-By Adam Witmer-
Hate is an amazingly strong word.
Sometimes we are conditioned to it, but when we think about the word, it should cause us to take note. By definition it means “intense or passionate dislike.” And if someone uses that word regarding an organization, then it is probably worth taking note.
Read MoreI made a mistake this week. I made two assumptions that were completely wrong.
I am not typically one to make assumptions, but I was a bit off my game this week and fell into the trap I had been warned about many times over the years: "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me."
Read MoreE-mail can be one of the biggest distractions to a modern business. Yet, e-mail is one of the most effective forms of communication. Instead of calling 15 people to fill them in on the same thing, one e-mail can be sent to all of them with a single click. For this reason, e-mail is one of the most popular forms of communication in the modern business.
But it comes at a price. A price in the form of a loss of productivity.
As I have currently been writing a series on productivity in the workplace, this article will specifically focus on e-mail productivity and how to save
Read MoreEarly in my working career, I worked in sales in a cubicle environment. Everyday, I found myself struggling to increase my productivity. You see, I was in a department that was new and understood that, while our sales were difficult to come by, they were vital to the longevity of our newly developed department.
Since our department was somewhat of an experiment, there were only about eight of us in total. This meant that we sat next to one of the more established departments which was a high producer for the company. The interesting thing about this seating arrangement was that the established department was able to make twice as many sales with less effort than our department.
As I worked on increasing my productivity every day, I watched team members of the established department sit back and often
Read MoreAs a recovering perfectionist, my tendency is to want to master something before I share it and find myself in a place of vulnerability. For this reason, perfectionism is both one of my strengths and one of my weaknesses. It is a strength as I prefer to offer quality work. It is a weakness because I often work on things that never get finished as I fear they won’t be able to find perfection.
And then I heard someone say: “If you aren’t embarrassed
Read MoreThe best way to increase productivity in the workplace is to take away all irrelevant decisions. As humans, we only have so many decisions we can make in a day before we become overwhelmed and burned out. Even the smallest decisions take an output from our energy stores. So why not eliminate all small, non-critical decisions?
Mark Zuckerburg recently explained that he wears the same shirt most days because
Read MoreOver the years, I have worked with quite a few detail people. These employees are great with systems, operations, and "back room" functions; functions that are essential to every business, but require a certain personality type to complete. While these employees excel with crossing every "t" and dotting every "I", however, they often struggle with relational skills such as sales and communication. They struggle to understand the importance of building relationships in business.
Read MoreEmployees can make or break a business. Finding and retaining superstars who excel can be extremely challenging; like finding a lost diamond on a beach without the use of a metal detector. This is a difficult task for any business, but especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs who have so much at stake with any one of their few employees who make up their limited workforce. Therefore, many small businesses end up turning down an eccentric applicant who may seem to otherwise fit the bill, but doesn’t look the part of the job they are hiring for. But should these applicants be passed up merely because they may not fully conform to the boring culture we have established in our businesses? What if there was a way to leverage eccentric employees for a competitive advantage?
Every employer can create a competitive advantage with eccentric employees by taking one of three approaches.
Read MoreEveryone seems to despise meetings these days. And for good reason. Countless hours are spent holding our top-paid executives hostage, often spending more time than necessary and including people who really don't need to be there. Meetings, however, are a reality for all businesses. The challenge leaders face is to ensure that each meeting they hold is great. The good news is that any leader can hold a great meeting by taking three simple steps.
Read MoreEveryone struggles with the fear of failure, especially when it comes to starting new endeavors. The thought of being unsuccessful often keeps us from heading down a new road. Failure wins before something is even conceived. How many inventions weren't invented because of self-doubt? How many businesses were never started due to this fear? How many people avoid following their passions and dreams because they worry they can't cut it? The answers to these question is, unfortunately: too many. The good news, however, is that the fear of failure can be overcome. Some believe that discipline is the easiest way to overcome this fear. While relying on disciple works for some, I have found something else: devotion. My devotion to the mission surpasses my fears.
The following are three practical ways to overcome our fears:
Read More
A Leader's primary role is to ensure that a group of people produce a desired outcome. To accomplish this goal, a leader must encourage their team by setting a clear vision. The vision may be a short-term goal, such as a meeting agenda, or a long-term goal such as a five year plan. No matter what the goal, the vision is essential for motivating a team and getting others on board. Some leaders, however, appear to suffer from LADD - Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder.
Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder often manifests itself in three different ares:
Read MoreLeading difficult people can be like herding cats. No matter what you do, they won't follow you. You have goals to accomplish but certain people just aren't interested in what you are trying to achieve. They want to do things their own way and often seem to just ignore you. We have all experienced this. The good news, however, is that people aren't cats. And, we don't have to just force people to comply with our wishes. There is an easier way. Casting a clear vision as leaders helps us facilitate team progress in the most challenging of circumstances.
Read More
