MAKE REGULAR SMALL IMPROVEMENTS

MAKE REGULAR SMALL IMPROVEMENTS

It is useful to improve on our entire twenty-four hour day, but lasting improvements tend to be small, incremental changes. ("Yard by yard is really hard. Inch by inch is a cinch".)In a horse race, the first place winner may receive twice the purse as the second place horse, not because it ran twice as far or twice as fast, but rather, was a "nose ahead" of the competition.Converting one hour per day from non-productive time to a new productive practice gives us the "multiplier effect".
We receive 7 more productive hours per week, 250 per year, or the equivalent of over 6 additional work weeks in the next year.

Taking Minutes

An Important Skill

At some point your boss may ask you to take minutes at a meeting. This task isn't reserved for secretaries only. Any person who attends a meeting may be asked to do this. Since the minutes will serve as an official record of what took place during the meeting, you must be very accurate. Here are some pointers to help you master this skill.

Before the Meeting

Choose your tool: Decide how you will take notes, i.e. pen and paper, laptop computer, or tape recorder. Make sure your tool of choice is in working order and have a backup just in case.
Use the meeting agenda to formulate an outline.

During the Meeting

• Pass around an attendance sheet.
• Get a list of committee members and make sure you know who is who.
• Note the time the meeting begins.
• Don't try to write down every single comment -- just the main ideas.
• Write down motions, who made them, and the results of votes, if any; no need to write down who seconded a motion.
• Make note of any motions to be voted on at future meetings.
• Note the ending time of the meeting.

After the Meeting

• Type up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting, while everything is still fresh in your mind. Include the name of organization, name of committee, type of meeting (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or special), and purpose of meeting.
• Include the time the meeting began and ended.
• Proofread the minutes before submitting them.
  
  Source: http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/communication/a/minutes.htm
  

Just Say “No”

Just Say “No”

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I used to put everyone else’s requests and needs first and if there wasany time left over at the end of the day for what I needed and wanted todo, that was acceptable. That is until I began to realize that if youand I are going to be effective time managers, we have to stay away fromallocating our time solely on the basis of those who demand it.

Instead,if you and I are going to be effective time managers, we have toallocate our time on the basis of those who deserve it.I don’t mean this in any negative or arrogant way. It’s just you havelimits to the amount of time you have to spend and so one of the mostpowerful words in your Time Management vocabulary is the word, “no”.

Almost everyone you encounter will think they have a better idea abouthow you should be spending your time. It doesn’t make others bad. It’sjust the way the world works. If there is a void in your Time Managementlife, someone, or many for that matter, will jump in to fill that spot.

The problem is that they do not have the full understanding of where youare taking your life and if you keep saying “yes”, they will continue totake up your time, possibly keeping you from accomplishing what youreally want to do.“No” is sometimes difficult to say because you have been taughtdifferently. You have been taught to say, “Yes”, to please, to serve,and to accommodate.

There is nothing wrong with saying “yes” most of thetime, but occasionally there is a line you choose not to cross, whensaying “yes” is really not the best use of your time to get you to whereyou need and want to be.If you had unlimited amounts of time, you could “yes” all the time toeveryone. But you don’t.

You have 24 hours each day, 7 days a week for atotal of 168 hours. And you get to spend that time only once, so youhave to spend it wisely.I have listed seventeen ways here to say “no”. Don’t let me put thewords in your mouth. Take the ones you like, change them around and youuse the words that are comfortable for you.

The point is, if you areever in a position when you can never say “no”, then you are alwayssaying “yes”, and like the song says, “If you don’t stand for something,you will fall for everything”.Try these:

“I’m sorry. That’s not a priority for me right now.”
“I can’t help you on this now, but I can get to it next week. Would thatbe okay?”
“I have so much on my plate now I don’t know when I can get to it. But Ido know someone over here who can help you now.”
“Before I take this on for you, let me show you a few things so that youmight be able to do it yourself.”
“I have made so many commitments to others, it would be unfair to themand you if I took on anything more at this point.”
“If I can’t give you a ride to the school dance on Friday, how elsewould you get there safely?”“I don’t know how soon I can help you on this, but I will get back toyou as soon as I am able to help you.”
“I’m sure we’re close enough that when I say “no” you’ll understand it’sfor a good reason.”
“Sure I can help you with your request as long as we both agree andunderstand that the item I agreed to do for you yesterday is going tohave to wait.”
“Before I take this over from you, what do you think we ought to doabout it?”
“I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, I sure can do thatfor you. The bad news is, I’m so overloaded with everything else, I’vebecome delirious and have been
lying about my commitments.”
“When I get overwhelmed like I am now, I remove every third person whoasks me for something, from my “Good Friends List” and the second personjust left.”
“No.”
“Thanks for thinking to ask me, but, no thanks.”
“I would like to help you out on this but you understand I don’t havethe resources available to do the right job for you.”
“Now that’s the type of thing I would love to help you on if only I hadthe time.”
“Just like you, I get overloaded sometimes and have to tell some veryspecial people, “no”. This is one of those times.”

And as you speak, smile.

THE HR NETWORK: How do I integrate two culturally different organizations?

THE HR NETWORK: How do I integrate two culturally different organizations?

Keep abreast of the latest HR strategies and best practices with the HRNetwork, a global listserv for strategic HR professionals. Here's an exampleof a recent posting with one of the responses it generated:

Q: We're currently facing change management issues related to theintegration of another firm into ours. Culture, processes and habits arequite different and this results in difficulties integrating the two teamsto make them work together properly. We're thinking of offering an award orfinancial incentive to the team that shows they focus on integrating witheach other, or to the team that's already the best integrated. I'd reallyappreciate any ideas on this topic. - HR MANAGER, A TOP GLOBAL LAW FIRM

A: I wouldn't offer a reward for integration and cooperation that's monetarybecause you're now establishing a new incentive plan for behavior that'spart of everyone's job: "working together to serve the customer." The bestintegrations seem to occur when the following factors are put in place andsupported by the top leadership team:

1. The clear and compelling reason the merger was formed to begin with. Whatare the market and competitive realities that make this important andcritical to survival? What major opportunities does this create for everyoneif successful?
2. Form a powerful guiding task team with membership from both companies tobe accountable for the integration. Incorporate this objective on theirappraisals and link these to existing performance reward systems.
3. Create and publish a vision of what the new company/entity will be ableto accomplish.
4. Communicate the new vision through every channel possible enlisting themost influential people.
5. Systematically evaluate what has to change in order to make the vision areality. Structures, processes, systems, people.
6. Plan for and publish short-term wins.
7. On a quarterly basis, have total company reviews of the progress to date.

- HR SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUGHES SUPPLY

What do CEOs really think of HR?

What do CEOs really think of HR?

Asked to rate the performance of various areas of their business,
respondents to the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest annual CEOBriefing
survey gave HR an emphatic thumbs-down. Alone of the functions under review,
more people rated the performance of HR bad (6%) than excellent (4%). No
other function - not even the notoriously unlovable IT department - came
close to being this unappreciated.

The 555 senior executives from 68 countries were asked to choose which three
business functions will be most important to realizing corporate strategy
over the next three years: HR received only 16% of the votes, with sales and
marketing rated at 56%.

Senior executives worldwide predict that their organizations will prioritize
international markets over domestic ones in the next three years. They
identified the importance of globalization to their strategic growth plans,
with respondents expecting the proportion of revenue coming from overseas
markets to jump by an average of one-third over the next three years.

Acquiring new customers is seen as the most important strategy for achieving
revenue growth (58% of respondents). Increasing market share (53%) and
growing revenue (50%) outstrip lowering the cost base as strategic
priorities for executives.

Almost nine out of ten respondents regard the prospects for business
globally as either good or very good, a marked increase on previous years.
One paradox of globalization is that it increases the value of local
knowledge. Understanding the needs of local customers in the different
markets as customers’ tastes change and competition intensifies is the
biggest challenge that managers of global companies face, according to the
survey.

To download the CEO Briefing report free of charge, visit
http://www.eiu.com/CorporatePriorities2006

How to create a high performance coaching culture

How to create a high performance coaching culture

It’s amazing what people can achieve with the right support. These fivepointers emphasize the fundamental role that HR can play in embedding acoaching culture to unlock untapped talent and potential.

1. Clarify drivers for change and get buy-in from senior management
To make a compelling case for coaching, it's important that a coachingcompany work closely with HR and business leaders to identify areas in needof improvement, challenges, missed opportunities and hidden costs – forexample, costs associated with high staff turnover.

2. Agree relevant ROI measures that can be tracked from the outset
These might be revenue/profit-focused or centered around retention levels,employee or customer satisfaction, as well as behavioral measures which canbe monitored through 360 degree assessments and employee health surveys.

3. Create a coaching vision and integrate coaching with strategic plans
Ask senior management to think about when a coaching culture is in place.What results will be achieved? How will people feel? What difference will itmake to individuals and the bottom line? The greatest results are achievedwhen organizations commit to a long-term program and integrate the visionand key performance indicators into their strategic HR plans.

4. Communicate quick wins
Try one-to-one coaching with a select group of individuals, or start with aregional pilot program. These activities can be publicized to gainengagement for a full coaching plan. Work with marketing and PR tocommunicate success stories, both internally and externally.

5. Sustain momentum
Senior management need to walk the talk and continually inspire learning andgrowth. Look at creating programs that not only coach individuals but alsoteach them how to coach the people they manage. Progress should be assessedon an ongoing basis to help to ensure key objectives continue to be met.Source: Carole Gaskell, Full Potential Group.

For further information,please visit: http://www.fullpotentialgroup.com