Interested or Committed?
In the past I’ve wondered why I move forward with some things and why other tasks and projects linger. Then the light-bulb went on when I read the following definition:
“If you’re interested in something, you’ll do it if it is convenient. If you’re committed to something, you’ll do it no matter what.”
This has… 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
Interruptions
Do you ever get interrupted when you’re trying to get something done? Have you ever not been interrupted when you’ve tried to get something done?
I read a scary statistic the other day. An office worker is productive, working on a task, activity or project, on average 1 ½ hours per 8 hour workday. The rest of the time is spent on email, phone calls, meetings, chatting, looking for files, surfing the net, staring into space, going to the restroom, you name it.
Increasing your productivity is not that hard. The last post had tips to help you with… Continue reading
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