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You Reap What You Sow: Creating an Environment of Accountability

Posted on 10/24/2012 by ·

"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody." -- Thomas Paine, American Founding Father. "Corporations are like bacteria; you hit them with accountability and they mutate and change their names." -- Doug Anderson, American writer. Have you ever looked around and wondered, "Whatever happened to accountability?" Many of us have, especially when both business and government seem determined to rescue the worst troublemakers from the consequences of their actions at our expense. Remember the banking fiasco of 2008? Do you suppose any of the perpetrators suffered for their self-indulgence? Well, consider this: Immediately upon receiving a huge government bailout check, AIG—which posted a fourth-quarter loss of $62 billion, the largest in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,

Check Your Six: Practical Measures of Workplace Success

Posted on 10/22/2012 by ·

"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us." -- Jim Rohn Even after a century of constant refinement, flying an airplane remains a hazardous occupation. Pilots must pay constant attention to altitude, direction, speed, and potential obstacles. This holds true whether they can see for a hundred miles, or no farther than the cockpit's windshield. So how do pilots maintain contact with reality when they can see nothing but clouds? By flying with instruments—a requirement every pilot must master before soloing. They monitor compass, altimeter, horizon indicator, speedometer, and a dozen other instruments, while using radio and radar to check their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management · Tagged: , ,

Sharpening the Scalpel of Strategic Focus

Posted on 10/17/2012 by ·

"Strategy renders choices about what not to do as important as choices about what to do." -- Michael Porter, business author and professor at Harvard Business School. Business people have no time for the irrelevant. We certainly can't afford to chase poorly defined goals, so hardnosed practicality generally rules. The less important aspects of one's work must either take a backseat to the crucial or be removed altogether, leaving only the lean, profitable core. The best tool for achieving this result at a managerial level is strategic focus. Use these tips to sharpen that focus to laser keenness: 1. Define your marketplace position. Assess your current state, vis-à-vis items like fiscal health, market share, infrastructure, and labor costs. Can your resources keep up with current … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,

Why Are You Here, Anyway?

Posted on 10/15/2012 by ·

"Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission." -- Former U.S. Secretary of State and four-star General. Why am I here? In addition to being one of the great mysteries of human existence, this question is one of the most important ones you can ask yourself, especially when you contemplate your job. It’s an exercise that should be undertaken regularly. Why do you occupy this particular box in your workplace's org chart? What do your superiors expect you to accomplish? What is your personal return on investment? What value do you bring to the company? If you have no real reason for working other than your need to occupy yourself or provide for your family, then you've lost sight of your workplace … [Read more...]

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

Are You Stuck to Your Schedule?

Posted on 10/12/2012 by ·

Feel like your're in a rut? Feeling over-scheduled? Do something off-schedule that brings you joy. Drop into a bookstore. Take the long way home so you can drive around a beautiful lake. Your wellness is important. Take some time for yourself. No guilt! Recharge YOUR battery! Even the most productive among us needs to take the time to recharge our batteries. We need recreation to re-create, restore and renew. Another name for down time is your LIFE. We're not "human doings" after all—we're "human beings." No wonder we feel tired when we're scrimping on our own lives! Some people are so used to living on the hamster wheel that they don't know how to be on vacation. It’s not fair if you only take "working vacations." A real vacation doesn't involve your laptop by the pool, a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance · Tagged: ,

Calling for Backup

Posted on 10/10/2012 by ·

"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." -- Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian Field Marshal. Sustained workplace productivity rarely flows from seat-of-the-pants, instinctive navigation. Only the strategic application of well-honed time management skills and advance planning will consistently keep you on your organizational course. This holds true, regardless of it your ultimate goals are fantastic profits or a better future for everyone. A crisis can always force the occasional impromptu response, of course, but you can minimize the disruption by making sure you always have a Plan B warming up in the wings. So take the following steps to drastically lower your odds of falling prey to the unexpected: Back up your electronic data properly. This statement may seem so obvious … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: , ,

Clarity of Outcomes: Clear the Air Before You Commit

Posted on 10/08/2012 by ·

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision on what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out and meet it." -- Thucydides, ancient Greek historian. Clear, practical decision-making represents one of the hallmarks of the competent professional...though sadly, the commodity seems in shorter supply than it should be. People often make decisions reflexively, without sufficient data to understand the potential repercussions. Oh, sometimes they hit the bull's-eye through sheer luck. But since when was business a game of chance? You have to be able to see your target to hit it consistently, which makes clarity of outcomes your #1 goal in any decision-making process. Never blindly assume you understand what will happen if you do this as opposed to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , ,

Life Balance: Running on Empty

Posted on 10/05/2012 by ·

Life Balance: If you're running on an empty tank and fumes of habit, everyone around you loses. So rid yourself of the guilt you feel when you relax. More on life balance: The word ‘guilt’ starts with a “G” for ‘garbage.’ We all need to stop and smell the roses on a regular basis, but for some reason, we seem to feel guilty about resting. This can be particularly true of mothers who work outside the home. I promise you no one's head is going to burst into flames if you take a hot bath. Your life won't fall apart if you sit on the porch swing and enjoy the spring air. It might, however, fall apart if you don't. Your ability to take care of others decreases when you don’t care for yourself! Time is valuable. You have to savor it and make time for the things that electrify your life … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance · Tagged: ,

Back To The Phone Age

Posted on 10/04/2012 by ·

"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense." -- Gertrude Stein, early 20th century American writer. "Men have become the tools of their tools." -- Henry David Thoreau, 19th century American poet and philosopher. No doubt about it: modern technology has made us ultra-productive—and many people invariably pack more work into whatever time they save. But all too often we soon hit a point of diminishing returns, where our techno-saviors end up driving us to distraction and stealing our personal time. Electronic tools worsen this tendency because they kindle an urge for instant gratification. Think about it your thought process when you receive an email. You want to look at it right away, because if you don’t, you’ll continually wonder who's emailing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: , ,

No More Mr. Unreliable!

Posted on 10/03/2012 by ·

"Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible." -- Hannah Arendt, German-American political theorist. Some things we take for granted and never really notice them until they’re missing. Little things, mostly, like fried rice with our cashew chicken or those silly stickers on bananas. But we can take big things for granted too: good health, rain, and clean air. The sudden lack of any of these can prove devastating. In the workplace, reliability ranks high on the Taken for Granted list. Everyone taking part in your team's workflow process, from the boss on down, must be consistently reliable. Actually, your name should be synonymous with Mr. or Ms. Reliable, especially when other’s work depends on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,