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Make It Matter: Overcome Cynicism and Own Your Job

Posted on 05/28/2015 by ·
Make It Matter: Overcome Cynicism and Own Your Job by Laura Stack

Have you noticed how one negative person at work can infect an entire department? How has your attitude been at work and life lately? And how can cynicism impact productivity? Some things you just can't legislate. But you can change yourself and how you perceive your situation. Most workers are not terminally cynical, but I've seen enough to explain the 17-20% job disengagement rate repeatedly reported by business pollsters over the last decade, and the much higher semi-engaged rate. The difficult economic times we're still emerging from may have made you feel betrayed by your company, as many employers pressed their advantages over workers who didn't dare quit in an uncertain economy. For many workers, this hurts still lingers, which can get in the way of enjoying or at least … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged:

Unexpected Consequences: Are You Ruining Your Team’s Productivity?

Posted on 05/04/2015 by ·
Unexpected Consequences: Are You Ruining Your Team's Productivity?

When it comes to poor productivity, the guiltiest party is often the last person to know—because no one tells them. Sometimes it's because their coworkers don't want to cause trouble or get in an argument. Other times they work around the unproductive teammate, because it's easier that way. What if you're the one guilty of ruining your team's productivity, and you don't realize it? It’s kind of like having broccoli in your teeth—you wish someone would tell you, before you embarrass yourself. Though other factors may contribute, as Patrick Lencioni points out in his book The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, it ultimately boils down to an absence of trust. In Lencioni's fable, the person doing this most was a brilliant marketing VP named Mikey. She rolled her eyes at her executive team's ideas, … [Read more...]

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Inconsiderate Ignorance: Mindless Public Use of Technology

Posted on 04/27/2015 by ·
Inconsiderate Ignorance: Mindless Public Use of Technology by Laura Stack

In a memorable scene in the movie Star Trek IV, Mr. Spock delivers the famous Vulcan neck pinch to a kid who’s blasting rock music on a boom box at obnoxious levels. As he turns off the music, his fellow bus passengers applaud. I've sometimes wished I could do the neck pinch on the drivers of those cars who think their stereo bass should rattle my bones. I shouldn't be able to feel music through steel and glass from a dozen feet away. A few weeks ago, I published a blog about how some people inconsiderately disrupt other peoples' lives through sheer mindlessness. This includes inconsiderate use of technology. I learned of an excellent example recently, when my office manager Jin shared a story about taking her family out to eat at Olive Garden one Saturday. They heard talking and music … [Read more...]

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Team Productivity and Digital Detox

Posted on 04/13/2015 by ·
Digital Detox

I love technology—up to a point. There's no doubt electronic technology in particular has boosted our productivity to remarkable levels. But at the same time, electronics appeal so much to some of us that we waste time doing things we shouldn't at work. I've known Internet addicts who couldn't go an hour without checking their favorite websites, and there are legions of workers who babysit their inboxes all day long. If technology has slowed you down, why not try a “digital detox” to get you and your team back on track? You don't have to get rid of anything, just discipline yourself to use your tools as your inventors intended. Talk about ideas in your next staff meeting and see how you could support one another. For example: 1. Leave personal calls for the evening. There used to be … [Read more...]

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Making Things Happen: Why Initiative Matters

Posted on 04/06/2015 by ·
Making Things Happen: Why Initiative Matters by Laura Stack

At least monthly, an audience member will come up to me after a presentation and say something to the effect of, “I love your ideas but hesitate to try anything new, because I’ll irritate my boss or coworkers.” Despite all the research and words we've expended pointing out that engaged team members are more productive, some leaders still enforce the old my-way-or-the-highway attitude. They don't see (or don't care) that unhappy, bored people have low productivity, so they just push them harder, further damaging their performance. Many employees want to help improve processes for the better, but often others aren’t willing to try anything new.   Even some leaders who know there's a better way often hesitate to make changes, because their own leaders remain stuck in the past. But … [Read more...]

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Beyond the Grind: Helping Your People Love Their Jobs

Posted on 03/30/2015 by ·

We've all heard about the fun perks that progressive employers like Google and Yahoo! offered their employees until recently—great social activities, play areas, telecommuting options, free bikes to ride around campus, and the opportunity to spend a fair portion of their work time on projects of their own choosing. This has begun to change as more traditional-minded CEOs come on board, to the apparent chagrin of many. There are other ways to make people look forward to coming to work, without risking that complacency can take hold. Loving a job in a productive way has a lot to do with ownership. Engaged workers own their jobs. They're willing to give their discretionary time to their work. This can only happen when people are proud of where they work, whom they work for, and what they … [Read more...]

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Mindlessness: Why Don’t We Pay Attention?

Posted on 03/23/2015 by ·
Mindlessness: Why Don't We Pay Attention? by Laura Stack #productivity

Recently, my son James had a doctor's appointment. While waiting in the back room, he texted on his phone and watched videos. But as soon as the doctor walked in, he handed me his phone. Even at 13, he knew he couldn't pay attention to the doctor and have his phone in his hand. Why can’t some adults learn this? Last week, I had a meeting in downtown Denver, because a prospective client had requested an in-person conversation. During our conversation, he kept pulling out his phone, turning it on, swiping, and glancing down, clicking on his email, periodically tapping one and reading. He must have checked it 10 times while I was there—no explanation, no apology. Seriously, couldn't he have waited 30 minutes to check the phone? Instead of 30 minutes, our meeting was extended to 45 minutes, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance, Personal Productivity · Tagged: , ,

The First 90 Days: Tips to Keep You On Top

Posted on 03/09/2015 by ·
The First 90 Days: Tips to Keep You On Top by Laura Stack #productivity #first90

In mid-January, LinkedIn's Amy Chen asked the columnists to answer a question: "What's your best tip for navigating the #First90 days on the job?" First, you may be wondering, why 90 days? Because that's a standard business quarter. Your superiors and coworkers will decide they have you figured out by then (even if they haven’t). This means you'd best impress them quickly; because as the cliché goes, you never have a second chance to make a first impression. People are wired to assess others rapidly, so how you act and what you accomplish in your first weeks will establish their opinion of you, and that can be very difficult to change later. As much as you can and is made available, study your job requirements well before your first day, and be ready to jump in on the first day. Be … [Read more...]

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Spring Cleaning

Posted on 03/02/2015 by ·
Spring Cleaning Tips with Laura Stack #productivity

Spring is the perfect time to clean up the clutter and dust that accumulates over winter and set yourself up for a productive remainder of the year! Tackle your project with the following three-step formula:         1. Get ready… Before you begin cleaning, get ready to tackle the clutter. Prepare for a spring cleaning spree. Start by labeling five large boxes: Put Away, Give Away, Store Away, Shred, and Trash. Select an area, such as a drawer, desk or room to organize first. Use a timer. Don’t view spring cleaning as an all-day task! Take an hour here and there to get the job done over several weekends. When you’re ready to begin, set your timer for 50 minutes. When it buzzes, use the last ten minutes of your organization session to handle the boxes: put … [Read more...]

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Triaging Time: Four Timewasters that May Not Occur to You

Posted on 02/23/2015 by ·
Triaging Time: Four Timewasters that May Not Occur to You by Laura Stack #productivity

I'm a big believer in recovering lost time by killing timewasting behaviors, jettisoning useless tasks, and tightening work processes. But no matter how well you've triaged your schedule, you can probably do even more. That's because most of us engage in small, thoughtless actions or omissions that cost us time. Let's look at the worse time-nibblers you may still engage in. 1. Randomly checking email. Even if you've made a commitment to spend less time on your email, it's too easy to log on to see what's come in just before you knock off for lunch or take that much-needed break. Before you know it, you've lost 15 minutes. Clamp down on this temptation, unless you're expecting an important email that requires a prompt response. Spend time planning out a project instead. 2. Failing to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Personal Productivity, Time Management · Tagged: , , , ,