This is the third tip in a series of techniques to help you take control of your time, feel great about each week, and watch those weeks add up to impressive results. The key to each successful week is two-fold: Identify what would constitute a successful week Make it happen This tip tackles the first and helps you shrink the list to the things that will make a difference.
I spent three glorious weeks in Ireland recently with only evening WIFI access. I forgot about checking email, watching for voice and text messages, and listening for incoming calls. I didn’t look anything up on the Internet, check Facebook, or wonder whether anyone had placed an order for books or CDs on my website. Instead, I enjoyed the people and places, relaxed, and found each day longer than at home. As we drove home on the Mass Pike, NPR reported on a lively debate among scientists on the impact of being constantly wired. Half denied any and half were convinced of profound changes to the brain. A wilderness trip together was planned to provide ideas for subsequent studies. I don’t need any scientific studies to convince me of a significant impact.
I just came from a meeting that could have been finished in a quarter of the allotted time. Max. But what is sad is that no one seems to have even noticed. As the newest member of the group, I listened and waited for something to happen. It didn’t. Granted this was a BOD committee meeting, which means there was a social and networking component. But that didn’t really happen either. How could all these powerful and accomplished people sit there and do so little? Are they so conditioned to standing still in meetings that they can’t recognize it? Have they given up? At least when people complain, you know they care. If your employees are complaining about wasteful and ineffective meetings, seize the day! If they aren’t, maybe the bar has sunk so low you should insist on meetings without lights so people could at least get some sleep. Wake up! Raise the bar! Don’t let 20, 30, or 50% of your organization’s resources be devoted to standing, or sitting, still. If you would like to turn your meetings upside down, make better use of your resources, and save free up numerous hours of company time, give me a call!
Tim Thomas, the Bruins goalie, has had a stellar start this hockey season. His save percentage and win record are unbelievable but his style is unorthodox at best. Does his style matter? Perhaps your son’s study habits are appalling. He starts his homework so late that you lose sleep worrying. Nonetheless, he gets good grades and the papers you’ve read look pretty darn good. Does his late start matter? Or maybe you have a young employee with a bizarre wardrobe and a messy office who gets more done than others in his position. Does his messiness matter?
In trying to find someone to video tape an upcoming speech, I turned to LinkedIn. Within a short radius of the Massachusetts venue, I found a great number of possibilities. Only problem is most provide a first name, last initial, and no website. If you want to have a secret business, whatever you do, don’t let the cat out of the bag! When I visited websites of others, I was exasperated to find no names and no contact info. Where’s Waldo? Why are you even on LinkedIn? You can’t be completely hidden and expect to succeed in business!
The main reason training fails is because it isn’t training that is needed. If you want improvement, it is easy to assume the first thing your employee needs is more training but in most cases, you would be wrong. And when you are wrong, the training you provide will likely be a complete waste. Even when you are right, there are myriad reasons why training has no apparent effect. Training develops skills. While skills are obviously important, skill alone does not allow an employee to succeed. It’s Tough to Succeed if You Don’t Know What You Are Supposed to Do When a client complained that a supervisor was showing no progress in making improvements in her department, I asked the employee to describe her job responsibilities. She produced a well-organized list of tasks needed to keep things moving day to day. There was nothing on her list to indicate that improving the way her department operated was something she needed to think about.
PRESS RELEASE November 3, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ann Latham 603-784-5727 Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. EASTHAMPTON, MA – Latham to Provide Holiday Gift to 5 Town Chamber, November 2010 Ann Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity, Inc., has been invited to speak at the Springfield area East of the River 5 Town Chamber Holiday Breakfast and Annual Meeting at Elmcrest Country Club in East Longmeadow on December 10th. She will give her audience “A Surprising Holiday Gift for You and Your Employees” by sharpening “the one skill that can help people spend more time with family and reduce stress while also improving business performance.”
This is the second in a series of techniques to help you take control of your time, feel great about each week, and watch those weeks add up to impressive results. In my introduction to this series, I identified the two secrets to a successful week: Identify what would constitute a successful week Make it happen This second tip is relevant to both of these. Productivity Booster #2: Identify Concrete Next Steps You probably have several projects underway. Have you identified the next concrete step that will move each one forward? Big nebulous projects kill productivity. They clog To Do lists like lumps of fat clog arteries. “Launch new product,” “improve visibility,” and “reduce development costs” are prime examples of indigestible and exhausting behemoths. Stare at those for a while and you will definitely need a nap!
“Claims made by scientists, in contrast to those made by movie critics or theologians, can be separated from the scientists who make them. It isn’t important to know who Issac Newton was. He discovered that force is equal to mass times acceleration. He was an antisocial, crazy person who wanted to burn down his parents’ house. But force is still equal to mass times acceleration.” Dr. Kary Mullis, winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry.
While trying to replace window weather stripping, my husband and I discovered that some windows pealed off easily in long strips and others wouldn’t peel at all. Worse, they were gummy and awful requiring paint thinner, scraping, and scrubbing. Speculating that we must have switched brands mid application a few years ago, we vowed never to use a cheap alternative again even if it meant having to drive across six counties to get “the real thing.” Now I have no idea what the top brand seal and peel is, probably Seal and Peel, but I know we will ask before buying more. And we will gladly pay a higher price!