Missing in Action: Coordinating with a Boss Always Out of the Office

Missing in Action: Coordinating with a Boss Always Out of the Office by Laura Stack

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." – John C. Maxwell, American author and speaker. Most managers do a decent job of wrangling their teams, maintaining training schedules, keeping track of projects, and providing the overall guidance their teammates require in order to complete their assigned projects—and typically, they do it in person, from the same location as their team. But in any large organization, you'll find the occasional leader who, through no fault of their own, isn't often around. (<--Click to Tweet.) Sometimes they just don't work in the same office as the rest of the team, or can't come in often for various reasons. This may include leaders who work from home, who have to travel constantly for work, who prefer a hands-off attitude, or … [Read more...]

Stand-Up Guys: The Virtues of Standing Meetings

Stand-Up Guys: The Virtues of Standing Meetings by Laura Stack

"One of my favourite tricks is to conduct most of my meetings standing up. I find it to be a much quicker way of getting down to business, making a decision and sealing the deal." ― Sir Richard Branson, British businessman Here is the bi-weekly roundup of activity from Laura Stack’s blog, columns, podcast, and other featured articles. Scroll down to read the complete roundup of productivity resources to help you create Maximum Results in Minimum Time. This week on the Blog Stand-Up Guys: The Virtues of Standing Meetings In the white-collar world, sitting down all day is both a blessing and a curse. Sitting makes it a lot easier to focus our intellects, since we're basically in a resting but erect position; this also allows us to work interrupted for longer periods of time. But there … [Read more...]

Facilitating an Effective Teleconference

We've all been on those conference calls. How to plan effectively for your next teleconference. (C) 2015 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Team vs. Work Group: How Do You and Your Coworkers Stack Up?

Team vs. Work Group: How Do You and Your Coworkers Stack Up?

"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." – Vince Lombardi, American college football coach. Most of us who work with multiple coworkers consider ourselves part of a team, and in fact, our leaders may refer to us as such. But are you really part of a team? Strictly defined, a team consists of a cohesive group of individuals, all of whom work within the same workflow process, contributing to the completion of one or more cooperative projects. Some researchers further define teams as consisting of 3-25 people, leaving out duos or "dyads" because their interactions are too simple, and larger groups because of their complexity. In general, teams tend to be tight-knit, with common goals and joint … [Read more...]

Reducing the Unimportant in Your Day

How do you reduce your task list to what is truly important? Tune in today! (C) 2015 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Texting: It’s Not Just for Fun Anymore

"Texting is fingered speech. Now we can write the way we talk." ― John McWhorter, American linguist and political commentator. Here is the bi-weekly roundup of activity from Laura Stack’s blog, columns, podcast, and other featured articles. Scroll down to read the complete roundup of productivity resources to help you create Maximum Results in Minimum Time. Great News! Great news #1—Amazon.com is having a Cyber Monday sale on my new book, Doing the Right Things Right! If you pre-order the book now, and send your receipt to [email protected], you’ll get all these great pre-order bonuses and free resources! Great news #2—My publisher is sponsoring a complimentary webinar with Yours Truly on January 13 on Doing the Right Things Right! First 1000 get a seat! Feel free to … [Read more...]

The Workplace Makeover: Revitalizing Your Team From Within

The Workplace Makeover: Revitalizing Your Team From Within

"My sun sets to rise again." – Robert Browning, 19th century English poet.  Who bears the responsibility for team productivity? (<-- Click to Tweet) Those with an employee's mindset—for whom work is just a way of getting a paycheck and paying the bills—might point the finger at their leadership. True, the managers and supervisors who direct our work do have a large stake in team productivity. But they don’t bear the responsibility alone. Admittedly, at some level, all of us do work so we can live in the manner to which we've become accustomed; but the happiest of us tend to be more fully engaged than our cynical co-workers. We're more likely to invest discretionary time into our jobs, because we apply an employer's mindset to our work, treating it as if we're stakeholders in the … [Read more...]

Eliminating the Major Time-Wasters in Your Day

Eliminating the Major Time-Wasters in Your Day

What's sucking up your time and not getting you anywhere, and what can you do about it? (C) 2015 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

On Screen, All Business: The Etiquette of Videoconferencing

On Screen, All Business: the Etiquette of Videoconferencing

"We are visual creatures. When you doodle an image that captures the essence of an idea, you not only remember it, but you also help other people understand and act on it—which is generally the point of meetings in the first place." ― Tom Wujec, Canadian expert on business visualization. Here is the bi-weekly roundup of activity from Laura Stack’s blog, columns, podcast, and other featured articles. Scroll down to read the complete roundup of productivity resources to help you create Maximum Results in Minimum Time. This week on the Blog On Screen, All Business: the Etiquette of Videoconferencing   One thing early science fiction writers got right was that we would someday exchange video images along with audio when we communicated. But so far, it hasn't become as widespread as … [Read more...]

Methods of Motivation: Adding Team Incentives to the Mix

Methods of Motivation: Adding Team Incentives to the Mix by Laura Stack

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." – Eric Thomas, American motivational speaker.  One of the eternal quests of the modern business leader is the search for the Holy Grail of worker motivation—as if there's just one secret, one formula or recipe, that will instantly and permanently push a team's productivity through the roof. It's a nice fantasy, but you quickly learn that nothing works for everyone. Fortunately, most people respond well to intrinsic rewards, like pats on the back and public recognition, as well as the king of extrinsic motivation, More Money. But there's no panacea that invariably turns disengaged grumps into optimistic top performers, while still urging existing performers ever upward. As it turns out, our basic … [Read more...]