical Expertise Came in Last). He writes:
[The Senior VP of People Operations] acknowledged that the company had historically hired managers or promoted people who exhibited a higher level of technical expertise than others. "It turns out that that's absolutely the least important thing."
This is bad advice. Actually, it's worse than that: it's dangerous advice. Because although it states that "technical expertise is important, just not #1" the message people receive is that "technical expertise isn't important."
Or in other words: "I don't have to understand what people are doing to be a good manager." Wrong.
If you're a manager at a world-famous technology company, you have significant technical knowledge. That's not the most important skill you have, but it's not something you can go without. And yet too many business professionals read the headline "Google Employees Weighed In on What Makes a Highly Effective Manager (Technical Expertise Came in Last)" and they go through the following thought process:
It reminds me of an old joke:
Q: What do you call the guy who came in last in his class in medical school?A: "Doctor."
The medical student who graduated accomplished something incredible, regardless of their final GPA. The person who gets a job at Google and is promoted to manager did the same thing. Since your company isn't Google, these stories are only valuable if you look at them very closely. Everyone in the graduating class of the medical school is a doctor. Everyone who is a manager at Google knows technology.
This isn't just about managers and technical expertise. Yahoo scaled back telecommuting, but that doesn't mean you should do the same. Coca Cola decided to stop having voicemail. One branch of the Canon electronics company has hallway sensors that beep if you walk too slowly. It's possible these ideas make sense in their respective environments. But rushing to implement programs or rationalize decisions is pretty much always a bad idea.
You can learn a lot from studying other organizations. You can review case studies and scientific papers and talk to management consultants. There are lots of things we used to do in business that we don't do any more, and many of these changes have been for the better.
But, adopting a new policy without a deeper conversation with your team is probably not a great move. Switching to a new set of rules or way of working could be beneficial, but you shouldn't do it because you read one piece in a trade magazine.
Change is hard. It takes time and dedication. If you announce your plan to change but nothing really happens, you only teach people that you are not serious.
The first and most important step in getting better is also the hardest for almost anyone: truly listening. Turn to the stakeholders and share what you've learned, and ask them what they think.
It's their honest answers which are the true lessons.
When we see someone suffering or if someone’s suffering reminds us of our own painful experiences, compassion is a natural, intrinsic automatic response. We develop what is known as empathy or compassion for another person. Our compassionate minds are what allows for our continued existence in this world. They keep our brains going the way air keeps our lungs breathing! Compassionate minds feel compelled to speak up for the little guy. They love hearing successful underdog stories and are driven to help people overcome inequalities. Those with a compassionate mind get the concept of serving others. They understand that the most important works in this world is to be of service to others.
What compels others to serve?
In some respects, giving to others is not just about other people. Did you know by helping others you help yourself emotionally and psychologically? We are all born with an innate need to be altruistic. It’s true! Even as children we thrive on the ability to be helpful to our parents. It generates a sense of pride or positive energy that simply says I am capable of helping others. I have something to give. I can contribute. This proves itself true across occupations, disciplines, religions, sports, etc. We love to help others, because of how it feels to know we have been helpful.
Humans are social creatures which works well when you have to network and make new contacts. Therefore we do best when we have the opportunity to be a part of something larger than ourselves. The greater good! Even as this article is being written the idea is to pass on information that will allow any of its readers to learn, be challenged, and to serve those in need. What would happen if everyone saw themselves and their jobs as contributing to the greater good of the world? It would mean no job is too big or too small but each serving its own distinct purpose that allows for the human race to preserve and prosper.
Making service central to your purpose
The most important thing you can do in life is allowing yourself to be of service to others. Many times as therapists we are charged with creating selfish individuals that are only seeking to serve their own needs. The reality is that we guide people on an endless journey of self-discovery and awareness that leads to the ultimate reality of the undying need to serve others, but from a healthy perspective. As we are working to perfect their abilities to think and receive information adequately, we are actually allowing them to do their jobs of working with or for others better.
In our personal lives, service can come in many forms. We can take care of our family members. We can volunteer for causes that we care about. We can get involved in a religious community, or just be neighborly. I’m sure you remember being helped by someone in the past and how much you appreciated it. You probably also recall how nice it was to help someone else. And in our professional lives, service is often the key factor in our employment. We work for customers or coworkers. We help to solve problems or answer questions. We step up when someone needs special help, and we are thankful when others do the same for us.
If you begin to think about your role as a parent, a sibling, a colleague, a citizen, or a human being as a willing servant to others, you’ll find yourself happier and healthier. It’s a gift to be kind and useful. And it’s one you can keep giving, year after year after year!
Would you attempt to navigate a ship on the open sea without a chart or map? Of course not. Even the ancient mariners used the stars and constellations to find their way. A plan is a powerful tool for achievement. It’s a magic key that helps you reach your goals and gives you the momentum to get through difficult passageways. Planning prevents unnecessary detouring, and helps you take responsibility for your actions.
Goals are what keep you going and give you your focus. Keep focusing on your goals and continually take the needed steps to reach them. Your ability to keep moving after achieving one goal depends on how clearly you see the next step to set new goals. Mark Brown, a contributor for AccelaWork and a coach, had some thoughts on what it takes to become successful. He also knows how important having goals are.
Many people I coach have specific goals they want to achieve. Some are held back, contained within their comfort zone. Others never test their limits because they just aren’t willing to put in the effort. Successful people tend to be very focused and intent on achieving their goal. When we look at someone that is highly successful, we sometimes don’t see the sacrifice they have made. They may have sacrificed time, money, relationships, or hobbies.
Goal-setting is an ongoing, reciprocal process between you and the world. Accomplishing your goals helps you to overcome inner barriers of fear, and affirms your self-confidence. Goal-setting is not a mundane process. It generates out of your human need for self-drive and accomplishment. This drive for accomplishment is innate, it comes from within you. When you set goals, it solidifies you physically, mentally and emotionally. You begin to feel more connected to yourself and to the world.
There are six ways to focus on your goals and plan your success. It is important to include the following in your goal-setting procedure:
Once you set your goals, you must hold yourself accountable. Keep them written down somewhere that you'll see everyday. It can be helpful to have a notepad by your bedside table so you can review your goals at night before bed. You'll also get a lot of satisfaction from crossing completed ones off! Don't let yourself lose sight of what you want to accomplish and above all else, don't be upset if you fail. Get back up, dust yourself off, and start trying again.
When I was in school, I studied the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. I can imagine the representatives debating, arguing, and discussing the fundamentals of democracy. The process was not easy or elegant. Today, our society continues to debate many social and political issues. Although not true, it feels like we have never been more divided as a culture.
As a manufacturing plant manager, one of my main tasks was to develop a management team built on shared values. I encouraged my team to challenge each other and the status quo. In the process, we were able to create a stronger vision of the values that drove us to success. There are two main points to consider when you are trying to build a team, an organization, or even a country.
First, expression of opposing views should be welcomed. It is the difference of perspectives that let us discover the shared values below the surface. If everyone only settled without voicing their opinion, the team would lack strength. Second, compromise is required. The hard work of true compromise consists of dissecting discussion to understand the basic truths of our beliefs. Then working together to find a solution that best meets our needs and supports our values. A good compromise does not require anyone to oppose their basic values. As this process is repeated, the team begins to coalesce around the underlying shared principles. Just like the creation of the United States, the process is not easy or elegant.
I've talked about this in a past blog about building a high performance team. It truly sounds easier than it is to create a well-oiled team machine. Bringing people together will always create clashes. We all have different needs, thoughts, and personalities. So what does a good leader do in this situation? To take directly from the post itself:
As a team leader, getting team members to look past their own goals needs to be a top priority. This can be the most challenging part when it comes to teamwork. A leader can start the process by developing and communicating a shared vision for the team. But to be effective, here are the requirements for success.1. Connect emotionally. Your team members need to know you truly care about them. It is easy to connect on the highs, but you must also connect at the lows. 2. Connect intellectually. Challenge them. Teach them. Listen to them.
3. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively. Conflicts can spiral out of control if not addressed immediately. Understand individual views but build cohesive views.
4. Support the individual but align effort in favor of the team. Recognize individual efforts individually, recognize and reward team accomplishments in the team environment.
In today's United States Congress, we don't see debate that leads to understanding and compromise. Instead we see politicians that are polarized, and divided by their party line. No one is trying to understand the shared values that would lead to better solutions. If your team appears divided like politicians, or lacks the courage to debate issues, then you have a problem. If this is the case, then you have a great opportunity to improve your team with your leadership. They will look to you for guidance and it's up to you to not only prove to them that you are a capable leader, but also hold yourself to those standards and don't let them slip along the way.
Often, therapists have the unique opportunity to help various women learn the true essence of self-reflection, wherein they create thoughtful awareness that cultivates a deep level of insight and intimacy with one’s self. While teaching the art of self-reflection, interesting phenomena tend to surface in reference to how women view their sense of “self.” Usually, women have learned to identify themselves with what they do for a living, what they have been through in life and/or how someone else defines them. But none of these are accurate. What makes it difficult to identify your true selves is the way society tends to position women. It is no longer okay to be ordinary.
Women are overly concerned with weight, fashion and clothes, the latest technology, looking younger and having money. Worrying about all of this affects your self-esteem and job performance, too. As Brené Brown describes, women are living in a culture where the biggest fear is being vulnerable because it produces guilt and shame. This, in turn, causes women to avoid their true, natural selves. Missing out on the many lessons vulnerability has to teach, women go through life believing that in order to be okay, they have to have more, do more and be more. In doing so, women impede any personal growth opportunities that further oppress their true identities and what they were created to do.
These are the lessons that lead to your ability to embrace who you are and walk in your purpose:
Ego vs. the unconditional self – The ego’s main job is to protect you from perceived dangers. The ego allows space for you to remain subconsciously committed to the fears derived from childhood or adult traumas. The unconditional self allows you to surrender to all of those things you believe make you who you are. The unconditional self is pure at heart and comes without any preconceived ideas of what it should or should not be.
Fear vs. faith – Fear’s primary purpose is to prevent you from doing the very things you were purposed to do. Yes, some fears are normal, but those that debilitate you and cause excessive worry or dependency are not healthy for the “self.” Faith, which is not just a religious term, is having assurance without knowing what the outcome will be. Try walking in faith, not fear, for one entire day, combating any fears that arrive. Observe how much easier situations are to conquer.
Opposition vs. opportunity – This one is difficult, especially if you are used to seeing the world from a distorted lens because of life’s experiences. In every situation you encounter, you are faced with two choices: to view it from an oppositional standpoint or to recognize the opportunity it provides. What allows you to differentiate between the two is perception.
Emotionally stunted vs. vulnerability – You are emotionally the same age that you were when you encountered any type of trauma in your life. As a result of that emotional stunt, you avoid and are unaware of the lessons your emotions have to teach you. You fear or doubt your emotions because they have never been allowed to be expressed safely and non-judgmentally. You fear your emotions because of your false perception that being emotional causes you to lose control. When you are unhealthy emotionally, it is difficult not to have black-and-white, distorted thinking patterns. The reality is that life’s most important lessons come from your ability to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is a gateway to strength and deeper levels of understanding the true you.
Conditional vs. unconditional love – Conditional love prevents you from understanding that love is not something you must earn or win. You deserve love no matter who you are or where you are in life. You cannot create self-awareness if you fail to accept and love yourself without conditions. Women must learn to embrace themselves as sacred in order to understand and live with intention and purpose.
If you dread walking into work because you feel as if you’re entering into a black hole of chaos, you’re not completely wrong. Turns out, there are some similarities between a theoretical black hole and a scientific black hole. Scientifically speaking, a black hole is a region in space where the pulling force of gravity is so strong that light cannot escape. A black hole’s gravitational pull is so powerful because matter (lots of it) has been pressed into a tiny space.
For a healthcare organization doing everything it can to keep its head above water, the black hole phenomenon can be a powerful analogy. Does this description fit your organization? If so, then it’s probably time to ask: Are you creating a black hole working environment at your organization? Black hole work environments can emerge for a variety of reasons, but there are some common culprits. Sometimes black hole work environments develop over time through our habits. When growth has slowly creeped up onto an organization, the adage, “This is how we’ve always done it,” may be plaguing the organization, and its leadership may not even realize it. To be a strong leader, you must be able to spot these issues. As Robby Slaughter said, you must be able to build great professional relationships in order to lead.
Other times, it’s a matter of staffing. Black holes due to staffing occur most often in healthcare organizations in which the effects of being short-staffed have the potential to snowball out of control very quickly. Black hole work environments also emerge with chaos in a department or organization. If a department or organization is not well run, a black hole will appear, compounding stress and disorganization for everyone involved. Regardless the reason, black hole work environments exist because we have compressed so much into a tiny “space” that the light — good attitudes, ideas, productive communication, balance, and innovation — can’t escape the daily madness. When you have a black hole work environment, it can result in dismal outcomes on a variety of levels.
Your turnover will increase
When there’s so much work to be done and not enough people do it all, even your brightest stars will burn out. Those bright stars eventually leave for an organization that can recharge their energy, which naturally leads to turnover among teams.
Your team’s health will suffer
This goes not only for physical and mental health of your team members, but also for the team’s overall health: their ability to work together, support one another, and motivate each other to persevere rather than give up.
Details will suffer
If your work has many detailed, working parts that need keen attention, a black hole work environment will surely result in these details falling through the cracks.
With all of this in mind, is there any hope? Can an organization with a black hole work environment stand a chance of escaping its pull? Yes! And it all starts with recognizing that a black hole environment exists, understanding its origin, and resolving to repair the problems that led to its emergence in the first place. And, if you can one day make the black hole disappear, there is a silver lining. Take a look around your organization and see who has withstood the pressure and chaos. From the dysfunction, some brand new stars just may appear – and they are fantastic potential leaders for your organization.
I can't really define when it happened. The news has become mostly opinion. Check out any of the news websites. Read the headlines closely. You will probably find that over half will echo an opinion, or a perspective, not facts. I remember being taught in school (many, many years ago) how to write a newspaper article. It was about facts. It was making the headline echo the facts that were being reported. We were instructed to make the first paragraph contain all the important relevant facts. Expanded details about the facts should be added in additional paragraphs. Opinion was not to be included because we were reporting news. Yet as of late, it appears that the days of pure news reporting are quickly fading.
The rise of the internet as a tool for communication and information has destroyed our ability to read news. Blogs and newsletters (like this one) are common. We are attracted to reading opinion. It's fun. We are bombarded by articles such as, "The 5 Best Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in 30 Days". Do you really believe there is evidence in that article to support those claims. No. It is just one writer's opinion. In today's world, it is important that we distinguish between opinion and fact. The wide divide of opinions we experience is fueling the divide of society. Without understanding the facts, or a way to even discover the facts, we just become more divided.
To be fully clear and transparent, this post is opinion. I am not making up facts, but my thoughts are my perspective. This blog has one purpose, to challenge you to think about your perspective, not inherit mine. Thinking is a critical skill. I hope each week when you read any newsletter, blog post or news story, you stretch that muscle. But in a world which is increasingly more difficult to check facts, it is ever more important that you do. Now that we have so many ways to choose to communicate, we have to be thoughtful in the way that we do so. Ashley Lee took a look at AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter, consultant and a principal of AccelaWork, as he spoke with Inside Indiana Business about communication strategies. One of the biggest takeaways for me was this:
Communicate through StoriesWhen explaining a situation, use a name, tell the details in the order they happened, and describe the resolution. The arc of a good story lives forever in the mind of a listener.
Slaughter does caution readers however, to be careful about being silly, boastful, or overly clever. When we attempt to unnecessarily impress others or force laughter, it can oftentimes have an adverse effect. Instead, be intentional in your communication. If you end up conjuring laughs or compliments through genuine remarks, that is certainly great! The point is, find balance. If you do, you will end up being someone those around you consider a pleasurable conversationalist.
This seems to possibly be part of the reason why so many blogs and news articles are overly opinionated. They are communicating through stories, true, but it's that last part that counts the most. You must be intentional with your stories. If you're going into writing a piece with the desire to make people laugh or make people listen through boastful remarks, there is no way that article will ever be unbiased. In my experience, searching for scholarly articles that are peer reviewed is one of the best ways to ensure that someone's claims are true.
I'm someone who has worked in an office environment since I began working in my teens. The routine was simple and the same: Get up, shower, make coffee, drive, work, come home, eat, relax, sleep. Rinse and repeat. This probably sounds pretty familiar to most of you. So what happens when you're offered the opportunity to work from home? Well, your whole world changes, that's what. Like Ashley Lee said, giving your employees the ability to work remotely will create a balanced environment which not only increases productivity. This leads to happy employees and amazing new methods and ideas.
Consider this short list of benefits:
- Working remotely eliminates office distractions and interruptions, which in turn increases productivity.
- Working remotely creates a balanced level of responsibility and accountability where the employee can take ownership over his/her work without question.
- Working remotely adheres to specific employee needs that may otherwise be left unattended or flat out refused.
- Working remotely improves employee recruitment and retention.
Once I stepped into the remote world, I knew I'd never want to return to that office environment. I got way more done not dealing with office politics, gossip, and chatty coworkers. I've found a system that helps me stay on task.
Each day, when I've completed my work for the day, I make a list of what has to get done the next day. Just for that day. I use the Sticky Notes program on my computer to stick it to my desktop. I don't make a to-do list a mile long that includes an entire week of tasks. You're just asking for stress if you do that!
I've found working in 30 minute intervals helps me to be the most productive. I'm the kind of person that loses interest in things pretty easily. It's not a great attribute to have. I tried to pick up knitting and, after pouring over the manual for hours, I never touched it again. Working in intervals keeps me engaged and helps me finish each task before starting a new one.
Don't be afraid to zone out. If you pop over to YouTube or read a few threads on Reddit, give yourself time to do that. I like to call that a "reset." Look at the clock as you tab out of your work window and give yourself 5-10 minutes of reset time. It actually helps me to dive back in, almost like I have fresh eyes on the topic at hand.
If working remotely doesn't seem to be your taste, there are other options. In fact, there are companies that are coming up with a pretty interesting alternative. The Hindu has reported that some employers are investing in shared office spaces. These company-sponsored spots are popping up all around India.
India has around 350 shared-office operators, spread across 800 locations with Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai on top of the list, says a CBRE research.“In most cases, our homes are not built to function like a home-cum-office. Poor Internet speed and distractions at home are among reasons for employees seeking coworking space,” says Amit Ramani, founder and CEO of Awfis, which runs community workspaces at 40 centres.
What an interesting solution to a problem! Who knows, we may start seeing that trend here in the states. Would you be interested in working in a shared-office space rather than working from home? What other challenges might present themselves in this case? I guess we'll find out!
Perhaps you continue onward hoping for it to pass or end quickly. As you press forward it becomes very difficult to see even inches in front of your car. You are forced to pull off to the shoulder on the side of the road. There is nothing to do but wait. As you look around, other cars are doing the same. You may also notice that your passenger is completely silent and shaking nervously, your three children in the back seat quiet with a look of terror as the wind becomes more forceful.
You try to reassure them but now the car is beginning to tip from the harsh force of the winds. Hail begins to come down on the windows and rain continues to make it difficult for you to see. You know if you stay on this side of the road there is a likelihood your car will turn over into a ditch, and you immediately envision your children hitting the ceiling. What do you do? Do you have the courage to move to the other side of the road where there is less of a chance for your car to tip? Or do you take a deep breath and drive out, despite the risks?
We don’t often find ourselves trapped by weather, but we do see emotional thunderstorms everywhere. It can be hard to build emotional intelligence with this storm raging on. These storms can be at home, at work, or in other parts of our lives. If you find yourself caught in one, consider the following concepts to help you move forward in your journey.
Rest and Recovery
Taking time is the most critical component of surviving an emotional storm. Many believe they need to get busy ‘doing’ instead of ‘being’ to help their situation. If you begin to exhaust yourself during a storm without resting, your body and mind are unable to perform optimally, which creates emotional instability. The idea is not to ignore the situation but to make sure that you include plenty of rest before, during, and after the storm hits. Resting allows for clarity and deeper levels of understanding.
Shift Your Gaze
Triggers or reminders are all around you. Each time you wake or lay down to sleep you are preoccupied with your situation, leading to vivid dreams or even nightmares. If you are experiencing this level of torture by your storm, it’s time to shift your gaze. Shifting your gaze does not mean to ignore or avoid the problem. It simply means understanding that there is a deeper meaning behind the situation and to focus on that rather than the storm itself. Shift your gaze to the lesson the situation is teaching you. Focusing on the problem will only serve the purpose of keeping you stuck. The lesson can be as simple as not repeating a behavior. When you shift your gaze you begin to develop a greater understanding and acceptance of yourself and your purpose in life.
Remove Fear
We understand that fear only serves one purpose and that’s to keep us rooted in confusion, anger, past hurts, etc. Now is the time to remove fear in order to stand upright at a 90 degree angle in a tilted world. Removing fear simply means acknowledging that it exists but choosing not to allow it to dictate your actions.
Help Others
This can be one of the hardest when trying to move forward with your life. Many people believe they have too much going on to help others. The reality is that even though you are under tremendous amounts of stress, the lessons you are learning about your situation or even yourself could very well help the next person. Pain purifies us and we owe it to ourselves to share this purification process with others. You have no idea how your story could impact someone else that is suffering. Take the risk of moving yourself out of the storm even if you do not know what is ahead and if that’s too scary, take the steps necessary to move to the other side of the road.
If you didn't get a chance to take a look at the first post about our goals, it would be a good idea to start there first. In it, we talked about how important it is to know your reasons for creating goals. You can know you want to reach a goal but the most important question is why do you want to? We also learned how important it is that you hold yourself accountable to this plan by sharing it with the world or maybe just writing it down in your journal. Don't make empty resolutions! It can be tricky when you first start, but you don't have to lose your way if you follow these steps.
We're going to pick up right where we left off. Here are the last of the steps you can take to ensure that you stick to your new goals this year:
Join the Right Team
Have you ever heard the phrase that your success is determined by the company you keep? Can you imagine how your life would be different if your circle of influence included those people who have already accomplished many of the goals you are setting for yourself?
Sometimes it can be difficult to lose your friends, but if your friends are not supporting your growth, they are holding you back. Trade them in for someone more positive who will keep you headed in the right direction. Author Napoleon Hill describes a group of like-minded people as a “mastermind group” where a true synergy is created – the results of the mastermind group become greater than the sum of the individual contributions. BeginnerTriathlete.com is a great place to connect with others who have similar goals to your own. Plug into your mastermind group!
Follow the Right Coach
Last but not least, it is important to have a good coach. Have you ever stopped to really think about successful people? People who are top athletes, or business executives, or great piano players, for example. What most of these people have in common is that they did not learn everything on their own – they had teachers and coaches. In fact, I don’t know any successful business people, athletes, or simply those who are in great shape who don’t have coaches. I have coaches for fitness, coaches for business, and coaches for my personal life (“life coaches”).
A good coach will empower you to achieve your goals. They do this by helping you avoid the mistakes they’ve already made, or already witnessed their other clients make. You also benefit from their knowledge and experience without having to go through the entire process yourself. A quality coach will have a background in the area you are trying to improve, solid references, and will offer time to connect with you before you make a coaching commitment. This will allow you to decide if there is a fit to move forward and conquer your dreams together this year.
Conclusion
It’s great to make New Year’s resolutions, but do yourself a favor. Self-esteem is related to self-promises. When you break a promise to yourself, you lose a bit of your confidence and self-esteem. When you keep a promise, you gain confidence. Don’t commit to a resolution you are not ready to achieve. Don’t let your goals simply remain words on paper. Create a plan for success, tackle the areas we discussed and your New Year’s resolutions will truly stick this year.
Time is the limiting factor for all of us. When I get overwhelmed with work, something has to give. If not, life will get very frustrating. But, deciding what to give up can be trying. All of your tasks are important, right? Here are some things to consider.
When I think back over the last five years, I could have been more proactive in the way I chose to spend my time. We can choose what we drop, and choose what we add. If we don't someone else will choose for us. Having the ability to delegate really is the most important part of the whole process. If you can't pass some of the load to others, you will surely continue to struggle. Luckily, Robby Slaughter gave us a great list of signs that we need to be aware of so we know when we need to delegate responsibilities.
Signs We Need to DelegateI’ll include the original list from SystemRock:
- All you do is work.
- You’ve become a slave to your business.
- Things are falling through the cracks despite your best efforts.
- You have little to no time to yourself.
What else is there to add to that? Maybe a few things about attitude:
- People call you a “control freak.”
- You feel the need to re-do work that was done by others.
- You find it hard to work with colleagues or employees.
- You are generally tired and frustrated.
Delegating responsibilities is a pretty important aspect of business. Phil Foster at The HR Director agrees and posted an article where he took advice from some successful entrepreneurs on the topic. One that caught my eyes was a quote by Richard Bronson in a recent article ‘How to delegate when launching a business’:
If you really want to grow as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to learn to delegate. When my friends and I started up Virgin, I knew that I was lacking vital knowledge on some subjects, and so I started learning this skill very early on in my career.
Even some of the most successful businessmen agree that delegating is a huge part of being successful. Start now before the stress of your workload burns you out. Doing this can help you on your path to success!
"How did you overcome the many traumas in your life and manage to become successful?” The first time being asked these questions forced me to take a deep look inside myself. I had to evaluate where my sense of ‘self’ came from and how I overcame all that occurred in my life. I concluded that no matter what I had gone through, no matter how tough times got, I always knew without any doubt that I had something really important and worth valuing.
Although I did not understand at the time of my experiences what that meant or even how to label it as such, I realize now that I unintentionally trained myself to believe that my “being” is spiritually and physically sacred. What I now understand more clearly is that during the turbulent times, with all of the storms, the dysfunction was serving a purpose. It was preparing me to be the woman I am now. I was being molded early in life to serve the needs of those wounded in similar and not so similar ways than myself. I learned the true art of self-reflection and keeping promises I made to myself.
Often times as therapists, we have the unique opportunity to help various women learn the true essence of self-reflection wherein they create thoughtful awareness which cultivates a deep level of insight and intimacy with oneself. While teaching the art of self-reflection, interesting phenomena tend to surface in reference to how women view their sense of ‘self’. Usually women have learned to identify themselves with what they do for a living, what they have been through in life, and/or how someone else defines them.
But, none of these are accurate! What makes it difficult to identify our true selves is the way our society tends to position women. It is no longer ok to be ordinary! We are overly concerned with weight, fashion/clothes, the latest technology, looking younger and having money. This in turn causes women to avoid their true natural selves. Missing out on the many lessons vulnerability has to teach us, women go through life believing to be ok she has to have more, do more, and be more. In doing so we impede any personal growth opportunities which further oppresses our true identity and what we were created to do. These are the lessons that lead to your ability to embrace who you are and to confidently walk in your purpose:
Ego Vs the Unconditional Self - The main job of our ego is to protect us from perceived dangers. It allows space for us to remain subconsciously committed to the fears derived from childhood or adult traumas. The unconditional self allows us to surrender to all those things we believe make us who we are. I am who I am because I am, and that’s okay.
Fear vs Faith - We have all heard the cliché, faith cannot co-exist with fear. Yes some fears are normal; yet those that debilitate us, cause us excessive worry, or create dependency are not healthy for the ‘self’. Faith (which is not just a religious term) is the idea that even though I do not have access to the outcome, I know things will be okay. Try walking in faith, not fear, for one entire day. Observe how much easier situations are to conquer.
Opposition vs Opportunity - This one is hard, especially if you are used to seeing the world from a distorted lens because of life experiences. In every situation you encounter you are faced with two choices, to view it from an oppositional standpoint or to recognize the opportunity it provides. What allows you to differentiate between the two is perception.
Emotionally Stunted vs Vulnerability - We are emotionally the same age that we were whenever we encountered any type of trauma in our lives. As a result we avoid and are unaware of the lessons our emotions have to teach us. We fear our emotions because of our false perception that being emotional causes you to lose control. When we are unhealthy emotionally it is difficult not to have black and white distorted thinking patterns. The reality is, life’s most important lessons come from our ability to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is a gateway to strength and deeper levels of understanding the true you.
Conditional vs Unconditional Love - Conditional love prevents us from understanding that love is not something we must earn or win. We deserve love no matter who we are or where we are in life. We cannot create self-awareness if we fail to accept and love ourselves without conditions. We must learn to embrace ourselves as sacred and above any conditions in order to understand and live with intention and within our purpose.
In a recent article published in Inside Indiana Business, Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, shared his thoughts on leadership and innovation. He discusses the similarities between these two concepts, their significant differences, and lastly, how combining the two can achieve stellar results.
As a large proponent of both innovation at work and being leaders in the workplace, it's no secret that Slaughter has a handle on the similarities and differences between leadership and innovation. But, before we dive into his thoughts and perspective on the matter, consider first how your company views these two concepts.
While these questions may seem simple, they can tell you a lot about how you and/or your company weigh leadership and innovation. And understanding this perspective is what can help you move forward successfully in attaining both of these goals. Okay, moving on. Below are excerpts from Slaughter's article, "The Difference Between Leadership and Innovation". Consider his thoughts as you read and remind yourself about the questions above.
First, leadership and innovation are both statements about action. A person who is leading is doing something. They are not sitting around and waiting for something to happen to them. The same is true with innovators. People and organizations that innovate are actively working on new ideas. If you’re contemplating something that might change the world but not actually building anything, you’re not an innovator. You’re just a dreamer.Furthermore, leadership and innovation require total commitment to failure and responsibility. A leader is not someone who does everything personally. Consider the case of one NFL coach who failed to win a single game his entire first season. His name was Tom Landry. Leadership requires accepting that you will not win all of the time, and that as a leader you will move onward to determine what can be done differently. Innovation requires accepting that many new ideas you create will not succeed.
If leadership and innovation seem so closely aligned, how are they different? Leadership always requires facing opposition. On the other hand, innovation always requires exploring the unknown.Leaders have a public role in their community, and through the act of leading they invite criticism from others.
. . .
Innovation, however, can be pursued in relative isolation. You may be the first explorer in a new realm, or the first researcher in a remote area of study. You can innovate with a small team of peers or inside a large organization of compatriots. But in the same way that leaders know they will face opposition, innovators never know what they will discover.
It’s possible to be a leader without being an innovator. Sometimes, we don’t need to come up with new strategy. Instead, we need to execute the strategy effectively and build up the mental toughness needed to negotiate fairly with those oppose us. It’s possible to be an innovator without being a leader. Sometimes we need to be the researcher who is not limited by outside constraints, free to explore without the constant threat of problems.The best leaders, however, are also innovators. And the best innovators are also leaders. These are the individuals who are defined by action, who understand the role of failure and responsibility, who willingly face opposition, and who are ready to head into uncharted waters.
In all hopes you find Slaughter's thoughts helpful, insightful and downright inspiring. Whether you choose to forge a path in your office based on his advice or not, take today to carry his message in your mind. Let it sit and brew. You may just find that the leadership and innovation you're striving for are right there just waiting to be nurtured and grown.
Given the importance of flexibility, one would think that rigid policies would spell disaster. However, there are also times when a more strict and rigid approach is necessary. Firm, concise policies not only protect your organization’s interests, but also offers a safeguard for your customer as well. Here are three ways that non-negotiables can make your organization stronger.
Non-Negotiables Offer Guidance During Decision Making
When faced with a tough decision, your organization’s non-negotiables can be the deciding factors. Often, difficulty during the decision-making process is a symptom of unclear objectives. For example, when considering changes to your organization’s benefits structure, you may feel you need to choose between providing benefits versus staying solvent; it’s almost as if you’re engaging in a win/lose or give/take situation.
In cases like these, consider your organization’s core values, which should be non-negotiable. If one of these values is caring for the whole employee (in and out of the office), then your decision is much easier to make. Identifying your non-negotiable, core values will allow you to use the best judgment in every circumstance, and not have to second guess yourself when faced with tough decisions.
Non-Negotiables Create Your Culture
A strong company culture is vital for engaging employees, and often, it is your non-negotiables that create this culture. Think about the traits that you value most – these are likely the qualities that you encourage in your organization, and it’s these qualities that create your unique culture. People want to feel engaged and listened to, like their thoughts and opinions matter. As I've said before in a previous article about employee engagement, you have to inspire employees.
Much digital ink has been spilled over the Millennial desire to be engaged, but the truth is, the desire for engagement isn’t limited to a certain age-range. And while giving employees fun treats and perks can do a lot, remember that these should be part of a deeper engagement strategy.
For example, valuing respect for others and trust in your peers creates a different culture than an organization that values high efficiency and fiscal health. Because culture is ingrained in every level of your organization, your culture must be clearly set and defined. What better way to create a unique culture than to define the values that you know are non-negotiable?
Non-Negotiables Determine Your Must-Do’s
The old adage says, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In your organization, your best practices are most likely defined, but how often are these best practices put aside for tomorrow? You may intend to carry out your best practices consistently, but good intentions equal nothing unless they are put into action. Consistency is the secret sauce that transforms your best practices from good intentions into measurable successes. If you make it clear that your best practices are non-negotiable, your best practices become must-do’s instead of might-do’s. This sets the stage for best practices, every day.
Flexibility is important in many settings, but non-negotiables will always have a place in high-functioning organizations. Although the term “non-negotiable” can have a negative connotation, there are times when it pays to be inflexible. After all, you cannot compromise your way to excellence. In order to achieve the targets that you have set for your organization, you must have a set of rules, ideologies, or practices that are non-negotiable. What are the non-negotiables in your organization? What are the core values that drive the customer experience?
"Alignment shops and dentists started celebrating last September." IBJ reporter Chris O'Malley goes on to explain, "That's when contractors hired by the city began milling worn-out asphalt on downtown streets.
I grant you, the point to the article’s opener became apparent come the second sentence, but not before I had time to ask myself, “dentists and alignment shops? What does one have to do with the other?” To say I was baffled and thoroughly confused by this would be an accurate statement. As a freelance copywriter, it’s always my goal to use keyword phrases in the title. I also want to make sure that the first sentence or two of each blog post coincide with search engines that match my content; keeping in mind the common search terms online readers use. Diane Corriette of Mindsetofablogger.com uses the 80/20 rule, with keywords in both the title and the opening sentence at least 80% of the time. This is a great rule to live by as a blogger not to mention an easy one to remember.
Robby Slaughter, a principal of AccelaWork, productivity expert and avid blogger, has shared his views on search engine optimization (SEO) over the years. In one of his articles posted on Deep Ripples website, Slaughter encourages bloggers to use and take full advantage of keywords that promote your particular business:
A considerable proportion of the content you produce as part of your online marketing strategy has a clear pattern. This may not be obvious until you open back the hood and examine text in more detail. For example, this blog post is built around a handful of key phrases. An SEO expert can readily identify them, but so can the casual reader—if they are paying attention.That means that when you go to create content such as a blog post, you can start with the structured pieces, such as the keywords. This makes the entire process much smoother. You’re filling in the gaps between the structure with information that makes sense.
But search engine optimization aside, the press release aspect of writing for business dictates that the first ten words of any post be effective in engaging interest. And, when it comes to writing in general, Ruth Belena of Helium.com takes this idea one step further:
“The importance of an opening sentence," says Belena, "is so great that many writers wait until they have completed a book, or finished a piece of writing before they focus on the first few lines. Some writers spend more time," she adds, "writing, reviewing, and revising an opening sentence than on the rest of their writing.”So how can blog writing for business make the most effective use of all this advice about amazing opening sentences? Sources such as The Happy Freelancer says opening sentences can:
I think I can use the IBJ opener to add a fourth item to the list: Startle readers. (What on earth do dentists and alignment shops have in common?) Naturally, blog content writers are going to be upbeat about their own businesses. And strategically speaking, companies are going to use their blog posts as part of their marketing strategy and tactics development. But, in offering business blogging assistance, my Say It For You question has to be: is: Do your blog posts begin with a "downbeat"?
Staying calm, composed and maintaining strong self-esteem in today’s tough environment can be difficult, but is not impossible if you follow a few simple guidelines. You need to be aware that everything and everyone else around you can affect your self-esteem. Other people can deliberately or inadvertently damage your self-image. Unchecked people and circumstances can ultimately destroy your self-esteem and pull you down in ways you won’t even notice. Don’t let these influences get the best of you. But what should you avoid? Remember what my friend Paul Martinelli, president of the John Maxwell Team says, “If someone else can make you sad, mad or glad...you’ve been had.”
Beware of a “dog eat dog” environment where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where unappreciative people usually thrive. Where working extra is expected not rewarded or worse, even acknowledged. In this environment no one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch, dinner, and stay at work late into the night. We all know how it is to deal with annoying coworkers You can’t escape; that is of course, unless you are very fortunate to have a good leader or boss. Most of the time you will work too hard with no help from the others around you. This type of atmosphere will ruin your self-esteem. Not only is it unhealthy, but the brutality of unrelenting competition could pose lasting damage.
Bulldozers, brown-nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, (I feel like Ralphie in the movie, A Christmas Story, when the lug nuts hit the snow as I list these off) exploders, patronizers, sluffers – whatever you want to call them, all have one thing in common: An overriding desire to prosper at the expense of others. Avoid them and do not be tempted to join them. They may get some short term advantage with their behavior, but deep down most are very insecure, unhappy and ashamed of their behavior. For most, their self-esteem disappeared a long time ago. Seeing someone like this prosper is sickening, but do not join them. You are better than that!
In today’s fast moving society it is difficult if not impossible to avoid change. Changes challenge our paradigms and test our flexibility, adaptability and alter the way we think. Changes can make your life difficult and may cause stress but, if it’s inevitable, you must accept it, don’t fight it. In time, you will find ways to improve your life. Try to manage change and try to avoid multiple changes at the same time. If a particular change can’t be avoided, welcome it. Change will be with us forever, we must learn to live with it. The element with the most flexibility will be the controlling element. Stay flexible.
Let's take a break and continue on next time. Take time to reflect back on these first few tips and think about how you can apply them to your own work and home life. How can you respond to these challenges using these tips? We will take a look at the final three steps in the next post, so when you're ready take a peek at part two!
To me, hearing or reading about other people's success stories is an unbelievable boost. For one, it provides a great sense of positive emotion that reassures me in my own doubt or worry. Second, it creates an opportunity to learn and grow in my own experience and through my own perspective. Lastly, it's a great reminder that life isn't perfect and no matter what occurs, there are ways to not just survive---but to thrive.
My son is dyslexic and is also challenged with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). As you can imagine, academics do not come easy. Since he began school, he's suffered one way or another and has struggled with new challenges every step of the way. As a mother, it's painful to witness because no matter how much I try to help, ultimately it is up to him to take control of his challenges and overcome them his way. As I look toward his future, I often worry what it will bring and how he will manage. But this I know: his struggles will make his success, not break it. And here's why: Challenges provide opportunity to build perseverance, creativity and character.
Did you know that Richard Branson is dyslexic? Yes. The billionaire entrepreneur who founded Virgin Group and has investments in all areas of business and leisure including space travel. Incredibly, this unbelievably successful and intelligent man spent his formative years struggling in school. Recently, he published a letter he wrote to his 10 year-old self, which is awe-inspiring; particularly to children like my son who are going through similar struggles. It is quite lengthy, so below are some highlights, but if you have an opportunity to read the letter in full it's absolutely worth it.
Dear Ricky,I’m writing to you from more than 50 years in the future. You’re a lot older now, and while you’ve lived a happy and healthy life with no regrets, I have some advice for you.
You know how you love to play outdoors and explore the world around you? Never stop doing that. Always seek adventure. Learn to swim, find your own way home, and climb trees with Lindy, Vanessa and your friends. The spirit of adventure will keep you curious; open your mind to great opportunities; and steer you on a lifelong quest to prove that impossible is just a word ...
Your imagination is one of your greatest gifts . . . You will face many challenges, and often feel like you don’t fit in and that you can’t always keep up. Don’t let this hold you back. Use your imagination to find inventive ways around it. Your ability to think differently will become one of your biggest advantages in life – taking you places where most straight-A students will never go.
Challenges will be a constant in your life. You will make a lot of mistakes and fail time and time again. But don’t let this discourage you. Failure teaches us life’s greatest lessons, and often shows us a better way of doing things. Don’t ever let failure get you down. Everyone fails.
Above all, always remember to have fun. As you grow older you will realize just how important it is to do what you love and love what you do. Don’t waste your time doing things that don’t excite you. Find your passions and go out there and grab at them with both hands. Life is for living and try to enjoy every day.
Here on The Methodology Blog, we often talk about failure and how it teaches. We've discussed breaking the educational mold and turning fear into innovation. We amp up the idea of creativity in the workplace. We encourage our readers to strive for happiness in your job. These are the notions we must remind ourselves of when problems arise and overwhelm us in our jobs. We are only as good as our outlook is on a situation and that is how challenges make us, not break us. We must rise to the occasion as they say and stand confident. Never doubt ourselves. Instead, be true to our thoughts, choices and decisions. Richard Branson is proof of this and so is my son, who always has his nose in a book, loves to act in his school plays and is a thriving, confident and happy 5th grade student at Fortune Academy, an Indianapolis-based school designed specifically for children with learning differences such as dyslexia and ADHD.
Don’t allow difficulties in your job and in your life keep you from accomplishing your goals. Instead, face them confidently and without hesitation. Dive in to the challenge knowing it won’t be easy, but every step forward is a success that can be relished and celebrated.
A work-life balance is something we all wish we had. To me it has always seemed elusive. I can only do one thing at a time, so balance must come from splitting time among activities that I care about. At any one moment, balance is an illusion. Victor Hugo wrote, "To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better." Harmony may be a better way to evaluate our efforts, rather than balance. As a reflection exercise this week, I focused on the word balance. Here are some thoughts I had.
For me, balance may always be just out of reach, but maybe that is a good thing. How do you find balance in your life? What steps do you take on a daily basis to ensure that you're distributing time for relaxation at home while performing your duties well at work? If you're not careful, you may end up like so many others with the label of "workaholic." Pam Ruster explained to us what this means:
In the present economy, it is not uncommon that people find themselves working longer hours for the same money out of the pressures to keep their job. A person in this situation will take on some of the same characteristics of someone who works excessively which may result in relationship or health problems, similar to a smoker who continues to smoke even though it is not in their best interest. Another type of person that can be identified as a workaholic is the person with a previous addiction, but has now ceased that drug of choice. They may find themselves working more and developing a workaholic profile, seeing it as less harmful compared to the previous addiction.
Some people who already have an addictive personality type may find that they are throwing themselves into their work (almost like an addict would). In fact, this isn't all that uncommon. A contributor at The Chronicle of Higher Education talked about her own experience with no work-life balance and how it affected her.
So what’s the problem? Last fall I physically collapsed.I had been a fairly healthy person. But suddenly my body refused to heal from a simple infection, leading to inflammation that left me bedridden and unable to perform most of my duties for five long weeks. Even when the physical symptoms started to improve, I was unable to focus on my work. Never before had I felt what it was like to burn out completely.
Even someone who is highly educated fell victim to the blurred lines of a working life and a home life. This doesn't have to be your story too. Have clear separation between your two worlds and don't be afraid to use that vacation time, even if it means relaxing at home!
If you haven't had the opportunity to read the first part of this list, you can go back and read it here. Otherwise, let's continue now on our journey toward self-improvement! Check out the rest of the tips below.
We all carry “baggage”, which is a way to reference past experiences that have molded us into who we are today. Some people live in their past experiences; particularly those who cannot get over the hurt that previously occurred. It’s okay to cry out when you experience pain, but don’t let pain dominate your life as it will transform itself into fears and phobias. If something painful happens, or has happened to you, find a way to minimize the effects. Perhaps try to change your thinking. Discuss it with a friend, a family member or a professional if necessary and move on. Don’t let it continue to dominate your life and dictate your future actions. Just because something bad has happened doesn’t mean it will happen again. Learn what you can from any bad experience and move on. Ask yourself, what did I learn? How can I grow?
The television news is full of doom and gloom and it is true that around the world there are many people suffering war, famine or other natural or man-made disasters. While I don’t suggest you do nothing, remember that there are many beautiful positive things happening too. Don’t wrap yourself up with all the negative aspects around the world. Learn to look for beauty too for, in building self-esteem, we must learn how to be positive in a negative world. Remember the old saying by World War II General, “Vinegar” Joe Stillwell: “Illegitmi Non Carborundum.”
Are we a product of our biological inherited characteristics (nature) or a result of the influences we absorb throughout our lives (nurture)? I believe how we are is due to a mixture of both nurture and nature, and as a result, our behavioral traits are not fixed. Whilst it is true that some things are dictated by genetics (for example race, color and many inherited conditions), your environment and the people in your life have a major effect on your behavior. The late Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you hang around with.” You are your own person, you have your own identity and make your own choices. The characteristics your mother or father display are not your destiny. Learn from other people’s experience, so you don’t suffer the same mistakes.
Are some people are born leaders or positive thinkers? I don’t believe so. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self-esteem and drawing on positive experiences for self-improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. No one will come to you and give you permission to build your self-esteem and improve yourself. It is in your control. It can be hard to keep positive, especially when others and circumstances seem to be conspiring to pull you down. You need to protect yourself and give yourself a chance to stay positive. Improving your self-esteem gives you that protection.
One way to stay positive is to minimize your exposure to harmful influences while using affirmations to boost the positive influences in your life. Constantly reminding yourself of the good things in your life will keep the impact of negative influences to a minimum. Another way to stay positive is to make sure your goals are set and set correctly. A “compelling why” will surely pull you through when you need it.
As a professional offering business blogging services, I can see that verbification might be viewed as negative when it comes to company branding and corporate identity. For Bayer Pharmaceuticals, this couldn't have been more true. In 1921, Bayer lost Aspirin as a U.S. Trademark. The result? Thereafter, the name aspirin became the common term people used to refer to any type of pain reliever.
This is an example of process called "genericide". In recent years, Google executives, for example, may have worried that verbifying their company name might turn their search engine process into the next aspirin disaster. In 2006 however, Merriam Webster added the verb "google" (spelled with a small "g") to its dictionary, defining it as 'a transitive verb meaning to use the Google search engine to obtain information". In the end, this verbification proved to create two things: 1.) an overall boost for Google and 2.) a lofty goal for other search engines such as Bing. According to Thomas Pitoniak, the associate editor and composition manager for Merriam-Webster:
Google is a unique case. Because they have achieved so much prominence in the world of search, people have been using the word google as a generic verb now. Our main aim is to respond to the use of the language that we see. We consider ourselves very respectful of trademark. That (google as a lowercase verb) is really a lexicographical judgment based on the evidence that was analyzed.
Mignon Fogarty aka Grammar Girl, dissected the idea of verbification on her blog, going as far back in its history as 1598. Interestingly enough, she points out that perhaps the concept of verbifying isn't as dangerous a thing as why people worry about it occurring in the first place:
The perception seems to be that people are verbifying nouns faster than they used to. And one complaint is that it's lazy writing to verbify words willy-nilly. For example, I was listening to Life Online with Bob Parsons, the GoDaddy CEO's podcast, and he was talking about a reporter who used the word “GoDaddification” to describe how the sexy “Obama Girl” music videos have affected the political landscape. To me, that's an example of a horrible verbification, and I can't imagine it was fueled by anything but laziness.
Ultimately, Grammar Girl looks at this verb-forming phenomenon as harmless:
Verbification has been going on for a long time, and it's part of how language evolves, especially when we're coming up with words for new inventions, like lasers, microwaves, and Web searches.
In offering business blogging help, I'd say the same holds true in writing for business--more verbs makes for more dynamic blog content. Especially when it comes to boosting smaller companies. I wonder if achieving verbification of the business brand should be an actual goal of a blog marketing strategy? According to an article on a New York Times blog, for start-ups, the ultimate goal is becoming a verb. Nick Bilton, author of the piece, points out that while verbification was once viewed as a perilous happenstance in business, now is becoming the wave and motivation for the future.
. . . although some company names had become standard verbs, including Xerox, Rollerblade and FedEx, the fear in the past was that such company names would be so commonly used that they would become “generified,” potentially losing trademark status.Over the last several years this mentality has rapidly shifted as the Web has taken off. Now the power of word-of-mouth marketing can lead to widespread awareness of a start-up.
“What is new is that in recent years some technology companies have begun to think of ‘verbing’ as a good thing,” Mr. Shapiro said in an e-mail. “Their thinking is that there is a strong positive marketing value from verbing, because verbs connote activity and excitement and because widespread use of a mark as a verb extends brand recognition.”
Here's a verbification challenge for you:
Think about what noun your business can turn into a verb. Would you consider introducing it, then repeating it frequently in blog posts, emails, tweets, and promotions? It's definitely valuable to at least think about right?
Larry "Chipper" Jones was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Chipper Jones was taken by the Atlanta Braves with the first overall pick in Baseball's 1990 Amateur Draft. He spent his entire 19 year Major League career with the Braves and won the National League batting title by hitting .364 in 2008. Chipper Jones was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1999. He was an eight-time All-Star. His lifetime batting average was .303, and he belted 468 home runs.
Chipper Jones should be remembered as one of the best third baseman of all-time and one of the best switch hitters of all-time. His 1,623 RBI is the most ever for a third baseman. His 468 homers ranked third for switch hitters behind only Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray. Jones is the only switch hitter whose lifetime batting average is over .300 with more than 400 home runs.
We all are after consistency. As William Shakespeare said, "Consistency, thou art a jewel." Chipper Jones was mighty consistent with 20 or more home runs for 15 straight years. And on six occasions, he hit 30 or more homers. As a rookie in 1995, Jones hit 23 home runs and helped the Braves win the World Series. Jones' quote about seeing the ball and making the most of every opportunity is critical. Quite often, the batter only will get one good pitch to hit per plate appearance. Consistency is a goal everywhere in life and at work. Jack Klemeyer tells us that, in order to be consistent, you must be able to put yourself first.
Understand that setting up goals and making plans is easy, executing them is the hard part. Excitement and motivation gets you going, but it’s the discipline that keeps you going which makes the Law of Consistency so important to your development. Look for inspiration all around you, every day there are plenty of examples you just have to be aware of it and to look for it. Choose something that pertains to your unique individual needs. A self-help video is an excellent way to get in tune with new ideas with minimal time commitment.
Chipper Jones had great eye-hand coordination and could get the barrel of the bat on the ball even against very tough pitchers. Chipper Jones knew how to set-up pitchers. He had a great approach to hitting and was kind enough to advise young players, thereby making them better hitters. Chipper Jones also was a good base runner. It is not only understandable that Chipper Jones was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot, but it's also easy to understand why he received 97.2% of the vote!
Jones also knows what it means to be unhappy, both in his career and at home. Though the man was great at baseball, his relationships seemed to suffer, if is his two failed marriages are any clue. But he fought through that with his eye on a bigger prize: Assistant GM. He's found happiness in his career and life. As he recently said:
I’m not unhappy anymore. I can’t wait until the day’s over so I can go home. I was one of the few guys who prayed for extra innings so I didn’t have to go home. That’s a bad place to be personally, and it takes its toll on you. It took me three tries to find the right one, and we’re having a blast. I don’t want to mess that up by being gone eight months.
We're seeing more and more companies offering the ability to work from home. It's more cost effective and can end up being beneficial not only for the company, but for the individual as well. There are definitely pros and cons, as Robby Slaughter explained in this infographic about remote and office workers. What was the biggest takeaway?
Remote Workers Say They Get More DoneThe first big number on the graphic is the claim that “91% of remote workers assert that they get more done outside of the office.” Don’t read too much into this. After all, it’s a survey of 500 people who work remotely. You have to think that most of them would prefer their current arrangement, so they are going to say that they are more productive out of the office.
But at the same time, there’s tremendous power in not having to go into work. You save the time of the commute, the cost of professional clothes, and you avoid the interruption factory that is the modern office. For lots of people and lots of reasons, working remotely just makes sense.
There are downsides, though. The biggest one would be the fact that you can feel pretty alone. Office workers do have the ability to interact with each other. Humans are generally social creatures so being tucked away in a room, alone, all day, can start to make you feel like Jack from The Shining. Going Concern has come up with some ideas that are pretty interesting. Thankfully, these are some pretty simple tips that you can put to use in order to avoid freezing to death in a maze.
1. Use Technology
We've talked before about different technology to use that will keep you engaged with coworkers. The first option that Going Concern mentions is called Slack. I personally use it and let me tell you, it's pretty amazing. It's so simple to use. Whether using the chat function or simply just one place to upload documents, it keeps everything easily searchable with different channels to use.
2. Have Fun
Generally, remote workers don't really get to go on office outings. Sometimes, they may even be forgotten for holiday parties. It doesn't have to be this way for you, though.
“It’s easy for remote workers to feel isolated, and without a way to build camaraderie, it’s easy for everyone to go their own way instead of pulling together and working as a team,” says Patti Scharf, Co-Founder and COO of Catching Clouds.
You can send out emails to your team, encouraging everyone to get involved. Maybe make fun little getting-to-know-you polls. You could even create an area for workers to play some online games together. There are tons of options out there but one that I personally have used is ASO Brain Games. Be warned, though. It's super addictive!
3. Avoid Frustration
In the end. there's only so much you can do to foster good relationships with your coworkers. It's really up to management to enforce good practices and encourage communication.
“It can be very difficult to integrate remote workers, because that essentially implies a hybrid model,” says Caleb Stephens, Controller at Automattic. “Hybrid models can be really hard to pull off if they aren’t functionally aligned.”
So what does this mean for you? If you're not feeling involved as a remote worker or maybe you're an office worker that feels disconnected, it may be time to dust off your resume and look elsewhere.
Finding the thing that motivates you is one thing, it is quite another to stick with it. And even while you have already succeeded in identifying what motivates you, the temptation to give in to more convenient, easier things like procrastination are much more powerful than getting yourself up and going. At the time it doesn’t seem like it will hurt. “I’m just gonna sit here for one more…”
Hey, I’ve been there! How about you?
Perhaps it’s time to identify and/or admit to yourself that lacking motivation or deliberately making yourself feel demotivated is one of the worst avenues to take when it comes to bad habits. Something isn’t quite right when you refuse to wake up on time to get to your office. Or, when you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the power of procrastination when you have deadlines to beat. You know that something is going wrong inside you when the task you have to finish several days ago sits idly on your desk, untouched. And something is not right when you can’t even force yourself to confront a problem that has been gnawing your will to live fully. You lack even the motivation to accept that you are not motivated. So how do you build your motivation from the ground up? How can you spark that motivation?
It always starts with very simple things in a very natural manner. Then it starts to affect the other aspects of your life, which are not entirely connected with the thing that triggered your lack of motivation. Maybe you just didn’t feel like getting up after your alarm went off one morning. The next day, you did the same thing and on and on until you developed the bad habit of not feeling motivated to do anything.
The first effective step to gaining back your sense of motivation is to figure out the thing or things that sap the energy out of you. It could be a small thing like not waking up in time or a really serious thing like hating everything about your job. No matter what the form, you can identify the things that sap out your energy by their power to make you feel discouraged. Start with the sample exercise of listing down the areas in your life where you find no motivation to pursue at all and the particular things which you think makes you feel disheartened. This will help you gain some perspective on the entire issue. You can even derive solutions in simply knowing the cause. This will shed clarity on your issues with motivation.
Believe us, there are benefits to having no motivation – immediate self-gratification in the form of rest for one. And there are risks, for sure. Plenty of them. And the risks oftentimes outweigh the benefits. Discovering the risks and benefits of not feeling motivated could be very enlightening. In general, you would realize that it is never worth it to procrastinate, to give in to the temptation of hating to move a finger to finish your tasks, or to deliberately believe that it is much more gratifying to lie around and do nothing. Finally, commit yourself to change. This is not easy, it never was. But try to set the date for mustering your sense of motivation. Check in on yourself on a regular basis to make sure that you’re still on track!
An astonishing amount of the information in our world arrives as interruptions. That means we have no choice but to deal with it (or at least spend time ignoring it.) And if your job deals with the life and safety of others, those interruptions can have an even bigger impact. According to a study in the academic journal Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology, some 92% of calls made to the X-Ray room have a negative impact on workflow.
An article in Radiology Business explains:
Radiologists field hundreds of calls a week in the reporting room, corresponding author Christopher Watura, MBChB, and colleagues wrote. Of those calls, less than 10 percent are considered appropriate interruptions to radiologists’ workflow. “It is part of everyday practice for healthcare professionals to interrupt one another to communicate urgent information,” Watura et al. wrote. “When an individual’s attention is diverted from [the] primary task, memory of the primary task begins to decay while processing the interrupting task. After returning to complete the remainder of the primary task, the likelihood of making an error is increased.”
This information shouldn't be a surprise to most professionals. If your job is to get things done and then the phone rings, it often prevents you from getting those things done.
It's not as if the telephone is always evil. Our own Jack Klemeyer explains that selling over the phone can be a great way to reach out to people you already know and offer them a product or service that makes sense. Even if it is an interruption, it can end up being valuable.
And Ashley Lee has written about telephone productivity tactics before. Her advice is to think about the seconds and minutes you're spending, and make changes accordingly.
But there's something bigger at stake: telephone protocol inside organizations. In short, you should almost never interrupt another person you work with by calling them on the phone.
Just like the study of X-ray technicians, phone calls inside organizations typically interrupt workflow. If you need to tell someone else something, you can probably send them an email. In years and years of working with some of our current team members, I can't think of the last time we spoke on the phone unscheduled. We all get things done every day. We all contribute to the organization. But why do we need to speak to each other live and without any planning?
Obviously, emergencies happen. But they are rare, and in most businesses, they can be mitigated with planning. It's not that we should be afraid to call people on the phone. But rather, we should only do it when we are confident it's worth interrupting their workflow.
Because sometimes, there is a real crisis and we need to get the relevant people on the phone. But that is extremely uncommon.
If an unplanned, unexpected call interrupts people and negatively impacts their ability to get back to work, what about putting one on the calendar?
As long as it meets the criteria of any other good meeting (one that exists to make decisions, brainstorm new ideas, or possibly to conduct some training) then it's a fantastic idea. Everyone who is participating can plan their day around the pre-existing schedule. They won't be interrupted. And they can follow up the call by getting back to work.
Hopefully the phone won't ring the next time you're in the radiologist’s office. But if it does, hopefully they won't be distracted and make a mistake on your X-ray. The ability to concentrate matters. Help your team to do it by giving them the space to get things done.
As a reflection exercise, I sometimes like think about something I value from my perspective. Recently I spent some time thinking about competence. Competence means possessing the skill, knowledge, and ability to effectively perform. It provides significance and context for our actions. Here are four things I know about competence.
1. I am never as good as I think I am.
It is human nature to see things unfold better in our minds than in reality. I never practice missing a 30 foot golf putt in my mind. But when playing, I miss more than I make. When I take time to think through an idea before taking action, I plan for a positive outcome. The basis of self-confidence is belief that we can be successful, the reality is we must fail along the way.
2. I can always improve.
Improvement is a never-ending process because I am not perfect. I am not even close to perfect. Any competence I possess can be improved. I can gain new knowledge, or increase my skill, or invest time in practice. Master pianists have natural talent, but their competence comes from hard work. It is the same with me.
3. I care more about my skills than anyone else.
Others can only judge my competence from their perspective. However, my perspective is more important. My evaluation of myself determines my actions. Do I work to improve, or am I content with my current level of competence? External influences affect my plans, but ultimately from within me comes my motivation to improve. No one can force me to become better without my participation.
4. I must use and improve my competence in order to keep it.
If a surgeon returns from a five year hiatus, would you want to be their first patient for surgery? If I do not use my skills, they will begin to lose proficiency. Some investment of time is required to maintain my level of competence.
Throughout our lives we gain and lose competence based on the decisions we make and the time that we invest. Taking time to reflect on competence has helped me challenge myself. How do you improve or maintain your competence level? We all can improve in some way and many of us let our own self-improvement fall to the wayside. Why is that? Why do we stop taking care of ourselves so easily? Jack Klemeyer explained his thoughts on the issue of putting yourself first.
Personal development means loving yourself. You should make sure that you take care of yourself as well as your character. Feed your body when it needs nourishment, and don’t shame yourself for things you cannot change about your situation. Acceptance is the key to being humble and overcoming adversity. Experiment with your options. Try on new passions, personality traits and other personal touches to see if they might be a source of enjoyment for you. You may come across new ways to express yourself that come naturally and communicate your values with ease. This is an excellent way to present yourself in new, honest ways to others and keeps your personality dynamic. One way that you can do that is to check out some Toastmasters club in your area.
What a wholesome and important concept! If you want to develop your own skills and get better, stronger, and more productive, then you have to focus on yourself. You can't improve if you're not putting yourself first, even for a little bit.
Even though many people feel this same way, it’s essential to remember that If you want to grow at work and in your career, it’s crucial that you engage regularly in feedback conversations with both your manager and your direct reports. No matter what industry you work in or what your job title is, getting honest, productive feedback is totally necessary if you want to learn new things and master new skills. Make it a top priority to regularly check in with your team to show your coworkers that you care about your own personal growth and theirs.
If you aren’t prepared, feedback conversations can be even more challenging. To minimize the likelihood of an awkward conversation, here are a few tips:
If you struggle with giving constructive feedback, do not worry for another minute! Small-business financial company Fundera created this interesting infographic that will help increase your confidence when you are faced with giving criticism to a colleague. Take a look:
Though it’s tough to give criticism, make sure that you do not shy away from these discussions! If your company prioritizes clear and consistent feedback, you are much more likely to have engaged employees and experience less turnover. Your employees will also be much more likely to have a clear understanding of their overall performance, which means that they will have greater opportunity to grow and advance. These conversations get easier over time, so make sure to practice and prepare so that you begin to feel less intimidated.
Meredith Wood is Editor-in-Chief at Fundera. Specializing in financial advice for small business owners, Meredith is a current and past contributor to Yahoo!, Amex OPEN Forum, Fox Business, SCORE, AllBusiness and more.
A common problem many people voice is that they have struggled to get contacts to refer them to others. You're definitely not alone. Check out these tips below!
Tip # 1: Discipline Yourself to a Routine of ‘Asking’
Here’s something profound: The reason most of us do not get referrals on a routine basis is because we do not ask for them on a routine basis. Well, it’s almost that simple. What would be the upside on your year-end bottom line if you asked for 2 referrals from each of your new customers? Let’s say you average 6 sales per month. That would be 12 referrals per month or 144 per year. Conservatively, you close half of those because they are warm referrals. Multiply 72 by your average revenue per sale. Then calculate your commission percentage off of the total revenue sold. Now ask yourself if you can afford not to ask for referrals on a routine basis.
Tip # 2 Develop a process to ‘Set the Stage’
Asking for a referral is one thing, but how many times do you actually get one? Execute a Powerful Routine after you acquire a new customer, and request permission for 3 additional minutes to get their professional feedback. Ask a series of questions soliciting their opinion on ways you can be more effective with your sales process, from initial contact to point of sale, with individuals in the same industry and parallel titles. You are now setting the stage for your future success. Over time, your contacts will give you a free ‘Masters Degree.’ Remember to ‘Pack your bags, but set the stage.
Tip # 3: Communicate to a “Win-Win” Agreement
Be honest and sincere in reference to the importance of referrals for running your business effectively. Tell your story and be sure to communicate skillfully. If you have a high referral ratio let them know that and why it is high. Customers respect a good businessperson more than a good salesperson. Try to pick a time when the contact would feel comfortable giving a referral to help your business. That may not be at the point of sale, but upon service implementation or some time in the future when you have proved you delivered what you promised. The important point is you must define with the contact when it can happen or what criteria need to be met for it to happen.
Tip # 4: Follow through in order to receive a consistently high ratio of referrals.
You may not ask for a referral until (a) the service has been implemented and (b) the customer is satisfied. But as described in Tip #3, you want to minimally set a referral foundation at the point of sale and receive a commitment to when you’ll receive one. Now, this is very important. Always write in your day timer, planner or mobile device in front of the contact when the expectation is set, and let them know you are making note of it. Treat it like an appointment for your future success. It’s sound business and will afford you a higher closing ratio, shorter sales cycle and most importantly, more referrals! So, follow-up and get it!
Tip # 5: Develop a Referral Program
Be creative. Give up some money or give some unique gifts. Maybe it’s a gift certificate to a local restaurant (hopefully a customer) or a graduated percent off of their next invoice. An entrepreneurial mind will come up with a few flexible programs that fit your level of buyer. After all, you’re not putting anything out until the referral is sold. The old saying, “money makes money” is still true. Besides the potential tax benefits (check with your accountant), contacts absolutely enjoy getting a little something. Measure the ROI and the benefit will be evident. Make it a system and follow the system.
Check back soon for part two of this post!
Dave DeBusschere played in the NBA for 12 years (Detroit Pistons 1962-68; New York Knicks 1968-74). DeBusschere was an eight-time All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team six straight times. DeBusschere averaged 16.1 points; 11 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his career. Dave DeBusschere was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983, and in 1996 he was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary all-time team.
Dave DeBusschere was a player-coach for the Pistons for almost three seasons. He played professional baseball for four years; two of them with the Chicago White Sox. He gave up baseball after the 1965 season to focus on strictly on basketball. In his post NBA playing career, Dave DeBusschere was General Manager of the Nets, Commissioner of the ABA and General Manager of the Knicks.
It was a privilege to watch Dave DeBusschere play basketball. Not only was he a talented player, but he also was totally unselfish, a true "team man" and that added to his greatness. DeBusschere played hard, had a good outside shot, would drive to the basket, played tenacious defense, and was a fine rebounder. It should be mentioned that his fellow Knick teammates, Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley, also were completely unselfish. The Knicks' Captain, Willis Reed, also was a "team guy." With talented players and the concept of finding the "open man," the Knicks won two Championships (1970 & 1973).
Dave DeBusschere also had the potential to be a fine Major League pitcher. His win total was in double digits in each of his two seasons with the Indianapolis Indians (1964 & 65). He gave up baseball after the 1965 season to focus on playing and coaching basketball. DeBusschere preferred the closeness and togetherness of the basketball court. He said there was a feeling of "being alone" on the mound. At AccelaWork, teamwork is highly valued, too. Ashley Lee shared her thoughts on boosting team performance and I'm willing to bet that Dave DeBusschere would agree with her as he was such a strong leader.
Teamwork is about finding the middle ground between perspectives without diverting from the ultimate goal of success. It involves the humbling of oneself; to step outside personal opinion, look at the greater picture and if necessary, admit that a different suggestion or action is in fact a better option for the project at hand. Yet, embracing collaboration isn’t simply about compromise. We can and should still work on designated portions of a system or project the way we feel is best aligned with our goals and expectations as contributors. It’s a balancing act no doubt and a precarious one at that.
Bill Bradley said Dave DeBusschere was like an older brother to him. Dave DeBusschere died much too young (age 62). He always will be remembered for what he taught us about teamwork, work ethic, and character. Dave DeBusschere was a real professional and a true champion. He will be honored by Austin Catholic in Macomb as they will be naming a gym after him. It will be called the Dave DeBusschere Center for Athletics.
“Dave was our captain, who was a natural leader, deceptively strong, never got rattled, and was a tremendous talented competitor," said Chuck Hollosy, 93, who was Austin’s coach. “We started our first ninth grade class with four priests and myself and each year we would get around 60 freshmen trying out. These kids were tough and had played competitive basketball in the catholic grade schools.”
His lessons and words will continue to live on in all of us as we pursue our own life goals.
I say "yes" too often. I enjoy helping other people whenever I can, so that is not what bothers me. However when I say "yes" to myself and I am already stretched for time or resources, I know I am overcommitting. That is frustrating. Do you also find yourself saying "yes" just because you want to accomplish more?
The ability to say "no" is very powerful. When I say "no", it is not to limit what I want to accomplish. The result I seek is to give myself the ability to stay focused on more important tasks. This week, I sat down to review my open projects. I captured what needed to be done for each, and where I lacked the progress that I desired. Juggling all the needed attention, because of time, priorities, or conflicting deadlines (especially self-inflicted deadlines) is difficult.
With the analysis in front of me, it became clear that all my projects suffered a little bit because I was splitting my focus across too many projects. So I decided to remove some from my regular schedule. The result is that my focus is more narrow, and I can accomplish more on the remaining projects. This has had a major impact to my day. It has given me more energy to work on specific tasks.
You may be thinking that this was not a big breakthrough, and we all work too many projects. I would challenge you to take a blank piece of paper and list of all your current projects and activities. Then write things you know you need to be doing, but never seem to have the time, energy or resources. If you are like most people, you will see that most of your projects do not get enough of your time.
So what should change? What project needs more of your focus to accomplish your goal? What project must you eliminate to make this happen? Caution! These changes could result in more being accomplished, reduced stress, and increased happiness.
There are actually pretty good benefits to saying "no" to people at work. You can focus on your own deadlines and produce better work because you're not stressed from that extra load. Yet for some reason, it can be really awkward to tell someone that you can't help them. Why is that situation so stressful? Reuben Yonatan gave us some really helpful tips to get us through this somewhat uncomfortable position you find yourself in when saying "no" to someone.
But if we determine a situation warrants saying no, how do we know the right way to decline without causing any backlash? If it is handled poorly, more conflicts can come from it. GetVoIP has compiled a list of tips to help guide you through awkward or nerve-wracking situations when saying no. Some of their ideas include:
- Communicate in person
- Be honest
- Offer an alternative
- Be calm and deliberate
- Ask for assistance with prioritization
- Reinforce your openness to help in the future.
Don't spread yourself too thin. While it's really nice to want to help others and that recognition can be great, it's not worth letting your own work suffer as well. If you have the time, and all of your own work is completed to the best of your ability, then definitely pitch in if someone asks you for help. Otherwise, work on gaining the confidence you need in order to be able to stand your ground and firmly say "no."
I’m sure you’ve been in this situation before. A time when you are in a meeting or listening to a presentation and suddenly the tendency for the mind to drift off thinking about all the various things we need to do when we get out of this meeting begins. The truth of the matter is, these distractions prevent us from focusing on what is going on in our current surroundings. It impairs our ability to learn and oftentimes we miss critical elements of what’s going on or what is being told to us.
For me personally, it is usually “a trigger word” that the speaker uses that gets my mind on to another subject. Let me give an example: Perhaps I am in a meeting where the speaker mentions having “time pressure” for a certain project. The words "time pressure" mentally triggers my task list. Immediately, I start wondering if there is something I’m forgetting. Inevitably, I start running down my list of tasks one-by-one which in fact does not give my mind the clarity to listen to what the speaker is saying. For you, your trigger may be something else. Even if you work from home, you can still lose focus. It could be sights such as pictures on the wall, computer screensavers or a co-worker’s doodle on their notepad.
So how do we stop ourselves from drifting off into other thoughts and worries while someone else is speaking or while we are supposed to be paying attention? If not dealt with, people may think you are ignoring them. Perhaps they will follow up with you later asking if you have done your part of the project, when you completely missed what your part even was! (Remember? You were thinking about something else when they told you that the “TPS Report” was due tomorrow and needed your input?)
One method I have been using for several years to combat this mind wandering type of behavior is to bring one or two index cards or my journal and a pen to every meeting, seminar or church service I attend. I keep the note cards or my journal handy so when these type of mind wandering items pop into my head, and they always do, I can immediately jot down a word or two to remind me about it later on. By doing so, I can then refocus on what the speaker is saying.
Here’s how it works. When listening to a presentation, if I'm feeling anxiety about my task list, I will write down “review tasks” on my note card. Then, I immediately say to myself “Done! Now I can listen.” By doing this 5 second exercise, my mind becomes free to re-focus on what the speaker is saying. The speaker probably thinks at this point that I’m writing down something he or she said. So there is no offense taken.
Many times all I need to do is write down one word. After all, it was one word that got me into distraction — so one word will most likely get me out. As an example, if the speaker is talking about e-mailing to the network group, the word “e-mailing” may trigger in my mind a thought like “Oh yeah, I need to reply to Bob‘s e-mail!” So all I need to do is write down the word “Bob” on my index card or in my journal, say my mantra of “Done! And, I’m back to listening.” Later, when I review my index card I see only the word “Bob” and like the word “email” was a trigger, the word “Bob” is a trigger too. I remember I will need to e-mail him back. See how quick and easy this is?
After the meeting, I place the index card into my pocket; the same place I keep my car keys. Keeping the card in a place I can’t avoid ensures I will find it later. So when I reach in my pocket to get my car keys, the index card is there reminding me I have a few things to do. That way, I am not misplacing the list or forgetting that I need to add items to my task list. For me, this simple strategy has cut back on a lot of stress and anxiety that I’ve felt over the years since I started using it. It allows me to focus better during meetings instead of missing things that people have said. When the speaker has my full attention, I learn better and I can get more done without the stress and extended distraction.
In the spirit of big ideas, I'm writing out more detail about our ten point list of key concepts for a great workplace. This entry is #4:
If you can’t work, it’s okay to go home. If you’re sick, go get help.
I'm not a huge fan of comparing dating to job interviews or having a job to being in a marriage, in truth there are some similarities. One of the key elements of any connection between people is the nature of relationships. A healthy relationship is not 75/25. It's not 60/40. Instead, a good relationship is 100/100.
A 100/100 relationship is one where both parties are completely committed to doing everything they promised to do at the highest level possible. At work, that means doing your job professionally and responsibly. It doesn't mean putting in long hours, or giving up your weekends, or cutting corners. It means keeping your word, and holding your boundaries.
But a 100/100 relationship goes both ways. It means your employer isn't going to ask you to do things that are unreasonable either. They should ensure you have the resources to complete the tasks at hand, and not be asking you to bend your principles or skip out on your personal life.
In short, you are committed: up to what you originally agreed.
Many of us are tempted to become heroes at work. But that's going past the original 100% you agreed to do. Staying up late on a project, putting in your own personal money, or covering for someone else are all examples of this. It's a bad move, because you're setting expectations without renegotiating. Don't do it.
Likewise, life happens. If you get sick, have family stressors, problems at home, or you're simply burnt out, you shouldn't try to keep working. Take some time off. If you have vacation, take advantage of it. If you have savings, consider unpaid time off. We sometimes feel like we're supposed to work even though we aren't feeling 100%, but that's not the 100/100 commitment. Don't do it.
Ours isn't the only country with a presenteeism problem. In Japan, there's a word for death from overwork: karōshi. But at the same time there's another word in Japanese, ikagai, which means life purpose and direction. It seems many cultures are struggling to define what it means to have passion and commitment, but to also strike a balance.
At AccelaWork, our vision is to transform the American perspective on work. Part of that means embracing the human element of labor, which requires breaks, time off, healing, and again, balance. We don't aim to make everything fun, but at the same time, we're not afraid of having a good time. We don't set out to be lazy, but we're also not expecting anyone to work hundred hour weeks.
It's only fifteen words, but it's radically different than what so many companies practice:
If you can’t work, it’s okay to go home. If you’re sick, go get help.
If you're not 100% at this moment, take a break and recharge. Heal thyself. But if you're feeling good, if you're ready for the next task: then do what we all agree is best and move on to whatever is next.
It's definitely no easy task to get more business contacts. If you haven't read the first part, you can find that post here. Let's jump right in and take a look at tips 6 through 10 on how to get more referrals!
Tip # 6: Become the Messenger
Be sure to give the referral gifts out promptly on sold referrals. Deliver it in person, since it also serves as an excellent time to prime the pump for additional referrals. Don’t underestimate the power of this simple discipline. I have experienced ‘millionaires’ who reopened their black books after receiving $20 dollar gift certificates. It’s probably one of the reasons they become a millionaire. After all, it’s not the amount but the gesture. And because you are spending your valuable time being the messenger, you will without a doubt focus on receiving one or two more warm leads.
Tip # 7: Promote a Grass Roots Chamber Program
Offer local Chambers a deal they can not refuse. Chambers want to offer their members a better deal, one that their members can not receive from regular street pricing. They are open to donations to help their chamber and are also motivated to grow their membership. Instead of offering a residual based off of sales, offer to bring them in a certain number of new members each month. After all, a certain percentage of businesses you call on will not be members, and if you can show them a return on their investment, they will certainly join the Chamber to receive it. By helping others you will see your referral ratio reach the sky!
Tip #8: Identify Potential 'Bird Dogs'
‘Bird dogs’ are used by hunters to point and fetch game birds for their owners. In sales, a ‘bird dog’ is someone who has multiple relationships with your potential customers and they are motivated to routinely feed you contacts for your marketing efforts. Research potential business people that may fit into this profile, and take them out to lunch. Explain your referral program and how it could supplement their core business revenue stream. For potential ‘Big Hitters’ be prepared to customize your referral program to align with their motivations. Treat them like gold and they will open up their address book.
Tip #9: 'Get Married' To A Collaboration Partner
There are companies that provide products or services in your ‘value chain’ but do not compete directly with your product or service. Those companies and the professional individuals that sell for them should be a point of concentration for you to identify and contact for strategies of collaboration. I refer to this relationship as “Natural Marriages.” Contact 3 sales professionals that seem to indicate a ‘natural marriage’ for you and them. Outline what’s in it for them. Then ask them what you could reasonably expect over time. Several people you know have the ear of your customers and prospects. Partner with them.
Tip #10: Join Or Start A Lead Group
You have to eat lunch, right? So why not join or consider developing a Lead Group of entrepreneurial individuals who are motivated to get together twice a month or better yet, weekly to share referrals. Find individuals who are accountable for bringing in the minimum amount of leads each meeting as outlined in your group’s business rules. Make sure every member is covered by the 80-20 rule, getting 80% of their leads from 20% of the members. And don’t be shy about having to pay a membership fee. That way, members have some ‘skin’ in the game. I suggest BNI – Business Networks International because the system is created and it works.
Want to know a few secrets to being more productive at home and in the office? Here are five tips that can help you get things done and get out of the office at a reasonable time.
No one wants to come home after a long day at the office to then have to cook an entire meal. Make a point to carve out a few hours on Sunday to get meals ready for the week. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to cook everything on Sunday and eat leftovers all week. But it does mean that you can do the prep, or at least the planning, on Sunday.
If you can make meals that you'll still be able to enjoy reheated later in the week, go for it. If not, at least take the time to plan a menu and do some prep. And if you're going to go out to eat, plan that too!
Not everyone has the option to work a flexible schedule. Some employers demand that you're in the office from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. But if you get in at 9:00 a.m. every day yet never seem to leave before 7:00 p.m., it might be time to start your day a little earlier.
If you're a morning person, you can use this to your advantage. First, you can avoid rush hour traffic. Second, it's safe to say there aren't many people in the office at 7:00 a.m. The peace and quiet you'll enjoy will result in solid hours of productivity!
If that's not possible, at least let your boss know that you'll be coming in earlier each day. And make it clear that means you'll be leaving when the clock strikes 5:00 p.m.
It’s no secret that the last hour of work is the least productive hour of the day. Exhaustion from a busy day starts kicking in and the last thing anyone wants to do is start another to-do list item.
Spend the last 30 minutes of the day planning for tomorrow and the rest of the week. This is also a great time to finish wrapping up any items that aren’t as pressing or as important.
Set a reminder on your calendar for 4:30 p.m. every day and stick to your wrap-up routine. That way, when the clock strikes 5:00 p.m., you're ready to hit the road. Using this time to finish your day on a high note will leave you feeling accomplished and ready to tackle tomorrow.
Don't wait till after lunch to tackle your most important project. Regardless of what business you're in, problems and issues can arise at any moment. If you start your day by addressing the most important tasks, you'll be able to deal with issues when they arise.
Even the most well thought out plans can go awry. If a crisis occurs at 3:30 p.m., you might have to stay later. But if you have a crisis to handle and still have to do that report for tomorrow morning's meeting, that's even worse.
This is a problem that professionals in almost every industry struggle with. According to data from Adobe, people spend more than 20 hours a week checking email. That's more than half of the time we're supposed to be on the clock!
Instead, create a schedule for reading and responding to emails. Check your inbox when you arrive in the office each morning.
If making it home in time for dinner is important to you, then make it a priority. The hours you spend in the office might not be an accurate reflection of the work you're getting done. 9 to 5 workers can get out of the office by 5:00 p.m. not by working less, but by working smarter.
Cat Thomas currently works as the Director of Marketing for Broadstone Brickell an upscale Miami apartment building that ensures you won’t need to venture far to satisfy all your professional and social desires. Live up your lifestyle, surrounded by first-class shopping, dining, arts and entertainment. Cat has over 15 years’ combined experience in multifamily, retail and other industries. As the Director of Marketing, she oversees research, discovery and execution of creative, content, digital and strategy efforts.
I have learned much from a friend of mine, Dan, about attention and focus. He has said that attention works like a muscle. If you exercise it, it grows. There seems no doubt that our ability to focus greatly enhances our results, but it is difficult to quantify and measure. I like to be aware of my current focus. One model that helps with this is to consider three areas of focus: inner, outer, and other.
2. Outer focus – Our world is made up of layers upon layers of complex systems. This is the construct from which everything operates, and includes systems such as corporate, biological, financial, legal, and educational. When our focus is here, we are trying to work within the constraints of the construct. This includes strategizing.
3. Other focus – This is the focus on other people and our relationships. We are utilizing our connections to other people. We use this focus to enhance our relationships, and see the world from someone else’s view.
At any given instant, our focus can only be in one of these three areas. One measure of success is how intentional we can be in focus. Being able to exclude other thoughts and remain on task. But another measure of success is how flexible we are in switching between these three areas, and understanding the impact of one upon the other. It is an interesting concept, and it makes me ask, “Where is my focus at the moment? Where should it be?”
If your goal isn't learning how to focus correctly, it should definitely be at the top of the list. We all have goals we're trying to meet. Sometimes it can feel pretty overwhelming when we keep adding to that list. It can seem like we're not ever checking anything off! Making your new goals stick is a problem many people face. Jack Klemeyer talked about how important it is to work on that and some tips that could keep you on track. The most important lesson? You have to hold yourself accountable to these changes.
A goal is not much if you don’t share it with others or create accountability. Without accountability, it’s easy to make the goal simply disappear when things turn sour. Then you are simply a great goal-setter, but have nothing to show for the goal-getting department.Accountability can take many different forms. If you’re not ready to share it with the world, then simply write it down in a journal. Each day, spend five or ten minutes to reflect upon the steps you took that day that are taking you closer to your goal, and what choices you may have made that have you headed in the wrong direction. This will allow you to decide what changes you must make to keep moving closer to your goal.
In the end, it is up to you whether you successfully implement new routines or ideas and change. Making sure that you are able to focus on the necessary tasks at hand and being able to actually shift that focus if you're not is an important skill to work on. Take time during the day to really buckle down and keep yourself on track!
A study by Udemy In Depth: 2018 Workplace Distraction Report has revealed that distractions in the workplace affect 69% of those surveyed. They also found that even though 70% of those polled think that some type of training could help them, at least 66% of them have never even asked their managers about such training. Also, most of the respondents were younger or newer to the workforce and reported that they struggle to separate their work and home life. They also found what the source of the disturbances tends to be:
Respondents called chatty coworkers the leading cause of their distraction, followed by office noise, feeling overwhelmed by workplace changes and social media. Sixty percent of respondents also said that meetings are a source of distraction.
Here at AccelaWork, we know how painful meetings can be. In fact, we even try to give you some tips on how to escape meetings if you can. We even talked about those distracting, chatty coworkers and how absolutely annoying they can be.
People Who “Blather Nonstop About Their [Fill in the blank]” Whether it’s their wedding, their weekend, their pets, their kids, the big game, the popular movie, or their vacation, people love to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with work at work.While a little socializing can be fine, the purpose of work is to get things done. Talk too much about your personal life and you’ll make people crazy.
Not only that, but they found that most people wish they could work remotely instead. Why? Because it would lower their workplace distractions. 52% of those surveyed said they are definitely more productive when they can work remotely. At this point, you may be thinking, "How can we fix this if our employees won't tell us they're struggling?" It's definitely a tricky situation. You could take charge of the situation by providing a mandatory training day that includes tips on how to stay on task while working. If you're struggling with what suggestions and tips to provide, here are some tried and true methods that may help!
Turn Off Your Cellphone
If you can't turn off your cell phone completely, at least put it on silent and make it hard to reach. Stuff it in your belongings inside a drawer or leave it in your car. It's easy to just pick up your phone and tap around, it's mostly out of habit at this point.
Have Dedicated Times To Check Your Email
Don't leave your email open all day! I can't stress this enough. You don't need every ding from a new email grabbing your attention and pulling you away from whatever task you were working on. Check it at the top of every hour or maybe twice before lunch and twice after.
As for solutions on the company's end, you can try these:
Schedule Fewer Meetings
Ever been in the middle of a task or project and have to tear yourself away for another meeting? Whether you believe it or not, the majority of meetings are huge distractions and usually end up not even being all that helpful. They cut into work and can decrease productivity pretty easily.
Re-Think Your Apps
Some companies provide apps for their employees to use, such as Slack or Skype or other means of messaging and video conferencing. Is it possible you may have an app overload? Sit down with IT and find out which are actually used regularly and get rid of the rest.
How many times have you been disappointed by the result a photograph you really hoped would be memorable when the focus was off? Don’t you hate it when faces or objects are blurred, maybe even unrecognizable. Those photos are to be tossed, chalked up to as a poor quality picture that didn’t meet the original goal you had in mind when you took the picture. Scratch it up to experience. Maybe blame it on the camera.
The quality of the “reality pictures” that show up in your life are also largely due to the extent you’ve focused. To start with, the idea must be held in your mind and held there clearly. My friend and the President of the John Maxwell Team, Paul Martinelli, is always saying, “Hold Your Image.” The result you desire to accomplish or manifest in your life must first be clearly and distinctly created in your imagination. It must be ‘in focus’; that is, the components must be defined, clearly seen, envisioned. The first habit of Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Habits is that of Clarity.
Secondly, as you go about the ‘doing’ necessary to effectuate (a new word I learned the other day, which means “put into force or operation”) the picture, you must remain focused on your goal and not allow yourself to get distracted by what is going on around you or within you – your thoughts and doubts. It sounds simple really, but it always amazes me how unfocused people are. I am too at times. It’s something I am constantly working on. Ask someone to describe their heart’s desire and 90% of the time, you cannot get a clear description from them. It’s blurry and indistinct. Generalities but no specifics like a description of the picture by what’s not in it. This overwhelming effort of generalization usually sounds like some of the statements here:
“So what does health mean to you?”
“Well, you know, to not be sick.”
“So what does wealth mean to you?”
“Well, you know, to not be lacking.”
“So what does happiness mean to you?”
“To not be sad, dissatisfied.”
“I want peace.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, you know no more war.”
Not this, not that; defining the picture, the ideal by what is not in it, instead of what is in it. The trouble with focusing on ‘no more war’ is that you are still focusing on war. The trouble with focusing on not being unwell is that you are still focusing on unwellness. The focus is on lack and limitation and not on abundance. Consequently, when you focus on the lack and limitation, you get more lack and limitation. As Mark Twain once said, “I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.”
I’ve noticed that many people seem to be clear on what they do NOT want. If you really want success, focus your attentions and intentions on those "things" that you want, desire, or long for. Concentrate to make that focus clear and distinct. You’ll realize you get the picture (your goal) you have focused on. “Prosperity is the abundance of all things held ideal in mind and dear in heart.” How clear and exact are your goals? How much desire, longing, passion is attached to them? How focused is the image in your mind? How focused is your desire to have that goal in your life?
The ironic yet complex thing about life is that it is wonderfully full of distractions. Here you are, focused on some purpose or goal and then this incredibly intrusive thing occurs. Perhaps you are working with a client, totally focused on them. Then another client or prospect shows up, completely distracting you and before you know it, you are not serving either to the extent you could be had you not allowed yourself to be distracted, to lose focus.
Perhaps you are busy going about the business of creating a new opportunity and some major obstacle presents itself. So you change your mind, change your plan, change your focus to the next great business idea and the next one after that, always chasing and never catching. We both know that life is full of distractions making it easy to lose focus. Remember that winners stay focused. Sometimes they are so focused that you cannot even get their attention.
Funny how that is. How does Serena win Wimbledon? Focus. How does Lance win the Tour de France? Focus. How does Tiger win so many tournaments? Focus. Do you want to win the game of life? Get focused. Stay focused. Let’s talk about your focus and how to make it even better.
Before the world became so electronically connected I remember being bored occasionally. Usually, it occurred when I was stuck someplace with nothing to do like a doctor’s office waiting room. Today, we are never bored. We engage with our phone or tablet, and we become busy.
Our lives have become filled with information and data. We are driven by the ability to access anything and chat with anyone, at any time. But there is a difference between information and knowledge, isn’t there? Information becomes knowledge through the process of study, the gaining of understanding, use and practice, and maybe even memorization. In today’s deluge of data, most of what we process never becomes fully understood. In an instant our focus shifts to the next piece of information, data, text, video, or email.
I have discovered that a very small shift in my process yields great returns. I strive to live in an environment where I can specialize in certain things, and relegate all other streams of information as cursory. Imagine becoming an expert on your selected topics, and yet still being aware of the flow of information on everything else that passes through your day. The change is not in limiting what you see, hear, or read. It is in predetermining what needs more of your time. It is seeing the big picture, but magnifying a piece that is more important to you.
I warned you that this is a very small shift. It just requires taking a moment and thinking about what is important to you today. Then live through that lens, and prevent distractions from taking more of your time than necessary. Would your life be better if you were more of an expert at certain skills? Can you shift your daily thinking to add focus to that area? And are you sure that you truly want to change? Change doesn't come easy but there are some easy tactics about change taught by Jack Klemeyer that we could all use in our day to day life. Here are a few of my favorites from his post:
- Let people see your progress. Leaders often don’t want to communicate about a change until they know everything. You will seldom know all of the details, and while you are waiting, the organization is wondering what is going on. While that’s happening, they are hypothesizing the worst-case scenario. Let people know where you are as early as possible. And, do it earlier than you instincts might suggest.
- Call the change a journey (because it is!) People will more easily accept things this way, and this positive view makes it easier for people to join in.
- Ask questions. If you want to create a dialogue and real engagement, talk less and ask questions more. And then, listen!
- Start small, and build a new status quo. Perhaps your vision is a huge difference from where things are today. The best way to get there is in small pieces. Get people to see the value in tiny changes, and get them there steadily. Once they have successfully navigated a small change, you will have helped them build their willingness and confidence for the next step.
Don't be afraid of change and, most importantly, you have to embrace it. Shifting your focus and really zeroing in on what is most important to you on a daily basis will help you achieve your goals and set new ones that are actually reasonable. It's okay to focus on just yourself, that doesn't make you selfish!
HR managers have a lot on their plates dealing with a range of issues from employees. Sexual harassment is one of those issues and a lot of HR managers have reported seeing more cases coming onto their desks. Why? It very well could be that the #MeToo movement has given more people courage to step forward and speak out against their harassers. Watching women that are brave enough to take on a monster like Harvey Weinstein could make you think, "If she can do that, why can't I take on the inappropriate colleague that's bothering me at work?" Kristen Baker, vice president of Detroit-based HR Advantage Advisory, spoke with the Detroit Free Press about this issue, shedding light on the numbers of cases her own company has seen.
She said her company has seen a 60% to 75% uptick in the number of requests for online or in-person anti-sexual harassment training in the months since news of the Weinstein scandal broke, as well as companies requesting help from an outside entity to conduct independent sexual harassment investigations.
It seems that the discussion on sexual harassment is changing for the better. In my own personal experience, I recall a time when I was working as a receptionist at a company when I was around 19 years old. It was a part-time gig and I made friends easily. Being up front meant everyone saw you on their way in and out. I had people stopping by my desk all day. One man in his late 40's or early 50's made me uncomfortable. He would comment to me on women's shoes and bodies as they walked out the front door.
He would eventually tell me that he liked to wear women's shoes and even brought a Playboy magazine into work to show me an article about how common that is. Naturally, I went to HR. I was told that he was "harmless" and "wouldn't hurt a fly" and to just basically forget about it. I quit a week later. Not because I was being harassed more, but because I knew that the company didn't and would never have my back if I needed them. If you want to avoid that outcome, the Detroit Free Press provided some tips that human resources can use to ensure that their employees feel safe because your employees are your greatest asset. I picked out a couple of my favorites below!
It's important to take these claims seriously. If someone built up enough courage to come and talk to you about a problem, don't ever dismiss it. Also, definitely don't put cases brought forward by men on the back burner.
"It’s not only women that feel they are being harassed or have been in a situation where they feel uncomfortable," she said. "We have had men as well and I’ve been involved in investigations of those. We need to make sure that whomever is bringing these claims forward, that we’re treating them seriously and are investigating."
This is something that's really important so you don't find yourself floundering when you receive a case. Know what your process is going to be ahead of time.
"We have a lot of companies now that are requesting hotlines, an ethics or a reporting hotline, where if you are uncomfortable talking to anybody about what’s happening, you can call the hotline. We manage a lot of these for clients and we’ve seen an uptick of those as well."
Whatever you do, make sure you're consistent in your approach and ensure that the process you choose is in employee handbooks!
First things first: we throw a lot of words around in these conversations, but they all mean different things. To put it them in plain English:
This is a lot to keep track of, and the concepts don't always overlap. For example, just because something is secured doesn't mean it's private. You know the bank has money in it, so there's not a lot of secrecy there! But banks are very secure places.
Likewise, if your child keeps their journal under the bed, it may be a private document but it's not exactly secure.
Which brings us this question which every teenager has contemplated: does privacy really exist?
The short answer is that no, there is basically no such thing as privacy. Once you let an idea out of your head and put it on paper or say it out loud, other people can get to it. They may need to use the courts or a crowbar, or pay off your best friend, but your secrets aren't completely safe. Sorry.
At work, the situation is even more intriguing. A common question is "Is it legal or illegal to monitor your employees email and Internet surfing activities?"
A fair answer to that question might come in three parts:
You have no privacy at work. And yet, reminding employees of this all the time is a bad idea. Instead, it's helpful to provide guidelines that show you understand. For example:
Workplace privacy expectations stem from workplace culture. Companies that monitor employee behavior are doing so because they expect employees to behave inappropriately and need to reduce their liability. Companies that do not monitor employee behavior may feel the same way, but they don’t allocate enough resource for monitoring. Companies that treat employees like adults often don’t monitor their usage, but it’s hard to tell that without a clear, open, and positive workplace culture.
In these modern times, it's hard to decide what to do. Failure to monitor employee behavior creates a potential legal liability. But the decision to monitor behavior creates a sense of paternalism that will stifle productivity.
It's not an easy choice. But it's one every firm must make, eyes open, as soon as they can.
“The world belongs to the energetic.” – Emerson. The second habit reported by Brendon Burchard in his book High-Performance Habits is to Generate Energy, the habit of how to consistently generate energy, personal energy. This habit is certainly one to be mastered for high performance. Did you know that we unconsciously dissipate and waste our energy on people, situations, thoughts, attitudes, events and transitions which do not serve us well? This leaves less space and energy for creating and attracting the kind of abundance that we want in our lives. Interestingly enough, I’ve also found that as I conserve, focus and thereby maximize my energy, I tend to use less energy on craving and acquiring “stuff”. Instead, I find myself spending more energy focusing on what is truly important to me, thereby helping me to perform better. Here are five ways to ensure you never run out of gas!
1. RELEASE RESISTANCE
Releasing resistance will affect a profound change in your level of energy and how you view the world. Resistance often feels as though we are going against ourselves in order to satisfy some internal authority or a myriad of “should's” “ought's” and even “have to's”. Releasing that tension can bring you more and more energy.
Related feelings and behavior include: procrastinating instead of working, using willpower and discipline to effect change (otherwise known as “I Have To Struggle To Achieve What I Want”!), stubbornness, inflexibility, wanting to be right rather than happy (a very popular one:), holding onto self-limiting beliefs way past their sell-by date.
Releasing resistance can be as easy as just making a decision to let go of whatever you are holding onto. The Release Meditation Technique (RMT) also helps release resistance at a very deep level.
2. REDUCE TIME WATCHING TV
Watching TV unconsciously is very exhausting. Haven’t you noticed that when you watch TV continuously and do little else, you become extremely tired? That’s because you are merely a passive recipient of information that you’re not fully engaged with. On an energetic level, taking in all of those rays from the TV (similar to a computer) is overstimulating on a physiological level. Of course, while you are watch TV, it means that you’re not doing something more productive.
Am I saying that you stop watching TV altogether? No, but to be more selective and watch only those programs that you are engaged with. I’d also say that stop watching the TV news – all of that manufactured fear really affects you on a cellular level. I find that my mindset, moods and overall energy improve significantly when I watch less TV. Try going one week without watching the news and let me know how you feel.
3. CONSCIOUSLY CREATE VACUUMS
Ever heard of the saying: “Nature abhors a vacuum”. If you clean out an area of your life, you are giving the Universe a message to bring in something to replace it. This is otherwise known as energetic and/or physical clutter clearing. Start with either. Most people find it easier to start with clearing out the physical which has an effect on their energies. You are consciously creating the space for change to occur and inviting what you want into your life. This is so much easier than trying to push to make things happen. This includes “White Space” on your calendar.
4. AVOID/DEAL WITH ENERGY VAMPIRES
One of the quickest ways to get an energy boost is to disassociate yourself from those whose energy drains you. It is very effective. Unfortunately, it also becomes a little more difficult if they are your partner, member of your family, work colleagues or boss. It helps to develop a stronger set of boundaries and energetic protection so that they are less likely to affect you in this way.
5. CREATE QUIET TIME FOR YOURSELF EVERY DAY.
Not to do anything (unless it relaxes you), but just to clear and refresh your mind. We are human beings, not human doings. There are times when our crowded schedule and minds don’t allow space and time for the creative to be welcomed in. Einstein liked to go sailing in the afternoons after working in the morning. Edison is said to go fishing with a hookless line dropped into the water off his boat dock so people wouldn’t bother him and he could think. What’s your strategy?
Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork, asks this very question in a recent article he wrote for the Small Business Expert Forum. In Pay vs. Perks: The Best Ways to Engage Employees, he opens up about his thoughts on office perks and how they can actually diminish the message of value brought to employees.
No doubt you’ve heard about of offices with the “cool” factor. Maybe you’re allowed to wear jeans or the company brings out beers on Friday afternoons or there’s a foosball table or a unlimited snacks in the break room. Some people might see these as office perks intended to make workplace fun. But often, these extras are purposefully designed to keep people in the office for longer hours. And many employers use these perks in lieu of higher pay to attract potential employees.
This realization is hard to argue against. After all, everything costs money right? When products and/or services are introduced and made available in the office, it stands to reason that the money for those things has to come from somewhere. Chances are, these unnecessary perks directly affects payroll. Now, you may say to yourself, "what's so wrong with having perks that makes the office fun and at times, less stressful?" And the quick answer is, nothing. Sure, it's not the worst thing in the world to have a free onsite gym or cafe at your fingertips. No doubt, these things are definitely enticing to those seeking a new job and/or staying satisfied in their current role.
But, as we've discussed on The Methodology Blog before, these perks may not only diminish overall financial compensation, but they can potentially increase the amount of time spent in the office.
Yet, it’s important to recognize that drawing a distinct line between fancy amenities and fruitful benefits can help capture the long term satisfaction desired in a career. In this regard, consider for a moment that certain factors for achieving positive work-life balance can help in determining what the solid perks in a job should be:Assess the corporate culture While it’s convenient to have a state-of-the-art fitness center on-site, someone who will pick up and deliver your dry cleaning every week, or round-the-clock access to a fully stocked game room, perks like these can make it easy for employees to spend a lot more time at the office than they might otherwise . . . If you believe you’ll thrive in this type of corporate culture, great — though don’t be surprised if sometimes you’ll need to bring a toothbrush and change of clothes to the office.
Look beyond bright and shiny things Your heart may skip a beat when a potential employer says you’ll never have to pay for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the employee cafeteria — or that you can bring your dog to work. But as the hiring manager runs through the list of all the nifty perks the company provides, are you also hearing mention of things such as “professional development opportunities,” “tuition reimbursement” or “performance-based bonuses”?
Evaluate the rewards of the job itself It’s easy to be persuaded by the promise of generous perks and pay when you’re evaluating a job offer. But it’s critical to also consider whether you’d thrive in the company’s workplace culture and whether the position would be rewarding to you professionally. Would the role challenge or inspire you? Would it provide a platform for growth and allow you to learn new skills or deepen your expertise? Trust your gut instincts if you sense the job will leave you wanting, and remember that no incentive can truly compensate for an unfulfilling employment situation.
To achieve genuine satisfaction among employees, companies should place value in those areas that enhance employee opportunity and growth. For example, provide employees with the freedom to work and create as they see fit. Why not give them the chance to mold and change and innovate? These perks are different. They may not provide a free lunch or coffee break entertainment. In the large scheme of things, they do extensively more than that. They empower us. As Slaughter concludes in his article for the Small Business Expert Forum:
The best benefit you can offer is a fair wage for fair work. Don’t worry about controlling when, where, or how people get their job done. Give your team freedom and show them respect.That’s what employees need, because employees are people.
And an amazing thing happens when you’re not worried about perks and instead give people space to explore, discover, and produce. Those naturally interested in doing something great will prove themselves automatically. It becomes abundantly obvious who can’t be motivated without someone watching their every move or giving them gold stars.
This year, in an effort to move my business to a new level, I took the advice of a couple of online gurus, Denise Wakeman and Chris Brogan. I later found out that Denise took the advice from Chris (you never know who you’ll touch in a positive way.) They are both are folks I respect and admire and they inspired me to pick my own three words to theme or focus. You can read Denise’s choice here and you can read Chris’ advice here. My three words for 2018 are ask, believe, and act! Employing these will enable me to bring more value. I know these three words will help keep me focused and moving forward throughout 2018.
My 3 Words:
ASK: When I looked back over 2017 in my annual review between Christmas and New Year’s Day, one thing jumped out at me. I realized I didn’t ask nearly enough for what I needed and wanted. The answer is always “No!” when you don’t ask.
BELIEVE: Believe brings me to knowing I can do something BIG. Believe that I can help and believe that I do bring value to my clients. In other words, believe in myself and believe in the skills, energy and knowledge I bring to a client. The other part of believe is to believe when I ask, prospects will say “Yes!”
ACT: This one...oh boy. You need to know that I created some amazing solutions in 2017, wrote chapters of books and found incredible business opportunities—-all in my head. You see, I didn’t act nearly as much as I needed to. Had I asked more, I could have helped more people, more businesses and brought more value than ever before. You can bet, this year, I am acting!
Constant and never ending improvement has been a process and study of mine for many years. I can’t remember exactly when I first came across the concept, but to the best of my recollection it was when I was at Ball State in Jim Necessary’s (that’s really his name and he is a great guy!) management class. This was in the early 1980’s and we were studying the Japanese management and the concept of Kaizen. The Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices and personal efficiency.
Staying focused on your tasks can be difficult, especially if you've lost some of your confidence. You're not alone. Alyssa Shea shared some great ideas on ways you can focus on your confidence. Numbers 5 and 8 on her list really rang true for me.
5. Be Cool With Taking RisksThe idea of stepping into a new project or area of work that you have zero experience in can be pretty intimidating. Yet you took the risk to apply to your job and you nailed that, so why not try for some more? Taking risks at work can really pay off and make your managers notice you. Of course, be wary and don’t take any unnecessary risks, but also don’t be afraid to be the one the thinks way outside the box.
8. Ask For Some Constructive Feedback
This is something truly rare in our society. Actually asking for criticism isn’t something you hear about. Why? Probably because most of us are afraid of losing our jobs if we stick our necks out and draw attention to ourselves. Except that’s exactly what you need to do if you want to appear more confident. Taking feedback from your managers shows you’re engaged and want to learn.
Don't be afraid to take risks this year. Sometimes, they really do pay off and you won't regret not trying in the end!
Perfection is defined as reaching the highest attainable standard. In my experience, we are sometimes stalled by focusing on perfection. If you have ever delayed taking action because you are afraid that you are not ready or something is not good enough, then you understand how perfection can get in the way of progress. Here are some thoughts on perfection.
Perfection belongs to narrated events, not to those we live. - Primo Levi
Life is messy. Only in our minds can perfection exist, and I don’t want to let it get in my way. It's incredibly hard but you can do it! Harvard Business Review writer, Alice Boyes, knows all about how perfectionists can get in their own way. She shared a few tips that we can all use to avoid some of our perfectionist tendencies. One of those that she mentioned was the fact you need to learn from your successes.
By reflecting on the pathways that led to your successes, you’ll be able to see that you achieved a meaningful end despite not doing everything completely flawlessly or being 100% certain of success in advance. Through this process, you’ll be able to understand how you can benefit from taking a ready, fire, aim approach, where you tweak your processes and decisions based on experience rather than from exhaustive research and deliberation.
Another tendency that perfectionists seem to share is that they tend to lose focus of the big picture. The details tend to overtake everything else. Those little issues truly get in their way because they have to be executed perfectly. Jack Klemeyer recently talked about how to tackle obstacles that can help.
1. Identify your goal and make it a realistic one. You must care about it if you expect to ever complete it. 2. Select a goal that you can work on, rather than something someone else has selected for you. 3. Make sure it’s specific, not vague. For example, choose a skill like “Communicating more effectively with your friends by using positive vocabulary,” or “Managing your time more efficiently by stating a time and date for getting your goal accomplished.” Selecting a goal you can do something about gives you the power and influence to actively and assertively accomplish it. 4. Have at least one goal or objective every day. Feel a sense of joy and fulfillment whenever you take a step toward accomplishing these things. 5. Experience how your feelings and thoughts are pulled by your stated goals. 6. Reward yourself for every goal or objective that gets accomplished. Remember to be consistent when rewarding yourself as well.
Don't run yourself ragged. You can't truly know every way to do something until you make a mistake. It's okay to fail at something. It's okay to receive feedback that includes some criticism. Take these opportunities to learn more. We never stop learning and changing. That's a good thing! Embrace those imperfections and let them guide you while you travel along your road to fulfilment and success.
FitSmallBusiness.com recently published the Top 31 Business Productivity Tips & Hacks from the Pros. If you have the time, I suggest reading through all the tips they provide. But, below are seven to get you started--including one expert tip from our very own Robby Slaughter.
- Stop multi-tasking and focus your time. Bob Adams, Founder, BusinessTown.com - There is no such thing as multi-tasking. It’s really just switching between tasks very quickly. It’s an incredible waste of time because it takes time to get up to speed with a new task. Instead take the opposite approach. Try to devote each day overwhelmingly to one critically important task. Sure, there might be urgent pressing issues that require interruption. In fact, you may want to devote whole days to getting through lots of pressing small tasks. But nonetheless if you can overwhelmingly focus most of your days on one really important task, you and your employees can really move your business ahead.
- Manage repetitive tasks. Bret Simpson, Director of Production, StickerYou - It’s shocking how many repetitive tasks we perform on a day-to-day basis without any second thought. Try to identify these tasks as quickly as possible and create tools to help yourself. With a little practice and some free software, you can build hotkey shortcuts for repetitive tasks, as well as customized push alerts from almost any input source with no coding required. This will allow you to focus less time on collecting data and more time acting on it.
- Combine deep work with your most productive hours. Teresa Bartaseviciute, Marketing Manager, Yolocal Security Marketplace - Deep work is a way of setting aside a certain undisturbed amount of time for the most difficult tasks. The goal is to eliminate any external distractions (phone, social media, etc.) and have at least 1-2h of deeply concentrated work. One research suggests that out of 8 working hours, average worker is truly productive just 2h 53min. Some might find their peak is in the morning, some might work the best in early afternoon, and so on. It is important to understand your working pattern and set aside 2 deep work hours for the time you are the most productive. This incredible hack helped me to do 6-8h work in just 2h and have the rest of the day for solving unexpected issues, giving more attention to my team, or working on new ideas.
- Use the 80-20 analysis. Lindsey Havens, Senior Marketing Manager, PhishLabs- One of the biggest traps that small business owners fall into is non-productive time. That’s why a great tool for any owner/manager is to evaluate your productivity by scheduling a monthly 80-20 analysis. This technique can help increase sales while cutting back on hours.The point of the exercise is to highlight the most important things you need to focus by figuring out 20% of the activities that are producing 80% of your desired results. Then look at the 20% of activities that are wasting 80% of you time. Once you find the overlap, you can eliminate things that are keeping you busy but offering no results.
- Answer every phone call, but don’t let it disrupt you. Robby Slaughter, Principal, AccelaWork - A ringing phone is death to your productivity, especially when you’re on a roll. But if you refuse to answer, then you have to suffer through a voicemail later (or deal with an annoyed customer.) Instead, answer the phone the moment it rings, and ask if you can call them right back. Set up a reminder for five or ten minutes. That lets you finish what you are doing and prepare to return the call. And it means you’ll be in control, rather than just reacting to what they have to say!
- Store templates for common customer FAQs. Jason Lavis, Managing Director, Out of the Box Innovations Ltd. - When dealing with clients, we often find ourselves repeating the same explanations and answers to questions again and again. It makes sense to combine individual customer guidance, with online content publication. For example, if a client emails with a valid question, rather than creating an email from scratch or picking up the phone, you can create a comprehensive answer of 1000 words or more. Spend a lot of time reviewing, editing, and polishing it. This new document can be used to create a blog post for your website, and kept in a folder, along with all of your other similar guidance emails. These answers can be used as templates for future client interactions, and each time the customer will see the effort that you’ve put in.
- Use email filters. Robert Russo, CEO, PromotionCode - Believe it or not, only about a half-dozen emails hit my inbox every day of the hundreds sent to me. For several years, I’ve spent my last half hour on Fridays adding new rules to Gmail’s inbox, and now I only receive exactly what I need to see. We encourage our staff to do the same every week since barrages of unimportant email are a huge time sink. The best way to implement this is to start with a whitelist rather than a blacklist so that unknown senders aren’t sneaking into your day until you’re ready to see them. Because our staff interacts with thousands of stores with several representatives each, these rules are even more time-saving for them, since they’re more likely to be copied on emails that they don’t need to read.
These inventive ideas can make a big impact. Give them a try!
Ray Searage pitched in the Major Leagues for the New York Mets (1981), Milwaukee Brewers (1984-86), Chicago White Sox (1986-87), and Los Angeles Dodgers (1989-90). He was a relief pitcher whose career won-loss record was 11-13 with 11 saves and a 3.50 E.R.A. 2018 marks Ray Searage's 41st year in professional baseball as a player and a coach. He has been the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach since late in the 2010 season.
I got to know Ray Searage very well when he was the Indianapolis Indians pitching coach during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He is a great guy with a "heart of gold " who helped a number of pitchers get to the Major Leagues during his time in Indianapolis. Late in 2010, Ray became the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach. Ray Searage has thrived in that role under Manager Clint Hurdle.
Not only has Ray done a terrific job with young pitchers, but he has helped to resurrect the careers of veterans like Francisco Liriano, J.A. Happ, A.J. Burnett, Edinson Volquez, Ivan Nova, Joe Blanton and others. Ray takes into account that while each pitcher is different, he wants his staff to try to make something happen in 3 or fewer pitches and they must be able to command the fastball. Great coaches seek first to understand then to be understood. Ray Searage is a very understanding man who instills confidence in his pitchers.
Searage is the kind of person that really boosts people up rather than tearing them done. MLB had the chance to talk about Josh Smoker about making the Pirates' Opening Day roster. He shared some words of wisdom from Searage:
Late in Spring Training, pitching coach Ray Searage pulled aside Smoker and encouraged him to trust his talent. Smoker can't utilize his arsenal, Searage said, if he continues to fall behind in counts. After a first-pitch ball, for instance, hitters slash .271/.405/.551 against Smoker. After a first-pitch strike, he's allowed a career .242/.309/.363 line."He shows flashes of being a consistent left-handed reliever. There's a lot of deep counts that he gets into," Searage said. "There's something to work with there. There's tools. There's weapons."
How can we achieve our goals and maintain confidence, too? Jack Klemeyer talked about this issue as he explains how to make goals stick.
The main reason most goals don’t stick is because there is not a big enough reason to follow through with them. For example, losing weight is a great goal. However, why do you want to lose weight? See, if the goal is just “lose weight” then when that surprise birthday party happens, it’s easy to talk yourself into letting loose and stuffing your face because that goal can be pushed aside, delayed, or even forgotten.On the other hand, if your reason for losing fat is to avoid health problems or gain confidence, now you have a reason. That reason is your passion, your fire, your spark and your fuel to keep going. When you identify the true reason behind wanting to change, write it down. Keep it with you. Read it when you wake up and before you go to sleep. Let your mind know what the reward will be because most people focus on the process when it is the reward that keeps you going.
We all need a boost to our confidence every once in a while. Sometimes, self-doubt can creep in and make you second guess yourself. Losing confidence in yourself can mean that your goals end up getting lost amongst the internal turmoil. During times such as these, remind yourself of the successes you have under your belt and the goals yet to be accomplished. Maintain focus on what’s to come and you’ll find positivity in yourself naturally.
As leaders, we all know that hiccups (minor, major, and anything in between) are bound to occur and disrupt our organizations. And, while it’s true that mistakes are inevitable, if they become the norm instead of the exception, it’s best to take the time to consider the underlying cause.
Mistakes happen for many reasons, and they can often be linked to poorly executed policies and procedures. However, employee error can just as easily be to blame. Before you drastically alter your processes, consider whether the situation is a process issue or a personal issue. Here are some questions to consider as you determine the real source of the problem.
“Have I Tried Following the Process Myself?”
As your business evolves, your processes may need to follow suit. While a process may seem airtight, it’s entirely possible that it’s no longer useful for day-to-day application. If you have a process that is consistently yielding poor results, it’s time to reevaluate how things are being done. Try putting yourself in your employees’ shoes and follow the process yourself. This is a surefire way to determine if the process itself is flawed or if the problem stems from your employee.
“Are There Recurring Factors?”
The occasional misstep aside, when mistakes start happening too frequently, it’s likely the incidents have a common cause. Whatever the mistakes may be, identifying any recurring factors can help you locate the root of the problem. For example, you may find that your team is consistently failing to return phone calls within your organization’s preferred timeframe.
After taking a closer look at the situation, you may find that this is only happening during understaffed days. In this case, simply tweaking your process for under-staffed periods may easily solve the issue. The above example is relatively straightforward, but keep in mind that this search can also lead you to unexpected places. You’ll need to be in detective mode and look beyond the surface.
“Have I Listened to Feedback?”
If a particular policy or process just isn’t working, someone on your team is (hopefully) bound to have expressed concern. When it seems that your organization is suddenly plagued with mistakes, ask yourself if your employees have pointed out flaws in the current process. It’s very possible that you haven’t been listening to your employees’ feedback closely enough.
In this case, you can easily take steps to rework the problematic process. However, if you see that a change in the process won’t solve the problem, you’re likely dealing with personnel issues. Try a sit-down meeting with your team to stress the importance of why the process is in place. You’ll want to be specific, in this case simply saying “because I said so,” won’t suffice.
We’ve all heard the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. After all, it’s much easier to prevent problems by simply taking the appropriate action as needed, rather than going into full-on crisis management mode. Mistakes within your organization are inevitable, but knowing how to differentiate between people-related or process-related issues is the key to getting things back on track.
This is an issue that Robby Slaughter of AccelaWork knows a thing or two about. He talked about the four kinds of mistakes that can happen at companies. He supports making mistakes if you can learn from them. Mistakes are essential to growth and inescapable in life. Pay attention to the types of errors you experience. Did you intend to do something bold, or was it by accident? And is this something where you can learn a little, or a lot?
Much of the time we don’t even notice it’s going on. Your self-talk, internal dialogue, can be a powerful aid to your performance, or it can be destructive. What do you say when you talk to yourself? If you’re like many of us, your self-talk is a caustic mixture of judgments, complaints, and verbal abuse, in the form of “tapes” – mental recordings – that you’ve imprinted on your mind and play over and over again.
No wonder it’s easy to feel down and depressed. You can change the tapes you play, and your self-talk, as soon as you become aware of what you’re saying to yourself. Changing your self-talk will turbo-charge your life and enhance your performance in everything you do.
You can change your self-talk right now. Let’s try a little test. Say to yourself, silently or aloud: “That was a stupid thing to say. How could I say _________ (pick any verbal blunder you can remember)? I’m so stupid.”
How do you feel? Perhaps you feel sad, or anxious. Take a moment to track your emotions in your body. Perhaps you have a sinking feeling in your tummy, or your face is becoming hot. Your self-talk immediately affected your body, your mental state and your emotions. Now let’s try some positive self-talk. Take a couple of deep breaths, smile, and say to yourself, aloud or silently: “I’m happy, strong and confident.”
How do you feel now? Feel your emotions in your body. Repeat the words “I’m happy, strong and confident” several times – keep smiling as you do so. If you’re like most people, you probably felt an emotional lift, even if slight. You can give yourself an emotional boost at any time, just by changing your self-talk. If you make it a habit to repeat motivating self-talk to yourself, not only will you feel better, but you’ll perform better in everything you do. Self-talk is powerful, and it’s free. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself. Erase old self-talk tapes: make new tapes
Affirmations are a form of self-talk, and you can create your own affirmations to use as self-talk. However, the best way to change your old self-talk tapes is to make a new tape every time you catch yourself replaying an old tape.
For example, if you hear yourself saying: “I’ll never get this project done. No one’s helping me with it, I’m always left to do the hard work and others get the credit...” The late Jim Rohn said, “Forget about the thief waiting in the alley; what about the thief in your mind?” It’s one of my favorite quotes by Jim, he is one of my favorite authors and mentors.
Change your self-talk immediately. Write down your new self-talk tape which will over time erase the old self-talk tape: “This project’s interesting. I’m going to have fun working with it. I’ll ask ___ and ___ for their input right away. I’m taking charge of this project, it will be done in no time, and I’ll claim the credit because I deserve it.” Now repeat your new self-talk to yourself as often as you need to, particularly as soon as you can hear any faint whispers of the old self talk. Boost the new tape with affirmations like: “I’m confident, capable and strong. I CAN do this!”
Hiring an employee isn't necessarily a walk in the park. When it comes to company culture and the expectations therein, more often than not, the needs to fulfill positions are intricate and selective. Every company is different and every role within it has particulars that must be met and done so successfully. So, when interviews are set, in all hopes the large pool of applicants has been narrowed down to fit the role. In theory, this deep well of knowledgeable and experienced candidates will surely provide the perfect fit. But, this isn't always the case.
It's similar to the elementary task of picking teams for a game of kick-ball. You have two team leaders who need to analyze the selection of players, to understand their strengths and weaknesses and finally, what good they can bring to the overall team and it's success. Simple. Easy. Or is it? What can happen in this situation is fairly predictable. Some leaders select teammates based on skill, while others choose based on popularity. One leader brings a player onto his team because the player promises results. Another leader looks over a player based on certain characteristics that may be deceiving. Suddenly, teams are not as fool-proof as one would think and the success rate changes.
Which brings us back to hiring talent. There is no way to guarantee a successful hire. Instead, you must trust and respect the process of building a team knowing that the system of requirements created specifically for selection covers what you need and want in employees. This alone takes a lot of time, energy and money! Which is why, when you do find a great fit, it's imperative to work overtime to not only acclimate them to the company, the culture and the team, but empower them to take charge of their success. Because the last thing you want is high employee turnover.
Besides the obvious problem that turnover costs money (lots and lots of it), it creates multiple issues that are hard to combat:
In the end, high turnover breeds a company culture that contains dissatisfaction, disorganization, less productivity, high costs and less qualified employees. So, if you're noticing that employees are leaving on a consistent basis, it's time to analyze why they're leaving and what can be done to keep current employees happy.
RED FLAG ALERT: If multiple employees leave at the same time, consider whether those in leadership roles are meeting the needs of their team. The last thing you want is to consistently lose good employees because their boss is impossible to work with.
Does it feel like your daily to-do list is turning into more of a novel than a checklist? It can be hard to keep up with the demands placed on you. CIPD launched their new survey, UK Working Lives, to find out just how overworked people in the workforce feel. With 6,000 respondents, they were able to get a pretty sizeable sample of the nation. While the majority (64%) of people were feeling satisfied with their job, some other interesting news came to light. While most senior management feels very satisfied with their work, middle management can't say the same.
More than a third (35%) of these workers said that they find themselves with too much work to do. as a result of this, it is not also surprising that almost one in four (23%) middle ranking employees regularly felt under excessive pressure.
This feeling of being overworked isn't limited to the UK alone, either. It's a widespread issue with some very troubling news popping up in Japan. We've all heard about the overtime culture and how many hours Japanese people put in at work. One paper has claimed that 63 public school teachers have died due to overwork during a 10-year period. They even have a name for death by overwork, "karoshi." During the years of 2007-2016, 92 applications for certification of death by overwork were received and 63 of those were certified. That doesn't even cover those families who grieve in silence rather than fie a report.
"Because awareness of working hours in schools has lagged behind, the reality is that it is difficult to even apply for government worker compensation," said Professor Nobumoto Higuchi, who specialises in education at Meisei University."If the government is to promote work-style reform for educators, then it needs to first grasp the reality of the deaths caused by overwork - the worst result of long working hours."
While it seems to be that there is no end in sight to the amount of work being piled on, the solution is to either find another job or try to manage your time better. It seems pretty bleak, I know, but there are some ways that you can seek out more productivity by manipulating the time you spend at work. Forbes writer, John Rampton, has really outdone himself with his list of 20 time manipulation tips. Check out my favorite tips below!
1. Create a time audit.
If you really want to see where your time goes in a day, you should create a time audit. There are loads of apps out there that can do this for you. They'll tell you where you're spending the majority of your time and you adjust accordingly.
6. Learn to delegate/outsource.
You can't do everything yourself. Here at AccelaWork, we know how tough it can be to accept such a thought, but you really have to learn how to delegate some tasks to others. You may think you're the king or queen of multitasking, but you'll only end up hurting your productivity.
7. Eliminate half-work.
Half-work is a common problem. Have you ever been in the middle of a task and your phone rings, pulling you away from completing it? Maybe your email notification dings and that project gets forgotten. Eliminate these distractions and stop partially finishing your work!
19. Batch similar task together.
Do you have some tasks on your list that are similar? Maybe you have to check emails and voicemails throughout the day. Or you have some data entry and filing to do. Rather than split up your time touching on these tasks separately throughout the day, group them together and handle them all at once!
As a business owner seeking to improve trust, you normally focus on how you brand yourself and how you conduct your operations. Are you hitting all key aspects that an employee desires in a positive work environment — such as competitive salaries, clear work goals, a dynamic team environment and motivated managers? When looking at the issue from a customer dynamic, evaluate whether you are providing courteous and professional customer service, meeting established deadlines, and offering quality products and services.
Yet the one feature that you cannot neglect is transparency.
Transparency has become more than just a buzzword for customers. It has become a vital element on how they do business with companies. Customers know all too well how one hiccup from your end of operations could significantly impact how pleased they are with your product or service. You can establish stronger customer/business relationships with greater transparency. Here are some ways to do this:
Employees should never be left in the cold when you are seeking to make your operations more transparent. Internal business transparency helps to create a stable and productive work environment when employees know what is expected from them. It also allows employees to be more engaged and speak up about ideas that could be beneficial to the company's goals. Three ideas to consider:
Three ways to build business transparency with employees include:
With a business that is more transparent, you have a greater ability to see the strengths and weaknesses in your operations. Transparency not only creates more satisfied customers, but employees will enjoy working for your business as well. By using the above methods, you can have better control over processes, while increasing your business’s growth.
Robert J. Hall is President of Track Your Truck, a leader in GPS vehicle tracking systems and software for small and midsized companies. Robert has over 13 years of experience in the vehicle tracking industry and graduated from Old Dominion University with a Degree in Electrical Engineering. Five short years after graduation Robert created the Track Your Truck business. Through this he has gained insight about the needs of businesses in a variety of industries.
“Everything rises and falls on leadership,” says America’s recognized leadership guru and author John Maxwell. “Everything” is the key word in that statement. To survive and succeed, you must convince others to take action on your behalf even when you have no formal authority.
Persuasion is an essential proficiency for all leaders, requiring you to move people toward a position they don’t currently hold. Maxwell also says, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” You must not only make a rational argument but also frame your ideas, approaches and solutions in ways that appeal to diverse groups of people with basic human emotions. You must know your audience!
PREPARING THE WAY
Any direct attempt to persuade may provoke colleagues to oppose and polarize, they’ll simply push back on your ideas and initiatives. Remember, the quality of your communication can be judged by the results you get. Persuasion, creating influence, is a learning and negotiating process, it must include three phases:
Before you even begin to speak, consider your position from every angle. Presenting your ideas takes planning to learn about your audience and prepare your arguments. Here is where the NLP Presupposition, “an ounce of framing is worth a pound of reframing,” really makes sense.
Dialogue occurs both before and during the persuasion process. You must invite people to discuss solutions, debate the merits of your position, offer honest feedback and suggest alternatives. Include more people at all levels in the decision-making process. It’s best to test and revise ideas to reflect colleagues’ concerns and needs. Success depends on being open-minded and willing to incorporate compromises. Remain flexible. Another NLP Presupposition really fits here nicely. It comes from Systems Thinking and it’s called Requisite Variety; the element in a system with the most flexibility will be the controlling element. Stay flexible.
Leading through persuasion requires you to follow four essential steps:
1. ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY. Credibility develops from two sources: expertise and relationships. You must be able to listen carefully to other people’s suggestions. Establish an environment in which they know their opinions are valued. Prepare by collecting data and information that both support and contradict your arguments.
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE. Frame your goals in a way that identifies common ground. Your primary goal is to identify tangible benefits to which your targeted audience can relate. This requires conversations to collect essential information by asking thoughtful questions. This process will often prompt you to alter your initial argument or include compromises. Identify key decision makers, stakeholders and the organization’s network of influence. Pinpoint their interests and how they view alternatives.
3. REINFORCE YOUR POSITIONS WITH VIVID LANGUAGE AND COMPELLING EVIDENCE. Persuasion requires you to present evidence: strong data in multiple forms (stories, graphs, images, metaphors and examples). Make your position come alive by using vivid language that complements graphics. Join in the conversation that’s already going on inside your audience’s mind. In most cases, a rock-solid argument:
4. CONNECT EMOTIONALLY. Your connection to your audience must demonstrate both intellectual and emotional commitment to your position. Successful persuaders cultivate an accurate sense of their audience’s emotional state, and they adjust their arguments’ tone accordingly. Whatever your position, you must match your emotional fervor to your audience’s ability to receive your message.
In today’s organizations, large and small, work is generally completed by cross-functional teams of peers, or outside virtual partners. It’s a real mix of some remaining baby boomers, Gen-Xers and millennials who show little tolerance for authority. Electronic communication and globalization have further eroded the traditional hierarchy. People who perform work don’t just ask “what should I do?” but “why should I do it?”
Leaders must answer the “why” question effectively and consistently. Answering the “why” question only once is a fools folly. Persuasion (aka the ability to influence) is an essential proficiency for all leaders who want to succeed today, tomorrow and in the decades ahead. How are you increasing your skill at influencing? I’d like to know!
One of my favorite quotes as of late is from Rheba Estante in regards to producing content substance. According to her, to be successful you must: "Stop selling. It may sound counter-intuitive, but, seriously, stop selling. Speakers who earn top dollar have substance that sells itself."
While these words were spoken to a room full of professional speakers, Estante's philosophy applies in the blogging world as well. Which brings me to today's lesson: Substance sells products and services in blog content writing as well. To deliver substantive blogging for business, blog writers need to follow Estante’s advice to stop pushing the PR and start focusing on knowing what your audience wants and delivering that. That’s the only road to being seen as an authority and a go-to resource for important things.
So what is substance exactly? Speaker Magazine says it’s the difference between façade and fact, between appearance and reality. It’s about providing proof. As a corporate blogging trainer, I really relate to Speaker magazine's article about Substance, With Style where it says:
It isn’t what you’ve done, but what you’ve learned-–and the insights you can share--that give your expertise substance.
I think that observation is extraordinarily relevant to anyone writing for business. The facts, which are the raw ingredients of corporate blogging for business, need to be translated into relational, emotional terms that compel reaction--and action--in readers. The typical website explains what products and services the company offers, who the players are, and in what geographical area they operate. The better websites however, give at least a taste of the corporate culture and some of the owners’ core beliefs. The function then of the business blog writing is to give readers proof as well as a deeper perspective with which to process the information you’re offering.
The challenge, as many bloggers may first encounter, is how to generate meaningful content that readers actually want to read. To any one of us, our blog may be well written and exude a fantastic message, but this isn't to say we are guaranteed readership by the dozens, hundreds or even thousands. So how can we create content with substance? Robby Slaughter, a principal with Accelawork, suggests taking to open ended questions to prompt blog content:
When people check out our productivity blog, they sometimes ask me how we come up with all of our content. “There’s no way I could write that much about our organization”, they say. My reply is always the same: “You have more content than you realize.”Naturally, it’s easy to debunk the “content generation is hard” by listing open-ended questions. Here’s a bunch just off the top of my head:
How did your company get started? Who was your first customer? What’s the biggest misconception about your industry? What do you hope to accomplish next year? Who is one of your strategic partners, and why? What great idea did you have that turned out to be a flop? What’s a great story about how you saved the day? What’s industry innovation most excites you? What are the legal issues in your industry? How do you go about finding new employees? What’s something that tells you that a customer is going to work out well? Answering any of these prompts will of course make great fodder for your email marketing campaigns. Think of any brand that you currently follow— wouldn’t you love to hear someone inside their organization talk about any of these topics? We all adore stories.
It’s easy to complain about the challenge of generating story ideas for your online marketing campaigns, but in truth the real challenge is deciding what not to say. Once you begin to share your beliefs and your experiences, the content floodgates are open. It’s often harder to stop talking than it is to keep the conversation going. That is: once you actually begin.
If you take only way thing away from this blog today, please let it be this: Truly effective SEO marketing blogs don’t appear to market anything. The substance sells itself.
The Olympic sprinters are dramatically faster than the average person. A "healthy" adult can run about 10 miles per hour. But Usain Bolt tops out at 27.8 miles per hour. Likewise, it's easy to acknowledge that the concert we give while singing in the shower is pathetic compared to the top pop stars and opera singers.
So, what about business icon and famed productivity superstar, Elon Musk?
A piece from CNBC outlines six rules from Musk. Though to be fair, these really come from a larger internal memo that was published by the website electrek. Here is the list:
– Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.– Also get rid of frequent meetings, unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter. Meeting frequency should drop rapidly once the urgent matter is resolved.
– Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.
– Don’t use acronyms or nonsense words for objects, software or processes at Tesla. In general, anything that requires an explanation inhibits communication. We don’t want people to have to memorize a glossary just to function at Tesla.
– Communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done, not through the “chain of command”. Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves working elsewhere.
– A major source of issues is poor communication between depts. The way to solve this is allow free flow of information between all levels. If, in order to get something done between depts, an individual contributor has to talk to their manager, who talks to a director, who talks to a VP, who talks to another VP, who talks to a director, who talks to a manager, who talks to someone doing the actual work, then super dumb things will happen. It must be ok for people to talk directly and just make the right thing happen.
– In general, always pick common sense as your guide. If following a “company rule” is obviously ridiculous in a particular situation, such that it would make for a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule should change.
These directives are less about productivity and more about culture. Yes, meetings are typically a waste of time, but that's because they are so often poorly planned and poorly run. Likewise, walking out of a meeting because you aren't adding value would be considered rude in many organizations. But it should never be rude to have a private conversation with team members about who to include in which meetings.
Musk also complains about communication. Sure, jargon is often annoying. But do you really want to say "automated teller machine" instead of ATM or "the audio coding format formalized by the Motion Picture Experts Group as Audio Layer III" instead of MP3? And it's true that you should talk directly to the people who need the information, and not feel the need to go through the "chain of command." But that doesn't sound like a communication problem as much as a "chain of command" problem.
As Indianapolis marketing expert and small business leader Lorraine Ball wrote in a past blog post, culture is about what you really value as an organization.
In short, these aren't really productivity rules at all. They are a message from Elon Musk about what he values. And if you value them too, perhaps you should work for Tesla---or adopt these own ideas in your organization.
Culture makes the difference.
These thoughts will keep us stuck right where we are and prevent us from moving forward. The fact is that changing those long, established self-sabotaging behavior patterns can be as difficult as recognizing and understanding them. The question then becomes, “How can you eliminate sabotaging beliefs and emotions?”
First, understand and accept yourself before attempting to understand and accept others. This comes from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: “SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND AND THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD.” You have to take a journey within for personal evaluation. It means looking inside yourself and listening to your inner dialogue, or as some would say, your self-talk.
Use your journal to track that conversation that’s going on in your head. Remain open-minded to what you see and hear when discovering and understanding your beliefs. This is essential when making constructive changes in your behaviors; deciding how far and deep you want to go before introspection is your decision. You can take your life, your relationships, and your business to a new level when you discover empowering insights to eliminate damaging self-talk and undermining behaviors. Before going to sleep, consider using your journal as Alyssa Shea advises in a post about how you can use your mind to increase productivity:
I won’t promise that you’ll suddenly become this lean, mean, productivity machine after reading this, that would be insane. I can tell you that I’ve taken these tips to heart and will implement them in my own daily routine. What the writer suggests is, every night before you go to sleep, take 5 minutes to answer a few questions while you’re lying in bed.
By integrating this nightly exercise into your routine, you can sort through those self-sabotaging thoughts as well as find ways to boost your thoughtfulness.
Deciding to let go of self-sabotaging behaviors that prevent you from changing takes courage and a personal commitment to developing more effective actions. Before you go around believing you can change the beliefs and behavior of others, you have to first change yourself. This means overcoming resistances and sabotaging behaviors that have prevented you from experiencing an optimistic attitude. No matter what obstacles you face, developing an optimistic attitude and changing unrewarding behaviors and beliefs will awaken you to eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors.
So what steps can you take? Use these specific actions now, today, to become aware of and overcome your self-sabotaging beliefs and self-defeating emotions:
Try these and let me know how it’s working for you. I’d like to hear from you!
“That’s it. This team has too many issues and I’m tired of dealing with them.”
My response was what every performance coach I know would say, to help a leader focus on problem-solving and not giving up.
“What are the issues and what have you tried so far?”
She looked at me with her mouth wide open.
“I’ve tried talking to them about what they need to do.”
When a leader refers to their team as them and they, it’s not good. I probed further.
“How did those conversations go?”
“They made lots of excuses about their issues.”
“Excuses about their issues?”
“Yes. Excuses about why they can’t do what I ask.”
“Have you asked your team what they need in order to accomplish what you’re asking?”
“No, I haven’t,” she said and looked directly at me. “They don’t know what they need.”
Our conversation continued for several minutes and resulted in her agreeing to take a leadership assessment that helped her identify areas affecting her and her team. I helped her develop a strategy and focus on exploring options for helping her team; abandoning her original thoughts of giving up. In the next two years she went on to lead the team to great success.
Leaders across the globe face roadblocks every day. If you lead in any capacity you have likely faced one or twenty. Whether it was a small, medium or large one, you have been impacted.
It’s clear that roadblocks will happen and it’s important to be prepared. For over 20 years, I’ve worked with leaders and teams on moving through roadblocks during transformations, turnarounds and even one bankruptcy. What I’ve learned is that they surface even in the best cultures. What’s more important to understand is how you face them. In other words, do you let the roadblock stop you, or can you break through?
Here are three tips to break through leadership roadblocks you’re sure to encounter:
But as we dug deeper she realized where the roadblock really was. She was convinced that her team was no good and had stopped seeking solutions. When she focused on identifying solutions that the team needed and sought their voice, she realized she could move beyond the real roadblock — her own mindset.
Breaking through your leadership roadblock successfully also provides a model that you can leverage over and over, and it demonstrates growth and development for your team. Teams like to see their leaders go first — be willing to explore multiple tools to show your team how using them can provide maximum success.
The process of the 8 percent requires being passionate and committed to the end. Your level of commitment must be intrinsic inspiration to do whatever is necessary to shift your behaviors and overcome the roadblock.
By putting these tips into action, you can significantly improve your ability to breakthrough your leadership roadblocks.
An op-ed in Forbes titled The Plight Of The Remote Worker: Mitigating The Engagement And Productivity Impact makes several strong claims:
As a completely remote company, my efforts to provide cohesiveness and positive feedback to the team must cross borders and I believe positive/negative feedback should be voiced more often than in a normal office. This is because we don’t have everyday personal contact....
Again, remote work can be lonely and employees can feel neglected due to distance. Here’s a solution: Properly honor anniversary milestones. Employee service anniversaries are a significant accomplishment and should be recognized publicly. These events are a great way to share employee stories and company history and create a strong sense of culture. You can do this by congratulating these individuals in a yearly team video chat or making them feel special with a small gift.
I do not agree.
It's true that employee engagement is tremendously important. But that's not because "employees look for relationships and connection at work", as the author writes. In fact, people don't take a job because they are looking to make new friends. They take a job because they want to earn money and maybe create something interesting. If there is a relationship involved in their desire to work, it's probably because they already have a friend who has a job at that company.
Employee engagement is not about the human-to-human connection, but about being valuable and making a contribution. An engaged employee isn't one who likes their boss and their coworkers. In fact, you can get along great with people and not really do anything that helps out your employer! Instead, an engaged employee gets things done because they want to, and see doing so as significant.
We've written before about giving good feedback (and also accepting feedback from others). It's essential to be able to talk to someone who did something wrong and provide coaching, or to be able praise them when they are uncertain.
But in far too many cases, we give feedback instead of doing what we should have done in the first place: hired a qualified candidate, or defined the work sufficiently well. I'm proud that even though most of our team is remote, I rarely send them emails and almost never call them. We don't have regular meetings. That's because they are engaged. They know what the company needs because it has been precisely defined, and they do it. Their work is excellent. And almost always when there is a problem, it's because the scope of the work wasn't sufficiently defined.
Instead of giving feedback, often what is needed is to better specify the original workflow.
It's common advice not to mix friends and money. If you loan money to a friend, you're likely to have heartache forever. If you pay a friend to help you with a project, you'll wonder about the price and the work.
So if it's a bad idea to mix friends and business, should you be friends with your colleagues? In general, you probably shouldn't. You're there to get things done. Be careful about anything which might impact your ability to collaborate and succeed.
A wonderful, often overlooked benefit to telecommuting is that it forces people to focus on results and effective communication rather than what can be done in person. In fact, you should conduct all work as if you are remote. Because then, engagement will be more likely to be genuine, and work will absolutely get done (or be obvious if it isn't.)
Consider having remote employees. But more importantly, consider what it means to be engaged in your work. That is, to care about more than just punching the clock and getting the paycheck. Being engaged is about doing things that matter and wanting to do good work.
It’s not about other people. It's about you.
When it comes to our organizations, it’s always advantageous to have highly engaged employees. Not only does employee engagement correlate directly with retention, it also lends itself to a much higher level of customer service. Showing our employees appreciation is one of the easiest ways to boost engagement. And while traditional methods like benefit packages and birthday lunches are important, there’s a whole other realm of possibilities that could make an even bigger impact. Ashley Lee went over in great detail how important it is to spark motivation in your employees.
What works for one employee, may not work for another. And so the guessing game begins right? Wrong. More often than not, motivation is presented through one of three areas: money, rewards, or recognition. And this is perhaps where the problem with motivation in business starts.
Can we motivate employees by showing how much they matter? I believe you can. Here are a few unusual (but effective) ways to show employees how much they matter.
We’ve all been to employee birthday celebrations. Gatherings like these are a tried-and-true way to express your appreciation, but there’s no reason to stop there. You can connect with your team on a more intimate level by making it a point to celebrate their personal achievements and milestones. Whether it’s a marriage, new baby, or even the purchase of a home, the sky is the limit when it comes to reasons to celebrate. No matter what, it’s never a bad thing to make excuses to treat your employees to food!
As leaders, we’ve all experienced the tough situation of an employee conflicting with a customer. And while it’s often said that the customer is always right, this mantra can be toxic for employee engagement (especially when the situation at hand involves a difficult client). In the case of a problematic client, it’s often worth taking a moment to ask yourself if the customer is truly right in this situation. Before moving forward, ask your employee for their perspective and make sure you’re really listening. You’ll gain crucial insight into the situation, and show your employee that you value and respect their well-being.
While it’s true that we all have to make sure our policies and procedures are followed, there’s still always a little bit of room for fun in our organizations. Morale boosters like Secret Santa and office contests sometimes get a bad rap for being frivolous, but they can work wonders to boost engagement. While you never want a morale booster to get in the way of productivity, during stressful periods they can add some much-needed joy to your team’s day. Additionally, this is also a way for you to create fun traditions within your organization.
One of the most commonly overlooked ways to show appreciation is mind-bogglingly simple – be nice. Everyone wants to be shown kindness, and your employees are no different. Don’t forget to be gracious, polite, and appreciative. While it seems like a small gesture, it’s one that your employees will be grateful for. Plus, even the smallest acts of kindness can have a trickle-down effect, improving your organization’s overall culture.
Showing your employees that they matter doesn’t have to be a large-scale or expensive initiative. In fact, your gratitude is often best expressed through many small, meaningful interactions. No matter the methods that you choose, your efforts won’t go unnoticed. Creating a culture of appreciation will boost your employee engagement and lead to an overall positive work environment.
Currently, I'm sitting at 21 weeks pregnant with my second child and have a name list the length of my arm. There are names I truly love but would be afraid to give a child. I find names that sound great for a child but just don't seem to age well. How important is a middle name? Should that sound okay in a professional setting, too? The pressure is intense. You're naming a person after all. This is important stuff!
I don't really want a name that is trendy or a name that everyone is using. I went to school with 4 girls named Britney in one of my classes. Okay, so that's now another rule to try to follow. If you take a look at the social security website, they list popular names by the year. For me, I think a name has to be familiar; meaning made-up names should be off the table.
You're more likely to run across issues while introducing yourself. My name is pretty familiar and yet, people still call me Melissa. It can make for an awkward moment, that's for sure. How would you handle this situation? Sarah Landrum at The Ladders shared some of her ideas on how you can handle people who keep getting your name wrong.
Go with phonetics
You may think it's weird to do, but when introducing yourself, try just spelling it out for people.
Insert a phonetic spelling of your name into your email signature, such as Sigh-Oh-Wren for Sioryn. This approach will help others adjust to your name if it’s not typical to where you’re working and living or a little too modern for folks. It’s stealthy and direct enough to work!
Keep being straightforward
It's hard to be bold in an already awkward situation. But if it's important to you that people say your name right, then you have to steel yourself. It's okay to correct someone but do it without blaming them, too. Don't be afraid to interrupt the conversation with a correction, either.
These three tactics won’t stop people from getting your name wrong, but they offer tools that tackle different types of personalities and learning styles. The quiet folks who are visual learners and need repetition can check your social media and email signatures.
Refer to yourself
This one is a little...nutty. But I enjoy crazy and a lot of people will probably get a kick out of it, too. Refer to yourself in the third person while conversing!
You say, “One day, a rogue lion found its way into the office, and someone was bound to get bitten. So, I thought to myself, Sioryn (said correctly), you can either tame this lion and rise to the occasion, or die. Obviously, I made a new friend.”
You may come across a little like George from Seinfeld, but who doesn't appreciate a little bit of George-ness now and again?
So in reality, yes, a name is really important. You don't want to give your child a lifetime of misery always correcting people or being embarrassed to introduce themselves. We here at AccelaWork know how important confidence is, especially when it comes to the business world. It really is one of the secrets to being successful. If you do pick a truly awful name for your child, the good news is that they can change it when they get older. So I guess you could have a little fun until they have a say!
Experts like Brendon Burchard, author of High-Performance Habits, say that to be able to succeed and live a comfortable life, everyone needs constant productivity. As a matter of fact, Increasing Productivity is Habit #4 of High-Performance Habits. Productivity is important because when people are working to be productive, they become more aggressive in achieving their goals and dreams in life. Here are six strategies you can do to increase your productivity.
1. ALWAYS HAVE A DREAM AND HOLD ON TO IT.
Since productivity is a not an easy task to start with, it’s best if you start now by having a dream, a CLEAR goal, that you can hold on to. The scale or the size of that dream doesn’t really matter, it can be a big thing or a small thing, what’s important is that you’re willing to do everything you can to achieve that dream. For some people, having big dreams work because they are looking forward to big rewards in the future, which is why they are giving their best this early. The late Jim Rohn said, “The reason to set goals is for you’ll become as you achieve them.”
2. AVOID TOO MUCH THINKING.
Work to manage yourself and stop over-thinking. Here’s why over-thinking will only bring in a mix of emotions that typically makes it harder to handle and manage later on. To keep constant productivity, work to veer away from negative thoughts and focus on the things that lead to something good. Adding the secret ingredient of gratitude helps to escape the over-thinking trap. When you start to over-think, stop and recognize something to be grateful for in your life.
3. LET GO OF THE PAST.
Whatever your past experiences have been, the first step to being productive is to forget the failures and mistakes that you’ve had in the past. Realize that there are things that are beyond your control, I give you full permission to forgive yourself and start anew. When you keep thinking of the past, it serves as a reminder of your failure (or someplace where you didn’t perform as you wanted) and you don’t need that. If you keep thinking about your defeats, you will undergo a never-ending cycle of blaming yourself for the things that you did not really opt to do.
4. SET YOUR OWN PACE.
While it is true that being competitive is a key in terms of achieving goals, there can be times when you will get tired of running after so many things because you don’t want other people to finish before you. Being competitive is both a blessing and a curse. To be able to increase productivity, it is best if you run a race at your own pace so you won’t get tired, distracted or frustrated.
5. THINK AND TAKE ONE STEP AHEAD.
To be able to increase productivity, you need to plan and do things ahead of time so you will be given more opportunities or chances in case the first plan did not work. Taking and thinking one step ahead is the best foundation of being productive because when you develop these, it will be easier for you to take tougher and bigger problems or challenges along the way.
6. KEEP A JOURNAL OF YOUR PROGRESS. Keeping a journal of your accomplishments and struggles allows you to go back periodically and reflect on your activities. Doing this gives you an omniscient view, one where you can truly see where you might have been thinking incorrectly or correctly and then make the necessary changes. Making those needed changes moves you closer to your goal of being more productive. Remember the palest ink is better than the best memory.
Here’s to your success in being productive. Apply these six strategies and watch your productivity increase. Let me know how these strategies work for you!
I know the difference between right and wrong, and the difference between legal and illegal. But what if following the law injures another person? What if doing what you believe is right, breaks the law? In these cases, you can find a vicious debate. I am driven more by moral values than I am by the laws written by other people. I also recognize that being morally right does not allow me to judge others.
In today's culture, we are experiencing conflict about gun control, abortion, gender, euthanasia, immigration, global consumption, and growth. This topic has been on my mind since I read a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. She said, "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" I can also restate that from another perspective as, "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than accept it as a cost of our greed?"
Moral dilemmas have existed throughout history. To me, it is important how I act, and how I respond. Yet, I can only make a difference if I understand the issues. Listening to one or even both sides of the argument by itself does not help. Both sides will claim to be right. Is it right or wrong, legal or illegal? Because in today's culture every voice can be heard, it has made finding the truth more difficult. But if we listen to Eleanor, preventing human misery may help us start. How do you deal with all the conflict that invades your daily life?
Conflict can creep into any part of your life, especially while you're at work. Sometimes, management has a hard time figuring out how to resolve issues the arise. Alyssa Shea touched on this topic when she talked about managing conflict issues in the workplace. One way to manage conflict that she mentioned is by listening.
1. Listen.Think of a time that you have had an issue with someone, either a coworker or family member. Is it safe to say that the issue came about because of miscommunication? In fact, that’s a pretty common theme when it comes to conflict.
Miscommunication is the root of many conflicts. Over at Chief Learning Officer, they explored how miscommunicating really affects workers. The continuous march of technology developments means we're all becoming more and more connected to a continuous stream of updates from each other. But that doesn't mean that we're all on the same page. The Economist Intelligence Unit produced a study called “Communication Barriers in the Modern Workplace” which has taken a look at the levels of communication in workplaces. The numbers don't lie.
EIU’s study of 403 executives, managers and staff at U.S. companies found that, across the board, employees believe miscommunication is contributing to their stress, failure to complete projects and loss of sales. “This is not just an unpleasantry. This is really affecting the performance of the company,” said Nathan Rawlins, chief marketing officer at Lucid Software, makers of Lucidchart.
So much of our correspondence is over text and email. You can't really infer tone of voice from these messages and it's likely this is a big part of where a breakdown in communication starts. Sometimes, you'll have to dig deeper in your vault of communicating skills. Scheduling some face-to-face time or using slideshows in presentations are some ways to help you get your point across!
At AccelaWork, we embrace the ever-growing ways in which technology is sweeping the world. And while there are so many reasons why this is the case, one of the greatest benefits we truly see impacting business is in terms of productivity. For our avid readers, as you may recognize, enhancing productivity is a topic we simply love to discuss. In fact, if you run a search on The Methodology Blog, you will find all sorts of posts dedicated to the topic of productivity. Consider reading a selection of them, we're sure you'll find them enlightening.
Today, I'd like to focus in on productivity gained through Digital Assistants. The TalentCulture team highlighted an article written by productivity expert and AccelaWork principal Robby Slaughter. How to Get More Done at Work with Digital Assistants is piece that discusses AI assistants and what they can do to foster productivity at work. Now let me first say, it's easy to immediately think about Siri and Alexa as those AI instruments that can help us through our day. They've become a fantastic tool when it comes to getting information fast. Heck, even our children know that turning to Alexa to ask about the weather or set a morning alarm is the way to go. But, Slaughter dives deeper into the subject of digital assistants and the ways in which we can really begin utilizing the technology to gain productivity. His first suggestion? Upgrade your AI.
Start looking at more impressive tools such as x.ai or Clara Labs, which are AI assistants that can schedule appointments with other people simply by copying them on an email . . . And if you really want to see AI at work, try something like Fin. This is a completely independent assistant that you can ask to do anything. Whatever the AI can’t figure out, humans behind the scenes can guide.
Slaughter cautions readers however. What we must all remember is that while technology can make things easier and faster, it's still developing. He reminds us to be patient. Not unlike human error, digital assistants have a margin of error as well. If you've ever dealt with autocorrect or voice-to-text on your phone, it's easy to see how technology can misunderstand.
First, be patient. This is an emerging technology that we are all struggling to understand. Just like other tools, it won’t always work. As enhancements are pushed to market, it gives people an opportunity to screw up with more calamity.
Slaughter also suggests that anyone using a digital assistant should be as transparent as possible about it. After all, it's better to let your clients, customers, colleagues, etc. know that you are utilizing technology to perform certain tasks in case there are blunders that create confusion and frustration. An example could be:
Instead of saying ‘My secretary, Adam, will schedule our appointment,’ type ‘I have an AI robot that I’m trying out for scheduling appointments,’ Your honesty will smooth most any problem you may have.
A big area that could become a problem with digital assistants if not monitored thoroughly is privacy and security. It's not uncommon for this technology to be interpreted human. I, for one, have seen this firsthand when it comes to solicitations via phone. It's absolutely astounding how AI technology can model human behavior; particularly when it comes to predicting responses. But, what we need to remember is that our priority, first and foremost, must be to continue upholding privacy and security in business. Slaughter urges this concept:
Keep in mind that anything that attempts to look human is often going to be interpreted as human, and that can lead to misunderstandings . . . And just because it’s an AI-based platform doesn’t mean you can ignore security and privacy — follow the same rules you would when dealing with humans. Don’t give a tool power to do something you wouldn’t normally do, like make a payment to literally anyone who asks.
In the end, the greatest benefit that digital assistants can bring to all of us is the gift of productivity. Slaughter's final thoughts reflect this entirely:
The changes these advances can bring to the workplace will also change the way we work, so use the time you save wisely. Productivity improvements make some work obsolete. What are you doing now that a computer will be able to do for you? And if it is [doing it for you], what are you doing instead?
Whenever I'm on the phone and talking with people, I find myself traveling around my house. Sometimes, I'll be pacing back and forth in the same spot. Are you like me? Well, it turns out it's actually pretty beneficial. A study came out that says walking can have a positive effect on creative thinking. How could we use this to our advantage at work? I can think of one area that could use improvement: meetings.
Most of us dread the notification calling for a meeting. We here at AccelaWork know what a drain a meeting can be on how productive you are in a day. Cindy Allen-Stuckey took a look at the importance of meetings and discovered some interesting information.
According to results of a survey conducted by Microsoft, employees spend 5.6 hours each week in meetings and 71% of respondents felt meetings weren’t productive. That’s bad news, and what’s worse is that this isn’t the only study reporting that meetings are widely disliked.It’s a big problem. So how do great leaders make sure we have great meetings? It boils down to three things:
1. They achieve the meeting’s objective
2. They take up a minimum amount of time
3. They leave participants feeling that a good process has been followed.
If we all dread meetings and feel as though they don't really do much in the way of productivity, why are they still so common? Isn't it time for a change? Here are some ways you might be able to make a change at your workplace and take the show on the road (or sidewalk.)
Get Your Coworkers On Board
A meeting doesn't include just you, though how easy would that make your life, right? If you're really interested in getting meetings going outside instead of the conference room, then you'll need to get your coworkers in on the idea. Gather up as many like-minded workers as you can find and create a detailed presentation or report. The numbers truly are on your side according to research so you should have no problem there. You can all take the proposition to management and explain the benefits together. There's always strength in numbers!
Have A Destination
It's probably a bad idea to take a bunch of people outside with no clear, agreed upon destination. You'll end up wandering around with everyone asking where to go rather than staying on task and leaving with the information you needed from the meeting in the first place. You could pull up a map of the surrounding areas to figure out your path. Look for walking trails nearby or just plan on doing a big circle ending up where you started.
Make It An Experience
You don't have to just wander in circles outside while babbling on about numbers and goals and what's coming down the pipeline. Yes, that information is important, but seriously hard to pay attention to, especially if you're out in nature. Bring snacks that you hand out to people who get involved and answer questions when called upon. Food is always a great motivator. You can try including some team-building exercises, like creating teams and having people work together to find the destination of the meeting.
Learning and working can be fun and rewarding. You don't have to follow the same old ways just because that's how things have always been done. Be a trailblazer. Don't be afraid to shake things up!
During these stressful times, it’s tempting to hire new team members as quickly as possible. When you’re in hiring crisis mode, time is of the essence, but it’s crucial to remember that quality should always be placed above speed. Unfortunately, finding quality employees can be a challenge. If you find yourself struggling with finding the perfect candidate, it’s time to boost your recruitment efforts. The process can be daunting, but with a little focus, finding quality candidates may be easier than you think. Here are a few ways to step up your recruitment efforts.
Use Your Industry Contacts
When you’re looking to find the perfect candidate for a position, sometimes the best resource already exists within your professional network. Networking is important to your success. Are you building your contact list by relationship networking? Rather than scrambling for resources when you need them, you should network before you need it as guest blogger, Jessica White, explained.
Relationship networking is simply the art of meeting people and benefiting from those relationships. Effective relationship networking is all about building those relationships and maintaining long-lasting connections with other professionals. It means meeting people outside your field and learning as much as you can about them and what they do.
After all, what better way to get an accurate gauge of a potential employee’s performance and skill level than from someone you know and trust? Try reaching out to your peers to see if they have anyone on their shortlists. Whether they simply found themselves with too many qualified applicants for a position, or already know of someone ready to make a change, it’s likely that you’ll get a lead or two by reaching out.
Employee Referral Programs
Employee referral programs can be just what you need to boost your recruitment efforts. Your current employees are deeply entrenched in your day-to-day, so they can easily make strong recommendations on candidates they believe will excel at your organization. Not only that, but candidates referred by your employees are much more likely to have a good understanding of your organization’s culture. Be sure to have a policy in place to reward employees for their successfully hired referrals. Having a policy in place will encourage the referral process and serve as another way to boost employee engagement.
Social Media
We all know how important social media can be to our organization’s brand and reputation, however, it can also be used as a recruitment tool. Think about it: One of the best ways to quickly broadcast a message in today’s digital world is through social media. While you can simply post about your open position, why not take it a step further and create an easy-to-share branded graphic? Whatever route you choose, your message is sure to be seen, which hopefully will lead the perfect candidate to your door.
Filling open positions within your organization sometimes means looking beyond the traditional job posting mediums. While there’s definitely no harm in utilizing the standard tools, going above and beyond with your recruitment efforts means looking in unexpected places. The more willing you are to try new avenues, the more likely you’ll be to make the perfect hire. It’s true that finding an ideal candidate can be time-consuming, but it’s always well worth the effort. Over time, you’ll yield higher employee retention and engagement, which equals a better bottom line over the long haul. Isn't that the goal for your business?
Moving with urgency means being action-oriented, fast-paced, and swift. A sense of urgency can positively impact results for individuals and teams. However, the pace is relative based on your own experience and efforts. As a leader, I know an urgent pace for some is more accelerated than for others. It makes creating a sense of urgency a challenge. This week I share some of my thoughts on urgency and urge you to think about how they may affect your results.
1. Reflection. When I reach a milestone, I usually take time to reflect on lessons learned. One of the questions, I ask myself is "how could it have been achieved faster?" I try to determine where the pace was dictated by resources, people, knowledge, or outside influences. This understanding can help future activities, and strengthen the lessons learned.
2. Observation. Since pace is relative, it is important to observe the change of pace. Ideally, I would like to see all parts of an activity or project accelerate, but if some area is lacking, it needs closer examination.
3. Results. Urgency should bring results quicker. But you risk increasing errors or skipping important steps. I have learned that increasing urgency with a team also requires increasing the diligence in monitoring and evaluation of results. Urgency can drive extraordinary results, but only if care is given excellence.
4. Importance. Orrin Woodward said, "When the urgent crowds out the important, people urgently accomplish nothing of value." Not everything should be urgent. Urgency loses its power if everything needs to be done first. Make only the most important thing urgent.
Urgency can help us become better, but we can also become better at being urgent. It may not feel like it, but it's actually helpful at times to have urgent matters. Jack Klemeyer talked about this issue in a post about something very important - what's stopping you from achieving your goals?
1. LACK OF AN INSPIRING, MOTIVATING PURPOSEWhy should we do anything? Why indeed! That missing why is called purpose. Without a strong purpose, the urgent things take over. The ringing telephone takes over. “You’ve Got Mail” takes over. The knock at the door takes over. Inertia takes over. I remember in physics I learned that it takes additional energy to break free of inertia. A powerful purpose adds that energy. Energy that organizes your actions, and brings the important things to the fore. To break free of the inertia of your current routine, you need an inspiring purpose.
If this still isn't lighting a fire under you, maybe some advice from The Business Journals can help. Their article by Peter DeMarco touches on really important aspects of this discussion. Sometimes, team members or fellow co-workers don't rise to the challenge of a deadline. His top tip is really inspiring.
Leaders communicate by their example. As a leader, ask yourself: Do you react to all problems with the same level of intensity or do you differentiate according to the situation? The intensity of your reactions ought to be in direct proportion to the importance of what is at stake.
Even if you're not in a leadership role, you can certainly use this advice for yourself. You have to take that same level of intensity and put that into all of your work. Don't burn yourself out by putting all of your effort into a single area. Bring that focus and drive to everything you do!
Back when I was just entering the work force---fifteen years ago exactly---securing a long-term job with a company was the ultimate goal. It wasn't down to an exact science mind you, but the mentality was such that many young professionals sought out a career in a company they felt content with and stuck to it for as long as they could. This, of course, was not the path for everyone, but it certainly appeared to be the norm for many of us. Perhaps part of this mentality came from the advice and perspective of our parents and mentors of the Baby Boomer generation. The idea of unrelenting loyalty, even in times of adversity, is a strong message the older generation graciously bestows upon us everyday.
As the years have passed however, it appears this view of longevity has deteriorated. Call it what you will, but the mentality of staying with one company for years or decades at a time has shifted. The trend we are now seeing is one of job bouncing: spending a year or two at one company then moving to another and another and another. Whether this is due to boredom, discontent, or even a need to expand knowledge through multiple experiences, it's definitely a trend that can prove to be difficult for company culture, business development, and even job security.
The website Snacknation brings to light numbers that show just how clearly the workforce is losing employee engagement. According to a published chart representing employee engagement in the US, only 29% of the workforce is engaged in their jobs. 45% of people are disengaged in their jobs and a staggering 26% of people are actively disengaged! Given these percentages, perhaps it is time for companies to brainstorm on ways to engage their employees; particularly those who have a high turn-around rate.
Snacknation published a huge list of employee engagement ideas they think are beneficial for companies to implement along with 59 Employee Engagement Ideas and Activities for 2018. Here are their top ten:
Align your company with a purpose
Give your people “insider” information
Celebrate personal wins
Find out what your team members are passionate about
Provide consistent coaching and training
Promote perks that boost mental health and physical well-being
Have more fun at work
Ditch the cubicles
Hold office hours
Start a learning club
Looking as these ideas, it's easy to see how generalized they are. What does it mean to "give your people 'insider' information?" Or what constitutes "Having more fun at work?" You can interpret these suggestions for hours and brood over what to do with them for weeks or even years.
Rather, take these ideas as a way to begin the conversation with your employees. As a company, you need to investigate each suggestion and formulate a plan based on what works for your business as a whole. After all, every company culture is different and while you may or may not need to boost employee engagement, it's always wise to stay on top of ways to foster contentment throughout the office. If you have a handle on how employees are feeling in their jobs, you have a greater chance for successful job retention.
Emily Tisdale, a frequent contributor here on The Methodology Blog, provides suggestions on how to retain employees who think the grass is greener. When it comes time to look deeply at what drives your employees to stay or to leave, consider these factors:
They think they will get better training Chances are, if your employees don’t feel well trained for their jobs, they didn’t receive adequate training from Day 1. Find out where the perceived training gaps lie and then address them quickly, especially if training is a common concern among your team.
They think their feedback will be valued elsewhere An employee who’s looking for a more receptive ear from management has likely shared feedback within your organization, but didn’t feel that his or her input was acknowledged or well-received. Another possible scenario: Management solicited feedback from employees but never acted upon it.
They think they won’t be understaffed If your employees are feeling overwhelmed and unproductive, it’s time to take a closer look at these issues.
They think they’ll get more money Make sure that, when possible, your organization is transparent on issues around wages. Consider if your benefits are competitive with others in the industry. What intangible benefits (such as flexible scheduling, high employee retention rates, or efforts to show real appreciation) do you offer? Consider these factors and make sure they’re communicated with your employees.
They think they’ll have better managers Is one bad apple ruining the entire team? The impact of poor management can be toxic to an organization. Any point of concern about management — whether you think the employee is a squeaky wheel or not — deserves your attention.
As with any challenge, a critical early step is to dig and really try to understand what's happening. If you want employees to stick around (and why wouldn't you?) then you must truly discover what causes them to leave---and what would inspire them to stay.
I believe the key aspect of good leadership is the ability to work and relate with others. As John Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” Relating and relationship skills are the foundation of influence. As you develop your unique leadership style, consistently developing relationship skills must be a priority to gain influence. After all, you don't want to be known as the difficult boss do you? Here are ten qualities that characterize successful leadership in the area of relating and communicating with other people.
1. AVAILABILITY
2. FACILITATING HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIPS
3. APPROACHABILITY
4. APPROPRIATE USE OF AUTHORITY
5. CONFIDENTIALITY
6. SELF MOTIVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
7. SUPPORTIVE
8. MAINTAINING MOTIVATION AND TEAM SPIRIT
9. CLEAR COMMUNICATION
10. AN UNDERSTANDING OF GROUP DYNAMICS
As a leader, it is important to continually develop good relationship skills. The effectiveness of the leader can be assessed by the quality they connect and communicate with people. This quality will determine the level of success in achieving the leader’s desired results. A good leader is able to create in her team a desire to follow her leadership wholeheartedly! Take these ten characteristics and use them as a checklist to determine the strengths and weaknesses in your leadership style. Celebrate and work on your strengths, identify your weaker areas and find ways to manage them. Do these things and move from a good leader to a GREAT leader.
No matter how carefully we hire or how much time and effort we spend cultivating highly engaged employees, there’s bound to be a time when a difficult employee comes along and disrupts the workflow. When dealing with a problematic employee, it’s best to address the issue head on. However, coaching conversations can be difficult, and even more so if you’re dealing with an employee who tends to not be receptive to feedback. That's where communication skills can come in handy, as Jack Klemeyer explained in a post.
Because the ability to communicate in depth with other humans is one of our most distinguished privileges, we should never take that ability for granted. Instead, we should do all we can to increase our ability to have good conversation with the people around us. Think about all of the opportunities you have each day to engage another human being in conversation. You can talk to rocks, trees, or your favorite stuffed animal for as long as you want and you will never get a response. Saying something as simple as “hello” to another person can elicit a response.
This situation doesn't have to ruin you. Overcoming this challenge is possible. Here are four ways you can ensure that your coaching conversation will go smoothly.
Define the Situation
Without a careful, strategic approach, there’s a real risk that your coaching conversation will fall on deaf ears. Instead, take a focused approach by presenting the facts first. Rather than launching immediately into a coaching session, it can be helpful to first simply state the facts of the situation. For example, you could say, “I’ve received some negative feedback from clients. Here’s what they had to say…” Providing concrete examples of the problem sets the stage for open dialogue based on facts rather than emotions.
Ask to Hear Their Side
Before writing off an employee as “problematic” or “not a good fit,” it’s always beneficial to take the time to hear their side of the story. Not only does this set a productive tone, it helps ensure that your employee isn’t immediately on the defensive. This isn’t just a formality — you’re likely to get new, valuable information that can help you determine your next steps. Taking a respectful, progressive approach to employee discipline is often the missing piece to successfully overcoming performance issues.
Clarify the Consequences
Whatever the offense, oftentimes your employee may not truly understand how harmful their actions can be. Once you’ve clearly identified the issue, explain why this behavior should be changed. This often means elaborating on the potential, negative consequences both for the employee and the organization. Presenting a bigger picture of the issue at hand may be the wake-up call your employee needs.
Set Specific Expectations for Change
Coaching conversations all have the same end goal – change. And, as leaders, it’s our job to make sure we provide our employees with the tools they need to make it happen. Set specific, measurable guidelines for improvement and determine a timeline for improvements to be made. With clear expectations in place, you can confidently schedule a follow-up meeting to gauge their progress. Ultimately your employee will determine their own fate, but you can rest easy knowing you’ve provided the tools needed to succeed.
Above benefits packages and other perks, employees want to feel that you’re listening. After all, it’s hard for your team to stay engaged if they don’t feel valued. And, while coaching conversations can be difficult and even downright uncomfortable, they can also provide you with the perfect opportunity to speak candidly with your staff. Coaching conversations could not only make you a stronger leader, they can also be a great way to strengthen your team and ultimately your organization.
Sometimes, it can feel like we're really slogging through the muck to reach our goals. It feels like that gap between you and your success is growing wider and wider with each day. Yet there are ways to close that space. Like Jack Klemeyer said, you have to cross that gap and become intentional with your actions. His examples are very helpful:
- If you want to learn and develop your thinking and skills, you might read books and articles, take time for webinars and workshops, participate in group studies or a mastermind group.
- If you want to be a conscious capitalist, you have to develop a way to support, nurture or contribute to a cause or program.
- If you want to get new customers, you have to find ways to meet and build relationships with those people and businesses that are your ideal customer. You have to put yourself in their path and interact with them.
- If you want to get a new car, or a new home, or a new whatever, you have to make a plan to consistently save for it or designate certain income or sales toward that goal.
Let's take a look at those two opposing situations:
1. Action that lacks knowledge. At times our actions don’t generate the right outcome. Afterward, we may learn something that would lead to better actions in the future. Knowledge can come from many sources. Better results can occur just by using the knowledge of other people. If we are taking action but not getting the results we desire, then knowledge and resources can help.
2. Knowledge that lacks action. The second situation is when we know what to do, we just don’t do it. This is also very common. When I exercise first thing in the morning, my day is more productive, and I feel better. Do I exercise first thing every morning? No. There are many reasons, or I should say, excuses. If we have the knowledge but fail to take action, then finding a means of accountability usually helps.
The interaction between knowledge and action can ultimately define our success. As a coach, I help people continually navigate both of these situations. For complex challenges, we experience a fluctuation between both of these situations. On a day when I feel stuck, I find a way to shift my energy to either action or knowledge. This helps me achieve success for the day. What helps you get through these two situations as you go through your week?
Do you, at times, feel like your creative spark is being snuffed out at work? Does that lend a hand in your action and knowledge gap? You're not alone. Many workers feel completely unmotivated in the workplace which will only widen the gap. An interesting bit of research from Gavin R. Slemp and Lara H. Mossman at the University of Melbourne has cast a critical eye on the type of leadership that creates self-motivated employees.
A controlling leadership style is restraining and suffocating, whereas an autonomy supportive style is empowering, treating the employee like a self-directed agent who can think and act for themselves. Leaders may not entirely conform to one style over the other, but the more autonomy supportive a leader can be, the better the outcomes for their employees.
So what does this mean for you and reaching your own goals? If you're being stifled at work or find yourself lacking knowledge or action, it's up to you to make that change. Only you can give yourself that push!
Apparently, there has been a movement going on to give employees unlimited PTO. This is the first I'm hearing about it, but there are lists of companies that are offering this benefit. The thought of that sort of blows my mind. I collected PTO days like a desperate hoarder and clutched them to my chest like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. They were precious to me. The days I had to use PTO because I was sick made my heart hurt.
Now there are companies that are just dealing out days out like they're nothing. But maybe that's just because of how workers in the U.S. are made to feel about taking time off of work. A company called Kimble based in Boston took a look at how much PTO workers took in a year. They found that 47% of people didn't take all of their paid vacation days off and 48% of those who were on vacation were still checking on work while they were supposed to be vacationing! Business.com took a look at this issue and decided to seek some answers. Like exactly how would you go about implementing this policy at your own company?
The most important aspect of implementing a progressive policy like unlimited paid time off is understanding whether your company's culture is built to handle it. It's important to have established a culture where your employees value autonomy and are committed to your organization's overall goals. If you can't trust your workers with responsibility and autonomy, it's a sign that your business's culture may not be fit to handle this type of policy.
Maybe the biggest benefit of having unlimited PTO would be that you don't have to worry about wasting your precious days anymore. There's no issue of having these days roll over or worrying about using them all up by the time the year ends. Companies wouldn't have to factor this in to pay. This would be a pretty huge selling point for any company looking to recruit more employees. In fact, many companies really do need to look at improving their hiring process. One of Sophia Beirne's tips on having a more effective hiring process depends on your advertisement for positions.
The hiring process can become lengthy when you’re inundated with applications. You can reduce the number of applications you get by making your requirements and the scope of the job clear when you advertise a job. While you don’t want to write an essay, you need to find a way to concisely express what the job entails. Including a salary range can also help you to find the right applicants.
She also suggests that, once the hiring process is over, you should evaluate your results. What bumps did you hit along the way? Did you lose out on the perfect employee and why? Could having no limit on vacation days have enticed that person to come work for your company? The most important aspect of implementing this type of process is that all of the leadership is on board and is setting a good example of how to use these days. You don't want to run into the issue of employees being timid when it comes to actually using them. If you were handed something this awesome, wouldn't you be afraid of losing it? Companies of all sizes could implement this practice right now if they wanted to, so why not start now?
According to the website Flexjobs, 35% state the number one benefit they’d start a new job for is the ability to work remotely full-time. As such, this “benefit” has become increasingly common within the past few years. It can be a great option for some, but there can be drawbacks to this lifestyle as well. Here are some pros and cons to consider before making the commitment to work from your home office or favorite coffee shop.
Distractions. If there are a million things to draw your attention away in your home office, this might not be the route for you. It’s important to acknowledge the divide between work and life. A way of getting around this pitfall is setting aside an area in the house that is your private work space, where others know when you’re in that space, you’re on the clock.
Missing out on office culture. Another downside is the lack of face-to-face communication. Many important conversations can happen during a casual visit to someone's desk. Each company has its own culture, and when working remotely engaging can be difficult if you’re not making a conscious effort to stay involved and make site visits a few times a year.
Overlooked for promotions. When you’re not being seen everyday or around the office, some believe it can be a reason you’re passed over for the next opportunity. To counteract not being in the office, be more vocal about your work and make an effort to talk to team members about the work you’re doing.
Flexibility. This is the clear number one on the list, and best of all, it means different things to different people. You might decide to work at your most productive time of day. For the parents out there, it can mean being able to stay home when your children aren’t feeling well, or need to be picked up at off hours from school or daycare. It can also better mesh with traveling, personal appointments, and so much more.
The Environment. A seemingly small, yet still important factor to working remotely is how beneficial it can be for the planet. Americans spend an average of 25.5 minutes commuting to work one way, equaling around 100 hours a year according to ThoughtCo. This drive time is having a major impact on the environment. Remote workers have the luxury of not needing to make this commute everyday, and reducing their carbon footprint by staying home.
Saving money. In addition to that long drive time, it’s important to consider the amount of money spent on gas. You’ll also save money by eating at home instead of going out with your co-workers a few times a week, or taking an afternoon walk and grabbing a coffee. These purchases add up over time and can make a big dent in your bank account. Working from home also means you don’t need to spend money on a whole new wardrobe. Remote working means money saved!
Employer advantages. Businesses are also going to save by hiring remotely. This includes office space, furniture, supplies, and more. Those funds can be put towards spending more on employee salary; enabling the company to afford more experienced talent. Lastly, hiring remote workers means there’s no limitation geographically on the talent pool. This provides employers a chance to hire the most qualified people anywhere in the world.
Big companies are accepting this trend, such as Xerox. Their work from home program includes over 8,000 employees. They encourage this type of work due to lower commuting costs, a more comfortable work environment at home, and a better work/life balance.
Whether you’re an employee or employer looking for reasons why or why not to work remotely, it seems pretty clear the positives outweigh the negatives. As long as employees have a good work ethic and are self-motivated it’s worth considering remote work as a future endeavor.
Sara Carter is an experienced tech expert who writes with her colleagues onEnlightened Digital, to share her passion with others around the web. After 15 years in the industry, her goal is to bring information on all technology to the masses. Her philosophy is to create each article so that anyone can understand the content, whether they are a consumer or a technology expert. Check out her site at Enlightened-Digital.com.
To mitigate the risk of a repeat crisis down the road, it’s important to dig deep to determine the root of the problem. As you investigate the cause behind a crisis, you’ll likely encounter some tough realizations about your team and your processes. However, your search for the truth might become a great opportunity for growth, but only if you cultivate the proper mindset. As you navigate this uncertain territory, you should always be mindful of whether you’re fact-finding or fault-finding. Here are a few questions to ask yourself.
“Am I Asking the Right Questions?”
As a leader, you instinctually are able to identify problems and quickly begin seeking solutions. This expeditious problem-solving is part of being an effective leader. However, when trying to find the root cause of a major crisis that could cause lasting harm to your organization, it’s crucial to take your time. Are you trying to find the root cause of the problem? If not, shift your focus.
Rather than focusing your attention on the obvious and immediate cause of the problem, digging deeper to find the root will help you solve the issue and also allow you to prevent a future reoccurrence. Remember, your goal is to find the truth, and that’s often much more difficult than simply finding someone to blame. For example, instead of attributing a crisis solely to a staff member’s mistake, dig deeper by asking why and how this mistake could have happened in the first place.
“Do I Want to Punish or Push Forward?”
Organizational crises can strike from both employee and procedural problems, and sometimes even a combination of both. While it goes without saying that disciplinary actions can and should happen when needed, ultimately your goal should be to move forward. Even the most difficult crises can be opportunities for growth and improvement. A mistake that causes a lost client can be an opportunity to focus on staff training and improving your sales funnel. However, this kind of growth can come only when you’re focusing on setting up your organization for future success, not punishing those within it for past mistakes. Try shifting away from the punishment mindset (unless absolutely warranted) and focus instead on creating a plan to push forward. Keeping a proactive and future-focused mindset is key when it comes to successfully overcoming hurdles.
“Is This a Productive Conversation?”
We all know that tempers can quickly flare in a stressful situation. No one is immune to stress, and during times of crisis, life within our organizations can be difficult at best. However, as a leader, you know that your organization’s success rides on your ability to keep a cool head. As you search for the root cause of a crisis, the way you speak to your employees matters more than ever. If you feel yourself getting stressed, always take a deep breath and keep your emotions in check. After all, keeping things respectful is a surefire way to foster open dialogue. The questions you ask are important, but your delivery is just as impactful. Make sure that you’re truly listening to your employees, as well as treating them the way you’d want to be treated (i.e. as an adult who made an honest mistake).
As with so many seemingly negative situations in life, a crisis in our organizations can actually have a silver lining. Of course, turning a negative into a positive largely rests on our ability as leaders to quickly and thoughtfully react. During a crisis, it’s crucial that you avoid a blame-focused mentality. It’s the quickest way to stop improvement dead in its tracks and lower employee engagement. Instead, consciously approach your next crisis with a careful, productive mindset to ensure that you emerge on the other side with a stronger organization and team.
You may have even heard the term “bleeding edge” in this context. I want to talk to you about your personal “leading edge,” your growing edge! Your growing edge is that area of your life where there’s still a lot of room for improvement but you’re pushing ahead and stretching the margins of that area every day. For some this is productivity in business, for others, it’s personal balance; perhaps it’s family time and quality of interaction. You might be thinking, "How do you find your growing edge and what do you do about it once you’ve identified it?"
First, find your growing edge. This is probably easier than you might expect. It’s a simple matter of looking at your life over the last few months or year and seeing what challenges you keep bumping up against. For me, it’s writing things down in my planner. I don’t always have my planner out and things and ideas come up.
Over the months I’ve struggled with this repeatedly, each time working to pull out my planner or already have it out and ready. Yet, I find myself then falling back into my old patterns. The important point is that I am growing in this area. You may have an area like this, too. You’re challenged by it, you make some changes, you retreat from these changes, and you make the changes again. It can be difficult to overcome this hurdle. Like Mark Brown said, you have the ability to triumph over changes and challenges. Just think of how amazing you will feel once those changes have been made!
The sweet joy of triumph! When we succeed at a challenging task, solve a complicated problem, or reach a goal, we rejoice. We are elated. Failures fade away because we have achieved a milestone. Would we know the feeling of triumph without the awareness of defeat? Isn’t our recognition of a win enhanced by the missteps we made along the way? Every day I must remind myself that it is imperative to risk failure in order to find success. If I wait for the best opportunity, then I will miss many openings for progress. So many of our daily decisions are affected by timing. Yet rarely is our timing perfect.
So what do you do with this “growing edge”? Exactly what you’ve been doing, only more so. If you’ve been building a new habit and then letting it go in times of stress, which is what most people do, then you need to develop new stress habits. It’s easy to do the right thing during calm, peaceful times in your life as if any of us really have those. It’s harder when the real stress starts. So what you need to do is develop a list of things you can do during a stressful time to keep your new habit going.
For me, a real problem when I’m really busy is remembering to pull my planner out so it’s accessible. My way of turning this “have it available” into a habit is to make it part of my daily routine. I make sure it’s out and within eye-sight in the evening and because of that, it’s out in the morning when I start my day. The bottom line on this is that action leads to solutions. Make a list of actions you can take to keep your growing edge growing (even when you don’t feel like it), and keep taking those actions. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing.
Steve Kerr has been the head coach of the Golden State Warriors for four seasons. During this time the Warriors have won three Championships! Steve Kerr starred at the University of Arizona and then played in the NBA for 15 years with Phoenix, Cleveland, Orlando, Chicago, San Antonio, and Portland. Steve Kerr was an outstanding three-point shooter who played on five NBA Championship teams—three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs. In his post-playing days, in addition to being a coach, Kerr has been a front office executive and a broadcaster. Coaching isn't easy and doesn't come naturally to everyone, but it definitely seems that Kerr was meant to be in this sort of position.
Steve Kerr has the heart of a champion and the rings to back it up! Kerr is an eight-time NBA Champion: five as a player and three as a coach. When he was a teenager, his father Malcolm, who was the President of the American University of Beirut, was murdered in Lebanon. Kerr showed that he is a very strong person who treats people well. He has gone on to achieve so much in the game of basketball. Kerr’s players respect him because he relates very well to them. He treats each player as an individual and is flexible in his approach. This enables him to maximize each player’s potential.
He may yell at a player; however, he never will insult a player personally. Steve Kerr is less about confrontation and more about collaboration. He has terrific players. Undeniably, you must have key players to win, but great coaches have an “edge and fire” to them, which Kerr possesses. So what can we take away from Steve and how he manages his team?
Forbes thinks CEOs could learn a thing or two from this coach and I couldn't agree more. Their list talks about what values you want to instill in your team. This one caught my eye under the very first value: Joy.
Joy causes you to focus on the journey; not just the end result. It fuels the fires of perseverance in the hard times. Joy enables you to play loser, with more freedom and aliveness, which ultimately means you’re going to play with more creativity and tenacity.
What a fantastic point of view. Through all that hard work, the players never became dejected or gave up when the odds didn't seem to be in their favor. It's thanks to a love of the game and a certain head coach that this team is a winner. Leaders know how much work it takes to build an award-worthy team. Mark Brown took a look at what it takes to build a high-performance team and reaching goals. What are the requirements for this kind of success?
1. Connect emotionally. Your team members need to know you truly care about them. It is easy to connect on the highs, but you must also connect at the lows.
2. Connect intellectually. Challenge them. Teach them. Listen to them.
3. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively. Conflicts can spiral out of control if not addressed immediately. Understand individual views but build cohesive views.
4. Support the individual but align effort in favor of the team. Recognize individual efforts individually, recognize and reward team accomplishments in the team environment.
Many of these could likely be applied to coach Steve Kerr. Congrats to him and to the Warriors on winning another Championship!
The pursuit of perfection can be likened to dancing with a pig, you probably know how the story goes, the pig gets really upset and we get very dirty. In other words, an endeavor not to be undertaken. Striving for and achieving excellence in our work is an integral part of feeling genuinely satisfied in life. If you want your results to grow, you have to grow. So begin now (if you haven’t already) on a journey of personal development. It’s never too late!
My experience and journey in my own personal development go back many years. More specifically, I was drawn to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and have been practicing NLP ever since, both with my clients and myself. NLP is a study of excellence and how we use the language of the mind to consistently achieve the results we desire. Sometimes I forget this powerful tool I have.
Before we can actualize success in the physical world, we must develop the mindset for success. An empowering belief to hold is that people, yes that’s you, have all the necessary resources within themselves. Anything someone else can do, you and I can do it too. That is as long as we know how they do it internally in their mind and externally in their behaviors or actions. If you are going to put your effort into modeling someone, you might as well choose a model of excellence, rather than one of mediocrity.
We all want our careers or businesses to blossom, making us financially secure and content with our achievements. Remembering the journey is also important and sure to be savored and enjoyed. In the spirit of helping you build for excellence, here are three of the seven stepping-stones that will lead to career and personal growth as well as excellence. When used as part of a total action-plan, these seven stepping-stones can contribute tremendously to the fulfillment that you desire.
MAKE A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE
A passionate commitment to excellence is a primary step to growth in any endeavor. It is not enough to say we want to be excellent; we must make a commitment. Whether you are an entrepreneur, business owner, employer, or employee, commit yourself to becoming excellent in your chosen field. When you commit yourself to excellence, you will grow personally as well as professionally.
EMPOWER YOURSELF AND OTHERS BY CONTINUING TO LEARN
A commitment to excellence requires continuous learning. Keep your skills sharpened by reading the latest books and attending seminars, classes, or workshops. Ask for feedback from clients, customers, supervisors, co-workers, and employees. Frequently assess yourself and look for key skills that need improvement. By empowering yourself with knowledge, you will reap the rewards of continued growth and excellent performance. You will also inspire others to seek empowerment, excellence, and growth.
MULTIPLY YOUR EFFORTS THROUGH NETWORKING
Tell many people about the specific ways that you can help to meet their needs. For example, instead of saying, “I sell real estate,” you might say, “I help low-income families find quality, affordable housing in areas where they’ve always wanted to live.” Tell people what makes your service or product special. However, keep your interactions light-hearted and spontaneous. Ask questions that show your interest in the other individual. Make your personality as well as your service memorable.
Compile a list of people with whom you want to work or do business. Attend seminars or workshops and network at every opportunity. If someone does not need your service, he or she might know someone who does. Keep a supply of business cards with you at all times. When you have built a business relationship with someone or gained a satisfied client, ask for referrals. Personal references will bring a large percentage of your business.
Ready for more? Read part two of this post.
You're a Leader if you help your people become the best version of themselves. You're a manager if you hire people, put them in a position, and do not help them grow.
You're a Leader if you provide training and coaching to your employees. You're a manager if a subordinate runs into a challenging situation and you announce “get out of the way, I'll fix it myself.”
You're a Leader if you take the time to provide coaching on new assignments. You're a manager if you say: “I can do it faster than you.” Or, “I'll explain the solution to you later,” and we all know ‘later' never happens.
You're a Leader if your employee retention rate is high. You're a manager if your turnover rate is high. Employees leave managers; they don't leave Leaders.
You're a Leader if you instill loyalty and trust in your employees by showing them loyalty and trust. You're a manager if you demand loyalty and trust. You may get it in the short term but “it” and your employees won't be there for the long term.
You're a Leader if you create a culture of superior performance, high morale and self-confidence. You're a manager if you manage by intimidation and fear.
You're a Leader if you make sure the right people are in the right positions (using their strengths) leading to constant innovation. You're a manager if you fail to see the advantages of creativity in the workplace.
You're a Leader if you evaluate your people more than twice a year, and between evaluations you have one-on-ones to celebrate successes and put plans in place to improve those areas that need attention. You're a manager if you evaluate your people once a year (if that) and use the “check the box” HR form, initiating no quality discussions with your employees.
You're a Leader if you treat your people with kindness and respect. You're a manager if you're rude to your employees and let them think they're lucky to have a job.
You're a Leader if your employees feel they're really contributing to the company and see that the company is doing good work. You're a manager if you need to resort to hostage tactics like salary increases and stock options only for individuals who commit to x more years with the company.
You're a Leader if you create a culture of trust in the organization. You're a manager if your employees are always looking over their shoulder, just waiting for when the next unrealistic task is going to be demanded of them.
You're a Leader if you and your subordinates leave together at the end of the day celebrating having accomplished your goals. You're a manager if you leave at the end of the day and your employees still have hours of work to complete.
You're a Leader if you give credit where and when credit is due. You're a manager if you take personal credit for employees' contributions or suggestions.
You're a Leader if you have current and long-range plans laid out for your group and have shared the plans. You're a manager if you're so deep in the weeds that you have no long-range plan and if you did, you sure wouldn't share it with anyone but your boss.
You're a manager if you think the business revolves around you and that the employees are there to work “for” you. You're a Leader if your goal is to grow more Leaders.
Experts say that to be able to succeed and live a comfortable life, everyone needs constant productivity. This is because when people aim to be productive, they become more interested and engaged in achieving their goals and dreams in life. If you want to get started increasing your productivity, here are five things to consider doing.
ALWAYS HAVE A DREAM AND HOLD ON TO IT.
Since productivity is a not always easy to start with, it would be best if you start now by having a dream that you can hold on to. The scale or the size of that dream doesn’t matter, it can be a big thing or a small thing. What’s important is to be willing to do everything to achieve that dream. For some people, having big dreams work because they are looking forward to big rewards in the future.
AVOID TOO MUCH THINKING.
If possible, stop thinking over something at all times. Doing so will only bring in a mix of emotions that can be harder to handle and manage later on. To keep productivity constant, we must try to veer away from negative thoughts and only think of the things that result in something good. In fact, we've found that overthinking is a huge issue for productivity. Mark Brown gave us a tip on how we can avoid spending too much time in thought:
So what can we do? How do we begin down the path of self-awareness and improving our thought processes? Set aside ten to twenty minutes a day for focused thinking. Then use that time to think. Don’t do anything else. Just think. Think about your challenges, your projects, your dreams, your ideas, your successes, your relationships, your goals, or your life. Think about whatever is important to you at the moment.
LET GO OF THE PAST.
Experts say that the first step to being productive is to forget the failures and mistakes that you’ve had in the past. Remember to ask yourself when things don’t go the way you expect: What did I learn? How can I grow? Learn and grow from past hiccups. Accept that there are things that are beyond your control. Trust me, you will be able to forgive yourself and start anew. If you just keep thinking of the past, this will serve as a reminder of your failure. And if you keep thinking about your defeat, you will undergo a never-ending cycle of blaming yourself for the things that you did not really opt to do.
SET YOUR OWN PACE.
While it is true that being competitive is key in terms of achieving goals, there will always be times when you get tired; particularly when running after so many things because you don’t want other people to finish before you. To be able to increase productivity, it is best if you run a race at your own pace so you won’t get tired. Compete with yourself. By doing this, you can rest whenever you want since nobody is breathing down your neck to finish something.
THINK AND TAKE ONE STEP AHEAD.
To be able to increase productivity, you need to plan ahead so you will be given more opportunity in case the first plan does not work. Taking and thinking one step ahead are the best foundations of being productive because if you were able to develop these, it would be easier for you to take tougher and bigger problems or challenges along the way.
In part two of this post, we pick up where we left off with the remaining four of the seven stepping-stones to excellence. If you want to find success, you can use these stepping-stones as an action plan to reach those goals! Check out the rest of the tips below.
COMMUNICATE POWERFULLY
When networking or interacting with co-workers, communicate powerfully by remembering three letters: ALC. These stand for Ask-Listen-Clarify. Ask questions to determine the needs and desires of others. Listen empathetically—not only to hear but to understand. Then clarify by rephrasing and repeating back what the other individual said. If necessary, rephrase your question and ask additional questions. Powerful listening is the key to powerful communication. Pay attention to body language. Listen to non-verbal cues that reveal feelings behind spoken messages, and then clarify. Powerful communication will lead to continued career growth, excellence, and satisfaction.
LEAD WITH EMPATHY
No matter what position you hold currently, you are always leading others through your influence. You influence others with your thoughts and actions even if you are not aware of doing so. Think of three leaders who you admire. What traits and leadership skills do you admire the most in these leaders? This question will reveal your deepest leadership values. Leading with empathy is leading from your deepest values. These values allow you to focus on the strengths of those you lead; they allow you to lead others in ways you would want them to lead you.
MAINTAIN PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL FITNESS
A healthy body helps to maintain a healthy mind and vice versa. Spiritual strength nourishes both the body and mind. Cultivating our faith in God strengthens our resolve to overcome adversities and focus on outcomes rather than roadblocks. Follow a sound wellness program, get regular physical checkups, and pray or meditate each day. Schedule a daily time for relaxation. Physical, mental, and spiritual fitness contribute to the steady growth and maximum excellence in fulfilling our individual purposes.
SERVE WITH LOVE, FAITH, AND GRATITUDE
We receive in this life only that which we first give. That includes our thoughts and attitudes. Fill your thoughts with the spirit of love for those you serve. Communicate your deepest gratitude to customers and clients for their trust in you. Show gratitude in special ways that provide more value than expected. Trust clients and customers to make decisions that are right for them. If you have faith in those you serve, they will have faith in you.
TAKE THIS CHALLENGE NOW!
Make a list of at least twelve different ways you could implement each of these stepping-stones during the next 12 months. Select seven items, one item from each list of twelve. Then put them into action over the next week. Continue to implement more of your ideas throughout the coming months. Refer back to your list frequently, and write down the changes that you see taking place. You will see positive changes both personally and professionally.
In summary, career growth and excellence contribute significantly to life satisfaction. They require acting with commitment and integrity. We need to set our standards high (they create our expectations) and continually acquire new knowledge to grow and perform with excellence. People are essential to success, and we must listen deeply to communicate powerfully. Leading others from our deepest values allows us to lead with empathy.
Growth requires physical, mental, and spiritual strength. Love, faith, and gratitude will provide an integrated framework for career growth and excellence. Taking deliberate action to excel and grow today will set the process in motion and bring rewarding results throughout the future.
Given the time and energy required to make it as a successful entrepreneur, these findings are not surprising. However, just because burnout is common among this group doesn’t mean it has to be inevitable. With the right approach, entrepreneurship can be an exciting, inspirational journey for you and those around you.
Here are a few ways to avoid burnout:
1. Think carefully before committing to a deal or business opportunity: You may be tempted to follow up on any and all leads, but you need to be selective. Knowing when to say “No thanks” is a crucial skill for an entrepreneur. You only have a limited number of hours in a week. Consider the long-term costs and benefits of each opportunity.
2. Find a time management system that works for you, and stick to it: Thousands of articles and books have been written on time management. There is no perfect system that works for everyone; it’s a case of trying them for yourself. When you’ve found something that works for you, stick to it. Don’t waste time implementing a new approach for the sake of it.
3. Get some support: Humans are social creatures, and we benefit from connecting with others in similar situations. Joining an entrepreneur network will lower your risk of burnout by introducing you to people who lend psychological support.
These groups also enable you to swap practical tips and strategies that enhance both your business practices and well being. You may also be able to share your experiences with others and inspire those just starting out.
4. Schedule time off and honor it just as you would all your other commitments: Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that you’ll find time for relaxation “later.” Before you know it, the days and weeks will have passed. Rest and time away from work is essential in preventing burnout.
Treat personal time as sacred. It’s just as important as any business activity. Get into healthy habits that nurture your body and mind. For instance, you could get a regular head massage or other complementary treatment. Take regular exercise, and get involved in a hobby that has nothing to do with your business.
5. Document your journey: Do you enjoy reading success stories? If so, why not share your own via a blog, articles, or on social media? You don’t have to share too much personal information, but relaying the ups and downs of entrepreneurship can inspire others.
6. Stay grateful: During times of stress, take a moment to think about how far you’ve come and everything that makes you feel grateful.For instance, the very fact that you have the opportunity to follow your dreams is amazing in itself.
Gratitude also helps you avoid burnout because it lets you keep problems in perspective. Research shows that it improves self-esteem and physical health. This down-to-earth approach will earn you a reputation as a role model.
7. Volunteer and give back to the community: As you become more successful, make sure you lend a hand to others in need. You could spend a few hours working for a local charity every month, or offer free mentorship to others. Not only will giving back boost your self-esteem, but it will encourage others to do the same.
In summary, life as a successful entrepreneur requires balance. It’s OK to work unreasonable hours from time to time, but it shouldn’t become the norm. Taking a few steps back to care for yourself isn’t self-indulgent; it’s actually pivotal to growing your business. If you feel stressed all the time, what changes could you make today?
Clara Masters is an entrepreneur and content marketer. In a former life, as a corporate business executive, she relied on yoga, reflexology and other alternative practices to fight stress, anxiety and find balance. At Massageaholic.com she’s on a mission to bring massage therapy closer to those who want to live a balanced, healthy life, connecting body, mind and spirit. You can follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.
Everyone has moments when they feel uninspired or distracted at work. Getting through the work day is tough when you have a lack of productive focus---but there are many things you can do to get back on track. Follow these 5 easy productivity hacks to maximize your success in the working world.
We are constantly told about the benefits of regular exercise. Engaging in physical activity each day can improve your quality of sleep, alleviate stress and anxiety, and help promote a generally positive outlook on daily life. Many business professionals tend to neglect daily exercise for the excuse of being too busy. But it’s entirely possible to maintain a healthy fitness routine even if you have a demanding full-time job. The key is to use your breaks at work to get up and moving. You can also give your muscles a good workout throughout the day by practing some stationery exercises at your desk.
Take some time each day to read about the life experiences of other working women, both in and out of your fields of expertise. The women in your everyday life can also be a great source of inspiration. From your close friends and work colleagues to your mother or grandmother, every woman has a different story to tell. Talk to the women in your life about their own life experiences, goals and successes. By doing so, you can empower each other to achieve great things.
An engaging workspace inspires creativity and imagination. Decorate your cubicle walls with your favorite artwork or motivational quote. If you haven’t got walls to work with, consider upgrading your office supplies and accessories. Bring a little of your personality and individuality to normally mundane things like stationary. Choose quality pens that write smoothly and feel great in your hand, so you'll feel glad whenever you have to write down notes, instead of going through the trouble of trying a dozen ballpoint pens that are out of ink.
Time management is a crucial skill in today’s working world. Try compiling to-do list each day, prioritizing your most urgent and important tasks first. Beware: when you try to accomplish too many things at once, your quality of work will likely suffer. Don’t be afraid to delegate non-essential tasks when necessary. For email, try an respond in batches at set times of the day—replying to incoming emails constantly can easily consume your time.
When you have a heavy workload on top of personal responsibilities, it’s not always easy to find time for yourself. But taking care of your health and happiness is a crucial step to success. To feel your most productive self, you need to feel your best. Make sure to schedule some “me time” each day. Spend this time doing something that makes you happy, whether that’s reading a good book, doing your favourite hobby, or simply relaxing in front of the TV. Taking time to relax and recharge will make a positive difference to your mindset and mood, and help you avoid burnout in the future.
Johanna Cider is a nature lover and freelance writer from New Zealand who dedicates her time to penning articles about business, travel, and lifestyles – when she’s not traipsing through the Kiwi bush on hiking trips with her mates. Her idea of quality quiet time revolves around rainy Sunday afternoons and being fully immersed in a favorite new novel, listening to her collection of film soundtracks or strolling in her local park for writing inspiration. Visit Johanna’s Tumblr page to see more of her published work.
In the highly competitive game of trying to hire the best employees you can find, just think of what your company could be like---both culturally and in level of performance---if all your employees were performing at their best. (And if you were known as the manager who helped them get to that level.)
Recently The Indianapolis Star ran a short article on how low the current nationwide unemployment rate has dipped. What happens when the unemployment rate is low (signifying companies are hiring) is that good employees start looking for opportunities. So, I would ask you to look around your company: how many of your employees are “looking?”?
Now, if your company is known for bringing out the best in your employees, it leads to a successful corporate culture. Potential employees will seek you out. Your current “best” employees will tell their friends, (other most likely “best “employees) and they’ll want to work for you.
The millennials have gotten a bad rap through the years for being known as employees who like to change jobs every two or three years. In many cases this is true, but is it just their “wandering nature” or are they looking for that company that brings out the best in them and where they will feel useful and successful? If you give them what they’re looking for, you’ll get what you’re looking for, and with that feeling of success, they’ll stay. Who, in any generation, would want to leave a company where the manager is helping everyone do his or her best and the culture is one of winners?
Why do the top NCAA football and basketball (both men’s and women’s) sports programs have such an easy time recruiting the nation’s best high school athletes? Because those athletes want to be associated with and give their best to a winning program.
A few years ago I was part-owner in a company and this situation presented itself: I was standing near the front desk and heard the receptionist tell a very successful-looking lady in our lobby that no, we were not accepting applications. When I asked about the statement the receptionist told me human resources had told her to tell that to any applicant who walked in the door. I proceeded to the HR department head and asked why. The manager gave me the “excuse” that we had no current openings and they didn’t want to go through the paperwork hassle of receiving and storing applications. I asked the manager to look around and tell me that all she saw were employees giving their “best.” She agreed there were some employees not working at the level we needed or expected. We then began accepting applications from all candidates. Every company needs to always be looking to “up” the level of the quality of its employees.
So, how do you bring out the best in your employees and develop a culture of winners? It comes down to evaluating your people! Help them reach their highest level of accomplishment. Find their weak areas and assist them; send them to class, buy them a book on the subject, hire them coaches, or find them mentors.
When you turn your employees into winners, your company’s culture will become a winning culture and the best candidates will be knocking on your door.
Representing the critics, Ken Lopez, in The Litigation Consulting Report, lists no fewer than 12 reasons bullet points are bad news, especially for trial graphics. He’d much rather see lawyers actually speaking to the jury, rather than showing them text-heavy presentations riddled with bullet points. Here's a few examples from his post:
1. People read faster than they hear -- 150 words per minute spoken vs. 275 words per minute reading. People will read your bullets before you can say them and stop listening.6. The more you use bullets the more people will judge you as outdated.
10. Remember, if you are using bullet points, people are likely to tune you out as boring when you most want them to be paying attention.
An author with Presentation Advisors is equally antipathetic towards bullet points in slideshow presentations. PowerPoint and Prezi, he says, aren’t text-based media, but are there to support the information coming out of a speaker’s mouth. What’s more, he gripes, when we use bullets, we tend to lump ideas together on the same slide without giving any one of those ideas a chance to shine.
As a business blogger, I’m kind of partial to bullet points, and from what I’ve been told, Google and the other search engines like them, too. Online searchers who’ve found our blog posts, remember, aren’t getting the information out of our mouths--we have only our written words, with perhaps some charts or pictures, to engage their attention.
That lists and bullet points are generally a good fit for blogs is something I actually stress in corporate blogging training sessions. What I’ve found over the years is that lists help keep readers---and writers---on track.
Susan Gunelius (“20 Ideas for Writing a Blog Post”) apparently agrees. She suggests starting with a number, then taking it from there, with. Top 10 lists, 5 things not to do, 3 reasons I love something, etc. These suggestions include:
04 of 20: Photos Post a photo (or photos) related to your blog topic.05 of 20: Link Roundup Write a post that includes a list of links to other blog posts that published great posts or to websites you like.
06 of 20: Current Events What's going on in the world? Write a post about an interesting bit of news.
07 of 20: Tips Write a post to share tips to help your readers accomplish something in an easier, faster or cheaper way.
08 of 20: Recommendations Share recommendations for your favorite books, websites, movies, or other "favorites" related to your blog topic.
It's not just online content or presentations, of course. If you're a fan of late night talk shows, you probably know about David Letterman. His Top Ten Lists were such an effective way of organizing content that, when the talk show host first moved to CBS, NBC unsuccessfully tried to claim ownership of the idea.
Like anything else, of course, bullet points can be both poorly used and over-used. Using parallelism is a good rule, beginning each bullet point with the same part of speech and using the same grammatical form throughout.
And the StackExchange site for Writing has some wisdom to add in this post: “Bullet points are visually attractive and make it easy for a reader to locate important information. Nevertheless, try to use them sparingly: too many bullet-pointed sections in the same document will mean that their impact is lost.”
Those little back dots have their uses in blogging for business!
Unfortunately, the value of surveys in the workplace are much lower than many HR professionals would care to admit. The problem is simple: you need feedback to be anonymous for it to be candid, but in the environments where you most need candid feedback, people aren’t likely to believe the survey is truly anonymous.
Let’s break that down. Imagine two companies: HappyCo and Dismal, Incorporated. At HappyCo, employees are generally pleased. They like their work, their colleagues, and feel they have career opportunities. People are dedicated to their jobs but still go home and take vacations. All, in short, is well.
At the offices of Dismal, the situation is the reverse. Virtually everyone is tired and frustrated. They don't enjoy what they do and too many people work too many hours.
You probably have worked at one or both of these companies, or at least something somewhere in between. And if you're at HappyCo and take a survey, you probably have no reason to do anything but be honest. Why wouldn't you tell people that you enjoy your job?
If you're at Dismal, however, what are you going to say when a survey comes around? If you admit there are problems, is there a chance it will get back to your manager? Could you lose the job? And do you trust that an anonymous survey is actually anonymous?
This isn't just logical thinking, it's also supported by science. From Wikipedia:
Social desirability bias is a type of response bias that is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others. It can take the form of over-reporting "good behavior" or under-reporting "bad," or undesirable behavior. The tendency poses a serious problem with conducting research with self-reports, especially questionnaires. This bias interferes with the interpretation of average tendencies as well as individual differences.
This phenomenon is particularly apparent when people are talking about themselves. Individuals will report that they are kinder, more reliable, better drivers, and overall friendlier people than they truly are because they want to be liked. But the same effect can also happen in company surveys.
Question: Do you feel respected by management? Answer: Uh, do I want to tell the truth here? Yes! I do.
This the paradox of organizational trust. If your team trusts that you won’t deceptively track their responses to the anonymous survey, then your team also trusts you enough to give you feedback without a survey.
Laura Vanderkam notes more troubles with these best-places-to-work lists in a piece for CBS News. For example:
First, most magazine lists are "opt-in." To be eligible for a list, you have to fill out whatever paperwork the tabulators require (Fortune's list, produced in conjunction with the Great Places to Work Institute, involves employee surveys and some open ended questions). This means that not only do you have to be a great place to work, you have to be a company where management cares about being listed in magazines as a great place to work. Only 311 organizations bothered this year, out of thousands of employers in the US. So if you went through the whole process, your odds were pretty good. But that doesn't means that the 311 employers that did try are better than the thousands that didn't.
Does that mean that surveys are worthless? No. In fact they can be a great way to get general opinions. But remember that any survey is taken in the context of existing relationships. If there is a strong hierarchy, some fear, or personality issues, that may impact the quality of the results.
If you think you have problems in your company, don’t do a survey. Go find former employees and take them to lunch. Then work your way through current employees. But if you’re generally doing well, surveys are great ways to gauge preferences. Ask away!
Thomas Edison said, "Be courageous! I have lived a long time. I have seen history repeat itself again and again. I have seen many depressions in business. Always America has come out stronger and more prosperous. Be as brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward!"
We tend to fear moving forward. When times are good, we get comfortable. When times are bad, we would like to go back to when times were more comfortable. In reality, the best course of action is always forward regardless if times are good or bad.
The battle to move forward is within us. It is not an external battle. Courage to change allows us to have a greater tomorrow. For me, I work to win this battle every day. I constantly review habits and routines revealing what to keep, what to drop, and what to change. What is your method to overcome fear and move forward? My friend, John Maxwell, has said there are six people within us that dictate our actions.
As a child, we act without thinking. Then as we mature we try to act as we are expected. We want to fit in. As we get older and hopefully wiser, we begin to think deeper about our actions. We discover that the actions are a reflection of who we are and who we can become. At times, it can be hard to break that bad habit of staying stuck in one place. Usually, the whole reason we're stuck in that spot is because of procrastination. We all do it and sometimes it can affect our lives in a big way. Jack Klemeyer talked about ways you can stop being unmotivated in order to change your life. What's the first step?
The first effective step to gaining back your sense of motivation is to figure out the thing or things that sap the energy out of you. It could be a small thing like not waking up in time or a really serious thing like hating everything about your job. No matter what the form, you can identify the things that sap out your energy by their power to make you feel discouraged.
Don't be afraid to cut that negativity out of your life. Making a change like that also takes a lot of courage. To know and act like how you truly are, you must know yourself and have the courage to be that person. Each step grows our courage. I would venture to guess that about 20% of people live courageously, maybe less. There is no easy measure, but most people are held back by fear - fear of what others might think, fear of the unknown, fear of losing what they have gained, fear of failure, etc.
Living courageously every single day is nearly impossible. I doubt anyone would be able to be that brave! But knowing the edge of your comfort zone, and being able to cross it once a week, or once a month, can lead to authentic personal growth. It is a challenge worth the effort. I accept that I need to do it more often. How often do you act courageously? Could you improve in that area of your life?
It's right there in the the name: process improvement is about embracing trends and new ideas. It's about evaluating current systems and finding the areas of weakness. It's about taking the time to rejuvenate through innovation and system integration. It's about recognizing the need for change and then taking the necessary steps toward moving business forward fluidly, efficiently, and ultimately, successfully. The Filestage Blog outlines their views on this vital part of business in The Practical Process Improvement Guide.
According to Filestage, the field and its goals are defined in the following manner:
Process improvement refers to the effort that goes into choosing, understanding, analyzing, re-designing, implementing, and monitoring the processes you want to improve.The goals of process improvement can be different, but the overall goals typically involve saving time or costs. In addition, improving a process can lead to increased employee satisfaction and productivity.
Filestage's blog post emphasizes the need for implementing change in a lean approach where systems are continuously evaluated for inefficiencies and departments are working together to keep processes harmonious. According to the post:
In order to be effective, the lean approach needs to involve an organizational mindset. It requires aligning all departments and ensuring that each division is willing to regularly improve processes.The goals of lean process improvement are:
- minimizing waste
- optimizing time savings on a daily basis
- systematically improving the value provided to the customer.
Process improvement isn't just a last minute ordeal where you briefly look at systems to determine where change needs to happen. Instead, it's very methodical. It takes in-depth knowledge and observation to determine the appropriate steps needed for efficient change. So where do you begin?
Filestage suggests having a defined, five-step plan:
Filestage turned to experts in the field to provide examples of successful process improvement strategies. AccelaWork's own Robby Slaughter, process and productivity expert, was asked to share his thoughts on optimizing the promotion process for new events. Below is his experience and advice:
Here’s our general strategy:1. Identify something we do repeatedly 2. Break it down into smaller steps 3. Document those steps 4. Hand off the documentation to another person to try independently 5. Automate any components that are possible 6. Repeat steps 2-5 as needed
One process that goes on at our firm is promoting upcoming events. At first, this was done on an ad-hoc basis. We’d sometimes remember to put details on our website in the form of a new blog post, and other times we’d add something to our email newsletter.
Then, we decided to hand off the task to someone else. It was clear that we’d left out a bunch of details, such as ensuring that the event announcements had clear registration details, that they mentioned any sponsors, and that we had bios of the speakers.
Eventually, we moved to a dedicated site plugin for managing events. And then we realized that we could customize the plugins to have a dropdown of common event types and all of our presenters to pre-populate them with bios.
Once that worked, we got an automated tool to pull any upcoming events and place them into our email newsletter. And we also established a pattern from promoting events on Twitter.
Now, the event announcement process is almost entirely seamless. We pass along the details to the person responsible, and they take care of everything using a checklist and existing tools. And when we find something that needs improvement, we fix it!
Keeping process improvement in the forefront of your mind, no matter the position or company you are in, is incredibly vital to both the success of your job and to your satisfaction as well. To learn more about business process improvement, consider reaching out to the experts at AccelaWork.
What have you done lately to ensure that you get great referrals? You may be missing a few steps! In part one of this post, we'll explore the first five steps to snagging those awesome referrals in order to grow your business.
Tip # 1: Discipline Yourself to a Routine of ‘Asking’
Here’s something profound. The reason most of us do not get referrals on a routine basis is that we do not ask for them on a routine basis. Well, it’s almost that simple. What would be the upside on your year-end W-2 if you asked for 2 referrals from each of your new customers? Let’s say you average 6 sales per month. That would be 12 referrals per month or 144 per year. Conservatively, you close half of those warm leads. Multiply 72 by your average revenue per sale. Then calculate your commission percentage off the total revenue sold. Now ask yourself if you can afford not to ask for referrals on a routine basis. Maybe you should start asking as part of your process.
Tip # 2: Develop a process to ‘Set the Stage’
Asking for a referral is one thing, but how many times do you actually get one? Execute a Powerful Routine after you sign up a new customer, and request permission for 3 additional minutes to get their professional feedback. Ask a series of questions soliciting their opinion on ways you can be more effective with your sales process, from initial contact to point of sale, with individuals in the same industry and parallel titles. You are now setting the stage for your future success. Over time, your contacts will give you a free ‘Masters Degree.’ Remember to ‘Pack your bags, but set the stage.’
Tip # 3: Communicate to a “Win-Win” Agreement
Be honest and sincere in reference to the importance of referrals for running your business effectively. Tell your story. If you have a high referral ratio let them know that and why it is high. Customers respect a good business person more than a good salesperson. Try to pick a time when the contact would feel comfortable giving a referral to help your business. That may not be at the point of sale, but upon service implementation or some time in the future when you have proved you delivered what you promised. The important point is you must define with the contact when it can happen or what criteria need to be met for it to happen.
Tip # 4: Follow through in order to receive a consistently high ratio of referrals.
You may not ask for a referral until (a) the service has been implemented and (b) the customer is satisfied. But as described in Tip #3 above, you want to minimally set a referral foundation at the point of sale and receive a commitment to when you’ll receive one. Now, this is very important. Always notate in your planner (old fashioned paper or high tech) in front of the contact when the expectation is set, and let them know you are making note of it. Treat it like an appointment for your future success. It’s sound business and will afford you a higher closing ratio, shorter sales cycle and most importantly, more referrals! So, follow-up and get it! THE MONEY IS ALWAYS IN THE FOLLOW-UP!
Tip # 5: Develop a Referral Program
Be creative. Give up some money or gift cards. Maybe it’s a gift certificate to a local restaurant (hopefully a customer) or a graduated percent off of their next invoice. An entrepreneurial mind will come up with a few flexible programs that fit your level of buyer. After all, you’re not putting anything out until the referral is sold. The old saying, “money makes money” is still true. Besides the tax right off (be sure to check with your accountant), contacts absolutely enjoy getting a little something. Measure the ROI and the benefit will be evident.
Ready for more? Check out part two of this post.
It might seem like the best way to ensure someone else gets something done is to put the work on their calendar. If you work in a modern organization with shared calendar software, of if you just have colleagues that come into an office, this sounds like a viable approach.
"I know we need to work on the Michaelson account," you might say. "Can we set aside time Wednesday at 3PM for an hour to focus on this work?"
If you're making a checklist for goal accomplishment, this one hits all the boxes. It's a specific request with measurable outcomes. It's something the other person can easily act on, and it's relevant to their job responsibilities. And because it's just an hour, they can definitely do it.
But there's a giant problem.
Spot it yet? Professionals want to feel autonomous. They want some measure of control. If you tell them when to work and what to do, you kill one of the few remaining elements of freedom in their day.
The balance between specificity and innovation ought to be well-known by now. If you require everyone to answer the phone the same way and use the same scripts, you’re going to get consistent results but you'll rarely experience the creativity and opportunity that arises from doing something new.
Too many managers get obsessed with requiring their employees to do something in such an exact way that any faint glimmer of individuality is crushed. When you tell your team "we're going to work on this project at this time and place" when they could perfectly well manage their own time, they are likely to want to do the opposite.
Is the answer freedom everywhere? Not necessarily. It's good to let people express themselves. But if you’re running a police department, it’s an awfully good idea to have everyone wear the same uniform. Otherwise, how would the public know who is an officer and who is a civilian?
But at the same time, rule following for its own sake is a terrible practice. If all we do is check boxes, we aren’t ever deciding what boxes to create. And worse, we aren't ever wondering if the boxes we just checked should be there in the first place.
This post is going online and may one day be read by our robot overlords. But in the meantime let's remember why we hire human beings to do work. It’s only for two reasons:
It's true that many of the jobs of yesteryear fall into the first category. We press our own elevator buttons, we pump our own gas, we dial our own phone numbers—or we tell Siri to dial them for us. And it’s also true that tons of the work we do today will be automated in the years to come.
That’s why now is the time to embrace the humans in your company. Don’t minimize their humanity by telling them when to work and what to work on. Give them as much freedom as you can.
Because what you’re doing when you ask for results without specifying requirements is showing you trust others.
Trust means respect. Respect is what humans want.
Do something bold: try not controlling other people’s time.
This statistic published by The American Heart Association for 2018 is certainly scary and one in which we should take seriously. What we may not know however, is this increased risk for heart attacks and strokes in adults involves more than just diet and exercise.
When we think about health, our first inclination is to focus in on what we eat and how often we go to the gym. These factors are quite obvious and certainly play a major role in keeping our minds and bodies strong. Naturally, consuming a low fat, low sodium diet along with exercise sounds like a winning combination. We all should strive to follow these types of recommendations. But let's be honest, when life gets in the way it's easy to forget (or ignore) doctors orders.
Readers Digest shares 31 Things You Should Do Right Now To Avoid High Blood Pressure. Immediately, it's clear that many of the tips involve diet. But, there are factors in our lives that can cause high blood pressure that many of us may not be totally aware of. Below are 4 areas in which you may be increasing your risk for high blood pressure while working:
Stress—and our inability to cope with it—makes everything worse, and high blood pressure is no exception. Carving out some “you time” can help boost mental and physical health.
It cannot be emphasized enough that finding a proper work/life balance and actually taking time off from work is vital to a person's health. If you can never escape the pressure of your job, eventually your body will give out. Be kind to yourself. Take a vacation or find an after-work hobby.
2. NOT UNPLUGGING
Technology can make you sick, and chatting it up on your mobile phone has been shown to increase blood pressure, according to a study our of Italy’s Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital. It turns out that blood pressure readings of men and women who had mild to moderate high blood pressure jumped to 129/82 from 121/77 while they chatted on a mobile phone.
The Methodology Blog has suggested in the past, that avoiding your smartphone while at home is a smart move.
3. SLEEP DEPRIVATION
“When you get poor sleep, your heart does not get the ‘rest’ it needs, and over time, a lack of sleep could hurt your body’s ability to regulate stress hormones, leading to high blood pressure,” says Los Angeles sleep expert Michael J. Breus, PhD, author of several books on sleep including the latest The Power of When. If you need an alarm clock to wake up, you are sleep deprived, he says. “Improve sleep hygiene by going to bed and waking at the same time every day (including weekends), keeping the bedroom cool and dark and avoiding stressful activities right before bed such as paying bills.”
As Americans, we tend to place a lot of pressure on ourselves in both our work and personal lives. This pressures causes stress which affects our sleep. Lack of sleep increases stress which affects our work. It's a vicious cycle isn't it? It's time to combat messy sleep cycles.
4, TOO MUCH HAPPY AT HAPPY HOUR
Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure, but moderate alcohol consumption may help protect the heart. “Moderation is the key word here,” Dr. Heller says.
It's not uncommon in business to meet up for Happy Hour or have a few cocktails over a dinner meeting. It's a form of socialization and may even be consider a "perk" to employees when companies host holiday and/or quarterly parties at bars and restaurants. And while you may only have one or two drinks, when it becomes a regular occurrence, it's time to evaluate just how much you're indulging.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for many reasons--mainly for your lifespan. But, if you're looking for more justification as to why you should unplug, sleep, and spend less time working and more time resting, consider that your health has a huge benefit to your productivity as well.
No matter how well you think you're doing, you always can learn more efficiently. Set your goal to use one or all six of these learning strategy techniques. Practice the ones you choose until they become habit then choose another.
You learn more effectively with curiosity and anticipation working for you, but how do you create this state of mind? One way is to end each learning session with a question or two clearly in your mind. This creates the sense of anticipation and curiosity that will help you next time you study. It's like a TV show going to a commercial at an interesting moment in the program. You want to stay tuned, to see what happens next.
When you want to learn new material, expose your mind to it as soon as possible, before you even feel "ready," or have time to study. The first stage of learning is the part where you look at new ideas and say, "huh?" It's important to do this quickly. Reviewing everything for a few minutes, and your other than conscious mind will start "incubating" the new concepts, and finding some way to organize them.
When you sit down to study new material, relate it to what you already know. Compare and contrast things, saying to yourself, "That's like...," or "How is that different from..." Autoresponders were new to me when I started my weekly newsletter and then Elaine helped me change it from just "my weekly email" to "Throttle Up Thursday! The concept of a regular weekly email, Throttle Up Thursday, sunk in and motivated me when I thought, "it's staying connected to people I've met." This prompted some really good questions, and I was ready to learn.
Changing your perspective is one of the great learning strategies. For example, study with the idea in mind that you will be teaching what you're learning. As you study something, imagine how you'll teach it. This is a powerful way to get a good grasp on new information. Also imagine how you'll use what you are learning. There's so much information, and so little of it is the truly "important stuff." But by imagining how you'll use the new information, you tend to automatically focus on the things you really need to know.
You can learn more by working less. The research shows that we remember best what we study first and last in a given session. So, by taking breaks, you create more "sessions," and increase the number of firsts and lasts. Move around during your breaks, as this can also keep your mind fresh.
What if it took no extra time to learn a new language, take a negotiating course, or study something new and interesting? Start using the dead-time in your day, the time driving in your car, or on the bus, or in a waiting room. Audible has almost any book you could want available for a small investment in yourself and then there is you local Public Library. With both you can instantly download books on their internet site. This is one of the most under-utilized and easiest learning strategies. If your daily commute is 25 minutes away you spend 200 hours per year sitting in your car going to or from work. Why not learn something useful if you had four hours per week of audio instruction for a year?
Good luck in meeting your goals! Why not try one of these strategies? And if not one, why not more than one?
Don’t worry! It’s completely normal to feel a bit of anxiety and uneasiness when starting a new job. Not knowing anyone at the company and not knowing exactly how things are done can be a bit intimidating at first.
But if you can make a good first impression on day one, it will start you off on the right foot. Here are five expert tips for what to do one day one.
Showing up on time, or early is a rule you should live by, whether it’s day one or day one thousand. Sure, your new coworkers will probably be pretty understanding of the fact that you may not have known where to park. That scenario is forgivable and understandable. But it’s not the best way to start. Make it to your desk on time on day one and you’re sure to impress. Scope out the parking situation when you do your interview. If you’re unsure about traffic, or how long it will take to get there, drive by before your first day. While doing your drive by, scope out where to park. Set your alarm early and aim to show up around 20 minutes early. That way, if you do get lost, you can still make it to your workstation at the expected time.
Today's job market is competitive, and fakers are easy to sniff out. So rather than pretending you have all the answers when you don’t, ask for help. It shows maturity, and it demonstrates your commitment to getting the job done right. If you have a question, make sure you ask the best source for advice. Direct all questions to your manager or supervisor, and you’re sure to get the correct answer.
Asking questions is a good thing---but you don’t want to come off as being overly needy and inexperienced. No one is going to expect you to know everything about the job on the first day. That’s unrealistic. They also won’t expect you to learn everything on your first day. That will come with time. So no many how many questions you may have, and there may be many, think about the ones that you need answered immediately. On day one, only ask questions that are relevant to your initial job tasks. Plus, by not asking too many questions on your first day, you’ll give yourself the chance to discover the answers for yourself. Working to answer your own questions shows that you can problem solve, and that always makes a great first impression.
No matter how little work you’re given on your first day, do not sit around and wait for people to tell you what to do. It’s crucial that you show some initiative! If you’re assigned three simple tasks and you complete them thoroughly, take the initiative to do some tasks on your own. For example, reach out to the HR department and make sure that all your paperwork is in order. Find out if there are any specialized training sessions you need to attend and create a timeline so you can knock those out right away.
This almost goes without saying, but be polite. You should always be kind and considerate at work – it’s the professional thing to do. But it’s especially important to go above and beyond on your first day. Walk around the office and introduce yourself to your new colleagues. Make sure that you ask their names and titles in return. You might even want to write them down or make an office map cheat sheet so you know who sits where.
Whenever you bump into someone, refer to them by their name. Not only will they be impressed (everyone likes to know they’re remembered), but it will also help you memorize names. And no matter how friendly some of your new colleagues may be, steer clear of any and all office gossip and rumors. It’s not uncommon to have people try to “warn” you on your first day of quirky or weird employees. Don't give in. Engaging in gossip, especially on your first day, is a quick way to make a terrible impression.
The best way to make a good first impression on your first day is to be confident. You already got the job, so be positive and maintain a good outlook.
If you really want to make a great first impression, show up early. Ask for help when needed but don’t ask so many questions that you become a pest. Don’t just sit around waiting for someone to come to you – show some initiative and offer your new colleagues your assistance when needed. And most of all, be respectful and polite.
With these tips in mind, your first day and every day at your new are sure to be a success!
Cat Thomas has over 15 years’ combined experience in multifamily, retail and other industries. Currently, as Director of Marketing for Broadstone Brickell, she oversees research, discovery and execution of creative, content, digital and strategy efforts.
Have you had a chance to check out part one of this post about business referrals? If not, now would be a good time to go back and read those first few tips. Let's continue on now with the rest of the ways we can go about getting and using referrals for business.
Tip # 6: Become the Messenger
Be sure to give the referral gifts out promptly on sold referrals. Deliver it in person, since it also serves as an excellent time to prime the pump for additional referrals. Don’t underestimate the power of this simple discipline. I know of ‘millionaires’ who reopened their black books after receiving $20 dollar gift certificates. After all, it’s not about the amount, it’s about the gesture. And because you are spending your valuable time being the messenger, you will without a doubt focus on receiving one or two more warm leads.
Tip # 7: Promote a Grass Roots Chamber Program
Offer local Chambers a deal they cannot refuse. Chambers want to offer their members a better deal, one that their members cannot receive from regular street pricing. They are open to donations to help their chamber and are also motivated to grow their membership. Instead of offering a residual based off of sales, offer to bring them in a certain number of new members each month. After all, a certain percentage of businesses you call on will not be members, and if you can show them a return on their investment, they will certainly join the Chamber to receive it. By helping others you will see your referral ratio reach the sky! Be an active member of your local chamber.
Tip # 8: Identify Potential ‘Bird Dogs’
‘Bird dogs’ are used by hunters to point and fetch game birds for their owners. In sales, a ‘bird dog’ is someone who has multiple relationships with your potential customers and they are motivated to routinely feed your contacts for your marketing efforts. Research potential business people that may fit into this profile, and take them out to lunch. Explain your referral program and how it could supplement their core business revenue stream. For potential ‘Big Hitters’ be prepared to customize your referral program to align with their motivations. Treat them like gold and they will open up their address book.
Tip # 9: ‘Get Married’ to a Collaboration Partner
There are companies that provide products or services in your ‘value chain’ but do not compete directly with your product or service. (THIS IS A BIG ONE folks) Those companies and the professional individuals that sell for them should be a point of concentration for you to identify and contact for strategies of collaboration. I refer to this relationship as “Natural Marriages.” Contact 3 sales professionals that seem to indicate a ‘natural marriage’ for you and them. Outline what’s in it for them. Then ask them what you could reasonably expect over time.
Tip # 10: Join or Start a Lead Group
You have to eat lunch and or breakfast, right? So why not join or consider becoming part of a Referral Group like BNI. A BNI Chapter is full of entrepreneurial individuals who are motivated to get together referrals. Share referrals. Find individuals who are accountable for bringing in the minimum amount of referrals, one per month is the suggestion of BNI’s founder Ivan Misner. Make sure every member is covered by the 80-20 rule, getting 80% of their referrals from 20% of the members. And don’t be shy about holding them accountable.
This is a line which used to be much easier to draw. It wasn't so long ago that work and not-work were clearly not the same. To quote ourselves on finding balance by separating work and life:
To address this question, we need to wind back the clock a few years. All of us are involved in many different activities, but just one generation ago there was an extremely clear separation between “work life” and “personal life.” Here’s how almost every professional operated:Home → Commute → Work → Commute → HomeThen, the next day, they would do it all over again. Remember those days in which the commute was a nice drive or a subway ride? Where you could listen to the radio, enjoy a cup of coffee, read a good book, and generally prepare yourself to change from being at home to being at work or vice versa? Those were the days!
This is part five in a ten part series on what makes a great organization. It comes from a list of what we believe makes AccelaWork a good company. Here's the point for this blog post:
5. Take vacations. We won’t call you while you’re away, and don’t call us. Recharge and renew, and come back refreshed.
That sentiment might seem a little too common these days. With organizations offering unlimited paid-time off and generally raving about their own culture, it seems like most any modern business is likely to tout that they are pro-vaction.
But we are trying to say something different. We're calling into question the difference between accountability and obligation. To put it on our own words:
Work is almost entirely about results, and results can only arise when people are accountable. But sometimes, people make work about obligations. They assume others will do what they need, or assume that a particular task is their responsibility even without it being discussed.
This manifests in that bit of text at the bottom of just about every job description, other duties as assigned. For many people, those words become an albatross as they take on more and more responsibility because they feel like they have to. Or, it becomes a mechanism (even if subconscious) for bosses to make unreasonable demands of their team.
And then it becomes even bigger when we are supposed to not be working. Long-time Twitter user Scott Hansleman puts it succinctly:
https://twitter.com/shanselman/status/487458145728356352?lang=en
That one stings, because we've all done it. We're supposed to be away from work, but, we're still working.
Having an organization with a firm policy of "don't work when you're on vacation" has a ton of benefits. You reduce the chances that someone is going to try to login to a work system from some Internet café and cause a security breach. You attract better people to apply for your jobs. You win more approval from spouses and families. And people come back from these trips feeling like a brand new human, which means they are going to be a better employee.
But those reasons (and 999,996 more we could state) don't matter at all compared to the one reason that you should encourage your employees to embrace the awesome power of not working.
It's because life isn't about work. Life is for living. We may get pleasure or income or inspiration from working, but it's when we don't feel like we have to do anything for anybody else except ourselves that we get to truly be.
It's the only humane thing to do.
This is the toxic employee. A piece in the Talent Management & HR site TLNT opens with the following:
Toxic employees don’t care about a company’s goals, nor do they care about building relationships with co-workers. More than just self-centered office bullies, toxic employees are actually strategic and covert.A 2015 study by Michael Housman and Dylan Minor published by the Harvard Business School defines a “toxic” employee as: “A worker that engages in behavior that is harmful to an organization, including either its property or people.”
The data suggests that toxic employees drive other employees to leave an organization faster and more frequently, which generates huge turnover and training costs, and they diminish the productivity of everyone around them.
None of this surprising for anyone who has ever worked with a jerk. It's also a key topic of research for Stanford professor Robert Sutton, whose famous book on the topic purposely includes a word in the title that many refuse to repeat.
It's not news for The Methodology Blog either. We've talked about painfully toxic workplaces, the bad boss syndrome, and how supervisors are a leading cause of depression.
So why are we bringing it up again? Two big reasons.
Despite the endless efforts of HR departments, workplace consultants, diversity experts, and even harassment-driven legal teams, lots of adults at work still behave like children. If you are part of an organization, there's a person in your orbit that you simply don't respect. Maybe you won't be quick to call them "horrible" but at the least they are ineffective, lazy, easily distracted, or annoying.
We're not trying to get you hate on your colleagues. Rather, we're pointing out that individuals are great at identifying people they don't want to work with and yet organizations keep hiring and promoting them.
And the science explains why. As psychologist Dacher Keltner notes:
While people usually gain power through traits and actions that advance the interests of others, such as empathy, collaboration, openness, fairness, and sharing; when they start to feel powerful or enjoy a position of privilege, those qualities begin to fade. The powerful are more likely than other people to engage in rude, selfish, and unethical behavior.
You might work your way up by being nice, but apparently people tend to be mean once they get there.
If you want to get a lot done and that's all you care about, here's one thing you can do: tell other people to go pound sand. Yes, chasing away those who come to you with questions or concerns is bad for your long term relationships and probably for your personal happiness. But if no one else is interrupting you, then you can get quite a bit done.
This is one way in which our culture encourages being curt. Because it's so easy to ask someone else a question with a quick text or instant message, we tend to not try and find things out ourselves. Therefore, those who go into isolation mode have a greater opportunity to concentrate. That's why being cruel is correlated with being more productive.
It's easy enough to not be a jerk. You learned how to do that a long time ago. But what's much harder is refuse to tolerate toxic people.
Talk about it with those who you know. Develop your solidarity. Because if you won't stand up to bullies, who will?
Want a spark of inspiration? Here are nine great ideas that you can try today.
The great thing about learning to cook like a chef is that you can start eating like a chef. Tasting your food whilst you cook it is great fun, and sitting down with your partner and your friends to enjoy something amazing will be even better.
Find recipes that start you off with simple basic techniques, and then keep perfecting them until you feel ready to put your own twist on things. Once you do that, you’ll be ready to tackle some seriously tasty exotic dishes! Ideal if you want a hobby that seamlessly fits into your everyday life.
Having a dog is a great way to give yourself plenty to do. The act of getting up half an hour early and giving your furry-friend a quick walk around the block is a great way to get the day off to a fast start.
The visual arts may not have been the first thing that jumped into your mind, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But once you plant the creative seed, you’ll find that you have all sorts of ideas you want to put down on paper.
Putting pen to paper is such a relaxing thing to do, and you can do it in just a few minutes a day. The more you get into it, the more time you’ll find to do it and the more you’ll enjoy. Sounds like a hobby that’s made in heaven!
When you want to get in shape and relax, there’s nothing better than working up a sweat on a morning run. With so much pressure to look a certain way and to indulge in healthy choices, you might be quite stressed out over the way you look.
Ignore fad diets and restrictive eating, and start a hobby that makes you look and feel great. As you get fitter and stronger you could even enter a few organized runs and get a medal for all your hard work. Ideal if you want to be able to look back with pride and get a real sense of achievement out of your new hobby.
If you want to figure out how to stay happy, yoga needs to be right near the top of your list of ideas. The relaxing breathing techniques combined with a healthy dose of exercise are everything you need to look and feel great. Ideal if you want to get more done without ever having to stop smiling.
Reading is such an underrated hobby that it’s a wonder more don’t do it. Non-fiction books let you introduce yourself to a whole range of new ideas that could transform the way you see your place in the world.
If you combine that with plenty of escapism and relaxing fiction, you’ll be able to sit back and unwind whenever the mood takes you. Ideal for de-stressing when you get in from a long day at work.
Gardening is a great way to get creative and transform your outdoor spaces. As well as teaching you plenty of new hands-on skills, it allows you to take pride in creating something from scratch. As the seasons change you’ll have a stunning view out of your window that ebbs and flows. Ideal for sitting back and taking pride in what you’ve created!
If you want to always be positive, then you need to have music in your life. Listening to Spotify is great, but what you really need is the ability to create your own music. Choose an instrument that will allow you to explore your passion for music, and then make the time to practice.
It’s such an amazing way to unwind and spread a little joy into your life that you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.
Elisa Abbott is a freelancer whose passion lies in creative writing. She completed a degree in Computer Science and writes about ways to apply machine learning to deal with complex issues. Insights on education, helpful tools and valuable university experiences – she has got you covered;) When she’s not engaged in assessing translation services for Writersquad you’ll usually find her sipping cappuccino with a book.
This notion comes from Kevin Eikenberry, who writes that skills aren't enough to make a leader:
When organizations plan their leadership development programs, they start with the skills that will be needed to be successful. It is an understandable goal – to know what people need to be able do in order to lead. Here’s the problem: asking about the right leadership skills isn’t the only question that needs to be asked, because skills aren’t enough.
To give him full credit, here's the reason that skills aren't enough. Again, according to Eikenberry:
Before anyone can do the work to learn and apply the skillset, they must have beliefs and a mindset that allows and encourages them to do that work
This isn't the only thinking on this topic. In a Harvard Business Review article, it's noted that leadership skills are more than helping managers and employees relate:
Interpersonal leadership sets up an expectation that leaders must be in dialog or at least in view of their followers. Yet this style of interaction is less likely as work stretches across locations and company boundaries as we telecommute, crowdsource, and take on joint ventures. Modern leadership may be as much about facilitating strategy through hiring, training, technology, and focused tasks and goals, as it is about face-to-face interaction.
To summarize, we've got three points so far:
Following all that? It's about to get bigger.
Leadership is only one element of what makes a team succeed. Here's another one: accountability. There are lots of mechanisms to ensure that people do what they are supposed to do. These include concepts such as checklists, sign-off forms, reports, reviews, and testing procedures. You can learn how to do all of them in a classroom environment or on your own.
But what happens if you don't have the belief or mindset that accountability is important? It's probably not going to happen.
And what if you can't be there in person to conduct accountability work? You had better have a culture of accountability, otherwise people won't get things done.
You've got to have them all. First, your team must have the skills (or knowledge) of how to do the task. This includes the resources as well, since you can't really have the skill if you didn't have the tools to learn it.
Second, your team must believe the work matters and is possible. Lots of people don't care about their work and are just punching a clock. Or, they don't think the organization can achieve what has been defined. Success will be a tough road with these boat anchors in place.
Finally, you must have more than face-to-face support, but a culture of action. Anyone can do work if the boss is there watching. But if the shared perspective of everyone is one of getting things done, then the work will happen.
That Harvard Business Review article outlines major crisis that happened in a company with these elements in place:
Horrible flooding .. took out a critical bridge and put two feet of water into their highly electrified plant. From sandbagging to dealing with dangerous electrical systems and arranging for cross-state transport of construction equipment, individuals from across the plant took charge.“Nobody told them to do it. [Our] people — [our] culture just reacted to situation. I was blown away, but I shouldn’t have been.” “Who better to do the job than the people who own it? They’re in this together. I don’t want somebody else [e.g., contractors} in there fighting the battle. We know the result we’re looking for, and we’re prepared.”
They were prepared because they hire, train, and reward for their goals — not because of the interpersonal skills of their formal leaders.
Skills alone aren't enough. You've got to believe in your capacity, and be willing to do what is right because it is right.
That's what makes the difference.
It’s more than difficult--it’s wearing. Thrilling at the same time, of course, but enough to swallow up every fragment of free time before you can spend it on anything else. If you want to make it a success, you need to give it absolutely everything you have.
The biggest problem with this isn’t even the likelihood of burnout: it’s the simple truth that there are only so many hours in the day, and there’s only so much you can get done within a given period. This is a particular problem for marketing — something that’s not immediately essential, but still has to be done, and can soak up as many hours as you throw at it.
That’s where automation becomes an absolute must. Instead of handling all your marketing manually, you can set much of it to run without your direct input, leaving you to focus on other things. So if you’re growing your startup, you need to be automating wherever possible. Here are five ways in which marketing automation software can help you thrive:
Now that we’re all connected by the internet, there’s little to stop us from talking (and selling) to people who live thousands of miles away from us, but this also means a great deal of variety in time zones. When you’re reaching the end of your working day, it might be late morning for one of your customers — and the more success you have, the more people will need assistance.
A marketing chatbot won’t get tired or need a break. It won’t snap at a customer. It can carry on effortlessly at all hours, helping you earn sales while you’re sleeping.
Where is your online traffic coming from? After all, if you don’t know what’s driving your leads, you can’t know which tactics are flourishing and which are underperforming, making it impossible to make meaningful overall improvements.
Marketing automation, though, can seamlessly sort through all the visits to your website and calls to your phone line, identifying the point of origin and the route taken for each one. That information allows you to make tweaks: lowering PPC budget if it isn’t producing enough conversions, for instance, or investing more heavily in email marketing.
A lesson that all startups need to learn is that not all customers are of equal value. If you go above and beyond for a company that questions all your costs and doesn’t pay you much, you won’t have the time or resources to win over a better client.
Automation software is excellent for identifying which of your customers are actually making you money. It can factor in numerous metrics to suggest how you might tweak your marketing. Maybe you’re targeting one demographic that isn’t justifying the cost, and overlooking another demographic that provides excellent ROI.
A/B testing — trying two versions of something to see which one performs better — is a core part of content optimization. There are so many things you can do differently in digital marketing that it’s massively useful to have the chance to find out which color of landing page button gets the most clicks (for example).
That way, instead of having to manually swap versions of your content and keep track of how well they perform, you can simply set the options and leave them to run. The more testing you do, the better-optimized your content will become, improving your online metrics across the board — and all for minimal effort and expenditure.
Many modern professionals work remotely, or at odd hours. Knowing this, startups tend to embrace flexible operational models and schedules. This makes it tricky to keep everyone on the same page for campaigns, but automation can fix that.
An automated system can ensure that every new task is logged and tagged appropriately. This ensures total visibility at the top of the business. If you’re the head of the company, you can simply check the software and see immediately how specific projects are progressing.
Are you using automation wherever possible to help your startup grow? If not, why not? Marketing is a time-intensive task when done correctly, so you need all the help you can get. Start looking into some marketing automation suites immediately, choose one that suits your company, and see how far it can take you.
Patrick Foster is an ecommerce expert, coach and freelance writer. On his blog Ecommercetips.org you’ll find advice on ecommerce, marketing, SEO, and how to develop your business strategy in these areas.
It is inescapable, and it affects everyone it contacts. When you enter a room, you bring your attitude along. How often do you pause to assess your attitude? Being aware of your attitude, especially when you are under stress, can help you make adjusts when needed. What is the impact of an attitude?
2. Negative. You can destroy a team. You cause rumors to persist. You plant the seeds of despair and hopelessness. You cause others to leave or ignore you. You change the attitudes of others to negative.
3. Neutral. Neutral is better than negative, but you limit your impact. You wield no influence. What benefit are you to the team? Are you living your purpose to the best of your ability?
Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude." It is true that we impact ourselves, and those around us when we take the time to choose and adjust our attitude. Is it possible to always be positive? No. But we can get better at adapting our attitude. We can get better at recognizing how our attitude affects others. We can get better at carrying our attitude. Also, sometimes, there are more personal reasons as to why someone is carrying around specific energy.
We're human and to be human means making mistakes. Your fellow employees and managers have all made mistakes at one point in their lives. You might find someone makes a mistake on a daily basis at the office, so you're not alone. Even the most thoroughly prepared leader will end up making a mistake at some point. Business2Community explored some common issues leaders might face and how to deal with the blowback. Their first tip is one you'll meet time and again - handling an employee's mistake.
Your first instinct might be to yell, threaten, or criticize team members in front of others. But these tactics rarely work. Putting your frustration and temper on-display for all to see, shows that you don’t respect your employees and reveals that you have a lower emotional IQ. Worse, this destructive criticism attacks their self-esteem, which in turn decreases their morale, engagement, and productivity. This degradation may even lead to an employee holding a grudge against you.
They proceed to explain that it boils down to building trust. If you want to have a work environment that runs smoothly, these tips can surely aid you. Confucius wrote, "the wise should not hesitate to correct themselves." Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes, we let it affect ourselves to the point where it nearly changes who we are. A wise person quickly corrects their mistakes. If we want to grow our influence, our authenticity, our credibility, our leadership ability, then when we make a mistake, we must clearly say, "I was wrong."
A mistake does not show weakness. It only reveals that we are human. Our character is exposed by the actions we take after we realize we made a mistake. You're not burying your head in the sand. You're not passing the buck onto a coworker. Owning your failures shows those around you that you're willing to get through the tough stuff and that you are dependable. Therefore, when we are faced with another mistake, we should be proud that we are willing to learn, and make corrections.
This is a big philosophical question about the human condition within the modern world. Are we getting better, or are we just shifting things around so they look different? According to Erika Morphy of CMSWiRE, it's not realistic to expect constant increases in productivity:
Can you remember when email entered the mainstream? It was embraced with wild abandon by both consumers and businesses. No more faxes! No more pointless meetings! No more lengthy phone conversations about something that could be handled with a short note! You had time now to do more productive work.
But of course, this isn't what happened. In fact studies show we are spending about a third of our time on email. Instead of the tool giving us freedom, it bound us to something else instead.
We'll talk about why and how that happens in a moment. But let's answer the question first:
Q: Should productivity increases be constant?A: Yes, they should be. But they usually aren't, because we aren't good at designing work patterns to increase productivity.
This is a major area of research and discussion among economists and other experts. A nice roundup up the competing theories appears in a op-ed from Bloomberg news. To summarize four of these ideas:
None of these are particularly satisfying. We're practically carrying the supercomputers in our pockets. We are able to communicate by video chat with almost anyone, anywhere. We can look up almost any fact in the entirety of human knowledge in seconds. So why does it feel like we aren't getting that much more done than we used to?
Perhaps the clearest explanation comes from an old quote by the science fiction author William Gibson:
The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.
If there's a reason why you aren't experiencing productivity increases at a constant rate, it's because you and your firm may not be engaging trends and technologies as they become available. For example:
This is all a lot to keep up with. But then again, isn't keeping up with what everyone else is doing fundamental to the nature of business and the economy? We are all competing for customers, for talent, and new ideas.
Increasing productivity requires a constant drive to do more with less. To be better, to work smarter, and to get more done.
Sometimes that's as simple as upgrading your equipment or buying the next version of a software package. But more often than not, become more efficient and effective requires contemplating what you do and why you do it. It requires re-thinking your workflow. It involves breaking down your entire operation and building it up again.
That's how you keep improving. It's what must be done to survive, and to thrive.
Whatever the size of your organization, it needs a clear business process, which is basically a series of linked tasks that will lead to your business achieving its goals once they’re all completed.
Simply put, all the things that you do in the day-to-day running of your business—from taking orders from customers to formulating strategic plans—are all part of a business process that will allow you to deliver whatever product or service your client needs successfully.
There are three categories under which business processes fall:
Since organizations vary in size, scope, and requirements, the business processes they come up with will also differ. The process they go through to create those business processes, however, is pretty much the same.
First, they have to define the goals, where they have to establish why they’re creating a particular business process in the first place and spell out any purposes it may serve.
The second step is mapping the process, and it involves thinking up strategies that are necessary for the accomplishment of the goals they have set.
The designation of tasks is the third thing they have to do. Whatever is needed to execute the plan, this stage is where it must be clearly defined.
The testing phase comes next. In this fourth step in the process, they will need to find out how the business process will fare when it's run on a small scale. They will then have to make adjustments if it needs any.
The fifth step is implementation in a live environment. Every single stakeholder should be properly trained and briefed on the process.
Step number six involves monitoring the results of the implementation. The process must be documented, reviewed, and every pattern analyzed.
The seventh and last step in the process is repetition for future processes, that is, if the results are as expected and the goals met.
You can create the best business process ever made and still fail because it wasn’t managed well. That, of course, is not going to happen when you have business process management or BPM in place.
Designed to supervise implemented processes, BPM is necessary to ensure and confirm that a particular process is running the way it’s meant to run. To oversee both automated and non-automated processes, many companies are using BPM software which makes the task so much easier. With BPM software, businesses can, among other things, accurately identify which parts of the process need to be improved.
Keep in mind that business processes are created to simplify and streamline operations. Depending on how they perform upon implementation, business processes may need adjustments along the way. To be able to spot what works and what doesn’t, however, those processes need consistent monitoring so you can make the necessary adjustments. Business process management can take care of all that, and more.
Casey Belle is the Content Marketing Specialist for Techaerus, a company that focuses on teaching and implementing proper use of software/hardware within companies and organizations. When not working, she makes use of her time doing yoga and completing her travel bucket list.
Very similar to most New Year’s resolutions and by mid-January, our big ideas have already expired. Imagine for a minute, right now, that life could be a great deal better, if only we learned to aspire higher. The most widespread difficulty in setting goals is the word impossible. For the most part, people get hung up thinking: “I can't do this.” or “It is too hard.” or maybe “It is unattainable.” And even “No one can do this.” The truth is if everyone thought this way, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human achievement.
Do you remember the bumblebee? Scientists were puzzled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. In theory and according to physics, they said, it was not possible for the bumblebee to fly. Fortunately for the bumblebee, nobody told it that fact. As a result fly, it does. If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will in no way be able to break past what you consider not possible. If you reach excessively far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging to the impossible dream.
Remember the three big things that hold us all back:
Chasing your dreams can feel like you're chasing your tail at times. This can happen to the best of us and there is a simple reason why: you haven't turned your dreams into goals. Ladders writer, Christopher D. Connors, explored something similar in a recent article. In it, he talks about "having" it and how, after some introspection, you might find that you don't "have" it. If you're chasing after a dream job, you might want to consider reverse-engineering your way into that dream position.
But what if you do some introspective searching and find that you really aren’t completely happy with your current state? Then start making your future state — your Have — a reality now. You may not have the sold-out arenas or adoring fans. But start acting like you do. Start imagining exactly what the “Have” looks like. Paint a picture so vivid, it would make Michelangelo blush.Envision exactly what this looks like. Lead with this. Live a life that celebrates your future success. Then, start being and doing what that is. It’s a philosophical and cultural paradigm shift that will change the way you live your life each day. It will propel you toward living your dream faster than you ever could have imagined.
It all comes down to how willing you are to chase your dreams. We go through the classic “Think and Grow Rich” we start with the assignment of reading chapter nine on Persistence for fourteen days in a row. If you miss a day, you get to begin again until you can read chapter nine for 14 consecutive days. For you or me to achieve our dreams, there has to be focused effort and discipline. But take note that that one percent has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one. Think big and work hard to achieve your goals. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will discover that impossible becomes a little bit more possible.
Jerry Kramer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this month. Kramer played football at the University of Idaho and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1958 NFL Draft. Kramer played his entire NFL career (1958-1968) with the Packers. He was an All-Pro on five occasions and named to the NFL All-Decade team in the 1960s. Jerry Kramer was the Green Bay Packers right guard in an era when the Packers were all about one thing: WINNING! Kramer played on five NFL Championship teams in seven years. Those Packer teams also won the first two Super Bowls. Vince Lombardi became the Packers Head Coach in Kramer's second year, and the first thing that Lombardi changed were the players' attitudes.
The Packers became one of the greatest teams in NFL History with their Championship run, and Jerry Kramer was one of several outstanding players on those teams. Kramer and the Packers were known for their "power sweep," and Jerry was one of the "pulling guards." Their motto was, "Run To Daylight." Jerry Kramer "threw" one of the most important and well-publicized "blocks" in NFL History when he paved the way for Bart Starr to score the winning touchdown on a "quarterback sneak" in the "Ice Bowl." (1967 NFL Championship Game).
Kramer, who also was a placekicker for the Packers, wrote several books. First and foremost was, "Instant Replay." It was extraordinary to watch those Packer teams in the 1960s. I had so much respect for them because of their incredible determination which was a big reason for their success. Winning Championships is a lot more than having talented players. Jerry Kramer is a great man who overcame many injuries; some were football related; others were not. He has finally gotten something he has long deserved: enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As recognition of his enshrinement, the southwest portion of the stadium at Lambeau Field unveiled his name to honor his career. Kramer had this to say about that unforgettable moment:
“I didn’t know if I was going to keel over or enjoy it. I ended up enjoying it,” Kramer deadpanned after his halftime ceremony of Sunday’s game between the Packers and Vikings. “It was a wonderful moment. The whole process was a wonderful event for me. It’s surreal is the best way to describe it, especially for a lineman. Linemen don’t do those kind of things. Rarely do they do those kind of things.”
His contribution to the Green Bay Packers success will be forever remembered. His ability to work well with a team to become successful is something that we can all admire. Sometimes, working with others toward a similar goal can be difficult. That's why it's so important to build a team that works harmoniously. Mark Brown talked about how important it is for a leader to bring their team together under specific requirements
1. Connect emotionally. Your team members need to know you truly care about them. It is easy to connect on the highs, but you must also connect at the lows. 2. Connect intellectually. Challenge them. Teach them. Listen to them. 3. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively. Conflicts can spiral out of control if not addressed immediately. Understand individual views but build cohesive views. 4. Support the individual but align effort in favor of the team. Recognize individual efforts individually, recognize and reward team accomplishments in the team environment.
Use these skills to lean on your teammates and work together toward your end game goal!
Most people have a secret goal. Sometimes it’s so secret they don’t even know it themselves.
That’s why they ask so many clarifying questions and want to run though rare scenarios before we start. (And why I often shrug and won’t give them a straight answer.)
That’s why they play slowly, double checking every response so they get it right.
That’s why they disconnect from the group, turn inward, and stop breathing–to really focus all their attention so they don’t slip up.
That’s why they roll their eyes and dismiss it, so no one thinks they are actually trying in case they do mess up.
That’s why they play quietly, so if they do mess up, maybe no one will hear them.
And that’s why the game can be so awkward, stressful and not fun.
It took me a long time to realize, but no matter what people’s stated or unstated goals are, most of the time they are playing to avoid mistakes. And I find that having ANY other focus, helps the individual and the game. It can help them let go of old patterns that might have been completely justifiable when formed, but may no longer be serving them. I often give them the focus of making eye contact or breathing or being louder. Anything will do, especially my classic advice of being EPIC: playing with Energy, Pacing, (being) In the Moment, and Commitment.
And it makes me wonder, in this time of goal-setting and New Year’s Resolutions, what are the hidden goals underneath our stated goals? What are the things on Maslow’s hierarchy that are preventing us from being able to go after the things we say we want?
For me, I have had publishing a book at the top of my professional goals for years. And yet, it always gets moved down the list. Part of that is how big a goal it is. (I know, I know break it up into smaller goals and chunks.) And part of it is how it’s something I would mostly be accountable to myself for, as opposed external deadlines which I find more motivating. And a big part of it is about wanting to not mess it up. Like thinking, “This will be my book and it will be me and if it’s dumb then I’m dumb…” or something along those lines. Even though there’s a very practical part of me that knows if I slapped together a compilation of these newsletters, I could have something up on Amazon in a month or so. And if I’d done that years ago, I might have a bunch of books done by now. And I’ve slowly been convincing myself that I just need to put one really crappy book out and I will advance my career and move forward with my life. Not that the book would end up being crappy, but I need to convince myself it’s okay for it to be crappy before I can really begin. Or, more accurately, finish.
So, I’m being bold with this one: I can write a crappy book this year! #Goals
What are your stated goals? What are your hidden goals? And how can they be more in alignment?
The Founder of Merlin Works, Shana Merlin is one of the most experienced and effective improv teachers in Central Texas. The former Dean of The Heroes School of Improvisational Theatre, Shana has been an internationally touring performer and award winning teacher since 1995. Shana has trained with some of the top teachers in the field of improvisation including Keith Johnstone, and members of Second City, The Annoyance, IO, The Groundlings and more.
This requirement is more than just hammers, drills, and computers. It includes safety equipment like helmets, harnesses, work goggles and gloves that they need to avoid injury
Guidelines from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) not only ensure that managers are following safety protocols but also educates the workforce regarding hazardous situations. Training guidelines and signage are created to help everyone follow best practices when it comes to conditions they will encounter at work.
However, there are simple things workers do every day that put them at risk beyond their awareness. One major aspect of work that has a huge impact, but is rarely discussed, is standing posture.
About two-thirds of the world’s working population are on their feet for the majority of their workday. While standing is less detrimental to your health than sitting for hours, it’s still important to know how best to walk, rest, and carry oneself to remain safe.
Standing for extended periods at work not only leads to leg cramping and backaches, but also other issues such as fatigue, swelling of the limbs, pressure on the joints, and even poor heart conditions. These health issues can affect employee performance over time.
Just as you might make sure that someone has protective eyewear or footwear, the body is the most important machine a worker has. Not taking care of it properly results in pain, injury, and loss of work as well as a negative impact on your business.
There are many strategies one can take to relieve this kind of physical stress of keeping one’s body upright all day. Workers should consider the aspects of standing properly, lifting more effectively, and stretching the body to accomplish manual tasks and maintain health at work.
Some best practices to follow include:
Of course, managers want to make sure to maintain boundaries at work. While it’s certainly in their own best interests, correcting posture or commenting on how people sit too much would certainly be on the list of things that are beyond the pale at work.
So how would you make sure that workers move, sit and stand in a way that will keep them healthy?
Ultimately, it’s only possible to do so much to make sure that workers remain healthy. But by providing education on the impact of standing as well as the opportunity to take advantage of stretching time or resting, your team will become healthier. And those that are healthy are more productive, happier, and more likely to stay at a job.
Visit the BigRentz site for more tips on proper posture and standing including an infographic!
Lior Zitzman is the Director of Digital Audience at BigRentz, a construction equipment rentals marketplace with a network of over 1,600 rental partners and 8,000 partner locations. He has more than 15 years of experience in enterprise-level SEO, digital strategy, conversion optimization, and SEM at automotive publishing and equipment companies. He previously worked at Motor Trend Group for 10 years and holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. In his spare time, he enjoys website development, gadgets, cars, fishing, and The Matrix.
I'm pretty sure I came out of the womb, rubbing my itchy eyes, sneezing, and gagging on post nasal drip. I can't remember a time when I didn't have allergies. I'm lucky enough to have year-round allergies, but Spring is easily the absolute pits for me and many other allergy sufferers. Not only is pollen just hanging out in the air, many companies are also planting flowers or bringing in some new plants to spruce in the office. Most workers can go about their day as usual, but some will end up suffering. It's pretty hard to be good at your job when you're absolutely miserable at work. You're not alone either as a recent survey showed that 50 million Americans suffer from allergies. It's so common that it's sitting pretty at number six on the chronic illness list. But how many of us actually take off of work when we're at our worst when it comes to our allergies?
Ladders looked into this common issue and found some surprising information. A survey by Trane showed that 47% of people would feel too guilty calling into work for allergy symptoms. In fact, 1 in 5 of those surveyed admitted that they would rather lie to their boss about why they're calling in sick. The majority of people feel as though their symptoms wouldn't be taken as seriously as some other common illnesses so they don't feel comfortable admitting the real reason for their illness. Ladders also noted a surprising tidbit of information:
Moreover, a Taiwan research study conducted last year found an increased risk to psychiatric disorders in individuals with allergic diseases. The researchers examined individuals with asthma, seasonal allergies and eczema alongside a constant group that had no allergies whatsoever. In conclusion: “Allergic diseases are therefore associated with a 1.66-fold increased hazard of psychiatric disorders in Taiwan.”
It's not like allergies are so rare. I'm sure many of us could raise our hands if we were asked about allergy sufferers in our lives, whether we are one of them or know one. Why do we look down our noses at this illness, then? Even with medicine, you'll find people find little to no relief regardless of how many pills, nasal sprays, or air purifiers that they invest in. You basically have to suck it up and just deal with it. There are a lot of workers out there that already hate their jobs or end up job bouncing from employer to employer.
Your allergies can not only affect your work productivity but also your sleep, too. Research from the Journal of Allergy and Immunology shows there are strong links between sleep issues and allergies. Health24 took a look at this issue and offered up some tips on how you can try to avoid some symptoms of allergies. Two of their suggestions caught my eye as I don't think many people have heard of these tips. This first one is an absolute must:
- Take off your daytime clothes and shoes before bedtime. Don't take your coat and shoes into your bedroom, and don’t place any outer garments on the bedspread.
That makes a lot of sense. Don't bring the outside into your bed! This other tip is extremely important, too:
- Make sure that medication taken at night won’t interrupt your sleep. The ingredient pseudoephedrine is common in decongestants, but it can make your heart race, cause anxiety and interfere with sleep. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about the side-effects of the medicines you take at night.
I can't stress how important this is. Taking medication for your allergies is one of the only ways you can find relief but you have to make sure you're taking the right ones. Talk to your doctor and see what other ways you can improve your quality of life both at work and at home.
If this describes the way you work, it is time for a little reflection. Pausing occasionally and thinking about the future outcomes you want to achieve can help you reach those goals. Having a clear picture of your destination makes getting there easier. Without taking the time to create that vision, you might find yourself drifting from your main journey.
If there was one best practice to help in this regards, everyone would learn it, and everyone would use it. Unfortunately, one solution does not work for everyone. Only through practice will you find what works for you. There are a few things I do to help me. Maybe some of this will also help you.
2. Before you spend too much time towards your goal, clarify it. Sit back and think about what success looks like. Develop a plan to achieve the specifics of that vision.
3. Know what is important today, tomorrow, next week, and next month. Keeping the deadlines for your responsibilities starts with knowing the expectations. If you are given a task, make sure you ask about the deadlines.
4. Minimize distractions and trivial tasks. Delegate, eliminate, and delete what you can. Then sharpen your focus on the few and important things that will matter.
Some days, it is easier to list this than actually to do them. But, like all things in life, with practice, it does get easier. What methods do you use to stay on track?
There is a very important group of people that this list especially applies to and it would be those that are in leadership positions. Leadership is not a skill that is developed accidentally. Leadership is learned. We learn through our everyday interactions. We learn from others when we choose to lead or when we choose to follow.
Do you know the difference between being a leader and a manager? It might surprise you to find out that there are some pretty stark differences when it comes to these roles. Mike Hill explained how to identify a leader in an AccelaWork article. Several of his comparisons rang true for me and they might make an impact on you, too.
You’re a Leader if you have current and long-range plans laid out for your group and have shared the plans. You’re a manager if you’re so deep in the weeds that you have no long-range plan and if you did, you sure wouldn’t share it with anyone but your boss.You’re a manager if you think the business revolves around you and that the employees are there to work “for” you. You’re a Leader if your goal is to grow more Leaders.
The opportunity that is typically lost in today’s fast-paced business world is practicing our skills every day. Wouldn’t it be nice to take the time to think about the interactions we are going to have today, and plan to get better? Maybe a checklist would help us think about the different aspects of the discussions we have scheduled. Well, you can! Change the way you think about your leadership, and implement some daily practice. What will work for you to get better at leadership relationships?
Have you kept up with your resolutions for the new year this time around? If you haven't, you're not alone. It can be incredibly difficult to change. Go ahead and employ these three behaviors, you'll be happy you did! Here they are:
Now you have to admit they are simple but you’ve probably already recognized they’re not that easy. Many times the boss enjoys holding the team accountable but without the additional two behaviors, the accountability does little good. So let's explore why you should work to achieve all three behaviors and what happens when you do. Below are a couple helpful tips on how to employ two of the behaviors in order to achieve the third (aka accountability).
First, including your team in your business gives them a better idea of how their behavior impacts the whole. By including them in your business they become engaged. And allow me to clarify that *including them* means more than just giving them a job and a desk. Inform them on how the business works. Show them the things that matter; more specifically, what causes profit and what detracts from the bottom line.
Second, giving your team feedback makes a huge assumption that you have informed them of what you expect. By giving clear and specific expectations followed up with specific and relevant feedback, you will begin to see the performance you're hoping for. Giving the right kind of feedback to your team will develop your employees.
Shana Merlin, Guest blogger at AccelaWork, talked about how we should be giving feedback. If you have to sit down with an employee or team member to discuss any type of criticism, you'll want to make sure you're prepared. This tip can help tremendously during this process:
Make your feedback match the person’s needs.Different people have different feedback needs. Ask people how they like to receive feedback. In person? Written in an email so they can digest it? Anonymously? Me, I love to get permission to do something. Like permission to play crazy characters or let go of the story, or just worry about myself and not everyone else.
Change won't happen overnight. What's important is taking that first step today to create the future you want for your business. Feedback is one of the most essential ways you can affect change in your team. But, on the flipside, what about when it comes to negative feedback? Ashira Prossack at Forbes delved into this issue in an article where she explored giving negative feedback in a constructive way. One of her tips caught my eye and really resonated with me.
Follow up.Once you’ve delivered feedback, continue to follow up. Just telling an employee what they need to improve upon isn’t enough. You have to give them a plan to follow and goals to achieve. Managers need to provide guidance to help employees stay on track with their progress. Don’t micromanage, but do check in regularly to monitor their progress and offer ongoing feedback. Give more guidance and touch base more frequently in the beginning. As you see the employee progressing, start to back off and let them take full control. Most importantly, acknowledge when they’ve made the improvement so that they can enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishment.
Many of us forget to follow up after we tackle a difficult issue. You probably want to let the issue lie and move forward, but it's important that the person(s) that received feedback are along for that ride as well. It's best to keep the loop of communication transparent and open.
Kyler Murray is a great two-sport athlete from the University of Oklahoma. He has been an outfielder on the OU baseball team, and the Oakland Athletics drafted him in the first round of the 2018 Baseball Amateur Draft--selected ninth overall. Murray is also a quarterback for the Sooners, and he recently said that he is going to go to the NFL Combine. He is a sure bet to be a first-round selection in the upcoming NFL Draft. Kyler Murray won the Heisman Trophy, emblematic of the Nation’s most outstanding College Football player, in 2018.
Kyler Murray is choosing football over baseball. With his arm and his legs, not only did he win the Heisman Trophy, but he also led the Sooners to the BCS! Since his passion is football, he made the right choice. Football offers him instant recognition in the NFL and the potential for instant fame. Had Murray chosen baseball, in all likelihood, he would have spent several years in the Minor Leagues. Since football is where Murray’s heart is, he might have questioned a decision to play baseball during the many long bus rides that are a big part of the Minor Leagues. Yes, there is less risk of serious injury in baseball, and yes, being a professional baseball player often means longer careers than in football. However, in the end, Kyler Murray followed his heart. And I admire that.
Having a successful career means taking the necessary steps in order to reach our goals. It can be easy to get hung up on being perfect, doing every task perfectly rather than focusing on doing what we need to do to feel satisfied with our work. Instead, maybe we should adopt a model of excellence as Jack Klemeyer explained in his stepping stones to excellence blog post. One part of the post especially caught my eye:
MAKE A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCEA passionate commitment to excellence is a primary step to growth in any endeavor. It is not enough to say we want to be excellent; we must make a commitment. Whether you are an entrepreneur, business owner, employer, or employee, commit yourself to becoming excellent in your chosen field. When you commit yourself to excellence, you will grow personally as well as professionally.
You're not alone when it comes to this struggle. Many people across numerous fields, be it professional sports or an office job, can often feel as though they're stuck in a rut. You get used to the grind, just going through the motions to get through the day only to begin again the next day in an endless cycle of what can feel like mediocrity. Forbes writer, Jack Craven, talked about this in one of his recent articles. In it, he goes into how you can go about reigniting the passion you once had for your career.
When you hit a roadblock, the process of discovery and alignment with what energizes you and what is important to you, is deeply transformative. It can be the catalyst for real change in how you approach your career and your life. This is where your own “grit factor” kicks in. You must be committed to introspection and action in the following ways:1. Owning you are stuck and to what degree you need support in getting unstuck
2. Seeking the support you need
3. Identifying key obstacles
4. Creating a plan to shift from where you are to where you want to be
You can use these tips to strive for excellence and rediscover that flame you once had to fuel your day!
The days of a narrow focus on the highest grades and technical expertise are almost gone, as employers are learning to value essential leadership traits more than ever. Billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban said in a 2017 interview, “I’m going to make a prediction, in 10 years, a liberal arts degree in philosophy will be worth more than a traditional programming degree.” He went on to add that as Artificial Intelligence continues to transform the market, degrees that teach students how to see the big picture and collaborate in better ways will be even more useful.
Not only have employers picked up on this idea, but reliable research has also backed it up. In fact, when Google conducted a rigorous internal exploration to determine what makes up the perfect team, the results were fascinating. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that sees the most productive teams as the ones full of the brightest people, their study concluded that the highest performing groups were those with individuals who had the strongest soft skills. Furthermore, they found that predictors of success within a company are skills like communication and empathy.
Improving soft skills among top management is crucial for organizations to thrive. Leaders who are at the forefront of a company’s operations should not only be good at technical work, but should have high emotional intelligence as well. Maryville University’s industry outlook for today’s organizational leadership graduates points out how a collaborative mindset and strategic communication are vital for good leadership. Since their work and success are inextricably tied to their teams, it’s essential that leaders can empathize and communicate with their people effectively.
The best leaders are those that can promote collaboration by encouraging productive interactions. They are able to do this because they have interpersonal skills and know how to use teamwork to get things done. On top of good communication skills, they know to focus on work ethic, problem-solving, and flexibility. Researchers from the University of Amsterdam revealed that this kind of human-oriented leadership with a focus on soft skills is significantly more effective than task-oriented leadership, in which leaders see their role as merely delegating work. That's why individuals who have impeccable technical skills but low EQ find themselves running unhappy teams, and end up with subpar outputs.
Therefore, no matter how much you strive to be an expert in your field, mastering leadership will remain a separate category altogether. A combination of technical and soft skills is critical to success, and to an overall better work and personal experience.
The first step to improving your own soft skills to become a better leader is to conduct a thorough self-assessment. At this point, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself: What are the things that annoy you and how do you react to them? How do you react to unexpected changes? It’s useful to observe your own interactions with friends and colleagues. Count how many times you catch yourself talking more than listening, or how often you miss significant cues in a conversation.
If you discover that you’re sorely lacking in soft skills, don’t fret. Thankfully, soft skills are not awarded at birth and can be learned over time. (There's plenty written about discipline before here at AccelaWork, and how it is an integral part of building character.) Self-discipline is also a big part of improving your soft skills, as it will take consistency and self-control to reshape the traits you grew up with.
It may be useful to ask your closest friends to help by spotting where you need to improve and reminding you of your goals regularly. Their outside perspective can give you a different view of your own interactions with people and give you clues on what you need to change.
Constantly trying to better yourself will take some work, but the outcome will prove to be more than worth it. When you do find yourself leading a team, you will be equipped with the best tools to deliver more than what is expected — and as the icing on the cake, people will love working with you just as you will with them!
Phoebe Ella is a writer and freelance trainer who focuses on group dynamics and interpersonal psychology. She enjoys conducting teambuilding workshops and visits companies to give informed lectures about the value of teamwork. She is dedicated to making groups sync better and work more efficiently through good communication and effective follow through on crucial skills. When she’s not helping organizations and individuals, you will find her walking her dog Bubbly around the local park.
In 2013, I defined a goal for myself to write a book. My target date for completion was December 1, 2016. That day passed by without having a book written. I had failed. In fact, when I reached my target date, I had not even started writing the book. Many excuses played in my head. I was busy. I didn't know where to start. It was too much work. I can't write very well. But the truth is that I never had a process that would lead to success.
By default, I had a process that would lead to failure. Doesn't that happen to us quite often? For me, I have more ideas and plans than time. It requires sifting and selecting the ones that are more important. The probability of success is defined by the next step. We must take that idea and develop a process that will lead to success.
Defining the process is different than defining milestones or goals. Milestones check progress toward a goal. The process is doing the work. If I had dedicated 15 minutes a day toward writing that book, I would have completed about half a page a day. In two years, I would have accomplished over 300 pages of material. Even if I allocate a year for editing a rewriting, I will achieve the goal in three years. Instead, I wasted five, by not having a process.
But if failure is not an event, we can recover. After realizing failure, I changed my process. Today, I am writing a book using only 15 minutes at a time at least five days a week. It is a process that will eventually lead to success. When we recognize failure as a process, we can change our process. What process do you need to change to achieve your goals? What should you allocate 15 minutes of your time to every day?
This is why it's so important to live in the moment. Do you think that living in the past and letting it overshadow today is helping you? Do not stumble on the things that are behind you, nor fear that which lies ahead. Carpe diem! Carpe diem is a shortened version of the original Latin phrase “Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero” meaning “seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.”
Carpe diem is commonly used to justify spontaneous behavior and to make the most of today because one doesn’t know if they’ll live to see tomorrow. It is not saying “ignore the future”. Instead, do as much as one can now because you don't know how the future will unfold. Carpe diem is a truth. You can only live in the moment. The future has not arrived, and the past is already gone. To make the most of the time you have, you must live and act at this moment. But it does not mean you need to act carelessly or recklessly.
Most meaningful projects take more than one day. The challenge is making the most of each day, not by being spontaneous, but by being strategic. We still need to maintain some level of spontaneity for unplanned opportunity and fun. But significant projects will never be accomplished through procrastination. Every action can affect the future. Every action can help reconcile the past. But every action can only be done now. When you think in those terms, hopefully, you are encouraged to do more today. Be encouraged and take action now.
In his book The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker lists seven story forms which story tellers employ over and over. Each is plot is linked to a fundamental metaphysical Question that we as human beings ask about our own lives. One of those “plots” is that of the Quest: a difficult journey towards a goal. The Quest requires exertion on the part of the hero, who must overcome obstacles to achieve the goal. Examples include Homer’s Odyssey, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. The underlying question the storytellers ask about life is: Can I get what I want? Will I be able to achieve my goal? Yes! You ca achieve your goal. And if you are on a Quest, there are lessons about how you can fulfill your Quest, based on plot elements that go back for as long as people have been telling stories.
Some fearful calamity has taken place, and the hero must act out of necessity, not simple desire. In The Lord of the Rings, the hobbit Frodo’s bucolic existence is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf arrives. Frodo would probably have continued living his quiet life. However, something was amiss in the realm Middle-Earth, something evil, and the Quest begins.
In your life, it may be that your Quest has begun because something is amiss. If so, you can be grateful for whatever that thing is. There may be a silver lining. When old paradigms break, when sudden changes take place, when a wizard tells you the ring you have hidden away is enchanted, it may be an opportunity to shake up your life and start seeking treasure.
The hero of the Quest Story is called to action, and frequently feels unworthy or unable to achieve the task. “After all, I am but a hobbit.” However, in the Quest Story, motivation arises and the hero takes action.
You may have experienced a call. You may be thinking about going back and finishing that degree, enrolling in a weight loss program, going after a promotion, or moving to a new and exciting place. If you are like most heroes, you worry the Quest is too lofty, the goal too noble. If you feel that way, you are the typical Quest hero! Fulfilling the Quest will involve acknowledging and accepting your resistance and pushing through to get started.
One feature of Quest stories is that the hero often has a hard time getting out the door. As soon as the Quest begins, Frodo must immediately contend with the arrival of the Black Riders who are looking for the ring.
Pointedly, the lesson from this Quest Story is that once our goal is sighted, almost immediately can we expect to encounter “Black Riders.” Identify one simple act you can take toward your goal (making a phone call, sending an email, signing up for a single class) and then push through the resistance that will arise to keep you from taking that one step. Comfort yourself with the knowledge that every Quest Story gets off to a bumpy start.
The first problem the hero and his companions must face is that the terrain through which they journey is usually wild and unfamiliar. Unexplored territory is to be expected; be prepared.
Fortunately, the dangers are not continual. The hero and his companions may go through a succession of terrible, near-fatal ordeals, but they interrupted by periods of respite where the group recoup their strength. The message is clear, manage the pace of your Quest so you don’t burn yourself out.
A distinctive mark of the Quest Story is the fact that the protagonist is not alone as he/she pursues the goal. A key feature of the story is presence of companions and friends—allies—who accompany the Quester. As you pursue your goal, look for your allies. Some of them will be friends and relatives you have had for many years. Your Quest will probably require that you reach out to new companions. You may even wish to say, “In order to fulfill this Quest (or achieve this goal), I will need allies. Will you be one of them?” Presenting your goal and asking for help is a powerful way of enrolling others in its pursuit.
The protagonist has achieved the goal, and the life-transforming treasure has been won. You too can pursue your own Quest, but heed the truism that achieving a valuable goal is never an easy thing. Take that first step, which may have been just to read this article and think hard about what is calling to you!
If you are a leader, the vision for your team or organization must come from you. If your team’s idea comes from someone else, your leadership will be bright to those on the team. This doesn’t mean that you have to develop the vision yourself. It also doesn’t mean that only you can communicate that specific idea. You will have to embrace and live the vision that you want your team to aspire to achieve. This is walking the talk. It is casting inspiration of the future. It must be done authentically, and with passion. It cannot be delegated, even if you're working with a team.
Another familiar tale is the issue of working on a project together with a team; it can seem as though there are always one or two people that distract the group from their goal. It could be that they actively speak out against the plan, or they could silently disrupt progress behind the scenes. It all comes back to you, as the leader with the vision, to take control of the situation. Here are some strategies that will help you overcome the rabble-rouser.
2. Address the issue with the person separate from the group. Confronting the rebel in front of the group will only justify their message. So pull them to the side and try to resolve the issue discreetly.
3. Create wins to show the group the progress. People want to be on the winning side. Get some small wins, and you will begin to overcome any opposition.
There will always be someone that will stand in your way on your path to achieving your vision. Find a way around and don’t lose too much time thinking about it. In fact, there are plenty of workers out there that have one or two co-workers that they absolutely can't stand to be around. Many people have to show up to a workplace that is extremely toxic. As a manager, there are several ways that you can avoid letting where you work become poisoned, whether it is because of co-workers or upper management. Robby Slaughter looked into this issue after reading an article written by Marcel Schawntes from Inc magazine. The very first tip is what caught my attention.
1. All sticks and no carrotsManagement focuses solely on what employees are doing wrong or correcting problems, and rarely give positive feedback for what is going right. Or mostly carrots for the best performers, sticks for the rest.
This sounds correct. We want to be rewarded instead of punished. Right?
Not exactly. The notion of direct incentives (giving a raise / giving some praise) or direct disincentives (cutting pay or cutting people down) is not how human psychology works. In fact, incentive pay may be the worst idea in the history of modern business. And when mistakes happen, forgiveness is more effective than shame.
So yes, “sticks” are a sign of a toxic workplace. But carrots are a sign of a dumb, outdated workplace that treats employees like children.
So what's the takeaway from all of this information? Being a leader can be extremely overwhelming, it's important to acknowledge that! Use your position to create an environment that allows you and your employees to achieve your vision. The buck starts and stops with you, so it's up to you to keep you and your workers on the right track.
To lead a growing organization, you must provide honest and helpful feedback. Too often we provide only critical opinions on how we perceive performance or we compensate for negative comments by adding flattery. To be effective, performance reviews need to be honest. They need to consist of a two-way discussion. For an employee to improve in your eyes, they need to understand your perspective (or change your perspective). Effective feedback can include examples of behavior, discussion of alternative actions, or revision of goals. TechRepublic took the time to put together a list of how human resource professionals can provide positive feedback.
It isn't easy to share unfavorable news with your team members, but trust is built on honesty. Whenever possible, be completely honest with team members about their performance and the impact on the team—especially when it is not up-to-par. Feedback must be given in a way that is respectful, timely, and with solutions.Allow team members to share their feedback and input into solutions, as well. A two-way dialog is a must. It is not helpful to just tell someone that they are not performing without giving them time and opportunity to rectify things in a positive manner.
If you can observe without judging, you will be able to increase your capacity for compelling evaluation. It takes practice. To show you care about a person, always be open and sincere. This applies to both praise and constructive criticism. This quote from Dale Carnegie puts it into perspective:
"The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.”
There are times in my life when I have felt hurt or betrayed. Those feelings can come from situations where I was not told the truth and then blindsided by something for which I was not prepared. As I spent some time reflecting this week, I realized another benefit for being open and authentic with others. You enable yourself to tell the truth and prevent those types of hurt feelings. Leading an organization and being open can be difficult if you are dealing with confidential data. Here are a couple of practices that can help you be authentic in these situations.
3. APPROACHABILITYA good leader is approachable and has an open door policy. Good leadership creates an environment where openness and honesty can occur in an atmosphere of fairness rather than judgment.
For me, these two practices help create trust and authenticity with the organization. What has helped you be more open when faced with difficult questions?
When getting rid of a problem would be a costly or time-consuming process, what should you do next? While the obvious answer is to simply put your solution into practice regardless of the cost, the truth of the matter is that budgets are rarely so flexible. More often than not, the prohibitive cost of fixing an issue can make it seem easier to continue with the status quo. However, before reverting to the “this is how we’ve always done it” mindset, consider these thoughts.
Expensive Problems Often Need Expensive Solutions
When faced with a large-scale problem within your organization, it’s important to realize that the issue is often complicated. Thus, the solution to this issue will need to be equally multifaceted, which could lead to significant sticker shock. For example, consider the problem of high employee turnover. You already understand the financial implications of coping with the problem, but fixing the problem will also be costly.
It’s likely you need to address your policies and procedures in many areas. To truly solve this issue, you’ll need to invest plenty of money and time. While such a significant investment can seem daunting, eradicating the problem is worth it; especially when you consider that the payoff will eventually make its way to your bottom line. Over time, a more substantial investment in solving a problem will cost less than merely putting a bandage on the issue.
The Devil You Don’t Know Can Still Harm You
As a leader, you’re likely aware of the price of inaction, but what are some hidden costs that you might not be considering? In the case of employee turnover, the immediate costs are clear. However, other consequences quickly come to light when you delve deeper into the issue. From lapses in productivity to falling customer satisfaction levels, an issue like employee turnover can soon cause a ripple effect. Many areas of your organization can feel this negative impact. While the cost of actually solving the problem can seem prohibitive, failure to do so could leave you with a much bigger mess down the road.
Your Organization’s Long-Term Health Matters
When we’re in the thick of dealing with a problem within our organizations, it can be challenging to think about the next week, month, or year — let alone our long-term forecast. However, when formulating your plan of action, it’s important to consider what could happen in five, ten, or even fifteen years if the problem is allowed to continue. In many cases, the problem will have the potential to worsen and subsequently become more difficult to solve. Taking the time to imagine how the issue could impact your organization in the future is an important step in analyzing the cost of your solution. While it’s always important to consider budget, allowing a problem to continue could ultimately lead to your organization’s failure.
As a leader in your organization, the ability to identify problems is only half of the battle when it comes to overcoming potentially disastrous issues. Your organization’s long-term success also depends on your resourcefulness when implementing solutions. A large-scale problem that is allowed to fester unchecked is likely to cause damage that will ultimately take a much higher toll on your organization. It’s true that sticker shock can be hard to overcome but remember: Sticker shock is only temporary, and the results of your efforts will be well worth the cost.
Recently a friend of mine was worried that he was not going to meet critical project requirements for his job. I helped him break down major tasks and had him define how much time each task needed. Our discussion took less than ten minutes. Afterward, he was relieved that accomplishing the project on time seemed very achievable.
Then I suggested that he add the defined tasks to his schedule so he could make sure he allocated the time needed. Because for many people there is a gap between knowing what to do, and taking the time to do it. He responded, "I don't use a calendar to schedule my day! It takes too much time. I need to be flexible to work on whatever is most important at the moment." It became evident why this important project with a fixed deadline caused my friend anxiety.
Last week, I was ill. I had caught a summer cold that took me out of commission for a couple of days. I needed to revise my work calendar. But because I had a plan, I knew what actions could be delayed and what needed to be done as scheduled. When a deadline can't be moved, I like the necessary steps to be in my schedule. I find it interesting that some people view a schedule as being too restrictive, and other people view a schedule as necessary to enable flexibility. The plan is not the difference; it is how we use it.
Isn't this true of all tools? A tool is only as good as our ability to use it! So how can we use these tools when it comes to reaching our goals? What does it take to succeed? There isn't a single characteristic that defines success, but we should consider expertise and character. Some people find success through their expertise. Others find success by utilizing great character and relying on others for expertise. Which do you utilize best? One skill that you should consider honing is communication. Jack Klemeyer talked about how important communicating skillfully is as a tool.
Because the ability to communicate in depth with other humans is one of our most distinguished privileges, we should never take that ability for granted. Instead, we should do all we can to increase our ability to have good conversation with the people around us. Think about all of the opportunities you have each day to engage another human being in conversation. You can talk to rocks, trees, or your favorite stuffed animal for as long as you want and you will never get a response. Saying something as simple as “hello” to another person can elicit a response.
This is obviously not a right or wrong question. We need both character and expertise to succeed. You alone can't be successful. It requires the help of other people. Even when it feels like you are working on a project by yourself, you are probably getting advice from sources such as books, videos, research data, or online searches. Many times we forget to be thankful for all that help.
Our work is impacted by our character. Our character is embedded in what we do. It exists in the results of the work, and also in how the results influence others. The things we value will be visible in our output and our actions. When we take time to reflect on our successes or our challenges, the scale between expertise and character can give us new insight. What would improve your results over the next week? Should you invest more time in your character or your expertise?
“You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.”, said Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a difference between seeing and observing. Observing with intent can lead to great discoveries.
I have led or participated in hundreds of kaizen workshops. The first step in almost all of them is to observe the work. We would go to the location the work was being done, and spend time observing. It was much more than just watching. With practice and training, you can learn how to observe work. To observe a manufacturing operation, I start with blank paper and write down all the motions the worker made. It would include each movement in the smallest detail, such as the estimated distances for each reach with their hand, or each step with their foot.
Depending on the cycle time of the process, observing and documenting the work could be done in minutes. If your observation was correct, then afterward you could recreate the motions without equipment or material. You could demonstrate the work in a conference room. This documented work became the baseline for improvement. Understanding the work unlocked the ability to discover improvements. It became possible to evaluate all-encompassing changes; evaluate combining and dividing the movements differently between different workers and evaluate the elimination of wasted movements. If you need a more practical process to improve yourself or a process, consider this post by Ashley Lee. In it, she describes how you can work toward a new plan.
It’s right there in the the name: process improvement is about embracing trends and new ideas. It’s about evaluating current systems and finding the areas of weakness. It’s about taking the time to rejuvenate through innovation and system integration. It’s about recognizing the need for change and then taking the necessary steps toward moving business forward fluidly, efficiently, and ultimately, successfully.
Observation is the key to discovery. We were trained to observe, and then we were trained to discover improvements. It sounds simple, but practice led to advanced skills. What could you observe today that could potentially lead to a great discovery? One character trait you could hone in on to observe and develop is integrity.
Integrity is reflected in the alignment of actions, words, and thoughts. Everyone, including those with strong integrity, struggles with this alignment. If you decide to be a person of integrity, nothing changes unless you can live those ideals. We encounter the conflict and challenges to our integrity throughout our life. Partly because life is full of decisions, and we do not know the outcome of making choices until they are made. And, of course, we all make mistakes.
We may consider George Washington, William Wilberforce or Mother Teresa as people with integrity, but they still faced difficult decisions and failures as often as you or I. It is certain that they viewed their own integrity differently than the rest of the world viewed it. We cannot know the depth of the internal struggles they faced. It is exactly for this reason that regardless of how others perceive our integrity, we must always be working to improve it. We should always check our alignment between our thoughts, our words, and our actions. We should always be grounded in our values. It is not something you can do just five days a week, or only on the weekend. It is a full-time commitment.
I find that as I have aged, living with integrity has become easier. No longer am I as easily swayed by the activities around me. I am much stronger in knowing my values, and I am not afraid to live them. I know I am strongest when I am who I am, no matter where I am, or who I am with. We all must continuously guard and grow our integrity. If not, we risk losing it.
That’s why I prefer BNI; it’s a turnkey system that is proven to work time and time again when you follow the system. To me, effective networking is about being real, building trust, and seeing how your relationships can genuinely help others. I always look for ways to give first. Here are eight ways to enhance your networking and referral after you give!
Rob Gronkowski played tight end for the New England Patriots for nine years. Gronkowski was a four-time first team All-Pro; a remarkable achievement. Gronkowski is a three-time Super Bowl Champion. Gronk was taken by the Patriots out of the University of Arizona in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Rob Gronkowski has 23 receptions in Super Bowl play; the most by any tight end in Super Bowl History! Rob Gronowski announced his retirement from Pro Football not too long after the Patriots won another Super Bowl.
I have seen a number of great tight ends over the years. This includes many Hall of Famers. I feel that Rob Gronkowski is the greatest tight end in NFL History! He is an extremely skilled receiver and a very talented blocker. Gronkowski was great in the regular season and terrific in the Post Season, too! Gronk had four seasons of over 1,000 yards receiving; the most by any tight end in NFL History. Let’s not forget that Rob Gronkowski was on the receiving end of 12 touchdown passes in the Post Season; the most of any tight end in NFL History!
Gronk has an exuberant personality; he loves to have fun and has said that, “partying gets me refreshed and makes me want to work hard.”
He's famous as well for making crazy statements on Twitter and to the media. But for as much as Gronk can be a goofball, he is truly dedicated to doing his best. It's attitude that has made the difference in Gronk's career. As Mark S. Brown notes in a piece about positive attitudes:
President Thomas Jefferson said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Keeping a positive attitude can be challenging in certain situations. Here are some lessons I have learned that help me.1. Protect myself from negative attitudes that I encounter. If I am not careful, I find myself adjusting my attitude to those around me. Attitude is contagious after all. But when the surrounding attitude is negative, I must be strong enough to keep my positive attitude. I have two choices, allow my attitude to influence others, or leave the situation.
2. Focus on tomorrow’s possibilities rather than yesterday’s results. When I find my attitude slipping away from the positive, it is usually because I am too focused on what has happened rather than the opportunities of tomorrow. Walt Whitman said it best, “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.”
3. Learn more about myself. Carl Jung said, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” When I find myself getting irritated, it affects my attitude. The aggravation however is within me, not with the other person. If I spend time understanding myself, then I am better prepared to turn negative situations into positive situations.
Sounds like the kind of thing the Gronk put into action every day of his career. And considering that he had his share of injuries over the years, that may have been a factor in him announcing his retirement at age 29. Gronk was fabulous and one of a kind! He will really be missed.
No matter what your goals are in life, you can learn something from the greats who keep on moving, keep on working, keep trying to get better. Stay positive, stay focused, and work toward your dreams. You---and only you---can achieve them, but only if you work hard to make it happen.
Thomas Oppong, writing for The Ladders, starts out with a bang:
According to a recent McKinsey report, today’s workforce spends 61% of their time managing work rather than doing it. That’s insane.
There's more gold in that piece, such as:
Want to improve how you work? Build better routines.Cut the distractions, find your flow and stick to a few apps that actually help you move the needle.
You need to get YOU organized first to make the most of any tool that helps with work.
An app doesn’t “get” you productive or “make” you more productive.
Nor is this anything new. Author Sid Savara points out that part of work is metawork. That is before you can exercise, you may want to plan your workout routine and research local gyms. But you can spend all of your time doing that and never actually get to the part where you sweat!
And an Ad Age piece admonishes readers to Stop Doing Meta-Work now! (Like Sorting Your Email). This is a point on which I completely agree.
Since I'm referencing myself, I'll point out again that tools were meant to be used. It's far better to make use of some program, system, or utility inefficiently than to be unable to use the best one available.
But back to the point. If there's no app for good workplace habits, then what are the habits? I've got five. If you can do just one of these consistently, you'll be ahead of most people in the workplace.
Ever been to a restaurant and watcher a server listen to a complex order---but not write it down? It doesn't inspire much confidence. Getting into the habit of jotting down a note for absolutely anything you think you might need to remember later will change your life. You'll stop forgetting things, and you'll become more accountable to others.
It's hard to overstate the impact of note taking. Yes, the process can get more complex, with to-do lists and idea notebooks and filing systems. You can even take notes in a community (which is called "documentation.") But if you take notes, you'll do more. Do it.
This one sounds prosaic. Everybody plans to do things. You plan to see a movie with a friend this weekend. You plan to go to France on vacation someday. But a genuine plan is more than an intention. A plan is a series of steps in completing a project.
You can think of "making plans" as part of "taking notes", but it's not a reactive process. Take a moment to list out the sequence of actions you need to take. You won't miss as much and you'll make better estimates.
The author Matshona Dhliwayo writes that "One kind deed is more beautiful than a thousand good intentions." Isn't the world filled with people who meant to do something, and even said they would, but never kept their promise?
Learning to follow up with others takes a delicate touch, but it's one of the best ways to get things done that you can't do yourself. Gentle reminders, short emails, quick texts, friendly calls, and even just a wave can trigger another person to do the thing they promised to do.
They probably aren't taking notes. They haven't made plans. But if you follow up, it might get done.
Ignoring the time is one of the surest ways to waste time. If you expect a task to take an hour, set an alarm for one hour to check in. If you know you need sleep, make sure keep an eye on the time so that you go to bed early.
We have a culture of hustling in the United States. It's hard to say that's healthy in itself. But knowing when to call it quits and come back tomorrow will makes sure that you continue to have good tomorrows. Watch the clock.
Independence is wonderful. Self-reliance and self-motivation gives us a great sense of purpose. But if you've been struggling with a problem, don't keep struggling. Find someone else who can give you guidance or maybe even a helping hand.
Too many professionals have the bad habit of trying to do everything themselves. (And a few, I suppose, have the bad habit of never trying to achieve anything on their own!) Instead, reach out. It's a great way to learn, and a good pattern to build.
There's no app for workplace productivity habits. You've got to learn to do the right thing first. Then, you can find tools that empower you to do that work faster and better.
But first: take notes, make plans, follow up, watch the clock, and ask for help. Most people don't. Be better than most.
My good friend and State Farm Agent in Griffith Indiana, Ron Pierce says, “Average, the worst of the best or the best of the worst.” Is that what you want, to be the worst of the best or the best of the worst? Seriously? You need to know; when it’s all said and done, there are only three things that hold us back and these three things apply to every one of us. They are as follows:
I know some might say there are more than three. Might they challenge with the question of a debilitating disease? Or what about a natural disaster? Another might challenge by asking what about a tragic accident? Pick one or more or add one of your own; it doesn’t matter. “Doesn’t matter?” you might ask. Yes and here’s why. Although these can be devastating and tragic, these things happen somewhere in the world almost every minute. As tragic and horrible as they might be, they are circumstances. In each case, some individuals rise above the circumstance to achieve some big thing. The late Jim Rohn had a quote that I think about often:
“It’s not what happens in the world that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. The key is what you do about it.”
There is one thing I can guarantee you that will absolutely, positively happen. The yogurt will hit the fan! Whatever you plan, there will be a wrinkle in it somewhere, sometime, guaranteed. John Maxwell says, "Plan and execute your first failure so that you no longer have to fear it.” It’s going to happen, the question is, what will you do about it? Are you prepared to handle a setback? Mark Brown explored how failure affects our success and how we can't have one without the other.
The sweet joy of triumph! When we succeed at a challenging task, solve a complicated problem, or reach a goal, we rejoice. We are elated. Failures fade away because we have achieved a milestone. Would we know the feeling of triumph without the awareness of defeat? Isn’t our recognition of a win enhanced by the missteps we made along the way? Every day I must remind myself that it is imperative to risk failure in order to find success. If I wait for the best opportunity, then I will miss many openings for progress. So many of our daily decisions are affected by timing. Yet rarely is our timing perfect.
You and I can be better than average. “Everything worthwhile is uphill,” says John Maxwell. Too many times people want uphill results with downhill effort. It’s a choice! Choose wisely. And that’s where the three things that hold us back come into play.
Eventually, I think everything tracks up to a limiting belief. The damn limiting belief is the start of the cascade of crap. You see our thoughts create our feelings and our feelings create our behavior, and our behavior produces the results we get. That process of ideas to feelings to action to conclusions when you have a limiting belief is called your “B.S. Story” or belief system story. Which usually sounds something like “I didn’t think I could do it” or worse yet, “I knew it wouldn’t work”. Many time we aren’t even aware. Who’s helping you with your thinking?
Lately, I’ve been noticing, working and paying particular attention to my potential areas of Low Expectations (one of the three roadblocks I discussed above). An expectation over time becomes a standard. If you don’t expect much, guess what, you won’t get much. You can’t rely on other’s expectations either; they are busy with their challenges (and their personal three things.)
Synonyms for diligence include conscientiousness, assiduousness, assiduity, hard work, concentration, care, industriousness, rigor, meticulousness, and thoroughness. Don’t those words represent how you would want your effort to be described? I want to keep that list of words in my wallet. When I get stuck, I can pull it out and find inspiration in those words. Samuel Johnson once said, “What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence.” Many coaches know that success soon follows diligence.
Last week at an event, I met several new people. One gentleman asked me, "What do you do for a living?" I told him, "I am a coach." He responded, "Interesting. Who do you coach?" I let him know that most of my clients are business professionals, just like him, but I have also coached CEO's, VP's, doctors, business owners, pastors, volunteers, engineers, writers, managers, and students.
"Wow!" he said. "Coaching people with all those backgrounds, how do you know what advice to give?"
I smiled. The most common misconception about coaching just revealed itself again. "That's where most people miss the point of coaching. A coach doesn't give advice; a coach asks questions. Powerful questions have the ability to raise your consciousness. Raised consciousness produces new thoughts, new ideas, new options. It allows thinking on a new level and new opportunities for success."
I then started asking him questions about his profession. I was searching for his boundaries and roadblocks. "Why did you come to this event today? How effective do you find these events? How else could you achieve this purpose? Who is more successful than you in achieving this? What could you learn from them?"
After only five or ten minutes, he was excited because he had some new ideas about how to reach one of his goals. The power of coaching is in the questions that unlock potential. I added, "A coach also provides a level of accountability to follow through on those ideas." He learned how a coach could help people. Everyone has the opportunity to benefit from having a coach.
Coaches everywhere can have a difficult time with exploring how to have a strong relationship with those who seek their assistance. Like coaching, a mentor-mentee relationship takes time and effort from both sides. Dr. Pragya Agarwal, a contributor for Forbes, discussed how you can ensure that the end result of your time spent coaching and mentoring will end in success. Of the three key factors she listed, one specifically caught my eye.
Respect: This has to be really one of the most important factors in determining the success of a good professional relationship. The mentee has to have a huge amount of respect for the mentor, for their achievements and for their commitment to mentoring, as the mentor is giving their valuable time for mentoring, often voluntarily and for no fees. Mutual respect leads to clearer boundaries that keep the relationship professional and on the right track. It is also important to have a clear idea of respective roles, as well as be aware of any explicit or hidden biases that could potentially affect the relationship.
This is such a major part of any coaching and mentoring relationship. Respect goes both ways in this kind of working relationship between you and those that follow you. You are viewed as a leader and it's important to show them how much they matter. Your mentees will respect you in return if you give them a reason to respect you in the first place!
Gandhi said, "Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny." What we believe is our foundation, and building on those beliefs can transform our life's journey. This quote can help us explore and develop specific personal growth plans for our life.
For example, select something important to you. It should be an area in which you want to grow. It could be faith, friends, business, community, or a specific skill. Then spend time reflecting on these questions starting with your fundamental beliefs, and narrow your focus to the area you selected.
2. Thoughts: When do I take time to transform beliefs into thoughts? How are my beliefs reflected in my thoughts? Are my thoughts productive? How could my thinking be more aligned with my beliefs?
3. Words: Can people see my beliefs in the words I speak? Do I speak in a constructive and supportive manner? How can I communicate my opinions and thoughts so that I am more understood?
4. Actions: Am I living authentically? Where are my actions not a reflection of my words? What do I need to do to follow through more consistently?
5. Habits: Are my habits aligned with my beliefs? What habit should I develop to live according to my beliefs? What habit should I break that is not in alignment with my views?
6. Values: Do I value what is essential and in alignment with my beliefs every single day? What values in my life need to be developed or strengthened? What values am I living, but not fully understanding?
7. Destiny: Where are my beliefs taking me? What development will help me reach the future that I want? What short term desires are pulling me away from longer-term success?
These are generic example questions. This exercise grows in significance when you can ask yourself more relevant questions based on your specific situation and your experiences. This process has helped me broaden my views, and then re-focus on how to grow. Ready to get started? What area of your life would you like to work on?
One common occurrence that many people face at some point in their lives is self-sabotaging thoughts. It's easy to get stuck in an endless loop of thoughts about insecurities or what-ifs. When you learn to accept who you are, what changes you should make, you can finally start the process of growing. Jack Klemeyer talked about this issue in a post where he identified some behaviors that can keep you stuck in a rut.
Deciding to let go of self-sabotaging behaviors that prevent you from changing takes courage and a personal commitment to developing more effective actions. Before you go around believing you can change the beliefs and behavior of others, you have first to improve yourself. This means overcoming resistances and sabotaging behaviors that have prevented you from experiencing an optimistic attitude. No matter what obstacles you face, developing an optimistic outlook and changing unrewarding behaviors and beliefs will awaken you to eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors.
You don't have to fall victim to this. You can recover and use this opportunity to explore and develop your own beliefs. You might even be able to help guide others on this path, too!
Stress can cause us to act differently. It can cause us to be more abrupt, more direct, less effective, and too aggressive. Afterward, we may feel regret, but too often the damage is already done. William James has said, “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” We have the ability to change our thoughts, and therefore we can change how stress affects us and how often it affects us. The first step is eliminating the stress caused by things we don’t control. The second step is reflecting. We can learn about our reactions and the thoughts that trigger anxiety. The third step is practice. We can practice the reaction we desire.
Stress can ruin the moments in life that we should be enjoying. In 2019, we should choose our thoughts and have more joy, and less stress. Even the greatest of our leaders face anxiety and stress in their day-to-day lives. Great leaders are always working on strategy, but concurrently managing the tactical actions aligned to their plan. It is a delicate balance. Too far in one direction or the other and you can find yourself off course and treading stressful waters.
One approach that has served me well is knowing the difference in each conversation. I think it is best accomplished if you can separate the two into separate discussions. You can approach one of your employees or team members and let them know you want to talk strategy. Or you can let them know you need to review tactics, and then proceed to be very clear on actions and expectations. This clear communication will likely aid in a productive conversation and less stress for everyone involved.
If you are forced to speak to both in a single conversation, preface your comments to identify your thoughts. You could say, “strategically thinking...” or “tactically, we need to...” Sometimes team members can be confused if we expect action but talk strategy. They may not feel empowered, or strategic concepts may not have the clarity they expect. If they cannot tell the difference, the team will struggle. How do you balance strategy and tactics in your conversations? Is it clear to your team members which are which? Are expectations clearly defined? What are you doing to ease the stress in your life?
One way you can cope with stress is by taking the time to write down what is causing it and your feelings surrounding the issue. Jack Klemeyer spoke about this issue in an article about ways to control stress. This part rang true for me:
Write down what is bothering you. Writing it down and seeing it on paper, will help to provide some perspective on what it is that is causing you stress. Then divide your paper in half. On one side list the “stressors” you can change, and on the other side list those that you can not change. Try to let go of the things you can’t change and try to fix the ones that you can change. Better yet, do this in your journal. That way you can look back and notice how you’ve grown!Find out and target what it is that is stressing you out. If it is just your job, then think about switching careers. If it is your family, then work on the issues you have with them — zone in on what’s causing your stress and then deal with the root of the problem. Communication is the key, and that includes communicating with yourself!
Some of your employees may not want to be involved in every decision being made in their work environment. They like to receive very clear instructions as to what is expected of them with their giving very little or no input. Others like to be involved in all decisions. The third group is the employees who offer their input when they want. All these types of employees can contribute to the organization, but is it at the level of productivity that is needed?
There are lots of styles of leadership, but individual employees tend to gravitate toward one of these three mindsets. Let’s look at each group, starting with the employees who like to give their personal suggestions with regard to assignments.
Democratic Contributors - They like a democratic environment, which they find most fair. These individuals can be highly productive because they function at a higher level when they have been allowed to offer their own suggestions—when they have buy-in. What can sometimes slow this group down is their need to give their input into everything, even in areas where they may not have any expertise.
Group input can be very useful in some situations and very counter-productive in others. Managers will need to make the call regarding when and at what level they want or need input. If this group reports to a manager who allows minimal or no discussions or input, it can lead to these employees feeling overlooked or not valued, and they will possibly even become confrontational.
Authoritarian Contributors - On the other end of the spectrum we have those employees who like and need to be given very clear instructions as to what is expected of them. They will then do exactly as instructed—but be aware that they want everybody to work by the same rules. If they see you, their manager, playing favorites among employees, letting deadlines slide, or allowing what they perceive to be sloppy work compared to theirs, you will lose their respect.
Mixed-Style Contributors - The middle group has a lot of solid ideas to add to work assignments. This can be your most productive group. Some of them want different levels of direction. This group wants to be able to share their ideas, but they don’t want the work environment to become a drama stage. They want to give their opinions and suggestions in a pleasant and low-key manner, and then get to work. An area to work on with this group is to ask them to become contributors in more than just the areas they’re totally comfortable in. Think of this group as your idea generators, and when you hit one of those proverbial brick walls with a project, be open to their input.
Which type of employees are you working with? There are a few different ways to determine how your employees prefer to receive their work instructions. One way is to simply observe the employees when you make a request. Is the request taken by the employees as more of a suggestion than a firm “no questions allowed” order? Do the employees offer additional insights on how the task could be accomplished in the most efficient way, in support of your request? If so, this is our first type of employee. If the employees accept the request with no questions, you have the second type of employee.
Another way to determine your employees’ preferred method of receiving requests would be for them to take an assessment that can rate their level of desired involvement in the decision-making process.
We all have an ideal environment in which we work at our best ability. We also all have our desired level of involvement. When an organization can get the employees’ desires met, productivity soars. For those employees, it’s no longer work!
What exactly does it mean to be generous? When you think of the term, and you try to ignore time or money, what else comes to mind? If you're having a hard time, you can use this list to give you some inspiration.
2. Give assistance. If you are like me, you can be so busy you miss opportunities to extend a hand to someone else. Pause a moment to hold open a door, or if you are sweeping the sidewalk, sweep your neighbors also. When I was twelve and thirteen, I mowed yards to earn money. I remember instances when I mowed some for free because I had the time and it was always appreciated. There are many ways to help that take very little time. We can raise our awareness of the needs that exist around us throughout our day.
3. Bring a positive attitude. Carrying a positive attitude with you throughout your day can positively impact everyone you meet.
4. Pay attention. When someone is talking with you, give them your attention. Too often we try to multitask. Stop looking at your phone and look at the person speaking. It makes a difference.
5. Provide a kind word. Encouragement feels good. Sometimes we just need to provide a kind word to change someone's day.
It doesn't take much effort, does it? We can be generous every day. Because, in the long run, being generous does open the door to happiness. It's a genuine feel-good action, isn't it? We're all continually seeking ways to be happy, especially in our careers. Dr. Ash ElDifrawi and Dr. Alex Lickerman explored this topic in The Ten Worlds: The New Psychology of Happiness. In their book, they talk about how to best achieve life-long happiness and how your career plays a significant role.
ElDifrawi believes that finding a career that blends what you love, what you are good at, and what can support you and your family is rare. In fact, if you set that as your expectation, then you might be disappointed, he cautions. Careers sometimes must be seen as a means to an end. “Not hating what you do is important, but if working allows you the opportunity to pursue other things that make you happy, then that is okay – that is why it’s called work,” he explains. “Now, if you can find a career that also creates meaning for you, then consider yourself truly blessed. That is a gift.”
This brings to mind an AccelaWork post by Ashley Lee where she discusses how we're all trying to measure our happiness. Is there some sort of scale we should be using? Can we ever honestly figure out the right ratios in life that will lead to true happiness?
Which leads to my next question: can we accurately measure happiness? Certainly, one can interpret the emotion based on observation. But, does that mean we can gather data that can be quantified and translated into fact-based conclusions? Plenty of us operate under the assumption that we’re happy only to find out days, weeks, months, or years later that we’re not fully satisfied. I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but if we can’t fully grasp our own level of happiness how in the world can an outside sensor do it?
Maybe it's time to start looking within instead. Perhaps by exploring new ways to be more generous in your day-to-day life, you will finally reach that happiness goal!
Yes, readers like juicy gossip tidbits about sports and movie stars. Yes, readers have interest in how stuff works in the world and how things came to be. And, yes, by definition of their having found your blog, readers have an interest in your field.
But (or so my theory goes, anyway), readers are most curious about themselves. They care most about how they “work” and the limits of their own knowledge and their own physical capabilities. I believe that’s why magazine and Facebook “quizzes” are so hard to resist.
Leafing through an issue of WebMD Guide while waiting my turn for a flu shot, I just couldn’t resist taking the challenge: “Take this quiz to see how much you know about cholesterol”. There followed a four-question True/False quiz, with the answers given at the bottom of the page. Granted, I was a captive audience at that point. I hadn’t brought along my Sudoku book and there weren’t a whole lot of reading choices around.
Still, I just had to see if I knew the answers to those four questions (I got three out of four. I wasn’t aware there’s not an iota of cholesterol in peanut butter, because apparently dietary cholesterol comes only from animal products.)
The moral of this story isn't that I learned a valuable fact. I probably wouldn’t have read through an article about cholesterol. At least for that morning it wasn't a topic I was searching out and certainly not something I cared about in particular. Cholesterol wasn’t near the top of my radar screen. But curiosity about whether I would know the answers to four questions apparently was.
We are all curious about our own capabilities and limitations. We watch game shows, competing along with the contestants. We watch reality TV, wondering how we would fare in their shoes. As the expression goes, the sweetest sound to any of us is our own name. Or at least, what the person who has that name can do.
If you want people to read your content, engage their curiosity! Get them thinking about what they know and don't know, and see as they can't stop
As a professional ghost blogger and blog content trainer, I’m going to issue this challenge to you:
Can you compose a blog post with a four-question quiz relating to what you sell, what you know how to do, or to your unique slant on your own industry? Could you, not every time, but every once in a while, tap into that perverse curiosity I think all your readers have about how much they know?
For me, I turned to a trusty book: Do You Know? Ultimate Trivia by Guy Robinson. For example, imagine a blog post which asks this question:
Q: Which dates furthest back in history: Popcorn, Tulips, Cockroaches, or Elephants? A: Cockroaches.
Because the answer is the ubiquitous creepy-crawly, this question might be right for the website of a pest control company. Here's another one:
Q. For which instrument did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart never write a concerto: Trumpet, Violin, Bassoon, Clarinet? A. Trumpet
That's a topic for a blog for a musical instrument store, a music school, or a band uniform house.
We are all curious creatures. But unlike the cat, our curiosity may can help our businesses rather than threaten our existence. Consider taking advantage of what people wonder about themselves in your next business content piece!
When I am working on a project with a team, it seems that there is always one or two people that distract the group from their goal. It could be that they actively speak out against the plan, or they could silently disrupt progress behind the scenes.
Having a saboteur can be downright maddening. Instead of making progress in meetings, you're putting out fires. Instead of reviewing what work team members are accomplishing, you're breaking up disagreements and getting people back on track.
Of course, there are advantages to having a different opinion once in a while. Famously, some military organizations require a devil's advocate in order to make the best decision.
And, sometimes people who cause the most problems are the ones who obsessively follow the rules. Instead of recognizing the importance of guidelines as a form of consensus, they use the official policy as a weapon to get their way.
But what about when there are people causing problems and they don't have a good reason to push back? Here are some strategies that will help you overcome the rabble-rouser.
1. Focus on the majority – The simple method is to just ignore the person that is disrupting the group. If you are able to move forward with the majority of the group, then you are able to gain momentum.
2. Address the issue with the person separate from the group – Confronting the rebel in front of the group will only justify their message. So pull them to the side and try to resolve the issue discreetly.
3. Create wins to show the group the progress - People want to be on the winning side. Get some small wins and you will begin to over come any opposition.
Interacting with those who cause issues is part of the reality of our lives. Robby Slaughter points out that much of the reason we have problems starts with language. In a blog post here on The Methodology Blog about working with challenging team members, he writes:
We’ve all dealt with frustrating people in the workplace. Who are the difficult employees, and what is the best way to handle them?To address this challenge, we’ve got to start with the words we’re using. The most important step in handling difficult employees is to stop using the word “handle.”
That’s a term that chemical engineers use for hazardous material, not what people in an organization should use to describe their interactions with other human beings. Likewise, we should avoid phrases like “deal with” and “put up with.”
Thinking of everyone else as a person first will help dramatically in finding ways to engage and connect productively—even if their behavior is upsetting to you.
There is always someone that will stand in your way on your path to success. Find a way around and don’t lose too much time thinking about it.
But at the same time, don't be afraid to listen to a person who has a different point of view. If they are just being difficult that's not the same as having a perspective worth hearing.
Remember: we all come to organizations with a unique personality, a unique set of experiences, and specific knowledge and skills. The outlier might be part of the problem.
But sometimes the outlier has an idea worth hearing. Be ready to move on, but only after you've listened first.
Leaders who stay at good are living in their past and from their past.” Said John Maxwell during one of his sessions at the most recent International Maxwell Certification (IMC) in Orlando, Florida. John went on to say, “These leaders succumbed to these six temptations have moved from a growth mindset to a maintenance mindset.” In one of his sessions, John shared The Six Temptations of a Successful Organization from Dave Anderson in his book “Up Your Business.” I took several pages of notes in an attempt to capture both his words and the spirit of what he shared so I could share it with you.
One of John’s Business Bullets in this particular session was that “Neither you or me or our businesses ever arrives, there is no “Whew, we’ve made it.” Celebrate the moment(s) of success and then tomorrow, go to being better.” Be sure to celebrate the wins, the moments. It’s key to engagement. He went on to say, “My (our) growth is what keeps us in the game and that growth brings awareness to us.” Awareness is critically important because when people stop growing, it’s usually because they are unaware. “You can’t fix what you don’t know!” Here are the first three of The Six Temptations of a Successful Organization.
Temptation #1
The leaders of a successful organization are tempted to stop working on themselves. They are tempted to stop learning and to stop growing not realizing the dire consequences that come with the stopping. When the leader stops improving and growing, it’s only a matter of time before the business stops improving and we all know if it isn’t improving...well it’s not good!
The reason they stop learning and growing is typically for one of two reasons:
"The minute you stop doing something, stop teaching it!" Advised John. Growing people, grow people. When you don’t grow yourself, you don’t (can’t) grow people. One of my favorite quotes is by John Wooden and he said, “It’s what you learn after you think you know it all that counts.”
Temptation #2
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop thinking big! One of the many things I admire about my friend and client, Jason Mansfield of Mansfield Plumbing, is his confident, non-braggadocios belief in the growth of himself, his family and his employees. When you stop thinking big, you begin to lose momentum and momentum is a leader’s best friend. When things are on a roll, for goodness sake, don’t stop the roll!
When you’re on that roll, when you’re doing well, John says, “Go Shopping!” What does that mean? Visit people, other leaders and other companies that are better than you. Visit ones who are bigger than you and Better than you. The late Jim Rohn said, “We are the average of the five people we hang around with the most.” Be intentional about who you’re hanging around with. Make sure they are pulling you to what you want, toward your future, not dragging you to what you don’t want.
Always be asking:
Temptation #3
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop leading from the front. In not leading from the front, they are no longer visible to their team. They stop doing “people work” and start doing “paperwork.”
Here are four ways to stay visible as a leader:
These are the first three in The Six Temptations of a Successful Organization. Before the next installment, think about these first three.
Most of us see issues in terms of black and white. Capable managers are able to formulate their answers quickly and make most business decisions without undue delay. However, what about the rest of us?
A survey by McKinsey & Company found that 60 percent of executives make bad decisions as frequently as good ones. So, if you want to join the elite groups of decision makers, you need to develop your own style for decision making. That is: discovering what you “need” in order to feel confident in your decision-making process.
What do most of us need? Well...it ranges from “plenty of time” to having the issues relating to decisions reduced to their simplest form:
All three types of decision makers have their advantages and disadvantages in the business arena. All types can get caught up in their own style and exhibit tunnel vision with regard to making good decisions versus keeping in mind their company’s big picture, weighing what’s best for the entire corporation.
Another way to look at the decision-making process is how it is handled by the culture of individual companies. Generally, new managers are put into positions where the majority of their decision making is for situations that are pretty black and white. Middle managers usually are in positions that handle the uncomplicated decisions, but they are beginning to be challenged by the more complex decision-making situations. Senior managers are most often the ones responsible for the ongoing complex decision-making situations. This natural progression generally works very well as employees move along on their career track. Problems arise when new managers try to take on decision-making situations for which they’re not qualified, and the opposite extreme can happen when senior managers refuse to let less-difficult decisions be made by anyone but themselves. Either situation can cause great corporate damage.
If you’re always being challenged with addressing complex decisions, you need to delegate some of the decision-making responsibility to those individuals who will exhaust all possibilities and analyze all consequences before the decision is made. The downside of this type of decision maker is the possibility of delaying the decision. Think: paralysis by analysis. What can also happen is if you pressure these types of decision makers, they can delay their decision from fear of making the incorrect choice.
On the other end of the scale, we have the “reduce the issues to their simplest form” decision makers. As long as the decision to be made is somewhat usual and routine, these individuals will make a quick call. They will have issues with ambiguity, which can cause them to become frustrated and act impetuously, and possibly lead them to overlook important details. They then will make a snap decision that may or may not be in the best interest of the company.
The decision maker that most of us aspire to be is a blend of the two mentioned above. We generally like to make rapid and objective decisions, but we also like to feel we’re not under pressure when settling more complex issues. We know we need to gather the necessary information to make the best, most informed decision, so we take the time to do our research. The problem with this type of decision maker is sometimes he or she can over-simplify or even become stalled in the decision-making process from fear of making mistakes.
So, how do you determine which employees are the most comfortable making needed business decisions?
Whatever you observe, put the individuals in the decision-making process that favors their style and keep them from making decisions that could be incorrect or disruptive.
You probably have all three types of these employees within your organization. As long as you can allow them to work to their strengths, your organization can grow and you’ll have well-engaged employees.
"It’s tempting to want to explain everything. It’s also hard to know what to throw out,” observes Dane Frederiksen of digitalaccomplice.com. He is talking about video, but the same simplify-the-complex is certainly a guideline for all of us business blog content writers. Of course, with blog posts far less expensive to produce than videos, it's somewhat simpler to focus on just one aspect of a topic and then come back and fill in other information in later posts.
Some products and services are, without question, more challenging to explain. “If, after your thirty-second elevator pitch, the person you’re speaking with still has ten more clarifying questions, says Jeune Ortiz of future-ink.com, you probably have a complex product or service.
Ortiz has some good suggestions for blog content writers when it comes to presenting the complex in a way that converts lookers into buyers. These include:
Use What They Know Compare the old solution to your new solution to show improvements.
Using your blog to offer answers to you’ve heard from customers in the past can help business blog readers relate to the new information.
Let Customers Explain It Stories that illustrate how your product or solution was used successfully can do a lot to help a newcomer understand how it might also improve their life.
Having people who already bought your products or services can help prospects to relate. “Customers don’t want to feel like they are being told a brand story. They want to tell themselves the story," say the authors of Tips and Traps for Marketing Your Business.
Don’t Scare Your Visitors Using jargon might seem like a good way to clear things up, but it does just the opposite. Technical words can overwhelm your visitors...if you have policies, disclaimers, or warranties, add that to the footer, never in the main content.
I train newbie blog content writers that going light on jargon and technical terms without "dumbing down" the material shows respect for the readers' intellect---and for their time.
Tell Them How to Get Started The product is complicated enough – don’t make getting started a mystery
Simplify the navigation and have clear Calls to Action. If potential customers know what they are supposed to do in order to move forward, that's what they will do.
As we bloggers have learned over and over again, simplifying the complex pays dividends for business owners and professionals every time!
In a business environment that’s evolving at a record pace, leaders need to be more than just authorities telling their team members what to do each day. So, what kind of leader do today’s organizations need to encourage digital transformation success?
Around 50% of the workforce will work remotely in the next year, at least part of the time. That means that if leaders want to keep track of their employees and keep staff members engaged, they need to figure out new ways of communicating with their coworkers.
Communication now comes in many forms, thanks to team collaboration tools that allow for real-time messaging, video conferencing, SMS, and more. The key to success is finding out what kind of communication works best for your employees and providing options that suit specific situations. For example: You don’t need to invite your entire team to a videoconference to give them an update about your latest sales figures.
You can’t dock in the past and push others into the future at the same time. To be a successful digital leader today, you need to understand the benefits of new technologies, methodologies, and strategies so you can convey those advantages to your workforce.
For instance, rather than just telling your team they will "start working with AI," take time to clarify and introduce the benefits of your new artificial intelligence tool. Encourage adoption by helping people to test the tech for themselves and reassure them that the change is a positive thing. Help people to see your vision, and they’re more likely to help you make it a reality.
People often respond negatively to changes in their workplace, but if they can see that their leader can help them succeed, they’ll feel less stressed. Teaching employees to take initiative in solving their own issues and taking control over their technology brings agility to the team and can make a huge difference.
In a collaborative culture, knowledge spreads faster. Even simple things can have a positive compound effect on the whole team. Understanding that will motivate you to help a staff member even with a trivial PC hack like how to speed up their computer with MSConfig command.
Influential leaders are the ones that have the most inspiring mindsets. People with a growth mindset know that they can’t just sit within their comfort zones and expect to thrive. They take risks, enjoy challenges, and strive to overcome their personal limitations.
Research into the power of the growth mindset shows that supervisors who prove that they’re willing to work on their own challenges and improve themselves also encourage other team members to do the same. Figure out what you can afford to get better at as you pursue digital transformation in your business and show the rest of your team you’re ready to make progress.
Leaders that want to motivate and inspire their followers need to adapt according to sudden changes in their industry. This doesn’t mean that you need to change your mind about the strategy that you’re using to grow consistently.
There is a growing value of adaptability in the business world recently, with 91% of HR experts saying that people in the future will be hired according to their ability to handle change. Make sure that your team members can see that you know how to thrive in such a transformative space.
Being a business owner or supervisor doesn’t make you a great leader. Those at the head of a company need to have what it takes to inspire the people around them. Through excellent communication, the right mindset, an adaptable nature, a strong vision and the ability to coach your employees, you can become the leader that your people need.
Ashley Wilson is a digital nomad and professional blogger writing about business and tech. She helps small businesses make the most of their content strategy with engaging articles. She enjoys talking about business management and leadership and sharing her experience with others. A firm believer in Kaizen and Shu Ha Ri philosophies, she tries to incorporate them in her work and personal life. She is born in San Diego but feels more at home in Spain. You can get in touch with her via Twitter at @ashleygwilson.
There are plenty of ways that you can get distracted from your goals. Companies are just as guilty of this as are the employees. The ability to stay hyper-focused of your goals is a skill that will likely become invaluable in the future. In fact, there are several ways that this affects the company, including how productive workers are. Anna Kucirkova took a deeper look into this common issue and how lack of focus affects the moods of workers. One point that stuck out the most to me was when a company lacks direction, the employees do, too.
2. Lack of DirectionFor some people, productivity stalls because of a lack of direction. A person may know what their end goal is but they have no idea how to get there.
This often happens when you think a task is difficult or when you’ve never done it before. It can also happen when you’re overwhelmed with a lot of other activities. When your brain is full of too many other thoughts, it can be a struggle to focus on the task at hand and accomplish what you need to.
How can we avoid these common pitfalls and stay focused on our goals? If you're ready, we'll jump in and continue exploring the rest of the temptations that are causing mayhem when it comes to your success. Here are the first three of The Six Temptations of a Successful Organization as a review from the last post:
Temptation #1
The leaders of a successful organization are tempted to stop working on themselves.
Temptation #2
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop thinking big!
Temptation #3
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop leading from the front. Did you think about what you can put into action right away? How do you plan on staying the course and being accountable for your actions? Let's take a look at the next temptations before we start to plan.
Temptation #4
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop developing others. The leaders greatest return is when they develop leaders around them. That’s when exponential growth happens as a leader develops other leaders. A leader is known by the value they add and by the people they associate with. Jim Rohn said, “We become the average of the five people we associate with.” It’s the Law of The Mirror – A leader attracts who they are not who they want. It’s one thing to be good at what you do but it’s even better to be good and known for who you develop.
Temptation #5
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop holding people accountable including themselves. Accountability is one of the keys to success. When a leader isn’t making sure what needs to get done, gets done… disasters begin to appear. Policies aren’t enforced, numbers aren’t achieved and then the people wonder, why do these bad things happen to us? The answer is simple, people weren’t held accountable.
Temptation #6
The leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop doing the basics. They stop doing the very things that got them to be seen as a successful organization. Here is a shortlist of some of the basics:
Remember The Six Temptations of a Successful Organization and be on constant watch that you and the members of your team don’t succumb to them. They’ll begin to show up one by one, like a thief in the night, and before you know it, you’re in trouble. Don’t let that happen.
Justin Verlander was the Detroit Tigers first-round pick (second overall) in Baseball’s 2004 Amateur Draft. Verlander was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2006, and he pitched for the Tigers for 12 seasons before being traded to the Houston Astros in 2017. In 2011, Justin Verlander accomplished the rare feat of winning both the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player Awards. Justin Verlander is a six-time All-Star who has led the American League in strikeouts on five occasions. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 American League Championship Series.
Justin Verlander is going to achieve his goal! He is a future Hall of Famer! He helped the Detroit Tigers win two American League Pennants, and he helped lead the Houston Astros to a World Championship in 2017! Verlander is a great competitor who effectively changes speeds on his fastball. Verlander put himself in very elite company when he threw his third career no-hitter on September 1st. Several years ago, Verlander battled some injuries and lost several miles per hour off his fastball. He got healthy, regained his velocity and has cemented his place in Baseball History! Verlander took his game to another level when he was traded to the Astros. This year, he is a very impressive 18-6 with a 2.58 ERA and is in a battle for the American League Cy Young Award with teammate Gerrit Cole. Justin Verlander is 36 years old and is showing no signs of slowing down!
Verlander has overcome a lot of adversity to get to where he is now. He has stated his misdiagnosed triceps injury with the Detroit Tigers actually turned out to be a lat muscle injury. He has also been very open about how he has struggled with depression and credits his wife, Kate Upton, with helping him through his darkest times.
“I don’t like to talk to people about being hurt," Verlander said. "As athletes, you’re not supposed to. It’s an excuse. ...But she was someone I could talk to. I mean, basically a therapist. Somebody I could trust with...worries about my career. Worries about, Can I make it? Worries about what I’m going through to get back. And just the overall (expletive) of it all.”
Depression and other mental illnesses can be a tricky topic to traverse in the workplace. It's a conversation that is necessary to have but difficult to begin. A UK-based study showed that three in five employees experience mental health issues that are directly due to their work. Also, almost 8% of sick days taken are due to mental or emotional struggles. One way to face this problem is by using some of the tips provided by the Chartered Management Institute. They offer multiple ways that you can lend aid to employees or an entire company or even if you're the one seeking help.
"If you’re experiencing a period of depression whilst at work, consider letting your line manager or a trusted colleague know. Try to avoid creating more stress for yourself by hiding it, which can compound your feelings and, potentially, lead you to burn out. Your line manager will be able to support you through this time. Before you approach your line manager, have a think about what you would find helpful from your employer during this time. It may be a period of extended absence, reduced or remote working hours, or to take on fewer projects or responsibilities. You’ll know best how you can make it through to the other side, so try to be explicit in what you need."
A couple of weeks ago there was a post on Facebook that said, “Depression and anxiety are very real, I would like five of my friends to post this (not share it) so I know who I can talk to if I ever need to.” There is one problem with this post...when you are down it’s damn hard to reach out. I know, I’ve been there. I have to admit, I’m still a work in progress on this. When I get down I remember something my Dad used to say, “Tomorrow is always a better day.” I think Dad said that as much for him in tough times as it was for me.
Everyone gets discouraged from time-to-time only there are a few key differences between people who keep on going and those who give up. Here are three of them:
1. Focus On Your Goal Not On Your Problems - One of my mentors was a highly successful property developer and he loved solving problems. Sadly he passed away in 2009. He was really good at getting things done no matter what. He could push through it. All day long he would take on one problem after the next and just keep on going. I always wondered, how in the heck he could do this when most people would feel overwhelmed and just give up? What I came to learn was his secret, he understood the importance of focus. (That dang focus!)
He never lost sight of his goal and his goals got him so excited that problems became nothing more than stepping stones to the path to achievement. Here’s another thing I learned from him, when you are feeling discouraged it is very likely because your focus is on what has not worked; what you don’t want, on your setbacks and on your fears. Work to discipline (train) your mind to focus on your goals and discouragement will fade into the distance.
2. Ask For Help - You do not have to deal with everything alone. I know it’s hard to ask for help, but if and when you eventually do, make sure it’s from someone who is qualified to help you and then act on their good advice. Two minds are better than one especially when your mind is full of discouragement and doubt.
I have a dear friend, David Yearwood (he’s a Certified Financial Planner, which means he’s really smart) who I meet with almost every Saturday for breakfast. David gives me perspective and our conversations are always full of possibilities. If you don’t have a David in your life, find a trusted friend especially if you happen to fall into discouragement and doubt like I do from time to time. When you enlist a trusted friend, I guarantee you will feel stronger knowing that someone else is backing you, someone who is keen to see you succeed.
3. Your Mind Works - When you think about it, really the only thing stopping you from getting from where you are to where you want to be is learning! Sure, you could have more money or resources, but you can learn to find those things. Learning an effective approach. If you do not know the answer, admit it. After all, why waste time guessing when you can open your mouth and ask?
I get it, that can be hard. Once you take charge of your thoughts and your emotions you will be able to deal with whatever challenges come your way. Until that happens you will always be at mercy to the ups and downs of a situation or of life. The most valuable gift you can give yourself is the ability to master self-motivation.
All this goes back to the three things that hold us back:
The moment I finally understood how to motivate myself was the day my life changed forever. I remember a specific time when I was in the insurance business. Call it a mind hack or a game you play with yourself whatever, I discovered a tenacity that sees me though most any challenge I have to deal with. Until you learn how to run your brain instead of letting it run you...you realize that it’s really like having a super computer without a user manual. The power to motivate yourself will elude you until you commit to learning how to stay in control.
Feelings of overwhelming frustration and discouragement are not random occurrences. It all comes down to your level of awareness and how you use your mind. I know you can do it because I have before and now I’m working on mastery.
I believe in you! Now, all you have to do is believe in yourself. See you next time!
We all have plans and goals we want to achieve. How do you go about setting that plan into motion? Do you have certain steps you take or do you just dive in head-first? First, think about “planning your work”. My first thought is that work is not the only thing that defines us. So while planning your work is important, it is also important to define “work”. Work needs to include the activities that define you as a person. To broaden your view of work, review the following questions:
Defining your life’s work should encompass more than just your job. You are more than your job and you should be able to say that you love what you do for a living. We will also need to consider “work your plan”. How many times have you failed to follow through on your plans? We all stumble if we dream big, but there is a difference between giving up, and failing but standing up to continue. Success requires taking action. It requires following through on your plan, regardless of the obstacles you will face.
If you find yourself on the couch watching television every night of the week, you either have not worked your plan hard enough, or you are not working on your plan. Do you want to be remembered as the person that was always watching television? If you want to achieve, plan for it. Then go out and do it. That is how you plan your work and work your plan. It takes time and strategy in order to fully execute your plan. Every move you make is crucial when it comes to which tactics you will use in order to succeed.
But is it possible to confuse strategy and tactics? Yes! I have encountered it numerous times in my career. Both strategy and tactics lead to the achievement of a goal, but they are different. Let’s look at an example.
Tactic: Implement lean tools to achieve the strategy.
Tactics need to shift to fit the situation, but the strategy is the overriding guide. On the surface, this appears simple, but in practice is sometimes overlooked. In lean manufacturing, some groups may be so enamored with learning a lean tool that they believe the implementation of the tool is the strategy. In some cases, they may even believe copying the tool exactly as they learned it is the only solution. Has directly copying another person's work ever perfectly fit anyone's personal journey? Not unless you make significant changes to your own goals to match that other person's dreams.
The lesson I learned from my trainer is that we should never copy a tool. We must first think, then learn, then implement a solution that fits our situation. Never copy without understanding. His favorite question was, “What is the purpose?” Tactics change and shift depending on many factors. A strategy should be an anchor for the team. A vision that will keep people linked to a goal as they face their daily challenges. Where have you become too attached to a tactic and need to revisit your strategy? Is your strategy driving your tactics or the reverse?
So when we are faced with slowing momentum or even negative momentum, we need to focus some energy to get things moving again. Here are some ideas that I use:
1. Find a small win. Take advantage of some small wins to get yourself moving in the right direction. It helps you pick up speed.
2. Review your bigger goal, and set interim milestones to achieve. Define an objective that you can achieve now, this week. Then set one for next week. Then the week after. Achieve those goals every week and you will find your momentum building towards the bigger goal.
3. Find new support or resources. If you are working within a team, swap some members with another team. Add talent or ideas to rejuvenate the team’s passion by finding a new spark in additional team members or other types of support.
4. Increase your learning effort. Getting stuck can sometimes be triggered by not having enough knowledge, or by being reluctant to act on the knowledge you have. Which is affecting you? Figure it out and then move past this stumbling block.
5. Find and reflect on the positives. Momentum slows when your team is challenged and you feel like you are not making progress. Make it a regular habit to celebrate the achievements. It can be the fuel that keeps your team moving.
One of the main reasons we struggle to keep going is because we procrastinate. This is a topic that we've covered here on The Methodology Blog many times. In a piece from a few years ago, Robby Slaughter explains why we procrastinate and how to stop:
Concentration is hard. Discipline is a limited resource. We often put things off because it’s more comforting to do something we know how to do than something we don’t know how to do. And tasks that are fun—even tasks that are productive, but easy—are those we tend to do first.In some respects, procrastination is about momentum. It’s easier to keep doing things than it is to start doing something new. And if the new thing is a big, scary, difficult thing, we might put it off.
To summarize: we procrastinate because it’s easier than working
This challenge affects every part of our lives, not just work. A piece from the Escape Fitness website gives four options to keep momentum going:
DOCUMENT YOUR PROGRESS. If you make a habit of looking back over these records, you’ll be able to see exactly what direction you’re heading in at any given point.CREATE A VISION BOARD. Inspiration can come from a visual perspective, through both reading and looking at a vision bulletin board every day.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND DRIVE MOMENTUM. When things get easy or familiar, the drive and momentum to carry on at your full potential disappears because you’re better than that.
FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO INSPIRE YOU. People that you look up to will always encourage you to do your best in every respect, whether they know about your goals or not. Read up on your heroes; find out what inspires them and learn from their mistakes.
Momentum is your friend. When you can harness the energy, everything becomes easier. And if you need one more push, here are some quotes for your inspiration!
"Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create." - Roy T. Bennett
"Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything." - Nellie Bly
"To give your positive or negative attention to something is a way of giving energy. The most damaging form of behavior is withholding your attention." - Masaru Emoto
"The energy of the mind is the essence of life." - Aristotle
As I grow older and (hopefully) wiser - I find my competitive nature rising up to meet these challenges, and I'm learning to see them differently. Most of us know that great rewards require great sacrifice and effort. John Maxwell says it this way, “Everything worthwhile is uphill, you can’t give downhill effort and expect uphill results.” Do you know the old saying that nothing worthwhile comes easy? In a sense that's true. If everything we wanted was handed to us, we probably wouldn't have much appreciation for it. On the other hand, when we work hard for something and then see it come to be before our eyes, we get such a wonderful sense of accomplishment and sometimes a little pride. We can point to it and say, "I did that. It was tough, but I did it anyway."
Challenges truly are opportunities. Opportunities to grow and learn, to strengthen ourselves, to test ourselves and our faith. They reveal how badly we want, our commitment, to create the dreams in our hearts, and how hard we're willing to work for them. This is such a blessing. It may not seem that way at first, but with a tiny shift in attitude, we soon realize that we have been handed an incredible opportunity.
The next time life hands you a challenge, and the one promise I can make to you is, life will hand you a challenge, stop and consider for a moment what it means. Is the universe really saying "no", or is the message, "I want you to try harder?" Don't look at challenges as an end, look at them as a door leading to your heart's desires. That door might be locked, but you have the key. Keep knocking and the door will be opened. Maybe you forgot where you put the key, keep searching and it will be found, or you forgot that you even had it to begin with. It might take some effort and patience to find it again - or you might even have to create a new one, but believe and know that you will, even if you're not sure how yet.
I'm learning that it's not important to have all the answers right now. There’s joy in the discovery and learning. When challenges rise up before us, we may not know how to get around them, or through them. At first, it might seem hopeless, and that happens right before a breakthrough. I get it that challenges can seem so overwhelming when we don't have a solution. However, life itself is very much like this too. Sometimes life is akin to bumping around in a dark room, trying to find the light switch. It is possible to get through the room without finding the light switch immediately, we just need to step slowly and carefully. Moment to moment, we find our way. Like in a dark room when we’re patient and persistent our eyes acclimate to the darkness and we can begin to see in the dark.
When obstacles appear in your path, rather than giving up… look at them as welcome challenges. The biggest challenge is choosing your own attitude. Will you get flustered and angry, or will you get excited and determined? Will you lay down and cry, or will you roll up your sleeves and get to work? Some of us take on a victim mentality when obstacles arise, and I can see why this happens. Sometimes it feels like the universe is picking on us, doesn't it? I think we've all been there! The key is to ask yourself the correct questions...
Why not change your mindset and think of obstacles as a personal challenge? Rather than feeling like the universe is picking on you, challenge yourself to figure out a solution. Say to yourself, "Okay, such and such has happened, now what am I going to do about it?"
Put your problem-solving skills to work. Look for areas in your life where you’ve experienced similar circumstances. They might be smaller but know you can do this. Once we begin to change our attitude about obstacles and challenges, they can actually become fun and help us grow. Summon your faith and your competitive nature, rise up and get ready to win, no matter what. Work to develop a steely determination to not be beaten. Should you fall short, ask yourself: “What did you learn?” and “How can you grow?” from it. Let me know your strategy to overcome challenges.
Tim Denning's LinkedIn piece A Toxic Work Culture Is Forcing High-Performing People to Quit is one recent example of this trend. He provides a compact definition of the concept:
In a toxic culture, new ideas can’t thrive, people can’t be honest, bullying unfortunately occurs, leaders are given power that can go to their heads and fuel their egos, and an eerie feeling occurs at your company’s town hall/all hands when leaders ask for questions.
Denning continues to explain one unique problem, which is that a particular irony of toxicity is that the very people who do the most are the most likely to bail:
High performers know their strengths and are also smart enough to realize that if they can perform well in a toxic work culture, they can thrive in a Culture First company that looks after its employees.
He goes on to list a bunch of warning signs to management that your workplace might be toxic. And as a credit to the author, they are all solid. But guess what? That doesn't matter. Because managers in toxic companies aren't reading articles like these.
It's not as if we're all that much better. We wrote Is Your Workplace Toxic? Definitely Maybe. Plus we talked about toxic, yet effective employees. And we've ranted plenty about how too many business treat people like children rather than like adults..
Everybody who is sharing pieces about toxic workplaces is pretty much in the same boat: they know what's wrong, they are telling individuals to beware, and perhaps once in a while they help someone make the decision to start looking for another job.
But, I doubt that a lot of managers are coming across pieces like 5 Signs of a Toxic Workplace from The Ladders or taking the New York Times' toxic workplace quiz and suddenly realizing they are blissfully unaware and leaping into action.
Nope. That's not happening.
Why does company leadership create and support a toxic workplace? It's not because they are sociopaths (at least probably not.) It's because being ignorant but thinking you have things figured out is a fundamental tenant of modern social science research. It's even got a name: The Dunning-Kruger Effect.
There are a bunch of other cognitive biases you should learn about. These things ought to be as fundamental to working in the modern economy as "try to never use reply-all" and "Google it before you ask a colleague." But we can't get those passed along, so understanding a couple of scientific concepts may be a bridge too far.
You do have options. The usual recommendations still apply: First: determine if you're stuck in the asylum, and if so, quit. That's always worth considering. The grass may well be greener, despite the expression.
A second path to consider is going rogue. You can print out scathing opinion pieces and slide them under the boss' door. You can go on your favorite anonymous review site or make a throwaway email account. That probably won't work, but it at least be thrilling.
You can also play pretend. If you worked in a great company where everyone was valued, what would you do instead? Would you speak up instead of saying silent? Would you have a better sense of work-life balance? Would you criticize bad ideas, or ignore meeting requests that didn't apply to you? That's a choice as well.
Finally, consider revolution. Okay, so there's not going to be a Lexington and Concord at the satellite office of your mid-sized distribution and logistics company. But if you're frustrated, other people probably are too. And it's a lot harder for toxic sludge to be effective if people are united. Team up to ignore the meaningless paperwork together, or stand up against whatever inane requirement is being pushed down this week.
Or, read more articles. We'll keep writing them. At least, until businesses treat their people like human beings.
See you next time.
Often, no matter how much you love your job, you’ll likely go through a phase where you need to get it all off your chest, and that’s okay...until it’s not okay. Constant venting can be a source of negativity in the office, and cause you to lose valued friends in your co-workers, or even become an adversary to productivity, and nobody wants that. So, before anything gets out of hand, why don’t you check out four ways you can work on your venting in the workplace, to keep everything in check?
When you do vent, you don’t want to bring the whole office’s mood down to your level, just to feel a small release of frustrations. So try to stop your venting having such a great impact, with a few quick tips. Don’t vent in the middle of the office - keep it close and personal, and behind closed doors if possible. Try not to do it too often - if it’s once a day, that’s way too much, and even once a week is pushing it. And when you do vent, keep it to a few close co-workers, possibly those who are rather stoically minded and won’t crack under the extra pressure of all your problems.
Finally, make sure you consider whether it’s worth it every time. You’ll have to stop working, go somewhere private, find a select one or two co-workers and be careful on how you act, so make sure you only vent when you really need to. These precautions should help you to decide whether you truly must get things off your chest. And if you do, they’ll keep the impact minimal.
"If you’re venting, then something's wrong," claims Matthew Armstrong, who is with Britstudent.com and also Writemyx.com, “nobody’s arguing that point. So, if something’s wrong, then why not spend the time you would’ve spent venting coming up with solutions to your problem? I find that this works on small problems which you can actually solve just as well as large problems that you genuinely can't, since it takes your mind off complaining and either makes you realize you can’t do anything about it, and then find ways to deal with it, or it sorts out the problem!"
He continues, "Honestly, it’s a win-win situation, so stop yourself just before you vent and start thinking about what’s causing the venting in the first place. If you need to, you can even bring in a co-worker to brainstorm, as long as there’s positive energy in the conversation and not the negative energy that is typical of venting. This way, you’re turning a negative into a positive, without ruining the rest of the office’s day.”
Finally, a good coping method is often to keep a ‘stress journal’, where you can write down everything that you would have vented to a co-worker. “I have often found myself scribbling down vicious notes in a journal which would make your eyebrows raise up to the roof, but it helps to relieve my frustrations, which are common in high-stress workplaces,” says Victor Buckbridge, a tech writer at Australia2write.com and Nextcoursework.com, “and I’d recommend any other worker to do the same. Nobody has to see your journal but you - definitely no one should be writing in your journal except you - and it’s a great place to tell all of your fears, angers and anxieties to a ‘brick wall’, so you don’t end up annoying and saddening your co-workers. Ten minutes out of a lunch break every day, or every other day, can be the difference between you lamenting your sorrows to anyone who comes within five feet of your desk and you working productively for the rest of the day. Honestly, try it - you won’t regret it!”
Your journal doesn’t have to be fancy - it doesn’t even have to a notebook. It could be a few paragraphs on the back of an unused sheet of paper, but as long as you take the time to write down your thoughts, you’ll be getting back on track and being as productive as ever in the office in no time!
Michael Dehoyos loves his work as a content marketer at PhD Kingdom, and has recently begun assisting various companies in how they create strategies for marketing and concepts for their plans at Academic Brits. In his free time, one of his greatest passions in life is to write, and he contributes to many publications, creating articles on topics which interest him specifically at Origin Writings, where he has been a reader for a long time.
I've heard this expressed a few different ways. One is to label the phenomena as if it is a medical ailment, by calling it Not Invented Here Syndrome. Search the web and you'll find cartoons dedicated to the idea, snarky tweets, academic papers and even a blog post with fancy three dimensional graphics. That last one includes a compact definition of the concept:
Not Invented Here Syndrome - A negative attitude towards knowledge (ideas, technologies) derived from an external source.
Another way to think of it is one my favorite quotes, which was popularized by Grace Hopper:
"The most dangerous phrase in language is 'We’ve always done it that way.'"
Or simply: Work matters. Ego gets in the way.
In our ten point list of what we mean we say "We are a company", we're now more than halfway through:
6. Experience elsewhere is just as valuable as experience here. All ideas are welcome, and the quality of the idea is what will be evaluated---not its source.
Although younger people may not necessarily like to hear it, there is no substitute for experience. If you've seen it before, you're more likely to know what to do when it comes around again. Plus, you may have insights others don't have based on what you've witnessed (or been a part of) in the past.
What's amazing about experience though, is that anyone can get it if they put in the time. That might be at a competitor down the road, at a school or university, or even as a hobbyist. It can be a hard to accept that somebody else's experience is valid, but that's what makes experience valuable.
Again: people's experience is valuable because it's different than yours. Which means if you come from elsewhere, you have something else to offer.
If you're here, we want to hear from you. Heck, even if you're just out there someone, we still want to hear from you. Investing your time to give an opinion is a gift. Everyone should appreciate a present, especially if it's a thoughtful one. So if you have something to say, speak up!
Unfortunately, too many team members in too many organizations stay silent. An old Harvard Business Review piece explains why right in the title. From If Your Employees Aren’t Speaking Up, Blame Company Culture:
The situational perspective argues that employees fail to speak up because they feel their work environment is not conducive for it. They might fear suffering significant social costs by challenging their bosses.
The other factor is hierarchy. We've talked about this a bunch, but generally speaking most companies use an exclusive change process. They fail to include the stakeholders who will be affected by something in decision-making.
Part of everyone's job is to encourage candor. If you have an idea, speak up. And if other people aren't speaking up, encourage them to say what's on their mind.
There's an expression that probably started in the academic and engineering communities has found its way into Internet meme culture: "the math checks out." It means what it says---if you run the numbers and follow the formula, you get the result. It doesn't matter who came up with it, the point is that the answer is absolutely correct.
Likewise, healthy organizations are looking for good answers regardless of their source.. It could be an intern or the CEO. The point is that ideas (and especially getting those ideas executed as results) is what really matters. Ego has no place within the walls of the corporation.
It wasn't that hard to suggest that getting things done is most important of all. But doing it isn't easy. Learning to be humble and taking time to listen isn't easy, especially in the rush of business and the ups and downs of every day life.
But, we are trying. Let us know what you think. I promise to earnestly consider whatever you say.
In the quick, 11 minute interview, Slaughter and podcast host Lorraine Ball cover a variety of topics on time management. These include some key psychological findings as well as techniques each of them have used in the past to be more productive.
Listen to whole podcast here:
Thanks to Lorraine Ball of Roundpeg. To purchase a copy of a The New Science of Time Management, visit the online store at efficientprofessional.com/store.
After hitting the snooze button for the fourth time in a row, you finally drag yourself out of bed. You barely slept last night - after all, you had deadlines to meet. Bleary-eyed and groggy, you eventually manage to drag yourself into the office, coffee in hand.
Only once you’ve finished your cup of joe are you actually able to focus on getting stuff done. As you work away at your desk, you realize you’ve another late night ahead of you. You sigh and think that the weekend can’t come soon enough.
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with being busy. People take how many hours they work every week as a badge of pride. They talk constantly about how exhausted they are and how they wish they could get more rest.
And all the while, they fall further and further behind.
Sacrificing sleep for the sake of work is akin to borrowing money at an impossibly high interest rate. You might think you’re getting more done, but you aren’t. The less you sleep, the less you’re going to get done.
If it helps, you might think of your mind as a machine. Like any machine, it needs energy to run efficiently - energy from good sleep habits and a proper diet. Without that energy, things start to break down.
Your mind will wander, and you’ll find yourself more distraction-prone. Tasks that you might polish off in seconds will drag on, and you’ll start making gradually more mistakes. You’ll become gradually more impulsive and irritable, and make poor decisions as a result.
And ultimately, as you become progressively more ragged and run-down, you’ll start to burn out. The impact of sleep deprivation on the workplace has been well-documented. A RAND Corporation Study, for instance, found that sleep deprivation is responsible for economic losses of up to $411 billion per year.
There’s also the small fact that not getting enough sleep opens the door to a huge laundry list of health issues including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimers.
Basically, there are more reasons than productivity to get your sleep in check. As for how you can do so, there are a few small steps you can take right off the start.
It can be tempting to turn on Netflix, browse the web, or chat on your phone while you wait to drift off. Don’t do it. The blue light from your screens - not to mention the mental stimulation of electronic devices - kicks your mind into overdrive. It tells your brain it’s not yet time to sleep, and gets you psychologically wired, even if you’re physically exhausted.
Instead of spending time on the phone before you sleep, dedicate the last hour of your day before bed to unwinding. Take a hot bath. Drink a soothing cup of (caffeine-free) tea. Read a good book. Do something that doesn’t involve screens and electronics. If you must use your phone, you should at the very least enable night mode.
We’ve all had that client (or boss) who doesn’t seem to understand ‘normal working hours.’ If you value your sleep (and your sanity) it’s important to politely yet firmly establish your availability. Tell them when you’ll be offline, and stick to that.
Set your phone to Do Not Disturb - and if you do have any tasks that must be prioritized, delegate.
I once had an entrepreneurial friend who subsisted almost entirely on Red Bull, stubbornness, and spite. He would regularly pull seventy to eighty-hour weeks, jumping through a thousand hoops for his clients. It was inherently unsustainable - eventually, the entire house of cards fell down about his ears and he burnt out.
He’s doing fine now, thankfully. He’s kicked his energy drink habit and is gradually working to correct his sleep schedule. When I reached out to him, he said that one of the best steps he took involved separating the personal and professional.
“In the interest of saving space, I've converted the walk-in closet in my bedroom into a home office,” he recalls. “It was awful. Any time I couldn’t sleep, my desk was just a few steps away - I figured I might as well get up and go back to work.”
“I’ve since moved to a new place, and made sure to clearly separate my office from the rest of my home,” he continues. “My bedroom is exclusively for sleep.”
Regardless of your profession, one thing holds true. You need sleep to function. Without healthy sleep habits, you’ll not only be less productive, but you’ll also be less healthy - both mentally and physically.
Follow the advice I’ve outlined here, and take charge of your sleep cycle.
Brad Wayland is the Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton, a site with high-quality, easy-to-design custom t-shirts. BlueCotton offers printed and embroidered custom t-shirts, hats, and outerwear for groups of all kinds: schools, churches, sports teams, non-profits, fraternities, sororities, or those who simply want to make a proud, personal statement. As the Chief Strategy Officer, Brad oversees marketing, human resources, and business development. Brad also never loses an opportunity to test out a new productivity hack or technique.
Distractions abound like never before, between texting and social media, it can be hard to focus on anything long enough to even discover its level of priority. And, in general, the consideration that surrounds time management is all about prioritization and trying to avoid just being reactive all the time.
For many people, work can get to the point where one is constantly putting out fires, rather than following a well thought out strategy. This can be disastrous when something relatively large goes wrong as it often means that contingencies are not in place. In addition, being only reactive is not a positive business technique. Ideally, you want your team and your individual work to reflect an active process that can move your company forward, rather than just being in the game of keeping up the status quo.
To accomplish this, there are many things you can do to give yourself the time to work more effectively. With all the different strategies available, you are bound to find one that connects with you and the way your work gets done. Here are some tips:
In the moment, it can seem like a good idea to let things pile up in one place with the thought of going back to organize them later. However, it is always better to put things away in an organized way initially. Those with desktop screens full of icons know that they deeply regret a life of disorganization. It may seem like you don’t have time to put everything in the right place at a certain moment, but making that time will definitely pay off when you aren’t wasting time later searching for a file you desperately need.
If you cannot assess your problems and pain points, you will never be able to find out how to move forward. Taking time to sit down and understand where you are having issues is imperative. Maybe block out a period of time every week for this and assess why certain tasks aren’t getting done to your satisfaction, or of why parts of your work aren’t growing in the way you would like. Again, rather than being reactive, assessing your problem areas is key. Then you can also look at your strengths to see how you might better organize your time.
Sometimes it is difficult to know where to begin. To help organize your thoughts surrounding time management, there are a number of specific strategies that have been studied and found to be effective for many people. Consider taking up one of these (or several) to see what may work for you.
Often, 20% of actions are responsible for 80% of outcomes. This concept, also known as Pareto Analysis, suggests measuring the weight of each of your problems and tackling the most difficult ones first.
Often associated with the famous General and President, this technique uses four quadrants: the headings of important vs nonimportant and urgent vs nonurgent.
A similar, though more esoteric, way of assessing your tasks is to imagine all of them as resting in a glass container. This Pickle Jar Theory has you assign the elements of your day as sand, pebbles or large rocks. The big stones are your most important tasks. These want to rest at the top of the jar. Pebbles are non-essential tasks that might be delegated or can wait. Sand represents the distractions that you face on a daily basis
These are just a few of the techniques that are out there that allow you to look at your time in a new way. If you are a visual learner, check out the infographic below which contains more information on time management strategies as well as a flowchart to help assess which might be best for you.
Sierra Skelly is a writer from San Diego, where she helps create engaging content for companies like USA.edu. When she isn’t writing on the latest productivity hacks, you can find her reading at the beach or hiking. She has a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Media Studies. One of Sierra's favorite quotes is: "I believe that words are our most powerful weapon and that great content can change the world."
But could that cartoon, from Gary Larson's iconic The Far Side, be prescient after all? Could video games be a marketable career skill?
The answer to that is an obvious yes, as noted in an article from the Pacific Standard. You don't have to know your Minecraft from your Fortnite to see that electronic gaming is a ginormous industry with tournaments and cash prizes and competitive players.
But besides entertainment---and the business of designing, promoting, and merchandizing that entertainment---what other practical value is there in video gaming? Potentially quite a bit.
That's what many are saying, including a piece from Deseret News titled Team video games in the workplace might increase productivity, new BYU research states. But if you did into the research paper itself, the analysis is far muddier. First:
We found that the team video gaming (TVG) treatment proved significantly more effective than both the control treatment and the goal training treatment in improving team performance. This result provides evidence that TVG may truly be a viable—and perhaps even optimal—alternative for team building. This finding also concurs with entrainment theory and all prior research on team-building activities in that the beneficial effects of the TVG team-building treatment carried over to subsequent work tasks.
In short: a round of team video gaming was followed by better team performance. Sounds good, right? The authors continue:
The results show that, while TVG had a significant effect on team cohesion, the goal training treatment appeared to have a stronger effect than TVG. We attribute this finding to the fact that the participants in the goal training treatment spent their time doing things directly related to developing team cohesion. Specifically, they examined the effectiveness of the team's work process, how they allocated one another to tasks, how well team members communicated and coordinated their work, and whether each person gave their best effort. Plus, they spent this time in face-to-face discussion, which also likely helped with social cohesion. Conversely, the teams in the TVG treatment spent the time cooperating on a challenging and enjoyable video game.
Summarizing: playing video games together helps improve team cohesion (no surprise there), but collaborating together on work-related goals is even better.
I'm not out to discredit the work of these and other researchers into group dynamics and video games. But I will point out that before you run to buy the latest edition of Super Mario Bros. for your office, there's probably a more fundamental phenomena in the mix here. It's called The Hawthorne Effect and it's probably more important for every manager to know than how to use the espresso machine in the breakroom.
To summarize: The Hawthorne Effect is the notion that sometimes you can get more productivity out of a team simply by telling that team that you want to try some different experiments that you think might help productivity. This is because people like feeling appreciated, and may work better as a result.
The reason the Hawthorne Effect is surprising is because it tells us that much of time, people do not feel valued at work. (Which actually shouldn't be news, since almost everyone hates their job.) Showing them you care a little can lead to a bump in output.
Crazy idea, caring about your employees, eh? Which gets us back to video games. Perhaps there is something to be learned from these experiments. But how about this: ask people for feedback and take it seriously.
That could be bigger in scope than the entire video game industry. And all we have to do is try it.
An article in lifestyle magazine Well+Good digs into the question an article about phone apps and exhaustion. Amy Wikinson opens her piece as follows:
Ping! Buzz! Pinnng! A slew of new-message notifications lights up your phone. With a sigh, you sit down and log in, scrolling through your inbox to answer the most pressing inquiries first. For several minutes—or several hours, even—you methodically craft pitch-perfect responses and thoughtful follow-ups. You schedule meetings, as necessary. Finally, exhausted, you take a break, pouring yourself a glass of wine and turning on Grey’s Anatomy. Because this isn’t even work; this is your dating life.
The turn at the end of that opening paragraph makes plenty of sense. Technology is in every part of our lives, whether we are at work or at home. (Not that there is much distinction in location these days.) But on the topic of apps for workplace productivity, the post features our own Robby Slaughter, a principal with AccelaWork:
The messaging apps and social media apps you use in the workplace are designed for the same purpose as the dating apps, which is to keep people engaged—to keep you coming back and using it,” he says. The need for workplace apps to be sticky (read: addictive) has led designers and programmers to bling out the most humdrum of productivity programs with playful bells and whistles so they seem less like a chore and more like a game.“It needs to be fun to use, and you have to have cute messages and little games and ‘Congratulations, you completed all your items!’ pop-ups and mascots and logos, otherwise you won’t be coming back to your tool,” says Slaughter.
Jillian Knight, a therapist who specializes in working with younger people, notes that the problem may be related to the lack of clear separation between one's personal life and their career:
So what’s an overworked, weary dater to do? First off, says Knight, set boundaries. “There is this kind of always-working mentality that a lot of millennials have, and it’s really hard to shut it off,” she says. “It leaks into when you go home and you’re on Instagram and you’re on Facebook and you’re on dating apps. Having clear boundaries around your work time, your time for yourself, and the time that you are spending with others or pursuing time with others is really important.”
Although here on The Methodology Blog we don't have much to say about your dating life, we have been talking about burnout for a while. Ashley Lee wrote about how it can be caused by bad bosses and Alyssa Shea warned that remote work isn't a magic bullet. It's a problem for just about every organization and every worker. And by all accounts, the proliferation of workplace apps isn't helping.
Should you ban the technology, as Coca-Cola did with voicemail or others have done with email? Probably not. But consider having an open and honest conversation about how these systems work, their benefits and drawbacks, and especially the unstated culture of their use in your organization.
Because if you have an instant messenger app that people can post in at any time, they will. If you have a collaboration tool for document and photo sharing that lives on phones and in the cloud, it will be leveraged by night owls and distract people who are supposed to be at home with their families.
Choosing not to use technology is often a lot harder than choosing to use it. But sometimes, having restraint is the smartest choice of all.
And now that you mention it, that's probably true with dating too...
Concentrate on one task at hand. Is there something in your life distracts you? In the moment of need, silence your brain and allow yourself to stay focused. Save your worries about tomorrow and guilt over yesterday’s failures for another time. Maybe you need to meditate, pray, or simply spend a few moments quietly gathering yourself before tackling the project at hand. Now is the time for just one thing–reaching your goal. It is amazing what a little bit of focus can achieve when you need to get something done. Make today the day that you can achieve something you have been working on for a long time.
Concentration can be incredibly difficult, especially in a workplace environment. When you work with other people every day, they can be a big source of stress in your life. This would be the perfect time to turn to other leaders for some guidance. Thrive Global took a deeper look into this common occurrence and came up with some amazing tips.
Your employer has a very important role to play when it comes to promoting employee well-being by creating a conducive work environment. Therefore, to handle any stress that you may have, it is highly advisable that you start by talking to your supervisor. However, this does not mean a conversation that involves a list of complaints you have in mind. Instead, you should try as much as possible to come up with a plan aimed at managing the underlying reason behind your stress levels.
Is one of your goals being a better leader and providing better feedback to coworkers or employees? Giving feedback to others is time well spent, but most of us fail to spend enough time to give effective feedback. Here is a list of things to consider when you want to improve your feedback skills.
Giving feedback can feel awkward at times. But through practice, you can improve your skills. Be humble and authentic, and you can have a positive impact. You won't become an expert overnight so keep your expectations at a reasonable level. Jack Klemeyer reminds us of one very important aspect we can easily forget - having fun.
Having FUN along the way supports engagement of each team member. Try thinking about it this way, being “engaged” is fun. Let’s be frank, the days where the leader is a strong authoritative director and where all employees simply wait to see what the manager tells everyone to do does NOT produce the results that are recognized by a fully engaged team. The leader may be having fun, but his/her subordinates certainly are not. Managers who want to micro-manage all the details are finding that it is virtually impossible to do. The marketplace simply demands too much for one person to micro-manage their team. We all have incredible people working for us, and if we are effective leaders we need to create an environment where every employee feels like they are empowered, and understand they are expected to proactively contribute.
Let people know what you're thinking, and ask them for the same. All the best to you in your journey!
It's important to maintain a solid work/life balance. That means when you clock out for the day, you should be detaching from your job and leaving it at the door. If you keep your mind on work all day long, you will definitely experience some sort of burnout. Like our guest blogger, Patrick Foster pointed out, burnout can affect anyone and we need to be finding ways to help avoid this issue. He considered some ways that automation might help when it comes to marketing efforts.
The biggest problem with this isn’t even the likelihood of burnout: it’s the simple truth that there are only so many hours in the day, and there’s only so much you can get done within a given period. This is a particular problem for marketing — something that’s not immediately essential but still has to be done, and can soak up as many hours as you throw at it.
So you get home, have some dinner, and hopefully take time to relax during the evening. You've become completely unattached from you work for the day which is a great thing. But do you know how to reattach in the morning? Many of us can attest that we tend to get ready and drive to work in a fog, then wander into work and start your day. Does this make you feel prepared and ready to take on the duties of your job? Probably not. A recent study is creating waves with some interesting news regarding the way we begin our workdays. If we're able to successfully reattach in the morning before we begin the day, our engagement and productivity levels at work will soar. We're all encouraged to leave our work at the door but the advice seems to usually end there. Jessica Lindsey of Greater Good Magazine narrowed in on the most important aspects of this study.
Analyses of these surveys found that reattaching to work led to a cascade of positive experiences during the day. The process may play out like this: Taking time to reattach to work helps our work goals to become more salient, which energizes us to focus. When we consider how to achieve our goals, we become more aware of our autonomy to accomplish them, as well as the resources and people we have supporting us. All of these factors contribute to feeling more inspired and engaged at work—which, other research suggests, is important for productivity.
So what process should we take in order to successfully reattach to our work for the day? Luckily, Lindsey provided some insight into this area as well with these important questions you should be asking yourself while you get ready to head into work. She even suggests writing these questions and answers for a visual representation!
1. Why does the work I do matter to me? How does my work impact the lives of others?
Your contributions matter otherwise you wouldn't have been hired in the first place! Consider your place in processes at work and how much you do matter when it comes to the success of those around you.
2. Who are the people—both at work and in my personal life—who support me and my professional success?
Considering your coworkers and personal relationships is a great way to avoid feelings of isolation. You're not alone.
3. What would I like to focus on today?
This question is probably the most important of the bunch. Find the area or project that is of the highest importance and focus all your effort there rather than feeling scattered and stretched thin!
If you're concerned about reattaching properly, you're already in the right place by reading this article. And if you want to talk further about a speaker or a consultant, reach out to the experts at AccelaWork!
Usually I start out these blog posts with a bunch of links to other articles that make this same point, or maybe find one or two that say the opposite and raise my objections. But not this time. That's because if you're reading sharp writing from Well+Good, a Q+A piece from Forbes online, the old argument-from-personal-narrative (via Fast Company), a classic Refinery 29 collection of horror stories or dos and dont's list from Workopolis, the answer is basically the same.
They all say pretty much: Yeah, maybe you can be friends with your boss, but be careful.
This is bad advice. Bosses and workers should not be friends. Cordial---sure. Affable---you bet. Aware of someone's personal life---totally fine. But your boss should not be your bud.
Because we tend to spend more time at the office than we do at home, people often develop close social bonds with their colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates. That makes sense: we are working together, often under pressure, and sometimes in extremely close quarters.
But still, these connections should not be thought of socialization. That's not the point. We are there to get a job done, not to become friends. Doing so encourages us to think of our professional colleagues as a family, not a team. But companies---like their counterparts in the world of sports---should be comprised of high-performance players with complimentary skills. Mutual respect is necessary, but personal affinity is dangerous.
I know I'm asking for a crazy level of compartmentalization, but a business exists to provide value for stakeholders. That means working. Of course we need to get along and have positive communication, but the more you like a coworker as a human being, the more likely you are to show favoritism.
When we like the people we work with, we tend to develop loyalties. That means we’ll cover for them when they make mistakes (which is unethical) and potentially skirt the rules for them because we care (which could be illegal.) As always, loyalty should be to principles, not people.
The more you care about someone, the more you become aligned with them. In fact there is a principle in law called spousal privilege, which roughly means that a husband or wife cannot be compelled to testify against their partner. No such rules exist for employees!
There’s a great place to find new friends, which is namely, anywhere but work. Join a faith community. Pick up a new hobby. Participate in a sport. Work is about getting work done, and when our relationships push past collegial is when work gets in trouble.
Some reading this may say that working remotely, as I do, can be lonely. But, speaking from experience, it’s truly not. I’m a mother of four and have found that, if not for the freedom I have with working from home, I’d never be able to balance work with the chaos that comes with a large family. My priorities are easily manageable because I can stay at home and accomplish all that I need to while still keeping my career.
Even though I'm taking a firm stand---managers and employees should not be friends---the last word on this topic isn't likely to happen any time soon. Human beings are complex, emotional creatures. And we are always going to have emotions at work.
My advice is to try and focus on getting things done when you are on the clock, in the office, at the job site, or visiting the customer. You're absolutely going to get to know people, but remember why you're there.
And really, knowing our purpose in any context is a pretty sure route to satisfaction.
But, we do search out ways to succeed because that’s what we want to do. Especially in America, there are examples everywhere that we can see, both big and small, of people succeeding. That’s so true. We have it pretty good in America even though many complain and have that all too common disease, “yea but…”
Here are five sure fire ways to fail. I know all too well about these five.
Failing to Plan – I’ve read it was Benjamin Franklin who first said “failing to plan is planning to fail.” I know this to be true both through observation and sadly, through personal experience. Just this week, Cathy (my wife) and I had planned a get-away and because I didn’t check to make sure the plans were solid and all affected parties were clear, I had to cancel at the last minute. I was (ok… am still) pissed off about it. I am sorry Cath!
Not asking for what you want or need – Too many times I’ve seen where a client or even myself was more of a professional visitor and didn’t ask for the sale or what the possibilities were of working together only to see the competition step in. One thing is for sure, if you don’t ask the answer is always no.
Taking too long to act – This one is similar to the one above except it’s more about making a decision and then taking action. Napoleon Hill said in his seminal book, Think and Grow Rich, “Well done is well said.” Procrastination is a killer and translates into giving up on the most important person in your life… You! According to Hill, one of the most common reasons people fail is because of procrastination. He says that it is important to avoid procrastination and take immediate action. Most people will wait and refuse to do things immediately, which causes them to lose motivation and eventually, fail in their venture.
Giving up on your dreams, your plan or your course of action – When I offer my Think and Grow Rich Journey the first assignment is to read the chapter (Chapter 9) on Persistence fourteen days in a row. If you miss a day, you get to start the count all over again. Fourteen days in a row!
Persistence is an extremely important factor that will determine your success and riches in life. Hill says that it is an important habit or practice you need to develop to build faith and succeed in your endeavors. There are a couple of examples given by Hill to show their will and determination in handling difficult moments. One is none other than Thomas Edison, the famous inventor who invented light-bulb. It’s said of Edison, he tried (failed) to make the light bulb 10,000 times before he succeeded.
Choosing not to embark on continuous learning – What you were good at doing yesterday most probably can be done better when you learn news ways of doing, new beliefs and gaining more feedback. With a growth mindset you believe you can continue to learn and grow. With a fixed mindset you believe you’re as good as you’re going to get. What got you where you are now will get you to where you want to go… and that’s absolutely not true. What got you here, rarely will get you to where you want to go.
How do I know about these five? Being completely transparent, I’ve been a student of them and still struggle with some of them from time to time. Writing this is as much for me as it is for you. Hold me accountable to removing these five sure fire ways to fail from my life as you endeavor to remove them from your life too.
Managers are challenging their employees to finish the year strong and ultimately meet goals that were set twelve months ago. Unfortunately, the holidays are notorious for a lack of employee motivation resulting in a decrease of productivity. It takes effective leadership to manage waning desire during this crucial time. Luckily, there are many tried and true methods of keeping employees motivated prior to the year-end.
Quite possibly the most important method of keeping employees motivated is for managers to lead their employees by example. People look for guidance, either by asking questions or simply feeding off of a leader's work ethic and motivation. Managers giving pep talks to employees about finishing the year strong during a meeting will be effective only if the manager shows the same enthusiasm outside of the room in which the meeting was held. The end of the year is not only a time for employees to prove their ability to do their jobs well, but also for managers to prove their ability to inspire others by doing, not just talking.
Next: set realistic goals. Objectives that were defined in the beginning of the year, if effectively managed and communicated throughout the year, should be attainable. If circumstances have changed, a plan should already be in place to reach the goal on an agreed upon timeframe.
A rule of thumb for setting goals with employees buy-in is the S.M.A.R.T goals guidelines. This is an abbreviation for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based (or timely). When communicated and implemented effectively, the S.M.A.R.T goal guidelines will ensure the highest level of success when it comes to setting year-end goals.
As a token of gratitude from the organization for reaching said goals, managers may offer rewards, or incentives to employees when setting goals and pushing for a strong year-end finish. Remember, there are other types of rewards and gifts outside of bonuses and gift cards. For example, offering additional paid time off to the team that meets their goal is a way for managers to incentivize and motivate employees.
Finally, the year is over, goals have been met, and all managers and employees are pleased with the year-end results. Recognizing employees for their efforts in meeting year-end goals and deadlines and expressing the value that they bring to the organization is priceless and ironically may come with no price tag at all. A study by Make Their Day, an employee motivation firm, found that 70 percent of survey respondents reported their most meaningful recognition "had no dollar value" and that 83 percent of respondents said recognition for contributions was more fulfilling than rewards of gifts. Not only does this allow employees to feel empowered and accomplished about reaching year-end goals, this sets the tone for the beginning of the new year where employees will be motivated and ready to accomplish the tasks ahead of them.
As the year-end closes in quickly, the importance on keeping employees motivated and energetic about meeting year-end goals increases ten-fold. Managers have a responsibility to assess the methods in which they keep their employees motivated to reach the goals they set for their employees to reach prior to year-end. In doing so, managers must lead by example, set realistic goals, and recognize and reward their employees for staying motivated and ultimately reaching the goals put in place to ensure a positive finish to the year and a strong start to the new year.
Patrick McKenna, SHRM-CP, graduated from St. Mary’s University, Winona, Minnesota in May of 2015. He is currently employed as an HR Consultant with New Focus HR, LLC in Indianapolis, IN. He assists in the areas of compensation, HR compliance, HR policies and procedures, background checks, to name a few.
Valued employees are more likely to stay long-term and remain loyal to the organization, thereby permitting management to spend less time and resources hiring and training new staff and more time focusing on the highly-efficient team already in place.
How do you assemble a productive, efficient team? The first step is to analyze your employee retention rate to determine if improvement is needed.
According to the Management Study Guide:
Employee retention refers to the various policies and practices which encourage employees to stay with an organization for a longer period of time
Businesses should use a variety of strategies to promote loyalty and long-term employment among staff members. These include improving job satisfaction, recognizing employee needs, and providing essential training.
Finding the best strategies for your organization to improve the employee retention rate does not have to be difficult. One of your best options is to listen as they communicate their needs and work toward improving the overall atmosphere in the office.
Good communication is an essential step in fostering a positive work atmosphere. Poor communication in the office leads to misunderstandings, lack of employee engagement, reduced creative and productivity, and conflicts between employees and management.
Taking the steps needed to improve the communication in your company will help boost office morale and lead to loyalty from the staff. However, it will need to start from management and trickle down the line of employees. Management-to-management communication is critical for employees to understand what is required of them and to recognize the direction the company is taking. Management-to-employee communication ensures that employees are completing required tasks correctly and punctually, while providing both sides to voice concerns. Employee-to-employee communication encourages teamwork and boosts productivity.
Lack of effective training and work-related tools can be frustrating to staff members in their efforts to perform their jobs effectively. If staff members do not know how to do their expected job, they will likely resign and seek out a company that offers the needed support for success.
Listen to what your employees say. They will know what they need to complete their job to the best of their ability. Providing the proper training will help make them more successful in their position.
Sometimes, all employees need is a bit of encouragement and motivation. Whether it be a gift card to their favorite restaurant or something more extensive like a vacation, motivation and encouragement will not only boost production, but it will also keep your employees engaged in the company.
Your staff will want to know that their management team supports them and wants them to succeed. Providing encouraging words before, during, and after completing a project will go a long way in fostering a productive, inspiring atmosphere.
If you want your staff to be a team and work cohesively together, it’s crucial to create a team-like atmosphere within the workplace. You can do that by implementing team-building activities within the daily work schedule. These types of exercises bring employees together to complete a task. They learn from one another, encourage each other, and learn how each employee benefits the team. The skills acquired from team-building exercises can be utilized to complete tasks each day.
If you need to boost your employee retention rate, consider implementing some of the strategies listed above. A high employee retention rate signifies that the staff enjoys their working environment and intend to remain a member of the team. A successful business is one that keeps employees long-term.
Ben Hoffman is co-founder of CityHUNT, an organization that focuses on developing a team atmosphere for companies by encouraging positive workplace relationships amongst coworkers. Since 2000, CityHUNT has created fun, engaging scavenger hunts for multiple companies across the country. Ben is known for delivering entertaining team-building events that are tailored to each client. Working with CityHUNT since conception, Ben sees the importance of employee loyalty and wants to help support businesses in retaining staff members long-term.
Let's get really clear, really quickly:
Yeah, brutal stuff. So what gives?
A piece from the SmartDraw Blog includes two choice quotes:
Most businesses don't do any strategic planning. And, of the ones who do, most treat it as nothing more than an academic exercise.
If you've got a document on a shelf somewhere that was written after an enormous number of meetings but never cracked again, this is all too familiar.
The post also notes:
Strategy requires much more than extrapolating a budget. It requires an open, honest examination of the toughest issues the organization faces. Tough questions have to be asked. Warts may need to be exposed. This can be difficult. It can be uncomfortable. It requires leadership and decision-making. It may require risk. That takes guts.
This is also antithetical to many organizations. Being open and honest is only possible if people are more committed to the truth and their ethics than they are to their jobs. Finding problems means admitting weakness. And lastly, it's not like being decisive is all that common.
Time for some more attacks on strategic planning. Bain Capital explains that 97% of strategic planning is a waste for eight reasons. Here are three especially good ones:
1. They don’t really focus on strategy. Most of these processes have become conversations about budgets and resource allocation, not strategy
4. They don’t connect strategy to frontline routines or behaviors. The planning process is typically a long, drawn-out conversation among staff members.
7. They end up becoming numbers-driven abstractions. To be very clear, there is nothing wrong with numbers; good strategies must be tied directly to financial outcomes. But if strategic planning doesn’t talk about strategy, if it doesn’t allocate resources effectively, if it doesn’t connect to the front line or integrate decisions on talent, then what is it?
I'm not even going to quote from the Harvard Business Review piece The Big Lie of Strategic Planning. Because really, you should click on that link and just read the whole thing.
We'll get to definitions in a minute. Strategy is large-scale, tactics are small-scale. Is your company absolutely killing it with everyday tasks? Do you deliver consistent, high-quality goods and services every time? Are you measuring your activity and making constant adjustments? Are routine tasks well-defined and sufficiently documented? Does every team member know what they are supposed to be doing at all times?
Probably not. And if not, that's where you should focus first.
Doing something you've done before a dozen or a hundred times is expertise. Preparing to do something which is likely going to have new or unexpected elements is planning. It's difficult to plan well. Your predictions are likely to be wrong; sometimes wildly so. By definition, you won't have accounted for possibilities that you failed to anticipate.
And if you're actually pretty good at planning?
Here's a great definition from Harvard professor Michael D. Watkins with some emphasis added:
A business strategy is a set of guiding principles that, when communicated and adopted in the organization, generates a desired pattern of decision making
In short: strategy is not "what we're going to do" but "how we intend to think." That means a strategic plan is really more about finding a way to get everyone to make the same kinds of decisions given a particular set of circumstances.
Which isn't what you were thinking, right? And that's why you probably shouldn't be doing any strategic planning. Instead, you likely need to figure out why there are four emails and two phone calls for absolutely typical customer requests.
If you've ever struggled to keep a house clean, you know that normal, everyday stuff can be extremely challenging. A business is supposed to deliver to customers over and over again, virtually without fail. Until you're able to do the fundamentals exceptional well, there's no need to discuss strategic planning.
So...I guess it's back to work now, right?
That's the question raised by a new piece from Mike Ramsey in HR Today, Has the Push for Productivity Gone Too Far? Writing for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), he includes a brief history lesson:
Manufacturers have been scrutinizing productivity levels---and examining weak links in the chain---since the first moving assembly lines began operating more than a century ago. Before that was Frederick Taylor’s system of “scientific management,” which examined the components of industrial shops to quicken workflows.Technology to monitor employees has also been around for a while. Decades ago, security guards turned keys in “watchclocks” to verify that they made their nightly rounds. For years, drivers for delivery companies such as UPS and FedEx have been tethered to barcode scanners. Today, their vehicles are rigorously tracked to make sure they’re staying on course and on time.
And today in places like Amazon fulfillment centers, materials obtained by The Verge tell a highly mechanized picture of management and firing:
[The company has] a deeply automated tracking and termination process. “Amazon’s system tracks the rates of each individual associate’s productivity,” according to the letter, “and automatically generates any warnings or terminations regarding quality or productivity without input from supervisors.” (Amazon says supervisors are able to override the process.)Critics see the system as a machine that only sees numbers, not people. “One of the things that we hear consistently from workers is that they are treated like robots in effect because they’re monitored and supervised by these automated systems,” [one expert] says. “They’re monitored and supervised by robots.”
Companies pushing their measurement too far is something we've covered before here on The Methodology Blog. Over a decade ago, we reported on a business that timed employee bathroom breaks. We wrote about a firm that punished team members for walking too slowly. We also covered a company that used sensors to listen to people's tone of voice. Automated management is nothing new. And the questions are still the same.
Much of the discussion around computerized systems that evaluate performance and make decisions is just about policy itself. A good example is the controversy over red light cameras. It's illegal to run a red light, and if an officer catches us in the act, most of us will accept our fate. But if an automated system records our transgression, many will protest. The law is the same, but we feel different.
In this sense, what all of us are seeking with human judgement is for our actions to be evaluated in context. Maybe we have technically violated the policy but there are extenuating circumstances. Or, maybe we just want a second chance. If the rules are set in stone and followed to the letter, that can't happen. It doesn't matter it's a computer or a person. But of course, that's not how it seems if you're the one in trouble.
There aren't easy answers as our businesses become more and more sophisticated. But one part of the puzzle comes appears in the HR Today story---in a quote from our own Robby Slaughter:
He advocates for involving employees whose lives will be changed by technology. “Otherwise,” he says, “you risk disenfranchising them and disconnecting them and creating more problems for yourself.”
If there is a way to be certain that the robots and the rules don't endanger your business, make sure the people have a chance to lead the way. Human beings, after all, are your customers. Relying on them to help make decisions about how to run the business will produce the best results.
The rise of these handheld computers has opened the floodgates for thousands of helpful apps to be filtered through app stores, only the best being picked to become available to users. Some of these apps can be saving graces for struggling sales reps, or might just be the pick-me-up you need after a business plateau. Any app which can make the business run smoother will be an amazing help, and luckily there’s a lot of them out there for you to pick from - these are some of the best!
Have you ever received an incredibly important document which everyone on the team has to sign, but had some people out of the office, others busy completing equally important or urgent work, and someone else off sick? It’s a nightmare.
Fortunately, you’re not alone, so the people behind HelloSign created an app which will allow you to sign documents electronically. Your client can choose almost any platform for the document - Dropbox, Gmail, Google Docs or even OneDrive - and HelloSign will be compatible, allowing you to request for up to twenty members of your team to sign the document, all in an instant! It’s paperwork made easier, and can definitely save you time and effort, and maybe even secure a deal which would’ve been ruined by the delay otherwise.
You might already have a personal Gmail account, but did you know that a professional Gmail account network can do wonders for your sales team?
No--not just individual accounts. A shared, perhaps *private* account.
“Unlike other email platforms, Gmail has been crafted specifically for businesses, and you can tell through the design that this is the case,” says Jodie Powell, a marketing blogger at BigAssignments and Boomessays, “and with the optimized G Suite you can take on many different sales tasks from one place! Obviously, you can send emails to other members of your team and clients, but you can also live-chat with the team for constant and up-to-date news and updates, and use Google Calendar to keep on top of when your next meeting is, or your next important deadline. All in all, it’s an amazing tool which can really help you out with communications.”
Now, we come to a less obvious app, but one that everyone who meets and networks with a lot of different people from different companies can use. Full Contact allows you to create a digital ‘address book’ as it were, by taking pictures of every business card that you get and sorting it into a digital dashboard.
If you move to the premium service, you can also enjoy uploading the scanned details from each business card to your mobile phone’s contacts, making communication even easier, since you are able to bypass the app after the first stage completely, streamlining the process! It’s a handy little tool and can help you out when your stack of business cards is becoming too much to sort through every time you need to find an email or mobile number.
“Keeping receipts and trying to work out if your purchases fit with company policy or not can be a messy and annoying business, so why not get an app to do it for you?” Lee Walsh, a sales writer at AustralianHelp and OXEssays, asks. “Expensify allows you to choose a report to put on your receipt by just taking a picture of it on your phone, and it also can analyse whatever your company reimbursement policy is and tell you if the expenses can go through automatically or will have to reviewed before they can be approved just by viewing the image - it’s incredible!”
Catching duplicate expenses before they cost you and your business and the ability to automatically reimburse you once the report has been approved, it’s just amazing what this one app can achieve, and how much time and effort it can save you, not to mention taking out the worry of human error with all your receipt keeping and expense checking.
Aimee Laurence is a self-proclaimed ‘happiness consultant’ who also works in marketing, guiding teams through the process at Write My Paper and Assignment Help. As a respected lifestyle coach, she wants to spread her positive messages throughout the world, and often blogs about this. Aimee is a tutor at Essayroo.com academic portal. Aimee writes for sales reps and enjoys reviewing latest apps. Her posts have been published on numerous online publications like Forbes and Drive The Life.
As marketers, though, we can see "Yes, but..." as a request for more information and more proof. Turning the conversation into a "yes, and..." allows a dialogue, Thompson advises.
Blog posts are actually the perfect vehicles for defusing "Yes-but"s. Each time you post content, you're adding to the overall power of the "and." Certainly the online searchers who found your blog may have concerns and may be incompletely informed, but the very fact they were directed to your blog means they had an interest in your subject and are looking for the very sort of products, services, and information you’re eager to provide!
Directly addressing problems and misinformation in blog writing goes a long way towards shedding light on your expertise and gaining the trust of your readers. Incorporating testimonials from clients whose knotty issues you were able to solve helps prove that your business can satisfy the needs of searchers as well. You may find the only thing that has not been working for prospects is the old, "Yes-but..." way of viewing the issue!
Examples of this phenomenon come from every corner of our professional and personal lives. Examples include:
Objection handling means not overcoming those objections, but using them to further steer the conversation in the direction the recruiter wants it to go. Or saying "yes" to the objection "and" saying what's next. (Source: Top Echelon)
Each time you explain an idea, you are working to get what you want while meeting the other person's need to learn. You are affirming information you know to be true and they are adding to it as they build understanding. (Source: lardbucket.org)
There are countless models, but one common one is represented by the acronym LEAR. That sequence involves four steps: Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, and Respond. (Source Carew International
Is junior denying what you want? Stay calm and don’t overreact when you think your child is being disrespectful. Focus on teaching problem-solving alternatives. (Source: Children’s Success Foundation)
There are people out there reading your blog who have already decided that your product or service is too expensive, or that it won’t work for them, or that it's too good to be true. They want you to prove to them that they're wrong! Write the blog post as though you're describing a benefit, when really you’re overcoming an invisible objection. (Source: Blogspiration)
In just about any business interaction, a key secret is to change the conversation toward opportunity. Being positive means saying "yes, we can do that" and then adding what else you can do---especially if it is unexpected! Ensure those business blog posts include the basis that everyone is anticipating, of course, but also what you offer that makes your organization truly special.
After all, it's what comes after the "and" that is the reason you do what you do. And it's also the reason your customers keep coming back.
Here's five key elements of a worthwhile meeting with your supervisor.
As your boss answers, take notes. When the meeting is over, you’ll need to follow up, especially on topics that you initiated yourself.
Meetings at work present great opportunities to showcase your talent. Do not let them go to waste. --Abhishek Ratna
Learning how to handle a one-on-one meeting can help you advance your career, so take those meetings seriously and know what to do before, during, and after. To summarize: Before the meeting:
During the meeting:
During the meeting:
Brixton’s Business Manager, Avonte King-Henry, joined Alliance Residential Company in 2018. He has numerous properties under his belt, and his property management experience extends from small sites to large lease-ups. He is ecstatic to continue his career at Brixton.
Powerful goals electrify us. Clear intentions energize, give us direction and pull us forward. Without a clear-cut intention, we operate from a place of being reactive and don't get around to doing the important things especially when we want them done. Instead, we spend our time fighting the many random fires of distraction. Without clear intentions, anything might happen. And usually does.
Think of intentions like the steering wheel on your car. An intention’s whole purpose is to give you control and direction over where you're heading or said another way what you’re after. The metaphor I like best is the one of finding my car keys, this helps me realize the importance of intentions. I find my keys when I’m looking for them maybe you do too. Now, it's good to have intentions at more than one level. When we get up into the more conceptual intentions, such as "I will contribute to the wellbeing of those around me," these become like a mission statement. Ben Franklin shared in his daily routine one of his primary intentions that he set every day, Ol’ Ben would ask himself of a morning, “What good can I do today?” and then at the end of every day he would check in with himself and ask “What good did I do today?”
Author, Brenden Burchard, writes in his recent best selling book, “High-Performance Habits” that life is a series of transitions. We are busy going from meeting to meeting and role to role all day almost every day. He surmises that the better a person can manage those daily transitions, the higher their performance will be. It's important to set intentions for yourself because this is where the rubber meets the road. Setting your intention for how you will feel (emotionally) during an upcoming meeting or interaction is a great way to manage the transitions better. Instead of letting the flow or even the outcome of a meeting determine your feeling, you determine it in advance.
When you can and you should get in the habit of writing them down on paper, someplace you can trust. The benefit is when you list them out in writing on paper, you can clearly look over your results afterward and check yourself. At the end of today or this time next week, did you do what you said you'd do? Expressed like that, it's clear that we're building a kind of internal integrity check within ourselves. When you're first starting to build this new intention-setting skill (habit), it's important not to pile on too much. Sure, it's easy to get all excited about turning over a new leaf, but it's essential that you start where you are NOW, not where you think you SHOULD be.
There are things that, from experience, you already know you can do. Set your intentions to do those things (plus perhaps a little bit more) and achieve them. Then, when you're comfortable doing what you say you'll do, then you can begin to stretch your intention muscles a little more. But as in any new regimen, begin easy. Begin with what you can actually do. And only after you get comfortable with the intention-setting process should you start going for a stretch and for some real growth. Patience - taking small, measured steps - is more than a virtue here. It's the key to keeping yourself moving forward. (Notice I said patience, not procrastination.)
Attempt too much too soon, and the end result will be another round of demotivation and discouragement. Instead, go about this logically and gradually: keep your eye on the level you want to reach next year, and let today's effort take you 1/365th of the way there. Do this, and you'll see real, measurable progress as well as achievements you'll truly be proud of. It's all pretty simple stuff, really. Just training yourself to keep your word to yourself.
Patrick Mahomes is a Super Bowl Champion and Super Bowl MVP at the age of 24. Patrick Mahomes was the 10th overall selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2018 and has been selected twice in his first three years in the NFL to play in the Pro Bowl. Mahomes played great in College at Texas Tech and he also could have played professional baseball, but his heart and focus were on football. Patrick Mahomes's father, Pat, pitched in the Major Leagues for 12 years.
Patrick Mahomes is calm and focused, but in the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers managed to keep him and the Chiefs in check until late in the game. Mahomes stayed positive and rallied the Chiefs back from a 10 point fourth-quarter deficit to win the game. Mahomes and the Chiefs taught us great life lessons about not quitting when things are not going your way. Mahomes and the Chiefs deserve so much credit because they made the comeback against a great San Francisco 49ers team! It was a very emotional win for the Chiefs and their fans since it was their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years.
Mahomes is so talented and focused that he is the only quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season in both college and the NFL. Patrick Mahomes, at age 24, is the second-youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Mahomes is a great athlete. He can be precise, and most of all he is a big-time playmaker! But did you know that this NFL MVP didn't know how to read defenses? In fact, he didn't fully begin to understand how to read them until last year!
"This year I could actually recognize more and more stuff," Mahomes said. "The more experience and the more I learn then I'll be able to go out there and call plays and do all that different stuff because I've seen it. I still think there's a long way for me to go there."
We love that he isn't shy about his learning process. It's encouraging that someone so young is still so open to learning and growing within his career field. It's something we all tend to forget; there is always something new to learn. Being able to learn is a skill just like any other. It takes time, patience, and practice in order to grasp new concepts. Jack Klemeyer spoke about this in his article about continuous learning. Here he talks about how our goals change from year to year:
Why is that? Because you should be continually improving your skills to make yourself better, which should be reflected in your goals for each year. Basketball coach Pat Riley said, “Anytime you stop striving to get better, you’re bound to get worse.” What he means is, it doesn’t matter how good your skills are today, if you don’t continually upgrade your knowledge and skills, you’ll still become obsolete. Almost every career field requires continuously learning and growing because everything eventually becomes outdated as people continue to develop the latest and greatest gadgets or services. Technology will always march on and can truly help to increase your productivity! So, if you don’t want to be passed by in your business, you need to keep your knowledge and skills sharp to compete with the up-and-comers.
This is such incredibly important advice for anyone, especially those in the older generations. You should always be open to learning something new. If you don't grow, you'll stay stagnant, and likely be left in the dust!
It's a technique that you use to create positive affirmations that can counter negative thoughts and doubts by neutralizing them and building the self-confidence you need for whatever you want to achieve. Thinking this way is a skill you can learn and develop but it takes intentionality and consistent practice. I assure you, it is well worth it to create the useful habit of positive thinking?
Unfortunately, in some circles, positive thinking is sometimes referred to cynically as pollyannaish, naive and an overly optimistic point of view. Those that spout that point of view could use a dose or two of positive thinking. What about you? How do you view things, negatively or positively? It can be easy for all of us to focus only on the negative but it's usually as easy to look for a positive angle to things as it is for a negative angle. It’s a habit of thought.
By looking on the positive side we can affect our subconscious mind as we invoke the law of attraction and we can then attract a better set of circumstances into our life. Remember what you concentrate on you bring about. So expect a positive result. Did you know that it takes as much effort to think about the negative as it is for the positive. In some ways, positive thinking is infectious and can lead to a 'can do' attitude within an individual, a team and an organization. It's been said that the only difference between a success and a failure is the attitude of mind the person had before they entered that task.
We cannot simply pay lip service to positive thinking. You need to actually practice and make positive thinking be your prevailing attitude. The feeling evoked by positive thinking will help you to feel confident and move you towards your goal. In order to acquire the great status of being a positive thinker, we must realize what positive thinking is all about and what it is not. The late Zig Ziglar used to say something along the lines of… if you got in the ring with Muhammad Ali with positive thinking, that alone wouldn’t allow you to win the fight but having a positive attitude would allow you to fight better.
Attitude comes from the consistency of thinking. If you think negatively all the time, you’ll end up with a negative attitude. Likewise, if you think positively all the time you’ll have a positive attitude. It's kind of like the chicken and egg, which came first? A word of warning, If you have a bad or negative attitude you'll probably never consider changing how you think which is too bad. Choose to think with positive thinking to change your attitude towards the positive direction.
How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking and attitude may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic. I’ve noticed that we all brighten a room, some when we walk in and some when we walk out of the room. Which one do you want to be? A positive attitude and optimistic thinking are healthy. When you wholeheartedly adopt a 'with all your heart' attitude and go all out with the positive principle, you can do incredible things. Happy, optimistic people are usually described as having positive attitudes and expressing positive thoughts.
Positive thinking is a mental attitude that acts like a ticket taker at a theater who controls who (what) comes into the theater. Make sure your thoughts are putting into your mind the right kind of thoughts, words, and images. Ones that are conducive to growth, expansion, and success. Remember as I do that no matter what happens to us, we can choose positive thoughts and choose a positive attitude. It may not be something that comes naturally but it is a way of looking at the brighter side of life that helps us build the life we want. How do you think?
Derek Jeter has been elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. Derek Jeter played in the Major Leagues for almost 20 years, all with the New York Yankees. Jeter has a lifetime batting average of .310 with 3,465 hits, which is sixth on the all-time list. Derek was a 14-time All-Star who played on five World Championship teams with the Yankees. Jeter was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996 and was the Most Valuable Player in the 2000 World Series.
Derek Jeter was extremely consistent and that was a big part of his greatness! Baseball is a very hard game to play; it's a game of failure, and Derek Jeter succeeded year after year. Jeter rapped out 200 or more hits eight times; 20 or more homers three times; 20 or more steals eight times and he won five Gold Gloves for fielding excellence. Derek Jeter was terrific when it mattered the most - in the Post Season! Jeter also possessed great leadership skills and was Captain of the Yankees for 12 seasons. You can make the case that Derek Jeter was the sixth-best Yankee of all-time; behind Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. Derek Jeter never won an MVP but he was a terrific player who held those Yankee teams together with his consistency and leadership skills. Derek Jeter was a true winner and the consummate professional!
We all know how much Jeter's life was put on display while he was playing. He was one of the most heavily marketed players of his generation. Everything about his love life, career, and relationships was constantly on display thanks to the media. He took it all in stride and used his notoriety to benefit him rather than allow it to interfere with his success. He even starred in an episode of Seinfeld! It's no surprise that other athletes such as Tom Brady are trying to follow in his footsteps. Much like Jeter and Kobe Bryant, Brady seems to be pressuring the New England Patriots into making a formal commitment to him.
"Toward the end of their careers, Derek Jeter and Kobe – oh great franchise guys and everything – did everything they could behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, everything to bring pressure to bear on their teams to keep them right where they were – at a very high price point, too," Kellerman said.
That's a smart business decision, one that many other professional athletes will likely follow. Do you think they got stuck wondering if they made the right choice? Or what the various consequences might be? This process is something rare especially when it comes to businesses. In this recent article by Mike Hill, he explains that there are three types of decision-makers.
What do most of us need? Well...it ranges from “plenty of time” to having the issues relating to decisions reduced to their simplest form:
- Individuals who need to think it over won’t make snap judgments, so knowing this, don’t ask them to.
- In the middle, we have those individuals most comfortable when considering business decisions that involve a minimum of ambiguity. They like problems with clear-cut solutions.
- Our third type of decision-making manager likes issues reduced to their simplest form, so they can make quick, confident, decisions.
Do you identify with any of these? If so, use this information to your benefit when it comes to making a choice. Don't put yourself in a position where you're completely out of your comfort zone. You don't want to rush into a commitment!
I've been working from home for several years now, both before I had kids and after as well. Before I had kids, I was able to let my days take me along for the ride. Don't get me wrong, I had some structure with prioritization of my daily tasks and basic household upkeep but I had no idea what was in store for me after I had children. Structure and routine are now my two very best friends. Without them, we'd all crash and burn. Some of my very best friends work full time at an office and I'm in awe of how capable they are when it comes to keeping everyone in their houses alive. We all agree that the key to success is setting yourself up the right way for the week ahead. Forbes recently posted an article about how to start structuring your workdays and their tips are really solid. I've picked a few that stood out to me and shared my thoughts below!
1. Set Your Agenda Before The Workweek Begins
This is easily the most important part of setting up the framework for a successful week. Don't wait until you're in the thick of things to figure out what you want to accomplish for the week. Use Sunday as your planning day. Write down your goals for the week and consider meal planning, even if you don't have kids! Knowing what's coming takes the guesswork out of your day-to-day life.
2. Use Checklists
We here at AccelaWork are big supporters of having checklists. Sometimes, though, we tend to let our to-do lists weigh us down. The thought of this list can loom over you, giving you anxiety rather than helping you. Jack Klemeyer recognized this issue and thought of a helpful solution for when you become weighed down by your to-do list.
These tips will help you stay on top of your checklists rather than burdened by your tasks.
4. Avoid Context Switching
I hadn't heard of the study listed until I read this article and it makes so much sense as to why we get distracted and lose focus.
In a recent study, it was found that we spend an average of 1 minute and 15 seconds on a task before being interrupted, it takes an average of 25 minutes to resume a task after being interrupted, and heavily multitasking can temporarily lower our IQ by up to 15 points.
One way that you can help avoid this issue is by scheduling your tasks in blocks of time. Don't answer your phone every time it rings. Ignore those email notifications, too! Select times of day that you will focus on those tasks. Schedule your meetings on specific days of the week and times that work for your own productivity. You will be the master of your workweek by using these tips!
After working from home for several years now, I've realized recently after hearing how many people are being told to work remotely that the majority of these people might find it's not so easy. If you haven't had time to set up a home office, or at least a work station, you're going to struggle. One of the biggest challenges for me was trying to work the kinks out of my technology and making it work for me rather than against me. That took a good chunk of time to do which might not be feasible for many people.
If you want to expedite that process, consider investing in some new tech and gear. We don't know how long this virus will be floating around and you don't want to struggle the entire time. Trust me when I say that sitting on your couch in front of the TV with your laptop on the coffee table will not work. Here are some tried and true tips for many remote workers and some newer gadgets that even I hadn't heard about!
Take A Break
It's easy to get sucked into your work and burn yourself out really quickly. That's because, unlike when you head into work, your job is just right there waiting for you. It's staring you in the face all day. You don't have to leave and commute home or go out for a bite to eat at lunchtime. That's why it's so important to take a break, or a few, throughout the workday. Turn off your monitor, leave your phone on your desk if you have to. Get some air and recharge!
Mobile Hotspot Device
If you've ever been in the middle of working and had your internet go out, you might know the shock and horror that comes with that situation. I can honestly say that it took many years of this happening to me before I finally put my foot down and told myself to do something about it. Don't get me wrong, you can totally use your phone as a mobile hotspot but nothing compares to having a dedicated mobile hotspot device. They can be pricey but you might find yourself using it for many years to come.
Desk Organizer For Cords
I don't know why I've never seen this type of organizer before but it absolutely blew my mind when I was searching for ways to organize my desk. The number of cords I had like a rats nest, draped around my desk and at my feet was staggering. Not to mention the many times one of my dogs would trip over one of the cords and create chaos. These cord organizers are legitimately one of my best investments. Having a tidy area just makes you feel more focused, doesn't it?
Two Monitors
The boost to productivity that comes from having at least two monitors set up on your desk can't be denied. It just makes life easier. Keep an eye on your local buy and trade groups or clearances at big-name stores. You don't have to get the absolute best monitors out there and break the bank to boot.
Don't Be Afraid To Leave The House (If You Can)
If you aren't quarantined, consider packing up your stuff and heading to your local cafe or coffee shop to work. The beauty of being a remote worker is that you can set up and plug in just about anywhere to get stuff done. Don't limit yourself to just your home, bring your work with you, instead!
Offering a wide range of smart technologies, the Internet of Things lets you change your office temperature, turn your lights on and off, open doors, run meetings, or access company information from anywhere, all with a few simple commands.
If you’re looking to modernize your office environment, streamline operations, and attract millennial and Gen Z talent, then it might be time to start looking into implementing office automation and smart technologies. Consider some of the following recommendations for ways to revamp your company offices and operations by upgrading to a technology-based environment.
Chatting with team members is effortless when you use cloud-based communication tools that offer quick messaging systems. Members log in and can see instantly what’s going on with the team — a must, by the way, for millennial and Gen Z workers who are dependent on technology. Teams and managers can hold meetings, send private messages, and share documents and information with one another. Products like Slack, Skype, and Asana each offer a basic free plan, and paid plans provide advanced features for more than 10 users.
If you’ve hired millennials or members of Generation Z, you’ve likely begun to see employees turn to mobile technology to surmount practically every obstacle they encounter — from turning off the lights at home to keeping track of mileage and receipts, checking their credit scores and even filing taxes — all via online platforms or digital apps on their smartphones. Nearly everyone at some time has asked Siri or Alexa a string of questions, listened to music, or purchased something on a mobile device at home. Now these personal assistants can provide a wealth of benefits in the workplace, as well.
Workstation automation can allow employees to adjust their schedules, send messages, set a timer, listen to the news, and even set personal climate controls to help eliminate the thermostat battle. If you have a very small office, you can use a single hub to automatically lock and unlock doors for increased security, and even create your favorite work playlist.
Although office renovations can feel like a huge undertaking, generally, physical workspace updates pay off in huge mental and physical benefits for employees (and consequently, for the company’s bottom line). So it’s usually worthwhile to assess potential updates with an architect, bid out and engage a contractor, schedule the work, rent a dumpster for the construction debris, and start making the physical changes happen!
Also, studies show that both the intensity and color of artificial lights can help shift individuals onto healthy circadian rhythms. By installing smart lighting, you can use bright white colors during the day to keep employees energized and productive. Then later, when people start wrapping up, you can set the lights to dim gradually to save money (and to help your employees sleep better once they get home).
There are plenty of products that help change and improve the way your customers interact with your company and automate your workflow. Chatbots provide instant communication with automated responses when a customer has a question while browsing your website. Online checklists for trade show or conference preparation can enhance outreach and marketing efforts.
Also, using AI learning, you can track the experience of your customers with your products from beginning to end. This can help you locate areas you need to improve and make it easier to provide customers with personalized recommendations for new products and services. You can also let customers sign up on your website to get instant text updates or other notifications for their orders. Not only does this reduce customer service calls, but also it can help improve customers’ overall experience.
Smart offices cater to tech-obsessed younger generations, which can help your company attract new talent and make your systems more productive, translating into greater ease, comfort, and productivity for all your employees. With just a few simple additions, you can bring about positive changes that only smart technology can provide, preparing your company for a more productive future.
Work environments have transitioned from maze-like cubicles to open floor plans. Multi-lateral leadership is replacing a top-down hierarchy, and employees are encouraged to share their feelings and workload. This is good for the mental health of workers and encourages collaboration and interaction rather than isolation.
However, such an open atmosphere can result in unintended consequences. Without clear guidelines, your office can become a place where some workers are being taken advantage of and chaos reigns.
As a manager, you want to create a collaborative environment that promotes staff satisfaction. How do you achieve the balance between getting the job done without contributing to burnout or encouraging irresponsible behavior?
Whichever side of the big desk you're on, there are ways you can set boundaries so that everyone contributes equally and the job gets done.
A former supervisor once gave me some advice that helped me develop boundaries on the job: never show everything you can do or it will become a permanent part of your job.
I was constantly trying to prove my worth and flexibility. I would volunteer for everything: from closing, extra shifts, to design work so it wouldn’t have to be outsourced.
None of that helped me get ahead. It just led to feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated. The constant pressure I put on myself manifested in ways that affected my mental and physical health. I had to step back and create boundaries.
In practice, it meant:
Establishing boundaries allowed me to excel at things I did best and gave others the space to do the same.
If you're having trouble figuring out where you fit in and the extent of your obligations to your job and yourself, it's time to step back and take stock.
Being a leader, you're responsible for meeting company goals and for shepherding your team forward to achieve those ends. You're answerable to everyone. That means you're often squeezed in the middle, feeling pressure from both sides.
You can take the pressure off without transferring it to your staff by establishing a few boundaries and guidelines for yourself and your team.
Start by setting clear policies for operations and projects. Assign the right people to key positions and set realistic goals for individual workers and teams.
Learn to recognize problems and address them before they escalate. This is where having a close team, and knowing their individual strengths, pays dividends.
Don't be afraid to loosen the reins a little bit. This means trusting that your staff knows what they're doing, delegating tasks more freely, and transferring some autonomy to the employees.
It also means giving them the training and information necessary to get the job done, the right tools to achieve objectives, and empowering them to take responsibility for outcomes.
Managers at all levels are inclined to micromanage every detail of their team's work. They often feel that a hands-off approach means shirking responsibility. After all, a manager's job is to manage—but only to a certain extent.
Micromanaging strains your capacity to contribute productive work. It also creates distrust among employees—which results in more stress and creates a vicious cycle.
In a business world where time is money, and everyone is racing for the top, stress management is essential for creating a healthy workspace.
Management works best when it comes from a position of confident leadership that includes trusting staff members to make the right decisions and providing them with the tools, training, and bandwidth to do their job. It focuses on getting results rather than simply following procedures.
We don't need physical boundaries to separate us from co-workers. However, it is important to create emotional boundaries.
Using the tips above, you can create an open office space that's conducive to harmonious interaction while establishing healthy boundaries that support productive collaboration.
Michelle Laurey works as a VA for small businesses. She loves talking business, and productivity, and share her experience with others. Outside her keyboard, she spends time with her Kindle library or binge-watching Billions. Her superpower? Vinyasa flow! Talk to her on Twitter michelle_laurey.
It should be obvious, but it's worth considering in full: the wellbeing of your staff can boost productivity and performance whilst encouraging staff retention. This means that you’ll keep the top talent in the long run and also avoid wasting time and resources hiring and training recruits.
Creating an inspiring atmosphere is another way you can support your team. While money plays an important role, it is not a solution that you should depend on in the long run. As you are going to see, most of the tips that will keep your employees happy do not require loads of cash. Let’s get started!
You can empower your employees by allowing them to change their working environment regularly. For instance, if an employee can manage to complete his tasks or projects remotely, give him or her the chance to do so.
Allowing your employees to work at their schedule and pace also reduces their commuting expenses, giving them more energy and time to complete their work. Employees with small children, long drives, or health conditions will greatly benefit from a flexible working schedule.
Who doesn’t love being rewarded for his or her hard work? (Answer: most people, but not all.) This is one of the best ways to inspire your employees and keep them engaged. But the only way you can reward people effectively is if you are keeping tabs on them in a meaningful way. In the past, very few companies had a reward system in place. Today, the majority of companies across the world have a reward system.
As we said earlier, you can reward your employees with money. But this is not a great solution in the long term. Instead of a bonus, consider giving them new experiences such as a paid vacation or tour. Your employees can never forget how you made them feel. And they’ll associate this feeling with hard work. (Again: consider it---sometimes people do just want a bit more cash in their pocket.)
Your employees need to feel that their ideas and opinions are being heard. If you’re the one who’s always doing the talking, you cannot lead. Listening is better than talking. Encourage your employees to share their thoughts and ideas.
You can also put a suggestion box to encourage all kinds of ideas so that no one feels left out. Holding a meeting at least once a week with your team and discussing their progress will not only keep them engaged but also help you achieve your long-term goals.
As a leader, your team is your top priority. It’s important to check out on your team regularly to ensure that they don’t lose track. However, you should avoid micromanaging. This shows distrust. For instance, if your employees work remotely, there is a difference between understanding their progress so you can support them, and calling them to check if they’re working.
There’s practically nothing worse than working with a controlling boss. As long as they know what you expect from them, leave them alone. Their results will show if you are on the same page or not.
An open office has several advantages which include reducing overcrowding and promoting creativity. Having a section where employees can sit during break time and socialize will provide some breathing space that will allow them to work harder when they return to their desks.
Keep the temperature, humidity, and noise at an optimum level. Also, ensuring that the office is clean and has adequate lighting will improve productivity and performance levels. Control odors and be aware of everoyne's personal space.
Organizations that offer employee benefits to their employees are likely to keep them in the long run. Research studies show that health benefits and retirement funds are most important to the majority of employees.
With the rising cost of healthcare, a strong health plan for your employees is important. Wellness programs will also help your employees know more about their health and make positive changes which will reduce absenteeism and increase productivity.
There are many ways to show that you value your employees. One of the best and easiest ways to do this is by saying thank you. This doesn’t mean that you have to keep complimenting your team all the time to increase their productivity. Only say it when an excellent job has been done.
Leon Collier is a freelance writer at assignment help Australia and handles the work related to thesis, dissertation and college essays. He has expert-level writing skills, great subject knowledge and a passion for helping students. When not writing you can find him behind a pile of books he loves to delve in or at the table playing tabletop games with his friends. Follow him on Twitter @LeonCollier12, if you want to check out his other articles.
Baseball great Al Kaline passed away recently at age 85. This Baltimore native spent all of his 22 years in Major League with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline was a 15-time All-Star who was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1980. He finished his career with 3007 hits and 399 home runs. In 1955, at age 20, Kaline led the American League in hitting – batting .340. Al Kaline remains the youngest player ever to win a batting title. Kaline also ran well; he was an excellent outfielder with a strong throwing arm who won 10 Gold Gloves.
Al Kaline was consistently great; however, he was at his best in the clutch! He appeared in one World Series (1968) and batted .379 and helped the Tigers overcome a 3 games to 1 deficit to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals. Kaline also excelled in his other Post-Season appearance – the 1972 American League Championship Series. Al Kaline was the best right fielder in the American League for most of his 22 MLB seasons. Al Kaline came to Victory Field in Indianapolis five years ago.
I had the pleasure of interviewing him. He was kind, considerate, outgoing, and as sharp as could be! Kaline played a major role with the Tigers in his post-playing days; first as a broadcaster and then as a special assistant to the General Manager. Those of us who were privileged to watch him play always will remember the dedication, passion, and intensity that he brought to the Ballpark every day. Those qualities helped make him become a great player!
Every person who interacted with Kaline said the same thing - he was a gentleman and had a fun, competitive spirit. That's why he was recognized as the 1970 Fred Hutchison Award winner, due to his “character and competitive spirit.” Justin Verlander shared some truly heartwarming words on Twitter:
“Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many. I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about baseball, life, or just giving each other a hard time. I am honored to have been able to call you my friend for all these years. R.I.P. Mr Tiger, Al Kaline.”
What does the characteristic of being a gentleman mean to you? How would this impact your day-to-day life? For many, it means gaining respect from their peers and having a stable moral compass. Others believe it's a culmination of your outward appearance, the way you speak, or even the way you shake hands. Much of this can be applied to the world of business. How you carry yourself and the way you handle your professional life will have a big impact on how successful you are in your endeavors. You need to have these kinds of workplace relationships, especially if you're a leader, as Cindy Allen-Stuckey explained in one of her posts.
- People are more likely to go along with changes that you want to implement if you’ve had positive dealings with them. That’s because if they like you and trust you, they are going to be open to your ideas.
- Position relationships give you more time and energy to focus on opportunities to grow your business. That might sound counterintuitive–shouldn’t spending time talking to people take away from getting things done? Instead, good relationships allow us to save time instead of later spending time overcoming problems associated with negative relationships.
- If you have a good relationship with your managers, and with customers, suppliers, and stakeholders, those relationships will help you develop your career. This makes sense: if people know you and respect you, they are going to reach out when they have opportunities.
Remember Al Kaline and the way he handled himself as inspiration in your work and personal life! His memory and gentleman-like qualities will live on.
In fact, these skills aren't just for managers and executives. You can become a better employee, coworker, even entrepreneur if you hone your leadership capabilities. You have the potential to become a great leader. It's just a matter of learning to develop the right skills. The key word here is develop, not acquire. That's because true leadership skills---the ones that drive success---come from within. To become a great leader, you have to unlock those abilities. When you do this, you will become the type of leader that people follow willingly and naturally. You can get started by following these four steps.
A good part of leadership involves facing your fears. Simply put, leaders must do things that many of us would find at least a bit harrowing such as, public speaking, firing and hiring people, dealing with the public after a mistake has been made, and taking financial risks.
The poet Robert Frost once said, “The best way out is always through.” To learn to be fearless, you have to take on tasks that scare you and get through them. Volunteer to give that presentation. Take on the opportunity to lead a small project. Make a coldcall to someone in your industry to seek advice and feedback. With every experience you tackle, you’ll learn to face your fears and develop more courage.
In order to be seen as a leader, you need to be seen as an expert. The people who work with you should be confident seeking your advice and assistance on issues relevant to your field. Do whatever it takes to obtain the level of expertise you need to gain the respect of others.
Kristin Savage, a contributing writer at Studicus, is in constant pursuit of improving her understanding of the written word. She says, “One way to accomplish this is by pursuing a formal education. Many leaders have certainly done this. However, that is not your only option. You can seek out learning opportunities through free online classes, attending seminars, and reading the writings of other experts in your field.” Keep in mind that most fields change quickly and constantly. You'll need to be prepared to continue your education indefinitely.
There's another advantage to learning, and that's gaining a better understanding of your own innate talents. Learn to develop your natural skills, and you will drift towards leadership opportunities that are the best fit for you.
Finally, don't forget the value of recognizing expertise and other people. Leaders don't take on everything themselves. Instead, they identify and make use of the best skills in others.
Nobody becomes a leader without risking failure. Nobody risks failure without experiencing at least some time. In fact, if you don’t take risks, you risk the worst kinds of failure. The difference between leaders and others is that a leader is able to extract something of value from failure. Whether you lose out on a promotion or have a proposal shot down, you can use failure as an opportunity to learn and gain insights into your own abilities.
Your dialogue really informs how you see yourself. It also informs how others see you. Start with your internal dialogue. This is simply the thoughts that are going through your head as you go about your day. Everybody has an internal dialogue. Not everybody uses that to their advantage. There is a technique called neurolinguistic programming that can help you develop more confidence, improve your mood, and boost your self-esteem.
Obviously, part of having leadership skills is getting other people to notice your abilities. The best way to showcase that you are a natural leader is by communicating in a way that convinces them. You have to find your own leadership voice. That takes time. Meanwhile, you can adopt some proven techniques by listening to and learning about the ways that other leaders speak.
On a higher level, you can do this by watching and listening to leaders that inspire you. Find rousing speeches by people you admire. Watch Ted Talks. But, not all leadership communication is about giving inspirational speeches to an audience. You demonstrate your Fitness for leadership in your simple day-to-day communication. Take a look around your workplace. Find the people you and your coworkers see as leaders. Keep in mind that this may not always be somebody with a leadership title. How do they talk about themselves? How do they talk to others?
You'll probably notice that leaders in your workplace rarely complain or criticize publicly. They offer praise frequently. They speak decisively. They don't engage in gossip or office politics. They speak of ideas and accomplishments. Emulate those traits in your own communication.
As you work to develop your inner leadership skills, it will become more clear to you that this isn't a finite effort. That may be what truly discerns a leader from others: they understand the necessity of constant self-analysis and improvement.
Marques Coleman is a blog writer at BestEssayEducation and TrustMyPaper. In his spare time he contributes to GrabMyEssay and WowGrade. Marques specializes in marketing and copywriting. Moreover, he is an avid traveler and always tries to learn something new.
When advertisers talk of top-of-mind brand awareness, they’re describing a situation in which consumers spontaneously recall a brand name when asked about the product or service. When it comes to blog visitors, by contrast, they have probably not punched the name of your company into the search bar (instead of using search terms to describe the sort of product, service, or information they’re looking for), with the link to your blog post coming up as a possible match. If something in your blog post is "right on" for that reader, your company will be, at least for a little while, "top of mind".
Once you have a blog visitor, of course, you’ll want to keep them on your site and entice them to come back again and again. Surprise them by demonstrating unexpected ways your company’s expertise or product line can be of value. Become a go-to source for information “curated” from different experts and organized in unexpected ways. Interestingly, the very process of creating blog content keeps the brand top-of-mind for you, as well as for your prospects, customers, and clients. When you blog (or collaborate with a content writer), you verbalize the positive aspects of your business in a way that people can understand. You put your recent accomplishments down in words. You review the benefits of your products and services and keep them fresh in your own mind.
One common issue many bloggers can attest to is struggling to come up with good content for their blogs. As I've said in the past, any post you write is better than writing nothing at all! Even so, you might find that some posts are harder than others to write and publish. Lifehack came out with some tips that could help us to blast past writer's block and provide quality content. Here are a couple of suggestions that immediately caught my eye.
Don’t Proofread Your Post Straight Away
It's easy to immediately proofread your content. Some of us even proofread as we go, constantly starting over from the beginning of paragraphs to catch mistakes. This is easily one of the most time-consuming things that you can do. Get the words down first and then walk away from the post for a day (unless it needs to be published immediately.) Also, with your words still fresh in your mind, it's difficult to catch mistakes that you need to correct. Giving yourself a break from what you wrote and coming back with fresh eyes is a much better option!
Develop A Writing Voice
This suggestion is actually incredibly important for bloggers. As a writer, you usually begin to adopt your own voice and style as you create content. This gives your readers a sense of continuity; like they know what to expect when they come to your blog. You want a seamless transition from post to post. So how do you want the public to receive your work? Do you want to be a friend or an expert? Should your posts be serious in tone or conversational?
Make Your Posts Timeless
For most bloggers, the ultimate goal is to create content that is timeless. That way, it's always relevant and receiving traffic. Having out-of-date information on your blog means that it's pretty useless for readers. That doesn't mean that every single thing you write has to be timeless. Instead, make a list of several subjects that you could use to create several timeless posts within your niche!
There is an old British television show, now found on YouTube, called TimeTeam where a group of eclectic archeologists go to historic sites, mostly in England, and dig to find what the area truly looked like back centuries ago. It’s a fascinating show. What does that have to do with leaders not leading? The short answer is, ultimately the same extinction that happened to the communities that TimeTeam investigates. Speaker and Author, John Maxwell says, “everything rises and falls on leadership” and that is the impact leadership has on an organization. Here are just a few of the tell-tale clues that a leader isn’t leading. Why they’re not leading is an entirely different story and we’ll discuss that another time.
When you think about what a good leader is, you might come up with this list of attributes: A good listener, enthusiasm, passion, shows appreciation, a visionary, role model, trusting, integrity, organized, knowledgeable, credibility, persuasive, charisma, team building, clarity of purpose, problem-solver, the attitude of service, lead by example, patience, willing to act without complete knowledge, understands followers, consistent, empowers other people, and adapts to change. These are the attributes that come up again and again when people are asked: “When you think of a leader, what are the characteristics of an ideal leader?”
Notice what the list contains. All of these characteristics relate to the human side of leadership. That's interesting because I often hear people minimize this side of leadership with terms like "soft" or "touchy-feely." Applying these characteristics requires more strength than not. You can’t get production until you get a relationship. Notice what the list excludes. Absent from this list are characteristics such as stern, mean, serious, short-tempered, vindictive, tough, angry, harsh, punitive, controlling, violent, or ruthless. And that's interesting because many popular representations of leadership emphasize at least one of these "hard" characteristics. These characteristics are the refuge of those who lack the strength (or the skills) to apply the human side of leadership. Many who exhibit these traits are relying solely on their title or position and that is the lowest level of leadership. It’s not leadership at all.
How about you? How would you rate yourself as a leader compared to the list of positive characteristics? If you were to survey the people who report to you, how would they describe your leadership? What is it like to sit across the desk from you? Would your people list characteristics from the "soft" list or the "hard" list? In what ways could you become more effective by improving upon any of the "soft" characteristics? And how about the other leaders in your organization? Do they truly maximize human potential?
People want leaders who treat them with genuine compassion, courtesy, and respect. They want leaders who help them become more successful. They want leaders who inspire them with a vision for a better world and show them how to go there. And that’s why John Maxwell says: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” You shouldn't become extinct, you should thrive and to do that you should up your leadership game.
Don Shula passed away at the age of 90. He was a Head Coach in the NFL for 33 seasons: seven with the Baltimore Colts and 26 with the Miami Dolphins. Don Shula’s 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only NFL team to go through the regular season and the post-season undefeated. 14-0 regular season: 3-0 post-season – including a Super Bowl win over the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins also won the Super Bowl the following season. Don Shula was named NFL Coach of the Year four times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
Don Shula was a tough guy, a good man, and a superb coach. Shula became the youngest Head Coach in NFL History when he got the Baltimore Colts job in 1963. He was 33. Shula was there for seven seasons during which time the Colts performed very well during the regular season. However, two major defeats in the postseason left Shula, the Colts and their fans very disappointed. In 1964, the Colts were heavy favorites to defeat the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game. The Browns won 27-0. Four years later, Shula and the Colts were heavily favored to beat the New York Jets in the Super Bowl and the Jets stunned The Colts and all of football with a 16-7 victory.
In Miami, it was a different story. After a Super Bowl loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Dolphins won consecutive Super Bowls, and no longer was Shula criticized for a lack of postseason success. A coach has to have the players to be successful. Shula had the players but with his great organizational skills, discipline, and knowledge he helped make his teams great! Don Shula, one of the greatest coaches in the History of Professional Sports! Shula truly was a force to be reckoned with, especially in the 1908s with Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. Did you know that many credit Shula with modernizing the game? The more entertaining aspects of football came thanks to his efforts!
Shula is credited with helping modernize the game. In 1978, as head of the NFL's Competition Committee, Shula inspired several rule changes that helped make it easier for offenses to have success in the passing game. The result was a higher-scoring, more-entertaining brand of football that helped pro football replace baseball as America's No. 1 pastime heading into the 1980s.
One of the most important aspects of being a great leader like Shula was is having a vision for your team. Delegation is a great way to manage your time but developing goals and inspiring your team can never be delegated. Mark Brown talked about this in a post for AccelaWork where he discussed how you can become the leader that your team needs.
1. Focus on the majority. The simple method is just to ignore the person that is disrupting the group. If you can move forward with the majority of the group, then you can gain momentum. 2. Address the issue with the person separate from the group. Confronting the rebel in front of the group will only justify their message. So pull them to the side and try to resolve the issue discreetly. 3. Create wins to show the group the progress. People want to be on the winning side. Get some small wins, and you will begin to overcome any opposition.
Using tips like these can help take your leadership skills to the next level. Become a legend like Don Shula when it comes to leading!
A “sun dog”, or parhelion, is an atmospheric optical illusion. Ice crystals in the atmosphere reflect sunlight, causing “halos” to appear at one or both sides of the sun. Interestingly, the parhelions seem to showcase, rather than distract from, the central figure of the sun.
Parhelions can be used for showcasing the main message of a business blog. Most business owners and professional practitioners will tell you they have more than one target audience for their products and services, so what can be done is to offer different kinds of information and advice in different blog posts. In fact, blogging is perfect for hitting a blog topic from multiple angles, while still highlighting the central message of the company or practice. And just as parhelions frame the sun, the “parhelion effect” can enhance an owner’s “slant” through contrasting that approach with other views in the industry or profession. Remember, the parhelion effect needn’t happen within one article but can be achieved in groups of blog posts.
Illusions in public speaking: The Illusion of Transparency is a cognitive bias that makes us overestimate the degree to which other people know our mental state. Thorough audience analysis will provide insights into what your audience is thinking and serve to mitigate the speaker’s fears.
Illusions in online marketing: Entrepreneurs can be so engrossed in their products or services that they forget one important fact: this is the Internet age, where any information about any product/service/idea is available within 0.01 seconds on Google.com. The number one rule of any marketing campaign is to highlight the benefits of the product or service rather than its features.
Illusions in writing: Anything and everything can be used to help you advertise your brand. Get creative, think outside of the box, and incorporate illusions whenever possible.
Illusions in reading: We’re so used to words being arranged in a certain order that, when the words are jumbled up, we often don’t notice: We mistake our expectations for the words. That’s why proofreading your own essays is so hard. Try reading this out loud: “You that read wrong.”
One thing that stands true is how important authenticity is to the public. Business2Community took a look at how honest marketing and advertising affect how customers view a company and whether or not they would be willing to invest money or time into that brand. It seems as though the younger generations, millennials and Gen Z, are demanding that companies are truthful about their message and products and that won't change anytime soon. They backed these claims up with links to studies and inforgraphics, such as this one from Bonfire that tells us about how the public rates honesty.
In short, the key to being more authentic starts with treating your audience like people – with understanding how they think and what they care about and shaping your marketing messages to their unique experience.Authenticity is a critical purchase driver for modern consumers. If your brand comes off as uncaring, cold, or insincere, people are going to abandon it for a competitor that feels more trustworthy. Follow the advice laid out here, and see to it that it does not.
In the end, what matters is how transparent you are and how you weave your illusions into your blog posting. We all love a great brand story and appreciate genuine creativity!
Upwards of 36% of the workforce is working remotely with more than 50% working remotely in the next ten years, a 2017 study predicted. With recent circumstances forcing more employees to their home offices, we can expect that number to inflate bigger and quicker than predicted. The focus now should be, how can we encourage productivity from remote workers? What technology and tools will maximize their time? Technology promotes remote worker productivity by providing multiple channels of communication, accountability, and information. Here are some examples!
The digital age has brought in text as the communication avenue of choice via email, social media, and instant messaging. This is convenient for many reasons, but many subtleties of tone and body language are lost through text. Building and maintaining interpersonal relationships also require some face-to-face communication. In-person meetings for remote teams are costly and time-consuming.
But video conferencing technology bridges the gap from text to talk for remote works. Establishing regular video calls helps team members feel connected even when they are physically isolated. The regularity of a check-in call provides accountability, which is a key factor in managing projects with multiple remote workers.
A major concern for employers is that they can't know how remote employees are spending their time. For some employers, as long as the results are delivered on time, the how and how long doesn't matter as much. But what if you run a business that has billable hours to clients? Or if your employees are not turning in deliverables on time? Time tracking software could be the solution. These SaaS solutions range from automated tools that track every minute of logged on time to more manual options.
Some tools track all employee activity as long as they are logged onto a company portal or device. Some take screenshots to show you what the employee has in front of their eyes. The programs run in the background, but also are the most micromanaging. Perhaps you want to allow your employees more autonomy or freedom in their workday, or you don't have the capacity for employees to all be logged onto one system.
Many time tracker applications allow remote workers to log in and out of the app as needed. This can be great if you have billable vs. nonbillable client time or allow for employees' freedom of schedule. No matter which route or tool you choose, adding a time tracker is a great way to organize your team and provide accountability that is sometimes lost outside of a traditional office.
AI is part of what has been dubbed the fourth industrial revolution, a technology-led renaissance of progress. Robots and other automated technology are now merging with human employees to streamline processes like manufacturing and communication. Quick, uninterrupted communication continues to be a leading challenge for remote worker productivity. Leveraging artificial intelligence in the form of chatbots can help bridge the gap for frequent or common issues.
A chatbot is an instant messaging tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that provides instant responses to messengers when a live person isn't available. Where email communications can be cumbersome and slow, instant messaging is quick and ideal for short bits of information. For example, a team wants to schedule a virtual meeting with members in different locations and time zones. Doing so over email strings of back-and-forth, copied addresses, and time zone conversions is tedious and complicated.
But with emerging AI chatbot technology, team members can enter their availability into a message group and let the tech do the work, nearly instantly. Chatbots are also a more comprehensive substitute for a FAQ's page. Many questions can be resolved with standard responses programmed into the chatbots. Alternatively, chatbots can direct complex inquiries to the right person, without needing a human gatekeeper.
A cloud storage system provides a secure and streamlined way for everyone on a team to collectively store and share documents. When you are not in a traditional office, it's impossible to have an isolated server for all employees. Email can leave a messy trail to chase if you are trying to collaborate on documents. Personal storage options are not as secure.
Cloud storage systems provide an encrypted way to store and share collaborative documents. It can be significantly cheaper than managing an internal server. The cloud also allows for complete freedom of location. Remote employees can access the cloud anywhere, and with nearly any device, as long as they hold the log-in credentials.
Technology has enabled an unprecedented level of interconnectedness that has given rise to remote work opportunities across industries. From communication tools to robotic automation, these solutions can help your employees to maximize their efforts and deliver outstanding results wherever they are in the world.
About the author: Heather Redding is a content manager for rent, hailing from Aurora. She loves to geek out writing about wearables, IoT, and other hot tech trends. When she finds the time to detach from her keyboard, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.
Understanding Employee Turnover
The Impact of High Turnover on a Business
Combating Employee Turnover
Pam Verhoff is President of Advanced RPO, a talent acquisition company in Chicago, IL. Verhoff has extensive experience in building RPO businesses and solutions, as well as developing a growth strategy.
Jack Nicklaus won 117 professional tournaments during his incredible career! Nicklaus won a record 18 Majors (Masters, US Open, British Open, PGA). Jack Nicklaus won his final Major, the Masters, in 1986 at age 46 – his record 6th Masters Title. Jack Nicklaus hosts a tournament, the Memorial, in Muirfield, Ohio at a course that Nicklaus helped design. Jack Nicklaus is a Buckeye, he was born in Columbus, Ohio, and attended Ohio State. Jack Nicklaus is the greatest golfer of all-time! Tiger Woods is number two. Tiger gave Jack a run for his money – winning 15 Majors; however, Nicklaus won 18.
When Jack Nicklaus came on to the scene, he immediately was very successful, but he was not very popular. Nicklaus defeated Arnold Palmer when Arnie was enjoying a great deal of success and popularity. Arnold Palmer was a great golfer and a very nice man, but Jack Nicklaus could not be stopped. Palmer was daring and aggressive on the golf course while Nicklaus was methodical and cerebral. In fact, Bob Knight, who attended Ohio State the same time Nicklaus did, said he thought one reason Jack Nicklaus was so successful was that “Nicklaus never did anything stupid.”
Jack Nicklaus’ concentration was incredible! He would seemingly stand over putts forever and then make them! Jack Nicklaus said, “Concentration is the antidote to anxiety.” Nicklaus had the confidence to pull that off. In fact, Jack Nicklaus had confidence in abundance. He also had great skills, and he was fiercely competitive. Put it all together and you can safely say that Nicklaus should be considered number one! Recently, he gave out some advice on common faults found in downswings that could help improve your game. Here is some advice about those who don’t release from the top of the swing.
“Now let’s take the second fella, and that fella is a fella who does not release the club from the top of the swing and he holds onto it,” Nicklaus says. “What he does, he takes a nice backswing, he holds onto the club which throws him outside, and throws him out over across the ball, resulting in either a slice or a pull hook.”
It takes time and commitment to sort out your swing as well as concentrating on how to improve if you want to become successful. If improving your focus is something that you struggle with, you might want to take a look at these tips from Mark Brown. He discussed how focusing on your goals and feedback is the best way to find success.
Now is the time for just one thing–reaching your goal. It is amazing what a little bit of focus can achieve when you need to get something done. Make today the day that you can achieve something you have been working on for a long time.Concentration can be incredibly difficult, especially in a workplace environment. When you work with other people every day, they can be a big source of stress in your life. This would be the perfect time to turn to other leaders for some guidance.
Learning to block out background noise, noisy co-workers, or other issues that are weighing on your mind can be incredibly difficult. Everyone will have different methods that work best for them and their own situations. Take the time to figure out what works for you. Explore different options such a meditation or focused breathing techniques. You can improve your concentration through these techniques and leave yourself with a clear pathway toward reaching your goals!
Rhoda Israelov spoke with Becker Group Business Leadership® on their Women's Leadership Podcast and had some amazing insight to share with us. Rhoda owns Say It For You and has had an impressive career so she knows a thing or two about content creation. She wants to help us to learn how to find new customers and keep them coming back! Rhoda wanted to reach out to experienced and new entrepreneurs with some advice on how to find success.
Treasure Your Relationship Treasures It's easy to get caught up on the smaller issues that might get in the way of building and growing your relationships. Take the time to reflect on the relationships that are key to your business. That means people like working partners, employees, subcontractors, or people you work for. Pick out the things about them that speak to you and resolve to focus on those rather than their flaws. That way, you can get the best out of them, and they will get the best from you because you won't be hung up on flaws.
Use Changes From COVID-19 To Reflect On Your Daily Routine
Because of COVID, we have had to change our work existence. Most of us have had to begin working from home which can cause a big change in your productivity. We talked about how coronavirus is affecting productivity recently and had some advice to share as well.
Take A BreakIt’s easy to get sucked into your work and burn yourself out quickly. That’s because, unlike when you head into work, your job is just right there waiting for you. It’s staring you in the face all day. You don’t have to leave and commute home or go out for a bite to eat at lunchtime. That’s why it’s so important to take a break, or a few, throughout the workday. Turn off your monitor, leave your phone on your desk if you have to. Get some air and recharge!
Rhoda shared her tips on how you can use this time to reflect. Focus on the parts of your day that bring you joy rather than the smaller details that you may not like. Spend time on the aspects that you love!
Read Around To Improve Your Content
It's easy to stick to things that you're familiar with because it's comfortable. Instead, you should keep reading around, regardless of whether or not it relates directly to your field. Rhoda shared that she likes to go to a magazine rack and pick something at random that has nothing to do with her hobbies or work. This can allow you to gain insight into other fields and interests so that you can include them in your work. Use this information to help you understand aspects of your own business better!
This year has been difficult when it comes to growth. What can we do this year to improve the business? Rhoda has shared her plans in the hopes that it might inspire all of us, too.
Listen to the podcast below or see it on the Becker Group Women's Leadership Podcast
Lately, we can work anywhere, anytime, and in any place. This can mean that work never ends for many of us because we can work from home. When we would go to the office and it was time to leave, we would leave our work there. Now our devices and files follow us everywhere. People can reach us 24/7 and will work whatever time is available to them. It's not surprising to get an email as early as 2 AM anymore! How do you stay productive when you work remotely?
Balancing Your Time
Stop using the term work/life balance. Instead, put your life first. Robby likes to say life/work balance so start by focusing on that aspect first. Creating a physical space for that division is necessary. A great way to create separate areas for living and work is by identifying a specific spot in your home or wherever you're working which is a dedicated workspace. Not your couch or your kitchen table, an actual work zone! Next, have a way to cover up that spot. Close the door or put your things away in drawers so they're out of sight. Robby shares that there's something within our psychology that when a door is closed, we tend to think less about what is actually behind that door. You need to be able to shut off!
Maintaining Productivity While In A Virtual Setting
For many of us, physically being at work is a great motivator for productivity. So how can we stay productive when we're not face-to-face or across the desk from someone else? Robby suggests thinking about your work as if workers are remote-first and in-person second. Imagine that every single person you work or collaborate with is also a remote worker and then, sometimes, you see them in person. Train yourself to think that your primary way of interacting with them is remote. Plan to save your questions to put into an email or over the phone. Comradery can take a hit, though. You aren't in person anymore so you can't tell a joke or laugh out loud with your coworkers. The tradeoff, though, is that you're able to truly focus on your work. Lorraine points out that she works less at home because she has long periods to get things done without interruptions!
Virtual Office Open-Door Policy
Many managers can attest to the fact that when they say they have an open-door policy, what they truly mean is that they have an open-mind policy. No one can work productively with constant interruptions to their workflow. Lorraine shared that having a steady stream of people through her door causes her to get nothing done for long stretches of time. Having an open-mind policy means that if employees have concerns or ideas, they're free to share them with you but during specific times. Pre-announce specific office hours that anyone is available to drop in or call for questions or help.
Creating Social Events Both In The Office And Remotely
Because we've removed the social aspect of the workplace by working remotely, it's important to reinvent social interaction. Maintaining personal connections with your coworkers through "Beer Friday" or "Ice Cream Socials" is a great way to start. You could try creating a remote event like watching a movie at the same time and discussing it afterward via Zoom. Be intentional when creating these social activities instead of it being all the time as it was in person at the office. Also, be sure to respect that some of your employees might not want that social interaction so don't force it on everyone, either!
How we measure employee productivity is going to change. We used to measure how an employee performs or gets things done was based on them being physically in the office. In reality, we aren't tracking exactly how much our employees are getting done. You can't exactly look busy while working remotely as you can when you're sitting in the office! We need to focus on our employee's success rather than the face time we're getting with them.
You can listen to the podcast via the embedded player below.
That word, appreciation, comes equipped with two dictionary definitions. The first is obvious: "recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something." It's what we are getting with "right on!" and "nice work!" and "keep it up!" To be appreciated means that someone saw what we did and told us about it. Or to use a tired, but concise expression: to catch someone doing something right.
But the term comes with a second description as well: "a full understanding of a situation." This is what it means to have an appreciation of a complex relationship or an elegant technical solution. To genuinely appreciate is not merely to acknowledge that something is good, but to know it well enough to understand why it is good.
And that, dear reader, is the problem.
To best understanding appreciation in the workplace, it's good to start with something that looks like it but isn't: fandom. If you've got a favorite book, movie, or series, you're a fan. If you've got a favorite filmmaker, artist, band, or Supreme Court Justice, you're a fan. Having a manageable obsession with a piece of media, a celebrity, or a fictional character is perfectly healthy. It's also a one-way street.
You may love all of the young women from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, but they don't love you back. That's not how it works. Fandom is the junior varsity team for appreciation, as it only covers the first half of the definition. You can't have "a full understanding of the situation" when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys because you can't talk to the coaches, players, and the staff whenever you want. It's full-on fandom, but only somewhat appreciation. To appreciate someone or something, you have to be in a mutual relationship with them. And that's why so much "appreciation" at work is a total disaster.
The person giving an accolade must know what they are talking about to be able to effectively express positive sentiment. When they say: "Really nice job on this project!" you might hear I know you did something great, but I don't have any idea what it is. That's the verbal equivalent of unsweetened cotton candy. It might look like something to an outside observer, but when you bite down there's nothing there and nothing to enjoy.
Try this instead: "I understand you're proud of this work. Do you mind explaining to me a bit about what you did?"
Telling someone you're pleased with their work? That's potentially a solid step one. Now it's on to the second step, which is to do something with the praise. Otherwise: "Thanks for all your hard work." sounds like Thanks for all your hard work. Now get back to the grind, minion. The attagirl is like a microscopic performance review that comes back all positive. It's the opening bars to a song, which implies something more is coming. But if you say nothing else, then it probably isn't.
Try this instead: "This is great work. I'm making a note to bring this up in your annual review!"
This blog post is filled with clichés. Next up: "Talk is cheap." Telling someone how wonderful they are is flattery, which works as long as they believe you. But if you want someone to feel good about what you've said, spend more time focusing on what you do. Here's the list:
Appreciate your employees, and not just on employee appreciation day. But more important than saying they are great---do the work necessary to show them your appreciation is about them, not about you.
That’s right, there are only three more months for us all to experience, enjoy, and learn from. There has been enough bad, strange, and scary news over the past seven months that some business owners are surely fearful of what to do, I’ve noticed some feel they are powerless. Well, if that’s you, I have big news for you. You’re not powerless!
Here are 5 steps to finish 2020 in a big way!
Step 1 - Remember when!
Remember when you started in business and rediscover your why! Why did you start in business in the first place? One of my clients, Donna from Know Sweat Workouts, started in business to “rid the world of obesity.” Now that is a “why” and a BIG one! As a matter of fact, the enormity of Donna’s “why” pulls her through some of the rough times. Spend at least an hour rediscovering what your WHY was (is) in the first place. That will be the vision to guide you on what to do and what not to do.
Step 2 - Find what’s missing!
There are only 4 ways to grow a business.
Consult great books like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey and the E-Myth by Michael Gerber for general ideas. Books like “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play “ is a great book on sales by Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig.
Step 3 – Take Action!
As my friend, C.J. Hayden, author of “Get Clients Now!” says, “Procrastination, fear, and self-sabotage kill more small businesses than external factors like economic conditions and changes in the marketplace.” Take the things you need to do from Step 2 above and boil it down to three important things you need to do each day. Keep track of doing them, day by day in your journal. You need to follow this one rule though. If one of the three doesn’t get done, you may carry it over but it cannot be one of the 3 important things for the next day. You need to have 3 new things each and every day. Your list can be more than three and most times will be much longer.
Step 4 – Get Help!
Who or what can provide the help you need to succeed? “It’s a rare entrepreneur indeed who is completely self-motivating, knows everything necessary to build a successful business and already possesses all the skills required,” says C.J. Hayden one of the people I ask for help on a regular basis. Take a class to learn more about sales or finances ask a friend who they know that might be able to help. This publication is full of resources just waiting for you to take advantage of them. Make the call and have a cup of coffee. Leave your ego at the door and be curious.
Step 5 – Keep Track and Be Flexible!
With your efforts, notice, are you making progress? Are you moving in the direction you wish? If not make adjustments and make them quickly. Then notice again. Are the changes working? Do what you need to do to fulfill your vision.
It’s time to take back your power and create your own future as an entrepreneur. Put pessimism on hold, and surround yourself with people who believe in you. Make smart choices about what will make a difference in your business, then take action on what you choose. You can do this!
Aaron Boone was taken in the third round by the Cincinnati Reds in 1994, in Baseball’s Amateur Draft. Boone played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues and had a lifetime batting average of .263. Aaron Boone hit 26 home runs for the Reds in 2002 and was a National League All-Star with them in 2003. Boone finished the 2003 season with the Yankees and hit one of the most memorable home runs in MLB history – a walk-off game-winner in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the LCS against the Boston Red Sox. The HR won the American League Pennant for the Yankees.
Aaron Boone and his brother, Brett, both were the third generations in the Boone family to play Major League Baseball. There was also grandfather Ray and father Bob, who also was a Major League Manager. I got to know Aaron Boone very well when he played for the Indianapolis Indians in 1997 and 1998. I found him to be intelligent and quite personable with excellent communication skills. As a young player in the Minor Leagues, he was very passionate and respectful of how the game of baseball should be played. It is not surprising that he was a fine broadcaster with ESPN and that he now is having a great deal of success in managing at the Major League level. Aaron Boone relates very well to the modern-day ballplayer. His New York Yankees have a great deal of talent, although, like last season, they have been hard hit with injuries. The Yankees have been playing very well again this season as they try to reach the World Series for the first time since 2009. Whenever a team is successful, there is a great deal of credit to go around, and Aaron Boone deserves his share of it!
In his personal life, we find that he's just as passionate and responsible as he is at work. Boone was asked recently about sporting a Black Lives Matter shirt and what the movement means to him. He became very emotional as he explained his family's story. You might be surprised to find that he and his wife, Laura, adopted two children from Haiti. She worked tirelessly in 2012 on a mission trip after the country was ravaged by the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. While there, she met a young Haitian boy named Jeanel and later met his brother, Sergot, when she returned a year later. Once Boone joined Laura and met the boys, he understood how Laura came to care for the boys so much. Boone explained:
“Haiti’s complicated. Certain things are hard for us to fathom. When Laura first went down there, (Jeanel and Sergot) were not in the best of situations. Not great is an understatement. It hits you hard.”
The couple received the boys' biological parents blessing to adopt them in 2012 and, in 2014, they came to live with the Boone family. It's no surprise, then, that the Black Lives Matter movement would be so important to him. His compassion and love for his family are plain to see. Aaron Boone brings empathy and understanding with him to the field which is why so many can attest to how much of a joy it is to work with him. We here at AccelaWork know how important it is to feel supported and heard. Making sure that employees know that you're on their team is crucial to retaining your workers. Being a leader means learning how to balance ways to boost productivity and your workers' needs.
This past week I had the privilege of working with a new supervisor at a local firm who was having a few of the challenges that most all new leaders have; getting people to follow instructions and to do what’s needed to be done. I wanted to share what we talked about that really seemed to help her make a shift in the right direction. If you’ve ever been in the role of a new supervisor and this happens to you, frustration might have crept into the scenario. I’ve noticed that frustration happens when a person is clearly told how to do a task and then they don’t follow instructions, yet they keep repeating errors. Have you been there?
Here’s the real challenge, it’s not that they didn’t listen, it’s not that you weren’t communicating clearly and specifically (although it sure could be either of those). No, the real challenge here is in the frustration you carry. Frustration is not a resourceful state. Try this strategy on as a belief to be true: “The quality of your communication can be judged by the results that you get.”
This simple little statement is one of the presuppositions of NLP… things a practitioner presupposes to be true. If you’re not getting the results you want or expect, you need to realize that you can’t control or change the other person, no one can. You can only change (and sometimes control) yourself. Try another way of communicating what you want or expect and keep trying different ways until you see the changes you want. The second part of this lesson is a little strategy I learned from my son, John, which he learned in Scouting as he’s approaching his Eagle Scout Project. The strategy is called E.D.G.E Method. and here is how it works.
When you come back to check on them… the first question you ask should be: “How do you think you’re doing?” then shut-up and listen. This way you know if they know they’re doing it incorrectly or if they think they’re doing the task correctly. These are two entirely different approaches and conversations to correcting the individual. We want to help you in your new supervisory role and to become a better communicator and a better leader. Some other tips that might help you along the way are those shared by our guest blogger, Marques Coleman. In a recent article, he talked about how crucial it is to develop leadership skills in order to become successful in your career.
Kristin Savage, a contributing writer at Studicus, is in constant pursuit of improving her understanding of the written word. She says, “One way to accomplish this is by pursuing a formal education. Many leaders have certainly done this. However, that is not your only option. You can seek out learning opportunities through free online classes, attending seminars, and reading the writings of other experts in your field.” Keep in mind that most fields change quickly and constantly. You’ll need to be prepared to continue your education indefinitely.
Being seen as an expert is a great way to ensure that people who work for you feel confident in your skills and the advice that you give. We all should be open to continual learning and growing!
This data comes from a CNBC report, and while it is a testament to how hardworking Americans are, it is also resulting in stressed-out employees. Interestingly, these individuals tend to spend up to 77 minutes per workday watching non-work-related videos while at work---ostensibly, in an effort to de-stress. Unsurprisingly, this is costing companies big money, to the tune of $8,800 annually per FTE.
Quite a few businesses might actually be promoting a culture of busyness and burnout (emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress). A survey of 1,000 employees across America found that only 1 in 3 are urged to take paid time off, while only 11% are encouraged to take mental health days.
An article from Corporate Wellness Magazine describes workplace stress as "a silent killer of employee health and productivity" given how stressors, such as high job demands, job insecurity, inflexible working hours, and even harassment, negatively affect the mental and physical health of employees. After all, mental strain leads to physical maladies, like hypertension, diabetes, and chronic back pain. These stressors also exacerbate negative behaviors, such as inconsistency and engaging in unhealthy routines, like smoking and excessive drinking. All this manifests in poor performance, erratic behavior, and frequent absenteeism.
These are the reasons workplace stress costs businesses an inordinate amount of money. This is also why company leaders like you need to provide intervention in order to minimize stress, and keep it from overwhelming your team. That said, listed below are some best practices to effectively manage a stressed team:
Perhaps unbeknownst to you, stress can stem from something as simple as a lack of communication. Aside from fostering feelings of detachment and isolation among your team, lack of communication can also cause uncertainty. Instituting an open door policy, therefore, helps to eliminate a common source of stress.
In this way, your team members are likelier to approach you in case they have concerns. In turn, problems can be identified, and solutions can be discussed — as a team. You can start instituting this policy by creating different communication channels, and then scheduling regular meetings or check-ins. Make sure, too, that you listen intently to every grievance, and address them as best you can. However, remember to involve HR where possible, especially when the employee involved needs considerable support.
Central to effective stress management should be a company-wide wellness program. Before starting one, though, you will first need to find out what employees expect out of it. The article What Wellness Actually Means for Workers outlines some common effective design elements of these endeavors, including perks that impact everyone positively and a high degree of personalization. Most importantly, employees want a comprehensive approach that looks beyond physical health, and considers both environmental health and emotional health, too.
The wisdom behind this goal been covered here before: happiness enhances employee wellbeing and improves productivity at the same time. Of course, it can also alleviate stress.
That said, look to invest heavily in employee happiness the way Google does. With their programs, employee satisfaction spiked by 37%, resulting in a significant increase in productivity. And that's to be expected considering the perks of being a Google employee: free food and haircuts, as well as proven stress busters such as subsidized massages, access to game rooms, and an onsite fitness center.
Last but certainly not the least, encourage members of your team to take time off when necessary. That's because sometimes, all employees need is time to relax and recharge after days of stressful work. Alternatively, you can try what one IT services firm is attempting: No work every first Friday of the month in observance of mental health and wellness day. In this way, employees won't fear missing out on something at work, knowing full well that everyone is taking a break as well. Hence, your team will be able to enjoy their extra day off and refresh their minds.
Phoebe Ella is a human resources consultant specializing in recruitment, employee benefits and compensation, and company wellness programs. She is also a mental health advocate and freelance writer who regularly writes for online publications about the intersection of work and mental health. She is currently researching company initiatives to enhance employee wellbeing, and is planning to write a manual on best practices in dealing with mental health in the workplace.
Pachyderms of all varieties, of course, are fascinating creatures. But the saying itself is a good reminder that it's not as if this enormous animal is hiding behind a curtain. Everybody can see it. Everybody is thinking about it. Everybody knows that eventually, we're going to have to do something about it. And of course, it's not being discussed.
Giant, rumbling allegorical wildlife with the capacity to trample us don't start out that way. These unstated (but not unseen) dangers begin as minor annoyances, distant predictions, or questionable secrets. In any case, somebody sees what's coming. And soon, more people recognize it. Eventually, there it is: 7 tons of legs and tusks and a forthcoming stampede.
It's not easy to gather your courage and be the one to speak up. And while you can try an anonymous note, there's no guarantee that will work (or that it won't backfire.) So here are some reasons why you need to be the one to state the obvious thing that nobody is stating.
How many times have you laid awake at night wondering if this was going to fall apart? How often have you questioned exactly who knows already, and who is thinking about it? How many times have you had to cover it up, work around it, or just avoid the discussion?
You are waist-deep in this problem already. Get out now.
Yes, get out now, because it's not going to get any better. It's only going to grow worse and worse, until it explodes. And if it somehow solves itself, then perhaps something worse will happen: everybody will be accustomed to keeping secrets. Hopefully, your insurance covers ulcers.
If you're the one who brings it up, somebody else is going to thank you later. Unless of course, somebody else resents you later and lets you know, in which case you've learned who is conflict-avoidant. If nothing else, people will likely appreciate you. And that normalizes talking about problems. And that gets problems solved faster.
If you truly mean to help your organization by naming whatever it is, then anything that happens to you tells you a great deal about the culture and about your leadership. Yes, you might get fired for calling out a problem. Sometimes people cannot handle the truth. But if you suffer from being honest, then being honest is not the highest value among the people you work with. And that may be the most valuable information of all.
Yes, this one is pretty obvious. But it's likely that you've spent a considerable amount of your working life questioning whether or not anybody else really knows some of the problems are that you (and therefore your company) are facing.
Before those issues escalate to becoming insurmountable, bring them up. Which leads to our final point:
The best time to fix something which is broken is before it broke. That's doing good maintenance. If you can get in the habit of talking about what's going wrong early on, then everything will be out in the open.
Elephants belong in the wild, not in the room. If everyone's pretending they aren't there, be the one who steps up and tells the truth.
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