Here’s a great post about how to influence your boss (and maybe get him/her to listen to your idea for improvement). More importantly, this can work equally well for personal interactions - so you can use it in all aspects of your life!
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/baldoni/2009/10/the_smart_way_to_influence_you.html
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Those of you who are regular readers of the blog may notice that we have several bloggers who regularly write these posts. This is done for two reasons:
1) I’m willing to share the limelight with other McDonald Consulting employees - that’s just the kind of sharing, selfless person I am.
2) I don’t want to write blog posts twice a week, every week. That feels too much like ‘work’.
OK, so there are really 2.5 reasons:
2.5) I think it’s important for you, or loyal (or occasional) reader, to hear more than one voice, one outlook, one viewpoint on how you can improve your business.
How does this work? Well, any one of us can write a post and upload it to our site. Suzanne, our intrepid Ops Manager, will review quickly for grammar, spelling, but otherwise does not change what’s written (in most cases, unless we’re ragging on Suzanne, in which case I’m guessing she’d edit it prior to posting) and then upload. Oftentimes, the first time I’m reading the blog post is the same time that you are.
This is great for 2.5 reasons:
1) It gives me insight into what others who are working with me closely are thinking (because sometimes our conversation just doesn’t get around to whatever the blog post topic is on);
2) It gives you multiple voices to hear from on ways to improve your business, implement efficiency ideas, or hear what we’re thinking;
and
2.5) I don’t have to write blog posts, twice a week, every week. (at least you know I’m honest!)
So if you like a post, or dislike a post, or want to comment on the post, note who wrote it - and feel free to address us by name!
Thanks to our bloggers Suzanne, Barret, Jenny, and James!
-Mary
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earlier this month we talked about “dividing and conquering” your to-do list. The very next week I received my Mind Tools newsletter, titled “Delegate and Thrive”. The newsletter article goes into detail on the what, why, how, and when to delegate. There’s also a free downloadable Delegation Worksheet and a quick “How Well do you Delegate” quiz.
I scored a 36, which indicates I’m making progress on my delegation skills. How about you? What challenges do you face with delegation?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
So, you’re using Twitter, but you wish you were getting more out of it?
Well, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to improve the way you use Twitter.
This site lists over 150 Twitter tools that can help you customize your twittering so that it works for you.
I’m using just 3 of these. (Guess I’m a bit behind) Let’s see how many I can utilize by the end of the week! How many Twitter Tools are you using? Do you have a favorite that’s not listed?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Several years ago, I was copied on an email from an irate manager that still sticks with me to this day. In the email, the manager was basically venting his frustration with the habit of everyone in the department sending “fire and forget” emails, not following up, and assuming that sending an email is an acceptable solution to practically every problem.
It sticks with me because it is so true! Email is such a part of our lives that we hardly think about it. All to often, we send an email then mark a task off our list. But emails often require further elaboration. We don’t take the time to express our feelings in email, and if we do, we can get sucked into spending an hour writing an email that “sounds” right. We don’t want to be accusatory, or demanding, but sometimes we need to relay importance and urgency or just make a point. In return, we need confirmation of understanding.
How often have you received a reply that led you to think that you are being ignored, brushed off, or worse, by the person you sent it to? What does it mean when you have sent out a 5 paragraph email and get a reply of simply “ok”?
Everyone is occasionally guilty of bad email etiquette, both senders and receivers. I encourage you to take a moment to read this short article titled 14 Email Do’s and Don’ts, from Amit Asaravala at TechSoup.org, then consider your own email habits and how you can improve your email communication.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bad Behavior has blocked 210 access attempts in the last 7 days.
