Entries from March 2008 ↓

We’ve all sat through a pointless meeting with the presenter going over 40+ slides. We sit and stare as well-paid professionals’ in the room zone out to the never ending speech. Horror stories are eminent, yet by following a few key guidelines we can work to improve and save valuable money and time for everyone. With weekly or even monthly meetings it’s hard to be energized when you know that it will ultimately lead to nothing. By ordering food and having lunch during the meeting will not make anything better. To have effective, valuable, and engaging meetings it requires a few characteristics such as a proper location, clear agenda, visual cues, strong leadership, and follow up action items. Let us dive into having a “Google” style meeting. From first hand experience they do it best.

A convenient location goes a long way: Depending on your group size, a meeting location that’s central will allow everyone to get there on time. Lounges or break-rooms work well for small groups of three to four. Large groups should book ahead of time a conference room and notify all participants with a map if needed. Having your meeting over dinner in a crowded or loud place will cause distractions. Keep it close, keep it simple, and keep it quick.

Make sure the meeting location has the following:

• Ethernet cables to plug-in for each guest
• A working projector
• Whiteboard for brainstorming
• Refreshments if it’s going to be long
• Good lighting and temperature

If you don’t plan, you plan to fail: One of the most overlooked items of a meeting is an agenda. It’s important to come prepared and know what you want to cover, how much time it will take, and what questions you need answered from your team. Set the agenda and stick to it. If you have the chance, Email the agenda to each person prior to the meeting so everyone knows what to expect and will be able to contribute more.

Meetings should NOT be for:

• Giving an update with one-way flow of information. Send an Email instead.
• Creating enthusiasm or support for your idea. Use private 1 on 1 meetings instead.
• Getting everyone on the same page or resolving a disagreement.
• Getting slackers on track. Embarrassing or having to single a person out is not effective.

Keep them excited with visual cues: In each meeting there needs to be some spice. Monotone speakers and regurgitating previous meetings are useless. Take some time to put together at the least some images to go along with your slides. Have pictures or charts to express a point instead of text filled slides. Since everyone is present you can speak to your visual cues without using text to explain your message.

Essential ingredients for keeping people excited:

• Timekeeper to keep things on pace and to assure people when time is up, time is up.
• Note taker so others can listen and fully understand your message. Helps for keeping a record too.
• Whiteboard to write ideas, brainstorm, and draw flowcharts or processes

If you can’t lead, then you must follow: If you’re presenting a meeting with another person you need to set who will lead the discussion and who will follow. When you have two people leading a meeting it gets out of hand. The message will not be delivered effectively and your audience will hear an overload of information. Whoever is leading, take charge and keep the meeting moving forward and on time! Keep questions to the end if possible so that you can get your agenda across before going into a potential tangent. If people are bored and don’t get anything out of the meeting, that’s your fault.

Keep everyone in the loop: After the meeting has ended have your note taker(s) send each person a copy with any action items that have been discussed. You should also send a copy to anyone who wasn’t able to make the meeting. Make sure everyone leaves with knowledge of the next step. It’s easy to go back to your desk and forget what just happened. That is why the follow up is the most important factor to ensure your meeting is a success. If you have time, survey your audience to determine if the meeting was effective. For any information on a whiteboard that can’t be saved, take a picture with your cell-phone camera and upload it to www.scanR.com. They’ll clean up the image and turn it into a PDF which you can then forward to your team.

I hope this helps and you’ll be able to nail your next meeting. It shows when you prepare and it will clearly show when you don’t. Make sure you don’t over invite and aren’t wasting someone’s time that will not contribute or gain anything from the discussion. Let me know your thoughts and if there is something I missed please mention it in the comments below.

More often than not, communication with upper management or executives involves multiple emails. Time is limited and if the point isn’t made concisely it will be buried with the other 100 emails that never get read. If you’ve got ideas for improvements or critical situations it’s easy to have your boss hear you out. Dealing with the “big dogs” you need to know the difference between the right way and the wrong way to send an email. If you’re successful, you’ll get your point across fairly quickly. Let’s digest the structure of an email to properly communicate a message within the corporate hierarchy.

Subject Line: Since this is the first part anyone will read it needs to be engaging. Dull, boring, and non-descriptive subject lines lead people to think that your message is not important. Call attention to your email by making it relevant to the job description of the person. This way when they read it, they’ll see the value and open the email to respond.

Introduction: There are couple ways people write introductions. Sometimes they go off on tangents explaining a complete back story, other times they just don’t get to the meat of the point and end up diluting the subject line. The most effective introduction starts by stating the problem or situation that follows the subject line. Be consistent and quick to the point otherwise the rest of the email will not be read.

Purpose: The purpose should follow the introduction sentence. Once you get the problem stated you need to inform the reader why this is happening. If the purpose is buried at the bottom then the whole email won’t make sense till the end. The purpose should end your first paragraph and transition into the supporting facts.

Support: Refrain from giving your opinion at this point. The person could careless why you think this is an issue or problem, rather use the context of business to state your support. It’s best to use bullet statements for supporting your stance. Too many paragraphs and words will signal overload. Provide your valid points to show you did your homework and weren’t just sending a complaint email.

Close: If you want action or a response to your well constructed email you need to close it properly. First, anticipate and/or answer any possible questions that may arise. Cover all grounds so that the person you sent it to doesn’t have to respond with a lengthy email. A simple “Ok” will suffice since you did the due diligence and presented the results clearly. If you close it as an action item or leave the ball in their court, expect to be waiting for a response. At the least, lay the groundwork for a follow up phone call or meeting.

Signature: If the message is to someone very important you need to make it personal. Ignore the static signature that’s sent with all the other mundane emails you produce. End it with a nice close and show that you signed off on the email rather than your stored signature.

These tips will help you write more effective emails. Body language and non-verbal communication is important for developing your interpersonal skills. Written communication is important for developing your personality and character within a corporate environment. So next time you need to get to the top, start at the bottom with the proper email etiquette. I welcome your comments below and any additional tips I may have missed. Let’s all contribute to what a “Killer” email should be.

Time is money and money is time as people always say. If you can master time then you have the ability to alter your perception and others for your advantage. Often in the workplace timing is important. Whether you have a deadline to meet, a negotiation to settle, or approaching a department for additional resources you need to do it at the right time. Getting things accomplished without the proper timing leads to complexities and obstacles that would not have otherwise surfaced. How do you master time then? First, one must understand the stages that are involved with time and determine what tactic will help you master the art of timing.

Let’s take a look at what each stage encompasses and how you can benefit.

Future Time: Future time essentially is planning ahead and having a long term strategy. Some items that fall into this category are project timelines, future meetings or events, and anything that can be planned for rather than in-the-moment. What does this mean? When you have something you can plan for you can take a step back and avoid rushing. When you hurry to do things you lose focus and time seems to fly by. For example, let’s suppose that you have a negotiation deadline to meet. Your client plans to meet you 1 month from now to finalize the terms. Knowing that you have 1 month to plan you can effectively put a strategy together before you reach your deadline. This way you are prepared for any case that might arise. The reverse would be ignoring your planning phase and to deal with it the week of the meeting. Here you are pressed; you have other commitments going on and might not have any availability to plan for what’s closely approaching. You end up telling yourself, I’m just going to wing it and it’ll be okay. In essence you just gave the deal to your Client on their terms because you have no strategy in place or any benchmark to cross reference the deal. Learn to categorize the long term plans with Future time.

Strategic Time: Strategic time is using time to change or alter the perception of your engagement with someone. This is a tactic that is used for a variety of reasons. When you make someone wait, you are in effect altering their perception of time. You slow down time for them, and they get agitated and you disrupt their normal plan. If you ever had to wait for a bus or cab, you’ll understand how that tactic applies. Use this skill wisely, you don’t want to upset people but if you need them to play on your terms this works well. The opposite of waiting is being in a rush. When you make things happen quickly and on a fast pace the perception of time speeds up. People tend to think, I don’t have enough time right now. This again distorts their perception leaving them vulnerable for suggesting thinking. When you’re in a hurry you can’t focus, you do what comes next and without thought because there is no other option. When you can effectively make someone hurry whether it is for deciding something or coming to terms on an agreement you have the upper hand. Learn to use strategic time to your advantage and you’ll have people at your ease.

Forced Time: Forced time is when you need to get the job done that moment. There is no waiting or rushing the situation arises unexpectedly. When this happens you don’t want to rush into a decision but often you are and things become chaotic. When forced time approaches you need to know when it is and how to best deal with it. When a report gets dropped on your desk and you’re expected by end of day to have the answer you’re in forced time. Usually, forced time works to your advantage. It is when most people are creative because they have an immediate deadline with a specific task. The goal when facing these situations is to determine quick objectives. Overwhelming yourself will only cause mistakes. Like future time, you need to plan the short term very quickly. By anticipating the end goal and realizing that you have the resources you’ll be quick to implement a solution and people will love you for it. When others can’t do it and you show that you have the brain power to pump it out, you become the go to person.

All in all, you need to work with time rather than against it. You need to maintain your composure and let others feel the need to hurry or wait. When your perception of time is altered by others you’re at a disadvantage in the workplace. Learn to figure out what frame of mind you need to put yourself into and act on it. Waiting till the end, rushing into a decision, and or waiting on others will only screw up your schedule and project. That said I want to hear from you. How has time affected your ability to get things done? Please respond in the comment section below.

Do you pride yourself on being an effective manager? A manager who can motivate their team and drive exceptional results? For some it may come as natural, but for the majority of managers mastering the five habits is critical to success in the workplace. Over the years, I have learned from some of the best and made notes as to what works well and what doesn’t. Whether you need a reminder or want to expand your skill set here are the tricks of the trade.

1. Apologize quickly or face resentment: The goal of each manager is to be trustworthy and have high standards for integrity. Admitting your mistakes as soon as they happen, help you build your reputation with your direct reports. By gracefully admitting when you are wrong you show that you are human and that you realize your shortcomings. Take it a step further and put in place your steps to correct the situation without holding blame to your team. This may seem intuitive but often you’ll find a manager who ignores this simple principle.
2. Establish smart goals for your team: Rule by the iron fist isn’t going to produce quality work. To get what you want done you need to be clear and concise with your objectives. Explain to your team what needs to get done and the steps to follow. If you’re lucky, you’ll have self-starters on your squad. More often than not, you’ll have a team that is going to be more effective by telling them rather than having them figure it out on their own. This way you reduce redundant steps, have a focused vision, and can take out the guessing game.
3. Express confidence and expertise: To be a thought leader you need to know your industry and department. Establish your authority by showing your team both verbally and physically that you have the confidence and faith to get the job done. Just as dogs can smell fear, people can see it. No one listens to a person who doesn’t believe in himself and can’t answer the difficult questions. Step up your game or you’ll lose your respect.
4. Let your team shine, or darkness will prevail: If you think focusing on what your team does wrong will give you the most productivity then you’re in to lose your money. The key to keeping things moving in a healthy direction is by easing up on their weaknesses and bringing attention to their strengths. In times of failure it’s harder to listen to someone telling you where you went wrong. Instead, by saying what they did right will open their ears to listen to how they could have been better. Give recognition where it’s due and you’ll be smoothing sailing into tomorrow.
5. Be approachable or risk the bottom-line: Some managers capture the spot light because of their approachable personality. Whether it’s their charismatic nature or thoughtfulness, people tend to flock and listen to these managers. Do your employees think you’re standoffish? Do they always see you behind closed doors or clutters of papers on your desk that make you look too busy? If you’ve answered yes to either of these questions you need to rethink your strategy. You can start by giving your team the time of day when they need it most. Taking your team to lunch, helping them with a personal task, or listening to their weekend stories will give you likeable points and more office productivity.

Each manager has their own style of bringing success to a team. These are my thoughts and I’d like to hear back from you. Reply in the comments with what has worked and hasn’t for you and your organization.

Have you ever had to make a chart, graph, or presentation that was derived from raw data? If you have you can probably agree with me on a few points. The first, collecting data and extracting it from a business warehouse is simple. The second, presenting data within Excel or any other tool is simple. The third and final point, presenting the data so people can act on it and understand it from a glance is hard. Business Intelligence groups within corporations struggle with this dilemma. From first hand experience, I will provide insight to the key things you need to do to make your data understandable and most importantly actionable.

Take a close look at these two charts, both representing the same data set. Which one can you make sense of quickly? And, what is wrong with each chart?

Graph 1:

Graph 2:

Results:

If you thought both graphs were fine, here is why they’re not. The pie chart (graph 1) is misleading. When it comes to understanding it all blends together. You can’t decide which is larger by the human eye. You could probably add the dollar amounts inside, or outside but it’s still ineffective because the visual image is more overwhelming than the numbers. The bar graph (graph 2) is moving in the right direction. From first look you can tell which is larger and smaller. Studies have shown that people judge bar graphs better than pie charts because you can see the difference in lengths. In addition, the only thing that doesn’t help the bar graph is trying to make it colorful or pretty. What do those colors mean? They mean nothing, and that will confuse your audience. Make sure to keep colors to a minimum unless they have meaning. To enhance or create colorful designs is not the objective when making data visual and actionable.

Here is my suggestion on how the data should be represented.

This takes care of all the elements. You’ve got a bar graph that shows quickly the differences, consistent color shade, and easily readable headings. Next time you have to produce a report, think about how people will understand your data. Using Excel’s default settings could get your audience confused. Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, and comments on what has and has not worked for your reporting metrics.