Productivity Keynote Speaker Leadership, Sales, & Team Productivity Expert
Maximum Results. Minimum Time.®
303-471-7401

You are here: Home / Archives for Laura Stack

Recovering Your Common Sense: How to Rein in Information Overload

Posted on 08/21/2013 by ·
Recovering Your Common Sense: How to Rein in Information Overload by Laura Stack #productivity

"There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher "The abundance of books is a distraction." -- Lucius Annaeus Seneca, ancient Roman philosopher and statesman. Social researcher S.A. Wurman once calculated that every issue of the New York Times contains more information than the average person in Elizabethan England learned in their lifetime. Wurman released this startling tidbit back in 1987—before the info-splosion we call the Internet really got started. Imagine how much worse we have it today, with our daily deluge of print and broadcast news, webpages, social media, email, and more. Some researchers claim we now create more information every two days than we did from ancient times up to the year 2003. Add in easy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tools & Systems · Tagged: ,

Million Dollar Productivity

Posted on 08/19/2013 by ·
Million Dollar Productivity by Laura Stack #productivity

… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged:

No More Mediocrity: Making Meetings More Effective and Enjoyable

Posted on 08/14/2013 by ·
No More Mediocrity: Making Meetings More Effective and Enjoyable by Laura Stack #productivity

"Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything." -- John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist. As we can all attest, business meetings often waste valuable productive time and tend to last far longer than they should. But until we learn to communicate telepathically, they will remain a necessary evil—not just as a means of exchanging ideas and information—but also as a way to build relationships with others. That doesn't mean we have to like them. In fact, as economist and social theorist Thomas Sowell once quipped, "People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything." Whether he meant it facetiously or not, there's a grain of truth in Sowell's statement, since someone who enjoys meetings might actually prolong them and anything else they laid … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: ,

Breaking It Down to Move It Forward: How to Simplify the Complex

Posted on 08/12/2013 by ·
Breaking It Down to Move It Forward: How to Simplify the Complex by Laura Stack #productivity

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." -- Hans Hoffman, German-American abstract expressionist painter. The modern business world is becoming more complex, competitive, and unpredictable by the day. Those of us at the leadership level must remain constantly aware of this reality, because the decisions we make affect the lives and careers of everyone on our team, and they may ultimately determine the fate of the entire organization. Occasionally, one must stop, take a good look around, breathe, and attempt to do what we can to reduce the complexity we face. While you may have no control over issues associated with overarching trends like globalization, rapid technological change, or national economic policy, you can certainly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity ·

Awesome Efficiency: Five Ways to Maximize Team Productivity

Posted on 08/07/2013 by ·
Awesome Efficiency: Five Ways to Maximize Team Productivity by Laura Stack #productivity

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." -- Peter Drucker, Austrian-American management guru. "The highest type of efficiency is that which can utilize existing material to the best advantage." -- Jawaharlal Nehru, former Indian Prime Minister. What comprises true efficiency, at least in a useful business sense? That's a question worth pursuing, because the answer isn't necessarily what you might expect. Business "efficiency" has evolved beyond its classic dictionary definition, which is essentially minimizing the resources required to do something. That's fine as far as it goes—but what if the thing done right isn't the right thing? If your mechanic changes the wrong tire on your car, it doesn't matter how efficiently he does the job; you've … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management · Tagged: , , , , ,

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage: Translating Learning into Action

Posted on 08/05/2013 by ·
The Ultimate Competitive Advantage: Translating Learning into Action by Laura Stack #productivity

"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." -- Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher "Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." -- Mark Twain, American humorist. Every business leader worth their salt recognizes the value of training team members to fit their jobs better. Who among us hasn't attended conferences, seminars, classes, and workshops designed to improve our productivity? And you send your team members to the same. Most companies have no problem with training; they know it's necessary, and actively pursue it for their employees. That said, the new learning we absorb from our training sometimes fails to make the jump from theory to practice, for reasons varying … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,

Embracing Chaos: The Reality of Modern Leadership

Posted on 07/31/2013 by ·
Embracing Chaos: The Reality of Modern Leadership by Laura Stack #productivity

"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people." -- Mahatma Gandhi, Indian leader "Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people." -- John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist. everything changes. That's the ironic paradox at the heart of our profession—and at some level, it's become essential to the continued growth and development of American business. Change stirs things up, cross-fertilizing ideas and aerating the waters of creativity. We may enjoy equilibrium—and humans certainly find it more comfortable not to have to scramble—but inactivity soon sours into stagnation. You can't rest on your laurels, because some hungry young company will always be pushing the envelope and trying to steal … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , ,

The Politics of Motivation: Who Really Owns Engagement?

Posted on 07/29/2013 by ·
The Politics of Motivation: Who Really Owns Engagement? by Laura Stack #productivity

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." -- Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. leadership actively encourages engagement can testify to its effectiveness. The basic recipe for ensuring engagement is surprisingly simple, though the ingredients and the precise amounts of each can vary according to the workplace and team. At the very least, any engagement initiative must include these factors, flowing from the leadership to the workforce: Knowledge of the organization's strategic goals. Clarification of the employee's place within that framework, and why their work matters. Sincere and explicit encouragement to take the initiative. Empowerment without unreasonable censure. A willingness to trust. Delegation of authority as well as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: ,

Reasons for Optimism: The Results of the 2012 American Time Use Survey

Posted on 07/26/2013 by ·
Reasons for Optimism: The Results of the 2012 American Time Use Survey by Laura Stack

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -- Mark Twain, American author, who attributed it to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. "I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." -- Coleman Cox, American inspirational author. For the past several years, I've reviewed and written about the annual American Time Use Study conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). While the data can be a bit confusing, it offers an intriguing snapshot of how we use our time. This past June 20, the BLS released its 2012 edition, covering everything from hours spent working and sleeping, to how long we watch TV and play video games. One thing to keep in mind as you read this post (and especially as you data-mine the study … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: , , ,

Productivity vs. Paralysis: On Accepting the Reality of Imperfection

Posted on 07/24/2013 by ·
Productivity vs. Paralysis: On Accepting the Reality of Imperfection by Laura Stack

“Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice reduces the imperfection.” -- Toba Beta, Indonesian author. problem of perfectionism. We can become so tightly focused on getting things "just right,” it’s difficult to let anything go. Of course, there's always something you can improve, if you just keep nitpicking at it. But at what point do you hit a point of diminishing returns? Eventually, the improvements you introduce are no longer worth the time you spend on them—and if you keep at it, you'll roll past your deadlines and crash your schedule. Let's face it: perfection rarely occurs in this world, and as Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy pointed out, “If you look for perfection, you will never be content.” Refusing to let go of something until it's perfect is akin to jamming a broomstick … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management · Tagged: , ,