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How Communication and Connection Boost Employee Productivity

Posted on 04/24/2012 by ·
How Communication and Connection Boost Employee Productivity

One of the trickiest parts of leadership is finding a way to strike a balance between your employees as subordinates and your employees as real, live people. Read on for some important points to keep in mind as you work to build relationships with those around you. Not a leader? I hope you’ll read on anyway. Managing relationships with the people you work with (and for) is as important to your everyday productivity as it is to your career. Teach people how to treat you. You know how you want to be treated. But do you actively take the steps to make sure it happens? Always think about the precedents you are setting as you interact with other people – whether you work with them every day or are meeting them for the first time. If you let others speak to you disrespectfully or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: ,

Assertiveness and Direct Communication: Your Wording is a Critical Productivity Tool

Posted on 08/25/2011 by ·
Assertiveness and Direct Communication: Your Wording is a Critical Productivity Tool

One of the factors that sets human beings apart from the rest of Creation—that has, in fact, helped make us the dominant species on this planet—is our ability to communicate in great detail, with a minimum of confusion and unproductive "noise." That said, it's amazing how easy it is to fail to communicate properly. The annals of history are replete with episodes of poor communication (or a complete lack thereof) that led to widespread misery and pain. On a lesser scale, individuals and businesses have to deal with miscommunication issues every single day; and in the workplace, such issues can have a severe impact not just on individual productivity, but on the overall bottom line. Even when the lines of communication are wide open, you can fail to communicate if you use the wrong words … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: ,

Interview with Meeting Genius

Posted on 07/18/2011 by ·

Wanted to share a recent interview with Meeting Genius. We chatted a bit about my latest book, SuperCompetent and discussed the speaking business. Read the interview here: http://www.meetinggeniusblog.com/2011/07/interview-with-laura-stack-productivity.html … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , ,

Do You Have Time for Social Networking?

Posted on 07/05/2011 by ·

"Social media isn't the end-all-be-all, but it offers marketers unparalleled opportunity to participate in relevant ways. It also provides a launch-pad for other marketing tactics. Social media is not an island. It's a high-power engine on the larger marketing ship." -- Matt Dickman, American marketer and blogger. "Networking is not about hunting. It is about farming. It's about cultivating relationships." -- Dr. Ivan Misner, American author. "The most successful marketer becomes part of the lives of their followers. They follow back. They wish happy birthday. They handle problems their customers have with products or service. They grow their businesses and brands by involving themselves in their own communities." -- Marsha Collier, American speaker and business author. Networking—the … [Read more...]

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

Critical Tips for Successful Team Execution

Posted on 08/16/2010 by ·

Over time, individual teams and whole organizations tend to establish a standard pace. This pace can easily become unnecessarily lethargic. The trick is to regulate the pace, keeping it as high as possible without provoking burn-out. Executing at a brisk pace keeps your team energetic and fresh. Here are ten acceleration strategies that can help you and your team pick up the pace. 1. Identify an “enemy.” 2. Break the decision gridlock. 3. Develop contingency plans and work-arounds. 4. Set the bar higher. 5. Establish momentum-building milestones. … To read the rest of the list and a description of each accelerator, click here: http://www.mylinkage.com/GILD/2010/ten-tips-for-accelerating-your-teams-execution to visit Linkage’s Leadership Blog. © 2010 Linkage, Inc. All Rights Reserved. … [Read more...]

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

Time Management: Gracefully Refusing Requests

Posted on 04/26/2010 by ·

What do you do when you have the perfect plan set up for the day, then everything and everyone tries to blow up your plan? Part of that could be your fault. Perhaps you’re responding to e-mails as they're coming in or otherwise wasting time. But the other part is no fault of your own. You need to learn some language, verbiage, and techniques to use when someone asks you to do something not on your plan. If you’re thinking, “This is just not that important right now,” you need to know how to decline gracefully. Certainly there are some things that are worth stopping what we’re doing and handling; however, there lots of things that aren't important and don't qualify to be handled immediately. One of the things you can do is always negotiate a due date with the person as they make a … [Read more...]

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

Business Efficiency: The Productivity Minute #25: Do You Really Need to Answer That?

Posted on 02/15/2010 by ·

Is being tied to technology controlling your time? Do you have to answer every cell phone call right away? Laura Stack talks about the interruptions that technology use brings and how to not be controlled by them. (C) 2010 Laura Stack www.theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Leadership & Teamwork, Time Management, Tools & Systems · Tagged: , ,

Workplace Productivity: Tips for Wonderful Webinars

Posted on 12/10/2009 by ·

You’ve decided to conduct a webinar for your association member, corporate employees, or your team members spread around the country. How do you ensure the Webinar goes off without a hitch? Here are the top ten tips on how to have a successful webinar: 1. Select the best format for your objectives. Each of these popular formats has pros and cons: • Single speaker who presents and administers the webinar—easy to coordinate but can be less interactive if participants are hesitant to ask questions. • Interview style with a moderator—more interesting than just one voice but harder to coordinate the discussion. • Facilitated conversation with multiple panelists—more people to train and the potential for panelists to talk over each other; adds a variety of perspectives and can increase … [Read more...]

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

Business Productivity: The Productivity Minute Video #22 If you don’t have something to say, say nothing

Posted on 11/09/2009 by ·

Sometimes the most productive thing to do is nothing. If you don't have anything new to add to the conversation, whether it be on email or in a meeting, don't say anything at all. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

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

Microsoft Email: The Productivity Minute #18: Using Email Templates

Posted on 09/22/2009 by ·

Laura Stack talks about productivity with the Microsoft email program Outlook. Learn how to use signatures and email templates to save time and keystrokes. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

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