Most New Year’s resolutions are doomed! Learn why and how to be more successful.
Time management is a perpetual rage. It conjures up images of calendars, personal planners, and smart phones. When we still have too little time, we flail about for a new system that will suddenly lasso the hands of the clock and give us control. But time can not be managed. It is ourselves that we must manage. Tools like calendars and planners are helpful, but for the best results, we must consider a variety of obstacles that prevent us from focusing on and completing the important tasks while dismissing everything else. Are you clear about your top priorities? It is better to move a few things forward a mile than to nudge the multitude forward an inch, or worse, shuffle them side to side without any measurable progress. Decide what most needs doing. If there are too many priorities, nothing is a priority. Are you so overwhelmed that you don’t know where to start?
This is a tough year for year-end bonuses and holiday bashes. Many businesses are worried about disappointing people if they drop year-end traditions on the one hand and angering people if they spend money that “could go toward more important things like salaries and jobs” on the other. So what’s a business to do? People need a bit of celebrating, socializing, and acknowledgement of their efforts and accomplishments. Here are some ideas I’ve collected from clients and other sources. Hold a holiday potluck in the office and share recipes or hold it at the CEOs home instead of going out Have a meal catered on site instead of eating at an expensive restaurant Celebrate with a luncheon instead of dinner, which is generally more expensive Close the open bar
In a WSJ article on finding the next great idea, experts recommend relaxing if you want to generate great ideas. It mentions star-gazing, washing dishes, and playing ping-pong as ways to free the mind and allow the subconscious to hatch ideas. I totally agree. From my experience, I would add walking and showering to that list. I often bemoan the fact that my voice recorder isn’t waterproof because great ideas can slip back into the subconscious as quickly as they surface. Jay Walker of Walker Digital disagrees and advocates endless questions and rigorous analysis.
Somehow I managed to run out of ink, leaving my printer beeping at me in the middle of a document. This is a rather intolerable situation so I called a hard-working local store owner, ordered some ink cartridges, and provided a VISA number over the phone so my husband could easily pick them up for me on his way home from work. I was pleased when he arrived, but, alas, there was no receipt for my records. My husband said the two boxes and a piece of paper were together when he went to the counter but he was handed only the boxes. I emailed the store, explained the situation, and asked if they could email me the exact amount for my records. What do you think happened next?
Over a period of many months, Comcast called me two times to see if I would like to add digital voice. They quoted a great introductory offer and a competitive rate to follow. Calls like this aren’t uncommon, but what they did next is surprisingly unusual. When I turned them down, they asked why. I usually have my reasons, yet amazingly, almost no one ever asks.
The most popular article on my website is 4 Reasons to Cancel that Meeting! but no one had ever contacted me about it until I got a call this week from someone in Baltimore. His meeting fit the bill so he cancelled it. Unfortunately, his actions were not well received! Why? Because it wasn’t really his meeting to cancel. Sure, he was responsible for the agenda. He scheduled the meeting. But he was not the true instigator. He was acting on behalf of someone with more authority and that was undoubtedly the person upset by the cancellation.
PRESS RELEASE October 21, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ann Latham 617-939-9654 Uncommon Clarity, Inc. EASTHAMPTON, MA – Ann Latham announces book proceeds to benefit Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, October 2009 Clear Thoughts – Pragmatic Gems of Better Business Thinking by Ann Latham is now available and for the month of November all proceeds from books purchased here will be donated to the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts.
We all have flaws. Some are our secrets and unlikely to see the light of day. Some, known both to us and others, are old news. Others, those visible to everyone but unknown to us, hold incredible value. These are the golden nuggets. These are the insights that might lead us to see the world in a new way and shock us into changing our thoughts and behavior. These are the nuggets that might be our keys to greater success and happiness. If these nuggets are so valuable, why are they usually inaccessible to us?
Are CEOs, senior executives, business owners, and managers of all stripes seeking consensus too often? The demise of top down, arrogant, autocratic management is cause for celebration. Many executives and managers have seen the light and now treat their employees with more respect. They have come to realize that employees with differing expertise, experience, and positions within the company can provide valuable and varied input and ideas that facilitate problem solving, improve decisions, lead to more sustainable improvements, and save time. Furthermore, they now belief involving employees in the organization’s challenges doesn’t just enhance that one particular situation, it also energizes employees, stimulates good ideas, improves employee judgment, and saves time throughout the organization on a daily basis. They also realize there is no shame in not having all the answers themselves and real danger in making important decisions without getting critical input from others. While some old school managers still adhere to the old top down practices, despite fleeing employees, many executives are now proud of having evolved to being consensus driven and they now do everything by consensus. And that is where the problem lies. The pendulum has swung too far in many companies.