Improve My Business

What classifies a business as green? Could you be certified as a green business? There are a million questions surrounding being green, but it’s not really all that complicated.

We all know the obvious things: recycle, reduce paper use, turn off lights, etc. But you can take it a step further by implementing an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for your business. The EPA Small Business Division has produced a workbook to help small businesses develop their very own EMP. The 80 page workbook is free and can be downloaded from the Business.gov website. It is a great resource whether you want something simple to help educate your employees and customers on your efforts, or if you’re looking to implement a full Environmental Management System (EMS). (If you’re after the latter, may I remind you that McDCG is available to assist you). Either way it’s a great place to start and you may find that you’re greener than you thought!

For more ideas visit the Green Guide for New Businesses on the Business.gov website.

Technorati Tags: EMS, enviornment, green business, green living, improvement

Last week on Good Morning America, I heard about a book coming out titled “Womenomics” by BBC broadcaster Kitty Kay and ABC News’ Claire Shipman. The book was written to promote the facts on women in the workplace - facts that every workingwoman should be aware of. For instance, did you know that companies who have more female senior managers make more money? Women control 83% of consumer spending, including buying more cars than men. Women are also earning more college degrees and more advanced degrees. All these facts help support the case that women are gaining the upper hand in today’s workplace.

“Womenomics” emphasizes that women are gaining more power to change the workplace so it works better for them, which has been proven to be a good thing. Flextime is a big requirement that has enabled some fantastic results for both the companies and the individuals. The book shares advice on how to use the facts for leverage, as well as inspiring stories of women who negotiated their own terms on their career.

It’s sure to be an inspiring and empowering read! You can find out more on the ABC News website, where you’ll also find links to read an excerpt, watch the interview, or visit their blog.

Does your job offer flextime benefits? How has that helped or hindered your workplace?

Technorati Tags: flexibility, flextime, women, womenomics

People have different opinions on multi-tasking vs. one focus approach… so which is better?

“The Myth of Multitasking” by  Christine Rosen details several reasons why multi-tasking is not the optimum approach:

• a fall in IQ (more so than if the subject were smoking marijuana
• decrease in learning
• negative impact on productivity (affecting the economy?)
• lost ‘brain time’ as the brain works to juggle several tasks
• and many more.

I’ve seen first-hand how multi-tasking affects our decision making — while sitting at a light waiting to make a left, I watched a woman coming through the intersection from the other side, talking on a cell phone, and drive right into a telephone pole.  She never braked until she actually impacted the pole; and she continue to chat as she got out of the SUV to inspect her damage!  Unluckily for her, a patrol car was at the red light on the cross street; he simply flicked on his lights and pulled over to write her up.

When trying to get a project complete, divide the project into smaller tasks.  This tip:  do those smaller tasks in their entirety prior to moving on to the next step.

Good ways to accomplish this:

• ignore the phone and email while working on a project
• set aside time on your calendar to do research, gather materials, and write rough drafts
• work from start to finish without pause, if possible
• if you must break, take a break at a logical stopping point, and leave your materials in place for easy restart

WARNING: These simple ideas may cause you to become more focused, productive, and happy.  PROCEED WITH CAUTION!  <grin!>

Technorati Tags: focus, multi-tasking, productivity, Project Management, working smarter