I've learned the hard way that busyness does not equal productivity.
The lesson came to me over a period of years when I had a small business as a newspaper distributor. Before you laugh, there can be lots of money in newspapers, people are hooked on them and, I found out, will get quite cranky if there's an issue with its delivery.
Anyway, the schedule was grueling, up at 1:00 am to deliver over 1,000 papers to subscriber's doorsteps in 'dry readable condition'. Once that was finished (at about 5 or 6 am) there was time for a tiny nap until the complaints started rolling in. We'd have until 10:00 am to run out and supply the 'missed' papers to customers who didn't get them in 'dry readable condition.' Then it was time to deliver the evening paper, which we had to pick up at 11:00 am and complete by 5:00 pm. Once again, customers who didn't get, you guessed it, a 'dry readable' paper called, and well, we were off a
When I first started working when I was sixteen, I had already learned the value of good hard work. Growing up, my father had insisted on us working every spare moment of every day. Well that's what it seemed like! I had to tell my friends on most occasions that I could not go to the party or have a stay over because I had to help my dad build something or clean something. I hated it.
But after I had started working a real job for real money, there was a comment made to me from a manager of the Albertsons store that I was working at while I was staying overtime to mop up the floor. I will remember his words the rest of my life. As he watched me work with enthusiasm and vigor, he said with sincerity, "Eli, if you ever need a job at anytime in your life, you've got one."
Wow! Someone noticed my hard work ethic. That made me feel good.
Since that day I have always tried to compliment those
When managers want to accomplish goals through their employees, they usually think in terms of accountability. It’s common to hear questions like “Who’s accountable for that project?” “Whose idea was that?” and “Whose fault is it?”
How do the answers to these questions accomplish goals? I don’t think they do. In my experience, questions that focus on accountability lead to discussions about blame, which often divide work groups into gossip camps and passive aggressive reactions. That wastes a lot of time.
A different approach is to focus on self-responsibility. Instead of the above questions, an employee with self-responsibility might say, “How can I help?” “I like / don’t like that idea because ______ and here’s what I suggest _____.” “How did our process (not a person) cause that problem?&r
Motivation doesn't last. We wish it would, and I especially, since I'm what is termed a 'Motivational Speaker'. It's a misnomer. The truth is: no one can motivate you, and even if they could, it wouldn't last.
Though we feel good when we go to a seminar or workshop or experience a speaker who does a good 'pump up', the other side of the coin is learning what to do when the 'pump up' wears off. Just as important, it pays to understand the nature of motivation in the first place, which would leave little room for disappointment when the 'pump up' wears off and you're back to the daily grind of doing what must be done.
To me, motivation is like lighter fluid, whereas inspiration is like charcoal. When you get out the grill, you fill it with charcoal. You then pour lighter fluid over the charcoal. When you set the lighter fluid on fire, you get a big 'poof' of a flame, depending on how much lighter fluid you poured
Communication is easy. All you need to do is say what you mean and mean what you say. Right! How many of us are able to truly do that? And, when we finally do say what we intend to say, why is it that the people we say it to are not always happy to hear our words?
Whether we want to believe it or not, there definitely is an art to communicating effectively. First, of course, we need to really know what we think, feel, believe, and want to communicate to others. Right here, many of us run into problems. We may have some idea about what needs to be said, but we may not be clear about how we feel and we may have no idea how the other person or persons might respond. So, first, we have to gain clarity about our own thoughts, ideas, needs, desires, beliefs and intentions.
Next, it is important for us to know who we are communicating with. How does this person tend to receive and interpret information? Do they often&n
At times, life in the office can be frantically busy, perhaps even chaotic. Deadlines to meet, meetings to attend and projects to complete all have a tendency to converge into a point of frenzy.
Yet, a calm, purposeful and productive demeanor can be maintained, even in the midst of chaos.
How?
Four simple strategies can propel you through a busy day, while allowing you to keep your peace of mind:
1. Set an intention for what you desire to create today. Most folks begin their day by diving straight into whatever is on the desk (maybe even what's left over from yesterday). Without a clear intention that focuses and prioritizes what must be accomplished today, how can you expect to be clear in mind and focused in action? Set an intention that clearly states what you desire to experience today and what you intend to do. Remember, an intention statement is not a to-do list. It is a simple, clear statement of intention that supports you in creating what you des
People join a group for many different reasons. Motivation, excitement, appropriate skill level, cooperative attitude, and desire to participate, may be lacking. Some people join a group to "look good," to add it to their resume, because someone coerced them and they just could not say no, or because they're curious but don't intend to contribute much. Others join a group with the intention of being a star, the boss, leading others to their own self-serving goals, or just controlling others to boost their own morale. Some people join a group because they want to receive what that group has to offer - education, advice, money, prestige, or a sense of belonging. Then there are the rare few who join a group to discover what they can contribute, how they can help the group to improve and expand.
Not only do people join groups for diverse and completely different reasons, they also arrive with completely different personalit
Project Management is a process. Project Management Professionals know how to use the process to have a positive impact on project outcomes and organizational profitability. The utilization of the tools and techinques must be thoroghly understood and implemented if the benefits and return on investment are to be realized. The secret to success is sound, pragmatic education and dedicated attention the people in the process. A growing PM professional never stops learning. He/she is always looking for a way to improve their contribution through effective use of the concepts of PM.
It's common for people in leadership positions -- people like you -- to find every day crowded with priorities. These days, the idea of "manager" or "leader" is bound up with the idea of being furiously busy. People might look at you oddly if your desk were clear and you had time to stare out the window and dream.
But isn't there something wrong with this picture? If you're racing through each day to keep pace with everything that must be done, when are you being a leader?
When are you:
Envisioning where your group or department or company are going?
Helping key people who report to you grow?
Expanding your own insight and understanding of what's important and how things work?
Getting a fix on what's really going on in your area of responsibility?
All of us encounter a critical bus stop sometime in our lives.
B- Building
U- Unbelievable
S- Skills
through
S- Surviving
T- Testing
O- Outlasting
P- Performing
In THE OTHER AMERICA, the defining year remains 1931--a year when more than one fourth of all American were ill clad, ill fed and ill housed. That's surviviving.
In THE OTHER AMERICA, there are continual layoffs, no affirmative action or equal opportunity, no health insurance and no unemployment insurance. That's testing.
In THE OTHER AMERICA. there are endless challenges to be overcome-- aptitude testing to exclude, overpriced courses and training and rigid and frequent certification requirements. That is outlasting.
In THE OTHER AMERICA, one's best is never good enough. New data skills, new regulations and rules and new circles of friends must be endlessly mastered. Now that's performing.
