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Don’t Think Yourself into a Corner!

Posted on 11/08/2013 by ·
Don't Think Yourself into a Corner! by Laura Stack #productivity

The human imagination is a wonderful thing. When you throw open the floodgates of creativity and embark on a brainstorming session, you can formulate any number of ways to deal with an unsettling problem. Afterward, you can test your ideas to see which one will work best for your specific situation. This is where some of us run into the brick wall of overthinking. Ironically, creativity can be a drawback if allowed to range too freely, especially if you have trouble evaluating the ideas you've dreamed up. I recently read an article in which the authors criticized "idea monkeys," creative people with so many bright, shiny ideas they can't bear to settle on just one and explore it fully. Until they learn to prioritize and focus on their best ideas, they won’t accomplish much. The other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: , ,

Output, Not Busywork: The True Key to Productivity

Posted on 11/06/2013 by ·
Output, Not Busywork: The True Key to Productivity by Laura Stack #productivity

"Don't confuse activity with achievement." -- John Wooden, American college basketball coach. "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." -- Socrates, ancient Greek philosopher. All my career, I've personal fought my tendency to “stay busy,” as if by doing so, I’ll inevitably be more productive...as if constantly getting things done, one after another, were somehow enough to ensure success. Intellectually, it takes very little effort to refute this tendency, though the proof never seems to get through to the people who need it most—from the $100-an-hour executive micromanaging his $10-an-hour assistant, to the teams who spend fifteen hours a week in meetings and spin off report after report, trying to figure out why they aren't more profitable. Hard work is necessary to succeed in any … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: ,

Worn Out On the Way to Great Thoughts: Dealing with Overwork, Overwhelm, and MDD

Posted on 11/04/2013 by ·
Worn Out On the Way to Great Thoughts: Dealing with Overwork, Overwhelm, and MDD by Laura Stack #productivity

"Man was made at the end of the week, when God was tired." Victorian novelist George Eliot once wryly noted, "It is very difficult to be learned; it seems as if people were worn out on the way to great thoughts, and can never enjoy them because they are too tired." No doubt she was poking fun at the celebrities and politicians of the day, for she had a keen eye for politics and social intrigue, and an astute knowledge of the tendencies of her fellow Britons. I say "she" and "her" because despite her penname, Eliot was actually Mary Anne Evans, a woman who dared write serious novels in a period where most women limited themselves to bucolic romances. Lacking a formal education, she read widely and was heavily influenced by the Greek classics and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. She … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance · Tagged: , , ,

The Virtual Office as a Versatile Business Tool

Posted on 11/01/2013 by ·
The Virtual Office as a Versatile Business Tool by Laura Stack #productivity

With nearly the entire world now accessible by instant, reliable communications, we can access the ideal specialists to fill out our workplace teams almost anywhere on the planet. The virtual office is no longer limited to the realm of science fiction. It has truly come into its own and can offer enormous time management benefits when built and managed properly. Hiring With Purpose  Your first challenge will be finding the right people to staff your virtual office; however, that's an issue with any team, virtual or not. You usually won’t meet candidates face-to-face, which may make it difficult to get a feel for their personality, integrity, and skill-set before you hire them. Body language tells us a great deal—more than most people realize. But again, technology can come to your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tools & Systems · Tagged: , ,

Maximizing ROI: Continuous Improvement as a Core Value

Posted on 10/23/2013 by ·
Maximizing ROI: Continuous Improvement as a Core Value by Laura Stack #productivity

“If you’re any good at all, you know you can be better.” -- Lindsay Buckingham, British musician. Good enough is good enough, right? Perhaps that’s true for cleaning your house or writing an email, but as a leader, you know that can be a dangerous attitude. Complacency kills companies, much more quickly and thoroughly than ever before. You and your team must always strive to get better at what you do, because as Oliver Cromwell put it, "He who stops being better stops being good." If Cromwell's name rings a bell, that's because he was a master at bettering himself. He rose from relative obscurity in his 40s to become one of the chief politicians of early 17th century England. He participated in the English Civil War as a member of the Parliamentarians or "Roundheads," rising to a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: , ,

Creating an Environment of Accountability: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap

Posted on 10/21/2013 by ·
Creating an Environment of Accountability: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap buy Laura Stack #productivity

"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody." -- Thomas Paine, American Founding Father. "Corporations are like protean bacteria; you hit them with accountability and they mutate and change their names." -- Doug Anderson, American writer. Have you ever asked your spouse or a friend the rhetorical question, "Whatever happened to accountability?" When both business and government seem determined to rescue the worst wrongdoers from the consequences of their actions at our expense, many of us are left asking this very question. Remember the AIG banking fiasco of 2008? Did the perpetrators suffer for their greed? AIG posted a fourth-quarter loss of $62 billion—the largest in history—and received a huge government bailout check as a prize. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: ,

Teamwork Accountability Tips

Posted on 10/14/2013 by ·
Teamwork Accountability Tips by Laura Stack #productivity

When you're part of a team, each member affects your productivity and schedule. When others fail to get answers to you, you may be late producing the final product. When you rely on coworkers to review a document before proceeding, a month can go by before you have everyone's input. As leader, it's in your best interest to prod your team to get things done more efficiently, so you can produce better results in less time with fewer frustrations. One way to increase everyone's response time is to arrange a meeting with your team at the beginning of each project, so you can plan it through to the end. Lay out milestones, discuss each member's responsibilities, and set firm deadlines. Outline what you need from each person and when, and have them do the same for you. Do your best to be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , ,

Beyond the Talk: Why Only Performance Matters

Posted on 09/18/2013 by ·
Beyond the Talk: Why Only Performance Matters by Laura Stack #productivity

"An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises." -- Mae West, American actress. "Confidence... thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States. If talk got things done, humanity would already have colonies all over the solar system, and we'd probably be reaching for the stars. Instead, we all but gave up on manned spaceflight more than 40 years ago, and decided to send (relatively) cheap robotic probes to the planets instead. Not that they've been a waste; we've learned a lot. But our entire species is still living on one planet. My point? Simply that with a few therapeutic exceptions, no amount of talking and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,

The Evils of Micromanaging, and How to Overcome Them

Posted on 09/16/2013 by ·
The Evils of Micromanaging, and How to Overcome Them by Laura Stack #productivity

For those of you who manage others, let’s begin with a quiz to do a quick check of your micromanagement tendencies. Please read through these questions carefully and answer them honestly, yes or no. What’s true of you most of the time? Do you often find yourself standing over subordinates’ shoulders, directing their work? Do you regularly redo your employees' work, even as a form of instruction? Do you second-guess employees on a daily basis? Do you require sign-off on every task, no matter how minor? Are you convinced of the truth of the old saying, "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself"? Do you work 12+ a day, trying to put out brushfires and rechecking everything you're responsible for? Do you have a hard time focusing on the big picture? If … [Read more...]

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

Walking the Tightrope

Posted on 09/06/2013 by ·
Walking the Tightrope by Laura Stack #productivity

I realize all you young go-getters would work 25/8 if possible; however, heed this advice from a 20-year business veteran who tried that: 1. You can't maintain a breakneck pace forever. Sure, you have to invest plenty of time getting your business aloft, but you shouldn't still be working so hard three years later. Something's gotta give—don't let it be you. 2. Protect your time. Keep external challenges from destroying your focus and eating your precious time. Block out time to concentrate on your strategic priorities and erect barriers against interruptions. 3. Know when to unplug. If you don’t take care of yourself and get the R&R you need, you won’t have the energy to take care of your business and other people. Carve out personal time to do the things you enjoy, away from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance · Tagged: , , , ,