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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: , ,

Stop Thinking and Start Acting: Seven Tips for Making Executive Decisions

Posted on 07/22/2013 by ·
Stop Thinking and Start Acting: Seven Tips for Making Executive Decisions by Laura Stack #productivity

There's an image making the rounds on the Internet titled "Executive Decision Making System." It shows a picture of both faces of a penny, heads labeled "Yes" and tails labeled "No." From an outside perspective, that may seem hilariously true—and as a leader yourself, you've probably run into cases where you'd prefer to just flip a coin to settle something, rather than wade through all the pros and cons. You may even have done it once or twice. And don't you feel better after having made a decision? Most of us do. Rita Mae Brown, an American activist and novelist, once said “A peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one.” She was certainly no stranger to high-level decision making. Though the world mostly knows her as a writer of cozy mysteries, Brown is an ardent civil … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: , ,

Active Alignment: Strengthening Your Team Via Goal-Setting

Posted on 07/17/2013 by ·
Active Alignment: Strengthening Your Team Via Goal-Setting by Laura Stack #productivity

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” -- Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich As a leader, you bear most of the responsibility for whatever your team, division, department, or organization becomes while under your supervision. Yes, the performance of individual team members can determine your crew's success or failure; and yes, organizational rules may constrain you somewhat. But nonetheless, the onus is on you to make sure your people produce. If your team fails, you've failed. Of course, if your team fails, you can try to simply duck any accountability, as many business leaders have done in recent years—or you can face the music, as Lee Iacocca did in the 1970s and 1980s. More than once, Iacocca cut his own annual salary to $1 a year while cleaning up Chrysler. It was his … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , ,

Facing Down the Beast: Understanding and Overcoming the Bureaucratic Mindset

Posted on 07/15/2013 by ·
Facing Down the Beast: Understanding and Overcoming the Bureaucratic Mindset by Laura Stack #producctivity

"The greatest evil is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices." -- British author C.S. Lewis, in his preface to The Screwtape Letters. “Bureaucracy destroys initiative. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines." -- Frank Herbert, American author. Say what you will about bureaucrats—they serve an important function. If it weren't for them, who would take care of all the details the rest of us don't have time to deal with, and keep us on the straight and narrow both fiscally and procedurally? Administrators … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity ·

Dangerous Ideas: Achieving Success Through Innovation

Posted on 07/12/2013 by ·
Dangerous Ideas: Achieving Success Through Innovation by Laura Stack #productivity

One of the many things the late Peter Drucker taught us was that only two things really make a business money: marketing and innovation. Everything else is an expense. Some people would add a few other profit-makers to the list, but few would deny marketing or innovation their places. At least, not publicly. But what about privately, or at least subconsciously? That's another matter. Many of us just don't want to deal with innovation, because it's too much trouble. New ideas push you out of your comfort zone, requiring you to scramble, to work harder, and to think more. For those of us already overstressed by a challenging work environment, that's asking a lot. Oscar Wilde, an Irish playwright and poet, said, “An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: , , , ,

Agile Project Management: Refining the Tactics of Productivity

Posted on 07/10/2013 by ·
Agile Project Management: Refining the Tactics of Productivity by Laura Stack #productivity

"Agility means that you are faster than your competition. Agile time frames are measured in weeks and months, not years." -- Michael Hugos, American business writer. "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." -- Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tools & Systems · Tagged: , ,

Open Door Or Closed? Balancing Approachability Against Authority

Posted on 07/03/2013 by ·

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." -- Leonardo da Vinci. "Nothing traps you in the urgency of the moment like availability." -- Sam Raimer, Baptist pastor and blogger. Anyone in a leadership position, from an office manager to a church pastor, has to carefully balance authority with approachability. Which should take precedence, if either? At one time, the answer was simple: authority was always preferable. But the workplace has changed radically in the last half century, and management experts have been debating the concept of the "open door policy" for decades. Some advocate its adoption on a wide scale, while others insist it can utterly destroy a leader's productivity. Given the wide latitude here, where should you strike the balance? In general, here are some … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , ,

The Leader’s Dilemma: No One Should Be Indispensable — Not Even You

Posted on 07/01/2013 by ·

"The graveyards are full of indispensable men." -- Charles DeGaulle One of the basic tenets of popular business advice, publicized even by industry leaders like Forbes, is that you should strive to make yourself indispensable to your boss. But just like pop culture, pop business advice can be, well, weird. Worse, it can damage your career. I understand why some people would advise workers to become indispensable in their roles; and given the current economic situation, it's even more understandable that some would listen. But that doesn’t make it good advice. Think about it: why would a manager promote away the one person their team literally couldn't do without? Indispensability = stagnation for the worker. From the management perspective, it limits team productivity, because it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: ,

The Smartphone: Pocket sized productivity, or contract time-killer?

Posted on 06/28/2013 by ·

Today's post is from Nick Moores of Office Time One of the perks of working in our modern environment is the abundance of technology available to make the way we work simpler, slicker, and more effective. But do Smartphones truly enhance our productivity, or do they hold us back from the task at hand? In theory, digitization should enhance the way we conduct business, but occasionally the misuse of gadgets results in complicating or duplicating workload. One of the key points to remember when using a Smartphone to help streamline your professional life is to know the product through and through, and to learn how to set up your gadget so that it works for your needs. The ability to sync modern Smartphones with other devices and platforms is an essential tool in the quest to save time and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tools & Systems · Tagged: , , ,