List - Audits

Creating the list

...is not the same as obeying the list.

Do you make the list you check off, follow and work on every day? When does it get made? Who approves it? Do you identify tasks or perform them?

If you had a better list, would you do better work? If you made the list instead of just obeying it, would you be a more valuable member of the team?

Yes, asking questions is often more valued than answering them. (If they're the right questions.)

(Source: This series of audit questions comes to you from: Seth Godin)

These questions are very similar to the questions I posed yesterday. However Seth's view is more micro where as mine was macro.

It is important to remember to view the world from other's perspectives and not just your own.

"I've got a new invention. It's a revolving bowl for tired Goldfish." Lefty Gomez.

Office Setup - Self Audit

Try viewing your role from the other side of the desk sometime. Seriously - get up and move, and sit on the other side of your desk. When you get there try asking yourself some of these questions -

• What is the customer seeing?
• What would you change about what you do in your role?
• What things would you consider to be important and need focusing on?
• What things would you see as being not important and could therefore be put aside?
• What does your workspace look like to someone that isn't you?
• Is your workspace inviting? Is it boring or offensive? Does it tell a story about you?
• What will a customer say when they walk away after spending some time on the other side of the desk?

Here are a few tips that I use in my office -

• Have chairs for guests to sit in. No one should be made to stand up.
• Have your computer screen off to the side of your workspace so that when someone sits down you can establish a clear communication channel with them.
• If you have a flat desk - keep as little amount of stuff on it as is practically possible or be ready to move it!
• If you have a desk with a frontage - stand up when a customer comes to see you.
• Have plants in your office and on your desk that are easy to care for yet provide something appealing to look at.

Who are you talking to?

Check out these research results from Mckinsey -

• People in the 60 largest cities in China spend around 70 percent of their leisure time on the Internet;
• In smaller towns, the corresponding number is 50 percent;
• The PC is fast replacing the TV set as an entertainment hub;
• One in five consumers between the ages of 18 and 44 won’t purchase a product or service without first researching it on the Internet;
• The volume of e-commerce in China more than doubled last year.

So if you are selling something, have a service to offer, or are looking for blog readers - try publishing your pages in Chinese! (That's not a joke).

We have completed this exercise at work with Spanish and guess what - our website hits went through the roof for South America!

My boss is now off to China next week for a visit as well. The possibilities are endless...

(Source: https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Marketing/Digital_Marketing/Chinas_Internet_obsession_2546)

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons - Adaptability

The key to the knife's success - adaptability and simple design and construction.

Being small, compact and safe - you can take one anywhere!

How about your management skills - can you transport those anywhere as well?

Contracts - Beware!

When you are going to engage the services of a person or a company there are some steps you need to get right - right at the beginning. Here are some examples -

• Have a contract. You need to protect the rights and concerns of both yourself and the other party.
• Read the contract. If you don't understand contract legalese - find someone who can. The more complicated a contract appears the more suspicious of it you should be.
• Explain any items that may come across as being ambiguous or shady.
• Be very aware of the money aspects. Not all contracts involve a financial process or transaction. Be just as aware where services rendered are involved as you are where money is involved.
• Be honest.
• Take note of out clauses and other time options that are available to you.
• Don't sign anything until you have a second opinion.

Contracts can either be your friend or a ball and chain that will keep you from doing what you really want to be doing. Be careful and be aware!

Smart Presentations

Stuck on how to present that vital piece of information? Use the chart above to guide you in the right directon.

(Via http://www.socialhallucinations.com/)

Project Management - Fail

Results count, You can't disguise bad results. Sooner or later you will be found out.

Do these things before the proverbial hits the fan!

• Honesty is always the best policy.
• Own up if you stuff up.
• If it's all going wrong - get help fast!

Life Lessons - To Do List

The choice is yours.

"How we spend our days is of course - how we spend our lives" Annie Dillard.

(Thanks to Daphnee Maree for posting the graphic.)

Time Wasters (and Management)

Thanks to Fran Crosbie who dropped these survey results by me earlier today.

TALKING POINT

Last month we asked "Who or what interrupts you the most at work?" This is what you said:

1. A colleague stopping by for a chat - 30%

2. Trying to multitask - 29%

3. Arrival of a new e-mail - 28%

4. Phone/cell calls - 12%

5. Social media (Twitter/Facebook) - 1%

Total Votes: 2,890
(Priority Learning)

What interruptions affect you the most?

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons - The Knife

The Swiss Army Knife is just that - a knife. It is a knife bundled up with extra components that make it indispensable.

knife: noun - 1. An instrument for cutting, consisting essentially of a thin, sharp-edged, metal blade fitted with a handle; 2. A cutting edge; a blade.
verb (used with object) - to apply a knife to; cut, stab, etc., with a knife . (Dictionary.com)

A knife has one primary purpose - and that is to cut. There are any different types of knife available to people. Many different knives serve many different purposes but not all knives are suitable for all situations. The size of the knife determines where and when it can be used.

Example - you wouldn't use a slasher (long blade) to remove a splinter. Nor would you use a butter knife to blaze a trail through think underbrush.

The Swiss Army Knife (SAK) is a fantastic knife (with a small and appropriate sized blade)because of it's adaptability. It isn't threatening in it's size but it can punch above it's weight when required to. The SAK could remove a splinter or alternatively it can be used to separate and cut through vines, ropes and leather boots.

What lessons can we draw from the SAK knife blade?

• The knife blade is usually the first item people look at and pay the most attention to. Work on developing a stand out skill or function that people can see from the start and makes others sit up and take notice of you.
• A knife needs care and attention paid to it to ensure it retains it's edge and it's function. The same is true for the manager. Managerial skills must be kept oiled and sharp.
• Don't overstate or make too much noise about your skills. When the time comes you apply your skills in an appropriate form and size which is determined by the task at hand.
• Try to make sure your particular area of focused skill is appropriate to the rest of your abilities.
• Blunt knives (as well as skills) are highly dangerous and ought to be avoided or fixed as quickly as possible.