Improve My Business

I’ve heard two different stories lately - both of which had me disappointed in the “Top Gun” in the story.

Story 1:  Two departments decide to meet informally to discuss how to deliver a message to their constituents.  Dept #1 invites Dept #2 to “stop by” and have a donut, then discuss the issue.  Dept #2’s new manager, Top Gun, also stops by - and notes who showed up and who didn’t.  TG then confronts an employee who didn’t choose to ’stop by’ in the hallway publicly, literally getting in his face to demand why he didn’t show up for the meeting, and ending with “If I invite you to a meeting, you had BETTER show up next time”.  Employee didn’t even know which meeting TG was referring to, since the invitation was phrased as a ‘drop in’ rather than a mandatory formal meeting…

Story 2:  Top Gun is expecting paperwork from a contractor, and doesn’t get it.  Instead of calling up the contractor and asking where the paperwork is, TG calls the contractor’s head honcho, saying “I’m NOT happy!” and making a huge fuss over the missing paperwork (which had been sent, but not received - email trail shows it had been sent).  Head honcho then reams out contractor, who now has to go work with TG.

In both stories, if the TG had ASKED what is going on, instead of throwing their weight around, the situation would have been SO much better:

#1: “Hey, I noticed  you weren’t at the get together - it was really informative - why did you decide not to attend?”

#2:  “Hey contractor, I haven’t gotten my paperwork - did you send it?  I haven’t received it - could you please resend?”

In both cases, resentment against TG would be non-existent… as opposed to now, when the ‘wronged’ party feels that TG’s reaction was WAY out of proportion, and therefore un-needed, un-wanted, and un-warranted.

Moral of the story?  Ask rather than assume that people are flaunting your authority.  ASK!  Really!  It’ll save a lot of headaches for all concerned…

Technorati Tags: management bully

As business owners or workers, we often are caught up on the “movement” of it all – the movement of ideas, services, products, whatever – from where we are to where it needs to be. As a result, it’s often difficult to find the quiet – to find that place that will allow us to slow down, relax, and reflect on what we are doing.

The quiet that allows us to listen to the soft, almost unintelligible voice inside us – the one that quietly whispers words of wisdom and our most secret thoughts. Things like

“Is this what I really should be doing?”

“Should I be doing this more? Less? Differently?”

“Do I really need to sign up for another webinar, or should I be working on what I’ve already gleaned from the 3 I’ve attended?”

“What makes me happy? Does this?  Could this if I change something?”

and a whole host of personal stuff, which I won’t get into here…

Finding the quiet is often difficult unless you know where to look. One client I had was busy from 7 am to 7 pm every day – and was stressed out as a result. As her consultant, I worked with her to help her streamline and organize her business, including delegation of authority and shared responsibility; but as someone who genuinely respected and cared for her, I also worked on the way she approached work – especially as it negatively affected her level of stress. What did we do?

• Took 30 mins minimum for lunch – every day. This may sound like a simple thing, but she had gotten into the habit of eating at her desk – while she caught up on voicemail, emails, etc. - and so had no break from her day.  By “forcing” her to look up from what she was doing, she quieted her mind enough to take it out of gear - and sometimes found that she got things cleared up easier as a result.

• Took a walk whenever we could. When we had to discuss a matter, and the weather cooperated, we’d take a 10 min walk outside while we had our talk.  We’re not talking 3 mile hikes - just a quick turn around the building perimeter.  This was in an industrial park next to the railroad – not the most scenic of areas – but we both grew to appreciate the flowering weeds that refused to die even though they were regularly run over; the patterns in the gravel after a hard rain; and the bite of the wind or the heat of the sun as we walked and talked. This momentary focus on nature always left us both refreshed, and the brisk walk got our blood flowing again. [I had often envied smokers who got to go outside every 2 hours for a smoke break; and saw no reason why non-smokers should be deprived of seeing outside weather... so had implemented something similar in two previous companies also, which had worked well.]

• Wrote down a task list. Previous posts have talked about the need to write an ‘accomplishment’ list; but for this case, we simply emptied her head of the stuff that was swimming around there, in order to make room for cognitive thinking. Accordingly, we set up a task list that worked for her, and once she finished something, she would cross it off (and get that feeling of accomplishment that we all get when something gets off our task list.)

• Keep a pad/pen next to the bed. One of her problems was that, once she was lying in bed and relaxing, things that she’d forgotten to do would pop into her head. In order to ensure that she didn’t fret about it all night, she started to keep a pad and pen next to her bed so she could jot it down – and then let it go.

While this list is not rocket science, it worked. She started to enjoy her lunch time as a ‘work free’ zone, running errands or (gasp!) taking an hour to meet a friend when she wasn’t in the cafeteria, reconnecting with employees; and as she continued to take her walks, she invited others in the company to walk with her, so everyone started to benefit from the small break; best of all, she started sleeping more soundly once we figured out how to empty her brain from all her worries.

What techniques have worked for you? I’d love to compile a great list!  Please post your ideas here!

Workplace Gripes -

We all have them. Some complaints have to do with the physical environment: office temperature, temperamental copy machines, noise from other cubicles. Other gripes are with the hours, schedule or traffic, but most complaints have to do with other employees. Here are some suggestions on how to cope with a few of the most annoying workplace peeves.

Micromanagement - We’ve all had to deal with micromanagers at one time or another. Managers who tell you what to do, how and when to do it, and then check in repeatedly to “see how it’s going” and offer their critiques before you’ve had a chance to find your groove. This article has some fair tips on the subject.

You may not be able to change the micromanager’s habits, but perhaps you can change the way you work so their oversight doesn’t feel like such an insult to your abilities.

People who don’t take vacations/consistently work late - I share the sentiment of this retired worker whose peeve is people who spend too much time at the job, needlessly. Read what he has to say. I’ll add in people who come to work sick, or encourage others to come to work sick, they fit into the same category.

Interruptions - They are unavoidable, but when it’s always the same people causing the interruptions by popping in while you’re busy, instant messaging you non-stop without getting to the point, or just talking too loudly on the phone, the best thing to do is bring it to their attention (but not when you are steaming mad about it). If that doesn’t work, take it to your boss as a last resort. Be sure to give them fair time to change their behavior before you go for outside help.

Needless meetings - As long as the boss finds them important, you’ll just have to deal with it.  The best thing to do is try to get something out of it. Bring your own questions or issues to the table. You may not get a resolution, but participating will get you some bonus points and at least make the meeting more interesting for you.

Finger pointing and lack of accountability - Yes, we all know at least one person who can’t help but point the finger when something goes wrong - maybe we’re even guilty of succumbing to our inner child on this once or twice. We know it gets us nowhere, so why do so many people spend their careers becoming pros at it? …and, how do they keep getting away with it? The best way to overcome this is to accept your own accountability. A great guide for learning how to accept personal accountability is: “The Power of Personal Accountability” by Mark Samuel & Sophie Cliche.

Do you have any workplace gripes to add?  Or maybe, you have some solutions that have worked for you in the past? We’d love to hear about them! Please share by commenting below.

Technorati Tags: communication, workplace issues

Everyone has heard the saying that nice guys always finish last. However, rather than referring to male/female relationships, I wonder if the quote applies to professional success and productivity. This adage was stuck in my head while I watched a movie called “Yes Man” a few days ago. If you haven’t seen it yet, go do so! – great humor and entertainment. It stars Jim Carrey as a bank employee who reluctantly decides to follow an outlandish program called “Yes!” Everyone that follows the program is encouraged to say yes to every single opportunity that presents itself because it’s supposed to allow you to live a richly satisfying and rewarding life. As a result, you get to witness a host of hilarious events throughout the movie. It’s not hard to guess what happens to Jim Carrey’s character during the plot’s rising action – utter chaos and disorganization.

It’s obvious that saying yes all the time doesn’t have good implications. However, maybe some of you (like me) still have trouble mustering up the courage to say no to more people, especially to family and friends.

If so, read this article I (coincidentally) came across a couple days after watching the movie - “Say ‘Yes’ to ‘No’!”

The article makes a valid point: We’re all too familiar with the regretful, and sometimes resentful, feeling we get after agreeing to do something for someone and it ends up taking way too much time. Granted it’s a very kind gesture, too much of it can definitely take a toll on our own personal goals. As the article states, “it’s important to remember that every time you say ‘yes’ to something or someone, you’re saying ‘no’ elsewhere in your life” and it’s likely that you’re saying no to yourself or your personal agenda. Once you realize how much you’re helping others with THEIR tasks, it’s silly to say no to your OWN tasks and not invest the same amount of effort to your own personal goals. At any rate, it’s imperative that we clearly understand what’s on our own plate at all times so that we can be prepared to say no to people and support it with solid reasons. After all, it’s nice to be honest! Moreover, people will respect your reasons and you can finish the tasks you have at hand. You shouldn’t have to be disorganized because of anything other than your own problems.

The lesson for you and I (and Jim Carrey’s character) is that you can still be a nice person if you occasionally say no and, furthermore, that nice people really can finish last with their work if they don’t take care of their own time. As for romantic relationships, I’m really not sure how credible that saying is…

Technorati Tags: efficiency, Getting Stuff Done, humor, Time Management, working smarter

Alicia Forest of ClientAbundance.com, a great friend as well as a great coach, recently published a post on her plog that I just had to share since it dovetails so nicely on our current theme.  Her post on “4 ways to gracefully set boundaries” is both informative and thought-provoking - I hope you find it true for you!

Technorati Tags: Alicia Forest, Clientabundance.com, say no, set boundaries