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  OCTOBER 2008  
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LOOSEN YOUR GRIP AND BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY!  by

 Linda Feinholz 		10/6/2008 at 09:54
Every week I’m asked the question. Every week it feels like the first time I’ve heard it. And every week I have a fresh "Ah ha!" reaction to it and a feeling of relief sweeps through me as I notice a new answer to the question.

It’s the question posed by my mentor Kendall SummerHawk: "What is one thing you can let go of?"

The funny thing about the question is that in the moment when it’s posed, whether in person, by phone or in an email, I always hit my mental ’pause’ button. I become mentally calm and still, and have a distinct answer. Always.

And I’ve asked it of the members of the Sole Practitioners MasterMind group that I lead. I see each of the folks there have the same ’Oh! Yes..." reaction and realizations.

The question has been so powerful I’ve incorporated it in my conversations with my clients, friends, and family over the past two years. In some ways, asking it of others is a really productive way of bringing it up fresh for myself as well.

Take this past week for instance. I started Monday with a clear idea for my newsletter article. Then, as I prioritized my week, I knew...

I had to get a set of legal documents drafted, proofed, reviewed, agreed to and delivered (bless Andy Goodman for helping get this done!). AND I had to get the ball into action on the radio show I’ll be hosting. AND I absolutely needed to get a new web page ...
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THE BENEFITS OF EMAIL COMPLIANCE IN A BUSINESS  by

 Jesmond Darmanin 		10/6/2008 at 09:53
Email has become the standard method of correspondence used by businesses sending important and sometimes confidential messages. Such sensitive information needs to be archived for possible future use in order to comply with eDiscovery requests, specific regulations as well as the company’s email compliance policies.

Email correspondence is used for both internal and external affairs therefore it is important that a copy of all emails is archived for possible future needs relating to legal, compliance and human resource issues. A company must also be in a position to respond to eDiscovery requests at short notice.

Why a company needs email archiving

Existing regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and the FRCP treat emails as being equal to paper-based documents in terms of valid and legal documentation presented in a court of law and are therefore admissible during an eDiscovery request.

eDiscovery is the process of locating, securing and using documentation from a company’s archives in a legal setting, so a company must have the ability to procure the necessary documents with the confirmation that these have not been tampered with. Failure to abide by procedures could result in court fines and other financial burdens, as well as a failing reputation.

How email archiving should be implemented

For security, maintenance and resource reasons, email archives should not be archived on the mail server but should have their own localized server that is specific to the task.

Having your emails archived on a separate database ensures more protection for the archives should the server crash, as well as lightening the ...
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EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT AT WORK  by

 Alan Orr 		10/6/2008 at 09:53
Most people will tell you that they are expected to get more done each day at work than they can. Employers want top performance and they also want high production levels. That can be hard to do though with continuous interruptions. We all know there are various aspects of any job that require more time than we had anticipated allocating to them.

Time management at work is important no matter what it is that you do for a living. If you aren’t getting the most out of the time you have, then you may be coming in early, working through lunch, staying late, or taking work home with you. That can become very stressful and it can also result in you becoming burned out.

One of the problems with time management at work is that you can’t always do things your own way. There may be certain procedures that you have to follow. However, your boss isn’t going to sit down with you each day and tell you what has to be accomplished. Effective time management at work requires you to be able to prioritize things.

Those individuals that climb the corporate ladder are confident in their leadership skills. You can be sure that they know all about effective time management as well.

One of the key ways in which you can get organized at work is to write everything done. You need to pay close attention to deadlines so you don’t miss them. Start on big projects early so you aren’t in a ...
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HOW DO WE OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO IMPLEMENTATION?  by

 Carol Dickson-Carr 		10/6/2008 at 09:52
"I don’t want to," my eight year old daughter said sadly when I asked her to clean her room. I asked her why that was her typical response. Her reply, "Because no one ever seems to want to help me." I’d asked her that same question three years ago and her reply was, "It [the task] is too big!"

In each instance, my thought immediately went to her being overwhelmed. Even though the payoff would be an allowance, she often wanted to forgo the money to get out of doing it! That is, until I reminded her of strategies to getting it done without the task feeling as daunting, with the biggest tip being: take baby steps and prioritize by working on one area of the room or category at a time (i.e., school papers, then shoes, then stuffed animals, etc.). But truth be told, she has no real passion for cleaning her room. :)

When we coach, mentor, or consult our adult clients, or sometimes when we are being coached or mentored ourselves, there is also often a similar trend of resistance in some cases. This can be true whether we’re dealing with grunt work that doesn’t light us up (One word to that: Outsource!) or if we have been presented with quite a few cool tools that can help our businesses in the long run.

Let’s go with the Web 2.0 theme, for example: When we introduced blogging, podcasting, video creation, internet talk radio, and social networks to people who are ...
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OFFICE NOISE - A COSTLY PROBLEM  by

 Frank Barnett 		10/6/2008 at 09:52
There are firms in which the greatest decreases in productivity are not caused by workers who are playing computer games or doing personal chores instead of working but instead from staff members who are suffering from the distractions caused by office noise. It is especially the discussions between other employees which don’t relate to any work activities which are disruptive to the focus and concentration of their co-workers.

The acoustics of most offices leave a lot to be desired in situations when the employees do need to have interpersonal communications or a phone conversation, without distracting nearby employees. Cubicles with short walls, cramping many employees in a small area, and other such workforce planning issues result in a lot of office noise.

In offices with a lot of office noise, the problem can very quickly become costly and result in expensive consequences. It can result in lost productivity in many cases, significantly impacting the bottom line. Initially the loss may not be apparent, but ultimately it does have a telling effect with constant interruptions.

To eliminate the significant decrease in productivity due to inevitable office noise, lot of firms are utilizing office sound masking devices. They mask annoying distractions by supplementing them with an unstructured sort of background hum, which noticeably increases the conversational privacy of the workplace. This has proven to make virtually all office employees more productive to one level or another.

Office noise is inevitable, as part of business consists of employees speaking with customers or each other. However, this can ...
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WHY YOU NEED STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL  by

 Michael Okrent 		1/20/2008 at 10:09
Continuing this series we provide more understanding of how measurement improves business performance. In previous articles we have used Total Quality Management to reduce lead-time, Activity Based Costing and Design for Manufacturability to reduce costs and time to market. This article focuses on Statistical Process Control (SPC). It will cover: Why you need SPC; Where you need SPC; When you need SPC; and How to get started using SPC.

WHY YOU NEED SPC

There are two ways to increase profits. Increase sales and/or reduce costs. It has been demonstrated in studies by several capital goods manufacturers that sales to new customers cost as much as 20 times more than sales to existing customers. World Class organizations compete in essentially five areas: Price, Delivery, Features, Quality and Customer Service. It would then stand to reason that a customer, who is satisfied, better yet enthusiastic about your product, will not only continue to buy from you in the future but will recommend your product to others. Quality is the key to long term customer satisfaction, e.g. increased sales. Quality is also one of the keys to reduced cost.

Reduced process variation is why SPC is such a powerful tool to lower costs and enhance customer satisfaction. Process variation creates a ripple effect that disrupts the synchronous manufacturing flow. An example of this is the situation where a part fails and must be scrapped. The extra cost associated with this failure is a significant expense. First, the defective part must be disposed of. There is the ...
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HOW TO SUPER CHARGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY  by

 Stephen Martile 		1/20/2008 at 10:08
The biggest barrier to productivity is not a lack of time like most think. When you dig deep down to the core of the problem, a lack of productivity comes from a lack of integrity. Most people will say one thing and then do another. When you’re not integral to your word you create more work for yourself and that leads to a lack of productivity.

Here’s one way to look at it. Let’s say I ask you out for dinner. I phone up and say, "hey, would you be interested in going out to dinner with me this Friday?" and you say, "Sure, I’ll meet at 7:00 pm." At this point I’ve committed my time to go to dinner with you. I’ve declared an action. Friday comes along and it’s getting close to 7:00 pm, no Steve. Now it’s past 7:00pm! Still no Steve. It’s 8:00 pm and you get a phone call from me. "Hey, I wanted to let you know I won’t be able to make it tonight. I hope you understand. Do you want to reschedule for next Friday?" You give it some thought and then accept.

The following Friday comes along and I miss dinner again! This time you’re really pissed and I call you to reschedule for a third time. "Hey, sorry bout that. Do you want to meet next Friday?"

Big Question: Do you want to meet with me?

I’m going to guess that chances are pretty slim. You’ve had enough at this point. You don’t believe ...
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PRODUCTIVITY REQUIRES COMPETENT PEOPLE  by

 Brice Alvord 		1/20/2008 at 10:08
Competent people are consistently able to render valuable or worthy performance without excessively using costly behaviors. Competencies are measures of worker accomplishment that have a value to the organization. In other words, the organization is willing to pay someone to achieve these accomplishments. Competencies are results driven, That is they define a performance based on a standard of performance. Competencies are the foundation of Performance Improvement and productivity initiatives.

Competencies Without Standards Are Not Competencies

The standard of performance defines exactly how well the job must be performed in order to achieve the desired results. It is a clear and concise definition of that performance. The standard should be observable and measurable, i.e. "Apply a coat of paint so that it covers the previous color." In this example, you can quickly determine if the standard was achieved.

It is also important to remember that the standard should be at a trainee level - not at the level of an experienced worker. The standard should be set so that it can be performed competently but at a much slower pace.

It is important to point out that people in a job will meet differing levels of competence. You would not expect a newly hire operator to achieve that same level of competence after two weeks of training that an operator who has been on the job for a year or longer. When determining competencies it is important to identify at least three or more levels of competence for each position:

* The ...
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THE SECRET TO EFFECTIVE EMAIL TIME MANAGEMENT  by

 A. J. Maddox 		1/20/2008 at 10:07
Take a look in your email inbox- how many messages do you have in there? A few hundred? A few thousand? Believe it or not, there are actually people who have accumulated thousands of emails in their inbox. If this is you, it’s probably a good time to take a look at how you are processing the incoming emails, and see if you can improve the time spent on reading and responding to email actions.

Here are four steps you can start taking TODAY, that will make a huge difference in the amount of time you spend on email related tasks. Effective email time management starts right now!

Schedule Email Time

How many times a day are you interrupted by the "ding" that notifies you when an email has arrived in your inbox? Also think about the number of total interruptions you get each day- from the telephone, people stopping at your desk or office, instant messaging, etc. Scheduling an hour per day to work through the information received in your inbox (moving files to your reference folders, or carrying out the actions required of action emails) can make a huge difference in the amount you accomplish. Depending on the nature of your work, you may need to check your email more frequently for more pressing emails requiring actions right away, but having at least one hour per day, specifically scheduled to deal with what’s in the email inbox and to not allow phone calls or other interruptions, will make a huge difference.

If ...
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PROCESS MAPPING WITH FLOWCHARTS  by

 Steven Bonacorsi 		1/20/2008 at 10:06
A flowchart is an outline or schematic drawing of the process your team is trying to measure or improve. It can also be a picture of an ideal process that you would like to use. Process mapping with flowcharts can help people:

* Agree on the steps of a process and the order in which they occur

* See some of the duplicated effort and other non-value-added steps that might be lurking in a process

* Clarify working relationships between people and organizations

* Target specific steps in the process for improvement.

Process mapping is especially useful in the measure and analyze phases of Lean Six Sigma methodology.

Top-down flowchart

There are several kinds of flowcharts. The simplest is the top-down flowchart.

What can it do for you?

* Tell what the major clusters of activity are; the ones that are essential to the total process.

* Show what the process would look like without the steps that have accumulated over time to shore up an inefficient or faulty process.

How do you make one?

1. List the most basic steps of the process. Limit these to no more than five or six major steps.

2. Write the major steps across the top of a board, flip chart or piece of paper in the order that they occur in the process.

3. Under each major step, list the sub-steps that make up that element of the process. List them in ...
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HOW TO CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY  by

 Mark H. Akerley 		1/20/2008 at 10:05
However, what if everyone doesn’t have a sense of urgency, or at least your sense of urgency? Do you find new people? Change your goals? Reduce your expectations? Maybe - but if that’s not acceptable to you, try creating a sense of urgency with your team if you find them (or maybe yourself!) procrastinating. It definitely can be done, and here are a few simple steps to do so:

1. Simplify goals and objectives. Your goals and objectives of course make perfect sense to you. You’ve probably thought long and hard about them, and you understand the rewards that will go along with achieving them. If they’re significant, they will no doubt have some level of complexity to them. However, if you’re going to get others to work with you on your goals, you must simplify them, breaking them down into bite-sized chunks that are easily understood and digested. People need to understand what and why they are doing something if they are going to do it well. If you are going to have others work with you on a goal, be sure to have an informative, written, step-by-step action plan associated with it.

2. Set deadlines. When setting deadlines don’t ask, "When can you get this to me?" Rather, state, "You need to get this to me by ’X’." After all, if you’re going to complete your goals, you need to have all the pieces come together at the appropriate times. So make no assumptions what others might be thinking regarding ...
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VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS - A RELIEF TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS  by

 Doreen Patrick 		1/20/2008 at 10:05
To truly understand the value of working with a virtual assistant, a savvy virtual assistant won’t just tell you about the value you will receive, he or she will be able to show you. Everywhere businesses and business owners are faced with many tasks that take away precious time from building their business. What may take a virtual assistant an hour or so to complete, may take a business owner or associate hours to complete because of all the distractions and necessary projects that have to be done. A compiled list provided below demonstrates actual projects completed by virtual assistants that have taken one hour or less to complete. The idea is not to rush through the project, but rather show the business owner that working with a virtual assistant is the most efficient means of getting necessary administrative tasks done.

A virtual assistant normally works without interruption and can schedule projects far enough in advance to meet the growing needs of their clients. While this list demonstrates the value of one hour, imagine what five or ten hours of assistance can provide!

1. Warm call 25-30 prospects.
2. Phone a minimum of 25 clients for a specific project.
3. Mail merge 50-100 letters including stuffing and mailing.
4. Create a viable prospect list of 25-30 contacts.
5. Create an Email campaign.
6. Data Entry of a minimum of 75 contacts in an Excel spreadsheet.
7. Create correspondence for a client or prospect.
8. Edit and proof a minimum of a five page report.
9. Follow up on a minimum ...
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IMPROVING PERFORMANCE WITH STRATEGIC THINKING AND STRAT FRAME  by

 Brice Alvord 		1/20/2008 at 10:04
Inadequate planning is a persistent problem and fundamental when organizations attempt to carryout the strategic intent of management. Most organizations have a planning function and the resulting planning documents are often specific and clear about the financial and physical inputs, activities of people, and the expected physical results. What is often missing, is a thorough assessment of the overall objectives, the stakeholders, and the external factors and assumptions which determine ultimate success or failure of the organization. This article opens the door to an exciting tool called StratFrame(TM).

Deficiencies in planning are typically reflected in inadequate monitoring systems. During the implementation phase, there is generally too much emphasis on physical results and too little on policy issues and environmental issues affecting operations.

As a result, strategic initiatives and supporting projects have a tendency to morph in unintended directions and fail to respond to the needs of the stakeholders. As a result the supporting projects may have unforeseen negative results that could have been avoided with strategic thinking coupled with systematic planning.

Effective continuous improvement and genuine performance enhancement require improved planning and project preparation with more emphasis on monitoring, analysis, and evaluation throughout the life time of each project.

One solution to these short-comings is a project planning tool called the StratFrame(TM). It is an analytic tool focused on strategic objectives oriented planning and management. When coupled with Strategic Thinking processes, it provides a systematic and logical analysis of inter-related key initiative components. This improves planning by focusing on the linkages between key elements ...
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5 TIPS TO UNLEASH PRODUCTIVITY  by

 Don Grimme 		1/20/2008 at 10:03
Recent studies are finding that many employees are overworked -- resulting not only in job burnout, but also in diminished productivity. Our "Unleash Employee Productivity" article explored this disturbing phenomenon and pointed the way to ameliorating the negative impact of job demands on productivity.

These tips show you how. As you read them, think about how you could adapt the suggestions and examples to your workplace.

Tip #1: Make work more meaningful by applying your organization’s key competencies in creative ways.

Try to identify a synergy between your products & services and your employees’ values -- home, family, recreation, education, giving back to the community, etc.

For example:

* Motorola uses its own senior technical staff to conduct in-house technical training courses, some of which are part of accredited M.S. degree programs.

* A construction company could provide home repairs for their employees.

What expertise does your organization have that could be made available to enhance your employees’ personal or professional lives?

* Some hotels allow their employees’ children to watch TV in an unrented room while their parent is working.

Could you do anything like this at your workplace? For example, could you utilize available space and employees to provide ad hoc child-care during school holidays?

* And, when disaster strikes, offer your products and services -- and volunteers from your workforce -- to provide aid.

Tip #2: Effectively communicate the mission ...
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Blogs

Loosen Your Grip and Boost Your Productivity!

 The Benefits of Email Compliance in a Business

 Effective Time Management at Work

 How Do We Overcome Resistance to Implementation?

 Office Noise - A Costly Problem

 Why You Need Statistical Process Control

 How To Super Charge Your Productivity

 Productivity Requires Competent People

 The Secret to Effective Email Time Management

 Process Mapping with Flowcharts

 How To Create A Sense of Urgency

 Virtual Assistants - A Relief to Small Business Owners

 Improving Performance With Strategic Thinking And Strat Frame

 5 Tips to Unleash Productivity

 How to Improve Performance - Diagnose Problems

 An Effective Tool For Productivity Improvement

 Unleash Employee Productivity

 Automation - Use Automation To Get More Done

 Productive - How To Be More Productive In Less Time

 What Should Business Productivity Improvement Cost?

 Demotivation Is the Killer in Work Productivity

 Increasing Productivity in 3 Simple Ways

 The Significance of Productivity Analysis