Quick and To the Point: Texting and Instant Messaging Protocols in the Workplace

Quick and To the Point: Texting and Instant Messaging Protocols in the Workplace by Laura Stack #Productivity

"Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized." -- Marilyn vos Savant, American newspaper columnist. Communication may be the most important factor in any partnership, and it's certainly a glue that binds a team together. But it comes in many forms, especially in the workplace. Two of those are texting and Instant Messaging (IM), which are common means of modern business communication today. How do we make the best use of each in a teamwork environment? At first glance, IM and text seem very similar, and sometimes we use the terms interchangeably. But they actually refer to distinct methods of electronic communication. Text is of course phone-to-phone, … [Read more...]

Assessing Your Productivity Status Within Your Team

Teamwork is essential to productivity. How does your productivity affect the team and vice versa? Listen in! (C) 2015 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Pairing Up: The Advantages of a Team of Two at Work

Pairing Up: The Advantages of a Team of Two at Work by Laura Stack

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller, American deaf-mute activist. Though we rarely think of them as such, a duo is still a team, and it can have many advantages. When your team is only two people, it’s much easier to communicate and agree on everything, from project requirements to what to have for lunch. Small(er) teams also tend to produce more per capita (per the two-pizza rule). However, two-person teams must be more careful about avoiding groupthink and poor decision-making. Some business duos have become household names: just a few examples include Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in computing, Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg in social media, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger (the silent partner) in investing, and Sergey Brin and Larry Page in … [Read more...]

Weekly Productivity eNews – September 8, 2015

This week on the Blog The 15 Characteristics of a Productive Team: What Matters Most In the 25 years since I started my company The Productivity Pro, Inc., I’ve worked with literally hundreds of teams on improving their performance and collective productivity. Here are the 15 characteristics I’ve seen in those that are the most successful. This week on LinkedIn: Respectful Creativity: Encouraging Different Viewpoints on Your Team Effective teams are most often led by leaders who expect innovation and therefore encourage diverse viewpoints. (click to tweet) This is no secret, despite the fact that—as cynics will surely point out—we rarely practice the concept adequately, and I would agree. However, we also let pettiness, bureaucracy, groupthink, disengagement, laziness, and other … [Read more...]

The 15 Characteristics of a Productive Team: What Matters Most

The 15 Characteristics of a Productive Team: What Matters Most by Laura Stack #productivity

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” –  Paul J. Meyer, American motivational speaker In the 25 years since I started my company The Productivity Pro, Inc., I’ve worked with literally hundreds of teams on improving their performance and collective productivity. Here are the 15 characteristics I’ve seen in those that are the most successful:   Productive teams celebrate social events like holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries in order to increase cohesion. They also celebrate their wins, especially when they complete a tough project.  Committed to results vs. activity. It's easy to confuse busyness with productivity. Only outcomes and results matter. Running around being … [Read more...]

Creating a Reputation for Being Reliable

Podcast Are you someone your clients and team can count on? Listen to today's podcast to find out why it's vital to create a reputation for being reliable. … [Read more...]

Respectful Creativity: Encouraging Different Viewpoints on Your Team

Respectful Creativity: Encouraging Different Viewpoints on Your Team

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say." – Bryant H. McGill, American self-improvement writer and speaker  Effective teams are most often led by leaders who expect innovation and therefore encourage diverse viewpoints. (click to tweet) This is no secret, despite the fact that—as cynics will surely point out—we rarely practice the concept adequately, and I would agree. However, we also let pettiness, bureaucracy, groupthink, disengagement, laziness, and other failings hinder our creativity and slow us down. Business as usual runs down and crushes flexible creativity. When I think of respectful creativity, I think of Steve Jobs and Apple. Steve Jobs was no saint; he had his flaws, but that just makes his story all the more amazing. The … [Read more...]

Call Him, Email Me, Text Her: The Many Methods of Business Communication

Call Him, Email Me, Text Her: The Many Methods of Business Communication by Laura Stack #productivity

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said." – Peter F. Drucker, Father of Management Theory Recently, I read an article discussing how, in addition to basic methods of written and verbal communication, savvy workers also learn to decode non-verbal communication. While I agree that represents a valuable ability and an interesting subject, it struck me just how many different methods of language-based communication the average business has access to nowadays. Less than 30 years ago, we had just a few. All you Millennials now moving into management and starting businesses of your own have access to an amazing array of communication methods, whereas I can still remember the days before CDs and desktop computers (floppies, word processors, and interoffice mail). The … [Read more...]

Managing the Unpleasant Tasks of Your Job

Managing the Unpleasant Tasks of Your Job

How do you handle those tasks that just aren't pleasant? Listen today and find out! (C) 2015 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Giving of Yourself: Tips for Building Trust With Your Teammates

Giving of Yourself: Tips for Building Trust With Your Teammates by Laura Stack #productivity

“A relationship without trust is like a cell phone without service. All you can do is play games." – Origin unknown Business is supposed to be strictly about financials and hardnosed, logic-based decisions, based solely on what's best for the company and its shareholders. Right? This seems to be the public perception of business, anyway, fostered by the popular media and sadly, by certain corporations where the quest for cash regularly overrides human concerns. Those of us who actually deal with businesses on a daily basis know this perception is mostly untrue. What’s more important that the human side of business—the most important asset? In large businesses, whole departments exist that do nothing but find good workers and try to keep them happy. Of course, there's an equilibrium … [Read more...]