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Substance vs. Style: Why Reality Trumps Appearance Every Time

Posted on 02/11/2014 by ·
Substance vs. Style: Why Reality Trumps Appearance Every Time by Laura Stack #productivity

"Don't settle for style. Succeed in substance." Wynton Marsalis, American jazz trumpeter. Some people believe that how something looks, or the way you do something, matters more than the substance of that object or action. In rare cases, such as fashion, this may be true; but no matter how wonderful it looks, a charming dress still won't last long if it's made of playing cards or chocolate (and yes, there have been both). Nonetheless, perception creates reality in most people's minds. For example, you might think a person with his shoes up on his desk and his eyes closed is wasting company time, as one efficiency expert did when hired by Henry Ford. After just a few hours on the job, he recommended Ford fire the man. Ford told him the "lazy" fellow was in fact his top idea man, who … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: , ,

Measure Your Progress

Posted on 02/06/2014 by ·
Measure your Progress by Laura Stack

You must link strategic planning and goal setting, with everyone on the team having goals that support the plan and each other. Not only do all involved have to perform the day-to-day tactical tasks that drive the operation, they also have to work on the higher-level, strategic goals as well—the parts that will eventually become their daily work. Along the way, they must constantly assess whether the tasks they complete in the short term will get them where they need to go in the long term. This chapter takes a closer look at the process in the context of metrics, and how they might apply to your organization. 1. Plan your course. Once you’ve (a) achieved buy-in, (b) set goals, and (c) made efforts to align those goals with your organization’s, you must decide how you and your team … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , ,

Lighting a Fire: How to Deal With a Slacker on Your Team

Posted on 02/04/2014 by ·
Lighting a Fire: How to Deal With a Slacker on Your Team by Laura Stack #productivity

"A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he set out, will have condemned himself to second-hand thoughts and to second-rate friends." -- Cyril Connolly, English writer and literary critic Business is a collaborative enterprise. Very few jobs consist of one person working in glorious isolation. Even solopreneurs rely on others to get things done, because it’s too much work for a single individual, and we don’t have talents in every area. We humans have accomplished almost every big thing we've managed, from digging the Panama Canal to going to the Moon, by working together and building on the achievements of those who've gone before us. Since teamwork rules in the business environment, having someone on a team who doesn’t shoulder their share of the load can clog the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: , ,

Plan for Goal Achievement

Posted on 01/30/2014 by ·
Plan for Goal Achievement by Laura Stack #productivity #strategy #execution

Good strategic alignment consists of practices that connect organizational strategy with employee performance as fully and directly as possible. When you properly align your organizational structure, your employees act as strategic enablers of company policy, mission, and vision—all working from the same standards toward the same ends. This chapter looks at useful strategies for getting your team into alignment and keeping it there. 1. Share your goals. Only when you willingly share your goals with everyone and set up procedures to make sure people stay on track can true alignment occur. Goal-setting is no longer be limited to the C-suite. When your strategic priorities trickle down, work with your team to determine how best to get there. 2. Clear the air. People mistrust or distrust … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , , ,

Trusting Your Skills: The Value of Unquestioning Faith in Your Abilities

Posted on 01/28/2014 by ·
Trusting Your Skills: The Value of Unquestioning Faith in Your Abilities by Laura Stack #productivity

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals." -- Larry Bird American basketball player. I’ve observed that many of the most successful people in the business world are so absolutely confident in themselves and everything they do that they can come across as brash and cocky. Think of people like Richard Branson, Donald Trump, and Bill Gates. They take to heart the axiom formulated by John Eliot, author of the book Overachievement, who pointed out: "The best in every business do what they have learned to do without questioning their abilities—they flat out trust their skills." Eliot, a highly-regarded psychologist, focuses on cultivating self-confidence as one means of what I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: , ,

Take Your Team on a Mission

Posted on 01/23/2014 by ·
Take Your Team on a Mission by Laura Stack #strategy

Your ability to clearly articulate your strategic priorities depends on understanding why you’re here and what you’re trying to accomplish. That’s all that really matters in the work environment. To create a motivated, empowered team, each member has to care about where they’re going and why they should bother. Invite your employees to go on a mission with you, keeping these things in mind: 1. Teach the value of the organization’s priorities. Help your team members understand why your strategic priorities are important, whether at the team, department, division, or company level. 2. Show them why what they do matters. To align team effort with the company’s needs and make team members more willing to execute your strategy on the fly, emphasize how their efforts fit within the overall … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: ,

Overdoing It: When Continuous Improvement Stifles Innovation

Posted on 01/21/2014 by ·
Overdoing It: When Continuous Improvement Stifles Innovation by Laura Stack #productivity #strategy

"The culture, behaviors, processes, measurements, rewards, and tolerance for failure needed to drive operational excellence are fundamentally different from those needed to create innovation, which requires an emphasis on exploration and invention." -- Ed Hess and Jeanne Liedtka, authors of The Physics of Business Growth: Mindsets, System and Processes. My recent blog about continuous improvement, "Maximizing ROI: Continuous Improvement as a Core Value," seems to have struck a chord with some readers. In my first tip, I suggested that you take care to deploy continuous improvement (CI) gradually, because in certain circumstances formats it can stifle innovation when applied too vigorously. A couple readers asked for more information on how two positives added together can equal a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , ,

Ensure Engaged, Empowered Employees

Posted on 01/16/2014 by ·
Ensure Engaged, Empowered Employees by Laura Stack #strategy

When you have a lot at stake or a very high interest in an outcome, you’re more likely to do a better job (or at least try to). Your team members feel the same way. If they don’t enjoy their work, they won’t be motivated to spend discretionary effort on the strategic goals you set for them. Wouldn’t you rather be surrounded by people in whom you have full trust and confidence they will get things done? Your team will have more ownership in their work if you encourage them to take initiative, improve processes, and make last-minute changes vital to timely execution. Here are some simple, common-sense ways to achieve that confident competence: 1. Increase your ratio of engaged to disengaged employees. This requires not only personal strength but flexibility and empathy as well. If you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , ,

Teaching Self-Discipline: Controlling Non-Productive Urges at the Team Level

Posted on 01/14/2014 by ·
Teaching Self-Discipline: Controlling Non-Productive Urges at the Team Level by Laura Stack

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." -- Jesse Owens, American Olympic athlete. I love Robert Orben's famous quip, "Don't smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much, or work too much. We're all on the road to the grave—but there's no need to be in the passing lane." Most folks see this statement as a warning to take care of yourself and do everything in moderation. But like all good humor, it contains multiple levels—and when you get right down to it, Orben's statement is also about championing self-discipline over self-indulgence. Many Americans know Orben best for his newsletter Orben's Current Comedy, where he introduced tens of thousands of gags over the years. Back in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: ,

Encourage Change Hardiness

Posted on 01/09/2014 by ·
Encourage Change Hardiness by Laura Stack #productivity

The only constant in business is change. One way or another, waves of transformation constantly flow through most organizations as they fight to get or stay ahead in the competitive global marketplace. So keep these pointers in mind while dealing with change: 1. Don't make changes for change's sake alone. We've all experienced the “new broom sweeps clean” effect, suffering as a fresh leader came onto the scene and changed everything just because he or she could—regardless of how well the existing system functioned. Whenever this happens, chaos reigns and productivity plummets, and sometimes it never recovers. 2. Accept change as inevitable. Many changes are desirable, so greet change as a friend; go with the flow, and view it as an opportunity to grow and learn. Conservatism has its … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , ,