Few things are more energizing than leaving a productive meeting with your team, set ablaze with fresh ideas that will set the wheels in motion. You’re ready to go. Your team is ready to go. You’ve established MT goals and are ready to tackle the world.
It’s a great feeling. Until something, somewhere, gets a little hazy.
Clumsy attempts at self improvement are better than smooth successes at nailing the status quo. A good, and immediate, example is feedback. We know (really, proven scientifically and anecdotally time and time again) that this is how to engage employees: Provide frequent, specific, behavior-based feedback that is more often positive than negative. I’ve never met … Read more
An email I received yesterday: I would be interested in your thoughts about too much communication. It has been happening that with all the communication outlets, Facebook, Twitter, text, email, that keeping track of getting the word out is becoming overkill. I have some members that say they only check Twitter or Facebook and … Read more
Last fall, I spent two blog posts discussing how effective leaders stay organized. At that time, I was referring to your actual to-do list, which typically won’t have the actual words “pay attention to John on Monday.” But maybe you should consider it. A colleague of mine was telling me about a car salesman who … Read more
When I was in 6th grade, my music teacher, Mr. Jones, played us some “Switched-On Bach” – Bach performed on synthesizer.
That was pretty cool back in 1980. If you’re over 40, I bet you know what I’m talking about. It actually got me really interested in “real” Bach music; I’m a fan to this day.
Mr. Jones was a real advocate, and fed me more to listen to, and encouraged my unusual (for a 6th-grade boy) passion for Baroque music.
Until one day…
I ate in a London pub with a group once, and the server made a mistake when calculating the bill. Unfortunately, he didn’t believe us, and our argument kept escalating. I got a little, um, animated myself. He was in the wrong (I have witnesses), but now he had a service issue with an obviously … Read more
Four-way stops are easy, right? Stop, then take your turn after everyone else has gone. Is it a tie? Person on the right goes first. Easy. No problem.
Does everyone totally adhere to The Rules of the Four Way Stop? I bet they think they do. But you’ve seen these…
In an earlier post, “Instead of…” was presented as an alternative to saying “Don’t.” “Instead of” forces you to come up with an alternative action, which is usually good.
However, if time is critical, or it’s not all that consequential, or you can’t come up with an alternative, try this:
“Resist the temptation to…”
It works best for quick thoughts that you might usually start with “Don’t”
“Don’t use the side door.”
“Don’t call her so soon.”
“Don’t staple every doggone thing.”
“Don’t leave the lights on in the storage room.”
Have you seen productivity dip while creating a positive atmosphere? There’s a likely reason, and a solution.
So much
There are scientists and psychologists who report that the most powerful expression in the human repertoire is the smile. When there is work to be done, and we’re “all business,” we might forget the power of the smile. Not just to transmit our happiness, but to disarm tension and settle nerves at tough times. We’ve … Read more