Dam the paper!
If you’re drowning with paper see the blog post just before this one. Once you’ve caught up on your backlog of paper and sticky notes you’ll want to use some of the following tips to keep on top of what comes into your office.
Special note: These are habits to develop. Anytime you want to create a new habit, you’ve got to work at it consciously for a period of time before it becomes automatic.
Step 1 – Look at the sources of your paper.
Mail coming in – your in-box (paper from others) – notes from meetings –… Continue reading
Drowning in paper!
I received the following email message from a dear friend and client as she was about to go on vacation. I had just visited her office and saw paper everywhere. I felt chaotic just walking in, I couldn’t imagine being there every day.
Here’s what she wrote: You are so right! I am drowning in little bits of paper. Thank you for your offer to help out! I'm ready anytime.
I am leaving for the beach Saturday morning, but even if you had some time today or tomorrow to give me a few tips that would be great. … Continue reading
Rip the band-aid off fast!
I heard a tip from someone the other day. Hire slow (see Help wanted post) and fire fast! My experience has been that many managers hire fast and are pretty slow to fire.
So now let’s talk about the “fire fast” part. First the disclaimer – I encourage you to follow your company’s procedures when you need to let someone go. Follow the guidelines, procedures and the law as it applies to your situation.
What I’m talking about is very human. People like to avoid conflict whenever they can. I’ve heard leaders say they “don’t… Continue reading
Help wanted!
I heard a tip from someone the other day. Hire slow and fire fast! My experience has been that many managers hire fast and are pretty slow to fire.
When you’re short staffed there’s a lot of pressure to get another body in to help. What can happen, you hire someone who is not a fit, either they don’t have the skills or experience to do the job, or they don’t work well with other staff members. Either way, that new hire ends up costing you time, money and patience!
Here’s some tips about hiring the right person.… Continue reading
“I can do this better myself!”
I know you can, so can I.
“It’s faster if I just take care of it!”
Yes it is, in the short term.
With each new job or assignment I tend to keep some of those duties that I’m really good at, that I can do better and faster than others. What I notice is I have more and more to do and less time to do it – old tasks and new tasks.
Hanging on to familiar tasks is natural, it’s about staying in the comfort zone. It also reinforces that I’m good at something – I seem to… Continue reading
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