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 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
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
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
The United States is no longer a nation of readers. We are no longer a nation of writers. We aren’t even a nation of talkers anymore. We have become a nation of shorthand communicators. The well-constructed sentence no longer holds intrinsic value because of its usefulness in communicating complex ideas. Instead, we increasingly gravitate to abbreviated forms of communication that rely on not only a syntax that may be at odds with standard English, but that use an entirely new lexicon that is rapidly infusing the ways in which we write and talk to each other. In fact, this lexicon is developing and spreading so quickly that it is arguably the fastest growing language in the world. This new language of the 21st century is not Spanish or Japanese or even standard English. The new language is called Text, and it’s sweeping the globe like a pandemic flu. Despite its shortcomings, texting is a cornerstone of contemp
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.
I have often wondered how you create charisma in your life. Since charisma is a form of energy, the question is how do you go about creating energy. And then there’s the question of what type of energy.
If you look at charisma as magnetism then charisma can be used in a good or bad way depending on the intention of the person. There are some people that are just plain charismatic no matter what
Just imagine working for the imaginary Cooper Sterling Advertising Agency? A Creative Director is hiding a past life that started when he assumed the identity of a commanding officer who was killed next to him in a Korean War battlefield incident. A sex obsessed senior partner has suffered a heart attack while indulging in a tryst on company premises. Publication of an article/book by one of the copywriters is greeted by ridicule and personal put downs by fellow employees. An arrogant junior employee who undermines his boss is retained on staff because of the importance of his family's connections.
Gossip and scandal seem to run the Cooper Sterling Company. The quality of product and financial health of this company seem to be of secondary importance. Is it any wonder that an employee who feels passed over has started to search for ways to bring down his boss (and perhaps the company?)
This blog is to help share the latest tools in improving communication skills, eliminating confusion in business and personal relationships and empowering people to live their dream with passion
It's been a crazy day and you have a 10 minute window to miss the rush hour crush...you're tempted to run out the door without planning for tomorrow's agenda. What difference could 10 minutes make? Actually, more than you might think. Time management experts use the 1:3 ratio: for every minute you spend planning, you save three in actual application or task. So spending 10 minutes at the end of the day saves 30 minutes in the morning. You can start your day focused and ready to produce, versus floundering and trying to remember where you left off.
Organizing your to-do list is just the first step of a productive day. The second, and possibly most important, is to identify your most critical tasks. Critical tasks are usually activities specified in your job description; tasks delegated by your immediate supervisor; and/or have the greatest impact on company profit or revenue line. NY Times best-selling author Julie Morgenste
MVP Seminars offers executive leadership and business coaching, inspirational and motivational keynote speakers, customer service, team building, project management, communication skill training and seminars for your professional organization. MVP Seminars business training and consulting will have an immediate impact on your sales, workplace and employee success.
